Chapter 559: The Kingdom

After the "Crimson Rose" and others left, Gilknifer also ran his hands through his hair in agitation.

He had considered ceding a town to Ainz Ooal Gown to appease their anger.

But he knew full well that their demand for a town to build a nation was merely a facade.

Once they opened that door, they would come back for more.

And if they ceded land and recognized their nationhood, how would the neighboring kingdoms view the Bahas Empire?

In this desperate situation, the Bahas Empire could only seek to save itself—and Gilknifer had already prepared himself mentally: even if the empire fell, its people must never fall into Ainz Ooal Gown’s hands!

To Ainz Ooal Gown and his people, humans were no different from livestock.

Such a being who showed utter disregard for life—if the empire’s people fell into their grasp, there would be no good end for them.

The Kingdom had "Crimson Rose" as their envoy; now he needed to quickly bring the Holy Kingdom and the Church Nation into the alliance.

Especially the Slain Church Nation, a realm founded by the "Six Gods," whose depth and power were astonishing.

And for all these years, they had stood in absolute opposition to undead and other monsters, so winning them over should not be too difficult.

As for the Holy Kingdom, Gilknifer had originally planned to form an alliance through marriage—but since the Holy Princess had rejected him, he would have to go there in person.

The Kingdom of R. Yestige, Royal Palace in the capital.

Shengzai had just returned from the Holy Kingdom when he was summoned to Zanark’s study for a meeting.

When he arrived, he was stunned to find, besides Zanark and Lei Buen, Lachesis and Ibiruai also present.

"Shengzai, you’ve worked hard. I heard you just returned from the Holy Kingdom—I should have let you rest."

"But the situation is urgent, so we had to bring you here."

"The force you mentioned—the one led by powerful undead—has appeared!"

Hearing Zanark’s words, Shengzai paused, then quickly adopted a serious expression: "Ainz Ooal Gown, right?"

"They’re planning to build a magic nation and demand we cede Yelantil—or else they’ll attack us?"

At Shengzai’s words, Zanark wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead, then glanced at Lachesis and Ibiruai; seeing them shake their heads, he continued.

"Ainz Ooal Gown did say they intend to build a nation—but they don’t seem to want war with our kingdom."

"They want the imperial fortress-city. As for us, the magic nation wishes to form an alliance and says they’ll send an envoy to our capital soon."

Hearing Zanark, Shengzai was utterly stunned.

Bone didn’t strike the kingdom—he went straight for the empire? What the hell?

Did Blood Emperor’s brat finally grow a spine and refuse to kneel to Bone, choosing outright confrontation instead?

"We went with the Emperor to the Nazarick Ruins—and met Ainz Ooal Gown."

"Just as you said, Ainz Ooal Gown is a monster humans cannot possibly defeat!"

"And I suspect the Demon Emperor Adaba and the True Ancestor vampire, Shalltear Braulfron, are also his subordinates."

"Without doubt, they are the foreign presence behind this world’s 'Century Tremor.' Otherwise, such a powerful force could never have remained hidden for so long without leaving even a trace."

Hearing Lachesis and Ibiruai, Shengzai was again taken aback.

Then he stared at them in disbelief: "You went to the Nazarick Ruins with the Emperor?"

Bone didn’t attack the kingdom—he went after the empire—and Lachesis and the others took a day trip to Nazarick? What the actual hell is going on?

"Shengzai, you likely know more about Ainz Ooal Gown and the magic nation than we do."

"We called you here mainly to hear your advice—after all, you’re probably the one among us who understands Ainz Ooal Gown best."

As Zanark spoke, he placed two documents on the table and looked at Shengzai: "These two documents come from the soon-to-be-formed magic nation and our old enemy, the Bahas Empire."

"The magic nation seeks an alliance with our kingdom; the Bahas Empire invites us to the 'Allied Nations Summit.' The agenda, I need not explain—you already know."

Frankly speaking, as king, Zanark should favor allying with the magic nation—Ainz Ooal Gown—if judging purely by the kingdom’s interests.

The reason is simple: the magic nation is powerful, and they’ve offered to sign a treaty of friendship—this is good for us.

They intend to wage war on the empire because the empire provoked them first—they have just cause.

Besides, our kingdom and the empire have been at war for years; we’ve already shown mercy by not striking while they’re down. Helping them resist the magic nation would be a thankless burden.

But after hearing Lachesis and the others’ accounts from Nazarick, Zanark feared allying with the magic nation might end up like making a pact with a tiger.

That’s why he couldn’t decide—and why he summoned Shengzai to hear his thoughts.

"Ainz Ooal Gown may be inhuman, but he’s probably trustworthy in matters of honor."

"Yet if we ally with him, given the vast power imbalance, our kingdom will inevitably become a vassal."

"Perhaps, Brother, you should neither accept nor refuse the magic nation’s alliance—for now—and instead negotiate with the Emperor, holding out for better terms."

"Before the Demon War, the Bahas Empire and the Kingdom of R. Yestige were both great human nations—we should have watched each other’s backs."

"But if our kingdom aids the empire, we can’t just send men and resources without demanding any reward."

Hearing Shengzai’s reply, Zanark smiled knowingly.

Shengzai’s suggestion matched almost exactly what he and Lei Buen had already decided.

His only lingering concern had been the magic nation’s overwhelming strength—if even our kingdom, the empire, the Holy Kingdom, and the Church Nation united couldn’t defeat them, we’d end up losing everything trying to win.

But now that Shengzai said the same thing, Zanark felt reassured.

His mysterious younger brother must have already prepared something capable of standing up to the magic nation.

(End of Chapter)