After passing Ainz-papa's first test, or rather, was it the first test?
The few ordinary small Skeletons at the entrance were completely crushed by these Black Workers.
After all, those few small Skeletons were merely things that Nazarick automatically generated periodically, something that even Adventurers with some skill could easily deal with. This was probably Ainz-papa's smokescreen!
To make these greedy guys think that Nazarick had nothing to fear.
"Hmph, hmph, you'll know your mistake soon enough. The Nazarick defense system reconfigured by Albedo-mama isn't as simple as you imagine!" Iri, who had been walking at the very back of the squad, thought.
Then they arrived at the so-called "crossroads of destiny." The cross-shaped intersection, with three routes, corresponded perfectly to the three small squads, and also to the fates of these three remaining squads. Iri had already found out from Shizu, so...
This time, she really had to change the world line!
"Hellank… go left." Iri, who had been hiding at the back, stepped forward, tugged at Hellank's sleeve, and whispered.
"Understood, Iri-meimei. Stag Beetle Uncle, we'll go this way." Hellank didn't ask further and immediately pointed to the left path.
"You chose this yourself, you know. Don't blame us if you find nothing later." Stag Beetle Uncle replied, half-jokingly.
...
"Ainz-sama, as for what you said… who will you choose as your sword-fighting opponent?" Albedo asked cautiously.
"Is that even a question? Why is our daughter Iri so fixated on this operation, Albedo, haven't you figured it out yet?" Ainz replied, secretly delighted that he could finally say to Albedo, "You actually haven't figured it out yet?"
It had always been Albedo or Demiurge saying that to others, and he would be utterly bewildered, trying to probe to understand what they were talking about.
Now even his own daughter Iri was starting to show such a tendency. He, as a father, truly had no face!
"Ah… I… I understand!" Albedo responded with excitement.
...
However, the path chosen by Iri was not an easy one. Wave after wave of small Skeletons, mixed with many Flesh Golems, came relentlessly, and there were also various traps along the way.
Originally, Iri wanted to help them, as these little things were child's play for her.
However, Hellank had said before that as the ace, Iri should conserve her magical power and skill uses as much as possible. So, unless it was absolutely necessary to act, Iri had to stay obediently behind Roba-dage.
Then Iri could only watch her companions' various struggles and coordinated efforts. To be honest… at least Iri, who possessed absolute power among them, felt an indescribable feeling watching her companions fight.
These minor Miscellaneous soldiers (fodder) that were insignificant in Iri's eyes could push them to such an extent. Seeing them use all sorts of endless methods—alchemical potions, simple traps, etc.—to survive, to stay alive.
Watching their tired and unwilling expressions. If she had known this, why didn't they listen to her and not get involved in this matter in the first place?
"Roba, how many times can you still use Undead Purge?" Hellank asked during a lull.
"Almost none, but most of my magical power is retained." Roba-dage replied. For faith-based magic against Undead, Undead Purge was indeed very effective, but its uses were limited.
That's great! To be able to use faith-based magic. The magic Shalltear uses is also faith-based. Even though she herself is an Undead, there's a limit to cheating, hey!
Fortunately, her intelligence isn't high. If it weren't for the fact that I can't level up, I should be able to learn this skill too. But speaking of which, it should be time for the transfer trap, right?
Shizu said it was definitely in this area, didn't she? Why hasn't it activated yet? Iri thought.
"Footsteps behind us!" Imina warned and drew her bow. Undead inherently have high resistance to piercing attacks, so Imina's role was almost entirely for warning.
"It's Undead! Iri-meimei, be careful!" Roba also prepared for battle.
"So annoying! Is there no end to this!" Iri, extremely annoyed, fired a Pure Throwing Spear directly down the passage behind them.
"Undead… reaction gone. As expected of Iri-meimei." Roba said, looking at the displeased Iri.
"It seems letting Iri-meimei guard the rear was indeed the correct choice." Hellank sighed in relief. Fighting in such a narrow passage, the most feared thing was being flanked. Hellank had always told Iri to conserve her strength and stay at the very end of the team for this very reason: to at least ensure a retreat. If they encountered a strong enemy, escaping… with Iri-meimei clearing the way, escaping shouldn't be a problem.
Seriously… she didn't even look at the time. She was still wondering about the transfer trap! And now they come to cause trouble!
"Let's rest for a bit." Hellank suggested. Although resting in such a confined space wasn't the best choice, all members, except Iri who hadn't participated much in the fighting, showed signs of fatigue.
"Let's rest for a bit." Imina and Arshe immediately sat down on the ground. Roba-dage, however, remained vigilant, surveying the surroundings. Iri didn't feel tired at all; putting aside her physical constitution, she had been slacking off at the back the whole time.
"What a strange tomb… isn't the number of Undead a bit too much?" Imina complained as soon as she sat down.
"This tomb also has some history. Judging from the previously discovered stele with unknown writing and the mummies found earlier… it's at least six hundred years old." Arshe replied, leaning against the wall with her long staff.
When mentioning this, Arshe seemed particularly excited. It appeared that Arshe was more enthusiastic about exploring and researching these unknown things than fighting Undead.
No, no, no, those steles are actually just writings from our world, and those mummies are just decorations, nothing as exaggerated as six hundred years! Iri, who was quite familiar with Nazarick's situation, silently complained in her heart.
"Are we going to continue further?" Roba-dage asked.
Although there had been many battles along the way, they had also found quite a few treasures in the other small compartments. Just these things alone, if taken outside, would be enough. Iri understood Albedo-mama's intentions: how could you lure a mouse in without putting some bait on the road?
"It's about time. The deeper we go, the stronger and denser the Undead become, and our potion supplies are almost depleted. After resting, let's just retreat!" Hellank said.
Good! The world line has changed! She can retreat completely without even fighting Hamutaro! Iri was secretly pleased. Then, Iri, who let out a sigh of relief, leaned against the wall, and a pale blue magic circle immediately appeared on the wall.
Huh? This is??? Before Iri could even react, the white light flashing from the magic circle swallowed both Iri and the Four Strategists Squad.
"Everyone, be alert! What's going on?" Hellank immediately gave the order after his vision returned from being enveloped by the white light. At this point, Hellank noticed that he and his companions were all still there; not a single person was missing.
But they were no longer in the narrow corridor from before; instead, it was a much wider passage. And at the front of the passage, a cold wind was constantly blowing towards them, and they could even see light.
Just as the Four Strategists were still wondering what had just happened, only Iri had a solemn expression.
Oh no!!!
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