Under the cover of the sounds of battle, the shadow formed by the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord slipped silently into the center of the forest like a ghost.
"This is… a Mausoleum. I never expected the Filth stronghold that descended this time to be a giant tomb."
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord quickly surveyed his surroundings and soon noticed something unusual.
This area was filled with white stone tombstones arranged in disorder. The neatly trimmed weeds stood in stark contrast to the chaotic tombstones, creating a powerful sense of incongruity.
Not only that, exquisite carvings of angels, goddesses, and other figures, each worthy of being called a work of art, were scattered throughout the cemetery, giving the entire place a chaotic, disordered design.
There were also four moderately sized Mausoleums positioned to the east, west, south, and north.
His sharp dragon eyes pierced through the walls at a glance, revealing crest banners made of precious metals, coffins filled with treasure, and large armored stone statues inside.
"This should be the entrance."
After scanning the area, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord's gaze finally settled on the massive Mausoleum at the center.
Looking inside, he could faintly make out a downward staircase made of limestone, leading into the bottomless depths underground.
"Be careful. Something's wrong with those statues."
Just then, the Vampiric Dragon Lord quickly warned him.
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord looked over and saw eight armed warrior statues, each six meters tall, surrounding the central Mausoleum like guardians.
At first glance, they only seemed like ordinary statues, but after the Vampiric Dragon Lord's warning, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord naturally would not think that.
"There's a stone tablet over there."
A stone tablet beneath the pedestal of the warrior statues drew the attention of both dragons.
[If anyone wants to use Talos Version 2.0, please contact me for Cash Shop payment.]
"Cash Shop!"
Although he did not understand the meaning of the full sentence, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord was still familiar with the term "Cash Shop."
Generally speaking, any item or prop in the hands of the Filth that carried the words "Cash Shop" possessed tremendous power.
The Cash Shop Items he knew of were exactly that sort of thing.
"Suppress your aura. This is most likely some kind of magical Golem that automatically engages intruders."
Although he did not believe he had anything to fear, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord had no intention of creating unnecessary complications.
Avoiding their edge for the moment, he carefully slipped past the four statues. The shadow turned into a thin thread, infiltrated the Mausoleum, and quickly entered the stairway.
Once inside, a dim corridor came into view. The grooves along both walls were packed with mummy-like corpses, standing like silent tombstones.
Deeper in, the corridor split into many branching passages, where large numbers of monsters gathered and wandered.
Skeletons, Skeleton Soldiers, Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Archers, Skeleton Mages, Elder Liches, Swell Skin Demons, Ghasts, Ghouls, Plague Bombers, Undead Beasts…
A massive number of Undead had clogged the area until it was packed full, as if this were a grand carnival of the Undead.
Any ordinary person who remained here would likely be afflicted at once by multiple abnormal conditions such as disease, poison, and curses.
"How is it?"
Within the shadow space, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord looked at the Vampiric Dragon Lord.
The Undead here were not a problem for them. The only real trouble was the various traps hidden among them.
"It's fine."
The Vampiric Dragon Lord replied while sensing the locations of the traps.
A large number of traps were hidden here, waiting for prey to arrive.
There were teleportation traps that sent targets to certain Floors, area effects that continuously dealt negative energy damage, and more.
For the Vampiric Dragon Lord, this was a tedious process.
At this moment, however, he was thoroughly enjoying it, savoring the thrill of the challenge.
Part of it was a test of his own abilities.
The other part was His Majesty's request.
Apparently, this was to test Nazarick's trap emergency self-assessment system or something like that.
He had been promised that if he could clear it without taking damage, perfectly avoiding every trap along the way while bringing the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord to the destination, he would be given one drop of Dragon Blood!
As a dragon, and a dragon who had become a Vampire at that, one could imagine how tempting that drop of Dragon Blood was to him.
He was not the little Vampire by His King's side, who could drink blood whenever she pleased.
This was a rare chance, so he had to be fully alert and give it everything he had.
They passed through the first and second Floors without any real danger.
When they reached the third Floor, a ruined, decaying suspension bridge appeared before them, with countless figures of the dead below.
Although it looked battered and unstable, it was unexpectedly sturdy. As long as one did not deliberately step on the damaged parts, there would be no issue.
After crossing the suspension bridge, a square underground chapel one hundred meters long lay ahead. There were no lights, only dozens of Undead wandering within.
Where a divine statue should have been placed, the Guild banner of [Ainz Ooal Gown] was displayed instead. Inside it was the Gate leading to the Fourth Floor.
...
[That Vampire really is giving it his all.]
Watching the first-person footage sent into his mind by the Vampiric Dragon Lord, Naohara could not help feeling impressed.
Desire really was the driving force.
To ensure the ingredients were delivered safely, the Vampiric Dragon Lord, this deliveryman, had really worked hard. Since he was being so responsible, Naohara would have to give him a bigger tip later.
"Your Majesty, have you made your decision?"
A voice pulled Naohara's thoughts back to reality.
He looked over and saw a strangely shaped Demihuman before him.
[Magic Manifestation]
A Demihuman race with four arms and a very long lifespan, capable of living around four hundred years.
Their appearance was somewhat close to humans, and they were born with the ability to use up to Fourth-Tier Magic.
The types of magic they possessed would appear on their bodies in the form of tattoos.
"Nasrene Belt Cure."
"I'm curious. As one of the Ten Greats, and someone whose people have lived in the Abelion Hills for generations, why would you suddenly want to bring your race under the Sorcerer Kingdom?"
The Ten Greats.
That was the collective title for the ten strongest Demihumans in the Abelion Hills region.
Most of them were tribal leaders, and all had reached the Realm of Heroes.
The "Nasrene Belt Cure" before him was one such figure.
As the queen of the Magelos race, she possessed the title [Iceflame Thunder]. She was a rare individual among her kind who had awakened the power of a Magic Caster, an existence on the level of royalty.
"I dislike war and slaughter. I only joined the war against the Holy Kingdom to give my people a place where they could rest and live in peace."
"But years of fruitless attacks, along with having to act alongside those barbarians, have exhausted my patience."
"That is why I came to the Sorcerer Kingdom, to seek another path."
Nasrene clasped her hands together and spoke.
As beings whose appearance was close to human, the Magelos race did not feed on humans. They were even rather disgusted by the sight of other Demihumans preying on them.
"Is that so…"
"But I'm afraid that isn't the real reason, is it, Nasrene? You're old. The scent of perfume can't hide your decay~"
Naohara smiled calmly and exposed her disguise without hesitation.
"…As expected, I couldn't hide it from you…"
"That's right. I'm old. By human standards, I should be close to seventy now."
Nasrene paused, then could not help sighing, her tone touched with worry.
As someone who had made a name for herself in the hills region long ago, she had already used up more than half of her lifespan.
A faint elderly odor had already begun to linger on her. Although she usually covered it with perfume, that was only fooling herself.
"I heard the Sorcerer Kingdom possesses magic that can help others extend their lifespans. I don't want to die. I want to keep living, so I came here."
Nasrene stated her true goal. Her so-called people had only been an excuse. From beginning to end, she had only one purpose.
To extend her lifespan.
That was why, the moment she heard the Sorcerer Kingdom could accomplish it, she rushed to this country without delay, even leaving the war with the Holy Kingdom behind.
"I understand the fear of death, but… why? Why should I help you?"
"Give me a reason."
Naohara nodded first.
Fearing death was the instinct of living beings. Even muddle-headed beasts were like that, to say nothing of intelligent monsters.
But everything had a price.
Equivalent exchange. That was an unchanging truth.
If she wanted him to lend a hand, she had to offer an appropriate bargaining chip.
"The submission of the Magelos race, my self-created magic, and this precious item passed down through my race for generations."
Without hesitation, the queen of the Magelos race immediately laid out every bargaining chip she had.
The Magelos race was actually fairly good in the other world.
As long as one became a Magic Caster, one could gain the special ability to cast three types of magic simultaneously.
As for her so-called self-created magic, they were respectively:
Shock Lance (Fourth Tier)
Freeze Lance (Fourth Tier)
Burn Lance (Fourth Tier)
The origin of her title was her ability to use these three original spells, which she had modified and developed herself, all at the same time. Each carried the attributes of ice, fire, and lightning.
As for the last precious item, it was an armguard.
[Arm Band of Death Guard]
It granted the wearer complete resistance to Instant Death Magic once per day.
After appraising it with detection magic, Naohara could not help nodding.
This item was indeed quite good. It could probably even fully defend against the instant-death effect of the Super-Tier Magic [Iä Shub-Niggurath].
"Not bad. I accept your terms."
Getting so much in exchange for casting a single spell was a winning deal no matter how he looked at it.
He had to admit, times had changed.
In the past, becoming a dog of the Sorcerer Kingdom had not involved so many twists and turns.
Who would have thought that now, even someone begging to become a dog had to pay a fee for the privilege?
Sigh, this was truly… wonderful!
Woohoo. Having people bring benefits to him while he was lying around felt truly wonderful.