Under the intensive long-range attacks from the monsters, Kael once again fell into a state of death. However, [Twelve Labors of Hercules] exploded into holy light that enveloped his entire body, restoring his HP and MP values to 100%, as if death was merely a brief pause.
Immediately after, a fierce magical confrontation ensued, the city trembling under the clashing forces.
Ainz Ooal Gown and Albedo stood behind the monster army's encirclement, conserving their own strength. They chose not to attack Kael alongside the monsters. A wise tactic.
At this moment, Albedo, staring at the center of the battlefield, suddenly felt a slight unease. She couldn't help but remind Ainz Ooal Gown beside her, "Ainz-sama, there seems to be something wrong with this person!" Her voice was filled with concern.
"Yes, I know."
Ainz Ooal Gown's voice sounded somewhat serious, proving that he, too, felt disturbed within.
Including this time, Kael had been resurrected fifteen consecutive times. Ten of those times he used a belt equipment that appeared to be a World Item, and five of them he supposedly used special skills similar to resurrection magic or other buffer effects. An extraordinary and suspicious ability.
And each time he was resurrected, his attribute values would increase.
Since Shalltear Bloodfallen had reported this information to him during the last battle, Ainz Ooal Gown was not overly surprised.
The only thing that surpassed his expectations was that this attribute enhancement effect seemed much stronger than he had imagined.
The current situation was the best proof.
Initially, General Demon-level mercenary monsters could cause significant damage to the opponent using Tenth-Tier magic. But now, their effect was basically the same as Seventh-Tier magic damage. A significant reduction in power.
This was not the most troublesome thing.
Due to continuous attacks, the mercenary monsters' MP values and the number of times they could unleash special skills were almost depleted. From now on, they could only use physical means to attack. It was impossible to maintain strong suppressive firepower.
Conversely, the enemy, resurrected with the belt equipment, would regain all his HP and MP, coupled with the special attribute enhancement effect, his counterattack would be extraordinarily devastating.
As Ainz Ooal Gown expected, Kael used [Triple Magic: Holy Explosion] with a wave of his hand.
Three shining orbs, like suns, appeared amidst the monster crowd. The effect they produced was no longer causing severe damage to the monsters, but instantly annihilating them into ash.
Although there was a slight impact on health points that weren't at full capacity due to continuous fighting, this terrifying power still made people look away.
This time, the monster army's magical barrage failed to hit Kael.
A dazzling magical shield enveloped his entire body. Although it continuously trembled and cracked under the magical attacks, the shield successfully blocked the combined wave of attacks from the monster army.
[Triple Magic: Holy Radiant World]!
[Triple Magic: Light Shooting Army]!
[Tenth Tier: Holy Angel Feathers]!
After a field that greatly weakened the target's divine attribute resistance appeared, light arrows and holy feathers poured down like heavy rain, and most of the monster army was instantly wiped out, making it impossible to maintain a tight encirclement.
If Kael chose to leave at this moment, the monster army would have no way to stop him.
But surprisingly, he chose not to.
Disregarding MP consumption, Kael continued to use enhanced High-Tier magic and the effects of the [Ultimate Grimoire] to reap the lives of the monster army. He knew this was a rare opportunity.
Now that he had reached this condition, wouldn't it be foolish not to seize this opportunity to destroy all these monsters and cause the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick to suffer heavy losses?
If possible, he even wanted to kill Albedo and a few other NPCs and steal World Items from them.
It was just that the distance was a bit far. They and Ainz Ooal Gown were hiding behind the monster army and couldn't use [Greater Teleportation] magic. It might not be easy to break through this defensive line.
Never mind, let's kill these mercenaries first!
With this mentality, Kael's movements became more fluid, and various enhanced effects like [Expanding Magic Range], [Triple Magic], and [Most Strengthened Magic] were combined with spells of the widest attack range to be unleashed continuously.
When he had used all his MP, more than two-thirds of the surrounding monster army had been killed or wounded, and the surviving monsters were not at full health and all suffered serious injuries.
Awesome!
Looking at the ravaged battlefield, Kael for the first time felt the sensation of fighting a thousand enemies alone on the battlefield, and a happy smile appeared on his face. There was clear pride in that smile.
At this moment, the monsters suddenly began to retreat, as if receiving an order, and then he saw Ainz Ooal Gown and the others emerge from behind the defensive line, approaching.
When he was some distance from Kael, Ainz Ooal Gown appeared calm and said to him, "Your Excellency seems very satisfied." There was a hint of sarcasm laced in his flat voice.
Kael was in a good mood at this moment, so he rarely said anything kind to him, "It's nothing. I'm truly sorry for annihilating your army." A faint smile played on his lips.
"No, I don't feel any loss at all paying such a price in exchange for your life. After all, I have also seen many things in this battle. It was truly eye-opening."
Ainz Ooal Gown slightly opened his hands, with a genuine tone of admiration in his voice, even though it was admiration for his enemy's power.
In response, Kael merely smiled and said nothing.
After a brief attempt to ease the tension, Ainz Ooal Gown asked him a rather sharp question, "Now that your MP is drained and your HP is low, what will you do next?"
It sounded like he was mocking his struggling opponent, but considering Ainz Ooal Gown's personality, Kael felt that he might be trying to gain information from him.
He reached out and grabbed the [Ultimate Grimoire] floating beside him, shaking it in front of Ainz Ooal Gown, and said with a smile, "I also have this item. Don't be fooled by its inconspicuous appearance, but it's actually quite useful."
Ainz Ooal Gown glanced at the [Ultimate Grimoire] and replied, "Although I don't know the exact details of this item, I already know its general effect. I don't think its effect will be able to protect you from our encirclement." There was a tone of finality in his voice.
The smile on Kael's face deepened, a calculating smile.
Although the effect of the [Ultimate Grimoire] was very suitable for a prolonged war, it was essentially part of the same system as magic scrolls.
The magical power unleashed by magic scrolls had nothing to do with the user's attributes, but depended on the skill of the person who created the scroll.
In other words, even though Kael's current attribute values were very high, the [Ultimate Grimoire] could not benefit from his attribute value bonus, and its power was no different from its normal state.
"Alright, you win, come and kill me."
Kael put the [Ultimate Grimoire] back into his backpack, then opened his arms wide, gesturing to Ainz Ooal Gown and the others to grant him a quick death. He was not a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. It would be impossible to capture him alive.
"Farewell, sir."
"Alright, see you next time."
Ainz Ooal Gown led Albedo and Mare Bello Fiore to retreat slowly. During this process, Kael remained in place, awaiting the end.
After they had created a certain distance, Mare Bello Fiore raised the magic staff in his hand and activated the special skill [Catastrophe] from the [Apocalypse] profession.
A burst of pure, devastating energy swept through, instantly engulfing Kael's figure.
When the skill's effect ended, all that remained at the scene was chaos and dust, no one was visible.
"Is that so..."
Ainz Ooal Gown stared at the empty ground and couldn't help but sigh, a mix of admiration and complexity.
He had noticed that the other party chose not to flee when he could have, as if he wasn't afraid of the threat of death at all.
He raised his palm and looked at one of the rings on his finger, the [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown].
Since I can have such props, other players certainly can as well. There's nothing strange about this.
"...Albedo, announce Ainz Ooal Gown's victory to this city. I will return to Nazarick now."
"Yes!"
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