Year 1 of the New Era.
This marks the beginning of an entirely new chapter for the world.
The Argland Council State has been completely conquered and officially renamed the [Sorcerer Kingdom].
One shocking piece of news after another spread from the Argland Council State like a blizzard.
At this moment, the entire world trembled.
Rejoice. After centuries have passed, a new king and a new nation have finally been born.
[Endymion]
This was once the capital of the Argland Council State, and it now stands as the capital of the Sorcerer Kingdom.
Although the city had just experienced a war, it seemed almost untouched. It quickly regained its footing and vitality, returning to life as if nothing had happened.
Under the deliberate guidance of several Dragon Lords—such as the Wyrm Dragon Lord and the Diamond Dragon Lord—the demihumans of the Argland Council State had already gone through a major purge.
Those who had been loyal to the Platinum Dragon Lord, the Blue Sky Dragon Lord, and the Obsidian Dragon Lord were almost entirely wiped out during the war.
The demihumans who remained were either loyal to the new rulers or neutral.
Because of that, although most demihumans still felt some resistance toward the situation, they gradually began to accept reality.
After all, even the proud Dragon Lords had submitted. Any resistance from them would be meaningless.
Along the streets, rows of stalls filled the roads while small vendors shouted enthusiastically to attract customers.
All of these vendors had been arranged by the Wyrm Dragon Lord and the Diamond Dragon Lord.
Their purpose was to stabilize the demihumans' emotions and help everyone adapt to the new order as quickly as possible.
...
Inside the Dragon Tower, in a spacious room.
This place had once been the official residence of the Platinum Dragon Lord. As the dwelling of a True Dragon Lord, it appeared extremely luxurious.
Momonga leaned back in his chair with a crystal pressed against his forehead. Inside the crystal were the sealed memories of the Blue Sky Dragon Lord.
"So that's how it is... the Eight Greed Kings' Guild weapon?"
Momonga lowered the crystal and fell into thought. The answer had clearly caught him by surprise.
He had once made many guesses about why the NPCs of the Eight Greed Kings' Guild were unable to leave their Guild Base, but he had never imagined the explanation would be this.
A Guild weapon was the symbol of an entire Guild.
If it were destroyed, the Guild would be forcibly disbanded. Everything would turn to nothing, and even the Guild NPCs might cease to exist.
Momonga couldn't understand why something so important would end up outside the Guild Base, eventually falling into the hands of the Platinum Dragon Lord.
Calling it an accident felt far too far-fetched.
Even in The Great Tomb of Nazarick, if someone tried to take the Guild weapon outside the Guild's territory, the NPCs would forcibly stop them.
This rule had been decided by him and Naohara and was given the highest priority. Even Momonga, as the Guildmaster, did not have the authority to take the Guild weapon away on his own.
(PS: The Guild weapon Momonga holds in the anime is a fake. The real one is kept in the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary on the Eighth Floor.)
"Looks like there are still quite a few mysteries hidden in history."
Beside him, Naohara slowly lowered the memory crystal as well.
Just like Momonga, he felt that this matter was not that simple. There were probably hidden secrets behind it.
"But it was actually taken away?"
"Looks like those centuries weren't wasted. He's got some brains after all."
Below them, the three dragons including the White Dragon Lord exchanged glances.
"My deepest apologies. I never expected the Blue Sky Dragon Lord would arrange for a human to take the Guild weapon away in advance."
The White Dragon Lord stepped forward and bowed his head with an apologetic expression.
The Wyrm Dragon Lord and the Diamond Dragon Lord followed suit, their hearts filled with unease.
Everything had gone perfectly according to plan. None of them had expected such an accident to occur.
"Don't worry. We're not blaming you."
"No matter how perfect a plan is, unexpected situations can still happen. That's simply beyond anyone's control."
Coming back to his senses, Momonga waved his hand to show it was fine.
This matter could not be blamed on them. The White Dragon Lord and the other two had already done an excellent job.
"White, you three should return to The Great Tomb of Nazarick first."
"Tell them it's my order. Go collect three portions of [Platinum Dragon Marrow], then head to the Eighth Floor to find Brightness Dragon Lord and Heavenly Dragon Lord."
After thinking for a moment, Naohara issued his instructions.
Although the whereabouts of the Eight Greed Kings' Guild weapon were currently unknown, it wasn't a major problem.
They already knew the location of the Eight Greed Kings' Guild Base. Simply stationing people there and waiting would be enough.
A large-scale search might even produce the opposite result.
Besides, the other party carried Dragon Scales left behind by the Platinum Dragon Lord. Under the protection of Wild Magic, even if they tried to search for them, they wouldn't be able to track their location.
Rather than playing hide-and-seek like this, it was better to ignore it for now.
Considering the White Dragon Lord's tireless efforts during this mission, and the fact that he successfully persuaded two Dragon Lords to surrender, it was only fair to reward him. Rewards and punishments had to be clearly distinguished.
[Platinum Dragon Marrow]
This was currently the most coveted resource in The Great Tomb of Nazarick, condensed from the essence of the Platinum Dragon Lord's dragon bones.
Taken internally, it could rapidly increase one's strength. Applied externally, it enhanced physical attributes.
Its effects were so powerful that even a level one hundred player like Momonga could feel a slight benefit from it.
This was also part of Naohara's consideration for the Wyrm Dragon Lord and the Diamond Dragon Lord. After all, they had only just joined The Great Tomb of Nazarick, and it was necessary to give them a small taste of the benefits.
They had followed the Platinum Dragon Lord for centuries without making any real progress.
But by following The Great Tomb of Nazarick, they could grow stronger with ease.
Moreover, once the two dragons consumed the [Platinum Dragon Marrow], any lingering thoughts they might have would naturally be cut off, pushing them completely to the opposite side of the Platinum Dragon Lord.
The same reasoning applied to sending the three dragons to find the Brightness Dragon Lord.
By now, the Vampiric Dragon Lord should be waking up. Sending the three of them there would also allow them to serve as a living example.
"If so many dragons have already joined The Great Tomb of Nazarick, then joining them myself wouldn't be embarrassing, right?"
Once the Vampiric Dragon Lord started thinking that way, the rest would become easy.
One move, many gains.
After the White Dragon Lord and the other two dragons left, Naohara glanced at Momonga. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly spoke.
"News just came from the Empire. The Bloody Emperor has declared war on the Kingdom."
Naohara lounged sideways on the sofa, pulling out some dried dragon meat. He tossed a few strips to Momonga and began eating while talking.
"That's only natural. After seeing how easily we conquered the Argland Council State, the Bloody Emperor probably couldn't sit still anymore."
Momonga waved his hand and set up a barrier around the room, ensuring that Albedo wouldn't suddenly barge in. Only then did he slowly activate [Mask of the Dead] and start eating.
Recently, Albedo's desires had become increasingly obvious. Momonga had no choice but to be cautious.
"So how do you plan to help the Bloody Emperor?"
Seeing Momonga's little precaution, Naohara simply smiled. He quietly glanced at a photograph in his inventory before asking.
Momonga had previously made an agreement with the Bloody Emperor. Once the Empire went to war with the Kingdom, he would provide assistance.
Faced with Naohara's question, Momonga answered without hesitation.
"Originally, I planned to step in personally as an ally. But since you're asking, I'm guessing you have another idea."
Momonga understood Naohara's personality very well.
"Hey, are you a worm living in my stomach or something?"
Naohara complained.
Momonga simply returned a look that clearly said, "Aren't you one in mine?"
Having been friends for more than ten years, they naturally understood each other's personalities and thought processes extremely well.
"Alright, alright. I just want to run an experiment."
Under Momonga's gaze, Naohara spread his hands and explained his idea.
He raised his palm. Space rippled slightly, and twelve round beads appeared, glowing with a golden light. They were crystal clear and radiated a faint brilliance.
Momonga activated a magic detection spell and quickly scanned them.
Name: ???
Description: Extremely pure human blood separated from a certain great being. Effects unknown.
"This is… some kind of bloodline transformation item?"
"If I'm not mistaken, Naohara, this should be the human blood from when you were originally a Dragonoid."
Looking at the item that had never appeared in the game, Momonga's eyes flickered as he quickly deduced its origin.
"As expected of you. That's right. This is the human blood expelled from my body after I transformed into a dragon."
Naohara looked at the twelve golden blood beads in his hand.
In the past, due to the game's limitations, even though the purity of his dragon blood was extremely high, his race had still been classified as Dragonoid.
Because this human blood had coexisted with that dragon blood, Naohara had always been curious about one thing.
If a human consumed it, what exactly would happen?
Would they explode from the overwhelming power?
Or would they undergo some kind of transformation, perhaps becoming an ageless and undying human like Aureole?
Naohara was very curious about the answer, and the Bloody Emperor happened to be the perfect test subject.
After all, if it succeeded, combined with the Bloody Emperor's image, wouldn't he look exactly like a low-tier version of Gilgamesh?
And even if the experiment failed, it didn't matter.
He could always be resurrected.
Far away, inside the Imperial Palace.
The Bloody Emperor was in the middle of arranging his battle plans when he suddenly shivered.
For some reason, a bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart.