Deep within the cemetery, at the entrance to the ancestral hall, Khajiit and many of his followers were gathered, continuously performing magical rituals to summon Undead. Dark energy pulsed around them, feeding power into their incantations.
Beside them, six Death Knights formed a hexagram-shaped defensive line, with Undead Sages patrolling the outer layer, a chilling aura enveloping the area. Clementine leaned against the doorframe of the ancestral hall, watching their actions with curious eyes. A mysterious smile played on her lips, and no one knew what she was truly thinking.
At this moment, footsteps emerged from the darkness, instantly drawing their attention, breaking the eerie silence.
"As expected, the defenses here are completely empty. You truly are understaffed." The voice was hollow, as if reciting a specific line, devoid of any emotion.
The Great Undead Sage turned and gazed at the three figures walking out of the darkness, their silhouettes slowly forming under the dim light. The woman on the left was encased in full black armor, with only two black wings extending from her waist. In her hand, she held a black war axe that glowed with a faint green light. It was Albedo.
The skeletal Undead in the center wore a luxurious black academic gown and held a golden spiral staff in his hand, radiating an undeniable aura of power. It was Ainz Ooal Gown.
The girl on the right wore bright red winged armor and carried a rather comically proportioned needle-tipped spear. It was Shalltear Bloodfallen.
They were all fully armed, and looked like killers, so it was clear they weren't here for nostalgia. Come to think of it, the girl among them, Shalltear, had fought their master before and suffered a great defeat.
"Everyone from Ainz Ooal Gown, what do you wish to do here?" The Great Undead Sage asked in a hollow, monotonous tone.
This surprised Ainz. Because his behavior was so different from what Solution Epsilon had described, he seemed very polite. However, this wouldn't change what Ainz was going to do today. After receiving news that Shadow and Kael had fought outside the city and were finally besieged and killed by their opponents, everyone in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick breathed a sigh of relief. Demiurge even concluded from this that the Dark Alliance hidden in E-Rantel was not as strong as they had previously imagined. Shadow's actions towards Shalltear were merely an attempt to bluster and prevent them from getting involved, which would affect the Dark Alliance's subsequent plans.
"You took care of my subordinate last time. This time I've come here to return the favor," Ainz deliberately emphasized the words "cared for" and "return the favor" and spoke in a very cold tone, undisguised hostility.
However, despite his palpable hostility, the Great Undead Sage showed little change in emotion and merely nodded lightly. "Yes," he replied simply.
"..." Ainz felt as if his fist had hit cotton, without any force at all. But the other party was an Undead, so it was natural for him to have no emotion.
So he followed Demiurge's plan and said to the Great Undead Sage, "We have a numerical advantage now. If you have a way to contact your comrades, I don't mind waiting a moment, and I promise that I will never use any means to interfere with the information."
If you have a way, try to call your friends, otherwise I will ruin your plan. This was a bold move, an invitation to battle.
In addition to Ainz and his two companions, Sebas Tian, Victim, and the battle maids were also on guard in the darkness. Victim was Nazarick's level eight guardian, an Archangel of its race, and only level 35. However, he had excellent control abilities and could launch powerful binding skills after death. If enemy reinforcements exceeded expectations, Ainz would immediately use Victim to buy time, and then order everyone to use [Teleportation] magic or items to return to Nazarick.
Next depended on the enemy's reaction. Ainz stared at the Great Undead Sage, but soon gave up observing him. After all, you couldn't see any changes in a Skeleton's eyes or facial expressions. If the other person didn't speak, he was like a piece of rock.
"Your Excellency will not take action?" Seeing the other party not responding, Ainz couldn't help but urge him again.
The Great Undead Sage shook his head and said, "There's no need to do this. Conquering this city isn't our primary goal. We're merely fulfilling our promise now."
"Promise?" Ainz was immediately confused.
The Great Undead Sage didn't elaborate much. He activated [Teleportation] magic and tried to escape from here, but the magic circle was affected by a force as soon as it was deployed and immediately collapsed. So they used spatial blocking skills nearby beforehand? I don't know if it's a two-way blockade or a one-way blockade. Considering Ainz and the others' purpose, the latter is more likely.
Eh? After realizing the Great Undead Sage's intention, Shalltear immediately took action, appearing behind him in a flash and blocking his path.
"Although it's impossible, I still want to ask, are you willing to let me go?" The Great Undead Sage asked Ainz, his voice still flat.
Ainz kindly suggested, "If you are willing to cooperate and tell me some information about your organization, I might let you go. How about it?"
"No need," The Great Undead Sage shook his head, then cast his summoning magic, calling forth a level 65 [Dark Death Dragon].
The atmosphere of the two sides preparing for war directly affected Khajiit, Clementine, and the others nearby.
"Master! We're here to help you!" Khajiit shouted, his voice slightly panicked, and immediately stopped the Undead summoning ritual, putting the Undead statue, which still had two summoning chances, into his storage bag. At the same time, he immediately controlled the Death Knights beside him to attack Ainz and the two others.
When the apprentices saw his actions, they all used low-tier magic to attack Ainz and the others. However, they never expected that Khajiit would use this opportunity to turn and flee! Not only him, but Clementine, who was guarding the ancestral hall entrance, had left the spot even earlier and was now nowhere to be seen.
"Master!?" The apprentices cried out in surprise and immediately prepared to follow Khajiit, confusion and betrayal etched on their faces.
The next second, a stream of fire swept through and instantly engulfed several people. Amidst the strange smell of burning flesh, several apprentices fell to the ground with a loud thud.
"Annoying flies," Shalltear glanced at the corpses on the ground with disgust, then looked back at the Great Undead Sage, an annoyed expression still present.
Ainz couldn't help but feel a little mockingly amused when he saw this, and said, "It seems the people you recruited aren't very loyal."
"They are so foolish to think they can just get away with it," The Great Undead Sage shook his head and was not angered by the abandonment of Khajiit and the others.
After sighing, the magic was activated, and an Undead claw stretched out from the magic circle and grabbed Ainz, who was at the forefront. Ainz, who had been staring at him all this time, would naturally not be hit. He raised his hand and erected a bone barrier in front of him to block the [Undead Claw] attack.
Hundreds of miles away from the city, Kael, who was monitoring the cemetery battlefield through surveillance props, received a message from the Great Undead Sage. Not long after, he sensed that the Great Undead Sage had died, and he frowned.
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