Hades watched the scene below through a monocular. As he prepared to launch his assassination, his mind was as still as a pond, without a ripple. This wasn't because he was naturally so composed, but because he had the undead to thank for it.
Without unnecessary distractions, he could think clearly and make his arrangements in an orderly fashion, minimizing the influence of emotion as much as possible.
Though he didn't like it, Hades had to admit that the undead body had its advantages. Through the monocular's lens, two Hanzos had quietly taken up positions not far from the Elf Twins.
Two more Hanzos had their sights set on the fifteen Eight-Edge Assassin Bugs. These monsters were exceptionally good at concealing themselves, but once spotted, they weren't that hard to deal with.
Hanzo was a monster over level 80, and a Ninja, a special class, to boot. Even level 100 players would have difficulty detecting him. His combat abilities were nothing to scoff at either. One Hanzo would be more than enough to handle these Eight-Edge Assassin Bugs; the extra one was just a precaution.
Hades had summoned five Hanzos in total, which was all he had. He only owned five Magic Item Books for summoning Hanzo. Four were lying in wait for the Elf Twins and the Eight-Edge Assassin Bugs, while the last was hidden in his shadow, ready for any eventuality.
Since Albedo was always with Momonga, and Momonga was a Magic Caster, he naturally needed a Warrior to serve as his vanguard. Hades had already devised a plan to eliminate Albedo, but when it came to assassination, it was better to take extra precautions.
Hanzo belonged to the Thief class, so he could use certain scrolls to cast spells. As a means of conserving mana, scrolls could only be used by Magic Casters, and the spell had to be one that existed in that Magic Caster's skill tree.
For example, a Magic Caster of the magic type couldn't use a priest's Blessing scroll. Priests belonged to the faith type, so naturally, those of the magic type couldn't use it.
Warriors and those in similar classes were even less likely to be able to use scrolls.
But there were exceptions. Thieves could use their skills to trick magic items and operate some items that had no special restrictions.
Hanzo could use Ninjutsu, which consumed MP and could therefore be considered the Ninja's magic. But Ninjutsu still had its limitations, and wasn't as convenient as magic.
Hades had given the four Hanzos the various scrolls they would need for the ambush. The scrolls were high-tier. He had no idea if they'd be able to find advanced materials in this world to make more, but being stingy now would lower the chances of the ambush succeeding.
There was a saying: "You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child." He couldn't wait until members of Ainz Ooal Gown noticed him and prepared to make a move before doing anything himself. By then, it would be too late.
The organizer of the 1,500-player raid had listed their crimes, and they were horrifying. The guild constantly PKed other players and took their equipment. They'd even stolen World Items.
Because of their constant PKing, the Ainz Ooal Gown guild had made plenty of enemies in YGGDRASIL. After years of grudges piling up, the 1,500-player siege had finally erupted.
Hades wasn't unaware of the kind of society his original world was. In that oppressive and brutal environment, there were bound to be many people dissatisfied with society who wanted revenge.
Maybe those people didn't dare do such things in real life, so they went on killing sprees in the virtual world instead. Judging by Ainz Ooal Gown's usual behavior in the game, it was hard not to think that the guild was full of people seeking revenge against society.
Hades didn't dare gamble his life on their moral standards. Now that they'd suddenly gained such tremendous power in the real world, they might become even more unhinged, without caring whether they were in reality or not.
Perhaps Hades was worrying over nothing, but it was better to strike first than regret it later. He didn't hate society because he came from a wealthy family, but he wasn't going to be a naïve fool either.
The four Hanzos had been sent to the ground, quietly lying in wait beside the Elf Twins and those bugs. According to the Hanzos' reports and his own observations, the enemy hadn't noticed them.
That put Hades at ease. The Hanzos lived up to their reputation as Ninjas. Even the level 100 NPCs hadn't detected them. Now all he had to do was wait for the right moment.
He would strike as soon as Momonga left that house. There were villagers inside, so acting rashly would cause innocent casualties. Besides, the space in there was cramped. Even if he used teleportation magic, Momonga would immediately sense something was wrong, costing him the initiative. He'd do his best to strike in the open instead.
Huh? Wait...
Hades suddenly realized that, at some point, the village had been surrounded by people whose identities he didn't know. He'd been so focused on Momonga that he'd neglected to watch the surroundings.
They wore matching clothes and black cloaks. Were they natives? Were they going to rob the village? Wait... that was...
"Archangel Flame!" Hades exclaimed, continuing to watch.
The angel wasn't high-level, but it was a monster from YGGDRASIL. Why was there a YGGDRASIL monster in this world? And those people had summoned it with Tier Magic.
Hades suddenly wanted to reject the possibility that this was the real world and believe that he was still in YGGDRASIL's virtual world. But reason told him that couldn't be the case.
There was only one possibility: the natives of this world could use Tier Magic.
The discovery made Hades both happy and worried. He was happy because if Tier Magic existed in this world, he might be able to find a few allies to help him wipe out the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
But he was worried because if magic existed in this world, he wanted to know just how strong he was. The people below had used a third-tier angel-summoning spell, but they might just be small fry.
To be safe, Hades used the monocular to survey the area again. He confirmed that aside from the villagers, the members of Nazarick, and this group of Magic Casters surrounding the village, there was no one else.
The real world no longer had clearly defined stats like YGGDRASIL, so Hades could only judge people's levels by the magic they used.
If they could use third-tier magic, they were at most level 21. No... he should estimate high. Double that, perhaps? They might be able to use sixth-tier magic, making them level 42 at most.
There weren't that few of them, but one Hanzo should be able to handle them. A monster over level 80 could deal with a group of level 40 opponents with ease.
He just didn't know whether these natives would interfere with his assassination plan. To keep anything from going wrong, he'd send the fifth Hanzo, hidden in his shadow, to deal with them.
Hm? Wait...
Hades now saw the burly man who had spoken with Momonga earlier leading a group of people on horseback toward the Magic Casters.
Oh... was this a conflict between the natives? That was good. Wait, what was Momonga doing?
Hades's heart tightened. He quickly switched the view, and when he saw that Momonga was still inside the house, he relaxed. From now on, he would keep his eyes fixed on Momonga.
The moment he left the house, Hades and the four Hanzos lying in wait below would strike at the same time.
Before you continue