Inside the inn, EeDechi was discussing their next plans with Barrett and Franco.
A parchment map lay spread across the table. The three of them were currently in the capital of Re-Estize. To reach the City Alliance, they would first have to make it to the Baharuth border and then cross the entire Baharuth Empire.
Of course, there was another route: head for the border of the Slane Theocracy, travel straight through the whole Theocracy, and reach the Vast Stellar Gate in the Eight Greed Kings desert. From that ancient teleportation gate left over from the Eight Greed Kings era, they could arrive directly in the City Alliance.
They had never intended to contact Joseph for a teleport from the capital to E-Rantel anyway, and now they couldn't find the man even if they wanted to.
Barrett ran his fingers along the lines on the map and said, "The Baharuth route is a bit shorter. We can head to E-Rantel first, take a teleportation circle to the Baharuth capital—that cuts the journey in half—then catch a long-distance carriage from the Baharuth capital straight to the City Alliance."
"Sounds good," EeDechi said with a firm nod. Ever since she had resurrected Stella and Sean and punished the traitorous Princess Renner who had betrayed her, EeDechi felt refreshed and light. The heavy burden that had been weighing on her heart was finally gone.
Without wasting another moment, the three of them left the inn and stocked up on supplies—plenty of food, clean distilled water, and all the travel necessities. They also picked up some Re-Estize specialties: pork hams, pickled lamb intestines, green-robed black tea, refined sugar, five-color chocolate, and everything else they might need.
Once they had everything, they hired a long-distance luxury carriage pulled by four strong horses. The coach had small sleeping compartments inside for the journey.
Out on the wide-open plains, the carriage thundered along the yellow dirt highway, trailing a long plume of dust behind it.
Twenty days later, the Last Defender of the Way adventurer team arrived in E-Rantel.
They headed straight for the Golden Apple Tavern to find Joseph Lesua and ask him to arrange the teleportation circle.
But Joseph Lesua wasn't there. They left a message with the staff and asked them to pass it along, then stepped back out into the bustling streets.
E-Rantel remained as prosperous as ever. Its massive stone walls towered imposingly, while residents of every race streamed through the streets. Drakes galloped along the green-paved avenues, pulling wooden carts behind them.
Every so often a huge shadow swept across the ground as a skyterror soared overhead, a heavy container dangling beneath it.
EeDechi, her two companions, and their cat strolled casually down the busy street. They passed dwarves hawking emeralds the size of pigeon eggs and long-eared wood elves carefully tending flowerbeds. The whole scene radiated harmony.
"Looks like Ainz Ooal Gown's governance is pretty solid. The city feels peaceful," EeDechi remarked offhandedly.
"Under the lash of violence, everyone who's afraid to die learns to behave themselves," Barrett sneered.
Because here, a death knight patrolled every couple of streets. The death knights were pitch-black from head to toe, like living shadows, gripping long swords with an aura of cold menace. From their previous visits to E-Rantel, the trio knew that death knights cutting people down in the middle of the street was just another everyday sight.
Suddenly, a huge shadow dropped from the sky. It twisted and writhed as a furious roar tore through the air.
EeDechi looked up. A long-tailed skyterror was thrashing wildly overhead, twisting and coiling as if it had lost its mind, letting out harsh "ho-ho" screeches.
"This skyterror's gone mad," Barrett said, staring upward with absolute certainty.
A crazed skyterror was bad enough, but one the size of a house was lashed to its claws—a massive cargo container that swayed and bucked dangerously, clearly about to break free and plummet.
Right below lay the bustling heart of the city, packed with residential buildings. If that iron behemoth came crashing down, the casualties would be catastrophic.
Pedestrians screamed and scattered in every direction. The long-tailed skyterror wailed in agony overhead, while the death knights on the ground kept marching their patrols without so much as a glance upward. Their dull, undead minds registered nothing unusual in the sky.
The skyterror suddenly curled its body tight, wings frozen mid-beat. The heavy metal container began its fatal plunge, dragging the beast straight toward the rooftops below.
EeDechi's eyes narrowed to slits. She planted her feet, muscles coiling, ready to launch herself skyward and seize the creature.
Barrett's hand clamped down hard on her shoulder. "Easy, Captain. You trying to steal the spotlight? This is the heart of the Sorcerer Kingdom!"
"But I can't just stand by and do nothing," EeDechi said anxiously, clearly torn.
"If you get spotted, Ainz Ooal Gown won't hesitate to level this whole city just to kill you," Barrett said in a low, grave voice.
Suddenly, a black figure streaked across the sky like a fierce eagle diving for the kill. The shadowy silhouette slammed straight into the thrashing skyterror, seized the rope around its neck, and began playing the part of dragon tamer.
EeDechi looked up and froze in surprise. The black figure was none other than William Scott! He was fighting hard to control the beast, repeatedly jabbing it with what looked like a healing wand. His messy red hair whipped wildly in the wind.
Barrett pulled out a spyglass and studied William's movements. "He's wearing some kind of special boots—they're glowing. Must be a magical item."
EeDechi nodded. William did indeed possess the Innate Talent to "use any magical item at will."
The fact that he could now afford expensive flight gear proved he had carved out a real place for himself in E-Rantel. He was no longer the poor kid from Sheep Horn he used to be.
Soon the long-tailed skyterror calmed under William's rescue and firm control. Still carrying the swaying cargo container, it turned and flew toward E-Rantel's freight distribution center.
"William! He's so hot!" A few girls had already recognized him and were swooning at the skyterror flying away.
"No wonder he's the heartthrob of E-Rantel First Academy and the student council president—handsome, strong, and totally badass! I'm in love!" a young elf girl said dreamily.
"William's actually got a pretty solid name for himself here. Looks like he's doing all right," EeDechi said with a small nod.
Barrett, meanwhile, was silently mocking the whole thing in his head. First Academy? Campus heartthrob? Student council president? What the hell were those supposed to be? He'd never heard of any of it—had to be some new nonsense Ainz Ooal Gown had invented.
The group kept moving deeper into E-Rantel, heading for the city center. In the distance they could already see the massive statue of Ainz Ooal Gown. It stood right in the heart of the city, built specifically to flaunt his power: a towering, sky-piercing monument made entirely of gleaming gold.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle cut through the air from every direction. A squadron of wyvern riders appeared overhead, circling the city. They held magical amplification devices and shouted across the streets:
"Daytime lockdown! Daytime lockdown! All E-Rantel residents return to your homes immediately! Visitors return to your inns! Outsiders will be inspected! Resistance is strictly forbidden—violators will be executed on the spot! …"
Pedestrians on the streets looked up at the sky in confusion. Merchants and vendors pushing carts hesitated, clearly reluctant to pack up their freshly opened stalls.
"Something's not right," Barrett said, eyes scanning every direction with caution. "Quick—cover your faces."
He and Franco quickly covered their faces, disguising themselves as tourists who followed the local custom of wearing headscarves, and stuffed the sky-blue cat Cheeko into a backpack.
On the wide stone-paved street, a sahuagin was still busy behind his barbecue stall, calmly grilling small fish skewers with no intention of leaving.
Barrett stepped forward, handed over a silver coin, and ordered three skewers of fried fish balls. Casually he asked the owner what was going on.
"Hah, who the hell knows what's happening. A daytime lockdown in broad daylight? Has the guy in charge lost his mind?"
The sahuagin owner grumbled while flipping the skewers on his grill. "E-Rantel has never had a daytime lockdown before. The Sorcerer Kingdom always brags that this is the greatest and freest city in the world—they've never pulled this kind of crap."
"Residents return to your homes! Loiterers, squat down with your hands on your heads in the nearest corner! Our death knights will inspect you one by one…" The sharp whistles kept blasting across the sky.
Squad after squad of death knights had begun patrolling the streets, swinging their long swords to drive away pedestrians. Chaos erupted everywhere.
The fish-man owner shook his head. "Hah, looks like it's for real. Daytime lockdown's in effect. What the hell is going on? Who could possibly threaten E-Rantel?" He handed the silver coin back to Barrett and started packing up his barbecue stall.
Suddenly the hairs on EeDechi's neck stood on end. She sensed a vast, overwhelming presence faintly appearing in the sky.
EeDechi quietly looked up. Floating there was Shalltear—the silver-haired gothic lolita in a black dress! She was fully armed, gripping her Spuit Lance, scanning the area for something.
On the opposite side of the sky, the dark elf Aura was also hovering in mid-air. She held a massive scroll woven with dark-blue and interlaced gold patterns, quietly chanting the incantation under her breath.
"Oh no—the Sorcerer Kingdom has probably spotted us!" EeDechi instantly suppressed her presence. She, Barrett, and Franco blended into the chaotic crowd of panicked pedestrians and ran toward the edge of the street.
A thunderous voice amplified by magic boomed across the heavens:
"This is the Sorcerer Kingdom's Eighteenth Combat Legion. We have received intelligence that a wanted fugitive from our nation is hiding in E-Rantel. A full-city search is now underway. Anyone found sheltering the fugitive will have their entire family and all direct blood relatives for five generations executed on the spot…
"Citizens and visitors, please remain calm. Stay inside your homes or inns and do not go out onto the streets under any circumstances.
"If you hear any strange noises, do not open your doors to look. If an explosion occurs, leave the blast area immediately. If a building collapses, head straight to the nearest open space…
"If you or your family and friends should perish, we offer our condolences in advance. The Sorcerer Kingdom will provide compensation. You will be remembered as great heroes who made a noble contribution to the Sorcerer Kingdom…"
"Honorary Citizens, please wear your medals and display your golden key emblems. Warrior and mage Honorary Citizens are required to assist in the search. Establish checkpoints on every street. Report any suspicious individuals at once…"