My family runs an adventurer's guild.

—The army collapsed like a house of cards.

The enemy leader cast a single spell, and the 200,000-strong army of the Kingdom of Ri. Estize crumbled instantly.

Even with 200,000 people, they couldn't find any way to resist and could only passively endure the slaughter.

Such a shocking and brutal impact inevitably plunged even the steely and resolute Captain Gödel-Stronov, known as the "strongest in the kingdom," into despair, fear, and mental confusion.

Although as a warrior who makes a living by his muscles, Gazef knew very early on that on this continent where various races competed and nations vied for supremacy, the humans who lived in the remote northwest corner were actually very weak, both individually and in terms of civilization.

Especially compared to the strongest races like dragons, the difference in physical strength alone is obvious—humans have neither strong scales, sharp claws, nor wings to soar through the sky, nor can they exhale breath that can destroy everything. How can they possibly contend with dragons?

Even the lesser-ranking ogres, giants, and orcs could defeat most ordinary human warriors in a one-on-one fight.

That is why every human warrior yearns for the heroic feat of slaying a dragon. To defeat a stronger alien race with one's honed strength, loyal comrades, and meticulously crafted weapons is a great achievement symbolizing courage, boldness, and unwavering faith!

However, at this moment, faced with the magic unleashed by the Sorcerer King, Gazef experienced a despair that made him unable to even muster the courage to challenge him!

That was a towering peak that he could never conquer, even if he practiced desperately for a lifetime!

His swordsmanship, which he was so proud of, was nothing more than a child waving a stick around playing a war game in the face of such power!

Standing on the chaotic battlefield, Gazef's hands trembled slightly.

Faced with an existence so powerful that it defies description, what can we use to fight back?

The thought kept flashing through Gerd's mind, and a huge sense of despair enveloped him, making him feel utterly disheartened.

However, despite his despair, Ghaznavid did not abandon his duty—since defeating the enemy was an impossible task, he should at least protect his lord, King Rambusha III, and ensure his safe withdrawal from the battlefield and return to the palace.

He turned his gaze to the main camp of King Rambusha III, where countless noble family crests and banners once stood, nestled deep within the heavily protected territory. However, because the 80,000 people in the central camp had been sacrificed to the transcendental magic of "Offering to the Black Goat Mother Goddess," dying instantly, King Rambusha III's main camp was now completely exposed.

Next, when the five "curious" black goat calves rushed towards them, King Rambusha III's camp, which was particularly conspicuous due to the many flags planted there, naturally became the first victims to be crushed by the goats' hooves.

Fortunately, when the black goat calf came galloping towards them, the king's guards were quick-witted enough to carry Rambusha III away immediately. The warhorses were frightened by the black goat calf's scent and either ran around wildly or stood still, making it impossible to retreat on horseback.

So, although many unfortunate court nobles were crushed into mincemeat, the king and his two princes were temporarily unharmed.

However, due to the herd mentality of ordinary people who tend to follow those in power, even during the escape, King Rambusha III's crowd continued to grow, forming a large group, and unfortunately, he was targeted by a black goat calf...

As the black goat calf turned and galloped toward the king's location, and as he heard the heart-wrenching screams of terror from the court nobles who had fled with the king, Gazef took a deep breath and drew his weapon.

This is the Razor Blade, a royal treasure bestowed upon him by the king and considered a holy sword.

In any battle in the past, as long as he drew this gleaming sword, Gazef was sure to win.

In other words, this sword is proof of Gazeta's victory.

However, in today's view, this Razor Blade seems far too weak.

Compared to the enormous and terrifying black goat cub, both he and the Razor Blade appeared extremely small.

At most, it would only buy His Majesty a little more time, giving him a better chance of escaping.

Even if it costs him his life, this is all he can do.

To be honest, he was also very scared and wanted to run away like the soldiers around him.

However, his pride and honor as a warrior compelled him to draw his sword against the invincible demon.

Feeling the tremors coming from the ground, Gerdav exhaled forcefully.

Then, he raised the sword he was holding high and activated the martial skill [Weakness Perception].

However, Gerdov couldn't find any weaknesses in his opponent—perhaps because the difference in their strength was too great to be discernible?

With a faint wry smile, he rushed forward and unleashed his most prized finishing move—[Four Light Combo Slash]—aiming at the massive hooves of the black goat calf running past him!

Four sharp sword lights slashed at the black goat cub's huge hoof, but they still failed to tear it apart.

Conversely, at the moment the hoof made contact with the sword, the enormous impact was transmitted to Gazef's sword-wielding hand, nearly dislocating his wrist.

However, the black goat calf finally stopped, and after hesitating for a moment, raised a tentacle toward Gazef.

Although Gazef immediately raised his sword to parry again, he was unable to withstand such immense force.

Like a wild dog blocking a galloping horse, he was immediately sent flying into the air before crashing down heavily.

His right hand was broken as a result, and his sword, Razor Blade, was thrown away. He was bleeding all over his body, and his internal organs seemed to have been injured as well.

But Gerdav struggled to his feet regardless, suppressing the excruciating pain surging through his body. He glared at the black goat cub not far away and picked up the sword with his still-intact left hand.

Bright red blood flowed from his tightly clenched lips.

Even if you can't defeat your opponent, even if you're about to die from another blow, you must persevere to the very end.

This would give His Majesty the King, who trusted and promoted him, a better chance of survival...

With this thought in mind, Gerdav, holding the sword "Razor's Blade" in his left hand, walked with difficulty toward the nearest black goat cub.

However, he stopped after taking only a few steps, despite his determination to take the first step.

Because, almost in the blink of an eye, the five black goat calves that had just been rampaging and ravaging the crowd all evaporated and disappeared.

All that remained was a devastated battlefield, scattered corpses, distraught defeated soldiers, and flags and tents crushed and torn to pieces.

Could it be that... the summoning magic has reached its limit, so these monsters have returned to the other world?

Well, anyway, we've at least survived this ordeal for now.

With these questions in mind, Captain Gazef lost his last bit of strength and collapsed onto the grass.

What he didn't know was that the disappearance of the black goat cubs was actually due to complaints from some onlookers within the enemy ranks...

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"...Ainz-san, I remember there are several other super-tier spells that can shatter enemy formations, right? Why did you use Cthulhu? This kind of mentally polluting stuff is too much for everyone to handle! The spectators are giving it a ton of hate! They're saying that just thinking about such a disgusting monster makes them lose their appetite, and if they don't change it soon, they'll either log off or go back to town..."

"...Ah, although I don't understand what you're complaining about, Senior Phil, let's cancel these black goat babies first, right?!"

Chapter 182, Ainz's Battlefield Show-Off

What is the most memorable aspect of the Cthulhu mythos?

It's not their power—although as "cosmic-level" deities, they seem to be more powerful than the gods of major religions on Earth.

It's not that they're cruel—in fact, most of the Cthulhu gods don't specifically target humans or harbor strong hostility towards them.

It can't even be described as simply ugly—because the appearance of the Cthulhu god is beyond what the word "ugly" can describe.

While the Cthulhu gods are not the compassionate and merciful "good gods" of major religions, they cannot be simply defined as "evil gods" that contradict them. This is because most of the gods in the Cthulhu mythos are driven by an instinctive craving for bloodshed and the bizarre. Their ugly, foolish, wild, and unmotivated behavior, coupled with their absolute power, makes them incomprehensible and powerless to resist, leaving people with only deep despair.

Compared to intellectually superior criminals, people are often more afraid of incompetent madmen, which is the source of fear in the Cthulhu Mythos.

Even the Zerg in StarCraft are quite serious compared to the Cthulhu mythos.

The core characteristic of the entire Cthulhu Mythos is the despair of the "unknowable," accompanied by the bizarre, the strange, the fear, the despair, the eeriness, and the unspeakable extreme evil. The outward appearance is a pervasive element of mental pollution, composed of slippery tentacles, dense eyeballs, writhing deformed limbs, bloody slaughter, and the "whispers of evil gods," which does everything in its power to drive humanity mad.

Let alone confronting the evil god Cthulhu head-on, even just glimpsing him from afar would cause one's SAN (sanity) value to plummet.

As a member of the Cthulhu mythos, the Black Goat cub naturally possesses the aforementioned characteristics to some extent—albeit very slightly.

Therefore, apart from those who were used to it like Ainz Ooal Gown, not only was the army of the Kingdom of Riyestege, which was being ravaged by the Black Goat Cub, mentally broken, but even the players of the Golden Dragon Kingdom who were watching from behind Ainz Ooal Gown felt that their eyes had been polluted.

They followed Ainz Ooal Gown all the way here, hoping to witness a real-life war drama filled with flying blood, clashing blades, and booming magic, as well as various epic and moving battles and unexpected twists and turns of wits and courage, which they could boast about for a long time in taverns and at home—just like the spectators on modern Earth who enjoy visiting boxing matches and underground fighting arenas for thrills.

Of course, they are not incapable of seeing humans being crushed by monsters—at least half of these players are not pure-blooded humans, just like those warriors who challenge dragon slayers. Whether they successfully slay the dragon or are slain by it, it is a magnificent scene worth talking about.

But what kind of monster is this, that's so disgusting and bizarre that it makes people lose their appetite?

We're here for thrills, not to be disgusted, okay?

Even in Roman gladiatorial games, tall and handsome gladiators were chosen to attract attention. Those less attractive male gladiators either had to cover their faces with masks to avoid being unsightly, or they were relegated to clown roles at the opening – much like the halftime show at the Super Bowl, often referred to as "America's Spring Festival Gala" (the most memorable being Katy Perry's performance). Various entertainment performances were also interspersed throughout the gladiatorial matches in ancient Rome to lighten the mood…

Moreover, compared to the information-saturated 21st-century Earth, where people have long been immune to the onslaught of online information, the ignorant and simple-minded medieval players of the Golden Dragon Kingdom are often far less able to withstand the mental pollution of the Cthulhu mythos. Even if these black goat cubs don't have the ability to manipulate souls, but are merely thick-skinned meat shields, even if these black goat cubs are trampling enemies rather than their own people... just looking at the disgusting appearance of these monsters and hearing their demonic bleating is already unbearable for the players.

(Why does Ainz Ooal Gown seem normal after summoning the Black Goat cub, without any sign of losing SAN? Because the reason why the Cthulhu Gods can drive people crazy and break them is because of their overwhelming power and absolute invincibility compared to humans.)

But if this Cthulhu god is merely a remote-controlled toy you can manipulate at will, whose life and death you can decide at will, why would you be afraid of it? At most, you'd just think, "Ah, this summoned beast is powerful, but its appearance is just too ugly..."

Just as soldiers are not afraid of the guns and bombs in their hands.

If you put a Cthulhu figurine on your desk and look at it every now and then, would you go crazy over time?

Not to mention that Ainz Ooal Gown is also bound to a [Forced Calm] spell; once the green light flashes above his head, his SAN value is practically nonexistent.

If this were a real war, players might reluctantly endure it, since nothing else matters compared to life, death, victory, and defeat. However, what might be a war and massacre for the enemy is just a game for the players, so why should they tolerate it?

As a result, some gamers who couldn't bear the mental pollution chose to log off and leave—just like netizens who watch movies on their computers and skip over scenes they don't like. Others simply turned back to the fortress city of Yelantier and headed straight for the pleasure quarters, seemingly hoping to heal their emotional wounds by relying on the warm embraces and voluptuous bodies of prostitutes.

As for the remaining players, they all went to Firi to complain, giving Ainz's disgusting summoning a bad review and demanding a change of program. Firi, feeling immense pressure, naturally immediately found a bewildered Ainz and told him to quickly remove this unsightly thing—if those black goat cubs were still hopping around on the other side, these eager players wouldn't dare to rush in and fish in the chaos to farm monsters!

And so, the black goat cub that had polluted the view was eliminated, leaving only a chaotic enemy formation and a bewildered Ainz Ooal Gown.

"...Uh, the Black Goat cub project has been cancelled. What should we do next, Senior Phil?"

Under pressure from negative customer reviews, Ainz Ooal Gown has switched back to his workaholic mode and humbly asks Firi for advice.

For him, defeating or even annihilating the enemy in front of him is not difficult; the difficulty lies in how to satisfy the players.

“…Hmm, let me think…I’ve got it. First, you fly into the air in the coolest pose and shout some really cool lines at the enemy. Then, you throw a [Meteor Shower] at the enemy formation and completely blast away the remaining enemies.” Phil tilted his head and thought for a moment before saying this.

"...Alright, so what's next? Should we send the Death Knights to charge in and take over the position?" Ainz Ooal Gown said.

"...No, no, no, the next part should be the audience participation segment. Don't most variety shows have this kind of part?"

Ferry quickly waved her hand, or rather, her cat paw, "...A nation war without player participation is just like watching an expansion pack; there's not enough engagement! So, you just need to create the atmosphere, and then you can leave. After that, it should be the players' free time to hunt down weaklings..."

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The positions of the army of the Kingdom of Ri. Yestige

Rivers of blood flowed, corpses littered the fields, banners fell, and cries of sorrow echoed endlessly.

Everywhere were brutal tracks made of flesh and corpses, and chaos caused by fleeing soldiers running amok.

Although the black goat calf that caused all this tragedy has disappeared, the collapsed army is unable to reorganize.

"...How could it have turned out like this...Where did we go wrong?"

The unfortunate King Rambusha III, before he could even rejoice at his escape from the hooves of the black goat cub, witnessed the horrific scene of his 200,000-strong army collapsing. His eyes welled up with tears, and he let out a painful groan.

Two hundred thousand troops! In less than an hour, they had become this wretched sight!

No, strictly speaking, there are no longer 200,000 troops on the battlefield today; there are only 50,000 to 60,000 left at most.

From the very beginning, the 80,000 people located in the central position became sacrifices to the transcendental magic of "offerings to the Black Goat Mother Goddess".

Then, with the chaos and trampling caused by five black goat calves rushing in, and the fleeing soldiers trampling each other, at least another ten or twenty thousand people perished. Then, some of the more agile deserters, especially the nobles skilled at escaping, had already fled far from the battlefield.

At most, only 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers of the Kingdom of Riyestege remain on this desolate plain.

If we further deduct those wounded who are half-dead, have broken limbs, have difficulty moving, or are on the verge of death, as well as those who are disoriented, crying or laughing wildly, or talking nonsense, then this number will be reduced by at least 40%.

Besides these, there were far more corpses, both human and horse... Some of the corpses, having been repeatedly trampled by black goat calves and their own people, were almost ground into a paste, with mangled flesh and bone fragments scattered on the ground, like meat patties waiting to be cooked...

"God! Please forgive me! What should I do next?"

One of the court nobles broke down and knelt down on the spot, praying for divine protection. The others were also deeply moved and at a loss for what to do.

Until the limping Warrior Captain Gazef, holding the sword "Razor's Blade" in his unbroken left hand, slowly approached.

"...Your Majesty, retreat immediately!" he shouted. "...This enemy is beyond our ability to resist!"

"...How can I, as a king, abandon my army and flee?" Rambusha III shook his head, but his tone was not very firm.

"...Even if Your Majesty stays here, there's nothing you can do, isn't there? Shouldn't you return to the capital and prepare to defend the city?"

"That's what Captain Gazef said bluntly. Faced with an extremely critical situation, he no longer cared about his lord's reputation."

Meanwhile, the last small group of court nobles who had followed King Rambusha III surprisingly forgot their dislike and contempt for Ghazv and instead unanimously agreed with Ghazv's opinion, urging the king to quickly abandon the army and retreat.

"...The warrior captain is absolutely right. I urge Your Majesty not to worry about your reputation, but to preserve your usefulness. Only in this way can you have a future!"

"...Our army has completely collapsed, and there is no way to salvage this battlefield... Even if Your Majesty insists on staying, it will be of no use."

"...Your Majesty, although the enemy's magic—no, it should be called a miracle—has ended because the summoning period has expired (according to the king and his ministers of the Kingdom of Re. Estize), our army is completely outmatched. Most of our commanders have either died in battle or fled, and our soldiers have been driven mad with fear. What's worse, no one knows if that Sorcerer King has any more powerful trump cards up his sleeve, or when the next attack will strike!"

"...Now, neither winning nor preserving this army is possible. The most urgent task is to protect the capital!"

"...Even if we can't defeat the Sorcerer King, we need to have some leverage to negotiate with him, in order to avoid the destruction of our country!"

"...If an ambitious person were to take advantage of the unrest and panic after the defeat to seize the capital, then everything would be over..."

……

"...Sigh, that's absolutely right. Even if I stay here, there's nothing more I can do..."