Nobody?

"A city?" Nigun paused, looking at Hades thoughtfully before pointing in a certain direction. "There is a city in that direction called E-Rantel, a border city of the Re-Estize Kingdom."

"About how far is it?" Hades asked again.

"It's about fifty kilometers from here," Nigun replied.

"Hmm, thanks." Hades nodded.

Just as Nigun was about to leave, Hades' voice rang out again. "Lend me some money. I'll pay you back when I go to the Slane Theocracy later."

"Uh... what did you say, My Lord?" Nigun froze, feeling as if he had misheard.

"Lend me some money," Hades said, his face hardening. His tone turned unfriendly, bordering on telling Nigun that if he didn't lend it, he would simply take it by force.

The more critical the situation, the less one can afford to show weakness, or one will easily be taken advantage of.

It wasn't that Hades lacked money; he possessed over twenty billion in game currency, but he didn't know if these coins could be spent here, even though YGGDRASIL described them as gold coins.

He had taken some out when summoning Hanzo, but he couldn't be certain if they were actual gold. Even if he hadn't been short on money in his original world, he had never had any reason to keep a pile of gold around to play with, and he was completely ignorant of how to verify its authenticity.

Gold and silver are natural currencies, but he didn't know if the gold and silver in this world possessed that same inherent property.

Although he was currently acting hostile toward Nigun, as if he were about to rob him, he fully intended to pay him back if he agreed to lend it now. He wasn't the type to welch on a debt.

Cold sweat broke out on Nigun's forehead. He untied a pouch from his waist and tossed it directly to Hades from ten meters away. It wasn't a loan; it was clearly a robbery, but constrained by the other party's overwhelming martial pressure, he chose to compromise.

They had irreconcilable differences with that magic caster; they wanted to kill Gazef Stronoff, but the magic caster was clearly intent on protecting him, so there could be no compromise.

The consequence was being shocked by the opponent's strength. He had thought they would die there, but unexpectedly, someone even more powerful had appeared and resolved the crisis for them, even if it wasn't for their sake.

If he didn't comply now, he would truly meet his end here. If he wanted money, he could have it. Nigun felt a pang of heartache over the gold coins, but his life was more important.

The salaries of public officials in the Slane Theocracy differed greatly from other nations. To prevent people from using unscrupulous means to gain power for the sake of money, which would eventually lead to incompetent fools rising to the top, the higher the position, the lower the salary.

Hades caught the tossed pouch. It had a decent weight to it, but he didn't open it, instead placing it directly into his Infinite Backpack.

He was waiting for a message from Hanzo at any moment and didn't want to be distracted by checking the coins. Once he reached this so-called E-Rantel, he would find someone to ask if his own game currency could be used.

"My Lord, farewell."

Nigun gathered his courage to bid Hades goodbye. The failure of the mission left him feeling dejected, but the priority now was to report the situation to the Theocracy.

It was just a pity that this person wore full-body armor, making it impossible to see his build, let alone what he looked like.

After they left, Hades waited quietly for a long time, but the messages coming from Hanzo remained the same: no abnormalities.

This left him feeling puzzled. Since when did the members of Ainz Ooal Gown have such good tempers? He had seen it on the crusade website for those 1,500 people.

There were players who had luckily managed to counter-kill an Ainz Ooal Gown member who ambushed them, only to be hunted down by the other members, have their equipment stolen, and their levels dropped to 1, eventually forcing them to quit the game.

He had just killed the leader of that heteromorphic guild; even if there weren't many members who had come to this world, they should have mobilized by now.

Even if they feared it was a trap, they should have at least dispatched scouts or similar roles to investigate, yet there was no such sign in Hanzo's reports.

Could it be...

Hades suddenly thought of a possibility. Could it be that only Momonga had come from Ainz Ooal Gown?

It was highly possible, but he couldn't be certain. Unless he killed his way into the interior of Nazarick, he would never know the true situation.

This was one of the reasons he wanted to assassinate Momonga; otherwise, he couldn't obtain detailed intelligence without breaking in.

He was all alone, but Momonga possessed the resources of an entire guild. Although Hades didn't know how many resources Nazarick had, judging by their style of constant PK and equipment looting in the game, which had continued until the very end, it was likely an uncountable amount.

Hades was confident he wouldn't lose in a one-on-one fight with Momonga, but that massive wealth put him under significant pressure.

"If only 'Cat Lord~Great Kingdom' had come here too."

Hades let out a sigh. Even though the scale of "Cat Lord~Great Kingdom" couldn't compare to "Ainz Ooal Gown," it could at least provide many conveniences, and most of his materials were stored in his personal warehouse within the guild.

It was a pity that killing Momonga only dropped the "Mask of Envy," but there was no helping it. He possessed a super-rare resurrection ring, which not only negated the level-down penalty but also caused his equipment to drop items of low value.

However, Hades felt somewhat relieved; at least the resurrection item was truly usable. Before the assassination, he had vaguely felt that he might not be able to truly kill Momonga, and now that had been proven true.

Looking around, the moon was already hanging high in the sky. The effect of the dimensional lock had long since passed, but there was still no movement. The messages from Hanzo remained calm and peaceful. Hanzo was skilled in concealment and reconnaissance; if even he couldn't detect anything, Hades certainly couldn't either.

"It seems no one is coming." Hades let go of his tension. The anti-detection ring would hide him from skill or magic-based surveillance, but there was no longer any spatial blockade in this area. They should have at least dispatched a suicide squad to scout, yet there was still no movement.

"Number One, Number Two, Number Three, Number Four, you continue to stay here and scout. If there are still no abnormalities by tomorrow morning, come find me. Remember, don't draw attention to yourselves."

Hades issued his orders to the four Hanzos.

Momonga would definitely return to scout the situation; tonight was the best time to track him. After tonight, he would be mingling in a large city, and as long as he didn't expose himself, it would be a miracle if Momonga could find him.

The magic item book for summoning Hanzo was gone, and Hades naturally didn't want to leave Hanzo there to die.

"E-Rantel..." Hades glanced at the village. He would come back after some time to repay the favor of that meal.

If he hadn't left the village in the middle of the night, the village probably wouldn't have been raided the next day. He had arrived too late. If he hadn't seen the notorious Momonga, he would have definitely gone to the village first to inquire about the situation and repay the favor of the meal.