My family runs an adventurer's guild.

Moreover, the undead present another problem. Although initially only weak skeletons and the like will appear, if left unchecked, they can easily evolve into stronger undead monsters, such as liches, bone dragons, and vampires, thus bringing enormous disasters to the human civilization.

For example, on the plains of Kaz outside the fortress city of Ye-Lantir, the kingdom and the empire, after years of war and mutual slaughter, have to regularly organize joint sweeps to clean up the undead creatures that have appeared due to the war. Otherwise, if a horde of undead were to break out, it would be a nightmare for both sides.

Therefore, as a border fortress town frequently embroiled in war, and located on the edge of the infamous undead-infested plains of Kaz, the probability of undead creatures appearing in Ye Lantier is far higher than in other places.

To prevent the dead from becoming immortal, the municipal authorities had to spend a fortune building a prison-like cemetery. They also had to arrange for adventurers and guards to patrol the cemetery every night to eliminate any newly born, weak undead as soon as possible to prevent a major disaster.

In short, the cemetery of the fortress city of Ye Lantier is surrounded by a wall, which serves as the boundary separating the dead from the living.

This four-meter-high wall, while not as tall and sturdy as the walls of the fortress city of Ye Lantier, is comparable to the walls of a small city, large enough for people to walk on. The steel gate is also quite strong and sturdy, and absolutely impossible to be easily breached.

The cemetery's main gate has watchtowers on both sides, where patrolling militia and adventurers are stationed day and night, taking turns to monitor the cemetery below. In other words, the security at night is often more stringent than during the day.

Inside the cemetery, lamps enchanted with the magic of "Eternal Light" were installed, making it quite bright even at night. However, there were still many dark areas, especially those blocked by tombstones, where visibility was even worse.

All this strict, almost hostile, security was solely to guard against the possibility of undead being born in the graveyard at any moment.

For the inhabitants of the fortress city of Ye-Lantir, the invading Bahars Empire's army from the east only came once or twice a year. As for the monster hordes surging out of the forest to attack the city, that existed only in the legends of the old folks.

However, in order to rebury these dead who have awakened against the laws of life and death, the battle between the undead and the city's cemetery continues almost every night without pause.

This may seem foolish, but the problem is that if corpses are left to rot in the wild, even more powerful undead monsters may be born. Perhaps, over time, the humans of this world will tire of it and gradually abandon burial altogether, replacing it with cremation of corpses into ashes.

But at least in this current era, the guards and adventurers of the fortress city of Ye Lantil still have to fight the undead night after night.

However, these guards and adventurers who were watching over the cemetery had no idea that right under their noses, the cemetery within the city of Ye Lantier had somehow become a secret stronghold of the evil organization [Zhilanong].

A ruthless necromancer and his apprentices are lurking here, year after year creating countless undead monsters in preparation for unleashing a grand and terrifying "Spiral of Death" to turn the entire fortress city of Ye Lantier into hell and bury it in one fell swoop!

—Where there is a large concentration of undead, powerful undead will typically emerge. If powerful undead gather, even stronger undead will be created. Magical rituals utilizing this property, like a spiral, can continuously generate even stronger undead, enough to destroy an entire city; hence the name "Spiral of Death." In the past, this evil ritual created a city of death where undead roamed freely.

Fortunately, due to the lack of a certain "key element," the undead catastrophe in the fortress city of Ye Lantier has been delayed...

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"...Ahhh! It's been days already! Hasn't that little guy named Enferea returned to the city yet?"

In the temple at the center of the fortress city of Ye Lantier, a woman in a cloak leans against a stone pillar, muttering these words of complaint.

As the woman complained in a seemingly coquettish manner, she tossed a dagger up and down, displaying her skillful hand.

This is a young woman around twenty years old, in the prime of her life. Her golden hair is dazzling, and her features are beautiful and well-proportioned, with a cute, childlike charm reminiscent of a feline. But like the seemingly adorable cat, she also harbors danger, ready to reveal her ferocious carnivorous nature at any moment.

"...You should know more about this than I do! Clementine, didn't you use mental magic to control a few people and have them stalking him outside his house?"

The person who answered the blonde woman named Clementine was a very thin man with an ugly face.

His eyes were severely sunken, and his complexion was so terrible he looked like a ghost, perfectly fitting the description of someone lifeless. His head was completely bald, without a single hair. Not only that, but even his eyebrows, eyelashes, and other body hair were gone; it seemed as if he had no hair at all.

Clearly, his appearance makes it impossible to guess his age, but judging from the fact that his skin has few wrinkles, he shouldn't be considered old.

The man wore a luxurious dark red robe and a necklace made of small animal skulls around his neck. His hands, thin as skin and bones, with dirty yellow fingernails, gripped a black staff. He looked more like an undead creature than a human.

"...The problem is, there's only an old lady working at his shop, and the people keeping watch haven't seen Enferea come home yet!"

Clementine, nicknamed "Funny Sister" among anime fans, pouted and complained, "...According to what I heard before, he only went to Kahn Village to gather some herbs, but it's been more than ten days and he still hasn't returned! You should help me think of a solution, little Kaji!"

"...How many times have I told you not to call me that! It will damage Zhilanong's reputation. Just call me by my name, Kajit!"

The woman's nonchalant and flippant greeting made the bald necromancer Kajit frown. "...Regarding Enferea's disappearance, I'm just as anxious as you are. I sent my disciple to Carne Village a few days ago to inquire about the situation, but he hasn't returned with a report yet..."

As he spoke, he glanced at the treasures displayed on the stone platform beside him and couldn't help but sigh again.

—This is the secret treasure that Clementine stole from the Slane Theocracy, the Witch Princess's Crown of Wisdom.

Countless tiny gemstones adorn the delicate metal lines, resembling spiderwebs glistening with water droplets; the craftsmanship is exquisite. At the center of the crown—presumably worn on the forehead—is set a large gemstone that appears to be black crystal.

This is not only an exquisite piece of jewelry, but also an extremely powerful magical artifact. The purpose of this crown is to transform a living girl into a human prop used to unleash super-high-level magic by sealing off the wearer's self-awareness, namely, a witch princess.

Clementine and Cajit originally planned to use the [Sage's Crown] to perform a sacrificial ritual, activate high-level necromancy, and initiate the [Spiral of Death] to turn the town into a dead zone. However, the problem was... they couldn't find a suitable person to use the [Sage's Crown]!

Chapter 147, Unbelievable Message

As a symbol of the witch princess and one of the most precious treasures of the Slane Theocracy, the [Wise Man's Crown] has very strict conditions for use.

First, the purpose of this crown is to transform a living girl into a human prop used to unleash extremely high-level magic by sealing off the wearer's self-awareness—the so-called priestess princess. Furthermore, once the "Wise Man's Crown" is worn, there is no safe way to remove it.

Therefore, one of the daily tasks of the Slane Theocracy's secret force, the "Black Scripture," is to execute the previous "Priestess" with a knife when replacing her, sending the former "Priestess" who went mad immediately after having her "Wise Man's Crown" removed to God's side without any pain.

Secondly, even if every priestess princess is destined to die from the moment she dons the "Wise Man's Crown," it's not like just any girl can be chosen as a living sacrifice. In fact, the probability of a woman who can wear and activate this item naturally occurring in the population is only one in a million.

Of all the nations, only the Slane Theocracy has established a universal household registration system, allowing them to trace the path to the suitable wearers of this artifact, or rather, the living sacrifices made for it. No matter how powerful other forces may be, they cannot accomplish such a needle-in-a-haystack task.

Under normal circumstances, even if Clementine managed to snatch the [Crown of the Wise], she wouldn't be able to sift through millions of women to find the suitable candidate—fortunately, she had heard of a rather famous naturally gifted individual in the fortress city of Ye Lantier, a young apothecary named Enfilea-Barreare, and a lucky person born with the ability to use any magical artifact…

Therefore, Clementine, who had obtained the "Wise Man's Crown," originally planned to cooperate with Kajit to kidnap the young apothecary Enfilea and have him serve as the suitable candidate to replace the witch princess, so that he would wear the "Wise Man's Crown" and become a super powerful "living magic weapon."

However, the problem was that just before Clementine managed to shake off the pursuit of the Windflower Scripture special forces and successfully reach the fortress city of Ye Lantier, Enferea had already left the city to go to the countryside to gather herbs in the village of Kahn near the forest, leaving Clementine, who wanted to kidnap him, empty-handed.

Left with no other option, Clementine used her charm magic to control a few gangsters, tasking them with keeping an eye on the shops belonging to Enfield-Barreare's family, intending to kidnap Enfield after he returned home. However, more than ten days passed, and the brat still hadn't shown up.

This made Clementine and Cajit, who had been waiting in vain, increasingly impatient. Clementine was worried that the Slane Theocracy pursuers might follow them all the way to the city. Cajit, on the other hand, was extremely distressed that he couldn't immediately create a big scandal.

They finally had a chance to hold the festival ahead of schedule and activate the [Spiral of Death], but why were they stuck at the most crucial step?

To make matters worse, growing increasingly impatient and driven by his growing frustration, the sadistic and bloodthirsty Clementine had been ambushing lone thugs and adventurers in the city for the past few days, dismembering them for his own amusement. When this news reached Cajit's ears, he was greatly displeased—as a necromancer who enjoyed toying with corpses, he certainly had no pity for the dead. However, as a schemer planning a major operation and hoping to create a big scandal, Cajit didn't want Clementine's reckless behavior to arouse the suspicion of the Adventurers' Guild and the municipal authorities, ultimately leading to the premature exposure of his preparations in the cemetery and the failure of his entire plan.

However, his dissatisfaction was of no use. In the face of a top-tier martial artist like Clementine, Kajit's strength was only enough to protect himself.

As for their positions within the [Chiranong] organization, Kajit and Clementine were equals, and neither could command the other.

So far, the two sides have had several arguments, but neither has been able to convince the other, and they can only stare at each other and sulk.

Just then, a man in black robes rushed into the temple in the cemetery, approached Kajit, and whispered a few words. Kajit immediately showed a look of astonishment, then sighed dejectedly, waved for his disciples to leave, turned around, pointed to the [Wise Man's Crown] on the stone platform, and said to Clementine, "...Take the treasure you stole! Clementine, it seems you won't need it!"

"...What exactly happened?" Clementine blinked suspiciously. "...Could it be that your disciple heard bad news from Kahn Village?"

"...Well, according to the information he gathered in Carne Village, Enferea took four silver-ranked adventurers into the forest the day after arriving in Carne Village, and no one has seen them come out of the forest since. They're probably already inside some monster's belly by now!"

"...What? We just went to the forest to gather some herbs, how could we have been wiped out?" Clementine's face changed color instantly.

"...Heh, that's normal. Clementine, do you really think just any adventurer has your skills?"

The necromancer Kajit calmly replied, "...For ordinary adventurers, the Great Forest of Duwu is quite dangerous! Third-rate monsters like leaping leeches and giant insects are one thing, but the hanging spiders that shoot webs from the trees and the forest worms that attack from the ground with their mouths wide open are not so easy to deal with. Not to mention there are many other kinds of monsters in the forest, plus goblins and lizardmen."

If they were to unfortunately encounter a large-scale migration of powerful monsters, it wouldn't be surprising if a small, silver-ranked adventure party were to be completely wiped out.

"...Damn it, now there's no one qualified to activate the [Wise Man's Crown]! What should we do with our plan?"

Realizing that all his painstaking planning had failed, Clementine became furious, her smile twisting into a grimace that sent chills down one's spine. "...Hurry up and come up with a plan, little Kaji! Are you planning to abandon the operation?"

"...There's no other way, and I'm not planning to give up. Since there are no shortcuts, I can only stick to the old method, slowly accumulating more undead creatures, waiting for the right moment to destroy this city. As for you, Clementine."

The necromancer Kajit rolled his eyes. "...Get out of here with the [Sage's Crown]! Don't cause any more trouble!"

"...What?! What do you take me for?! Damn Kaji!"

Clementine was furious upon hearing this, but before she could lash out, another person came tumbling in, shouting to Clementine with a look of wild joy, "...Miss! Miss! There's been progress on the matter you entrusted to me! We finally have news about that brat Enferea!"

"...Oh? Could it be that brat Enfielda has finally returned to the city?"

Looking at the little rascal she had controlled with her mental magic, Clementine raised an eyebrow in surprise and asked.

"...Enfielda hasn't returned yet, but the four adventurers who escorted her to the forest have!"

The thug grinned and said, "...I'm being questioned at the Adventurers' Guild right now!"

"...What?" ×2

Chapter 148, Are you making up a story?

Fortress city of Yelantil, Adventurers' Guild, Guild Master's Office

The four silver-ranked adventurers of the [Black Sword] adventure group—Peter, Dain, Lucrete, and Nina—had all had their weapons confiscated and stood dejectedly against the wall. Lucrete and Peter, in particular, had been beaten black and blue, looking like prisoners awaiting interrogation.

Beside the four adventurers, two burly men gripped the hilts of their swords, watching their every move intently.

Outside the open office door, a large group of maids, servants, and adventurers crowded around, watching the scene with gloating and unfriendly eyes. They looked at the four members of the [Black Sword] adventure team, who were dejected and haggard, and occasionally whispered among themselves and pointed at each other.

Behind the desk in front of the four members of the [Black Sword] adventure team sat a robust, muscular, and remarkably skilled middle-aged man. He exuded the aura of a seasoned veteran, making it clear to everyone that he was an experienced and excellent warrior.

This is the owner of this office, the guild master of the Adventurers' Guild in the fortress city of Ye Lantil, Burdon-Ainzak.

Just now, the four silver-ranked adventurers of the [Black Sword] adventure group stammered as they truthfully recounted their extraordinary adventures of the past few days.

However, neither Guild Master Ainzak nor anyone else in the Adventurers' Guild believed the four men's account at all.

"...A gigantic tomb more luxurious and opulent than a palace? An ancient king who awoke from an underground tomb? And demons, orcs, insect warriors, dark elves, vampires, and giant golems? Please, even if you four are making up stories, don't go overboard with this absurdity!"

President Ainzak scoffed, "...Confess honestly! What exactly happened to your employer, Enferea-Barreare?"

He paused slightly, then pointed to the four shimmering magical items on the desk and continued, "...And where did you get these treasures that were found on you? What is their connection to Mr. Barrerae's disappearance?"

"...That's right! You four damned bastards, where on earth did you take my lovely grandson?"

As soon as Chairman Ainzak finished speaking, an old woman standing next to him couldn't wait to wave her fist and shout angrily.

—This was a very old woman with deep wrinkles all over her face, her hands were also wrinkled, her shoulder-length hair was completely white, and her work clothes were stained with green and brown stains, giving off a strong smell of grass.

She is Rigi Barreya, Enferea Barreya's grandmother, and Enferea's last remaining relative in this world after the death of both parents.

And the most skilled chief apothecary in the fortress city of Ye-Lantir.

The fortress city of Ye. Lantil, being close to the border and wild regions, always attracts many mercenaries and adventurers. As a result, not only is the arms trade thriving, but the trade in healing potions is also very prosperous. Therefore, the number of apothecaries operating in Ye. Lantil is far greater than in ordinary cities.

Despite such fierce competition, Lizzie Barrerae stood out and was awarded the title of Chief Pharmacist, demonstrating her exceptional professional skills—among all the pharmacists in the entire fortress city, she could concoct the most diverse and highest-quality potions.

Therefore, despite being just an ordinary old woman, Lizzie Barreare still enjoys a transcendent status among adventurers—who knows when they might need her potions to save their lives. Even though she is now so rudely shouting at Guild Master Ainzak, the guild master doesn't seem to care.

After all, this incident concerns the life and safety of her only grandson, so it's understandable that she might lose her composure.

Moreover, if these four suspected silver-ranked adventurers are ultimately proven guilty of murdering their employer, it would be a major blow to the reputation of the Adventurers' Guild in the fortress city of Ye. Lantil. It's essential to appease the victims beforehand to minimize the negative impact…

In short, Lizzie-Barrea launched into a tirade of spittle and rage, then, panting, glanced down at the four magical items the Black Sword adventurer group had brought out of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and suddenly realized: "...I see! Could it be that you four villains stumbled upon some ancient tomb and then, in order to monopolize the treasures inside, killed my grandson?"

Faced with the furious and hostile Rigi-Barrere, and Guild Master Ainzak who completely regarded them as murderers who had killed their employer, the four silver-ranked adventurers of the [Black Sword] Adventurer Guild were truly speechless for a moment, unable to express their grievances.

Whether it was Captain Peter, Dain, Lucrete, or Nina, at that moment they all wanted to look up to the sky and shout, "...What a misfortune—"

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

In fact, as early as when they each left the Great Tomb of Nazarick with a magical item bestowed upon them by Ainz Ooal Gown and embarked on their journey back to the fortress city of J'Rantir, Captain Peter already had a vague premonition of the unfavorable situation his group would face upon returning to the city.

—You take a commission to escort your employer out of the city to do a mission in the forest, but the employer never returns and is never heard from again. However, the adventurers who were hired to escort him return unharmed, and even have some very valuable treasures on them... This is just not right, is it?

Anyone with even a modicum of imagination would probably conjure up a series of crime scenarios, such as accidental wealth, unequal distribution of spoils, and backstabbing.

As for fulfilling the requirements of the "Ancient King" in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and diligently acting as a declaration of war and surrender envoy, reporting the formidable military power of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and the news of its impending attack on the fortress city of Yelantil to the higher authorities... if they hadn't witnessed and experienced it firsthand, even the four of them probably wouldn't have believed it!

After much deliberation, Captain Peter even secretly considered whether he should simply not return to the fortress city of Ye Lantier, but instead take the magical item bestowed upon him by the "Ancient King" and take a detour to avoid Ye Lantier, and escape to another city to make a living.

However, upon further reflection, Captain Peter realized that this was simply an impossible choice—not only were their savings and valuables stored with familiar merchants in the city (a common practice in the Middle Ages), but they also had no weapons, provisions, or travel supplies with them (they had been confiscated in the Great Tomb). If they couldn't replenish their supplies in the city, they probably wouldn't be able to travel very far in the wilderness.

Worse still, if they encountered any wild beasts or bandits on the way, the four unarmed men would probably have no choice but to wait for their deaths.

Chapter 149, We really didn't make up a story!

So, despite their trepidation, the four silver-ranked adventurers of the [Black Sword] adventure group gritted their teeth and returned to the fortress city of Yelantier. First, they retrieved their savings and spare weapons from the merchant who had stored their luggage, then they went to a bakery to buy some provisions…

Before the waiter could even cut the black bread, a large group of adventurers swarmed in, knocked the four of them down on the spot, and arrested them.

—Because Enferea's grandmother, Rigi-Barreare, had already posted a missing person notice with the Adventurers' Guild.

Normally, Enferea's trips to Carne Village to gather and buy herbs only take two or three days, but this time he hasn't returned for so many days. His grandmother, Rigi-Barreya, was already very worried and had hired an adventurer to go to Carne Village to inquire about him a few days ago. The old woman's investigation revealed that Enferea had gone into the forest with four adventurers and never returned…

The old woman was frantic with worry, quickly taking out her savings and running to the Adventurers' Guild to offer a reward for information leading to her disappearance. The Adventurers' Guild took the disappearance of such a prominent figure in the city very seriously, even organizing a search and rescue team to go to Carne Village.

However, before the search and rescue team could even set off, someone saw that the members of the [Black Sword] adventure group had all returned to the city, but their employer, Enferea, was nowhere to be seen... And after returning to the city, the [Black Sword] adventure group did not immediately go to the guild to hand over the mission. Instead, they furtively took out their bags and savings and went to buy dry food and other travel supplies, as if they were about to make a quick getaway!

They all look suspicious! Let's arrest these guys first!

And so, the four silver-ranked adventurers of the [Black Sword] adventure group, who had unknowingly become suspects, were unexpectedly beaten up in front of the bakery and then taken to the city's adventurers' guild to be interrogated by the guild master and the grandmother of their missing employer.

Under these circumstances, they had no choice but to recount their experiences at the Great Tomb of Nazarick in detail.

And the result after telling the truth was basically the same as Captain Peter had guessed: the other party didn't believe a single word!

What are they supposed to do? They feel desperate too!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Just as the four silver-ranked adventurers of the [Black Sword] adventurer group were staring at each other, looking completely bewildered, Theo Laksil, the guild master of the Ye-Lantir Mage Guild, a thin mage in a long robe with a somewhat neurotic appearance, walked into the guild master's office. He first nodded to Guild Master Ainzak, then pointed to the four treasures on the table and asked:

"...Are these the magical items found on the suspect?"

"...Yes, these things were all taken from them. They look very valuable, not something a silver-ranked adventurer could afford," Guild Master Ainzak replied. "...That's why we specifically asked you, an expert, to come and appraise them."

"...Hmm, okay, let me see. It does look very exquisite and gorgeous, but I don't know how well it works in use."