Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight.

The duel between Ainz and Clementine had been going on for several minutes.

Ainz's two greatswords never managed to touch her. She was as slippery as an eel, easily dodging every powerful swing with her uncanny movements, not even managing to touch the hem of her clothes.

"You're just randomly swinging your sword based on your superior physical abilities."

Clementine grinned mockingly. "You don't even understand feints and real attacks; you're no different from a child waving a stick around randomly. Even if you're holding a sword in each hand, if you don't know how to use a sword, it's smarter to just use one. You underestimate warriors!"

Ainz remained unmoved, calmly observing her every move and silently memorizing the warrior's fighting style. This was a valuable learning opportunity for him.

"Then attack me," Ainz replied calmly. "You've been dodging the attacks the whole time, haven't you?"

Clementine's smile froze for a moment. Indeed, she wasn't as at ease as she claimed; Ainz's superhuman physical abilities made it impossible for her to find a suitable opportunity to attack.

Finally, she lost her patience. She pulled out the short cone from her waist, assumed a forward-leaning starting stance, a variation of the crouch start, an odd posture that contained astonishing explosive power.

[Accelerated water flow]

[Ability to buckle feet]

【Super Avoidance】

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【Swift Wind Break】, four martial arts techniques were activated simultaneously, her speed was so fast that even Ainz's dynamic vision almost couldn't catch up.

It swept in like a storm.

Ainz swung his greatsword in his right hand, but she deftly slipped through the sword's encirclement. [Unbreakable Fortress] met the greatsword head-on, and the slender weapon, which should have been smashed in two, actually deflected the greatsword, which was ten times its weight, as if it had crashed into an invisible wall.

Clementine seized the opportunity to slip into his arms, her short cone precisely piercing the eye slit of his helmet, while simultaneously unleashing the "Lightning Strike" enchantment on her weapon.

Lightning pierced through Ainz's entire body.

The second short cone followed immediately, and a "fireball" exploded inside the helmet. Clementine imagined the smell of burning flesh, but there was none. No blood, no screams, not even a tremor.

Ainz's armor dissipated like smoke.

The truth beneath the armor was revealed: no skin, no flesh, only a pale skull. The short cone was still stuck in his eye socket, yet he spoke nonchalantly as if he felt nothing: "So that's how it is. The magical weapons of this world have certainly broadened my horizons."

"The Undead... the Great Mage of the Dead!" Clementine's pupils constricted.

She struggled desperately, only to find that the seemingly slender arm bones were holding her firmly like iron clamps.

No matter how hard she tried, even using martial arts techniques to strengthen herself, she couldn't break free. She had once belonged to the strongest unit in the Slane Theocracy, the "Black Codex," and believed that there were only five people in the country who could match her in strength. But now she was like a butterfly on a spider's web, flapping her wings in vain.

"Why, why?!"

Ainz did not answer. He pulled the short cone from his eye socket and threw it away, the empty eye socket glowing with a dark red light.

A piercing metallic clang rang out. He was pressing his chest against her. The adventurer's metal badges, hanging as trophies under his cloak, fell to the ground with a sharp, mournful sound. The pressure on her chest grew stronger, breathing became difficult, and her ribs groaned silently.

"Stop struggling." Ainz's voice was as calm as if he were discussing the weather. "You spent a lot of time killing them, so I'm going to torture you slowly too."

Vomit splattered onto Ainz. A flicker of disgust flashed in the red light of his eyes, but he didn't loosen his grip; instead, he tightened it even more.

The sound of bones breaking came from inside her body.

Ainz released his grip, and Clementine's body rolled to the ground like trash. Pain and fear were frozen on her face, and her entrails were even visible in her mouth. The once invincible "hero" was now too weak even to convulse.

On the other side of the battle, Naberal was initially caught in a tough fight against the combined attack of Kajit and two bone dragons.

The bone dragon possesses absolute resistance to magic below the sixth rank, and her most proficient lightning magic is precisely what counters it. Furthermore, the opponent has the Death Orb constantly healing the bone dragon's injuries, leading to a stalemate in the battle.

Until Ainz's voice came from afar: "Narberal Gamma! Show the power of Nazarick!"

Nabe smiled.

Her robe slipped down, revealing maid's armor made of gold, silver, and black metal. A cane and a short sword replaced her staff. She no longer dodged, but faced the bone dragon head-on.

"Bone dragons do have resistance to magic," she sneered, "but that only applies to magic below the sixth rank."

Between his hands, white arcs of lightning snaked like dragons, and the surrounding air hissed.

"Double Enhancement - Chain Dragon Thunder".

Two dragon-shaped bolts of lightning erupted simultaneously, engulfing the two bone dragons. The colossal beasts, supposedly immune to magic, shattered into pieces in the lightning, countless bones scattering like raindrops. The undiminished lightning then turned towards Kajit.

Kajit didn't even have time to scream. He only managed to squeeze out a "Mom—" from deep in his throat before being pierced by lightning. His charred body twitched on the spot for a few seconds before collapsing heavily to the ground, unable to move again.

The battle ended. Ainz entered the shrine and rescued the boy Enfreya, who had been being controlled.

The sage's crown on his head was tangled like a spider web. Ainz activated "High-Rank Item Destruction," and the crown dissipated into countless points of light. He gently caught the limp boy and carefully laid him down.

Narberal presented a black orb, its shape rough, like an ordinary stone by the river. Ainz activated "High-Level Item Appraisal," and the red light in his eye sockets flashed.

"The Orb of Death...and a tool of wisdom?"

He gently tapped it, and a respectful voice immediately echoed in his mind: "Nice to meet you, great King of Death. I humbly offer my loyalty and become one of your servants."

Ainz hesitated for a moment. Taking it as a subordinate was risky, but destroying it would be too much of a waste; there were no sentient beings like this in YGGDRASIL. After casting several defensive spells, he tossed the orb to Kurasuke, who was waiting nearby.

"Take it."

"So noisy!" Kurasuke complained immediately after catching it. "It's so noisy I want to give it back to the lord!"

Nabella looked puzzled, but Ainz calmly said, "We've taken sufficient countermeasures against their detection, but it's safer to leave it to them."

Everything was in order. Ainz waved his crimson cloak: "A triumphant return."

When I pushed open the hotel room door, the lobby fell silent instantly.

All eyes were drawn to the metal badge around his neck—mithril. Just days before, he was a newcomer wearing a bronze badge; now he was a mithril-level adventurer. This defied everyone's expectations; the boss opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Ainz was satisfied with everyone's reaction, but also slightly dissatisfied. Ainz's original goal was to be promoted to the rank of Mighty Bronze in one fell swoop. However, the guild believed that he had no past achievements and that the investigation into the incident was not yet fully completed, so they made a cautious assessment.

In fact, within the guild, Ainz has been recognized as having combat strength equivalent to the kingdom's only two Adamantite-class teams.

The first step of the plan went more smoothly than expected.

Back in her room, Nabella inquired about the two apothecaries' plans. Ainz had already decided to send Riji to Carne Village to make potions for Nazarick.

Naberal nodded and withdrew.

Ainz stood alone by the window and cast a spell.

【message】

The voice of Sebastian echoed in my mind.