Chapter 573: Finally Facing the Bone King Head-On!

“Lord Ainz Ooal Gown, as a player of YGGDRASIL, you were once human, weren’t you?”

“Then when did you begin to lose yourself—not just in appearance, but in heart and soul—becoming an undead who disregards life?”

Upon hearing Shengzai’s outburst, the old bone’s skull face instantly showed an expression of profound shock.

But it was quickly suppressed by his “Forced Calm” buff.

“So… you’re also a player of YGGDRASIL!”

Looking at Shengzai before him, the old bone finally understood why this human from another world possessed such extraordinary power.

If the other was also a YGGDRASIL player, then everything became explainable.

And if the other was a YGGDRASIL player, that meant his companions might also be…

“Regrettably, although I know of YGGDRASIL and its players, I am not a player—I am a native of this world.

Nazarick is not the first group of YGGDRASIL players to arrive in this world.

Many here are already aware of your existence.”

Before the old bone could ask about his companions, Shengzai crushed that hope in the bud.

Shengzai’s words reminded the old bone of Ligurido he had encountered at the Eight Fingers base.

That man also knew of YGGDRASIL and its players, making Shengzai’s claim highly credible.

“Indeed, since coming to this world, killing has meant little to me.

Or as you say, my former self has fully descended into undeath.

Yet I do not regret protecting the guild left behind by my companions.”

“Prince of the Kingdom… no, Shengzai, since we bear opposing stances, there is nothing more to say—fight with all your might!”

The old bone’s eyes glowed red as he clenched his fists, unleashing a suffocating surge of immense magical power.

He no longer intended to persuade or turn Shengzai.

For as Shengzai said, their stances had been opposed from the start—there was no path for them to walk together.

If he himself was a demon king from another world, then this prince of the kingdom before him was likely the hero born of this world.

Normally, it is the native demon king versus the outsider hero.

But now the roles were reversed—yet the dynamic remained much the same.

To find his other companions, he must rule this world.

And in the process of ruling, countless lives would perish—that was inevitable.

From his perspective, what he did was not wrong; his companions’ welfare came above all else.

But from Shengzai’s perspective, his actions brought catastrophic disaster upon this world.

Standing on each other’s positions, neither could say the other was wrong—but standing on their own, they could only be enemies!

“Magic Power Maximized: Current Cut—!”

Since they were now enemies, the old bone made no effort to hold back.

He swept his arm through the air, and a magical slash capable of severing space shot toward Shengzai.

Do not mistake this as a weak spell because it was casually cast—it was a true Tenth-Rank spell, equal in power to the earlier “Meteor Fall”!

While Shengzai used his knightly longsword and martial techniques to block the old bone’s spell, the latter had already layered upon himself numerous buff spells.

“‘Radiant Emerald Body’ ‘Blessing of the Spell Singer’ ‘Infinite Barrier’ ‘Sacred Magic Barrier’ ‘Essence of Life’ ‘High-Grade All-Attribute Enhancement’!”

As Nazarick’s strongest spellcaster, the old bone’s MP and spell-casting speed were undeniably terrifying.

Shengzai had barely blocked the Tenth-Rank spell “Current Cut,” and the old bone had already planted numerous magical landmines in the air around him.

Taking advantage of Shengzai’s approach, he rapidly cast a barrage of buffs upon himself.

“‘Freedom’ ‘False Information: Life’ ‘Perception’ ‘Extraordinary Intuition’ ‘High-Grade Resistance Enhancement’ ‘Chaos Cloak’ ‘Unyielding’ ‘Perception Boost’ ‘High-Grade Luck’ ‘Magic Enhancement’ ‘Dragon Power’ ‘High-Grade Hardening’ ‘Celestial Aura’ ‘Absorption’ ‘Penetration Enhancement’ ‘High-Grade Magic Shield’ ‘Magic Essence’!”

“Magic Power Maximized: True Darkness—!”

After reinforcing himself, the old bone extended his arm; a series of linked magic circles appeared above Shengzai’s head, and a column of pitch-black magical energy erupted downward from them.

“Magic Power Maximized: Holy Nova—!”

Concentrated magical energy enclosed Shengzai’s body within a white sphere.

The instant Shengzai unleashed his magical power, a brilliant holy aura exploded outward, blinding white light instantly engulfing everything nearby.

At the moment of direct collision between dark and light attributes, the sky above the Kazi Plain split cleanly down the middle—a stark boundary dividing holy white light from deathly darkness.

At the very instant Shengzai and the old bone’s spells clashed, the two opposing armies, under their commanders’ orders, charged straight at each other!

Kang Jinlong, Emirena, Otto, and the other guardians left behind by the Eight Desires Kings now appeared on the battlefield, confronting Nazarick’s Floor Guardians alongside Sesshō and the others.

King versus king, general versus general, common soldiers versus common soldiers—a total battle exceeding four million combatants erupted across the Kazi Plain.

The old bone was an extreme specialist in necromancy; aside from ultra-rank spells requiring long incantations, nearly all his necromantic spells were instant-cast.

And due to his absurdly high MP, Shengzai, knowing he could not outmatch him in magic, would never engage in long-range combat.

“High-Grade Movement—!”

In PvP between a spellcaster and a warrior, once the warrior closes in, the spellcaster’s advantage vanishes—even if the spellcaster has layered on numerous buffs.

“Dimension Lock—!”

With spatial movement blocked, and Shengzai now within arm’s reach, the old bone snapped a bamboo tally, using warrior-based magic to re-equip the top-tier gear “Perfect Warrior” from his friend Tachi-Mi.

“CLANG—————!”

The silver-white shield blocked the Kingdom’s secret treasure, the Razor Blade.

But soon after, Shengzai drew from his space equipment another weapon—only equipable by World Champions—“The Blade of Desirelessness!”

“Martial Art: Twin Heaven Flash!”

Both items were World Champion-exclusive gear: “Perfect Warrior” as armor emphasized defense, while “The Blade of Desirelessness” as a weapon emphasized offense.

(End of Chapter)