My family runs an adventurer's guild.

Chapter 195, The Aftermath of the Turmoil (Part 2)

However, even the Great Sage Fruda of the Baharus Empire, the strongest mage among the native humans of the OVERLORD world, could only use sixth-tier magic. Faced with Ainz's super-tier magic (tenth tier and above), he was as weak and powerless as a fledgling.

"...The Sorcerer King of Nazarick silently caused the deaths of 80,000 people on the battlefield in an instant. This not only far exceeded my magical abilities but also the limits of my imagination. As for the terrifying monsters that the Sorcerer King summoned afterward, which were almost indescribable, and the huge explosions that seemed to cause the sky to collapse and the sun to fall... they completely shattered any confidence in fighting back."

The Great Sage Fruda sighed to Emperor Gilkenif, “...Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, in the face of such a terrifying being comparable to the Six Great Gods and the Eight Greed Kings, you and the Empire have no better choice than to do your utmost to befriend him, or even submit to him.”

"...Do we really have no choice but to bow down to this guy who just popped up out of nowhere, like a dog...?"

Upon hearing the reply from the great sage Fruda, Emperor Gilkenif's face turned extremely ugly. As a noble emperor who was accustomed to having his word as law, he had never bowed his head to anyone since his ascension to the throne, let alone wagged his tail and begged for mercy like a dog.

On the other hand, as a rational ruler, he also understood the limits of his abilities.

Faced with overwhelming power, beliefs and glory are utterly insignificant; only survival is of utmost importance.

Unfortunately, at this very moment, the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, who has occupied the fortress city of Ye-Rantir, possesses terrifying strength capable of destroying an army with a single blow and annihilating a nation single-handedly. Even though he is all alone, he still has an overwhelming advantage when facing the Baharus Empire!

—Even with immense power, military strength, and wealth, it is difficult to contend with such a super strong person who possesses such power.

Because with just a flick of his finger, he can wipe out all your troops, finances, population, and resources...

Therefore, judging from the map, Emperor Gilknife appears to possess a vast and powerful nation, while Sorcerer King Ainz only has a pitifully small territory.

But the actual contrast in strength was quite the opposite—just like the Inca Empire in modern times facing a small group of Spanish invaders.

"...Alright, the Empire's ambitions toward the fortress city of Ye-Lantier should indeed be abandoned. In this way, the Empire's only route to attack the Kingdom of Ri-Estize is also completely blocked. From now on, no matter how the Kingdom of Ri-Estize is destroyed, it will have nothing to do with the Empire."

After a moment of hesitation, Emperor Gilknefer finally made a more rational judgment: "...Now, facing such a troublesome new neighbor as the Sorcerer King Ainz, the Empire is already very fortunate to have preserved its territory; we really cannot ask for more..."

In short, I will send an envoy to the fortress city of Ye-Lantir as soon as possible to present gifts and express goodwill to that Sorcerer King. As for further proactive submission… let's wait and see! He gritted his teeth somewhat reluctantly, “…let's see how the Sorcerer King’s other neighbor, the Slane Theocracy, reacts first.”

"...Well, indeed, the Slane Theocracy, which has always advocated human supremacy, would probably find it hard to tolerate a country ruled by a 'suspected undead creature' and whose streets are full of various alien races and monsters, suddenly appearing on its border."

As the Great Sage Fruda slowly stroked his long beard, he nodded and commented, "...During the chaos of the Six Great Gods, the Eight Greed Kings, and the Demon Gods, the Slane Theocracy acquired the most treasures. Perhaps they really do have a way to restrain the Sorcerer King..."

Despite this, the Great Sage Fruda disagreed. As one of the strongest figures on this continent, he knew at least a general idea of ​​the trump cards of the neighboring Southern Kingdom of Slane, even if he couldn't fully grasp them—and clearly, none of them were capable of dealing with the Sorcerer King.

Therefore, facing the Sorcerer King Ainz, whose strength is comparable to the Eight Greed Kings, the Baharus Empire has no other way to survive except to grovel.

Of course, the emperor was not wrong either. At least we should first see the attitude of the Slane Theocracy before we can convince the ministers and the people of the next diplomatic shift.

"...However, it's really strange. The Kingdom of Nazarick currently only has one city, the fortress city of Ye-Lantir, but according to our spies' infiltration and investigation, the Sorcerer King rarely stays in the city. He only comes in for a short visit and then leaves again."

Emperor Gilknefer continued muttering, "...Old man, can you find out where this Sorcerer King Ainz usually stays?"

"...Well...I happen to have made some discoveries that I want to report to His Majesty the Emperor, concerning the residence of this Sorcerer King."

The Great Sage Fluda said solemnly, "We now know that the Sorcerer King Ainz claimed to have slept in his tomb for a thousand years, only emerging this spring. But few people know the exact location of his tomb!"

However, after receiving the relevant information, I immediately investigated the Sorcerer King's marching route before attacking the fortress city of Ye-Rantir, as well as the place where he first appeared. I've just now found the exact location of his tomb—in fact, Sorcerer King Ainz didn't deliberately hide his tomb; he simply left the shrine to it standing on the grassland. It's just that the area is sparsely populated, so few people have discovered it.”

As he spoke, he pulled a roll of parchment with a hand-drawn map from his robes and handed it to Emperor Gilkenif. “...Your Majesty, when facing such a powerful being who is comparable to a god or demon, the person representing the empire must also have a corresponding status and identity.”

Therefore, I request to lead this delegation to the Sorcerer King to gather intelligence on this new neighbor for the Empire and assess their strength—without a certain level of magical proficiency, even if you place a divine artifact in front of them, they will not be able to recognize it…”

"...Then, this mission will be hard on you, sir. But it doesn't matter if we don't find anything."

Emperor Gilkenif immediately nodded in agreement, “...Your safety is of utmost importance to the Empire.”

—Gilkenif always trusted this great sage who had served six emperors and lived for over two hundred years.

However, the Great Sage Fruda on the other side had a slightly flickering gaze, even carrying a hint of guilt.

—I'm sorry, Jill, although I know you trust and admire me, I still want to glimpse the pinnacle of magic!

Those who are not truly proficient in magic may find it difficult to understand the high-level magician's obsession with truth and endless thirst for knowledge.

It was a dreamlike ideal that transcended oneself, and a crazy desire to break through limits.

In this world, the highest level of magic that humans can master is only the sixth rank.

However, two hundred years ago, the great sage Fruda encountered a magician who could surpass the limits of humanity, one of the legendary thirteen heroes, Rikulid Perus Kaura, the Messenger of the Dead.

Since then, the Great Sage Fruda has longed to break through his limits and master magic of the sixth rank or higher.

However, over the course of two hundred years, he suffered repeated setbacks, his strength remaining stagnant at the sixth rank, unable to make any further progress.

This disappointed and frustrated the great sage Fruda, who even gave up on the dream at one point.

However, the appearance of that Sorcerer King has rekindled his hope, and it has become unstoppable.

"...To be able to single-handedly break through an army on the battlefield in such an exaggerated way, it's clear that the Sorcerer King who rose from his coffin must have mastered magic at the sixth rank or higher, perhaps even the ninth or tenth rank. And I must learn it no matter what!"

Having finished his audience, the Great Sage Fruda slowly walked out of the palace, pondering to himself, "...Even if I have to give up everything I possess, even if I have to betray the empire that serves me, I will not hesitate! I'm sorry, Gil! Your master simply cannot resist the desire to continue becoming stronger!"

In short, regardless of the ulterior motives between the ruler and his subjects, the Baharis Empire temporarily adopted a subservient and obsequious attitude towards the Kingdom of Nazarick.

Meanwhile, another neighbor of the Kingdom of Nazarick, the Slane Theocracy in the southeast of the Kaz Plains, also had its own troubles.

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Silian Theocracy, Supreme Priests' Assembly Hall

The air was heavy and oppressive in the headquarters of the highest authority of this Slane theological state.

This spacious and magnificent hall was originally quite resplendent with gold. Sunlight streamed through the intricately carved, petal-shaped window frames and through the dazzling stained-glass windows, casting a rainbow of light throughout the room. The smoke from burning various precious spices rose gently from the gilded bronze censers, releasing an invigorating aroma. Combined with the countless religious murals on the walls and ceilings, the exquisite sculptures and ritual objects displayed throughout the room, and the faint sound of music drifting from afar, it created a solemn and sacred atmosphere.

However, the six high priests standing in the center of the hall, along with several other high-ranking members of the Slane Theocracy who were qualified to attend the meeting, all had gloomy eyes. Their expressions gave the impression that someone owed them millions of gold coins, causing the atmosphere in the entire meeting room to become cold and gloomy.

"...Ladies and gentlemen, this year has been a very unfortunate year for our country."

First, the priestess princess was murdered, and her national treasure, the "Crown of Wisdom," was stolen by a traitor and remains missing to this day. Then, the "Black Scripture," "Sunlight Scripture," and "Wind and Flower Scripture" were completely wiped out, leaving only half of our nation's "Six-Colored Scripture" special forces, which were once our greatest deterrent to all.

Next, the orcs from the east launched an extremely fierce offensive against the Dragon Kingdom. Due to the heavy losses suffered by the special forces of the [Six-Colored Holy Scripture] and the lack of high-end elite forces as the core, the Dragon Kingdom's army and our reinforcements have so far failed to repel the orcs, and the number of soldiers killed is far greater than in previous battles.

To make matters worse, the Elf Kingdom, which had been suffering repeated defeats and retreating steadily on the western front, also took the opportunity to launch a large-scale counter-offensive against our country, forcing our country into a two-front war and putting us in an extremely unfavorable situation.

Today, yet another non-human force has risen in the southeastern region of the Kingdom of Ri-Estize! The Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, who previously annihilated the Black Scripture, the Sun Scripture, and the Wind Flower Scripture, has now emerged from his grave, crushed the entire Kingdom of Ri-Estize, and established his Kingdom of Nazarick in the fortress city of Elantil!

As the host of this expanded meeting, the Supreme High Priest began with a somber expression, "...The theme of this meeting is to discuss how to deal with the increasingly severe surrounding situation, especially how to deal with that alien country that suddenly appeared in our northern region!"

As previously described, in the world of Overlord, the human nations are not the dominant powers, but rather confined to a small corner of the northwestern continent. Among the six major powers in the central part of the continent, three treat humans as food, and the orcs especially enjoy eating human embryos at six months old, which must have something in common with the insect maids and slime maids of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

One of the reasons why the Slane Theocracy is willing to do anything to unify humanity is that this world is filled with malice towards humankind.

Among them, the Kingdom of Riyestege is a "rear country" protected by other human nations, while the Dragon Kingdom is a "front country" directly facing the attacks of alien races, fighting year after year with mountains of corpses and seas of blood—similar to Poland and North Vietnam in the Red camp during the Cold War.

(Although it is called the "Dragon Kingdom", this country is actually a human kingdom, only the royal family has dragon blood.)

For the Dragon Kingdom, a small human nation with only two million people, the idea of ​​fighting against the orcish westward expeditionary army from the core region of the continent with its own strength was an unbearable burden—the orcs were not only numerous, but their average physical strength was almost ten times that of humans!

On the battlefield where blades meet, humans are inherently less skilled in combat than orcs.

It is impossible for them to back down and negotiate peace, because the orcs' goal is to destroy human civilization and raise humans like livestock.

If it weren't for the Slane Theocracy constantly sending reinforcements to help in the war, the Dragon Kingdom, with only two million people and a shortage of soldiers and generals, would probably have collapsed long ago.

However, even with the selfless military aid from the Slane Theocracy, the endless and brutal wars year after year have severely depleted the Dragon Kingdom's resources. In recent years, the Dragon Kingdom's finances have become so dire that Queen Doravetillen has had to use her childlike body and rely on cuteness and perks to attract some "perverted" high-level adventurers in order to barely hold off the orcs' annual attacks.

The problem is that during this year's orc invasion, the Slane Theocracy suffered heavy losses of high-level warriors in the battle to capture the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and was then ambushed by the elves on the western front, resulting in a significant decrease in the Slane Theocracy's support for the Dragon Kingdom.

As a result, the Dragon Kingdom struggled greatly in its fight against the orc invasion, losing most of its farmland and warehouses. Emboldened by their success, the orcs intensified their attacks, leaving the kingdom still teetering on the brink of destruction.

Chapter 196, The Aftermath of the Turmoil (Part 2)

Of course, as a tenacious regime that has survived countless bloody battles for a century, the Dragon Kingdom is not without its own trump card.

That is the primordial magic, or soul magic, inherited from the ancient dragon king. A single strike could destroy this wave of attacks from the orcs.

However, primordial magic requires the consumption of souls. Considering that the current queen of the Dragon Kingdom, Dora Viteren, only possesses one-eighth of the Dragon King's bloodline, at least a million people would have to be sacrificed—and the entire Dragon Kingdom, after years of war and turmoil, only has a total population of two million.

Even if we sacrificed the lives of a million people to repel this orc attack, what will we do next time?

At that time, the people of the Dragon Kingdom will either become sacrifices to the Primal Magic or food for the orcs.

With the Dragon Kingdom gone as a buffer, the Slane Theocracy will now be directly attacked by the orcs.

The thought of the Slan Theocracy being forced to the front lines after the fall of the Dragon Kingdom, being repeatedly ravaged by cannibalistic orcs every year, with fields trampled, granaries burned, and people roasted alive for banquets... sent chills down the spines of all the high-ranking members of the Slan Theocracy present.

Many of them had led reinforcements to the Dragon Kingdom and witnessed the horrific scenes on the battlefield—in cities besieged by orcs, corpses lay everywhere, too many to be buried. The freshly dead were waxy yellow, stiff as sticks. But they quickly became bloated, with putrid blood oozing from their clothes… The entire city was permeated with a pungent stench, swarming with annoying flies, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Outside the city, there weren't as many rotting corpses, but seeing the skeletons that had been completely devoured by the orcs was even more terrifying.

Therefore, no matter how difficult things get, the Slane Theocracy must do its utmost to aid the Dragon Kingdom on the battlefield, so that this small country, which is almost bleeding dry, can persevere.

However, the Slane Theocracy now faces not only the orcs to the east, but also the forest elves to the west, who are equally sworn enemies. Although the two sides were once allies, they have long since parted ways and become bitter enemies.

Currently, the invading army of the Slane Theocracy has reached Crescent Lake near the capital of the Forest Elves. If the war goes smoothly, this powerful enemy can be completely annihilated in just a few years. However, if their strength wanes, there is also the possibility that the battle lines will collapse and all previous efforts will be in vain.

Unfortunately, the Kingdom of Nazarick has now emerged on the northern plains of Kaz, adding another enemy to the Slane Theocracy.

— Simultaneously waging war on three fronts and fighting against three powerful enemies on its own, even the Slane Theocracy, with a population of fifteen million, found it extremely difficult.

"...As the guardians of humanity, our country has a duty to send troops north to punish this alien nation located at the core of human civilization's sphere of influence. However, given our country's recent heavy losses and the grim situation of fighting on two fronts, it seems difficult to sustain a new war."

The High Priest, with a worried expression, explained to the assembly, "...Moreover, the military strength of the Kingdom of Nazarick, or rather, the personal power of that Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, has become so powerful that it defies description..."

On the other side, the attendees were also frowning as they passed around a document that recorded the strength of Ainz Ooal Gown's forces as discovered by Slane Theocracy spies.

—At least two hundred death knights, approximately two to three hundred soul eaters, hundreds of vampires and liches, thousands of goblins, including even red-hat goblins who have reached the hero realm, plus foreign mercenaries recruited from who-knows-where, ranging from orcs and dwarves to elves. Furthermore, Ainz Ooal Gown himself can summon tens of thousands of skeleton soldiers at any time…

Such military strength cannot be described as merely "powerful"; it should at least be described as "powerful to the point of despair"!

Keep in mind that a single Death Knight requires at least a party of adventurers of Orichalcum rank or higher to barely contend with. A Soul Eater, on the other hand, can fight a spellcaster capable of casting third-tier magic in a one-on-one duel.

Moreover, Death Knights are imbued with the aura of death, easily summoning hordes of zombies wherever they go. The more souls a Soul Eater consumes, the stronger it becomes. It can also unleash terrifying evil energy, making it virtually impossible for those without magic to defeat.

An undead of this caliber could easily wipe out a town of several thousand people, even if there was only one, let alone so many.

"...Damn it, how can there be such powerful undead in this world? Even if this Sorcerer King only has these troops, if these guys cause trouble in the rear, the kingdom, the empire, the city alliance, and the Holy Kingdom will all be destroyed!"

The Dark High Priest Maximilian said with a headache, "...Even for our country, if these monsters were to swarm in and attack all at once, even if we could barely hold them off, our land would be ravaged beyond recognition, and it would take hundreds of years to recover, wouldn't it?"

The devastating defeat at the Great Tomb of Nazarick, coupled with the ongoing war against the orcs and elves, has severely weakened the Slane Theocracy. Although, thanks to the legacy of the six great gods, the Slane Theocracy has successfully resurrected some members of the Dark Codex, their strength has generally plummeted since their resurrection. Furthermore, the national treasure-level weapons, armor, and magical items seized from them are unlikely to be recovered.

As for those whose strength didn't reach the "hero realm" or who died too tragically, they don't even have a chance to be resurrected.

After hearing Maximilian's comments, a chorus of exhausted sighs filled the room.

Although they were very unwilling, they had to admit that the facts were already laid out before them, so what could they do?

Although he prides himself on being the protector of all humanity and holds a zero-tolerance attitude towards other races, he now faces the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, who can destroy an army with a single blow and wipe out a country single-handedly, as well as hundreds of terrifying monsters that can single-handedly slaughter a city...

Not to mention that the Slan Theocracy's proud elite special forces, the Six-Colored Holy Scripture, have already been decimated by half. The battles in the Eastern Dragon Kingdom and the Western Elf Kingdom are still raging, and the Slan Theocracy simply cannot withstand any more losses. They have no spare capacity to open up a new front.

Even the most stubborn human supremacists have to bow their heads and lower their stance in the face of such a cold and cruel reality.

Just as when the Eight Desire Kings conquered the world five hundred years ago, the Slane Theocracy did not fight to the last man to defeat them.

So, just as the Blood Emperor of the Baharus Empire was eagerly anticipating the Slane Theocracy, which had always championed human supremacy, to take the lead and fight against the Sorcerer King's Kingdom of Nazarick, the Slane Theocracy hesitantly issued the following public statement:

The Theocracy, which has only been established for six hundred years, lacks accurate records of events that occurred near the fortress city of Ye-Lantir a thousand years ago, and therefore cannot make a judgment. However, if Ainz Ooal Gown did indeed rule there, the Theocracy would recognize its legitimacy in rebuilding the Kingdom of Nazarick.

In short, it means acknowledging the establishment of the Kingdom of Nazarick and publicly stating that it has no intention of being hostile to the country.

This shows that even the Slane Theocracy, which possesses the strongest power among all human nations, is unwilling to confront Ainz Ooal Gown directly.

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Meanwhile, in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, between the luxurious thrones...

Ainz Ooal Gown, as always, was clad in a black robe and sat high on his throne, looking down at the group of cat-like newbie players who had just logged into the game.

Our protagonist, the cat Firi, enthusiastically sang Ainz's name:

"...Look, meow! This is the protector of the Great Forest of Nazarick, the ruler of the fortress city of Ye-Rantir, the supreme being of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the village chief of your newbie village! The invincible Ainz Ooal Gown, the great Sorcerer King! Why don't you all kneel down and pay homage, meow?"

The group of novice cat players below quickly knelt down in unison, chanting, "...Meow! Long live the village chief, meow!"

However, Ainz, the Pride of Souls, sitting on his throne, was filled with immense distress:

"...Um, Firisan, while I appreciate you calling my name for me, could you please get off my head and stop scratching my skull with your cat claws? Also, which bastard just shoved a carrot into each of my eye sockets?"

"...Ah! Sorry, sorry. I'm used to climbing on the maid's head, but I accidentally climbed up again just now."

Upon hearing Ainz's complaint, Firi, currently in the form of an orange cat, quickly jumped down from his head and pulled the two carrots out of his eye sockets. "...Speaking of which, when exactly did someone stick carrots in your eye sockets? How come your defense mechanism didn't trigger? When I saw these two things in your eye sockets just now, I thought you were playing a game of pretending to be a snowman!"

"...I didn't see clearly. I was dozing off just now, and when I woke up I found two things in my eyes," Ainz replied, annoyed.

"...Ah! I see! It must have been the little fairies! Only they could use the little fairies' mischievous talents to bypass your personal defenses."

Phil tilted his head and thought for a moment, then looked around. He pointed at the two little fairy players who were covering their mouths and snickering not far away and shouted, "...As punishment for offending the village chief, your newbie items have been canceled! If you're not willing to spend double the money, then go on your adventure empty-handed!"

Then, one of the little fairies flapped its wings and flew into the air, pouting sweetly:

"...Pah! You greedy, money-grubbing cats! Even if we get caught by goblins or swallowed by slimes, we will never spend money on you!"

Upon hearing this, the other little fairy player was almost in tears. She quickly flew up and grabbed her sister's hand, shaking it violently.