Starting from Ainz Ooal Gown, simultaneously traveling through time

"【The Abyss】? Benjer Ansis?"

The king searched his mind quickly for the two names, but had no recollection of them.

I had never heard of it before in court intelligence, ancient books, or in the songs of wandering poets.

(Looks like a guy who's been keeping a low profile... That makes sense, if the undead were too conspicuous, they'd probably have been wiped out by various forces long ago.)

The king made his own assessment, but maintained a solemn and wary expression on his face, and said, "Lord Benjeri, what brings you here?"

Benjer's two heads seemed to simultaneously display an enigmatic expression: "King of Humanity, your strength is quite remarkable."

"I've come to extend an invitation to you—to join my organization, what do you say?"

The king's eyelids twitched slightly.

(Making such a big fuss just to 'invite' me? It's probably not that simple; there must be some ulterior motive behind it.)

He cautiously replied, "You are the immortal, while I am the sovereign of the living."

"There seems to be no tradition of cooperation between the living and the undead. Is it... inappropriate to invite me to join the organization of the undead?"

"Indeed, there is a difference in status." Benjer's voice was flat and emotionless.

"But if you are willing to change your form, abandon your fragile and fleeting life, and ascend to become a nobler immortal, then all obstacles will cease to exist."

Upon hearing this, a suppressed commotion and the soft scraping of weapons arose from the army behind the king.

If the king had not given a strict order beforehand, the angry soldiers would probably have already charged out.

The alarm bells rang loudly in the king's heart.

(As expected! This is the real purpose! What invitation? He clearly wants to kill me and turn me into an undead servant under his control, so that he can then seize the entire Kingdom of Inberia! What a vicious scheme, we must not let him succeed!)

He tried his best to maintain composure, even managing a seemingly calm smile, while secretly channeling his magic to its peak, ready to deal with any surprise attack.

"You jest, sir. I am perfectly healthy and alive. How could I possibly become immortal? Do you expect me to immediately take my own life and then do as you please?"

"No need for such trouble." Benjer raised two of his six arms slightly, a faint light swirling at his fingertips.

"I have a secret method that can allow the living to directly transcend death and complete the transformation. If you agree, I am willing to perform the spell for you personally."

(Directly transforming living people?! What an evil secret method!)

The king felt even colder.

(His target is probably not just me... but he wants to transform me and this entire elite force into an undead legion that obeys his commands, to attack the orcs and even devour the human kingdoms! His intentions are despicable!)

"What if I... refuse?" the king asked, enunciating each word clearly, his gaze sharp as a sword.

"That's up to you." Benjer's tone remained emotionless.

"However, now that you know of my existence and name, I cannot let you leave so easily."

(His true colors have been revealed! He never intended to let us go!)

The king's mind raced as he tried to guess the purpose of Benjeri, this evil undead.

Then, he looked at the city behind Benjerry, the once prosperous and populous orc city of Apache.

All the original conjectures were overturned at this moment, and instead a completely new conjecture emerged.

(This dead city is probably a trap he set up. The rumors of the so-called "world-destroying demon dragon" may just be a smokescreen to lure "prey" like us here!)

The king was immediately filled with a cold sweat; what a terrible and vicious scheme!

If he really falls victim to this, then all the elite troops of the kingdom he brought with him will likely be trapped.

(Fortunately, I acted cautiously and did not rashly send the entire army into the city... but now, I have finally been cornered by him.)

The king's mind raced, and he imagined the other party as a cunning and scheming evil being with far-reaching plans.

"Are you trying to force me to do something I can't?" The king's voice deepened, carrying a sense of oppression.

"Why be so harsh?" Benjer's two heads seemed to exchange a glance.

"How about... we make a bet?"

(Gambling? What trick is he planning this time?)

The king grew increasingly wary: "What are we betting on?"

"Let's bet," Benjer's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible interest.

"Can you and your army hold out against me for ten minutes?"

"What?!" the king exclaimed in surprise.

(He's going to take direct action?! What does he plan to do?)

"This is not a discussion," Benjerry declared, "it's just a notification."

Before he finished speaking, he swung all six arms at once, unleashing a powerful surge of death magic!

"[Seventh-Tier Magic: Summoning of Undead Masses - Skeleton Warriors]!"

Skeleton warriors are undead skeleton warriors that can be summoned using third-tier magic.

However, Benjeri used seventh-tier magic to summon a large number of skeletal warriors.

Furthermore, their strength far surpasses that of ordinary skeletal warriors.

The instant the incantation began, a huge, complex purplish-black magic circle instantly unfolded beneath his feet and in the surrounding air.

Countless dark runes began to flicker and leap, emitting suffocating negative energy fluctuations!

The king reacted with lightning speed, striking almost the instant Benjerry raised his hand: "Don't even think about it! [Fifth-Tier Magic - Fireball]!"

A highly compressed, intensely hot fireball roared out, heading straight for Benjeri's core!

"Fire arrows! Cover His Majesty!" Ares roared at the same time.

In an instant, arrows flew like locusts, while fireballs, ice spikes, and lightning chains from the magic forces behind them intertwined into a net of destruction, engulfing the undead in the air!

"Ha, all in vain."

Benjerry swayed slightly, using incredible agility to sidestep and barely avoid the king's most threatening [Fireball] spell.

As for other attacks, he didn't even have the interest to block them.

Arrows shattered and bounced off his withered body, while low- to mid-level magic was easily dispersed and annihilated by a gust of gray-black negative energy he casually unleashed.

And the summoning magic he had cast was complete!

Rumble—!

The earth began to tremble and churn violently!

Countless pale, iron-hard bones were forcibly pulled out of the soil, from the cracks in the rocks, and even from the ruins of distant cities, and gathered together!

With a snapping sound, they quickly assembled into skeletal warriors, each two meters tall, wielding bone blades or shields, their eye sockets burning with ghostly green soul flames!

These are not ordinary skeletons; their bones have clearly been enhanced with negative energy, radiating a cold and ominous aura.

In terms of game level, they have all reached the limit for undead races like the Skeleton Warriors, level 21.

"All troops, listen to my command!" Upon seeing this, the king decisively issued the order.

"Strangle these skeletons! I'll deal with that guy!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ares and all the soldiers responded in unison, quickly forming a battle formation to meet the white-boned enemies that kept "growing" from the ground.

One, ten, fifty... one hundred...

Skeleton warriors rose from the churning earth as if they were an endless number.

In the blink of an eye, the number had exceeded one hundred, densely packed, forming a pale forest of death, blocking the army's path, and their numbers continued to increase!

"This... there are too many!" a soldier couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

The King and Benjeri faced off across the rapidly forming undead army, a true battle about to erupt.

And the ten-minute countdown seemed to have already begun to tick invisibly.