EeDechi tossed aside the archer she was holding in her hand. She smashed through a wall and charged toward the center of the iron foundry.
Along the way, she attacked with overwhelming force, crushing everything in her path like dry weeds. The opportunistic mercenaries scattered in panic, and no one dared stand against her anymore. After the mercenary band routed, a few fearless assassins lunged at her. EeDechi swatted one away with a single swing of her sword.
The giant sword in her hand was her signature weapon—massive in size, heavy as lead, and shaped much like a two-handed sword.
The giant sword wasn't sharpened; its blade was blunt, and swinging it felt like waving around a huge slab of iron. A keen edge would make it deadlier, but why her personal weapon was a dull blade, EeDechi herself didn't know.
Barrett had once asked her why she didn't sharpen the sword. EeDechi didn't want her teammates thinking she didn't even understand her own gear, so she brushed him off with, "A heavy sword needs no sharp edge; true mastery looks unrefined."
But deep down, EeDechi had a nagging hunch. She didn't want the sword to become razor-sharp. If its edge could slice through iron like butter and become utterly unstoppable, it felt like something irreversible would happen—something she could never take back.
A few assassins wielding curved blades closed in on her, tangling her up. Two of them even pulled off a self-destruct stunt—they must be the suicide assassins Barrett had mentioned before, the kind raised by powerful nobles, professional killers who'd throw away their lives to finish the job.
But the assassins were in for a disappointment. Not everything in this world could be claimed just by sacrificing a life, no matter if you were on the side of good or evil.
One suicide assassin barely got close to EeDechi before his body exploded with a "bang" into a cloud of blood mist. Countless tiny blade fragments and toxins sprayed in every direction. But all it did was force EeDechi back a few steps, making her frown at the blood splattered on her clothes.
The other suicide assassin didn't even get near her—he was smacked away by her sword, bursting into roaring flames mid-air and turning into a massive fireball, more dazzling than any fireworks.
A squad of plate-armored swordsmen, each hefting a greatsword, formed an ironclad defensive line and advanced in a fan-shaped formation, with EeDechi right at the center point. EeDechi spun and swept her sword, instantly scattering the "fan" into a broken line.
Soon, EeDechi charged into the central area of the iron foundry. By the light of the burning torches scattered on the ground, she spotted a factory building constructed from bricks.
The adventurer captain kicked down the oak door with one boot, and several gleaming blades came chopping straight down at her head. EeDechi gripped her giant sword and swung it flat in a full circle, sending the blades—and their owners—flying backward.
The factory interior was incredibly spacious, with flames dancing in the copper torches embedded along the four walls. EeDechi looked up and immediately spotted an old man seated at the far end of the room. The old man had sparse silver hair, vicious eyes, and a long hooked nose, like an old vulture.
EeDechi had seen this old man in the arena—he was Slam's employer, Odys Malcon Waverly. Her gut told her he was the puppet master behind everything, so she hefted her giant sword and was about to rush him.
"Wait a second!" The old man placed his hand on an iron lever beside him and shouted in a rush.
EeDechi skidded to a hard stop. This adventurer, who had carved through the mercenary band, swatted aside suicide assassins, smashed heavy-armored fighters, and hacked her way straight from the front gate to here, actually halted at the words "wait a second."
The long-dormant smelting gear had already been fired up again. The abandoned magical iron furnace in the factory was loaded with magic crystals, blasting out waves of intense heat as scrap iron slag melted into blinding bright-white molten iron.
At the far end of the factory, molten iron at a full 1,500 degrees poured from the furnace spout, flowing into a shallow pool and boiling into a deadly cauldron of superheated iron soup. Less than a meter above the bubbling molten iron lay two people flat on their backs—Sean and Stella.
They were wrapped in iron chains like mummies, their mouths stuffed with rags so they couldn't make a sound, only able to squirm in terror above the scorching molten iron. The blistering heat baked them alive; Stella's soft, beautiful chestnut hair was even curling from the roast.
The only thing keeping them from dropping into the molten iron was a single thin chain. One end bound them tight, the other ran through a pulley hanging in mid-air, connected to a mechanical switch right by Odys's hand.
All Odys had to do was give that lever a gentle nudge, and Stella and Sean would plunge into the molten iron, swallowed up by the superheated liquid metal, burned until not even a scrap was left. A dozen or so mages and swordsmen circled around Odys, ready to cut down anyone who got too close.
EeDechi's face darkened to a terrifying scowl. Sean and Stella were way too near the molten iron—less than a meter away—and Odys, that old vulture, had planted himself deliberately at the deepest end of the factory, a good long distance from EeDechi.
If Sean and Stella had been two or three meters above the molten iron, EeDechi was sure she could charge in, bash Odys to death, and snag them out of the air over the iron at the same time.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the adventurer captain racked her brain for any possible plan. She recalled a 4th Tier spell from The Mystery of Magic that could make every object in a chosen area float. Back then, she figured it had no real killing power, so she skipped learning it—and now, regrets were pointless.
"You're late; I've waited an hour for you. But I don't mind—after all, an old man's time isn't as valuable as a young one's, is it?" Odys, spotting EeDechi's enraged look, broke the silence first. "I'm not here to threaten you. We can talk this out."
A servant approached carrying a wooden chair and set it down in a spot ahead of EeDechi, still plenty far from Odys—that was the negotiation spot he'd picked.
"Talk?" EeDechi had no real options. She clutched her giant sword tight in one hand and strode over to the chair, sitting down.
Odys raised his hands and spread them out for a moment, but immediately placed his right hand back on the lever.
He smiled faintly. "Negotiations call for sincerity. I hold no weapons in my hands, so I hope you'll place your spatial ring and all your weapons on the ground. My servant will collect them first and return them to you once the talks are done."
His withered palm stroked the iron ball on the lever, fingers tapping lightly. EeDechi's temple veins bulged, but she still slipped the spatial ring off her finger, pulled a golden pen from her bosom, along with a Bronze Seal, and placed them all on the ground together with her giant sword.
A man with a sword slung at his waist approached, picked up EeDechi's spatial ring, pen, and Bronze Seal, then dragged away the giant sword.
EeDechi watched the man's movements and was taken aback. This man was Clovis Daguerre! EeDechi clearly remembered that she and Barrett had killed him ages ago, even caved his face in—how was he still alive now?
Especially noticeable was the dark golden mark on Clovis's forehead—that was the emblem of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. EeDechi couldn't help but start pondering the connection between Odys and the Sorcerer Kingdom.
But as she stared intently at Clovis, a phrase suddenly leaped into EeDechi's mind—"lifelike." Yes, this Clovis moving right before her eyes was utterly lifelike.
"'Lord of Despair' Clovis, wasn't he already dead?" EeDechi asked.
"Indeed, he was killed by you long ago," Odys laughed smugly. "What you're seeing now is an undead puppet crafted from his corpse. I have to admit, the Sorcerer Kingdom's magic is unfathomably deep; the undead puppets they create are identical to the living in every way."
He boasted, "You know, if a dead man is treated like a living one, the value he provides is even greater than when he was alive!"
"Why tell me this?" EeDechi couldn't care less if Clovis was dead or alive.
"It won't hurt to let you in on it, since our negotiation is about to wrap up anyway."
EeDechi glanced at the Sorcerer Kingdom emblem on Clovis's forehead and asked Odys, "What's your connection to Ainz Ooal Gown?"
"From your tone, it sounds like you don't show enough respect to the Supreme Overlord," Odys said coldly. "Lord Ainz has granted me his power; I am the Supreme Overlord's representative in Re-Estize!"
EeDechi furrowed her brows; she had to tread more carefully now. If Ainz Ooal Gown was standing behind Odys, the situation just got a lot trickier. Her current power level wasn't up to snuff, and she didn't want to stir up the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
After pondering for a moment, EeDechi said, "You kidnapped Sean and Stella because I became the Warrior Captain? Truth be told, I have zero interest in the Warrior Captain position—it was just a bunch of flukes that landed me there."
"Really?" Odys arched an eyebrow. "That's an answer I didn't see coming. So, will you give up the Warrior Captain position?"
"I will," EeDechi said earnestly. "I'll soon step down from the Warrior Captain's military role on my own, leave Re-Estize, and head off to travel in the Slane Theocracy."
EeDechi wasn't lying; she hadn't managed to recruit any adamantite-level adventurers, and she'd also gotten the information she needed from Rigrit of the Thirteen Heroes.
Sticking around in Re-Estize no longer made sense. If it hadn't been for the delay from the Warrior Captain tournament, she would have already led her team out and left Re-Estize's capital.
"Footloose and fancy-free!" Odys exclaimed admiringly. "That's the adventurer style for you."
He flashed a smile that, for a split second, gave the illusion of kindly benevolence.
Odys nodded, "It seems there's no conflict of interest between us."
EeDechi nodded silently. If this could be settled through negotiation, that would be ideal. She really wasn't confident she could save Sean and Stella above the molten iron.
"Lord Ainz has granted me the power to wield 7th Tier magic," Odys asked. "What do you think?"
EeDechi didn't understand why Odys brought this up suddenly—was he trying to intimidate her with Ainz Ooal Gown?
"7th Tier magic is pretty powerful," EeDechi said offhandedly. "Even Baharuth's chief court mage Fluder only masters 6th Tier magic."
Odys smiled faintly. "7th Tier magic circles are the realm of the gods."
EeDechi probed, "Since I'll be leaving soon and won't get in your way, can you release Sean and Stella?"
Odys lifted his eyelids and glanced at her. "They'll be released soon."
His left fingers lightly tapped the armchair's armrest, and suddenly, a massive magic circle unfolded beneath EeDechi's chair! The negotiation spot Odys had designated for her was right above the magic circle!
Blood-red heptagram patterns grew like vines across the surface, vast magical energy swirled into a pillar pressing down on EeDechi's head, the space feeling like it had been infused with solidified ice. Countless black iron chains emerged from the magic circle, binding EeDechi and her chair tight as a drum.
EeDechi roared, "What is the meaning of this?" Her voice pierced through the magic-distorted space, sounding unnaturally bizarre.
"Kill her," Odys ordered the surrounding swordsmen and mages.
He stood up to leave, casually flicking the lever.
Sean and Stella plummeted straight toward the molten iron! Their eyes brimmed with despair!