Chapter 34: Reflections on the Future (I)

In the early morning of the tenth day of the great tomb of Nasalik descending to another world, the fortress city of Ya. The wilderness of the outskirts of Lantier

The sky on the steppe has already broken down, and the fortress city is yes. But Rantir was trapped in a dark hell deeper than night. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The towering walls, though they were the same as they once were, were no longer a barrier against foreign enemies, but instead a cage that prevented citizens from escaping from hell.

As the sky grew brighter, the whole city seemed to be shrouded in a dark miasma, even though the bright sun had sprinkled on the earth. Among them are the smoke from the burning of wooden houses, and the evil black gas that appears from the raging of undead creatures: this is a terrifying spectacle caused by the monstrous negative energy caused by the members of the evil organization who are behind the scenes, after sacrificing the lives of the entire city to the dead!

However, although the whole city has been swallowed up by the frenzy of the dead and reduced to a paradise for the dead, some citizens, militiamen, and adventurers have escaped, dragging their children and children one by one, carrying large bags of luggage, and running for their lives in the wilderness outside the city. It's just that their nightmare doesn't seem to be over yet. Not long after, the undead in the city poured out of the open gates, continuing to hunt down the surviving people......

Although the undead creatures that were chased out at the beginning were just some zombie skeletons and the like, they were not only slow to move, slow to react, but also pitifully weak in combat. But the survivors who survived had already become frightened birds, and they were still frightened and scared! So these people didn't dare to resist at all, but just ran away with their heads covered, and many of them ran to Sebas for help when they saw their campfire.

As a result, the more than 200 low-level adventurers hired by Sebas's stewards to work in the forest had no choice but to take up arms and fight in an effort to destroy the undead and rescue the survivors who had escaped from the city, which was their job as adventurers.

"...... [Negative Energy Protection]!" "...... [Magic Arrow]!" "...... [Lightning Strike]!"

"...... [Martial Arts: Fortress of Immortality]!" "...... [Martial Arts: Twin Slash]!" "...... [Martial Arts: Spike]!"

……

With bursts of shouts of various accents, one after another of magical aura, and the whistling of sharp blades breaking through the air, all kinds of undead creatures fell to the ground in pieces. Due to the triple wall, there are not many undead creatures that have actually poured out of the city at the moment, and the level is not too high, and the number of undead who have been lured to the camp by the fugitives is even even smaller - after all, it is already four or five kilometers away from the city. After one of the most threatening ghouls was charred by a large fireball from a feline mage, the area around the camp finally calmed down for a while.

More and more refugees who had fled the city in a hurry, and who were at a loss at this time, also noticed the movement and rushed over to meet - the city was surrounded by endless open grasslands, flat as a large pie, and there was nothing to obscure the view.

Listening to the survivors' accounts of the tragic situation in the city, the bronze and iron adventurers who slept in the suburbs were either indignant or grief-stricken - although like all the temporal workers in the world's metropolises, the fortress city was Jesus. The adventurers of Lantil are also mainly foreigners, but many of them have already settled in the city, with relatives, friends and children...... However, in the end, they could only sigh silently, looking at the ruined city in the distance, and wept for a long time: such a monstrous catastrophe was really not something that they low-level adventurers could contend with.

Next, the Lich King Ainz in the Great Tomb of Nasalik also learned about the fortress city through the magic of [Message]. The tragedy that happened in Lantil was immediately shocked, and he quickly changed his clothes and put on a mask, and opened the [portal] and rushed over. But by this time, the fortress city of Yay. The destruction of Rantir was a foregone conclusion, and he did not know what to do except stand in the wild and lament the impermanence of prosperity and decline.

“…… Isn't it that this place has been a place of undead since ancient times, and the locals have long been accustomed to it? How could it be so tragic? ”

After looking at the fortress city that has been reduced to a dead city for a while, yes. After Lantil, Ainz summoned Peter, the leader of the "Sword of Darkness" adventure group, who was familiar with the local situation, and asked with a confused expression, "...... Didn't the city take the most basic precautions? Fell in just half a night? And the cemetery where the undead frenzy broke out is actually located inside the city wall! How the hell is this? Do you know anything about this? ”

“…… This one...... Although in the fortress of the city yes. Skeletons and zombies appear in the public graveyards of Lantil, as often as windy and rainy, and we have been sent to the cemetery a few times before. But under normal circumstances, there would never be so many undead creatures at once. ”

Captain Peter scratched his hair and replied with a wry smile, "...... Otherwise, who would dare to live in the city? I suspect that behind this catastrophe, there may be demon worshippers, or the Cult of Evil Gods, who are at work, so that it is possible to destroy the entire fortress city in a short period of time. ”

“…… Demon worshippers and cults of evil gods? Well, I told these people! A guy who sacrifices people to evil gods and demon kings to satisfy his desires. ”

Ainz nodded, "...... So, do you think these guys were lurking in the city in advance and hatching such a cruel plot? ”

“…… Yes, these guys will not hesitate to sacrifice an entire city of humans as a sacrifice for their own desires. ”

Peter replied with a look of disgust, "...... I once happened to see the site of a cultist's murder and blood sacrifice, and the scene of exterminating humanity was really disgusting, and it would make people unforgettable for a lifetime just by looking at it...... I can't imagine that now I have seen another catastrophe that is a hundred times more tragic! Alas~~"

“…… In this way, if this tragedy is really planned by the cultists behind the scenes, then the sacrifice of the fortress city is yes. After tens of thousands of human lives, Lantil must have gained quite a lot of power, well, experience points alone can accumulate a terrifying number......"

Ainz bowed his head and muttered, "...... Such a guy...... It seems that it should not be underestimated...... By the way, did the kingdom that rules here react? ”

“…… Report to the master, in the fortress city yes. Before the fall of Lantil, the municipality seemed to send out a lot of messengers and magical communications to other nearby towns and noble realms, especially Gerjieff on his way back to the royal capital. Captain Storonov asked for help. ”

Sebastian stood up and replied, "...... We had just rescued a messenger with a broken leg, who had been ordered to break out on horseback in the middle of the night with a letter for help, when he was thrown off by his horse a short distance out of the city, and he broke his leg, and it was not until half an hour ago that he climbed to the side of our camp. From the mouth of the messenger we learn that Yahweh. Some information on the battle situation on the eve of the fall of Lantil has confirmed that this undead catastrophe that devoured the city was by no means a natural occurrence, but someone planned it behind it, but it is not known the identity of the mastermind and the forces behind it......"

“…… Captain Gurdjieff? Why are you going to see him again in just a few days? Alas, it looks ...... I'm afraid this disaster that happened in the fortress city is not simple, and it is likely to be the same as the previous Slian Sect sent people to disguise themselves as imperial knights to attack Karn Village, and the water behind it is very deep! ”

Anz shook his head and sighed, "...... Forget it, it stands to reason that it shouldn't be our turn to worry about this, first rescue the survivors who escaped from the city, and temporarily concentrate them here. Then while scouting the enemy situation in the city, wait for the warrior commander to bring someone over! ”

And just when the Lich King Ainz, who still basically maintains the conscience of mankind, and everyone in the camp in the suburbs, deeply feel that the current situation is complicated, some visitors from the other world who secretly act as the driving force behind the scenes have begun to use the biggest gains of their operation......

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In the modern world, the special care ward of a hospital in Changsha, Hunan

The first thing that regained consciousness was the consciousness of the mind in my head, and then I smelled the pungent smell of disinfectant water around me, the unique smell of the sheets being sunburned, and the pleasant sweet smell of fruit. There was also a faint cacophony that seemed to be coming from far away.

Slowly opening his eyes, he felt two intense white lights like searchlights about to pierce into the depths of his head, so he quickly closed his eyes tightly again. After a while, she cautiously tried to open her eyes again, and could still see all kinds of light flying, and after a while, she finally regained her vision, and found an unfamiliar ceiling overhead, as well as vents and surveillance cameras with metal fences.

The female college student, who was not yet fully awake, blinked, as if she didn't know where she was.

Turning his head, the golden sunlight poured in through the white curtains, and the rattan flower basket in the corner of the wall was filled with various fruits and flowers.

A medical device, about the size of a microwave oven, was placed next to the bed, and several small screens were constantly beating numbers and curves.

Pulling his gaze back to himself, he could see a dripping metal needle held in place with tape on the inside of his elbow, and a thin line running up from the needle. Continuing to follow the pipeline, she found that the line was connected to a clear medical plastic bag. The bag itself was suspended from a silver pillar, containing about 500 milliliters of milky white liquid, which was slowly dripping down at a certain speed.

Looking at this small ward repeatedly, the female college student, whose mind was still in chaos, began to try to sort out her disordered thoughts.

Then, she finally remembered what she had just experienced before she lost consciousness.

“…… Not...... Turns out I'm back! ”

The tiger woman warrior in the game world, or Zhang Jingjing, a female student from Hunan University in the real world, sighed so much, trying to sit up from the hospital bed, but her sluggish body was completely unable to exert her strength, and she didn't listen to the call at all. After only lifting her shoulders a few centimeters, she immediately sank down again: there was no way, her body seemed to have been lying in the hospital bed for several days, and she could not recover for a while.

Just as she struggled to sit up again, she was helped up by a pair of strong hands, and a pillow was placed behind her, and a familiar voice sounded in her ears, "...... Sister, are you awake too? Want some water or some apples? ”

Looking back, I saw that Sakura Dance Piaoxue, a leprechaun player who was a male college student but had a female number in the game, was also her younger brother Zhang Ye, wearing a hospital gown, holding a plate of apples cut into small pieces and a cup of hot boiled water, standing next to her hospital bed, showing a relieved smile.

“…… Ahem, what the hell is going on? I feel like my head is still in a mess...... It seems that we have traveled to another world before, and we have become non-human monsters, right? Zhang Jingjing swallowed hard and said in a hoarse voice, "...... Remember when I roasted a rabbit on the prairie? Ahem, could it be that I was dreaming of all this? ”

(When using the points to pop up the trapped in the infinite space, Wang Qiu did not ask for their own opinions in advance.) ）

“…… Sister, you didn't dream, and you remember correctly, we did cross over. It's just a soul crossing, and the body is still in this world. I just woke up half a day before you. Oh, by the way, in addition to the two of us who were rescued in the first batch, our English teacher (Cat Priest Dusty Heart) has also returned, and is checking his body at this time. In addition, our affairs are in the newspapers! ”

Zhang Ye scratched his chin and explained, then took out a local newspaper published a few days ago from the cabinet next to him, spread it out in front of Zhang Jingjing, and published a news item on it: "Teachers and students of a class of Hunan University stayed up late to play online games and were hospitalized in a collective coma, and the education department ordered the school to strengthen ideological education", which made Zhang Jingjing a little stunned: Is this a public relations method to cover up the truth?

But isn't your own home going to be upside down? Alas, anyway, they have all traveled through another world, and it is not a dream to hope to live in peace? However, it is a pity that although he has carried out an incredible journey to the other world, in these few days, he has neither made any brave deeds worthy of praise, nor experienced any wonderful legends worth mentioning. Except for the initial break-in into the Great Tomb of Nasalik, the rest is basically just eating, sleeping and sleeping...... Said that the good traverser is not explaining? Am I really just a trick, without the hero's luck?

At the same time that Zhang Jingjing was so cranky and self-pitying, Zhang Ye was still waiting for the old sister to drink water, while muttering:

“…… The first batch to be rescued from another world was only the three of us. The remaining twelve classmates are still lying in the next ward at this time, and when you feel a little more energetic, let's go and see them together. Oh, by the way, my parents have already called, and they are relieved to hear that we are all right, and they will come by train to see us in the next two days. Okay, the things in the other world have nothing to do with us, sister, you can rest and recuperate. It's all over, as long as it's okay......"

Listening to the words of her younger brother Zhang Ye, Zhang Jingjing, who was still a little entangled, suddenly brightened her heart, and the small piece of barrier that had accumulated in her chest before seemed to melt in an instant: Yes, it's over! As long as it's okay.

Reality is not as romantic as fiction, and expeditions throughout the ages have always been a high-risk profession. I'm not the kind of adventure lover who is bent on thrills. It is already a great thing to be able to return to your original life unharmed after a great adventure through another world, without missing arms or legs, or losing any appearance or leaving any disease, so why bother asking for more?

Just as she was so calm, the footsteps of the medical staff rushing in from outside the ward could be heard......

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At the same time, far away in Beidaihe's "Otherworldly Operations Command Center", Wang Qiu also watched the interaction between the two sisters and brothers through the screen, as well as the inspection report of the hospital, "...... Well, everything is normal in physical condition? It's good, there was no more trouble, hey, I used up 150,000 points and rescued three people, and we have preliminary results this time. However, how did this list of rescues come out? ”

He turned around and asked Political Commissar Guo curiously, "...... Shouldn't it be 'women first, students first'? Why is it that the first list of rescues and repatriation is a girl, a boy and the oldest female lecturer? It's weird! ”

――From Wang Qiu's personal point of view, among the fifteen trapped people in the world of "The King of the Undead", it doesn't matter which one to save first and which one to save later. But the relevant experts assigned to the command center didn't seem to think so, but after studying and discussing, they made a list, asking Wang Qiu to rescue the trapped people in the world of "Overlord Undead" in the order of the list, and he couldn't come at will.

“…… It makes sense for us to draw up such a rescue sequence. The boy had congenital heart disease and was most likely to have an accident if he remained in a coma in the hospital for a long time. Then the female lecturer was more than two months pregnant, although she did not have any diseases, so she should naturally take care of it. In the end, the girl's body is certainly healthy, but her game character is a tiger man...... I don't need to say more about the rest! ”

Political Commissar Guo glanced at Wang Qiu and replied so lightly. And Wang Qiu only thought about it for a while, and then he understood the mystery.

- Although they are both felines, unlike the cute and cute kitten people, the tall and fierce tiger people have a terrifying reputation for stopping children's night cries in the fantasy world of "The King of the Undead" in human society, as well as real and common cannibalistic deeds.

In that fantasy world, human beings are not the masters of the continent, and they don't even have a position of relative advantage. After the fall of the dragon kings who originally ruled the world, the next overlord who really ruled the essence of the continent was actually the brutal orcs. The human state, on the other hand, is located in the northwest corner of the continent and is considered a desolate and backward poverty-stricken area. The humans of that world are far inferior to the orcs in terms of numbers, domination, and civilization (that world is set up that the orcs entered civilization earlier than humans, and early humans need to learn from orcs).

As a result, in places ruled by orcs, humans were generally seen as just food and slaves. And among these bloodthirsty and brutal orcs, there are tiger people: therefore, the humans of that world see the tiger people, just like the modern earth civilization people see cannibals, either scared half to death, or desperately resist. Letting a tiger player with a reputation worse than the undead appear in the human society over there is basically tantamount to actively creating a riot, and even making people mistakenly think that the otherworldly traveler is a spy sent into human society by the orc empire.

In view of the above information, the "Otherworldly Operations Command Center" has been hiding the female warrior of the tiger man, Saifer, from participating in any external contact operations, so that she can only play with rabbits in the grassland near the great tomb of Nasalik......

But even so, letting this tiger warrior who everyone shouts at stay in that world is still equivalent to an extremely dangerous time bomb, if it is discovered by the indigenous humans of another world, it is likely to cause an uproar, and even be attacked by a group. Now that he has collected enough reward points, it is naturally ideal to be able to send back this tiger female warrior who everyone shouted and beat in the other world, and completely eliminate the above hidden dangers.

“…… Well, indeed, it's okay to send her back, the Tiger People have a bad reputation in the human realm of that world, even if she stays there, it won't be of much use, but it may invite disaster......" Wang Qiu thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

“…… Alas, no matter what, as long as you can get enough points to send everyone back as soon as possible, and end this worthless rescue mission in another world, don't worry too much about the specific details! Ma Tong, who was not very interested in this, interjected and muttered.

However, her above-mentioned complaint was immediately refuted by Political Commissar Guo next.

“…… Worthless? Well, I don't think so, Mr. Pony. You can't just look at it from the point of view of economic gain, if everyone thinks like that, why would humanity explore the moon and Mars, or even send probes to the outer reaches of the solar system? ”

Political Commissar Guo took off his reading glasses and gently wiped them with a handkerchief, and commented, "...... Not to mention the exploration value of that fantasy world, just the original character of the Lich King protagonist of "Overlord Undead King", the Japanese office worker Satoru Suzuki, his description of the human society on the earth in 2138 years makes me feel deeply touched, and even feel infinitely worried about our future! ”

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but sigh deeply, "...... I really don't know what to say! In that future world, instead of uniting the proletariat of the whole world, will the bourgeoisie of the whole world achieve a great alliance first? "The order of the noodles to rescue the trapped people in the world of "Overlord Undead King" cannot be arbitrary.

“…… It makes sense for us to draw up such a rescue sequence. The boy had congenital heart disease and was most likely to have an accident if he remained in a coma in the hospital for a long time. Then the female lecturer was more than two months pregnant, although she did not have any diseases, so she should naturally take care of it. In the end, the girl's body is certainly healthy, but her game character is a tiger man...... I don't need to say more about the rest! ”

Political Commissar Guo glanced at Wang Qiu and replied so lightly. And Wang Qiu only thought about it for a while, and then he understood the mystery.

- Although they are both felines, unlike the cute and cute kitten people, the tall and fierce tiger people have a terrifying reputation for stopping children's night cries in the fantasy world of "The King of the Undead" in human society, as well as real and common cannibalistic deeds.

In that fantasy world, human beings are not the masters of the continent, and they don't even have a position of relative advantage. After the fall of the dragon kings who originally ruled the world, the next overlord who really ruled the essence of the continent was actually the brutal orcs. The human state, on the other hand, is located in the northwest corner of the continent and is considered a desolate and backward poverty-stricken area. The humans of that world are far inferior to the orcs in terms of numbers, domination, and civilization (that world is set up that the orcs entered civilization earlier than humans, and early humans need to learn from orcs).

As a result, in places ruled by orcs, humans were generally seen as just food and slaves. And among these bloodthirsty and brutal orcs, there are tiger people: therefore, the humans of that world see the tiger people, just like the modern earth civilization people see cannibals, either scared half to death, or desperately resist. Letting a tiger player with a reputation worse than the undead appear in the human society over there is basically tantamount to actively creating a riot, and even making people mistakenly think that the otherworldly traveler is a spy sent into human society by the orc empire.

In view of the above information, the "Otherworldly Operations Command Center" has been hiding the female warrior of the tiger man, Saifer, from participating in any external contact operations, so that she can only play with rabbits in the grassland near the great tomb of Nasalik......

But even so, letting this tiger warrior who everyone shouts at stay in that world is still equivalent to an extremely dangerous time bomb, if it is discovered by the indigenous humans of another world, it is likely to cause an uproar, and even be attacked by a group. Now that he has collected enough reward points, it is naturally ideal to be able to send back this tiger female warrior who everyone shouted and beat in the other world, and completely eliminate the above hidden dangers.

“…… Well, indeed, it's okay to send her back, the Tiger People have a bad reputation in the human realm of that world, even if she stays there, it won't be of much use, but it may invite disaster......" Wang Qiu thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

“…… Alas, no matter what, as long as you can get enough points to send everyone back as soon as possible, and end this worthless rescue mission in another world, don't worry too much about the specific details! Ma Tong, who was not very interested in this, interjected and muttered.

However, her above-mentioned complaint was immediately refuted by Political Commissar Guo next.

“…… Worthless? Well, I don't think so, Mr. Pony. You can't just look at it from the point of view of economic gain, if everyone thinks like that, why would humanity explore the moon and Mars, or even send probes to the outer reaches of the solar system? ”

Political Commissar Guo took off his reading glasses and gently wiped them with a handkerchief, and commented, "...... Not to mention the exploration value of that fantasy world, just the original character of the Lich King protagonist of "Overlord Undead King", the Japanese office worker Satoru Suzuki, his description of the human society on the earth in 2138 years makes me feel deeply touched, and even feel infinitely worried about our future! ”

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but sigh deeply, "...... I really don't know what to say! In that future world, instead of uniting the proletariat of the whole world, will the bourgeoisie of the whole world achieve a great alliance first? ”