Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz)

Peyton Manor was vast, but it felt eerily deserted.

Passing through the rusted gates of the estate, they came upon a small castle built of marble. Behind the castle was a birch forest with leaves nearly all fallen. Among the bare branches, a few uniquely styled wooden cabins were scattered.

It was late autumn, and the dry, chilly wind howled through the area. All the castle's windows were tightly shut, and the wide balcony was empty. Only a few black birds perched on the red-tiled roof of the castle, occasionally screeching, adding to the desolate atmosphere.

The castle, with its four stories, was the most prominent structure in the manor. Clearly, it was no longer used for defending against invaders but rather as a residence for the empire's nobility.

The evil creatures they were tasked with eliminating were undoubtedly most likely hidden within this castle.

EeDeChi led the way, followed closely by Barrett, who carried a small round shield. Stella, holding a staff, was in the middle, and Sean brought up the rear. The four of them carefully pushed open a slightly ajar oak door and entered the castle.

Behind the door was a long corridor lined with ornately decorated iron doors leading to various rooms. At the end of the corridor was a spiral stone staircase. The entire place was eerily quiet, as if no one had ever lived there.

Stella murmured a spell under her breath. Her magical short staff shimmered with a blend of blue and gold light. A faint magical aura of "Blessing of the Saints," a 2nd Tier Divine Magic, enveloped them. This aura from the blessing magic reduced the mental fear humans felt when facing undead creatures and increased their damage against such beings.

Following EeDeChi's command, she was clad in a suit of chainmail, wearing a great helmet, her soft chestnut hair braided into two neat plaits. 

Despite this, the silver orchid hairpin pinned at the end of her hair under the helmet showed her determined effort to maintain her sense of beauty.

Sean held a short sword in one hand and a hard-wood crossbow in the other, scanning the surroundings with vigilance, ready for any sudden events. At the same time, he stood close to Stella, seemingly determined to protect her at all costs.

Barrett, with a shield in his left hand, gently pushed open a door with his right hand while using his small steel shield to cover himself. He peered cautiously into the room.

His usual medium-sized tower shield and giant sword were stored in his spatial ring. Every experienced adventurer chooses different weapons and equipment based on the situation.

In such a confined space, short-range weapons were clearly more suitable for dealing with unknown threats.

"BANG!" 

A loud "bang!" startled the three of them. They turned to see their captain, EeDeChi, who had kicked open another door and boldly walked inside.

Barrett sighed, realizing that his efforts to avoid alarming any potential threats had been in vain. He led Sean and Stella into the room to investigate.

The room was dimly lit and empty, except for a half-meter-tall cabinet. The closed door of the cabinet had a few drops of dark red blood on it.

Barrett sniffed the air, detecting a faint smell of blood and an unsettling hint of decay. He had intended to open the cabinet to check for valuable items left by the noble, but ultimately restrained himself.

Barrett stepped back out of the room and said to the others, "It doesn't look like there's much of a problem here…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the situation took a sudden turn!

With a sharp "crack," the cabinet door burst open, splintering wood everywhere. A withered hand reached out, and a blue-faced, fanged figure lunged forward!

A vampire! Barrett crouched down, his left-hand shield slamming against the vampire's outstretched hand. The vampire's sharp claws screeched against the steel surface of the shield, sparking a shower of sparks.

He swung his short sword down at an angle, severing the vampire's right leg. The clumsy bloodsucker collapsed to the ground, and Barrett followed up with a heavy strike, driving his sword through its head and putting its feeble soul to rest.

Behind him, zombies and skeletons with tattered spears and iron swords poured out from the depths of the corridor and behind several iron doors. They were a horde of low-level undead, all converging on the four adventurers.

The low-level undead, with their withered, frightening faces, grinned with empty eye sockets glowing with a red light, reflecting their hunger for the flesh of the living.

The clash of blades and the chanting of spells filled the air as the battle commenced.

…

"What's going on?"

At this moment, in the hall of the tenth floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown paced restlessly on the deep crimson velvet carpet, his tone tinged with frustration. "What's happening? All the detection and monitoring magic and magical devices are failing!"

In front of him, floating in midair, were several magic screens. Most of them displayed images of rooms, hallways, the castle, and the white birch forest—indeed, scenes from Peyton Manor. Notably, a few of the screens were pitch black, showing no light at all, as if the magical devices had malfunctioned.

Indeed, this so-called commission was a trap set by Ainz, designed to test the combat abilities of EeDeChi, an adventurer with an unclear identity and unknown strength.

Earlier, Sebas had discovered that all surveillance and listening magic, as well as magical devices, failed when targeting EeDeChi.

Initially, Ainz had been dismissive of this anomaly, but he still had Shalltear set up numerous monitoring magical devices in Peyton Manor, including several high-tier, artifact-level items.

As EeDeChi fought fiercely in the manor, Ainz could leisurely watch the live feed and assess her combat abilities, which he found quite enjoyable. However, the current situation was completely beyond his expectations.

The detection magic devices aimed at EeDeChi were of the highest tier, comparable to level ten magic, which could only be suppressed by other level ten or Super-Tier Magic. According to Sebas's report, no magical fluctuations were detected on EeDeChi, nor had she been seen casting any spells.

"Lord Ainz, perhaps she possesses a World Item that can counter detection," suggested a tall, white-clad woman with black wings.

Ainz looked at the overseer of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, contemplating for a moment. "Could she be another player from another world? But I don't recall any World Item being primarily used for counter-detection."

World Items were renowned for their powerful and game-changing abilities, such as destruction, creation, and resurrection. It was unheard of for a World Item to be used for detection evasion.

He unfurled a message scroll and issued a command: "Sebas, this girl might possess a World Item, so proceed with caution! Send in the low-level monsters first, and only send in the maid squad when the situation becomes clearer."

…

In Peyton Manor, EeDeChi wielded her giant sword with great skill, cutting through the undead and several vampires like straw. Bones and limbs piled up, and the sturdy marble walls were sliced open in several places.

Meanwhile, Barrett, holding a tower shield nearly as tall as he was, defended against the onslaught of the undead. Behind him, a cleric girl chanted softly, her staff pointing forward. "Blessing of the Holy Light!" The divine magic caused many of the undead to retreat.

At a crucial moment when the skeleton soldiers were retreating, a vampire in tattered robes lunged at Stella. However, a magically enchanted long arrow shot into its eye socket, halting its actions and ending its life.

Sean lowered his longbow and rubbed his shoulders. He had already fired nearly forty arrows, feeling the strain, but a glance at the cleric Stella beside him renewed his resolve. He encouraged himself, thinking that if he couldn't handle these monsters, how could he ever protect the girl he loved?

They had already repelled several waves of attacks. The undead came in relentless, crashing waves, retreating only to surge back again.

Creating low-level undead might not be considered high-tier magic, but it's not something you just waste. It was puzzling why their master would squander so many undead when they could easily form an army to assault the city's defending knights.

Barrett took a deep breath to steady himself. During a brief lull, he pulled out a vitality potion, bit off the wooden cork, and chugged down the orange-yellow liquid.

Adventurers were skilled at completing tasks when they could overpower their enemies or retreat when they couldn't. Prolonged battles were to be avoided if possible, especially for adventurers with limited strength. In fact, if EeDeChi hadn't taken on a significant amount of the burden, they would have been overwhelmed by the undead long ago.

Finding the mastermind behind these undead creatures was urgent. Sean thought about this as Stella cast a 2nd Tier blessing spell on him, restoring his mental and physical stamina.

Martial Art·Full Sensory.

Under Barrett's defense, Sean activated his Martial Art as an archer and scout, scanning the area. Soon, he spotted an undead mage in noble attire deep in the corridor, directing the undead with a staff.

A necromancer!

Excitedly, Sean shouted to EeDeChi, "Captain, I found the one orchestrating all this, that Magic Caster is over there!" He pointed in the direction he had seen.

EeDeChi's expression darkened. "Charge!" She commanded, swinging her giant sword, cutting through the undead like autumn leaves, and charged toward the necromancer.

"Hey! Wait up!" Barrett called out, watching as his captain ran ahead. He helplessly raised his tower shield, leading Sean and Stella to follow EeDeChi.