In the Re-Estize Kingdom.
As Shalltear pushed with all her might, the blood-red spear pierced through the platinum armor's chest, pinning it firmly to the ground.
It was pointless to continue the fight. The Platinum Dragon Lord, who was remotely controlling the armor, realized this. The platinum armor's four weapons had been destroyed, and its two main arms had been torn off, making it impossible to continue the battle.
"Who are you really?" Shalltear asked in a low voice, her expression a little gloomy. Even with her limited intelligence, after fighting for so long, she knew that the armor in front of her was only being remotely controlled by someone. Fighting a puppet for so long made her feel played.
The Platinum Dragon Lord was not surprised by her reaction, nor did he intend to utter words of peace. After all, since he chose to act, his destiny was to fight against the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
"Wait and see, we will meet again in the future."
After saying this, he cut off his mental connection to the armor, and the platinum armor instantly lost its vitality, lying on the ground like a dead object.
"Damn it!"
Shalltear kicked the platinum armor's helmet off, barely managing to vent a little of her frustration. At this moment, the human magician, who had finished the magic ritual, stepped forward with the newly transformed Undead. "Lady Shalltear, what should we do next?"
"Of course, we're returning to the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick." Shalltear snorted. She then looked at the platinum armor on the ground. "Collect all of these objects. I want to bring them to Lord Ainz."
With that, she waved her hand to open a portal and was the first to step in. The human magician directed the Undead to collect the scattered fragments of the platinum armor and followed into the portal, leaving the entire city in a deathly silence.
An area in the southern part of the Great Forest of Tob
This was the closest point to the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick in a straight line. The area was considered intermediate level in the Great Forest and was not easily accessible to adventurers or villagers.
In a clearing in the forest, Ainz used a long-range monitoring tool to check the situation at the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. Behind him, in addition to Demiurge, Shalltear, and Aura's group, all other members of Nazarick's expeditionary force, such as Guardians and Battle Maids, had returned safely.
"Lord Ainz, shouldn't we be doing something?"
Watching the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick being continuously bombarded by the enemy's magic on the monitoring screen, Cocytus could no longer stand it. Although he knew that to stop the Church of Destiny's actions, they had to fight back. A confrontation between the two sides would put Nazarick at a disadvantage, given who the enemy's commander was.
However, Nazarick was not only the home of all the NPCs, but also the dwelling place of the Supreme Beings. Watching it be destroyed, Cocytus found it very difficult to remain indifferent.
Ainz turned, looked at Cocytus, then his gaze returned to the monitoring screen. His skeletal hand slightly clenched as he spoke in a low tone. "Cocytus, I can understand your feelings. If I could, I would also rush out and fight the enemy, even if it meant mutual destruction. As long as I can protect Nazarick, I would not hesitate for a moment."
"It's just that we all know that doing so would be meaningless... Don't worry, the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick can be restored. We have attacked many human cities this time and harvested a large amount of resources, which can fully support this consumption."
Whether he was comforting Cocytus or himself, Ainz's voice sounded a bit distant. In the end, he didn't have strong confidence in this method. The reason was simple: human cities were not dungeons that could be continuously refreshed in the game of Yggdrasil. Nazarick could not rely on this method to survive the Church of Destiny's assault forever. The final battle that would determine whether Nazarick could continue to exist was still to come, and at that time, a direct confrontation would be unavoidable.
Just then, Shalltear's portal appeared before Ainz and the others. The vampire stepped out, and the moment she saw Ainz, an uncontrolled look of joy appeared in her eyes. She happily stepped forward to bow. "Lord Ainz!"
"Shalltear, welcome back."
Ainz turned to face Shalltear, like a company president welcoming an employee who had returned after a negotiation with a client. He first expressed his greetings, then asked, "How was your mission?"
"Yes, Lord Ainz." Shalltear nodded respectfully, then turned to gesture for everyone to look at the army of Undead that followed her through the portal. She introduced them with a hint of pride. "This time, we sacrificed all the humans in Re-Estize Kingdom and obtained a total of 532 high-tier Undead! Also, there's one more thing. During the mission, we encountered an intruder, but I easily dealt with it."
Shalltear winked at the human magician who was guarding the fragments of the platinum armor. The latter, understanding, manipulated the Undead to bring the armor in front of Ainz and the others. Seeing the empty inside of the armor, Ainz asked, "Shalltear, this is?"
"The situation is like this, Lord Ainz..."
Shalltear then gave everyone a detailed explanation of the information regarding the platinum armor. Ainz and the others were not as careless as she was. They immediately realized its importance, their expressions becoming a little more serious. The person who manipulated this armor most likely came from a force other than the Church of Destiny, which meant that Nazarick had become the target of a third party.
I just fear that the other party comes from a not-so-weak organization. If they were to then reach a cooperation with the Church of Destiny, that would be very bad news for Nazarick, Ainz thought with a bit of worry.
Subsequently, he shook his head, temporarily suppressing these worries that had not yet occurred. "Since Shalltear has returned, Demiurge and Aura should also be ready. Albedo, send a message to them and ask about their situation."
"Yes, Lord Ainz."
Albedo began to contact her friends. But the next second, her expression changed. She quickly reported to Ainz, "Lord Ainz! Demiurge and the others have lost contact!"
"What!?"
Ainz was shocked, a bad premonition quickly surged within his heart.