Was Nobody Here?

"A city?" Nigun paused, looking at Hades thoughtfully. He pointed in one direction. "There's a city that way called E-Rantel. It's a border city in the Re-Estize Kingdom."

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

"About fifty kilometers from here," Nigun replied.

"Mm, thanks." Hades nodded.

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

"Uh... what did you say, sir?" Nigun asked, stunned. He felt as though he must have misheard.

"Lend me some money." Hades's expression hardened, and his tone turned threatening. He was practically telling Nigun that if he didn't lend him the money, he'd take it by force.

At a time like this, he couldn't afford to show weakness. Otherwise, people would take advantage of him.

It wasn't that Hades had no money. He had over twenty billion game coins on him, but he didn't know whether he could spend them here. YGGDRASIL had described them as gold coins, after all.

He'd taken some out when summoning Hanzo, but he couldn't be sure whether they were actually made of gold. Even though he'd never been short of money in his original world, why would he have kept a pile of gold around to play with? He didn't know the first thing about telling whether it was genuine.

Gold and silver were naturally suited to be currency, but he didn't know whether the gold and silver in this world had the same inherent value.

Though he was treating Nigun badly now and had considered taking the money by force, if Nigun was willing to lend it to him, he'd definitely pay him back later. Hades couldn't bring himself to skip out on a debt.

Nigun broke out in a cold sweat. He untied a pouch from his waist and tossed it to Hades from more than ten meters away. What did Hades mean by "lend"? It was obviously a robbery. But under the pressure of his opponent's strength, Nigun chose to give in.

They had an irreconcilable conflict with the Magic Caster. They wanted to kill Gazef Stronoff, but the Magic Caster was clearly determined to protect him. There could be no compromise.

The result was that they had been left awestruck by their opponent's power. They had thought they were going to die there, but then someone even stronger appeared and rescued them from the crisis—even if he hadn't done it for their sake.

If they didn't obey him now, they really would die here. If he wanted money, then they'd give it to him. Nigun hated to part with the gold coins, but his life mattered more.

The salaries of Slane Theocracy officials differed greatly from those of other countries. To prevent people from using unscrupulous means to gain power just for the money, and ultimately letting a pack of fools rise to the top, the higher an official's position, the lower their salary became once they passed a certain rank.

Hades caught the pouch. It was fairly heavy, but he didn't open it. He put it straight into the Infinite Backpack instead.

He was waiting for Hanzo to send him a message at any moment and didn't want to get distracted by checking the coins. Once he reached that place called E-Rantel, he'd ask someone whether he could use his game coins.

"Sir, I'll take my leave."

Nigun mustered the courage to say goodbye to Hades. The failed mission left him dejected, but what mattered more now was reporting the situation to the Theocracy.

It was a shame that the man wore full-body armor. Nigun couldn't even make out his build, let alone what he looked like.

After they left, Hades waited quietly for a long time, but Hanzo's reports continued to say that nothing was out of the ordinary.

He found it a little strange. Since when had the members of Ainz Ooal Gown become so easygoing? He'd seen what they were like on that website about the raid involving 1,500 players.

One player had gotten lucky and killed an Ainz Ooal Gown member who'd ambushed him. The other members then hunted him down one after another, stole his equipment, and knocked his level down to one. In the end, he had no choice but to quit the game.

Now Hades had killed the leader of that heteromorphic-player guild. Even if only a few of its members had come to this world, surely they should have made a move by now.

Even if they suspected it was a trap, they should at least have sent scouts to investigate. But according to Hanzo's reports, there was no sign of anything like that.

Could it be...

Hades suddenly thought of a possibility. Could it be that Momonga was the only member of Ainz Ooal Gown who had come here?

It was very possible, but he couldn't be certain. Unless he made it into the heart of Nazarick, he'd never know the truth.

That was one of the reasons he wanted to assassinate Momonga. If he didn't infiltrate the place, he wouldn't be able to get detailed information.

Hades was alone, while Momonga had the resources of an entire guild. Hades had no idea how many resources Nazarick had, but judging by how they'd constantly fought other players and seized their equipment in the game—and kept doing so until the very end—they must have accumulated more than anyone could count.

Hades was confident he wouldn't lose in a one-on-one fight against Momonga, but the sheer volume of resources at his disposal put Hades under tremendous pressure.

"If only the 'Cat Lord's Grand Kingdom' had come here too."

Hades let out a sigh. The "Cat Lord's Grand Kingdom" might not have been as powerful as "Ainz Ooal Gown," but it could at least have made things much easier. Most of his materials were also stored in his personal warehouse in the guild.

It was a pity that killing Momonga had only dropped the "Mask of Envy," but there was nothing he could do about that. Momonga had an ultra-rare Resurrection Ring, which meant he suffered no level-down penalty and only dropped equipment of little value.

Still, Hades was somewhat reassured. At least the resurrection item really did work. Before the assassination, he'd had a vague feeling that he might not be able to kill Momonga for good, and now that suspicion had been confirmed.

He looked around. The moon was already high in the sky, and the Dimensional Lock had worn off long ago, but there was still no movement. Hanzo's reports remained quiet. Hanzo excelled at stealth and reconnaissance; if even he couldn't find anyone, Hades had even less chance of doing so.

"Looks like no one's coming." Hades let go of his tension. His anti-detection ring concealed him from skill or magical surveillance, but there was no longer any spatial barrier in the area. They should at least have sent a suicide squad to investigate, yet there was still no sign of anyone.

"Number One, Number Two, Number Three, Number Four, stay here and keep watch. If nothing happens by tomorrow morning, come find me. Remember, don't draw attention to yourselves."

Hades gave the four Hanzos their orders.

Momonga would definitely come back to investigate the area. Tonight was the best time to track him. Once tonight was over, Hades would blend into a big city. As long as he didn't reveal himself, Momonga would have no chance of finding him.

And he was out of Magic Item Books for summoning Hanzo, so Hades was naturally unwilling to leave them here to die.

"E-Rantel..." Hades glanced toward the village. After some time had passed, he would return to repay them for that meal.

If he hadn't left the village in the middle of the night, it probably wouldn't have been attacked the next day. He'd arrived too late. If he hadn't seen the notorious Momonga, he would have gone straight to the village to ask what had happened and repay them for their kindness.