Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz)

Chapter 23 The Four Knights of the Empire

A young blond man, dressed in lavish attire with a handsome face, Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix of Baharuth, strolled leisurely through the corridor. Someone had already reported that intruders had breached the palace, but Emperor Jircniv didn't give a damn.

In this world, the only ones capable of posing a threat to the heavily guarded imperial palace were the powerhouses from the Sorcerer Kingdom. If it was someone from the Sorcerer Kingdom showing up, he wouldn't even bother resisting—just stick his neck out and take the chop like a good boy.

The memory of that nightmare of a day still lingered fresh in his mind. A pair of dark elf twins, riding a massive dragon, had descended from the sky, unleashing high-tier earth magic to wipe out the fully armed knights in the palace. It was the first time Baharuth got a taste of the terrifying might of the Sorcerer Kingdom—aka the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

From that point on, everything spiraled out of control, plunging into the darkest depths of the abyss.

The royal family was "invited" by Ainz Ooal Gown to tour the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

Fluder Paradyne, the empire's chief court wizard and the emperor's most trusted advisor, defected to serve under Ainz Ooal Gown.

Ainz Ooal Gown unleashed some unheard-of Super-Tier magic, annihilating tens of thousands of Re-Estize troops in one go.

Ainz Ooal Gown engaged in a martial arts contest with the Martial Champion, subtly warning the imperial emperor not to act recklessly.

Baharuth officially declared itself a vassal state of the Sorcerer Kingdom, bending the knee without a fight.

Jircniv rested his hand on the white stone railing of the palace, gazing out at the majestic castle, a bitter smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. When he first ascended to the throne of Baharuth, he was brimming with ambition, hell-bent on carving out a legacy that would echo through the ages.

To that end, he didn't hesitate to ruthlessly purge the nobles tied to him by blood, consolidating the royal family's power in one fell swoop. After that, he planned to unleash the empire's iron cavalry to crush the capital of their long-time enemy, Re-Estize, then march south to conquer the lofty Slane Theocracy.

Next, he'd flatten the unruly demi-human tribes scattered around, expand the borders, and make Baharuth the mightiest human empire in the world.

But then this Great Tomb of Nazarick popped up out of nowhere, screwing over every damn plan he had. All his ambition, dreams, schemes, and grand aspirations? In the face of overwhelming power, they were as flimsy and pathetic as a kid's sandcastle on the beach.

He'd spent day and night dreaming of ending the century-long war with Re-Estize using the empire's knights and magic. But when he saw Re-Estize's main army—soldiers dropping like harvested wheat under the terrifying magic of the great demon king Ainz Ooal Gown—he felt no satisfaction, only a bottomless pit of dread.

If Ainz Ooal Gown could wipe out tens of thousands of Re-Estize lives without batting an eye, then flattening the entire Baharuth Empire would be a walk in the park for him.

Reports from the intelligence division even mentioned that in the Azerlisia Mountains, seventy thousand Quagoa had been butchered to the last by Ainz Ooal Gown's minions.

Facing a bloodthirsty demon king like this, Emperor Jircniv now only cared about keeping the people of Baharuth—and himself—alive. Grand dreams of conquest? Fat chance. Even picking a fight with the battered Re-Estize didn't spark his interest anymore.

Baharuth and Re-Estize, locked in a war for nearly a century, were nothing but two scared little rabbits shivering in the dead of winter under Ainz Ooal Gown's supreme intimidation. If one got snuffed out, the hunter's arrow would just swing to the other.