On the boundless grassland, a dozen figures stood atop a small mound, gazing at the rolling hills in the distance.
The middle-aged man, clad in priestly robes and wearing a Chief Priest's hat, had sharp eyes, giving off the impression of an extraordinary dignitary. He was likely the leader of this squad.
In front of him, a bespectacled girl in a Japanese high school uniform carried a white handbag, her eyes flashing with magical light as she looked into the distance.
These people were none other than members of The Slane Theocracy—Chief Priest Raymond Zergon, Zesshi Zetsumei, and the Black Scripture Squad—who had come at Kael's invitation to investigate the situation of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick's headquarters.
"How is it? Did you find anything?"
Seeing the bespectacled JK girl, [Astrology of the Heavens], stop her magical investigation, Chief Priest Raymond asked.
Due to the characteristics of YGGDRASIL's game guild buildings, the surface entrance of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick could not be physically buried and hidden. Therefore, Ainz had ordered Aura to use magical effects to transform the flat ground outside the tomb's perimeter wall into rolling hills, concealing the tomb amidst the mounds.
As for the interior of the tomb's perimeter wall, high-tier magic was used to create a camouflaged cover, obscuring all traces of the Great Tomb.
Normally, the abilities of these New World inhabitants were quite low, and ordinary detection magic wouldn't be able to see through Nazarick's magical camouflage. Even if [Astrology of the Heavens] was a Magic Caster specializing in detection magic, who not only reached hero level but also had magical items left by the Six Great Gods to enhance her, she still wouldn't achieve anything against Nazarick's magical camouflage.
However, due to The Slane Theocracy's transaction with Kael, Zesshi and the Black Scripture Squad had all transformed into Fate Dependents. As one of them, [Astrology of the Heavens]'s current power was incomparable to before, reaching a level where she could use eighth-tier (LV50~56) detection magic.
Thus, after Raymond inquired, [Astrology of the Heavens] reported, "There is indeed a tomb in the middle of that group of hills, but that structure possesses a very special magical protective effect. I cannot penetrate the building's wall barrier to investigate the internal situation."
"Is that so..."
Raymond turned to look at the hill not far away, lost in thought.
This area was on the border between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire, and there had been no previous reports of ruins existing here. Now, a tomb structure suddenly appeared, and it could even block [Astrology of the Heavens]'s investigation. It seemed highly likely that it was the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick's headquarters.
Based on previously gathered intelligence, the monsters of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick possessed extraordinary power. He wondered if the current Black Scripture would be able to contend with them.
A slight unease still lingered in Raymond's heart. However, regarding the matter of entering the tomb for investigation, both Chief Priests of the Council and he felt it was something that absolutely had to be done.
Not to mention that this was His Majesty's request, simply because of the threat that the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick posed to the human race, they had to find a way to try and eradicate this Heteromorphic organization.
What slightly relieved Raymond was that Zesshi and the Black Scripture possessed strong 'immortality,' which provided The Slane Theocracy with sufficient capital for trial and error.
In the past, even if the country had Magic Casters who could use resurrection magic, facing an extremely powerful enemy like the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, they wouldn't dare risk Zesshi and the Black Scripture.
Because even if they could be revived with magic each time they died, it would cause a decrease in the strength of Zesshi and the others, and this state would require a long time to recover, resulting in too great a loss.
Raymond took out his pocket watch to check the time. It was very close to Kael's agreed time, but the Church of Destiny hadn't appeared yet.
"Has something happened?"
Raymond frowned slightly. This investigation was a joint operation between The Slane Theocracy and the Church of Destiny. If the Church of Destiny people didn't come, he would have to temporarily halt the operation.
No unexpected situation occurred. One second before the agreed time, Kael used teleportation magic to appear before Raymond and the others.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Raymond and the others quickly bowed respectfully to him.
Kael surveyed everyone and confirmed with Raymond, "Only you?"
"Yes."
Raymond nodded, "This operation is a disruptive investigation. More people would be a detriment, so we believed it was most suitable to send elites."
"..."
Kael was puzzled for a moment.
The Slane Theocracy's idea couldn't be said to be wrong, but they still knew too little about the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, and at the same time, they hadn't understood what Kael meant by 'investigation.'
Unlike ordinary basic buildings, the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick's defense system was extremely complete, with not only a large number of monster guards but also various mechanisms and traps within. Therefore, ordinary stealth investigations were useless against Nazarick; invaders would too easily expose their existence.
Thus, Kael had no intention from the start of letting the joint team enter the Great Tomb to investigate its layout or draw maps.
"Alright, anyway, I just want you to directly engage with the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick's monsters and experience what kind of terrifying existence they are."
"Prepare for battle. I'm going to knock on the door."
Kael reminded Raymond and the others, then said nothing more, turning to face the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick not far away.
Battle? What does he mean by that?
Before Raymond could fully react, he felt large-scale teleportation fluctuations in the surrounding space.
The next moment, Leinas, Fluder, and Enri each led a force of Fate Dependents to appear on the outskirts of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, forming a triangular array surrounding the Great Tomb.
The number of Fate Dependents' forces wasn't large, totaling only about two hundred people, with an average of around LV50.
Kael brought them here this time certainly not to make them break through the Great Tomb, but merely to gather experience in fighting high-tier monster legions and attacking a high-tier stronghold like the Great Tomb. This was the same arrangement he had for Raymond and the others.
Seeing that the formation was almost set, and Ainz and his group should have noticed their arrival, Kael no longer delayed.
The next second, a magic circle quickly unfurled with him at the center, and terrifying magical fluctuations swept the surroundings.
Raymond and the others standing beside Kael showed shocked expressions, looking up at the sky. A large amount of energy rapidly converged, forming a towering sword above the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
"Hey, open up, old bones, the community is here to bring some warmth!"
Kael grinned, and with a downward swing of his magic-controlling hand, the cosmic weapon summoned by [Over Magic: Sword of Heaven] plummeted, commencing the battle with an earth-shattering roar!
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