My family runs an adventurer's guild.

Even a strongman like Gazef felt as if a huge rock was pressing on his heart, making it hard to breathe.

"...Hundreds of Soul Eaters! Is this the power of Ainz Ooal Gown, the Sorcerer King who claims to have emerged from his grave? Heh, I'm starting to believe that he really is a great king who has been sleeping for a thousand years!"

In a heavy silence, Marquis Raven finally managed to squeeze out a voice from his throat, "...If those mounts are already so terrifying, then what kind of creatures are the alien soldiers riding on these monsters?"

This thought intensified everyone's fear, and the gray-haired platinum-level adventurer stammered, "...I'm sorry, I don't know, I just feel it must be very dangerous. No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't use such a vague word as 'dangerous,' I should say it's something we absolutely cannot fight! Numbers are useless against them! So, sir, I, we should run! It will be too late if we don't leave now!"

"...So, what do you think we should do, Captain?" Marquis Raven turned to Captain Gazef and asked. Although he tried his best to remain calm, his pale face and slightly trembling legs betrayed his current mental and physical state.

Faced with Marquis Raven's flustered question, Warrior Captain Gazef's answer was concise and clear.

--"……retreat!"

"...Retreat?" Marquis Raven blinked in disbelief.

"...Yes, retreat!" Warrior Captain Gazef nodded firmly. "...Since the enemy is a legendary monster that cannot be defeated by sheer numbers, retreating is not something to be ashamed of, but a necessary tactic."

Marquis Raven gave him a strange look, and seeing that Captain Gazef's expression was normal, he replied with a wry smile, "...You're really naive! Captain, do you think this is an adventure team of twenty people? The retreat of two hundred thousand troops is not that easy, let alone a retreat in front of the enemy when the two armies are facing each other—planning such a retreat calmly is even more difficult than launching an attack!"

Throughout history, there have been many instances where poor command during retreats led to the collapse and disintegration of entire armies!

Not to mention, we simply cannot persuade His Majesty the King to make such a shameful decision based on the testimonies of a few adventurers alone…

"...What should we do then, Your Excellency Marquis?" Captain Gerdev asked unwillingly.

"...We can only fight a battle first! Only then can we have concrete evidence to advise His Majesty."

Marquis Raven sighed, "...We have two hundred thousand men, so we should be able to hold out for a while, right?"

Chapter 179, Battle of the Sand Sculpture Hills

In short, Marquis Raven and Captain Gazef stood on the hill, looking down at the Death Knights and Soul Eaters, worried about whether their pike formation of peasant soldiers could withstand such terrifying monsters. They were filled with anxiety as they pondered how to defend themselves.

On the other hand, Ainz Ooal Gown had no intention of letting the Death Knights and Soul Eaters charge into battle.

According to his plan, these seemingly terrifying and powerful monster soldiers were basically just a backdrop.

However, Demiurge and Albedo, upon hearing the news, repeatedly advised against it, saying that a king's journey must be imposing, requiring a large retinue, eight seats for seating, and eight legs for carrying each step—"...Since ancient times, those in high positions have always brought several attendants to take care of their affairs when they travel. Even when going to the battlefield, this is no exception. If Lord Ainz doesn't even bring servants and guards, he might be looked down upon on the battlefield..."

Therefore, he reluctantly kept some monsters around him to make a show of things, but in reality, they had no intended purpose other than to put on an air of grandeur.

—Otherwise, Ainz would have sent them out on missions long ago.

After all, Ainz Ooal Gown is still essentially a player who enjoys exploration and adventure, so he lacks the awareness of someone in a superior position.

In his view, when it comes to showing off, isn't it enough for him to do it all by himself? At most, a bunch of slackers will follow behind and cheer him on.

If too many people follow suit and try to show off, how can you stand out as someone with extraordinary and unique style?

As Ainz Ooal Gown thought this, he squinted at the army positions of the Kingdom of Riyestege on the opposite hill.

According to Emperor Napoleon, on a single battlefield, without the aid of radio, radar, reconnaissance aircraft, etc., relying solely on mounted messengers and the commander's naked eye, deploying 50,000 troops at once was already close to the limit of command capability.

Forcing too many troops into a limited battlefield space will only lead to command failure and will not make full use of the numerical advantage.

Of course, Emperor Napoleon commanded gun warfare in the era of firing squads. In the earlier era of cold weapons, because soldiers were arranged more densely and the killing distance of swords was shorter, more soldiers could actually be crammed into the commander's field of vision or the area where a battle was to take place than in the Napoleonic Wars. Otherwise, Alexander the Great would not have been able to defeat two or three hundred thousand Persian soldiers (some say as many as a million) in a single battle at the Battle of Gaugamela, thus completely destroying the Persian Empire.

Even so, the army of 200,000 men of the Kingdom of Riyestege stretched for several kilometers, with their flanks extending beyond the horizon. The air was thick with the sounds of men and horses, the gleam of armor, the forest of spears, and countless banners, all exuding a chilling aura under the warm spring sun.

However, in Ainz's eyes, all of this was nothing more than an anthill that could be crushed with a single step, or an easy target to hit.

"...Demiurge, speaking of which, with war about to break out, I don't even seem to know the name of this place."

After observing the enemy's formation with great interest, Ainz Ooal Gown suddenly turned around and asked the demon strategist who was accompanying him.

"...Reporting to Your Majesty, according to my investigation, this place is called Sand Sculpture Hills."

The demon strategist Demiurge quickly replied, "...This place used to be inhabited by a large, flightless bird-like monster that was very good at running, called the Sand Eagle, hence the name. However, due to human hunting and land reclamation, this Sand Eagle monster has now become extinct."

"...I see...Although the name sounds a bit silly for some reason, there's no need to fuss over such trivial matters."

Ainz Ooal Gown muttered something under his breath, simultaneously activating a magic circle. A pale magical light shone forth, and translucent characters and symbols began to spin rapidly above the circle, their shapes changing in a dizzying, rapid fashion…

Then, Ainz took out a small hourglass and squeezed it hard to activate the super-tier magic brewing in the magic circle.

"...They didn't even try to interfere with my spellcasting? How foolish! Well then, let this sand dune become the enemy's burial ground!"

The next moment, the sand that spilled from the shattered hourglass flowed into the magic circle that had been set up around Ainz in a series of strange trajectories.

Immediately afterwards, the super-level magic he had carefully prepared was activated.

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

Another awful military service, and this time it's to deal with monsters... Isn't this the kind of work that adventurers should be doing?

I wonder if I'll be able to get back alive this time?

In the army of the Kingdom of Ri. Estize, Serius held up his six-meter-long spear, thinking the same thing to himself.

After holding the spear under the sun for so long, his forehead was already covered in sweat, and his body was filled with fatigue.

But it was the eve of the decisive battle, and there was no way he could sit down and rest. Otherwise, he would be whipped or even beheaded. So Serius could only pant heavily and distract himself with random thoughts to make himself feel less tired.

As an ordinary farmer in a rural village in the Kingdom of Riyestege, Serius's life could hardly be described as happy.

Despite working hard and toiling in the fields every year, the lord would take away most of the harvest.

If the tax rate were the same as in other countries, levying 60% of the grain on farmers, then with the remaining 40% of the harvest, even if life was very poor, at least the farmers could still make ends meet by gathering wild fruits and vegetables, and barely survive.

However, in this tragic year, the actual agricultural tax rate in the Kingdom of Riyestege has already risen to an unbelievable 80 percent or more outside the borders, and those farmers who cannot find a way to evade taxes are even having difficulty making a living.

In this situation, selling their children became an inevitable choice for the peasants. Although the kingdom's "Golden Princess" abolished the official slave trade, the private buying and selling of people could not be stopped at all, because countless nobles and even members of the royal family were involved.

Amidst such harsh poverty, the peasants of the Kingdom of Riyestege also had a heavy obligation to fulfill: conscription.

Whenever the kingdom needed to wage war, it would conscript able-bodied men from every village without pay and send them to the battlefield.

Losing these able-bodied men would naturally be detrimental to agricultural production, but some people would feel lucky about conscription because it meant that the able-bodied men could eat the kingdom's military rations, thus saving food consumption at home and allowing their families to eat more.

After joining the army, the able-bodied men were able to eat a few long-awaited full meals – many of them ate their fill for the first time while serving in the military!

But that's about it. The spoils and honors belong to the big shots. Ordinary peasant soldiers, even if they fight desperately, will basically not receive any rewards unless they make an extraordinary contribution... No, even if they make an extraordinary contribution, they may not be rewarded or promoted. They might even be secretly killed so that some connected noble children can claim the credit.

Those fools who believed that they could get promoted as long as they made contributions are now buried under tall grass.

Similarly, if peasant soldiers died on the battlefield, they would not receive any compensation, and their wives and children might even be bullied by their neighbors.

Not to mention that if their hands and feet were cut off and they became disabled, it would only add to the burden on their already impoverished families—although they lost their ability to work, they still needed to eat… Therefore, many disabled peasant soldiers, perhaps unwilling to face the scorn and tears of their families after the war, simply chose not to return home, but instead chose to end their lives on the way back. They preferred to let their fellow villagers take their ashes back, in order to ease the burden on their families.

Even if they left the battlefield healthy and without injury or illness, and returned to their village safely, they would still have to face the heartbreaking reality that the lack of farm work due to the conscription of able-bodied men meant that the next year's harvest would be poor.

No matter how bad the harvest is, the lord's grain tax is almost impossible to be reduced!

Sigh, speaking of which, because of this spring's military service, almost all the men and women in the village have been conscripted here. The spring planting this year is definitely not going to be good. I wonder what the women, the old people and the children in the village have done to the fields, and how much the autumn harvest will be reduced. Will we have to find a trafficker to sell one or two of our daughters in order to pay the lord's taxes... Serius thought with a worried frown.

If it weren't for his wife and five children in the village, he truly wouldn't want to go back and continue living the same desperate, hungry, and cold lives as his ancestors. Instead, he'd rather abandon everything, rely on his relatively strong physique, find a forest, and become a bandit!

Although you might not be able to bring yourself to rob others at first, you'll probably adapt to this criminal lifestyle over time.

It's better to eat your fill by robbing than to starve, and it's better to be a bandit than to be robbed by bandits. It's better to make others cry than to cry yourself.

Even if you're unlucky and end up being beaten to death, at least you'll have enjoyed a few days of drinking and eating heartily before you die.

However, thinking of his hungry children at home, Serius had to abandon this crazy idea...

Just then, the other soldiers around him suddenly let out a few noisy exclamations, seemingly saying that the enemy's mage was casting a spell and that a flash of light had appeared... But Serius just kept his head down and didn't dare to look up at all.

Because he didn't want to be so scared that his legs went weak again, or even wet himself...

Humans are creatures that judge by appearance.

If the enemy were a beautiful elf, Serius would probably be staring at her intently by now. If the enemy were a short dwarf or a human like himself, he wouldn't lack even the courage to stand at a distance and take a look.

However, this time the enemy was a terrifying undead monster. Not to mention fighting it, even just looking at it filled Serius with unbelievable, bone-deep fear... to the point that his legs trembled like leaves, and he even urinated on the spot.

It wasn't until he lowered his head and stopped looking that he slowly regained his strength after a long period of time.

Therefore, Serius had already made up his mind that he would never look at these monsters that would give him nightmares unless the other side attacked.

Then, in the next moment, Serius no longer needed to look up at anything.

Because he is already dead.

—The death was so sudden, so without warning, so silent, so... swift as lightning!

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

"...Shub-Niggurath! An offering to the Black Goat Goddess!"

As Ainz Ooal Gown uttered this tongue-twisting incantation, the super-tier magic that had been brewing within the magic circle was finally activated.

A black aura instantly enveloped the central position of the army of the Kingdom of Ri. Yestige.

It didn't drift away slowly like smoke blown by the wind, but covered the 80,000-strong army deployed there in an instant.

Then, all 80,000 soldiers were immediately wiped out.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the 80,000-strong army gathered here, whether men or horses, whether farmers or knights, and even the accompanying mages, all fell heavily to the ground like electric toys with broken strings.

Then they remained motionless, their skin gradually turning a chilling, deathly gray.

Faced with this scene, the royal nobles standing at the rear, including Marquis Raven and Warrior Captain Gazef, were all stunned.

No one could immediately understand what had just happened.

When faced with an unbelievable situation, it takes some time to form a conclusion in one's mind.

Once they finally understood what was happening, an unusual uproar quickly spread, engulfing all the surviving officers and soldiers.

"...It looks like...it might be dead?"

"...Eighty thousand people...all dead? How is that possible?"

"...No way, that's 80,000 people! Even the legendary Dragon King couldn't just wipe them all out without a sound!"

"...But this is clearly dead! Look, even the skin color of the corpse has changed! What kind of poison is this? Does anyone have an antidote?"

"...Is this some kind of illusion? Or am I drunk?"

"...Dead! All dead! God, what kind of being are we fighting against?!"

Amidst this panic, King Rambusha III, the commander-in-chief, was also so horrified that he wept uncontrollably, leaving those who witnessed it even more disheartened.

If even the king loses his confidence and will, how can his subjects continue to persevere?

For a moment, the entire army was gripped by an indescribable fear.

"……His Majesty!!"

Seeing his king in such a state of disarray, Captain Gazef couldn't help but try to offer some advice. However, after a few words, he found himself at a loss for words, unsure how to rouse the old man or what specific suggestions to make.

Even Gerdov's own legs were trembling uncontrollably at this moment!

Marquis Raven, who was standing next to Captain Gazef, was so terrified that his teeth were chattering and his face was turning pale and then red, and he could barely speak.

Chapter 180, Leaping over a Thousand Armies

In fact, upon noticing Ainz Ooal Gown setting up his magic circle, Marquis Raven and Captain Gazef had already vaguely guessed that the other party was probably about to unleash some kind of extremely powerful magic that would cause serious damage to the army of the Kingdom of Reyestil.

However, even in their most extravagant imaginations, the worst that could happen is a shower of meteorites or a bolt of lightning. Such a display might break through a few phalanxes of the front-line troops, but for the 200,000-strong army of the Kingdom of Ri. Estize, it would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

But... who could have predicted that the opponent would unleash such terrifying magic!

A magic that silently slaughtered 80,000 people in an instant, leaving everyone feeling a chill that pierced to the bone!

Whether you are a farmer, a nobleman, a knight, a swordsman, a magician, or any other profession, before it, there is only fair and instantaneous death!

God, what meaning do my hard-earned martial arts skills and my proud courage have in the face of such unreasonable magic?

Didn't they die inexplicably in the blink of an eye?

As Gerdov thought this in despair, he felt as if all the beliefs he had worked so hard for and fought for in the past were collapsing in an instant.

The other nobles and knights also doubted their own eyes and offered prayers to the gods they believed in.

—Pray that the 80,000 people who just collapsed did not actually die; pray that such terrifying magic does not exist in this world.

However, no matter how much they prayed, the tragedy that had just occurred would not disappear, and the dead would not rise again.

—Not to mention, the so-called "Six Great Gods" whom they prayed to were actually just Earth players like Ainz Ooal Gown, only they arrived 600 years earlier. In terms of strength alone, they were probably far inferior to Ainz Ooal Gown, who brought the entire guild base with him when he traveled through time.

Even so, they cannot emotionally accept such an exaggerated fact, and are even less willing to admit their own powerlessness and insignificance.

Until the next, even more terrifying blow came upon them.

—The super-ranked spell [Offering to the Black Goat Mother Goddess] that Ainz Ooal Gown just unleashed through his magic circle wasn't merely for mass killing. In fact, the black mist that instantly killed across a large area was the "offering" within [Offering to the Black Goat Mother Goddess].

So, what happens after the offerings are presented?