Chapter 569: Shengzai: Something

Lana had known since childhood that no matter what mistakes she made, as long as she didn’t cross Shengzai’s bottom line, her gentle older brother would ultimately forgive her.

Although as a princess she rarely left the palace, through multiple intelligence sources, no one understood her older brother better than she did.

Lahuosi, that naive fool, had always positioned herself as Shengzai’s sister-in-law and treated Lana as a younger sister and confidante—whatever Lana asked, she answered without hesitation, utterly defenseless.

And as for the gluttonous dragon by Shengzai’s side, it was even easier to handle.

Leveraging her identity as Shengzai’s “younger sister” and feeding it treats, the little dragon nearly answered every question she asked.

Nazarick Necropolis was indeed powerful, but Lana also knew clearly that her Shengzai older brother could protect her.

If not for Shengzai’s overwhelming perfection and strength, Lana couldn’t imagine anyone in this world besides Nazarick having the capability to defeat her older brother—she wouldn’t have chosen to cooperate with Yarbed and the others.

To achieve her goal, defeating Shengzai was necessary.

And in this world, it seemed only Nazarick Necropolis possessed such power.

Faced with Lana’s questioning, Yarbed’s expression also began to crack.

After all, none of them had expected the kingdom’s third prince to be so utterly extraordinary.

“When we first met, I told you: though you are powerful and intelligent, you are far too arrogant.

In your eyes, humans are an inferior species—even less worthy than roadside weeds.

Though it cannot be denied, most humans do indeed match your impression.

But my Shengzai older brother doesn’t belong to that category… never mind. Since Yarbed is here now, I assume you’ve already figured it out.

I will give you the intelligence you seek, but in return, I ask you to do one more thing for me.”

The current relationship between Nazarick and the Golden Princess remains one of mutual exchange of interests.

They had indeed provided considerable assistance, so after remotely consulting Old Bone, Yarbed asked Lana about her demands.

“Shengzai’s exile by Zhanak is merely a facade—in truth, during his last visit to the Holy Kingdom, Shengzai subdued the subhuman races and helped them establish a nation.

Due to internal unrest, the kingdom had to abandon aiding the empire in war, but Shengzai joined the Allied Forces under the title of Subhuman King.

The current Allied Forces have united the Empire, the Subhuman Nation, the Holy Kingdom, and the Church Nation into a massive armed force of one million three hundred thousand troops.”

The revelation from Lana left Yarbed momentarily stunned—she had never imagined the Empire’s Emperor could rally such a massive alliance under those circumstances.

“How strong is this alliance overall? How many extraordinary warriors does it include?”

In response to Yarbed’s follow-up, Lana helplessly shrugged. “You’re putting too much pressure on me, Lady Yarbed.”

As someone confined within the royal palace, just knowing this much is already rare—how could you expect me to know the army’s exact strength?

But based on the longstanding combat levels between the kingdom and the empire, the imperial and Holy Kingdom armies pose no real threat to you.

The subhuman races subdued by Shengzai, however—I seem to have heard that gluttonous dragon, Kangjinlong, mention that several among them are quite formidable.”

After obtaining this intelligence from Princess Lana, Yarbed could not stay in the kingdom a moment longer.

This emergency required her, as Nazarick’s overseer, to return immediately and summon the Guardians for a strategy meeting.

“I’ve given you the information—now it’s time to hear my conditions.

The Empire’s Emperor appears to have proposed marriage to me, and knowing Zhanak and my father, they will likely agree.

So as the price for this intelligence, I want you to sabotage this marriage.

Whether you wish to kill the Empire’s Emperor, my father, or Zhanak—it’s all up to you. I simply refuse to marry the Empire’s Emperor.”

Lana’s scheming and yandere nature was nothing new—even Yarbed often thought she was born to be a demon.

After returning to Nazarick Necropolis, Yarbed immediately reported the matter to Old Bone.

Soon, in the Throne Room on Nazarick’s tenth floor, all the Guardians gathered and began strategizing.

With sufficient materials, the Bone King could summon vast armies of undead.

But after the battle for the kingdom’s capital, to negotiate with Shengzai, many captured kingdom civilians had been released.

Thus, Nazarick Necropolis lacked no top-tier combatants, but its mid- and low-tier undead forces were somewhat insufficient.

One million three hundred thousand Allied Forces were not enough to frighten Old Bone.

But since this was Nazarick Necropolis’s first public display of power, a proper show of force was necessary.

Previously, to subdue a single lizardman tribe, Old Bone had deployed the “Path of the King”—now, facing all human nations head-on, how could they uphold the name of Ainz Ooal Gown without a fitting display?

“Lord Ainz, you previously mentioned that there are still dragon races in the Angelicia Mountains.

I suggest we subdue those dragons and beasts as we did the lizardmen, to expand our army.

If those races stubbornly refuse to submit to your rule, we can kill them all and use their corpses to summon more Death Knights.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Old Bone finally nodded in agreement to Demiurge’s suggestion.

He had originally intended to avoid terror rule, but with war imminent, now was no time for hesitation.

“Demitrius and… Shalltear, you two are assigned to conquer the Angelicia Mountains.

Demiurge, you’ve previously dealt with this world’s subhumans—investigate what the Saint En Subhuman Nation is about.

Aurore and Mare, you two are responsible for preparing Nazarick’s combat strength.

Yarbed, maintain contact with the ‘Golden Princess’ and try to extract more useful intelligence from her.

All of you, this is Nazarick Necropolis’s first true war since arriving in this world—let us claim victory together!”

“Understood, Lord Ainz!” xN

After kneeling and accepting Old Bone’s orders, the Guardians each departed.

Old Bone then took Yarbed back to Nazarick’s treasure vault and retrieved numerous pieces of equipment and precious magical artifacts from his former companions.

(End of Chapter)