On their way to the Eight Fingers' hideout, Riezel and the others didn't have a smooth, uninterrupted journey and instead ran into quite a bit of trouble.
What trouble?
It was the traps set along the way.
It was unclear whether the earlier arrival of the kingdom's troops had made Eight Fingers wary, but they had set up numerous traps near their hideout. In addition to the surveillance magic that could sense life over a wide area, various traps with offensive capabilities were also present.
Some of these traps used magic, such as curses, to inflict damage on the human body, while others were mechanical traps created with items like poisonous fog or powerful acids that could corrode the body.
In addition to them, there were also deadly traps that would activate when stepped on or touched—like pits with vertical blades, crossbow bolts shooting from the sides of the trees, and areas resembling landmines that could explode.
Needless to say, the whole setup felt less like a criminal organization's hideout and more like a dangerous, trap-filled dungeon.
Riezel even noticed that teleportation magic was blocked around the area, and some mechanisms were also in place to counter flight magic to prevent anyone from approaching from the sky.
With barriers that could bounce back surveillance magic, the defenses of this hideout had been put together in an almost absurdly thorough way.
'Don't tell me... all of this is that guy's handiwork?'
Clearly, the one who would go to such lengths to set up layers of protection, in Riezel's impression, seemed to be Ainz, who was just as paranoid.
Considering the army of vampire servants that could only be summoned by an extremely powerful vampire earlier, Riezel was now 90% sure that everything here had been orchestrated by the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
Having attacked the Slane Theocracy, sneaked into the royal capital, and then controlled Eight Fingers, it was very possible this was all part of orders given to Shalltear by Ainz.
'Well, hasn't this gotten interesting?'
With such a thought, Riezel smiled slightly, feeling a slight anticipation.
Meanwhile, Tia and Tina, the twin assassins, proved to be extremely useful in this trap-laden place.
"Leave it to us."
"Watch us disable all these traps."
Tia and Tina confidently stepped forward, beginning to dismantle the traps set up around the hideout.
Sometimes, they triggered simple traps early to render them ineffective. Other times, they used special techniques to neutralize magic traps. Occasionally, they would pull out strange and unique magic items, using them to disarm the traps and clear the deadly obstacles along the way.
Lakyus and Evileye also did their part.
Because both of them were powerful magic casters, at least strong enough to have entered the Realm of Heroes, they had experience dealing with various magic traps as they either used corresponding magic or deployed their own magic items, skillfully taking down the magic traps one by one.
Of course, no matter how amazing they were, even they couldn't handle every magic trap, as some they didn't even notice.
It couldn't be helped.
Even though they were strong by the standards of this world, they were still just the natives of it and couldn't compare to the beings from YGGDRASIL.
Even Evileye, if placed in YGGDRASIL, would be just around Level 50, and her highest-tier magic was only 5th Tier, so how could she possibly handle the magic traps set up by the beings from the Great Tomb of Nazarick, who could casually use 10th-Tier Magic?
Moreover, the Great Tomb of Nazarick had many extraordinary items brought over from YGGDRASIL, some even being cash items with rechargeable effects. Given that these items were incredibly powerful and had unique effects, the natives of this world were clearly far too inexperienced to handle the threats they posed.
Because of this, Riezel kept using the Transparent World and surveillance magic to observe the surroundings while casually disabling magic traps that even Lakyus and Evileye had missed.
How did he disable them?
Simple.
He merely used a light touch with the Decomposition Magic Yuri had personally taught him.
With the influence brought by the Imaginary attribute, his Decomposition Magic, taught by the Strategic-Class Magician herself, had the power to decompose magic.
As a result, all Riezel had to do was use Decomposition Magic and lightly touch the magic traps—no matter how advanced or powerful the traps were, they would instantly disintegrate and vanish without a trace.
However, what Riezel didn't know was that these magic traps had countermeasures in place, set to trigger and harm anyone who attempted to disable them.
Some of these countermeasures included instant-death magic, which would have been deadly to anyone else. Even if someone could disable these magic traps, they would be killed by these hidden countermeasures in an instant.
Had Blue Roses come across these magic traps, their chances of survival would have been zero.
Fortunately, in front of Riezel's Decomposition Magic, even these countermeasures were decomposed, leaving not a trace behind—causing even him not to realize they existed.
Brain was indeed right.
If it hadn't been for Blue Roses meeting Riezel and inviting him along, their commission would have been a one-way trip, with no chance of returning—it would have been like walking to their deaths.
In some sense, they should be thankful that Riezel had come along, or else the consequences would have been unimaginable.
After bypassing countless traps, the group finally reached the entrance to the heart of the hideout—a massive gate.
*BOOM!*
With a deep, explosion-like noise, the massive gate was blasted off its hinges by a huge war pick, shattering into pieces.
Gagaran's muscular figure soon appeared amid the broken gate.
"We're finally here!"
Gagaran, wielding her war pick and leading the charge, stormed into the building, shouting loudly around her.
"I'm Gagaran of Blue Roses! Everyone here, get the hell out!"
Gagaran was acting recklessly, far from the composed Adamantite Adventurer she usually was. It was clear that the frustration of having been sidelined during the journey had gotten to her.
Riezel and the others didn't bother hiding their presence either as they simply walked through the gate.
It wasn't that they didn't want to be stealthy—it was just that the noise from earlier would have absolutely alerted the enemy already, so at this point, it was better to charge in openly rather than try to sneak around, in case they could catch the enemy off guard.
Unfortunately—
"It seems like no one's here?"
"Yeah, there's completely no living aura..."
Tia and Tina glanced around, speaking softly to each other.
Beside them, the others were also observing their surroundings.
What they saw inside the building was surprisingly different from the outside, to the point that it didn't seem like the same place.
From the outside, the building looked like a prison—very closed off.
It wasn't exactly eerie, but it gave off an indescribable sense of darkness, not the kind of place one would expect a proper establishment to be.
However, the inside of the building was truly different.
Right now, Riezel and the others found themselves in a courtyard that radiated a peaceful atmosphere.
Even though the light in the courtyard wasn't abundant, it wasn't dark either, since everyone could see that the plants were neatly trimmed and the stone bricks underfoot gave it a refined, tranquil look.
Yet, in such a peaceful, serene place, not only was there no one around, but the air also seemed to carry an eerie flow, as if something unnatural lingered, making it feel hauntingly silent.
"Looks like there really is no one..." Brain remarked as he placed his hand on the sword at his waist, scanning the area, his brow furrowed tightly.
"Could they be inside?" Evileye asked, looking toward the deeper part of the courtyard.
Over there, a mansion stood, the kind of place a noble who loved luxury might reside in.
"Wait, something's off..." Lakyus whispered, her expression growing serious. "I mean, it's too quiet, and this place doesn't feel like the hideout of Eight Fingers... It feels more like..."
More like a slaughterhouse.
Just as Lakyus was about to voice her thoughts, Riezel, whose eyes shimmered with translucent light, suddenly reached out and grabbed her.
"Dodge!"
Before Lakyus could react, Riezel yanked her toward him.
In that split second, a noise rang out.
*Swish!*
A chilling flash of swordlight suddenly sliced through the air where Lakyus had been standing, cutting through the atmosphere and landing in empty space.
"?!!!"
Brain, Gagaran, Tia, and Tina immediately reacted, instinctively pulling away.
"Crystal Lance!"
Evileye didn't hesitate, immediately casting offensive magic.
A crystal lance formed in midair, its sharp point glimmering as she waved her small hand, sending it speeding toward the spot where the swordlight had appeared.
At the same time, the air trembled as a blurry figure appeared where Lakyus had been standing, like a mirage, swaying and avoiding the oncoming crystal lance.
*BOOM!*
With a loud crashing sound, the crystal lance missed, stabbing into the ground and shattering it.
"Don't think you can escape!"
Evileye prepared to cast another magic to attack the blurry figure, but suddenly, a sky-splitting sound came from another direction.
Six scimitars flew toward Evileye like arrows, but as if an invisible hand was controlling them, they spiraled around, slashing from different directions and surrounding her.
"Go! Floating Swords!"
As soon as Riezel pulled Lakyus away, she finally reacted.
Seeing Evileye surrounded by six scimitars, Lakyus immediately used her Floating Swords, causing six golden blades to shoot out from her back and rush toward the six scimitars flying in the air.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!*
*Clang!* *Cling!**Clang!*
Accompanied by the intense sound of metal clashing, the blades and scimitars collided in mid-air, sparking as they struck and bounced off each other, creating distance between them.
Amidst this, the others also came under attack.
*Swish!*
A fast-moving sword light slashed through the air, heading straight for Brain, who lowered his body and assumed a defensive stance.
"Field!"
Using Field to enhance his perception, Brain transformed the area within a three-meter radius of himself into his domain, successfully catching the incoming swordlight.
With the help of Field's perception, Brain also realized the true form of the fast-moving swordlight—a sword resembling a metal whip, with one end being wielded by someone, slashing toward him with incredible speed.
"Too bad, you picked the wrong opponent."
Calmly and without panic, Brain used Field's perception to effortlessly dodge the whip-like sword, letting it strike the ground and tear through the floor, leaving a deep sword mark.
*BOOM!*
On the other side, Tia and Tina were hit by a fireball that landed between them, exploding on the spot and causing a blast.
Fortunately, they quickly sensed the attack, each moving left and right to avoid the explosion, staying unharmed.
"Now, that's what a normal Fireball should look like."
"Yeah, the attack power's decent, but after seeing those exaggerated ones, this normal one feels so-so in comparison."
Tia and Tina still had the energy to joke about Riezel's Fireball.
Naturally, Gagaran was also being attacked like the others.
A figure suddenly emerged from the shadows in front of her, moving as fast as a gust of wind, rushing toward her and launching a thrusting attack.
Not only was the thrust fast and sharp, but in terms of speed, it might have been just as fast as Brain's God Flash.
*DING!*
Gagaran didn't manage to respond in time and was struck solidly by the thrust.
At the critical moment, however, she avoided the vital point, letting the thrust land on her armor instead, creating only a spark as it scraped against it.
"Fucking sneaky bastard!"
*Whoosh!*
Yelling angrily, Gagaran swung her war pick at the attacker, but they easily dodged it.
It went without saying that this series of attacks on Lakyus and the others came so suddenly, like a violent storm, each one aiming for a kill.
Luckily, all the attacks were successfully thwarted by everyone, and none of them managed to make any impact.
Such a fact caused the attackers to react audibly.
"...Impressive."
"To think they actually dodged our surprise attacks..."
"Looks like the one who showed up this time isn't ordinary, huh..."
"Hmph, that's fine by me."
"If they'd sent those weak, pathetic kingdom troops, we'd be the ones getting underestimated."
As these cold words echoed one after another, the attackers began to reveal themselves one by one.
They all had distinct appearances, dressed in different styles, each with their own unique flair.
One was dressed in a black hooded robe, with bright red flame patterns adorning it. Even though the face beneath the hood was hidden, the aura emanating from the robe had no vitality, resembling that of a corpse.
Another was a seductive woman wearing a light, flowing garment, looking graceful, with gold bangles adorning her wrists and ankles, while six scimitars floated around her.
Next was a man dressed in luxurious, embroidered clothing resembling a matador, holding a rapier with a rose-shaped cross-guard that radiated the fragrance of roses.
Another was a figure clad in plain, unadorned steel full-body armor, holding a whip-like sword with a blade that could extend to full length.
Meanwhile, the last one was a man wearing loose black clothes who shifted from blurry to reality, his skin pale with a hint of blue as if he had never been in the sun, his gaze sharp, and his cheeks hollow.
Needless to say, these five were the ones who had just launched surprise attacks and had spoken moments ago.
Naturally, they weren't the only ones present.
"I see... so it's Blue Roses who have arrived this time. No wonder you've made it here."
As these words resounded, a man slowly emerged from the mansion, apparently the leader of the five.
He was bald, with muscular arms and a body as massive as a boulder, his skin covered in tattoos of wild beasts.
"Let me offer my appreciation and welcome to you all."
"Welcome to this dead land."
"I'm a generous and kind man, so I'll give you some time to say your last words."
"C'mon, let me hear your final screams."
While speaking, the bald, muscular man sneered, and the air around him seemed to grow more sinister.