Chapter 5: Frost Dragon Lord



1

It was the next morning. Ainz had decided to set out early to take back the former Dwarven Capital, Feoh Berkanan, but just as he was about to leave, a familiar face appeared at the door.
次日早晨。为了夺回矮人过去的王都菲欧‧贝尔嘉纳而打算出发的时候，大门前出现了差不多已经看惯的熟面孔。

It was Gondo.
是龚德。

Ainz tilted his head. He had no idea why he might be here.
安兹稍微歪了下头。想不出他会在这里的理由。

“--Are you here to send me off?”
「——送行吗？」

“No, I have come to lead the way.”
「不，老夫是带路的」

Ainz blinked. He had mentioned that he would need a Dwarf to show him the way. Judging by how they had immediately complied with the request, Ainz surmised that this Dwarf’s mission would be to keep an eye on him, so he thought that they might select an unrelated Dwarf.
安兹直眨着眼。的确有提出说需要一个矮人带路到王都。之所以会立刻同意这个要求，安兹推测矮人的目的大概是要监视他，所以觉得会选一个毫无关系的矮人出来。

“After parting ways with you yesterday, I heard many things from the other runesmiths. I feel that I know the route to the Royal Capital better than any other Dwarf.”
「昨天和汝分开后，从其他的符文工匠那里打听到了不少事情。现在的老夫恐怕比任何一个矮人都要清楚到王都的路吧」

“Then, can you  find a detour if the tunnel to the Capital collapses? You may need to adapt to changes in the situation as they come up. Is that alright?”
「那么要是通往王都的地下道发生崩塌的时候，关于迂回的道路也知道了吗？需要随机应变的情况也是有可能的，没关系吗？」

“I’ve studied up as much about them as I could. Please allow me to guide you.”
「那方面的事也尽可能打听了。继续昨天的事情，带路就交给老夫吧」

“Umu.”

Ainz began to think.
唔—嗯，安兹开始思考。

In truth, bringing Gondo along carried more demerits than merits. However, if the Council had approved, then if Ainz was the only one who disapproved and requested a change, the chances of him getting someone else as a guide would be very low.
老实说，带着龚德的坏处比较多。不过在摄政会上已经通过的话，只有安兹这方提出不满就改变带路人的可能性很低。

“...Are you a warrior, or do you have some way to fight?”
「……你拥有作为战士的力量，或是有什么战斗的手段吗？」

“No, I don’t. I’m not confident in that area at all. However, I am prepared to face any danger, and nobody will blame you if I perish. In addition, I have my father’s cloak. That was also a reason why they chose me.”
「不、没有。关于那方面一点自信都没有吶。不过已经做好了有危险的觉悟，而且就算老夫死了也不会有任何人责怪汝。再说还有父亲留下来的斗蓬。这也是会选择老夫的理由吧」

The cloak of invisibility did lend a lot of weight to his argument.
不可视化的斗蓬的确有说服力。

While his original aim was to protect his followers, he felt uneasy about bringing along a Dwarf with no combat ability. While he could still resurrect him with magic even if he died (provided he had some levels), but if Gondo died, he might have the mindset of “it’s all over”.
虽说本来就打算保护随行者，但是带着没有任何战斗手段的矮人还是会觉得不安。虽然只要有些等级的话，就算死了复活魔法还是可以起作用，可如果龚德死了的话，会不会就这么完了就颇有悬念了啊。

“Do you need to verify if I’ve chased all the Quagoa out of the Royal Capital? If you die along the way, it’ll make things very difficult for me… and then there’s the matter of the runesmiths. I’d much rather you stayed here.”
「还要确认是不是真的把掘土兽人把王都赶出去吧？要是半路上死了的话，会让人很困扰的……还有符文工匠的事也是。我希望你留在这里」

Gondo slowly approached Ainz and quietly said:
龚德慢慢靠近安兹，放低了声音说话。

“The Royal Capital has a vast treasury. If it hasn’t been plundered yet, then it will contain many Dwarven treasures. There should also be some of my father’s weapons and technical texts from the royal family in there. Who knows, there might even be secret manuals left behind by runesmiths of the past.”
「王都有巨大的宝物库。要是那个没被撬开的话，矮人所制作的众多宝物就在里面。里面应该也有老夫的父亲所做的武器才对，还有流传于王家的技术书也是。说不定，还有曾经的符文工匠留下来的密传书」

“Hoh…”
「嚯喔」

With that response, Ainz bade Gondo continue.
安兹应了一声，催着他把话往下说。

“I wish to secretly obtain them. ...While it seems rude to ask this of Your Majesty, may I please ask you to close one eye to this when you retake the Capital?”
「老夫想悄悄拿到那个。……这个对魔导王陛下是有点失礼的话，在夺回王都的时候，能对老夫所做的事睁只眼闭只眼吗？」

“...Before that, do you have any way to open the Treasury?”
「……在那之前，有任何打开宝物库的手段吗？」

“No. However… I believe Your Majesty should be able to do something, right?”
「没有。不过……若是魔导王陛下的话，应该能够办到些什么吧？」

Does he really think I can do anything?
(他到底是有多以为，我什么都做的到吗？)

“So you want me to become an accomplice to a petty thief?”
「要我当小毛贼的共犯吗？」

“I believe Your Majesty wished to see if the Treasury had been burgled, and thus opened it to check. Then, a brief distraction is all that is necessary. I would be that petty thief, bearing no relation to Your Majesty.”
「魔导王陛下只是为了知道宝物库有没有被盗，所以才会将其打开看看而已。那之后只要稍微走神下就行了。小毛贼是老夫，和陛下一点关系也没有」

“...The line of Dwarven royalty has been severed. Is that correct? Is there a record of the treasures that should be within the vaults?”
「……矮人王族已经断绝了，这样说可以吧？有关于那些应该有的财宝的目录在吗？

“I am afraid there is none.”
「恐怕没有吧」

“It is very important to make sure of this. It would be very dangerous if there was a record, you know? I cannot approve of this. ...More importantly, does that treasure not belong to your country? Does it not shame you to steal it?”
「确认这个是很重要的。要是有目录的话这可是很危险的行为哦？无法认同这件事。……最重要的是，那是你们国家的宝物吧？不会对偷窃感到羞耻吗？」

Gondo laughed scornfully.
龚德讽刺的笑了。

“Well, those manuals don’t mean anything to a country that gave us and runecraft up, don’t you think?”
「失去我们、失去了符文技术也觉得无所谓的国家，就算有秘传书也没有意义不是吗？」

It’s treason, then? Though that thought passed through Ainz’s head, the truth was that it did him no harm. On the contrary, letting these books languish in the Dwarven nation would be a waste.
搞叛逆啊—虽然安兹这么想，不过对安兹来说也没有损失，反过来说让这样的书籍沈睡在矮人王国才叫损失呢。

More to the point, Gondo’s theft would completely break his ties to the Dwarven Kingdom. The Dwarven Kingdom would not tolerate a criminal who had looted their treasury. This matter could be used as a form of blackmail, and it would become a shackle that would render Gondo completely incapable of betraying the Sorcerous Kingdom.
更甚于此，龚德的盗窃会使得龚德和矮人王国的关系完全破裂吧。矮人王国不可能接受盗取了自己国家宝物的犯罪者。在这件事能够拿来作为威胁的这层意义上，也能成为龚德无法背叛魔导国的锁炼。

However, this could be used against Ainz in a similar manner.
不过，对安兹这一方来说也同样可能会成为锁炼。

“...Indeed. There’s no point in letting people who don’t need it have it either. Indeed, it might be that my eyes might fail me at that time. Still, like I mentioned earlier, you need to search out any records of the treasure. I’d like to avoid any future disputes.”
「……的确是这样。就算让觉得没有必要的人拿着也没有用。确实在那个时间点我偶然会有些眼神不灵呢。不过就像刚刚讲的一样，要尽量找出目录喔？我想避免在可能会将来发生争执」

“Understood. I shall do as Your Majesty commands.”
「了解。老夫会遵照大人的话来办的」

“Then, we’ll leave matters at that.”

While they had walked some distance away to discuss this, someone with keen hearing might be eavesdropping on them.
「那么这番话就谈到这里」虽然是到了稍微远离的地方来谈话，不过不能保证没有听力敏锐的人

“Then, let’s change the topic. Tell me about the hazards we might face before reaching the Dwarven Capital. A basic outline is fine.”
「那个换个话题——说个大概也可以，告诉我在到达矮人王都之前可能会经过的险处」

“A good question. All who wish to reach the Dwarven Capital must pass three trials.”
「问得好，反是想要前往矮人王都要通过三个难关」

“Trials? Interesting. Summarize them.”
「难关？很有意思啊，简单的说一下」

“Mm, the first trial is the Great Rift. There is a slope ahead of the gate that leads to the fortress. After the fortress is the Great Rift that splits the earth. Now that the suspension bridge has been strung, it hardly qualifies as a trial. However, when crossing it, one must prepare oneself to receive concentrated fire from the enemy.”
「嗯，首先最初的难关就是大裂缝。那扇门的前方是个斜坡，往下走的话就能看到要塞的入口。在通过要塞之后，贯穿了大地的裂缝就是了。总之，在架设了吊桥的现在那也已经称不上是难关了，不过要通过的话就必须做好承受敌方集中攻击的觉悟」

“Do the Quagoa use ranged weapons?”
「掘土兽人会使用射击武器吗」

“Umu, I haven’t heard of that before. However, it might be dangerous to assume they don’t, right?”
「唔嗯，没有听说过。不过就这样认定他们不会用的话，怕是有些危险吧？」

It made a lot of sense. They might even be able to use the magic weapons in the fortress.
相当有道理。说不定也有可能会使用放在要塞里的魔法武器。

“Then, the next trial is an area of flowing lava. Even the heated air alone can be fatal. One must cross it via a narrow path of trimmed rock. There have also been sightings of a huge monster there from time to time.”
「那么下一处是有熔岩流动的区域。只是热气都有可能丢掉性命的河流，要通过必须穿过削掉岩壁做成的栈道。而且有时还会看到巨大魔物的身影」

“A monster, you say?”
「你说魔物？」

The image of Guren, Area Guardian of the 7th Floor, came to mind.
安兹的脑中浮现了第七阶层的领域守护者，红莲的身影。

If the monster was similar to that, things would be very troublesome indeed.
要是是与其相似的魔物就很棘手了啊。

...Come to think of it, Slimes and human society are quite closely linked. Is it the case in this country as well? If they have rare slimes here, I’d like to bring them home.
（……话说回来，史莱姆和人类社会有相当紧密的关系，在这国家也是吗？要是有在使用少见的史莱姆种类的话，还真想带回去啊）

Just as Ainz thought of the slimes that lived near the sewer filters, Gondo moved on to the last trial.
就在安兹想着靠近下水道过滤口的史莱姆时，龚德将话题移到最后的难关。

“The final trial is the Maze of Death. It is a cave with countless branches, filled with poisonous vapors. If one inhales it, their limbs will become paralyzed and their hearts will stop beating.”
「接着是最后的死亡迷宫。在有无数分岔路的洞窟里，会一定周期的释放出剧毒瓦斯。要是吸进去的话，四肢会开始麻痹，最后心脏停止跳动」

Gondo looked toward Aura and Shalltear.
龚德的视线移向亚乌菈和夏提雅。

That gesture seemed to be saying that Ainz might be fine, but those two would be in trouble.
这个举动是在说安兹是没问题，不过那两个人就不妙了。

They’ll be fine… Well, I guess I can tell him when we get there.
（那两个人也没问题的啦……。嘛，到达那里的时候再说就好了）

“And what is the right path through the caves?”
「那么洞窟的正确路线呢？」

“Regretfully, I do not know that. I looked through all my connections, but even the elders did not know. Neither did the members of the Council. Perhaps it might be recorded in an archive...:”
「很遗憾的，这就不知道了。虽然使用了不少关系，但年长者也没有知道的。参加摄政会的成员也一样。或许有记载在什么古文献上也说不定……」

“But you didn’t find it either, did you? Well, I doubt you’d be able to easily locate a document that was so critical to national security. We’ll gather information when the time comes and adapt to the situation.
「但是没有发现，没错吧。嘛，不可能那么简单就发现有关国防的文件的。到达的时候收集情报，然后随机应变吧」

Ainz took these trials to heart, and gestured to the others.
安兹把这三个难关放在心上，对其他人作出指示。

“Let’s go, then.”
「那么出发吧」

Ainz, Shalltear and Aura took the lead. Gondo lined up with ten or so soldiers and their commander on their way to retake the fortress, and then the gates slowly opened. The stench of death filtered through the gap, so they had an idea what to expect, but then a miserable scene revealed itself to all present.
安兹、夏提雅和亚乌菈走在前头，龚德还有一同前往要塞的十名士兵和一名指挥官这群成员正在并排着，然后大门就慢慢地打了开来。虽然从开起的细缝中飘来的臭味中，已经有了一定的预期，可凄惨的光景还是出现在了众人的眼前。

The gentle tunnel which sloped down was broad and it had been levelled for easier passage. However, the walls and floor were covered in blood, guts and chunks of meat. Quagoa corpses littered the ground.
平缓朝下的坑道还算宽敞，为了方便行走已整地过，不过地面和墙壁上满是血与内脏，还有肉块黏在上面。掘土兽人的尸体也倒在那里。

“Urk!”
「呜恶！」

This room of blood, guts and the thick stench of death was too much for Gondo, who had no experience as a warrior and began retching. The Dwarven soldiers faces had turned pale, and not because of any trick of the light.
这个满是血与内脏的浓厚腥臭味的空间，对于不曾作为战士战斗过的龚德来说有些太过残酷，他发出作呕的声音。矮人士兵脸色会发青也不是因为光线的缘故吧。

Ainz’s body had no concept of nausea, so it did not cause him any problems. However, he did not enjoy this smell.
安兹的身体与反胃无缘，所以一点问题也没有，但也不是说会喜欢这个味道。

A squelching noise came from underfoot. It would seem he had stepped on the innards which had fallen out of a bisected Quagoa.
脚底发出了咕叽的声音。看上去是踩到从成了两半的掘土兽人体内散落的内脏的一部分。

Ainz sighed and then cast [Mass Fly], allowing everyone to fly.
安兹叹了口气，发动了<全体飞行化>的魔法，让全员进入了飞行状态。

It would seem the Death Knights had enjoyed their carnage here. Anyone who slipped and fell in this tunnel of blood would surely lose their strength to the filth and the stench. More importantly, seeing someone covered in blood beside them would make people beg for mercy, which was probably why they had done it.
看来死亡骑士还真是杀了个痛快啊，要是在这个鲜血的坑道跌倒，气力绝对会因为脏污和恶臭而萎靡的吧。重要的是，旁边有个浑身是血的人走着实在让人想说饶了我吧，所以才会这么做。

The group descended the sloping passage, unblemished due to the flight spell.
一行人由于飞行魔法的缘故没有弄脏就下了坡道。

Thanks to the dimly glowing rocks embedded along the way, there was still some light to see by. However, the space between each rock seemed like it was dominated by the darkness. Of course, Ainz possessed darkvision, and it posed no problems to him.
途中因为埋有散发朦胧光芒的石头的缘故，并非是完全一片黑暗。但是石头和石头之间就像是被黑暗所支配了一样。当然，对于拥有暗视能力的安兹来说没有任何问题。

After going down the slope -- a distance of about 100 meters, they could see the fortress’ entrance ahead. No, it would be more accurate to say that it was the fortress’ back door.
下了坡后——大概有一百公尺左右吧——在道路前方可以看到要塞的入口。不，该说是后门才对。

After passing through the opened doors into the fortress, they could go beyond the fortress and cross the suspension bridge ahead. After travelling west from there for several days, they should be able to see the former Dwarven Capital.
通过开着的门进到要塞里面，在那前方——越过要塞后应该会有座吊桥。从那里往西走个几天的话，就可以看到旧王都的样子。

The Fortress’ entrance was littered with Quagoa corpses. Some of them looked like they had not been killed by the Death Knights, but gnawed. Those must have been the victims of the Death Knights’ zombies.
要塞的入口处也到处都是掘土兽人的尸体，其中也有不像是死亡骑士所杀的被咬死的尸体，应该是殭尸造成的死者吧。

Ainz’s undead detection did not pick up any contacts. It was probably because the zombies had returned to regular corpses after the Death Knights were destroyed.
之所以安兹的不死者探知没有反应，大概是因为死亡骑士被消灭后就变回一般的尸体了吧。

Ainz looked around. There were no undead reactions now, but if he left them like this, the characteristics of this world’s undead meant that it would be dangerous.
安兹环顾周围。虽然现在没有不死者反应，但要是就这样放着，依照这个世界的不死者特性来说是有危险的。

“It is commonly accepted that leaving corpses untended will result in undead spawning. What do you plan to do?” Ainz asked the soldiers who had been following them.
「要是就这样放着不管就会产生不死者是人世的常识吧，你们打算怎么办？」

安兹向同行至今的士兵们发问。

“Yes, sir. We will clean them up,” the commander answered. “Well, we say clean, but it’s more like dumping them into the Great Rift in a place where it won’t matter even if we attract a monster.”
「是。我等将会进行扫除」回答的是指挥官。「说是扫除，其实就是到一个远一点，就算吸引到可能存在于大裂缝里的魔物也没关系的地方，然后扔进大裂缝里而已」

“And after that, you’ll need to repair the fortress, and then find out how the Quagoa attacked you? You have a lot of work ahead of you.”
「做完那些之后就要补修要塞，然后对于掘土兽人到底是从什么路线进攻的这件事展开调查吧？真是辛苦的工作啊」

They would part ways here. The only people who would be taking part in the reclamation of the Dwarven Capital were Ainz, Aura, Shalltear and Gondo. Well, the Hanzos were around as well, but they did not need to know that.
在这里就会与他们分开，要进行矮人王都夺还行动的只有安兹、因为亚乌菈、夏提雅还有龚德四人而已。嘛，虽然半藏也在，不过他们不需要知道这个。

The Dwarves smiled bitterly. While it was true that the investigations were risky -- they ran the risk of encountering Quagoa, after all -- it was nothing compared to Ainz’s task of attacking the Quagoa main camp. That was probably what they meant.
矮人们露出苦笑。虽然对他们来说这确实也是危险的调查——毕竟要进行一场很可能遭遇到掘土兽人的冒险，可是被要去攻略掘土兽人大本营的安兹这么说的话就有点那什么了吧，大致是就这个意思吧。

“Then, we’ll enter the fortress. We will go in first to ensure it is safe, so wait outside until then. To be on the safe side, could you protect Gondo?”
「那么就进去要塞里吧。我等会先行进入确认安全，在那之前就在外面等着吧。小心起见，可以保护龚德吗？」

After hearing the commander’s reply, Ainz entered the open door.
听到指挥官的回复后，安兹走进了开着的门。

As he stood at the center of the tragedy, Ainz asked Aura (who was standing behind him) a question.
站在惨剧的发生地点，安兹向跟在后面的亚乌菈提出问题。

“Aura, can you sense any trace of someone hiding here with a stealth ability?”
「亚乌菈，有感觉到什么人使用隐密能力潜伏在这里的迹象吗？」

“Nope. There’s nothing alive in this fortress.”
「没有。这个要塞里没有任何东西活着的样子」

Aura put her hand on a long ear, and made a listening gesture as she answered. If Aura the ranger said so, then there would be nothing living within this fortress.
亚乌菈把手放在长耳上，做出聆听的动作后这样回答道。拥有游击兵职业的亚乌菈这么说的话，在这个要塞里应该就没有生者吧。

Still, they could not lower their guard.
虽然如此，松懈可是大忌。

The person who had defeated Ainz’s Death Knights should have passed through here. If that person had taken a lot of stealth-specialized classes, they might be able to deceive Aura’s perceptive abilities.
能打倒安兹所做的死亡骑士的人应该有来过这里。要是那个人主要取得的都是擅长隐密行动的职业的话，说不定连亚乌菈的调查能力都能骗过。

Still, anyone like that would generally have poor attack power, and they would be easy to deal with even if they launched an ambush.
不过那种情况下战斗能力一般都很低，即使被偷袭也很容易应付。

There were many corpses within the fortress, but unlike the sloping passage from earlier, there were Dwarven corpses everywhere.
要塞中尸体很多，不过和刚刚的坡道不同，矮人的尸体也四处散落着。

Ainz passed through the fortress and toward the gate which was opposite the one through which they had entered. After opening the gate, he saw the Great Rift yawning before him, and not even Ainz’s vision could see its bottom.
安兹横跨要塞，走向了与进来时方向相反的大门。就这样敞开的门扉前方、大地被裂痕所分断，即使以安兹的视力也无法看到底部。

Since there were no Quagoa beyond, it would seem they had retreated in a disorganized manner.
然后对面没有掘土兽人的身影，看来没有构筑阵地就撤退了呢。

“This should be the Great Rift…”

Ainz turned to look from left to right.

“But there doesn’t seem to be anything like a suspension bridge here… no, is that a bridge stump? If there’s remains like that, then that means…”
「这应该就是大裂缝了……」安兹转动头部，确认左右「不过像是吊桥的东西却哪里都没有呢。不，那个是桥墩吧？有残骸的意思就是说……」

“It might be that the the enemy destroyed the bridge during their retreat,” Shalltear said from the side.
「能想到的就是敌人撤退时把桥弄掉了吧」

站在一旁的夏提雅说道。

“Hm…”
「嗯……」

If their enemy was a powerful being who could easily defeat a Death Knight, was there a need to destroy the bridge? If this was meant to block their attack, that meant that they were not confident in their strength -- No.

Ainz shook his head.
对手是能轻易打倒死亡骑士的强者的话，有必要弄掉吊桥吗？如果这一招是要抵挡我方的攻击，那就是对自己的力量没有自信的根据——不对，安兹摇摇头。

Death Knights were rare in this world. Thus, the enemy must have surmised there was a powerful entity controlling the two Death Knights. That being the case, losing the bridge would not be a big loss.
在这个世界里，死亡骑士是罕见的存在。所以这是看出了要是有两具出现在眼前的话，其背后肯定有强力的使役者存在的这件事了吧。而且也不觉得失去吊桥有什么太大的损失吧。

“Not bad… Tell the Dwarves that the way is safe.”
「挺能干的嘛。……去告诉矮人已经确认过安全了」

“Understood!”
「遵命！」

As he watched Shalltear head toward the Dwarves, he saw Aura squatting down. He wanted to ask what she was doing, but given her diligent expression, it would be best not to interrupt her focus.
看着走向矮人的夏提雅的背影，视野里出现了亚乌菈蹲下来注视地面的样子。虽然想问这在做什么啊，但看她那认真的样子，还是别去做会令她分心的事好了。

Ainz turned to look at the Great Rift, then picked up a stone and threw it in. There was no particular meaning to it; he had done so on a whim. Still, he could not hear the stone striking the bottom.
将视线转回大裂缝上的安兹，捡起地上的石子扔了下去。虽然这么做没什么特别的意思，只是兴起的行为而已，但是完全听不到石头落地的声音。

“Its depth is unknown, Your Majesty,” said the commander whom Shalltear had brought back with her. He must have seen what Ainz was doing. “We’ve sent two expeditions to investigate, but neither of them came back.”
「深度不明，陛下」是看到安兹的行为了吧。被夏提雅带来的指挥官这样告诉他。「虽然两次派出了调查队前往这个裂缝，但是谁也没有回来」

“I see. There were probably monsters there. ...Have those things ever come out?”
「这样啊。大概是有什么魔物在吧。……那些东西没有出来过外面吗？」

“Sir, there hasn’t been anything like that to date. Therefore, we decided not to send in expeditions. Probing too deep would be unwise.”
「是，至今为止没有发生过这样的事。所以才不送出调查队了，随便深入并非好事」

“Well, that’s right.”
「嘛，这很正确」

Ainz could make incorporeal undead like ghosts, and by using magic to share their senses, he would be able to mount a full investigation. However, now was not the time for that sort of thing.
安兹的话，可以做出像鬼魂[Ghost]那样的非实体型不死者，只要使用视野同步的魔法的话，就能够安全的调查了。不过现在不是做那种事的时候。

Given the present circumstances, investigating the Great Rift was a low priority. Still, it had to be done. In YGGDRASIL, places like his often concealed valuable items or dungeons.
就现状来看，调查此处的优先度相当低。话虽如此，还是有调查的必要。在YGGDRASIL的话，这种地方都会有贵重的物品或是迷宫存在。

If the shitty devs had their way, they’d hide a tunnel at the bottom of the Great Rift, and there’d be rare ores inside that tunnel. No, they’d definitely do that. In fact, it’s happened before.
（那个垃圾制作的话，在这个裂缝下面肯定有个横洞在。然后走下去就能采到稀有的矿石。绝对会这么干，不如说实际上就发生过这样的事）

“--Then, we shall cross to the other side, pursue the fleeing Quagoa, and press them back into the Royal Capital, then.”
「——那么，就前往对岸、追着从这里撤退的掘土兽人，并顺势攻入王都吧」

The flight spell was still in effect, so that was not a problem in itself. However, what worried Ainz was whether or not something would crawl out of the darkness.
飞行魔法还能维持，所以这件事本身没什么问题。不过安兹在心中想着却是，会不会有什么东西会从这片黑暗中蠕动而出的讨厌光景。

It was an incident from YGGDRASIL, but Ainz could not help but recall the time when he had been crossing a lake and spotted a giant serpent-like monster swimming below. It was not a pleasant memory, but that experience had been put to use in the creation of the 5th Floor--
虽然这是YGGDRASIL的事了，不过脑中回放起在渡湖的半途中，下方有巨大的蛇一样的魔物在游着的讨厌回忆。不过那讨厌经验却也被活用在了第五阶层的制作上——。

After bidding the commander farewell, the four of them took flight, with Shalltear and Aura looking out below them. His worries from just now were ill-founded, and they reached the other side without seeing anything else below.
安兹向指挥官告别后，让夏提雅和亚乌菈警戒下方，四个人飞了起来。刚才的担心果然是杞人忧天，下方什么身影都没看见就到了对岸。

That said, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief when his feet were once again firmly planted on terra firma. Granted, he had to keep it secret from the others.
虽说如此，在双脚着地后稍微松了一口气这件事。可要对其他的人保密才行。

Ainz surveyed his surroundings.
安兹环视起了四周。

There were only four enemy corpses here, which meant that the Death Knights had been defeated in this place.
这一侧敌人尸体的数量仅有四具左右，也就是说死亡骑士是在这里被打倒的。

“Shalltear, there are a few things I need to tell you now.”
「夏提雅哟，现在开始有几个注意事项要对你说」

After calling Shalltear to him, Ainz glanced at Aura, and saw her inspecting the ground.
叫来夏提雅之后，安兹偷瞄了一眼，只见亚乌菈还在扫视着地面。

Perhaps it would be better to call Aura over as well. He thought that, but then he mused that he wanted to have Shalltear take the lead this time round. He could explain a simplified version to Aura afterwards.
也叫上亚乌菈会比较好吗，虽然这样想着但这次主要想让夏提雅作为主要作战角色，亚乌菈的话之后再简单的说明也可以吧。

“Hang on a bit, Ainz-sama!”

Shalltear took out a notebook and flipped it open.

“Please, go on.”
「请稍等一下，安兹大人」夏提雅取出记事本，将那打开。「请、麻烦您了」

“Oh. Umu. A notebook, huh… Very attentive of you. Ahem! Er-- we are now about to enter a very dangerous area. As for why it is dangerous, that’s because there is a being who can defeat two of my Death Knights. While comparing Death Knights to you is something of an insult--”
「唔、唔姆，笔记吗。……很用心呢。咳哼！诶—、现在开始要突入非常危险的地区，说到为何危险的话，因为一定有着能够轻易打倒我创造的两具死亡骑士的强者存在，虽然拿死亡骑士和你做比较对你来说可能是一种侮辱——」

“--It’s nothing of the sort, Ainz-sama. I will use my full strength to do battle with any powerful being who could defeat the Death Knights you created.”
「——并没有那样的事，能够打倒安兹大人所作出的死亡骑士的强者，我一定会以全力对应的」

“No, you must not use your full strength.”
「不，绝不能用出全力」

“Why, why is that? If the enemy is strong, shouldn’t I attack in earnest -- forgive me for asking such a question of you, Ainz-sama!”
「为、为什么呢？如果是强敌的话认真的攻过去才——失礼了，竟然对安兹大人所说的话提出质疑！」

“It’s not like that. Your question is very sensible.”
「没那回事，你的疑问是理所当然的」

Ainz out his hands behind his back, and then told her how to deal with an unknown enemy.
安兹将手插在后面，告诉她与未知敌人对峙时的方法。

“That said, you must be aware of how the opposition expects us to act. What the enemy wants most is information -- our fighting ability, in other words.  They might use expendable ambush troops and the like to gauge our combat strength. In other words, they will verify our abilities and when they feel they can achieve victory, they will attack us in such a way that they cannot lose and we cannot flee.”
「然而，还要考虑到对方希望我们采取的行动。对方最想要的是这边的情报——战力，恐怕，会送出用完就扔的袭击部队之类的，来推测我方的战力吧。也就是说会一一确认我方的能力，在判断有胜算的时机，再用必杀的阵型袭击过来不让我方逃走」

“To think they would actually do that…”
「竟然会那样……」

“Granted, we don’t know if the enemy will go that far--”
「虽然不清楚对方是否会做到这个地步——」

“Ah... Ainz-sama...”
「那个——、安兹大人」

Aura called to him in a nervous tone, something which was very unusual for her. Under normal circumstances, he would stop his explanation to Shalltear and listen to Aura.
亚乌菈以对她来说很是罕见的、战战兢兢的声音呼唤过来。平常的话会暂时中断对夏提雅的说明，再听亚乌菈的话吧。

However, he was in a very good mood since he had the chance to speak at length about one of his specialties.
然而，对人进行自己的得意项目的说明果然心情非常好。

Therefore, Ainz turned to Aura and put his index finger to his mouth.
所以安兹对亚乌菈做出了，用食指抵住嘴的手势。

“Ah, yes!”
「啊、是的！」

Understanding dawned on Aura. Ainz was giving an earnest lecture, so he wanted her to be quiet. She understood what Ainz was trying to say.
亚乌菈的表情中也出现了理解的光芒。安兹在进行认真的说明，所以希望安静一点。她是理解到安兹想说什么了吧。

“Like I was saying, Shalltear. I would do the same thing if I were fighting a strong foe. No, my friends would do the same as well.”
「话接下去，夏提雅。如果是我就会对强者采取那样的行动。不、我的同伴们也会这么做」

“The Supreme Beings would do that too? But, comparing this enemy to the Supreme Beings is a little…”
「无上至尊们也是这样的吗！可是，将这次的敌人与无上至尊们相提并论什么的……」

“Really? You should assume that the enemy can do everything I can do. Only a fool thinks that they are special and gets full of themselves. Remain ever-cautious. In any case, I do not wish to let the enemy see our full fighting strength.
「是吗？应该假设我所能做得到的事，对方也一样做得到。将自己认为是特别的而得意忘形的行动是愚者的所为。千万不要大意。总之，我不希望让对方看不清这边的全部战力」

Keeping the Hanzos in hiding was also to disrupt the schemes of the enemy.
让半藏们潜伏着也是为了搅乱对方的计划。

“Therefore, Shalltear, I will lay several restrictions on you when you are travelling with me to the Dwarven Capital -- before we reach the enemy’s headquarters.”
「因此夏提雅，你在与我一同前往矮人王都——袭击敌人的本阵前，会有这么几条限制」

“Yes! What sort of restrictions are these?”
「是！那些是什么样的限制呢？」

“Umu. Concerning magic… while I permit you to use spells of up to the 10th tier, you are not to use too many different spells. At the very most, limit yourself to one or two of them.”
「唔嗯，那就是关于魔法虽然允许你使用到第十阶位，但不要使用多种的魔法，最多、控制在一到两个的范围内」

“...I see, this is to deceive the enemy and make them overconfident, and then defeat him with a counterattack. That being the case… why not limit me to 5th-tier magic or lower?”
「……原来如此，这么做是为了给予对方错误的情报、引诱他大意，然后用反击将对手打倒吗。可这样的话更低位的魔法……只使用第五阶位前的魔法不是更好些吗」

“No, the enemy will not be lulled into a false sense of confidence that way. In the moment that the enemy thinks they have the measure of our true strength and seeks to utterly destroy us, we have a chance to strike a fatal blow to the enemy. In my case, if I saw an enemy use a few carefully honed techniques to attack me, but with no magic beyond the 5th tier, I would immediately conclude that the enemy was trying to keep their abilities a secret.”
「不、那样的话怕是无法让对方大意吧。当敌人自以为看清了我方的力量，想要彻底击垮而攻击过来的瞬间，才是给予对方致命伤害的机会。如果是我的话，当看到对方明明以少数精锐的形式进攻过来，却又只能使用第五阶位这种程度的魔法。肯定会判断这是为了不泄露情报而采取的行动吧」

“In that kind of situation, what would you do against that sort of enemy?”
「如果是那种情况的话，安兹大人会采取什么样的应对措施呢？」

“I’d think of how to learn more about them. For instance, I’d briefly abandon an expendable base. Then, I’d slowly gather intelligence. Once the enemy gains a base, they’ll feel the desire to hang on to it. That sort of attitude will limit the enemy’s actions, and they’ll invariably reveal their true colors.”
「思考能得到更多情报的方法。比如将失去也不可惜的据点暂时迁出。之后，再慢慢地入手情报。得到据点之后，不管怎样都会产生不想要失去的心情。那种心态便会限制住对手的行动，情报就一定能够流出吧」

“Is there a need to be that cautious?”
「需要警戒到如此程度吗」

In a game, one could still recover from a loss. However, in this world, there was the chance that they would not be able to bounce back. This was especially true when it came to Ainz, who had not yet finished his experiments on player deaths.
如果是游戏的话多少能够挽回败北。但是在这个世界的败北存在着无法挽回的可能性。特别是对玩家的存在的死亡实验还没有完成的安兹来说更是如此。

“All these are things you do in response to the circumstances. Shalltear, you need to think, no?”
「这些都是根据现状来说该做的事。夏提雅哟，要让思考运转起来哦？」

In any event, he should leave things at that. Ainz turned towards Aura.
总之就先告诉她这些吧，安兹将脸朝向亚乌菈。

“Then, Aura, what is it?”
「那么亚乌菈，有什么事吗？」

“No, there’s nothing at all!”
「不、什么都没有！」

Aura’s eyes were sparkling.
亚乌菈的眼瞳中闪耀着灿烂的光辉。

He had no idea what had brought that on, but perhaps she had felt impressed by the tactics he had explained to Shalltear.
虽然不清楚这突然是怎么了，但说不定是对于说给夏提雅听的战略感到佩服吧。

Hm~ it might be the absolute basics, but I guess I should give Aura some guidance too, no? Should I lend out that book of PK tactics? But that’s the only thing I have which gives me a leg up on the NPCs… What should I do. Also, letting information spread too widely isn’t good, someone told me that before...
（哼—嗯、虽然是基本中的基本，但果然也应该对亚乌菈进行指导比较好吗？……该把那本关于PK术的书借出去吗？可那是我在NPC面前显摆的唯一资本……该怎么办好啊。而且知识的扩散也是不行的，有被这么说过啊……）

Just as Ainz fell into thought, Gondo spoke up.
就在安茲即将陷入沉思時龚德問道。

“Ah, I’m sorry to interrupt you while you’re discussing strategy, but shouldn’t we move forward? If the path collapses, we’ll have to find  another route.”
「诺，虽说正在建立作战的途中很抱歉，但是差不多该前进了吧？如果道路崩塌的话，就不得不寻找其它路线了啊」

“That’s true… Shall we travel by magical beast?”
「说的是呢……。骑乘魔兽进行移动吗？」

“It might be better not to. We might encounter small passages along the way, and if we’re mounted, we’ll have to leave the beasts there.”
「还是不要那么做比较好。途中可能会通过狭小洞窟之类的地方，如果是那样的话就不得不将其放在那里了啊」

He had thought of using a ridable undead creature like a Soul Eater. He could simply re-create one if there were any problems. However, it would be wiser to listen to the words of his guide.
虽然想着如果像是噬魂魔[Seoul eater]那樣能夠骑乘的不死族的話，每次都重新做出來不就好了嗎。不过这里还是老实听从引路人的指示才比较明智吧。

“I understand. Let’s go, then.”
「我明白了，那么就出发吧」