My family runs an adventurer's guild.

So, in order to fight for that slim chance of survival in the face of death, they risked their lives, wielding swords and magical artifacts to launch a siege against the skeletal centipedes that had breached the city walls. One team would die and another would rush in, almost risking their lives to kill these undead monsters.

On the other hand, the adventurers who had been scattered throughout the city of Ye Lantier were also converging on this flesh mill, hoping to use their swords and wands to hold back the surging tide of the undead.

After all, these adventurers who spend years fighting monsters know very well that the legendary undead creatures only ever slaughter the living.

In other words, even if they defected, surrendered, or hid and became obedient citizens, they probably still wouldn't have a way to survive.

Since that's the case, we might as well do everything we can to fight for a way to survive.

For these experienced adventurers, low-level zombies and skeletons were no match for them. Sharp longswords could easily slice through the bones and rotting flesh of their opponents, while the spells cast by the magic casters could blast hordes of skeletons away.

While the larger undead monsters are certainly more difficult to deal with, some of which can whip their intestines around like whips, they are ultimately slow-moving and sluggish. With proper teamwork and coordination, they can still be defeated by overcoming fear.

Even the powerful and swift Skeleton Centipede can be defeated by adventurers of Mithril rank and above using well-established tactics.

And so, inside and outside the city gate where the second layer of the city wall had been breached, shouts of battle filled the air, and mountains of fresh and rotting corpses piled up. It was like a hell stained with blood, flowing with viscous blood and brains, and scattered with human and animal remains.

In the firelight, piles of scattered limbs and bones were everywhere. The roars of the undead and the furious shouts of humans still echoed across this battlefield, which resembled purgatory. The dazzling light from various magical eruptions still shone and boomed repeatedly on this narrow battlefield.

As time went by, the putrid remains of undead creatures and still-warm corpses gradually blocked the doorway... In order to prevent their own corpses from being transformed into undead monsters, the garrison simply poured oil on the pile of corpses and burned them all to ashes!

Meanwhile, to prevent the masterminds of the undead horde from using bone dragons to breach the defenders' fragile lines again, the adventurers in the city organized a suicide squad. Led by the mithril-class adventurer Igfargi, they scaled ropes and stormed out of the city to launch a desperate attack on Kajit and his disciples... After a frenzied bloodbath, the suicide squad was completely wiped out, with none surviving. However, Kajit, the necromancer who was the mastermind behind it all, also lost several disciples and was injured himself, forcing him to temporarily halt his assault.

And so, through this brutal and bloody battle, the defenders of the fortress city of Ye Lantier finally managed to temporarily withstand the first fierce attack of the undead monsters, and blocked the breached city gates with sandbags, stones and debris, seemingly turning the tide of the battle.

But after listening to the reports from the Adventurers' Guild Master and several officers, Mayor Panathore realized that this was nothing more than a temporary resurgence.

—In just one or two hours of fighting, more than a thousand soldiers in the city have been killed or wounded. In particular, the high-level adventurers, who are the core of the battle, have almost all been killed or wounded. Even those who survived are seriously injured and have lost their ability to fight. In addition, at least several hundred civilians have been killed.

Even more critically, all the defensive equipment originally deployed on the outermost city wall, including oil cannons, catapults, and ballistae, was lost in the chaotic retreat. The equipment deployed on the second layer of the fortress city of Ye Lantier also suffered significant losses during the defense against the undead offensive.

And this was only the first wave of attacks from the undead tonight.

Moreover, the adventurers' previous suicidal counterattack only temporarily forced the enemy necromancers back, and they will soon be able to make a comeback.

As for the main force of the "Magic King" army stationed in the suburbs outside the city, they remained inactive and did not participate in the siege.

—It seemed as if it were mocking the insignificance and powerlessness of the garrison of the fortress city of Yelantil.

Chapter 162, You think you can be Ainz Ooal Gown? (Free Chapter 1)

Although the gate on the second wall of the fortress city of Yelantil, which had been breached, is currently being blocked by adventurers and militiamen fighting desperately, the enemy has summoned a powerful bone dragon, so breaking it open again wouldn't be difficult.

If the opponent changes tactics, they can even send bone dragons to fly over the city walls and jump into the residential areas inside the city to wreak havoc.

In addition, there were some incorporeal ghosts that quietly drifted over the city walls in the night and broke into the residential area, causing chaos everywhere. However, they did not have much actual killing power; at most, they only frightened a few women into unconsciousness and caused some disturbance.

To make matters worse, while adventurers and militiamen were fighting a bloody battle at the city gates, some thieves and ruffians took the opportunity to loot and plunder inside the city, breaking into houses to steal, harass women, and even setting fire to houses, greatly disrupting the battle at the front.

I don't know if these scumbags have completely lost their minds, or if they just want to go crazy one last time before they die.

Because the fierce battle was raging at the city gate, the defending soldiers couldn't pay attention to these scoundrels for a while, allowing them to enjoy themselves for quite some time.

Only after the undead's offensive was repelled and the city gates were blocked did the garrison have the resources to turn around and organize a mopping-up operation against them. After a brutal massacre, they finally suppressed the rioters and hung them one by one under the eaves of the houses along the street as a warning to other troublemakers.

However, when the news reached the militia and adventurers on the front lines, it still disheartened them and caused their morale to plummet—they were risking their lives to fight the undead, while someone was stealing their property and abusing their wives and daughters behind their backs... What kind of nonsense was this?

Why are they fighting so desperately, risking their lives?!

Faced with such low morale and a shattered force, even the bravest warriors dared not boast that they could withstand the next wave of the undead army's frenzied onslaught and hold out until tomorrow morning.

"...No wonder that Sorcerer King who came out of his grave was so confident that he actually laid such a deadly ambush in the city."

For a moment, Mayor Panaso felt utterly hopeless and lost all confidence in winning the battle.

Moreover, watching helplessly as his city was gradually devoured by the undead, and tens of thousands of the kingdom's subjects died tragically in the bloodiest way amidst their wails, this fat mayor, who still had some conscience, could no longer bear to watch.

"...There's no other way. Quickly send an envoy to surrender to the Sorcerer King outside the city and let this nightmare end here! As long as he's willing to let the undead stop and spare the lives of all the people in the city, everything is negotiable..." Mayor Panasonic sighed in despair and made this decision.

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On the other hand, as the city of Yelantier was in an uproar caused by the undead, and even raging fires were set off, turning the night sky red, the players in the military camp outside the city naturally noticed the strange things happening inside the city walls, and pointed and discussed them in confusion.

—Something extraordinary seems to have happened inside the city walls on the other side?

But due to the obstruction of the high city walls, they were completely clueless about what exactly happened and could only guess.

Ainz Ooal Gown also noticed the strange changes in the city and immediately dispatched flying demons to scout from the air. However, the results of the scout left him completely baffled: the living people in the city were fighting with the undead.

But where did these undead creatures in the city of Jelandir come from?

Could it be that the city's garrison had a hidden trump card that went out of control when they were about to use it?

In short, Ainz Ooal Gown was completely baffled by this.

As for Firi, who had read the original "Overlord" novel, although he had a vague idea of ​​what was going on in the city, he was completely baffled as well. The only person in the city who could wear and activate the "Wise Man's Crown" was the young apothecary Enfilia, who had been detained by Ainz Ooal Gown. Without this key item, how did the necromancer Kajit manage to unleash the undead frenzy?

As for the other key figure in this matter, the comical Clementine, although she had just failed to storm the camp and was captured, and had her limbs cut off and turned into a body pillow, she is currently being pushed down and slapped by a certain veteran player in the form of a beautiful human stick, and it seems that he is still not satisfied even in the middle of the night...

In order not to disturb that big shot's interest, it seems inconvenient for Phil to barge in and interrogate this "welfare product for middle-aged and elderly players" for the time being.

So, in this state of utter confusion, Ainz Ooal Gown, Firi, and the others met with the surrender envoys from the fortress city of Ye Rantil.

And their tearful pleas as they knelt and kowtowed, begging the "Magic King" to relinquish his powers and stop the dead from killing and cannibalizing.

Ainz was utterly bewildered, feeling as if his mind was being trampled by ten thousand alpacas, then ten thousand dogs, then ten thousand cats, and finally ten thousand squeaky humans, leaving him with an overwhelming urge to rant.

—These undead monsters causing trouble in your city, you really didn't send them out by me!

I originally thought you guys created these undead creatures and messed them up!

However, regardless of where these undead creatures in the city came from, now that the city of Y'Rantir has surrendered, Ainz Ooal Gown, as the new ruler, has no reason to allow a bunch of undead from who-knows-where to continue to ravage the city.

So he took out the magical artifact, the Telescopic Mirror, and carefully observed the situation of the fortress city of Ye Lantier from a high altitude.

—This is a mirror-shaped magical artifact, which functions similarly to the display screen of a drone. It can detect any terrain environment within a certain range and can magnify to the point where it can recognize human faces, making it more accurate and clearer than radar and satellites.

However, the [Telescopic Mirror] also has obvious weaknesses: it is easily interfered with by various counter-magic spells, and may even be reflected or burned by cursed magical barriers. Therefore, players in the game [YGGDRASIL] generally cannot use it as a radar.

Because any enemy with even a little skill and resources can find a way to slip past the [long-range X-ray vision].

Fortunately, the native humans of this world are not only no match for the players in the game in terms of strength, but also much less aware of their defenses—presumably because their opponents are just as weak as they are, so there is no need to take extra precautions.

"...No spatial blockade, no intelligence shielding, and no automatically triggered curse...the mastermind behind it all seems quite weak!"

Ainz Ooal Gown chuckled as he pointed the camera at a red-robed mage hidden among the undead army, "...Standing right in the firelight? Is this the guy who triggered the undead army's siege, trying to steal my pre-ordered spoils? What audacity!"

He snorted disdainfully, and the demon strategist Demiurge, who was standing beside him, immediately chimed in, "...How dare this fellow lay a hand on your spoils! He is truly audacious and deserves to die! Please allow me to share your burden and punish this rude fellow!"

"...Okay, very good. I'll open a portal and send you there right now! Remember to be quick! Clear out all those undead!"

"...Yes, Your Majesty! The Great and Supreme One!"

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On the open ground outside the second wall of the fortress city of Yelantil.

The necromancer Kajit, leaning on his wooden staff, stood among a group of bizarre undead creatures, staring intently at the city gate that had just been blocked by the guards.

The abdomen that had been stabbed by a mithril-level adventurer was still throbbing with pain.

However, thanks to the energy drawn from the [Orb of Death], Kajit felt that his injuries had healed considerably.

"...Did you underestimate the adventurers' desperate struggle? Tsk! This [Rite of Death] was ultimately launched too hastily!"

"This is what the necromancer Kajit, a member of the evil organization Chranon, sighed."

Although he had secretly prepared for the past few years, creating and accumulating tens of thousands of undead in the cemetery, and using the item [Orb of Death] to master the method of guiding and manipulating this army of undead creatures—precise manipulation was impossible, and being able to guide them roughly was the limit.

However, the rate at which he consumed negative energy while simultaneously driving so many undead creatures into battle exceeded his expectations.

On the other hand, the glass flower that stores enormous energy, while barely a substitute for the core of the ritual, is ultimately inferior to the [Wise Man's Crown], as it generates and replenishes negative energy much slower (in short, it is underpowered).

Therefore, shortly after his previous attack on the city gate was thwarted, he had to temporarily withdraw his undead army because the negative energy in the [Orb of Death] was running low and the replenishment rate could not keep up with the consumption. He then had to patiently wait for the negative energy to be fully restored before launching the next offensive.

Otherwise, once the negative energy in the [Orb of Death] is completely exhausted, the entire ritual will spiral out of control.

At that time, these undead creatures that were originally under his control will not only no longer obey his orders, but may even turn against him, the necromancer.

However, despite these potential dangers, tonight's "Rite of Death" is something that Kajit has no choice but to do.

Because if that terrible army outside the city were to capture the fortress city of Ye Lantier, he would never have another chance to initiate the ritual!

—Although separated by thick city walls, through his intuition as a spellcaster and the recent aerial appeals for surrender from the other side, Kajit could still vaguely sense that there were many magic chanters in the enemy's camp who were far more powerful than him.

If the rumors are true, then the Sorcerer King who emerged from the tomb outside will be a terrifying and powerful being, just like a demon god—even the magical glass flower that Kajit used to activate the undead frenzy in place of the [Sage's Crown] was nothing more than a trinket that the other party casually gifted.

The little trick that Kajit set up in the cemetery might fool the incompetent nobles and bureaucrats in the fortress city of Yelantil, but it would never fool a transcendent being of that level, let alone activate the [Rite of Death] right under the nose of that Sorcerer King.

Although it is said that the Sorcerer King may also be an undead, since he has already besieged the city and arrogantly regards the fortress city of Ye Lantier as his own, it is naturally impossible for him to allow Kajit to sacrifice all the living people of the city to the Grim Reaper.

Therefore, this night before the Sorcerer King's army attacked the city was the last opportunity that Kajit could take advantage of.

With that thought in mind, Kajit tilted his head back, took a deep breath of the putrid air, and prepared to command the undead creatures to launch another attack.

However, his ambitions and aspirations ended there.

The next moment, portals suddenly opened all around, and various low-level demons swarmed out from them. The last few necromancer apprentices around Kajit had no time to react before they were knocked to the ground, screaming and being torn to pieces.

Kajit immediately cast a spell to create a wall of bone shields, blocking the demons' first wave of attacks.

However, as the leader who instigated this undead frenzy, Khajiit was the attackers' primary target from the very beginning. So, without him even realizing it, he was already surrounded by stealth-skilled units from the Great Tomb of Nazarick, such as the Octopod Assassin Bugs and Shadow Demons.

Therefore, before he could even assess the situation, he was suddenly pounced on by two eight-limbed assassin insects in the blink of an eye, his hands and feet firmly pinned to the ground, unable to move. The [Orb of Death] that Kajit had been holding also fell to the ground and rolled a long way away.

Only then did Demiurge, the demon strategist dressed in a tie, suit, and glasses, emerge leisurely from the shadows of the night, accompanied by his insect maid, Entoma. He first picked up the [Orb of Death] that had rolled out of Kajit's hand, squeezed it a couple of times, and then said mockingly:

"...Foolish ant! You actually dared to try and steal the prey of the supreme being. Have you thought about how you want to die?"

However, Kajit did not answer his question, but instead shouted incoherently with bloodshot eyes.

"...No! This is impossible! I've prepared for this day for five whole years! To fulfill a tragic wish I've kept hidden in my heart for thirty years! Do you have the right to destroy all of this in an instant?! You, a guy who just appeared out of nowhere!"

He roared with his head tilted back, struggling as he went. If his limbs hadn't been pinned down by the eight-limbed assassination insects, he might have tried to jump up.

"...Heh, I have absolutely no interest in your pathetic wish, you madman! You lowly ant!"

Demiurge curled his lip in disdain, then turned to his demons and ordered, "...Take him back for interrogation first, then wipe out all the undead here! The Supreme Being doesn't want to see a filthy, stinking city after dawn!"

Chapter 163, The Surrender of the Fortress City of Ye Lantier (Free Chapter 2)

P.S.: Two free chapters totaling 8000 words have been sent out. Thank you for your support.

"...Ainz-san, the cause and effect of the ghosts that were causing trouble in the city just now have been preliminarily figured out. It is a big conspiracy that has been planned for at least five years."

Although it operates under the banner of an evil organization called "Zhilanong," it is ultimately driven by the selfish desires of a necromancer.

The culprit behind this cataclysmic event was a necromancer named Kajit-Del-Badantil, from a small village in the Slane Theocracy—yes, the same Slane Theocracy that had repeatedly attacked the Great Tomb of Nazarick, causing us considerable trouble.

Getting back to the main point, Kajit's mother died when he was very young, so he embarked on the path of learning magic in order to resurrect her. Initially, Kajit studied the faith-based magic of the Slane Theocracy, hoping to master the fifth-tier resurrection spell.

However, after he actually learned the resurrection spell, he discovered that this magic could not resurrect his mother who had been dead for a long time, because such a resurrection would consume a huge amount of life force. The dead who had just breathed their last might be able to be resurrected, but his mother who had been dead for many years would only turn to ashes.

Therefore, Kajit realized that if he wanted to fulfill his obsession with resurrecting his mother, he would need a very long time to develop a new type of resurrection magic.

However, given Kajit's talent and lifespan, he probably wouldn't last long enough to complete the development of this new type of magic.

So, after much deliberation, Kajit realized that he had no choice but to give up his human identity and become an undead, that is, to become a lich, so that he could buy more time to conduct research on new resurrection magic (another old bug-like Zouken Matou vibe).

Unfortunately, after abandoning faith-based magic, betraying the Slane Theocracy, and switching to necromancy, Kajit discovered in despair that his talent in necromancy was not good enough, and the failure rate of directly performing the ritual to become a lich was too high.

So he wanted to take a shortcut and hold a "Rite of Death" to sacrifice everyone in the fortress city of Yelantil, turning all the citizens into undead. This would generate an enormous amount of negative energy to help him break through the obstacles and advance to become a lich... that is, become one of your kind... thereby fulfilling his long-cherished wish, gaining a longer lifespan, researching more powerful magic, and resurrecting his mother.

To be honest, I seriously doubt that even if this obsessive and conflicted guy actually manages to develop incredibly powerful resurrection magic and successfully resurrect his mother, would she still recognize him as a son turned into a lich?

Combining the confession just extracted and the original plot of *Overlord*, the cat-like Firi solemnly reported to Ainz the whole story of the undead frenzy in the fortress city of Ye Rantil, "...Ahem, the reason he was able to cause such a big incident tonight is actually related to our side—the core item that Kajit used to activate this ritual was one of the rewards brought back from the Great Tomb of Nazarick by the [Black Sword] adventurer group, that glass flower that plays music. After it was confiscated by the Adventurers' Guild, it ended up in his hands again..."

So, Ainz-san, what exactly was that musical glass flower you gifted to the [Black Sword] adventurer group? It was incredibly powerful!

"...That glass flower...is actually just a magic storage crystal, but it was beautified by the bored Bubble Teapot (another female player from the game guild era) and even had a music-playing function added. I originally just thought it was a useless little trinket..."

What the hell is all this nonsense? This old man wants to become immortal in order to resurrect his mother—I'm afraid I can't understand the causal connection. And then… he just wants to be immortal, right? He's willing to sacrifice the entire population of an entire city?!

The power system in this world should be the same as in the game [World Tree], right? How come I, a lich player, didn't know that every lich transformation had to be such a grand spectacle? If every lich transformation involves slaughtering an entire city… Damn it, I don't even know what to say!

Ainz Ooal Gown, the Primal Overlord, couldn't help but roll his eyes at this logic that was so perplexing he didn't know how to comment and just wanted to flip the table.

Unfortunately, Ainz Ooal Gown wasn't wearing human skin at this moment; he only had a pair of dark, skull-like eye sockets...

In short, Ainz Ooal Gown believes that it should be easy for a living person to become an undead in order to live a long life. Even if the risk of failure in becoming a lich is a bit high, as long as Shalltear bites him and infects him, he can become a vampire, right?

"...No! I don't want to bite this smelly old man! It'll make me vomit!" Shalltear immediately protested, waving her little fists.

"...That's right. How could such a lowly and despicable person be qualified to be an existence on par with the Supreme Being?"

The demon strategist Demiurge nodded in agreement, saying, "...How should we deal with this sinner?"

"...I suggest we imprison him first, and then, after accepting the surrender of the fortress city of Ye Lantier, hold an open-air trial. Let the people of the city know which bastard was responsible for this undead catastrophe that nearly claimed their lives!"