My family runs an adventurer's guild.

King Rambusha III gave a wry smile. "...Alright, let's go back to the palace then! However, with so many people here, we can't run far on foot! Captain, take your men and gather as many frightened warhorses as possible. If there are any intact carriages, bring them along with the drivers..."

So, after hastily bandaging his fractured right hand, Captain Gazef led his men, wielding ropes, to find a horse for the king.

The remaining royal guards quickly reorganized and collected weapons on the battlefield, preparing to escort the king's entourage out of the battlefield and back to the capital... After this major defeat, whether the lords on the way back will still be willing to remain loyal to the royal family is probably an unknown.

Throughout history, there have been numerous precedents of monarchs who were ambushed and killed by rebellious nobles while fleeing from defeat.

However, at that moment, a radiant figure suddenly shot into the sky from the "Magic King" position on the opposite side and then hovered steadily in mid-air.

At the same time, there was a huge dome-shaped three-dimensional magic circle that unfolded around it, emitting white light and gradually turning blue.

Semi-transparent patterns resembling words or symbols also emerged within the light, constantly changing and dazzling, with each second revealing a different shape.

—Ainz, now clad in human skin, sat atop a golden, jeweled throne floating in the center of a magic circle, exuding an air of extravagance. He amplified his voice with magic, addressing the still chaotic Reyestizer Kingdom's forces:

"...Fools on the other side! Have you realized your own weakness? Hmm, now you dare to stand in my way, refusing to bow down and submit. You seem to be defiant! But it doesn't matter, let you cry and scream now! Realize your own insignificance!"

While reciting the boastful lines that Phil had hastily drafted, he activated another super-tier spell, "...[Meteor Shower]!"

Chapter 183, Let's go farm some weaklings!

As the [Falling Sky] magic was activated, an blinding white light appeared at the same time.

First came a hissing sound like a torch falling into water, then came a sound like the sun falling to earth, instantly turning one's vision pure white.

A terrifying explosion and intense heat appeared suddenly and unexpectedly, landing on the territory of the Kingdom of Riyestege, which had already been trampled to pieces by the black goat cubs, and burning everything within its range to ashes in the blink of an eye.

The resulting shockwave swept across the land, burning vegetation, leveling hills, and tossing people, horses, flags, tents, and carts that couldn't get out of the way high into the air before crashing to the ground, causing devastating damage.

Even on the other side of the line, the gamers following Ainz were thrown into disarray by the shockwave.

Although the explosion, the white light, and the shockwave themselves lasted only a few seconds, they gave everyone involved the illusion that time was dragging on forever.

As the light dimmed and the heat subsided, Captain Gazef, who had been ordered to find the horse, held a piece of burnt reins and barely managed to lift his head from the ground. He looked toward the spot where His Majesty Rambusha III had just been standing and was immediately met with a bizarre sight that filled him with utter despair and despair.

—At the point where the heatwave dissipated from the explosion site, a vast expanse of astonishing death appeared within a radius of several hundred meters.

The terrifying heatwave destroyed all the vegetation on this land, leaving only a pile of charred, cracked boulders. Even the sand was burned into crystals and is still smoldering. As for the humans on this land, not even bones remained; they were reduced to scalding ashes.

In the raging flames that can turn mud and sand into glass, no life could possibly survive, not even a severed limb would remain.

In other words, King Lambusa III of the Kingdom of Riyesteje, the eldest prince Balubro and the second prince Zanak who were watching the battle, a large group of the top court nobles and powerful lords, as well as the most elite royal guards, all disappeared forever in an instant!

Not to mention survivors, not even remains could be found.

"...Oh no—Your Majesty!!!"

Marquis Raven, equally disheveled and covered in soot, stared grimly at the scorched earth, veins bulging on his hands as he gripped his scepter tightly. "...Why did this happen? How could this be? The kingdom is finished! The Kingdom of Riyestege is finished!"

He started babbling incoherently, his hoarse voice clearly tinged with sobs.

Beside Marquis Raven, Gerdav and a few other surviving nobles who still had their heads to think quickly realized that the situation was indeed dire.

—The king died, and both of his sons died, along with a large number of nobles and ministers!

The entire superstructure of the country has collapsed in an instant!

Generally speaking, medieval feudal states could not survive without bloodlines and armies.

A ruler without bloodline lacks legitimacy recognized by the masses; a ruler without an army lacks the violent tools to enforce his rule.

However, in the disaster just now, the direct male line of the royal family has been cut off, and Lambusa III has no brothers. The next step is either to make a princess queen or to pass the throne to a distant relative—but no matter how the throne is passed on, it is impossible to have a smooth transition!

It should be noted that King Rambusha III has more than one princess. Apart from the most famous "Golden Princess" Princess Lana, all the other princesses are now married, and their husbands' families are all powerful families in the country. The competition among the sons-in-law alone is enough to tear the already broken kingdom apart!

In addition, most of the relatively reliable troops that the royal family could mobilize had been completely destroyed.

Also buried with the king were the royal family's most trusted generals and courtiers... Whoever inherits the throne next will no longer be able to suppress the feudal lords!

In a medieval feudal lord kingdom, such a situation almost inevitably meant civil war, usurpation, and foreign invasion.

—Having already treading on the precipice after being trampled by the black goat cubs, the Kingdom of Ri. Estize was now gently pushed into an abyss by the fire and explosion of another super-tier magic, [Meteor Shower], leaving it utterly hopeless.

In short, Captain Gazef discovered with utter despair that his last effort to save his lord and the kingdom had also failed.

Similarly, the hearts of all the survivors present sank to the bottom of the sea...

However, to make matters worse, the misfortune they are about to encounter today is far from over.

On the other hand, even Ainz, the Primal Overlord, was unaware that while he was unleashing his Super Tier magic, blasting King Lambusa III of the Kingdom of Reyestie into dust, behind him, another monarch was watching him show off with great interest…

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Let's rewind time to a few tens of minutes ago.

Behind Ainz, who was trying so hard to look cool, in the wilderness where gamers gathered, a blond man with a thick beard was sitting leisurely on a large rock, watching the black goat cubs frolic in the enemy ranks while drinking wine from his small flask.

Surrounding this blond giant sat a group of retired, washed-up veteran gamers, including the retired Chancellor Pochettino, who had logged into the muscular game account; the retired Royal Knight Commander Dexter; and the retired court magician Titus.

Although these retired bigwigs once held very prominent positions and had deep-rooted family influence, they were now respectfully and humbly surrounding this blond giant, like servants.

Because the blond giant who appeared in the game was indeed their master.

Or rather, it is the monarch to whom the powerful figures themselves, their ancestors, and their children and grandchildren must be loyal and serve.

—His Majesty Alaric Ingram, the Golden Dragon King who ruled the Golden Dragon Kingdom for three hundred years and the founder of the Ingram Dynasty!

Due to the craze that the game "Overlord" caused in the capital city of Thousand Sails, and the proud boasting of the Golden Dragon Princess Catherine in the palace, even the Golden Dragon King Alaric couldn't help but become curious and interested in it. So, without making a fuss, he came to "inspect" the game.

Before entering the game, he spoke with several of his old retainers who were already playing, which is why they are now gathered together.

At this moment, while the other players, who were of humble origins, were watching the black goat cubs running around wildly in the distance, enduring indescribable fear and mental pollution, and were all shouting that they couldn't take it anymore and wanted to log off, King Alaric was watching with great interest.

"...Truly terrifying beings beyond description. In terms of sheer power, they are only average, but in their harm to the mind, they are a mobile catastrophe—if your mind is not strong enough, just looking at their appearance can drive you insane..."

King Alaric clicked his tongue and commented, "...Although it is only a very minor risk, it is enough to make us vigilant."

"...Yes, Your Majesty, although this is just an alternate world for playing games, it still finds it hard to believe that such a being, who is like an evil god, can be so easily controlled by a mortal," sighed Titus, the retired court magician.

"...Rather than evil gods, they are more like divine abominations—extremely powerful, morbid, and insane twisted beings..."

King Alaric replied, "...It doesn't matter to us if we look, but it's a bit dangerous for the common people and children to come into contact with such an indescribable being too early—it's best to avoid seeing such evil things to prevent them from having nightmares day and night!"

"...You're right, Your Majesty. We've already complained to the operators, and they promised to resolve it immediately..."

A while later, the black goat cub, which was considered to contain elements of mental pollution, was removed due to player complaints.

However, after showing off for a while, Ainz Ooal Gown unleashed another equally shocking super-tier magic – [Meteor Shower].

One strike shattered the army, incinerating ten thousand... leaving the veteran players watching in stunned silence.

"...God! That's an army of two hundred thousand! How could it all be... just like that? Cough cough!"

Retired Chancellor Pochettino coughed a few times unconsciously. "...Speaking of which, this so-called Kingdom of Nazarick has only been around for a few months since it arrived in this other world, yet it has already caused such a great stir...I feel a strong ambition and desire in it."

"...Yes, those once law-abiding commoners immediately turned into lawless thugs after arriving in this other world...Even the lowest slaves dared to brandish knives at the nobles of this other world, and even ravage the wives and daughters of native nobles, committing all sorts of atrocities."

Another retired patriarch chimed in, "...The concepts of hierarchy and rank have become blurred here. This really worries me, Your Majesty. What if your subjects go astray in this other world and develop more ambition and desires?"

"...What's even more worrying is this organization that treats conquering other worlds as a game... That lich can easily kill a king and destroy a country today. So, what will its attitude be when it faces our nobles and officials in the future?"

"...So what if you have ambition? So what if you have desires? At least they are the driving force that propels the country forward!"

King Alaric of the Golden Dragon disagreed, saying, "...No matter how frantically we strive forward, it's better than stagnation, decay, and regression. In my view, the most evil countries are not militaristic regimes that are eager for war, but those disgusting remnants that have degenerated to the point of being distorted—I feel more disgusted by corrupt rulers and decaying countries than by war and tyranny..."

"...Furthermore, in any era, there is never a shortage of ambitious and powerful individuals. No matter how lowly one's origins, once one possesses great power, one will develop corresponding ambitions. And this is the source of civilization's progress—if all of our subjects became indifferent to desires, no longer pursuing fame and fortune or exploring the unknown, living in a daze like walking corpses, then everything would be over!"

At this point, he abruptly changed the subject, "...Of course, even if this is just a game, with so many subjects involved, necessary control measures are indeed indispensable. However, as laymen, we can't interfere recklessly. Later, you can pass a message to Lulutia for me, telling that little silver dragon that if we can bring this lich to our world, we should have him come to the palace for an audience! As for now..."

King Alaric, the Golden Dragon King, casually tossed his wine jug to the ground, then drew his two-handed greatsword from his back and shouted to the players, "...What are you all standing around for? The troublesome monsters are gone, now's your chance to beat up these weaklings! Everyone, quickly form teams and charge in, let's have a good slaughter!"

The next moment, the Golden Dragon Kingdom game players, as if waking from a dream, drew their weapons and seemed to be burning with golden light, their bodies surging with power. They were just one command away from shouting, "You've been enhanced! Charge!" before they began to charge chaotically towards the enemy.

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"...Kill the weak! Grind experience! Loot equipment!"

Around nine hundred players of the game "Overlord" from the Golden Dragon Kingdom, chanting incoherent slogans and wielding their wands and swords, led their summoned goblins, skeletons, ogres, and other monsters into the battle with great momentum.

They deliberately circled around the wilderness, bypassing Ainz's show-off props—a guard of hundreds of Death Knights and various other undead monsters—before rushing towards the hills where the Ri. Estize Kingdom's army was deployed.

At this moment, the army of the Kingdom of Riyestege on the hills, though still numbering in the tens of thousands—more than ten times the number of the players—had suffered a severe blow. Their morale and organization had plummeted to negative levels after the ravages of the Black Goat Cub and the decapitation strikes of the magical nuclear bomb. The soldiers were completely unresponsive to orders, the officers were mentally broken, and they had lost even the will to resist.

Thus, without encountering a rain of arrows falling from the sky or a forest of spears, the attacking force composed of players charged into the enemy ranks with ease, as if a scalding blade were cutting into soft butter, and encountered almost no decent resistance.

Then, the arrogant players launched a massacre that was as easy as cutting melons and vegetables!

In an instant, blood splattered and screams filled the air. On the battlefield of the Kingdom of Riyestege, the symphony of death once again resounded.

Chapter 184, The King is Dead, Long Live the Queen!

Unlike the silent, instantaneous deaths and the unstoppable black goat cubs of the past, the Golden Dragon Kingdom players who stormed the lines this time, although also from another world, did not seem to pose a significant challenge to the army of the Kingdom of Ri. Estize.

Moreover, these players charged in a chaotic manner, like a herd of bison, without any formation or tactics, making them nothing more than a mob.

While the practice of using flags, drums, and bugles to command troops existed in very distant times, such signal transmission training is simply impossible if your army is not a standing force and does not undergo unified training.

Moreover, players who joined the battle with a "let's watch the show" mentality are unlikely to completely obey Ainz's commands, nor are they likely to elect a respected leader from among themselves—King Alaric might be able to do so if he were willing to reveal his identity, but he has no intention of doing so.

In other words, when the battle broke out, both sides were in a chaotic state of disorganization and lack of discipline, with command basically relying on shouting.

However, despite the poor organization on both sides, one side was eager and full of vigor, while the other side was dejected and listless.

—As the saying goes, "In war, courage is paramount," and the courage of the army of the Kingdom of Riyestege had long been worn down by repeated blows.

Before the players even launched their attack, the army of the Kingdom of Riyestege had already collapsed completely. Those still remaining on the battlefield, apart from a few stubborn loyalists, were mostly unlucky souls who were slow to react and move, and hadn't had time to escape.

When the players and NPCs rushed in, their main tasks were basically chasing down fleeing soldiers and finishing off wounded enemy soldiers who were barely breathing. It was as easy as cleaning up the battlefield.

Those kingdom soldiers who were still in a daze were quickly either cut down with a single blow or turned and ran away in a frenzy of shouting. Many of them still couldn't escape being stabbed in the back. Fresh corpses quickly piled up from the foot of the hill all the way to the top of the hill, and blood gathered into streams that flowed down from the top of the hill.

—Thus, this battle on the sandy hills, involving 200,000 troops, has finally entered its final, garbage-time phase…

It's over! It's all over!

The king is dead, the two princes are dead, the army of 200,000 is wiped out, and the Kingdom of Riyestege is about to be destroyed!

Looking at his own routed soldiers screaming and fleeing in all directions, and the foreign enemy soldiers following behind them, hacking and slashing at them, the once-renowned brave warrior Captain Gazef stood blankly in the grass, his mind filled with despair and frustration, unable to muster any fighting spirit.

For this unfortunate swordsman, all hope for the future has now been completely extinguished.

The king he had loyally served was dead, and the king's heir was dead as well; there was no point in continuing the fight.

Now, as the warrior captain of the Kingdom of Riyestege, it seems that only one obligation remains for him...

With a resolute expression, Warrior Captain Gazef took a deep breath of the blood-soaked, acrid air, raised the Razor Blade—the sword bestowed upon him by King Rambusha III—and prepared to face the final battle of his life!

So what if it's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot? So what if defeat is inevitable?

Since I can no longer use my sword to protect the lord I swore to serve, I will repay His Majesty's appreciation and promotion with my life!

However, just as he mustered all his strength to unleash his martial arts skills, slashing his sword to send a goblin wolf rider summoned by a game player flying, and then beheading the enemy's dire wolf, he heard Marquis Raven's anxious call in his ear.

"...Soldier Captain? What are you still doing here? Retreat! If you don't leave now, you won't be able to leave!"

"...My lord, you should retreat yourself! I won't join in the fun."

Watching Marquis Raven gather a group of people and try to break through the encirclement, Captain Gazef wiped the blood splattered on his face and sighed dejectedly, "...His Majesty is dead. What can I do if I go back? Let me die here and keep His Majesty company!"

"...Hey, how can you send yourself to your death now? Let's go back to the capital! We still need to deliver the news of His Majesty's passing to the princess in the palace!"

Marquis Raven stamped his foot in frustration, “…Even if you can no longer protect His Majesty, you should at least protect His Majesty’s descendants!”

"...Uh...that's right...Princess Lana is also in the palace..."

Upon hearing this, Soldier Captain Gazef paused for a moment, then said, "...Alright, my mission is indeed not over yet..."

Then, he led the last few remaining men around him, turned around, and left the battlefield, or rather, the slaughterhouse, running towards the rear.

Thus, with the last small group of organized resistance forces, including Warrior Captain Gazef and Marquis Raven, abandoning the fight and withdrawing from the battlefield, the remaining army of the Kingdom of Riyestege on the Sand Sculpture Hills battlefield was utterly left to be slaughtered at will.

Countless people had their necks or legs severed while running, and some who tried to feign death were dragged from the pile of corpses and stabbed. Others tumbled off cliffs in their panic, suffering mangled injuries. Still others fell into ditches and eventually drowned.

Some noble officers, finding themselves in dire straits, resorted to pleading for their lives, offering hefty ransoms in return, based on past experience. However, most players ignored them—for players who only logged in for a few days at most, and who knew when they'd next log in, kidnapping people and negotiating for ransom was too much trouble; killing people and gaining experience was far more efficient.

In short, almost everyone who failed to escape the battlefield, except for a very few lucky ones who managed to hide, did not survive.

However, even those who managed to escape the battlefield did not necessarily escape their doom.

—Because, long before this battle broke out, Ainz Ooal Gown had already dispatched many small forces to sweep through the noble manors and castles in the heart of the Kingdom of Riyestege, and even attempted to conquer those small towns with weak defenses!

It's important to understand that even these small groups consist of level 20+ vampire brides, level 30+ death knights, and even level 40+ or ​​50 red-hat goblins and liches (archmages of the dead) as the main firepower units...

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

One month after the Battle of Sand Sculpture Hills, in the capital city of Riyestig, the Valasia Palace.

A somber and gloomy imperial council meeting is being held here.