Reincarnation Paradise: Passion Leads to Greatest Success

Chapter 143 The Squirrel's Shock

The next day, the tenth level of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

"What! Shalltear and Cocytus have both betrayed us?"

Momonga was so shocked he almost stood up from his seat. His hands trembled slightly as he gripped the armrests of the throne, wondering if he had a hearing problem.

You see, he only sent an extra max-level guardian to assist him out of a sense of caution, but when he returned, Albedo told him that both guardians had betrayed him.

Buzzing—After forcing calm down more than twenty times in a row, Ainz leaned against the throne with a headache.

He thought this was completely unreasonable. It couldn't possibly be a coincidence that he sent two guardians who already harbored rebellious intentions to carry out the mission. There was no way such a coincidence could happen.

If that's the case, then another possibility arises: in fact, none of the guardians are loyal to him, and what he sees is only the surface.

The moment this thought came to mind, the forced calmness was activated automatically twice more.

Ainz Ooal Gown glanced sideways at Albedo, who seemed somewhat worried. Albedo's loyalty to him was evident in her behavior.

Moreover, all the other guardians were carrying out their missions properly, except for Shalltear and Cocytus, who encountered an accident while carrying out the same mission. This made the chances of both guardians betraying each other at the same time very small, indicating that something must have happened.

It could be that they encountered a fellow player who had traveled through time, or it could be a powerful native.

Ainz Ooal Gown turned his gaze to the management menu panel. Compared to the white names of the other Guardians, Shalltear and Cocytus's names were highlighted in red.

How likely do you think Shalltear and Cocytus are to be dead?

"Lord Ainz, if you die, your name will disappear from the management panel."

Albedo frowned and suggested, "Given their strength, I believe we need to form a punitive expedition as punishment for their defection."

"No rush."

Flying Squirrel shook his head. Ever since he transmigrated, he had been exploring the various functions of the Great Tomb of Nazarick in transforming it from a game into reality.

Therefore, we cannot be certain about the state of a red-named individual in reality. Since Albedo said it was not death, it points to another possibility.

In "YGGDRASIL", turning your name red means you are being mentally controlled by a third party.

However, there is one thing that doesn't make sense.

Shalltear is an undead, and her racial traits make her immune to mental interference and mind control. What kind of ability could possibly overcome her immunity?

"Albedo, have you located the two Guardians?"

"I'm sorry, Lord Ainz, we only found the location of their battle traces; Shalltear and Cocytus are nowhere to be found."

Albedo unleashed a farsight spell, and a pale green circular mirror floated in mid-air, offering a perspective that looked down on the ground from high above.

Momonga was surprised to see the signs of battle on the screen.

Within a radius of several hundred meters, there were large and small charred craters on the ground, seemingly the marks left by bombs. Given the technological level of this world, it was indeed possible for bombs to have been used.

Then there were the many fallen trees around, some violently destroyed, others showing signs of damage from weapons and magic. The most striking thing was the ice pillars released by Cocytus, which showed no signs of melting even after a whole night.

After carefully observing the battlefield, Ainz could confirm that Shalltear and Cocytus must have encountered some powerful enemy and engaged in a fierce battle.

He gave two tasks: to capture some natives to study martial arts and magic, and to test the strength of the Black Blade.

So who could it be? Black Knife? A native? A third-party player?

Various speculations quickly arose in the flying squirrel's mind, only to be denied.

"Albedo, have Aura and Mare take the Pleiades to check the scene. Also, have Demiurge come back first to assist Aura and the others in investigating any signs of battle among the local tribes. We can't afford any more mishaps this time."

"Yes, Lord Ainz."

Albedo perked up, believing that this meant Lord Ainz was indirectly agreeing to form a subjugation team.

"Lord Ainz, what about me?"

"Come with me, just in case. We'll go get some things first."

Ainz rose from the throne, determined not to let the guild he had built with his former comrades fall apart under his watch.

An hour later.

The guardians, summoned before the throne, each received a World Item. Even though the guardians might be suspected of betrayal, Ainz was willing to take the gamble.

As long as half of these Guardians remain loyal to him, he has nothing to fear from the rebellious Guardians and the world-class artifacts they possess.

Soon, all the guardians left, leaving only Albedo and Ainz Ooal Gown at the scene.

"Lord Ainz, what should we do now?"

"Go find someone."

The flying squirrel's eyes shone with a deathly light; he was going to make contact with the black blade and extract some information from it.

He had a feeling that this black-clad man might know something.

Teleporting Albedo to the inn where Ye Lantier was staying, Ainz Ooal Gown changed back into the full armor of the Black Warrior. Albedo, on the other hand, changed into a set of magically created cloth armor, and wore a black mask on her face.

Inside the room, Bella had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing the two adults arrive, she bowed respectfully.

"Let's go find that black knife."

Feishu opened the door and walked outside. He knew that Bella couldn't change her ingrained personality anytime soon. Anyway, as long as they weren't outside and there were no outsiders in the room, he would let her be.

Black Knife's whereabouts were not difficult to find, mainly because he spent his days wandering around the city, so finding out his address was not difficult.

However, to Ainz's surprise, after arriving at the inn, he learned from the innkeeper that Black Knife had left early that morning and had not returned yet.

Helpless, Ainz could only leave first. When he returned to the hotel that evening to inquire again, he received the same answer.

The hotel owner also revealed that Black Knife has been spending money like water these days and wouldn't care about this little bit of accommodation fee, so there's a good chance he'll leave Ye Lantier.

Unable to find a suitable spot, Ainz tried various methods the next day, including using observation magic to search throughout the city and inquiring with other adventurers.

On the fourth day, he finally confirmed that Black Knife had left Ye Lantier, but no one knew where Black Knife had gone.

Furthermore, Flying Squirrel discovered a strange phenomenon: all the surveillance bees in the city had disappeared after Black Knife left.

This discovery made Flying Squirrel's face darken, because it meant that these monitoring bees were likely planted by Black Knife.

If that's the case, Black Knife likely already knew the location of the Great Tomb, or even that the other party knew as soon as he transmigrated here.

It's possible that the other party knows more than you think.

After confirming this, all the guardians received another mission: to find the Black Blade, provided that no conflict occurred.