Chapter 560: Shengzai and Ainz

When Nazarick declared war on the Baharuth Empire, it naturally didn't just do nothing afterward.

In the throne room, Ainz sat on the throne, currently listening to his subordinates reporting.

"I see. In order to resist our invasion, the Empire is preparing to convene an 'International Conference' to seek help from other human kingdoms?"

In order to explore the abyss of magic, the Baharuth Empire's court mage, Fluder, had long since been bought by Ainz, so he easily obtained the Empire's internal news.

"What about the Kingdom? What is their reaction?"

Honestly, for the Empire wanting to seek help from other countries, Ainz didn't take it too much to heart.

In order to explore the abyss of magic, Fluder almost sold the Empire's foundation clean.

And the Baharuth Empire's combat power was not worth mentioning in Ainz's eyes, and it wasn't even enough to make him take it seriously.

Similarly, the Holy Kingdom, which often suffered from demi-human attacks, was also quite weak in Ainz's eyes.

The only two he felt needed to be handled cautiously were probably the Theocracy and the Kingdom.

The Theocracy was founded by the "Six Great Gods," and he had now basically confirmed that the so-called "Six Great Gods" were former YGGDRASIL players.

Ainz even suspected that the person who used the world-class item to control Xia Xia Xia Tiya was likely from the Theocracy.

Of course, he had also seen the "Sunlight Scripture" among the "Six-Colored Scriptures" of the Theocracy before.

It could only be said that as the elite force of the Theocracy, the Sunlight Scripture was indeed stronger than most humans.

But in Ainz's view, it was just that.

If the battle was one-sided, it would be too boring, so even if the Theocracy and the Holy Kingdom joined the Empire's camp, it was completely within Ainz's calculations.

The only thing that made him worry was the Kingdom side; Shura King and the Kingdom's Third Prince were too unfathomable.

Although he was still quite confident in the foundation left behind by the Ainz Ooal Gown guild.

But he still wanted to avoid accidents as much as possible.

Xia Xia Xia Tiya and the others, as NPCs, could be resurrected as long as the guild base, the Great Tomb of Nazarick, was not breached.

But the YGGDRASIL gold coins needed for resurrection had no channel to be obtained in this world.

In other words, like the healing potions in the game, the gold coins in this world were non-renewable resources.

In other words, he could resurrect Xia Xia Xia Tiya and the others once, but what about the second time, the third time?

His companions were gone, and now the guardians and NPCs of Nazarick were the only thoughts left by his companions, and they were also his most precious treasures. He didn't want anything to happen to Albedo and the others.

"Just as Lord Ainz predicted, the new King of the Kingdom, Zanac Valleon Igana Rilafleur, did not give us a reply the first time he received our letter of alliance.

And according to reports from our eyes in the Kingdom, the new King Zanac and the Kingdom's Third Prince have shown signs of heading to the Baharuth Empire recently."

Hearing Albedo's report, Ainz also tapped his throne's armrest with his skeletal fingertips.

"As expected, the behavior of attacking the Royal Capital before finally made them maintain a certain vigilance against us?" 【560

"I am truly very sorry, if it weren't for my previous mistake..."

Demiurge had just lowered his head to apologize when he was stopped by the King of Bones, who reached out a hand first.

"Demiurge, this is not your problem. Underestimating the kingdom's combat power was my error as a decision-maker; you were merely the executor of orders.

Moreover, now that the matter has already occurred, dwelling on whose fault it is will not help matters.

Albedo, use the pawns buried in the kingdom. Since the kingdom wants to play both sides, we cannot let them have their way so easily."

Re-Estize Kingdom, Royal Capital E-Rantel.

Just as Shengzai and Zanac were preparing to head to the Baharuth Empire to attend the "Assembly of Nations" spearheaded by the Emperor, internal strife suddenly erupted in the royal capital.

Upon learning that Zanac and Shengzai were preparing to help their old rival, the Baharuth Empire, defend against a powerful enemy, the kingdom's nobles voiced their protests and opposition one after another.

In a medieval monarchical kingdom, completely abolishing the aristocratic system is an impossibility, as the royal family itself is the biggest noble leader.

After Zanac ascended the throne, he and Marquis Raeven had used various means to purge a large number of corrupt nobles in the kingdom.

The nobles who remained now were either mediocre in ability but had not committed any major wrongs.

Or they were truly capable and held power within the institutions.

Yet, just as Shengzai and Zanac were preparing to head to the Empire to attend the meeting, these kingdom nobles all jumped out to rebel.

The reason was simple: in the eyes of these kingdom nobles, they had no idea what kind of existence this suddenly emerged "Sorcerer Kingdom" was.

But the fact that the opponent wanted to fight the Empire like dogs biting dogs was a great thing for their kingdom.

The kingdom's nobles were unaware of the danger posed by the King of Bones, regarding this so-called Ainz Ooal Gown as a common bumpkin.

Therefore, the loudest voice among the kingdom's nobles now was the hope that Zanac would take advantage of the conflict between the Sorcerer Kingdom and the Empire to kick them while they were down and reap the benefits.

The kingdom and the Empire had been at war for many years, and the kingdom did not know how many soldiers had died at the hands of Imperial soldiers.

The nobles did it for profit, while the commoners, unaware of the underlying reasons, were incited to believe that the kingdom intended to help their former enemy, thus stirring up public resentment as well.

This also led to Zanac, who had previously been highly praised, being reduced to a foolish king in a short period of time.

The kingdom's nobles could be suppressed, but with the nobles and commoners now standing on the same side, this gave Zanac and Shengzai quite a headache.

The noble named Philip, who had instigated the incident, had already been finished off by Zanac.

But the public resentment had already erupted; he couldn't just kill all the dissenters in the kingdom, could he?

If he really did that, how would he be any different from a tyrant?

"This must be the work of that guy Ainz Ooal Gown, and that damn Philip!"

In the study of the royal palace, Zanac was currently smashing things in the room with a face full of fury.

Because of this internal strife, not only was his and Shengzai's itinerary forced to be interrupted, but the reputation he had worked so hard to accumulate since his coronation had also been completely squandered in these few days.

Now there were even many rumors in the royal capital stating that he, the new king, was just like his appearance—as stupid as a pig!

"Royal Brother Zanac, you should represent the kingdom and establish an alliance with the Sorcerer Kingdom."

Even if Shengzai hadn't said it, Zanac had actually intended to do so in his heart.

There was no help for it; they had simply been outplayed this time and calculated against by Ainz Ooal Gown.

If they still insisted on helping the Empire now, then his time as king would truly be at an end.

"I'm sorry, Shengzai. To quell this internal strife, I have no choice but to compromise."

"It's fine, Royal Brother Zanac. The kingdom is withdrawing, but I will set out as the King of the Demi-human Nation!"

(End of chapter)