Simultaneous Travel: Becoming a Legend in the Heavens.

Chapter 551 Croak~ It's time to fall into good form!

So, how do we survive in this world?
Ainz Ooal Gown looked at Cocytus and Sebastian bowing respectfully before him and couldn't help but sigh.

The Great Tomb of Nazarick has been destroyed, the guardians of the floors are nowhere to be found, powerful enemies lurk in the shadows, and every adventurer you encounter is incredibly strong... It's a terrible situation no matter how you look at it.

"Well, Cocytus and Sebastian, we've been apart for a few days. Do you two have any intelligence to share recently?"

Cocytus's arm fell limply to his side, his mouthparts rustled a few times, and he lowered his head in utter dejection: "I'm so sorry, Lord Ainz, I..."

As a Zerg, being unable to appear in public makes it impossible to obtain effective intelligence. In the original story, Cocytus led an army several times larger than the Lizardmen but was still defeated, clearly indicating that he wasn't very bright and was only good at fighting.

Sebastian noticed Cocytus's predicament and stepped forward, "Lord Ainz, I have been serving a noble lady named Priscilla in the royal city recently, and I have learned quite a bit. Please allow me to explain some of it to you."

“Very good, Sebastian, you truly deserve to be the best steward of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.”

Ainz nodded with some relief and began to listen to Sebastian recount the history of this continent.

The details regarding the "Six Great Gods" and the "Eight Desire Kings" were similar to what the client had described. However, the butler provided additional details about the "Thirteen Heroes" who appeared after the "Eight Desire Kings" to defeat the demon gods, as well as the "Dragon Kings" who had once ruled the world and had since faded from the historical stage.

"The Dragon King?"

Ainz pondered to himself, then shook his head. "Perhaps those legendary dragon kings do have the strength to deal with the Great Tomb of Nazarick, but judging from their performance that day, the members of 'El' were not dragon kings, but someone else."

"Lord Ainz is right. The Dragon Lords have been extinct for many years. Even if one or two survive, it is unlikely that they will reappear on a large scale, let alone target the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

Sebastian, deeply agreeing with the analysis, suddenly raised a point:
"The members of the 'El' organization are somewhat like the 'Six Great Gods' or the 'Eight Greed Kings,' suddenly appearing in this world with immense power..."

Ainz was startled by what he heard and fell silent as certain clues rapidly reconstructed in his mind.

Because the Great Tomb of Nazarick was destroyed so quickly, and so much had happened in the past few days, his mind was in such a state of confusion that he overlooked the fact that the Great Tomb had also appeared suddenly.

It is known that YGGDRASIL's magic and items exist in this world, but before the appearance of the "Six Great Gods," humanity was an enslaved race. If they possessed magic and items, they shouldn't have been relegated to the lowest rung of society...

In other words, humans before the "Six Great Gods" did not possess YGGDRASIL's magic and items!

One answer slowly surfaced, and then the others also came to light.

The "Six Gods" are YGGDRASIL game players who also traveled to this world, but their timeline is 600 years different from theirs. The "Eight Desire Kings" are players from the second batch of travelers. The identity of the "Thirteen Heroes" is unclear, but most of them are natives, though some are likely players as well.

Following closely behind was the Great Tomb of Nazarick... No, before that, perhaps the "El" organization was also a player who had traveled from another era, and one who knew about the Ainz Ooal Gown guild.

This is not impossible. Their guild was once among the top 20 guilds, and their recruitment criteria were unique, so their reputation was still very strong.

Is that why he was able to accurately reveal information about the Ainz Ooal Gown guild and issue the kill order?
The conjecture connected the dots, and the more Ainz thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Could it be that "El" is the complete opposite of the Great Tomb, a guild formed by people with extreme justice, whose members are all characters like Touchmy?
This does explain part of the problem, but the strength of the "El" members has surpassed the definition of YGGDRASIL. Even top players cannot have this level of strength, and how they managed to attack the Great Tomb of Nazarick so soon after its arrival is also a question...

"Lord Ainz."

Sebastian's question interrupted Ainz's thoughts, and he realized that he hadn't spoken for a while.

"What's wrong, Sebastian?"

"I have a question I must ask. I would like to inquire about Lord Ainz's next steps and the future plans for the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

Sebastian pursed his lips, his eyes serious, as if he felt this was a very important issue.

"Do you wish to go directly to find 'El' and seek revenge, or do you want to find the scattered floor guardians, gather strength for a final attack, or perhaps avoid 'El' after finding your companions?"

"The most important thing to do..."

Ainz repeated it, then began to think about it seriously.

It is indeed reasonable to want to retaliate after being attacked. Although he may not feel much emotional distress, he will subconsciously feel that this is something he "should" do.

However, neither the strength nor the timing is right. Furthermore, if the desire for revenge leads to the injury or even death of the guardians left behind by the guild members, it would be putting the cart before the horse.

How do you make the right choice?

What a contradiction... Sebastian asked this because he was worried that Sebastian, as the supreme ruler, might only be thinking about revenge and do something impulsive.

Ainz glanced at the butler, the only one in the entire Great Tomb with a justice value of 300 (not negative), and then at the Insect Warrior Cocytus, who was also waiting for his answer. He couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

But remaining silent is not an option. Anyone who has been a corporate slave knows how disgusting it is when a leader gives instructions that are unclear and secretive.

After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly:
"For now, let's try to find the Guardians and go into hiding to avoid the 'El' organization's pursuit. In any case, we need to have a clear understanding of the current situation before making a final decision."

Upon hearing this answer, Sebastian and Cocytus exchanged a glance and visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

“A very wise choice, Lord Ainz.”

"I think so."

Ainz nodded, then changed the subject: "That being said, we must also consider the possibility that some of the Guardians might fall into the hands of 'El'."

The "Map of Mountains and Rivers" is a world-class item and shouldn't be damaged so easily. It's highly likely that some entity on the other side took action. This greatly increases the possibility that the missing guardians are in their hands, so it's essential to find out 'El's' stronghold.

“I’ve gathered some intelligence. Why don’t you guys analyze it together?” Ainz repeated the intelligence he had obtained from Luke.

"The proverb has five lines. The first three lines explain the elements such as witch, knight, and queen. The second to last line indicates the target group of the organization. The last line... should explain the location of the stronghold, right?"

Sebastian frowned, pondering his answer.

Unable to get a word in edgewise, Cocytus quickly chimed in, "I think so too!"

"Hmm, it literally means that 'El's' stronghold is in a very high place, perhaps referring to the highest mountain on this continent? I can look up some information."

"I think so!"

Ainz had a sudden inspiration, first nodding in agreement, then shaking his head.

“Sebastian has a point. Let’s start by collecting the world’s highest peaks. But there’s another possibility we should also try.”

"Is there another possibility?"

"This is something you guardians wouldn't know, and probably not many of the Supreme Beings remember it either, but I happen to be the nostalgic type, so..."

Ainz looked up at the sky and muttered to himself, "I think there was a similar plot in a classic old anime with a sea theme that I watched before. The Log Pose was pointing upwards, a lost island, a golden land far away from the world... something like that."

“Lord Ainz?”

"It's nothing. Let's investigate after we've found all the guardians we can."

Ainz chuckled and shook his head.

Speaking of which, who are the guardians who have been left behind? The guardian of the fourth floor, Gao Kangda, is a mindless siege colossus. The guardian of the eighth floor, Victim, is just a level 35 NPC. Although the control effect upon death is quite good, he is very fragile. Both of them died completely.

Most of the other NPCs, including Pandora whom I created... I didn't have time to take them with me, and they most likely perished along with the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Reviving them would probably be quite a challenge, since the Great Tomb of Nazarick's resources are all gone. Shalltear, Demiurge, Shaura... and Mare and Albedo.

Ainz sighed inwardly and looked into the distance.

I wonder how they are doing now. They should be safe, right?
…………

The charcoal-red wood crackled and popped in the fire.

The firelight dispelled the chill in the surrounding area, warming Mare's body and making the roasted meat skewered beside him emit an enticing aroma.

"Want some? It shouldn't taste too bad."

Reinhard, standing nearby, used his sword to cut out perfectly roasted meat and kindly handed it over.

Even though he had been traveling for several days, his knight's uniform remained pristine white, completely unstained, and practically flawless.

Unlike others who have come into contact with the Guardian, there was no fighting or intellectual battle between the two, nor did anything excessive happen; they appeared to be exceptionally harmonious.

Mare refused the food offered to his mouth that was making his mouth water, and looked timidly at one of the main forces that destroyed the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

"Knight... Sir, if you don't want to kill me, please let me go."

"I'm sorry, but I can only let you go when you have a correct sense of good and evil and can distinguish right from wrong." Reinhard smiled and took back the roasted meat that had been refused, lowered his eyes, and spoke gently.

“Some of us have been assigned the task of neutralizing you. I do not intend to let you leave until you have a proper sense of right and wrong and can distinguish between good and evil.”

Mare's lips twitched a few times, and he mustered his courage to ask, "If the only goal is to render me harmless, wouldn't it be better to just kill me?"

Reinhard paused for a moment, then smiled slightly: "Indeed, that is probably the simplest method. However, this approach is not suitable for me. Although His Majesty said that 'just do what you want' and that there will be no punishment even if it is not completed, I still hope to do this well."

"Why do such a thankless task? Are you so eager to fulfill your orders to serve His Majesty?"

Mare asked, somewhat puzzled, his eyes blank, with an innocent, almost cruel naiveté.

"Of course, it is a knight's duty to carry out his lord's orders... but it's not just because of that. I also hope to save a child who has gone astray."

Reinhard reached out to Mare, seemingly intending to pat the boy's head, but stopped when he saw the dark elf turn his head slightly away.

"No life is born to be killed."

Marey seemed to be touched by these words, and after a long pause, he slowly uttered a sentence:

"I am 76 years old."

Reinhard chuckled, “To an elf, your mental age is probably less than ten years old.”

Marley was taken aback, then puffed out his cheeks: "I don't understand, aren't we enemies?"

"Hospitality is a subjective view. Personally, I only see you as a threat that will cause trouble if left unchecked, rather than an enemy that needs to be killed."

Reinhard replied calmly as always.

Mare bit his lip: "When I woke up next to the knight, I originally wanted to smash your skull, but I gave up because I felt I couldn't win."

“If you had actually smashed it then, I would have beheaded you without hesitation.”

Reinhard said calmly, "But you didn't, for whatever reason or consideration, that's why I judged you to be worth saving."

"So you're saying I had a brush with death?"

Ma Lei muttered and touched his neck, showing a look of lingering fear, but his body relaxed.

"Where do we go next? Should we continue deeper into the Slane Theocracy?"

"Well, let's just wipe out the country's highest council for now. They're secretly plotting to start a multinational war and doing things that tarnish their glory in the name of the 'Six Great Gods'... The main responsibility lies with these upper echelons who are always thinking about conspiracies and schemes."

Reinhard sighed, "My Majesty is just lazy and does nothing, yet he surpasses most rulers. It's really... Anyway, just keep traveling until you're 'qualified'."

Mare didn't understand what he was saying, but he blinked and reached out his hand to Reinhard.

"Grilled meat, can I have some?"

Reinhard smiled and nodded slightly:
"it is good."

…………

As expected, they didn't get to the final step.

Although it was really just a hair's breadth away this time, Kazuma still managed to hold the line, thanks to the unique inability of a virgin to find the right spot and the perfect timing of the illusion's dissipation.

For the first time, he had to thank the cosmic consciousness that had put a chastity belt on him; otherwise, his first experience with such a fierce female character might have left him with a lifelong trauma.

Lu Ke chuckled as he watched Sato Kazuma running around naked for a while, and then happily treasured this footage that was destined to be passed down through the ages.

Just then, he seemed to sense something, stopped watching the captain's embarrassing moment, pulled up a panel that was invisible to ordinary people, and displayed the justice values ​​of various NPCs in the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

Sebastian

Justice Points: +300
Cocytes
Justice Points: +100
Shalltear

Justice value: 0
马雷
Justice value: -50
Aura

Justice value: -80
Demiurge

Justice value: -200
Ainz Ooal Gown (Momo/Momon)

Justice value: -500 (-50/0)

Albedo
Justice value: -500
Basically, every NPC with a negative number is starting to approach zero, and one of them has been completely reset to zero.

"How did Shalltear's justice level rise so quickly?"

Luke thought that Aura and Mare, whose justice values ​​were -100, would be the first to die, but it turned out that one with -450 became the fastest legend.

Wait, why is there one that hasn't moved at all!

Luke stroked his chin and frowned as he looked at Albedo, whose justice score remained unchanged at the bottom.

Which idiot was in charge of this succubus?

Oh, it seems to be him.

(End of this chapter)