With the Kingdom's army now sprawled across the ground like fallen leaves, the "trash mobs" had been dealt with.
What remained—
Was the true main event.
A clash between monsters.
—
The Imperial soldiers were completely out of their depth in a situation like this. They couldn't contribute anything meaningful, so Ren simply ordered them to withdraw and return to the Empire on standby.
After all, their role from the beginning had merely been ceremonial—an honor guard to bolster morale and presence.
Upon receiving the order, the soldiers visibly relaxed, as though a crushing weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
What they had witnessed today…
Was something no one would believe even if they told it.
And now, the only ones left on the battlefield were monsters.
With their pitiful strength, they weren't even worthy of being snacks.
If not for Ren's overwhelming authority as commander—and the fear of punishment for desertion—they would have fled long ago.
The fact that they had managed to hold their ground until now already spoke volumes about their mental fortitude.
—
The Holy Kingdom's paladins withdrew alongside the Imperial troops.
But unlike the terrified soldiers, Remedios—while still shaken by Ren's power—felt something else stirring within her.
Excitement.
She hadn't been wrong.
If Ren possessed this level of strength, then dealing with the demi-human forces plaguing the Holy Kingdom would be effortless.
No—more than that.
Watching him now, an entirely new idea began to take shape in her mind.
It was said that Ren, known as the "War Oni," was often accompanied by a beautiful woman named Yuri—but the two were merely partners. And as far as anyone knew, Ren was still unmarried.
Meanwhile, Queen Karja of the Holy Kingdom had long been searching for a suitable consort.
Ren's strength? Flawless.
His appearance? Impeccable.
Even if he currently served the Empire…
Remedios believed that with Karja's title as the "most beautiful woman in the world," convincing him to join the Holy Kingdom's royal family as a consort wouldn't be difficult.
And once they had Ren on their side—
Not only would the nobles fall in line, but even the Empire and the Kingdom would think twice before provoking them.
The more she thought about it, the more viable the plan seemed.
At this point, she was already planning to write to Karja the moment she returned.
—
As for the battlefield—
With the Kingdom's army unconscious and the Imperial forces withdrawn, only the key players remained.
Aside from the covert operatives and the platinum dragon sovereign, there were still a few figures from the Kingdom side who hadn't left.
The warrior captain, Gajefu.
Climb.
And Brain.
Gajefu had stayed behind to buy time for his king's retreat.
As for Climb and Brain—they had previously endured Ren's overwhelming pressure. That experience allowed them to remain conscious this time.
But more importantly, they knew something the others didn't.
The fallen soldiers weren't dead.
And since Ren was someone they had encountered before, they hoped to negotiate with him.
—
At this moment, five factions stood on the battlefield:
The Theocracy's elite operatives.
The platinum dragon sovereign—one of the legendary Thirteen Heroes.
The Kingdom.
The Empire.
And the Sorcerer Kingdom.
…No.
Strictly speaking, the Empire had already exited the stage.
Ren and Ainz stood together.
They were one faction.
—
With no outsiders left to observe—and given the alliance between the Empire and the Sorcerer Kingdom—Ainz no longer bothered hiding his association with Ren, stepping forward openly to stand beside him.
Albedo, clad in jet-black full-body armor, and Cocytus moved ahead, positioning themselves in front of Ren and Ainz.
They could both sense it—
The enemies before them were no ordinary foes.
The girl known as Zesshi and the platinum dragon sovereign both possessed strength that could rival the Guardians themselves.
And after the incident with Shalltear being controlled, there was a very real possibility that their opponents carried World-Class Items.
—
"This… was a miscalculation."
Albedo spoke, her voice tense.
"To think this world harbors such powerful individuals…"
"Even though Lord Ren warned us beforehand, I was careless. As Overseer of the Guardians, this is my failure."
She lowered her head slightly before continuing.
"Lord Ainz. Lord Ren. Until we fully understand our enemies, please refrain from acting."
"Leave this to me and Cocytus."
—
Even as she said it, Albedo lacked confidence.
Her defensive capabilities were exceptional, but in terms of overall combat strength, she wasn't even superior to Shalltear.
Against ordinary enemies, she was invincible.
But against opponents of equal level?
Victory was far from guaranteed.
And with only her and Cocytus…
Defeating everyone present would be extremely difficult.
—
Nazarick still had other powerful combatants.
Even if Demiurge, Sebas, and Shalltear couldn't appear—
There were still Aura, Mare, Pandora's Actor, Aureole, and others—all max-level entities.
But the battlefield had already been sealed.
Ainz had used an item to lock down space itself.
And the restriction worked both ways.
They couldn't communicate.
They couldn't teleport.
If they wanted reinforcements, they'd have to解除 the barrier.
But the moment they did—
Their enemies could escape using World-Class Items.
A perfect deadlock.
That was why Albedo blamed herself.
She should have gathered more forces before sealing the space.
—
"It's fine."
Ren's voice cut in calmly.
"This situation wasn't something anyone could've predicted."
"And even now…"
His gaze swept across the battlefield.
"We're still the strongest side here."
—
Even if Zesshi and the platinum dragon sovereign could rival level 100 NPCs—
So what?
Ren.
Ainz.
Albedo.
Cocytus.
Every single one of them stood at level 100.
And as for World-Class Items?
Ren was a notorious whale-tier player.
Ainz held the full resources of an entire guild.
If it came down to that—
They weren't lacking.
Not even slightly.
—
Before the battle could begin—
The platinum-armored figure stepped forward.
Clad in sky-blue armor with a flowing crimson cape, the dragon sovereign did not attack.
Instead, it spoke.
"I have a question."
Its gaze locked onto Ren and Ainz.
"You who have come from that place into this world…"
"What do you think of this world?"
"And as beings of a different kind…"
"How do you intend to treat the humans who live here?"
—
At those words—
Ainz visibly stiffened.
To outsiders, the question might sound strange.
But to him and Ren—
"There" could only mean one thing.
YGGDRASIL.
This being knew.
It knew about YGGDRASIL.
Perhaps—
It had even been connected to it.
—
Ren let out a quiet breath before answering.
"At first… my companions and I just wanted to live peacefully in this world."
His tone was calm.
Almost casual.
"But the problem is…"
"There are too many annoying insects."
"Even if you ignore them, they keep crawling all over you—pushing their luck, making you sick just looking at them."
His eyes grew colder.
"So our approach is simple."
"Either we wipe out all those pests…"
"Or we teach them—through absolute terror…"
"What it means to live under the rules of the strong."