Indolent Overlord

Chapter 6 part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord, obviously - Kugane Maruyama-sama does. Although the drawing above is how I picture Adalbert to look like, I also do not own it.   

Adalbert watched passively as the knights rode their horses to battle. Due to him being an assassin with a side job of a tamer, he was easily able to deduce (via gut feeling) that they would be brutally killed by the enemies' 3rd tier summons, those pathetic Archangel Flames, weaklings from YGGDRASIL.

Gazef, of course, was the sole exception. However, against such an 'overwhelming' number, he alone was not enough. Adalbert buckled his waist quiver and checked his bolts, before fearlessly jumping off of the bell tower and dashing towards the surrounding forest, effortlessly blending with the shadows.

Keeping up with the horses wasn't a difficult task, but he was, nevertheless, displeased. Being a daredevil speedster, his current speed limit was beyond appalling. In fact, it was downright offensive for him to even move in such a slothful speed.

With a dispassionate sigh, he turned (half of) his attention back to the knights.

Seeing that they were entering a grassland without trees, he perched himself predatorily at the border of the forest and observed them through his scope (thanks a lot, human vision). It didn't surprise him when the Magic Casters targeted Gazef. The muscular man fell off his horse, but before his subordinates could pull him along with them, an Archangel Flame swiped down for the kill.

The monster didn't succeed, but the Head Warrior was left behind by his knights. Gazef fought off the weakling with a shout, before doing something completely unexpected. Adalbert took note of this 'Martial Art' (his lipreading ability was not to be disregarded) skillset of his - something completely nonexistent in YGGDRASIL.

Momonga-ani, the nerd, would definitely be intrigued after receiving such a report.

Soon enough, the rest of the Archangel Flames trapped Gazef in a circle, flanking him without a route to escape. Adalbert didn't move in to help or do anything equally as troublesome. He simply made himself more comfortable as he watched how the show would progress, wishing that he had the foresight to have prepared a giant bowl of popcorn beforehand.

If this was the old him, perhaps (a big maybe, to be truthful) he would've immediately lent a helping hand. Now that he was a Sloth Demon, however... Eh, it simply felt too laborious.

Furthermore, Momonga-ani has plans for the Head Warrior, so it would be counterproductive if his older brother did not secure at least two different safety nets around Gazef. Of course, Adalbert was one of them, but he reckoned he was the unreliable contingency plan for Momonga's contingency plan.

Honestly, he could never work out how Momonga's brain worked.

After upgrading his intelligence from a human's to a higher being's (probably due to the high INT and WIS stat), Adalbert was now left eating dust, only able to figure out the bare bones of his brother's plans. Rather than feeling envious, however, he felt proud for having such a wise and intelligent big brother - someone who he could rely on upon without worries.

He was about to follow after Gazef's subordinates, but just before he moved, he saw them circling back around. So he remained on his spot and continued to observe from a distance.

Seeing that the knights have now returned to fight a losing battle, he took out a biltong and nibbled on it, happy to move less. Luckily enough, his Item Box was filled with stamina consumables due to his primary work as an assassin sniper - where one needed to remain at a spot for long periods of time.

Whilst he snacked, he pulled out a bolt and leisurely fitted it to his crossbow gun. With just one hand, he aimed at a knight that was isolated from his comrades and fired. It was, of course, a bullseye. The knight's shoulder was pierced and he fell to his knees, the fast-acting paralysis and knock-out drug he had coated the bolt tips with caused the knight to enter the stage of fake death.