Chapter 394: 372 "Hell Abyss
In "YGGDRASIL," time strategies were something every player prepared for after reaching level 70.
Because the effects of time-related magic, skills, and special abilities were simply too overpowering, without preparations to counter them, even players of higher levels could lose to someone capable of manipulating time.
Ainz had his own countermeasures against time, and several NPCs in Nasalik also possessed items or means to deal with time-based abilities.
However, Reiger had not prepared any countermeasures in this regard, which Shalltear confirmed repeatedly before bringing the intelligence to Ainz.
"This won’t do, Lord Reiger, preparing for time strategies is essential, otherwise, you’ll just be easily defeated like this."
Ainz slowly drifted forward in a world where time had frozen, arriving in front of Reiger.
Before "Time Stop" became ineffective, all attacks from the caster were ineffective, which meant that even as Ainz approached Reiger closely, he could not use a magic attack to harm Reiger.
But that didn’t mean Ainz couldn’t do anything else.
"Magic Delay·True Death."
With a skeletal hand pressing on Reiger’s chest, Ainz activated the skill-enhanced magic.
Magic Delay, as the name suggests, was an enhancement effect that allowed the magic to be delayed in activation.
Since he couldn’t attack Reiger before "Time Stop" wore off, he simply had to time it right, so the magic would activate the moment "Time Stop" wore off.
This sequence was an intricate magic combination that only about 5% of all magic class players in "YGGDRASIL" could skillfully employ.
Ainz was among that 5% of magic class players.
"True Death" was a ninth-tier instant-death magic that, once killed by it, couldn’t be resurrected by low-tier resurrection magic.
"Farewell, Reiger Brillhaut."
Ainz confirmed his victory, timing it as the delayed magic was about to activate, and released "Time Stop" a second before it did.
Suddenly, the world resumed its flow, time returned to normal, and the "True Death" Ainz had cast almost at the same second took effect on Reiger.
"You...!?"
Absolute Death, unable to comprehend what had happened, was panicked to suddenly find Ainz in front of Reiger, a hand pressed against his chest.
"You win."
The Guardians, as if knowing what had happened, all smiled.
However, at that instant, Reiger suddenly moved.
"Clang!"
He drew his sword at the fastest speed, his body bursting with lightning, and slashed at the nearby Ainz with a thunderous strike that seemed to tear through the sky, letting the lightning-lit blade chop onto Ainz.
"Boom!"
In the roaring sound, the thunder sword struck Ainz accurately, sending him flying out without a chance to react.
"What...!?"
This scene shocked all the Guardians.
"Lord Ainz!"
Albedo was particularly furious to see Ainz being slashed by Reiger.
"To dare do such a thing to our most beloved Supreme Sovereign... You, you lowly creature ah ah ah ah ah!"
Albedo emitted a sinister aura that twisted the air itself, looking like a monster ready to corrode the world, screaming and darting towards Reiger at a speed that broke the sound barrier.
"Self-Time Acceleration!"
Shalltear also let out a madness-like scream and activated a time-related magic, appearing instantly in front of Reiger, beating Albedo to it, and blasted her spear at him.
"Wind Slash!"
Cocytus, who somewhere along the way swapped his silver halberd for a blade over 180 centimeters long, carrying a fierce storm with him, charged to Reiger’s side and unleashed a mighty slash.
"Demon Forms·Wrist Wings!"
Even the usually calm and cruel Demiurge grew enraged, sprouting a pair of wings from his back, different from membranous wings, each feather unusually long looking like flat tentacles or wriggling long worms, and he lashed them towards Reiger with a flick.
In an instant, Reiger faced the combined assault of four Guardians.
This was a truly terrifying proposition.
Among the four Guardians, Shalltear was the strongest, her strength among the intelligent NPCs of Nasalik Underground Tomb enough to rank at the top, and among the Guardians, she was absolutely comparable to a Lv.7 at the highest level, her attack powerful enough to shatter a hill.
Albedo and Cocytus might not be as strong as Shalltear, but these two were among the three strongest hand-to-hand combatants in Nasalik, one excelling in offense and the other in defense, also ranking among the top three among all Guardians, definitely not below Lv.7.
Only Demiurge, due to being a strategy-type NPC, had a slightly weaker combat ability compared to other Guardians, even ranking among the last in the Guardians, but still, he was a level 100 NPC in "YGGDRASIL," and could not possibly be weaker than Lv.7.
This meant that Reiger was now facing the equivalent of four Lv.7 attackers, which on the Akashic Continent would be akin to facing an assault by four Sword Saints.
Facing such a perilous situation, Reiger was extraordinarily calm, his eyes even emitting a brilliance far brighter than usual.
At that moment, Reiger used his ability to perceive the world to its utmost, turning his eyes completely transparent.
He carefully observed the four Guardians advancing towards him, taking in factors such as their muscle movements, blood flow, internal organ activity, and bodily motions into his perceptive realm, and discerned through the Guardians’ attacks.
Thus, Reiger took the most appropriate action for the moment.
"Dissolution."
Crimson fluctuations burst out from Reiger’s body like flames, enveloping his entire body.
"Hiss!"
The first to touch Reiger, and the crimson fluctuations, Shalltear and her syringe spear seemed to have punctured a pile of exceptionally corrosive liquid, as the spear trembled within the crimson wave and even emitted smoke.
"Crap!"
Shalltear’s face drastically changed, and she hurriedly withdrew her syringe spear, but it was too late.
Under the wave of dissolution magic, Shalltear’s syringe spear was dissolved nearly in half, the tip completely disintegrating into nothingness.
"How... how is this possible...!?"
Shalltear couldn’t believe her own eyes.
A Divine Artifact, only second to the two hundred world-class magical artifacts, had been dissolved so much in the blink of an eye?
This was impossible!
While Shalltear was shocked, Cocytus and Demiurge also faced a similar situation.
The long sword Cocytus wielded was dissolved the moment it struck the crimson wave, the blade turning into nothingness.
The feather-like tentacles that Demiurge fired were also dissolved the instant they touched the crimson fluctuations, turning into nothingness without leaving a trace.
The three Guardians’ attacks were nearly annihilated under Reiger’s overwhelmingly powerful dissolution magic.
As for Albedo, wielding a sinister giant axe, her weapon showed no signs of dissolution but rather cleaved through the crimson fluctuations and struck Reiger, who had frantically raised his sword in defense.
"Boom!"
In a heart-stopping crash, Reiger, like the previous Ainz, was blasted away.
"Bang!"
The sword in Reiger’s hand followed the fate of Shalltear and Cocytus’ weapons, exploding on the spot under the giant axe’s formidable destructive force, turning into a pile of fragments.
"Impressive."
Reiger desperately stopped his backward flight, discarded the handle fragments of his sword, and then focused his gaze on the sinister giant axe in Albedo’s hand.
"Is this the power of a world-class item?"
Yes.
The weapon in Albedo’s hand wasn’t a Divine Artifact like those of Shalltear and others, but a genuine world-class item—"Hell Abyss."
This was a unique privilege of hers as the Guardian Chief of the Nasalik Underground Tomb, holding one of the eleven world-class items once acquired by Ainz Ooal Gown.
The item was usually in the shape of a scepter but could transform into any weapon at will, holding the strongest destructive power against objects.
Though it wasn’t very powerful against living beings, not even as much as some Divine Artifacts, it could destroy equipment and objects, making it the nemesis of all melee combatants who fight with weapons.
That moment, a figure used "High-level Teleportation" to fly back, returning to the battlefield.
It was Ainz.
He, who had been sent flying by Reiger’s strike, showed no obvious injuries, as if nothing had happened, rapidly and urgently chanting magic spells.
"Radiant Green Body", "Magic Singer’s Blessing", "Infinite Barrier", "Essence of Life", "Essence of Magic Power", "High-level All-Attribute Strengthening", "Freedom", "True Sight", "Extraordinary Intuition", "High-level Resistance Strengthening", "Chaos Cloak", "Indomitable", "Perception Boost", "High-level Luck", "Magic Amplification", "Dragon’s Strength", "High-level Hardening", "Heavenly Spirit Energy", "Absorbing", "Resistance Breakthrough", "Magic Weapon Resistance", "High-level Magic Shield", "Magic Barrier·Thunder."
A variety of spells were rapidly cast by Ainz, his movements and speech speed practiced as if rehearsed tens of thousands of times, deeply ingrained into his instincts.
"Die!"
Albedo also took this opportunity to charge madly at Reiger, her giant axe emanating a sinister glow.
Seeing this, Reiger actually laughed.
He laughed very joyously, extremely exhilarated.
"It seems this time I really need to show my true skills."
A sword then appeared in Reiger’s hand.
On it, searing heat was radiating.