Time rewinds to several days earlier.
Deep within a mountain along the border of the Holy Kingdom.
"So this is Zurrernorn's stronghold?"
Momonga looked at the cave in front of him and clicked his tongue lightly.
The entrance was already overgrown with moss and weeds. A large tree stood nearby, concealing it, and judging from its size, it was probably more than a hundred years old.
Numerous intricate magic arrays were carved into the stone walls. From what he could sense, most of them were concealment and defensive magic.
Ordinary people would instinctively overlook the place.
Even magic casters might fail to notice anything unusual.
Momonga estimated that without at least a fifth-tier detection spell, it would be nearly impossible to discover anything suspicious.
From every perspective, this cave was extremely well hidden.
"This is what a proper terrorist organization should look like."
Momonga nodded inwardly.
Thinking back to the Eight Fingers he had encountered earlier in the Kingdom, it seemed not every criminal organization was that bold and reckless.
"My apologies for the poor appearance, Momonga-sama."
Khajiit nodded beside him, a faint smile appearing on his otherwise stiff face.
Unlike their first meeting, his emotions had already settled down again.
Part of it was due to the nature of being an Undead.
The other reason was that he had realized something. Despite his imposing presence, Momonga-sama was surprisingly easy to get along with.
That realization made Khajiit sigh inwardly.
As expected of Naohara-sama's companion.
"Please."
Using a special spell, Khajiit opened the barrier and stepped forward first, respectfully leading the way for Momonga.
In truth, he knew very well that the moment they stepped into the cave, his teacher had already discovered them.
The communication ring on his finger was flashing wildly.
Khajiit did not care.
He simply removed the ring and casually tossed it into a corner.
Momonga saw this clearly.
"Compared to fools, those with a bit of cleverness are much easier to control."
Those were words Demiurge had once said.
Momonga deeply agreed with them.
Khajiit in front of him belonged to that exact type.
He had a bit of cunning and understood his own position.
Even when it served no real purpose, he would still perform small gestures to prove his loyalty.
After walking through the winding cave passages for a while, the two arrived at an enormous open area.
The pitch-black ground was covered in layer after layer of magic circles. At the outermost edge stood countless statues of Undead.
"Momonga-sama."
"The ones above are my former teachers and companions."
Momonga looked toward the stone platform ahead.
At the very top stood dozens of figures wearing different clothes. There were both men and women, and every single one of them stared with anger and killing intent.
Momonga glanced at Khajiit, who had somehow moved behind him and now stood there respectfully.
Momonga felt a little speechless but did not care too much.
After all, he had clearly told him to simply guide the way and do nothing else.
"Sorcerer King, what is your purpose for coming here today?"
"As fellow Undead, we have no desire to become enemies of the Sorcerer Kingdom."
The man standing at the center stepped forward.
He wore a black robe. The large hood covered most of his face, making it impossible to see his appearance clearly. However, the shriveled skin on his hands suggested he was an old man.
His magical power was the strongest among them.
His race was also quite interesting.
A Night Lich close to level fifty?
Momonga could not help feeling a bit surprised by that result.
In the New World, someone of that level could crush almost every being except Dragon Lords and God-kin.
Perhaps this time he might discover something interesting.
Although many thoughts ran through Momonga's mind, his expression remained completely calm.
He was not surprised that the other party knew his identity.
After all, he had not disguised himself this time. Anyone who paid attention to the Sorcerer Kingdom would immediately recognize him.
"Submit to me. Hand over Zurrernorn and all the intelligence you possess. If you do that, I may consider sparing your lives."
After thinking for a moment, Momonga spoke.
If they were sensible, he would not mind giving them a chance.
However, the only response he received was a cold laugh.
"Submit?"
"Hahaha. Interesting. Truly interesting."
"You have never seen the true peak, yet you dare act so arrogantly, little insect."
"If that great one were to learn of this..."
"Your so-called Undead army, your Death Knights, your Soul Eaters, and even the Sorcerer Kingdom would be reduced to ashes in an instant."
"Since we are both Undead, if you are willing to submit to me and offer the Sorcerer Kingdom, perhaps you might still have a chance to survive."
The old man spread his shriveled hands and let out a series of cold laughs.
As he moved, his hood shifted slightly, revealing a pair of crimson vertical pupils filled with extreme malice.
Oh?
That great one?
Judging from his words, someone capable of easily destroying Soul Eaters and Death Knights. Could it be an even higher-tier Undead?
Momonga turned his head and looked at Khajiit.
Khajiit looked just as confused.
Was Zurrernorn really that powerful?
He had once been one of the Twelve Executives, yet he had never heard anything like this before.
Seeing that reaction, a faint red glow flickered inside Momonga's eye sockets.
Things were becoming interesting.
Instead of making him hesitate, this unknown factor only stirred his curiosity further.
It felt just like discovering an unexplored region back in Yggdrasil. The urge to investigate it immediately rose within him.
"In that case, there is nothing more to discuss."
"I am quite interested in the 'great one' you mentioned. Since you clearly will not explain anything, I will simply find out for myself."
Momonga shook his head and calmly raised his skeletal hand.
[Perfect Warrior]
The warrior transformation spell activated.
His attributes instantly shifted to match those of a level one hundred warrior. The trade-off was that he could no longer use magic.
At the same time, a set of pure white armor appeared over his body.
[World Champion Armor]
This was special equipment given by the game company after Touch Me won the world championship tournament and obtained the unique class of World Champion.
Its strength was comparable to a guild weapon.
To prepare for possible accidents, Momonga had deliberately retrieved it from the Mausoleum before setting out.
Being cautious never hurt.
After all, he was not Naohara or Herohero.
He was merely an ordinary level one hundred player.
"Attack together."
"Kill the Sorcerer King and Khajiit, that traitor."
The old man stared at Momonga in his armor and froze for a moment.
He could not understand why a magic caster would abandon his greatest advantage.
However, the old man quickly dismissed the thought.
It did not matter.
Either way, someone was going to die today.
Considering that Momonga could command Undead as powerful as Soul Eaters, the old man did not hesitate. He immediately ordered all members to attack at once.
They needed to deal with the enemy quickly.
After all, that great one visited from time to time to check on the progress of the creature's transformation below.