[Armageddon Evil]
This was a spell that summoned an army of Demons.
Although it could summon them in great numbers, they were not all particularly powerful. The Demons it summoned were wildly violent, making the spell difficult to use.
Its main purpose was to treat the summoned Demons, who were not allies of the caster, as sacrifices for ritual magic or special skills.
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord had chosen to activate this spell precisely because he wanted to use the Demons to draw attention away from his next move.
Darkness began to swirl around him, forming a vortex.
As bubble-like things let out wet gurgles, Demons were born from the abyss.
The first to appear in this world were Demons below level 10, a total of 128 low-tier Demons.
There was no word to describe their appearance except deformed.
Swollen heads, unnaturally thin left arms, massive right arms made from several tangled tentacles, and left and right legs of different lengths.
They had nothing that indicated gender, and yellow pus seeped from countless tiny pores all over their bodies.
"That form really is disgusting."
The White Dragon Lord looked openly repulsed.
He was no stranger to Demons. Aside from the automatically generated Undead, Demons were probably the most numerous beings in Nazarick.
Still, the huge difference in appearance between the two made him unable to resist commenting on it.
Weak Demons had no intelligence.
Born only for destruction and slaughter, they were not under the White Dragon Lord's command. Instead, they attacked every being around them.
Dragons such as the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord were undetectable while concealed.
Under the current circumstances, the only thing nearby was the forest where Nazarick was located. Naturally, the forest became their target, or rather, the treants did.
The earth shook. Countless roots tore free from the ground as the sleeping treants awakened and roared at the invaders before them.
Although treants preferred to spend long years in quiet contemplation, they would also viciously attack anything that threatened their woodland.
Beyond that, countless magical beasts came charging out of the forest as well.
"What a sight~"
The Vampiric Dragon Lord hovered in midair and licked his lips. His bewitching crimson pupils gave off a faint glow, like a tireless camera silently recording everything before him.
"There are more of them than I expected…"
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord watched the one-sided slaughter below. The enemy's defensive line was far stronger than he had imagined.
Detection magic told him that these monsters had all reached at least the level 70 standard the Filth had spoken of.
Then he frowned and looked down at the vortex below.
Although [Armageddon Evil] was still active, with 64 level 20 Hell Scythe Demons, 32 level 30 Rotting Demons, 8 level 40 Supplicant Demons, and 4 level 50 War Devils continuing to descend.
Was that all?
Although he could not check the item's information, according to his analysis, it should have kept summoning Demons around level 60, perhaps even level 70.
Damn it. Is it really failing me now of all times…
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord cursed inwardly.
This was no time to waste. Although he had prepared Wild Magic in advance to block Message, the situation here probably would not stay hidden for long.
Once they were discovered, those Filth would surely return as quickly as possible.
He had also set up Wild Magic along the route in advance to interfere with teleportation.
On top of that, he had arranged for Heavenly Dragon, who had the strongest defense, Swordmaster, who had the strongest physical attack, and Brightness, who specialized in elemental Wild Magic, to intercept the enemy along the way.
But there was no telling how long they could delay them. Every second counted.
With that thought, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord did not hesitate. He quickly took out dozens of items shining with different lights.
[Armageddon Evil] ×3
[Armageddon Good] ×3
[10th-Tier Monster Summoning] ×2
[10th-Tier Elemental Spirit Summoning] ×2
All of these had come from the Player he defeated 300 years ago. Besides that Player's World-Class Item, he had obtained every item in his collection.
That included a large pile of miscellaneous items.
He remembered that when he fought that fellow, the Filth had shouted something about "Cash Shop Items."
Unfortunately for him, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord had launched a sneak attack and forcibly interrupted the activation. Otherwise, the other party might really have turned the tables.
"You'll be responsible for summoning and commanding these monsters. Draw as much attention as you can. If those Filth come back, stop them!"
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord quickly instructed the White Dragon Lord.
The other party was too weak. Aside from casting the Ninth-Tier Resurrection spell [Hymn of the Frozen Barrier] on him and the Vampire, his only role in this operation was to summon monsters.
In other words, he was the obvious decoy.
"Ah! Me?"
The White Dragon Lord's eyes widened like copper bells, as if to ask whether he was serious.
Never mind that he was an undercover agent.
Even if he really were one of their own, they wanted him to stop Players?
Damn it, did they really think he was stupid?
"Don't worry. Once this plan succeeds, I'll give you an extra share of the Filth's treasures, and I'll help you become a true Dragon Lord."
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord quickly shoved an empty promise into the White Dragon Lord's mouth.
In any case, given the current situation, it was already too late for him to back out. He could only see this through to the end.
"…All right."
The White Dragon Lord nodded as if reluctant.
Inwardly, however, he could not help rolling his eyes.
Great. He really does think I'm stupid.
At least give me something real. Anyone can make empty promises.
Back when he submitted to Nazarick, the three Lords had known to give him some benefits. The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord, meanwhile, was trying to get something for nothing.
At this point, not backstabbing him would almost feel rude.
While grumbling to himself, the White Dragon Lord began activating the items in his hands.
In an instant, countless vortices of different sizes appeared, like Demons' eyes flickering with eerie light.
Summoned by [Armageddon Good], large numbers of high-tier Angels descended like falling stars.
On the Demons' side, an ever-growing army of Demons surged out like a raging tide. Unfortunately, there still was not a single one above level 50.
In addition, the four primal Elemental Spirits of [Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind] descended, releasing waves of pressure that swept in like a storm.
Level 64 to 70 monsters, the three-headed hellhounds, howled toward the sky, their roars deafening.
The already noisy battlefield grew even more chaotic. Dazzling magic circles appeared everywhere, brilliant as fireworks, while great booms echoed into the clouds as if heaven and earth were collapsing.
Perhaps because the commotion was too great, a streak of light shot out from deep within the forest and transformed into a young girl wearing blood-red armor.
She's out!
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord's heart shook when he saw Shalltear appear on the battlefield. Without the slightest hesitation, he activated the summoning magic he had planned long ago.
He had prepared quite a few trump cards for this operation.
Before the plan began, he had struck deals with several high-ranking Demons by sacrificing souls, using them to make up for his side's lack of combat strength.
The soul sacrifice had been rejected the first time, and only succeeded on the second try.
"Summon Original Sin Demons [Wrath], [Envy], [Greed]!"
...
The Seventh Floor of Nazarick.
Evil Lord Wrath, Evil Lord Envy, and Evil Lord Greed, who had already finished preparing, looked at the summoning magic portal that opened before them.
After exchanging a smile, they stepped into it.
...
On the battlefield, a massive magic circle appeared.
Wrapped in flames and thick smoke, a roar suddenly rang out, deafeningly loud, and the Demons representing the three great sins descended.
Shalltear looked at the "enemies" before her and immediately began a "bitterly contested battle" with them without hesitation.
Seeing this, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord seized the chance. With a wave of his hand, he activated Wild Magic, causing himself and the nearby Vampiric Dragon Lord to turn into shadows. They secretly crossed the battlefield and rushed toward Nazarick's entrance.
Those three Demons were only level 85. They might not be able to defeat that NPC, but they should be able to hold her back.
Right now, the Sorcerer Kingdom was holding its celebration. With the three Filth showing themselves there, some NPCs would definitely be accompanying them.
There might still be NPCs left behind, but there definitely would not be many.
And with such an obvious decoy here, even more of the remaining NPCs would surely be drawn out.
He intended to use this opportunity to infiltrate the Guild Base and wait for a chance to steal the Guild Weapon.
The Vampiric Dragon Lord specialized in Wild Magic related to souls and bodies, allowing him to sense traps inside the Guild and avoid some unnecessary trouble.
Together with his own expertise in concealment, as long as nothing unexpected happened, even those so-called level 100 NPCs would have a hard time noticing them.
...
The Sorcerer Kingdom.
After the declaration ended, Naohara and the others entered the Dragon Tower at the center of the city.
"As expected, Demons above level 50 still can't be summoned. Looks like that Demon King is quite cautious~"
Naohara lay sprawled in a recliner like a puddle of mud, leisurely tasting the fruit handed to him by the little Vampire loli in his arms.
A huge virtual screen floated in midair, clearly displaying everything happening in Nazarick.
"[Armageddon Evil] is Tier Magic that only summons Demons. Other than that, it imposes no restraints, so it's much looser than the forced contract of the World-Class Item [Demon Gate]."
"And just like we tested before, the Demon side seems to have established some sort of rule. Any Demon above level 50 can no longer be summoned."
"Tier Magic, Super-Tier Magic, Cash Shop Items, none of it works. Even tests using native Magic Casters from this other world had the same result."
"It seems those high-ranking intelligent Demons have simply abandoned this other world."
Herohero, like Naohara, was also slumped in a recliner, lazily eating the "snacks" Solution was feeding him in his arms.
"It was supposed to summon the Original Sin Demons from the abyss. I never expected that after being rejected, the magic circle would link directly to the Three Demon Generals who were helping Demiurge with his experiment."
"This is just too funny. Haha."
Naohara watched the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord summon the Three Demon Generals on the screen, his tone full of amusement.
Just how bad was this guy's luck?
Not only were the people around him all traitors, even the Demons he summoned were traitors.
"Do you think eating this guy's meat would make someone unlucky?"
Naohara stroked the little Vampire in his arms and teased her.
"Hmph. How would I know?"
"And stop… stop touching me like that. People are watching!"
Keno slapped away the hand wandering over her body, rolled her eyes, and a faint blush appeared on her face.
This guy was getting more and more outrageous. If he was going to touch her, he should at least find somewhere with no one around first!
"What's the problem? I'm only touching a little. Look at that perverted Slime over there, he's already gone inside."
"Besides, I'm a dragon. Even though I can control my desires, I still need to let loose every once in a while, right~"
"So when can you…"
Naohara glanced meaningfully toward her lower body and chuckled.
Although they could not do that yet because of the difference in strength, hands, hair, feet, or even her mouth were still options.
"You… you perverted dragon!"
Keno glanced at the ravaged Solution, hurriedly squeezed her eyes shut, then slammed her tiny fist hard against Naohara's chest.
"Haha ×2"
Watching this scene, Naohara and Herohero could not help laughing together.
"Um… there's still a while before dinner. Shouldn't we handle some official business? Quite a few people submitted visiting cards during this celebration."
A voice suddenly cut in.
Momonga hesitantly raised his bony hand and suggested in a low voice.
He felt extremely awkward right now.
It would have been fine back when he did not have a physical body, but now that he had one, this was… difficult.
Although, as an Undead, he still could not have children, at least he could use it!
Was he really going to have to find Albedo…
"That's true. Let's treat it as a pre-meal workout."
Naohara nodded in agreement, as if he had not noticed the awkwardness in Momonga's eyes.
"Then I'll go deal with the security issues. Besides those Dragonoids who jumped out earlier during the celebration, quite a few people showed hostility. I'll go have a heart-to-heart with them."
Herohero also spoke from the other side.
Having heart-to-hearts was what he was best at.
Whether mentally or physically.
...
Meanwhile, in the Sorcerer Kingdom's commercial district.
Inside a barbecue restaurant, the Swordmaster Dragon Lord was eating the grilled meat in his hand with great relish while closely watching the situation outside.
"This doesn't make sense. Why is there no reaction at all?"
"Logically speaking, Deep Darkness should have already made his move. Even if the information was blocked, after all this time, they should have noticed something was wrong by now."
He stuffed the grilled meat in his hand into his mouth.
The Swordmaster Dragon Lord could not figure out which part had gone wrong.
"Don't overthink it. We only need to make sure I… that those three Players haven't left the Sorcerer Kingdom."
The Brightness Dragon Lord spoke leisurely while looking around.
Hmm… there are quite a few pretty females here.
Come to think of it, he had been running around nonstop lately and had hardly had any chance to rest. Once this mission ended, he could relax a little.
"…True."
After a moment of silence, the Swordmaster Dragon Lord nodded.
Right now, waiting was indeed the only thing they could do. Hopefully, nothing unexpected would happen.
...
Elsewhere.
"Ah, you want to resign and leave the Sorcerer Kingdom?"
The Minotaur Sage looked puzzled as he chewed the Dragon Meat in his mouth.
"Uh… not exactly resign. I just want to go out and clear my head."
The Clear Light Dragon Lord hesitated.
His situation was very special.
As a dragon raised by the Eight Greed Kings' NPCs, during his growth, those NPCs had stripped away his racial levels and left him with only the level 1 [Ancient Dragon] racial level.
All the rest had been replaced with job levels related to [Space] magic.
Although his attribute bonuses had been reduced because of his racial levels, he was still fundamentally a dragon, so his base stats were not that poor.
On top of that, the Eight Greed Kings' NPCs had given him the best resources, so his attributes were not bad either. They were on par with an ordinary True Dragon Lord.
And with the fourfold buffs of Tier Magic, Wild Magic, Super-Tier Magic, and Power of Faith, those NPCs had even called him the strongest Dragon Lord in the other world.
They said he could even fight a World Boss or something.
Although the Clear Light Dragon Lord had no idea what a World Boss was.
Before reaching what those NPCs called level 95, he basically stayed around the Eight Greed Kings' Guild Base and the desert region.
His daily life consisted of studying magic, and at most, visiting the religion that worshiped him.
This lifestyle had left him too laid-back. Or perhaps, because he had never experienced combat and had been too well protected by the Eight Greed Kings' NPCs, his mental fortitude was lacking.
So when he saw that mountain of Dragon Meat, the Clear Light Dragon Lord's first reaction was to run away at once.
It was a little embarrassing for a dragon…
But he really had been scared.
"Then I'll go with you. I've been wanting to go out and look around lately anyway."
"Didn't you say you wanted to find your fellow countryman?"
"Uh… that fellow countryman doesn't seem very easy to get along with, so I'm not in a rush to acknowledge him yet. I'll keep observing for a while."