Gazef Stronoff


 * "Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown! My name is Gazef Stronoff, the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom! I formally request a duel with you!"
 * - Gazef Stronoff to Ainz Ooal Gown.

Gazef Stronoff (ガゼフ・ストロノーフ) was the Warrior Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom and he was also King Ramposa III's personal royal bodyguard. He was considered to be the Strongest Warrior of the Kingdom.

Appearance
Gazef was a muscular man of around thirty years old and he had southern blood in his vein. He appeared to have a sunbathed dark face with noticeable wrinkles, short black trimmed hair and black eyes that are as sharp as a sword.

Personality
Gazef was loyal to his King and the Kingdom. He was a strong willed man and willing to sacrifice his life in order to protect the people of the Kingdom. He shows respect and admiration to those under his command.

Background
Gazef Stronoff was born as a commoner in the frontier village and later became a mercenary. Gazef had a chance encounter with Vesture Kloff Di Laufen, a former adamantite-ranked adventurer, who taught him his extraordinary swordsmanship. He entered the grand tournament to acquired the king's trust and became his personal bodyguard after becoming the champion by defeating Brain Unglaus.

As the Kingdom's strongest warrior, he was extremely famous, commanding the respect and admiration of all those who know his name. As only nobles can become a "Knight" in the Kingdom, Gazef commands his own "Warrior Troops" instead.

The Undead King Arc
Gazef was given an ordered by King Ramposa III to investigate and hunt down the imperial knights that are attacking villages around the Kingdom. He encountered a ransacked village and ordered his men to send the survivors to E-Rantel. His vice captain warned him that it's a trap but Gazef disregarded his warning and continued to pursue them.

Gazef arrived at Carne Village and meets the mysterious magic caster named Ainz Ooal Gown, who saved the village from the attacking knights. He thanked him for saving the village. However, Gazef's subordinate informs him that the village was now surrounded by unidentified figures and he realized it was a trap.

He finds out that the Sunlight Scripture of the Slane Theocracy is targeting him and he requests Ainz to protect the village while he faces them in battle. He engages the Sunlight Scripture in a fierce battle and uses his martial skill to fight against them but he's overwhelmed by their magic. He taunted Nigun Grid Luin that there’s still someone stronger than him in the village. He prepares for his imminent death, however, he was teleported to the village storage house along with his men. He asked the village chief where is Ainz and tells him that he disappeared in front of him. Gazef realized that his life was saved by switching places with Ainz.

After Ainz defeated the Sunlight Scripture, Gazef thanked Ainz for saving his life, his men and the village. He asked Ainz if he is willing to travel with them back to E-Rantel. He also suggested to Ainz to seek him out in the Royal Capital when they meet again.

The Bloody Valkyrie Arc
Gazef return safely to the Royal Capital and he is welcome back by King Ramposa III. He reports to the King and great nobles about a mysterious magic caster named Ainz Ooal Gown, who saved Carne Village, and also saved his life and his warrior troop from certain death while the nobles showing contempt to this suspicious magic caster.

After the meeting, the King apologizes to Gazef for sending him on a dangerous mission without a proper equipment for the job and want to thank Ainz Ooal Gown for saving his most loyal and trusted aide. He ensures to the King that Ainz is a virtuous man and he will likely be satisfied with just those words. He and the King meet Princess Renner and Climb. Gazef spoke to Climb that he need to improve his swordsmanship and to be able to protect Princess Renner under any circumstances.

The Men in the Kingdom Arc
and The Men in the Kingdom II Arc Gazef found Brain Unglaus on a alley in the Royal Capital. He was surprised to find such a skilled swordsman acting suicidal, wanting to keep him alive and hoping that Brain would join the Kingdom. He then offered Brain a place at his house.

Gazef joined with Blue Rose, Brain Unglaus and Climb in Princess Renner's operation against Eight Fingers but their plan changes with the appearance of Jaldabaoth and his demon army who has just invaded the Royal Capital. Gazef's mission was to protect the King and the Royal Family from danger but the King then decided to aid the adventurers and he was ordered by the King to fight and help the adventurers to defeat Jaldabaoth.

The Magic Caster of Destroy Arc
When the Kingdom received an official declaration of war from the Baharuth Empire, Gazef was shocked by Ainz Ooal Gown's participation. Though many of the nobles believed that one magic caster was of little consequence, Gazef saw the danger as he recognized that the Empire and Theocracy had recognized Ainz's strength.

Later at the battlefield, he made amends with Marquis Raeven recognizing him as a patriot to the Kingdom. Gazef saw first hand of the devastation of Ainz's magic, and though his instincts told him to flee to stayed behind to cover his majesty's escape. He briefly clashed with a Dark Young and survived but without even injuring his opponent. Gazef stood alongside Brain and Climb as the Sorcerer King granted them an audience with him. Ainz offered to cease the senseless slaughter, only if the Warrior Captain would swear his allegiance to him. Gazef however, refused, but instead requested a duel with Ainz. Ainz granted his request, but before Gazef could use his ultimate skill, Ainz casted a instant death spell. Ainz allowed Gazef's two comrades to reclaim the body and honored Gazef's sacrifice by ceasing the attack on the Royal Army.

Abilities and Powers
Gazef Stronoff was considered to be the Kingdom's strongest warrior, exceeding adamantite class adventurers. He could be considered the Kingdom’s final trump card. He was extremely talented with the sword, but he had yet to overcome the barrier to reach the realm of heroes.



Known Classes

 * Fighter
 * Mercenary
 * Champion

Martial Arts

 * Body Strengthening
 * Enhanced Magic Resistance
 * Flow Acceleration: An art that temporarily accelerates the workings of the user's nerves, increasing one's attack speed and movement speed. The downside to it however, is that the extreme exhaustion that builds up in the user's brain.
 * Focus Battle Aura: By pouring the user's fighting spirit into their weapon, this art endows normal weapons with effects equivalent to those of magical weapons. With these weapons, it is possible to break through the special defenses of races such as angels.
 * Fourfold Slash of Light
 * Full Throttle
 * Instant Counter: Corrects the balance of the user, allowing them to attack continuously.
 * Instant Reflex: An art that forcibly returns the user to attack stance after they are thrown off-balance by a previous attack. It's effective for dodging enemy attacks, but puts a large burden on the user's body.
 * Magical Weapon Enchantment
 * Mental Enhancement
 * Pace of the Wind: Increases the user's speed.
 * Possibility Sense: Allows the user to detect any chance of victory against their target.
 * Sense Weakness: Allows the user to detect any possible weaknesses in their chosen target.
 * Sixfold Slash of Light: An art that allows the user to slash nearby enemies six times with one swing of their sword. This art releases six strikes of light that are although powerful, they can't be directed. That is why the user only uses this when fighting against groups. It is a favorite killing move of the tremendously powerful belonging to Gazef as one of his trump cards. However, it carries a great burden when each use takes as much focus as three regular arts, and the user's body is markedly exhausted.

Main Equipment
Moreover as Warrior Captain, Gazef has the right to wear the Kingdom's five treasures. Knowledge of the following four have been made known by the Sunlight Scripture:
 * Amulet of Immortality: Provides regeneration.
 * Gauntlets of Endurance: Grants endless stamina.
 * Guardian Armor: Made of extremely hard steel or adamantite. Prevents any instant-kill attack.
 * Razor Edge: A magically enchanted sword capable of cutting through armor like paper.

Ainz Ooal Gown
Gazef saw Ainz as a friend to the Kingdom after he saved Carne Village and his life from the Sunlight Scripture. He highly respected Ainz and considered him to be stronger than him. He tried to defend his savior when the nobles suggests to capture him and Gazef wanted to avoid making an enemy with a powerful magic caster who might be comparable to Fluder Paradyne.

His fears of Ainz Ooal Gown's power are proven to be true at the Massacre at Katze Plains. Despite seeing the slaughter of his countrymen, the Warrior-Captain still managed to maintain a civilized conversation with him. Gazef was even comfortable with allowing Ainz to examine his sword, knowing full well that Ainz was a fearsome undead, he was not a dishonorable thief.

Ramposa III
Gazef is loyal to King Ramposa III and considered himself as the King's mighty sword that protects the Kingdom and its people.

Brain Unglaus
Brain is Gazef's rival. Gazef defeated Brain in the Kingdom's tournament to decide the King's guard captain. After tasting his defeat for the first time by Gazef, Brain started training to become stronger and one day defeat Gazef in a rematch. When he was defeated by Shalltear his confidence and will were shattered but Gazef helped him to recover. Despite being rivals, Brain respects Gazef and was even willing to die alongside him when Gazef asked for a duel with the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown.

Climb
Climb is Princess Renner's personal bodyguard. Gazef knows that Climb doesn't have talent for the sword but still gives him some advice and even trained alongside him.

Elias Brandt Dale Raeven
Gazef despised Marquis Raeven and believed to be a traitor in the Kingdom but, is in fact the leader of the royalty faction, and his behavior as an opportunist is just a performance to prevent the Kingdom from splitting. After seeing his true intentions, he learned that Marquis Raeven is one of the most diligent and loyal nobles to the Kingdom and he personally apologizes to Marquis Raeven for his foolishness.

Vesture Kloff Di Laufen
Gazef learned theoretical and practical swordsmanship from him, which led him to win the grand tournament and becomes the King's personal royal bodyguard.

Trivia

 * In the WN, Gazef survived the massacre but in the LN, Gazef was killed by Ainz Ooal Gown himself.
 * In the WN, Gazef would have lost the duel with the Death Knight if Ainz Ooal Gown had not stepped in.
 * The ring created through wild magic that Rigrit used to have was in the possession by Gazef.
 * Because only Nobles can become "Knights", his official title was "Warrior Captain" instead.

Quotes

 * (To his Vice Captain): "My friend, let us show the villagers what it means to face dangerous while willing to sacrifice our lives, knowing that the brave will come to rescue and that it is true that the strong will help the weak."
 * (To Ainz & the village chief of Carne Village): "I am the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. By order of the King, I have been visiting each of the frontier villages to exterminate knights from enemy countries who have been making trouble here."
 * (To Ainz): "I am very grateful to you for protecting innocent villagers from being massacred. Also I don't want to ask this of you, but I hope you can protect the villagers here again. I don't have anything to offer to you right now, nevertheless I still ask you accept my request I beg you."
 * (To Nigun): "I am the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom! I am a man who loves and defends his country! How can I lose to bastards like you who stain my country with your footsteps!"
 * (To Nigun about Ainz): "Hmph, you fool. In that village… is a man who is stronger than me. His power is unfathomable, but he could take you all out by himself… Trying to kill… the villagers he protects… is impossible for you."
 * (To Climb): "Even if you ask me how I am so strong, I have no answer to give you. It is simply talent. I learned how to fight during my days as a mercenary. These kicks that the nobles call vulgar, I learned them during those days as well."
 * (To Brain): "The world is big and wide. It won't be strange even if a monster like that existed. Looking back in history, there were beings like Demon Gods and Dragon Lords as well. But a monster like that it’s above my ability".
 * (To Lakyus): "His Majesty so declared are you to protect this lifeless city, or me? There can only be one answer to that. To guard the King's body is my duty. That being the case, this is a battlefield where we must fight! Charge!"