The following contains spoilers for Episode 9 of Overlord IV, “Countdown to Extinction,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
Afterthe foolish actions of Baron Montserrat and his allies, the Kingdom of Re-Estize has been put into grave danger. As punishment for attacking carriages marked with the coat of arms of the Sorcerer Kingdom, Albedo delivers some terrifying news to the humans: the Sorcerer Kingdom has declared war.
Despite King Ramposa III’s uncharacteristic offering of his own head in apology for the incident, Albedo informs him and the various nobles present in the royal throne room that it is simply too little, too late. This ninth episode ofOverlord IVfeatures some of this season’s staple of political dialogue, sprinkled with incredibly awkward humor, and a little action on the side – this time – courtesy of some adventurers.
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Apocalypse Now, Or Later?
During the meeting between Albedo and the King of Re-Estize, it is somewhat accurately assumed by one of the present nobles that this entire incident is possiblya scheme laid out by the Sorcerer Kingdom. In contradiction to what was discussed in the emergency meeting held by Ramposa and Prince Zanac, Ramposa attempts to appease the Sorcerer Kingdom by offering his own death, rather than that of the guilty citizen, but Albedo tells him that such is not of interest to her home state at all.
She gives them an ultimatum, laid out by Ainz Ooal Gown himself: suffer an invasion from the Sorcerer Kingdom in a month’s time, or execute a successful invasion of the city of E-Rantel before the planned day of invasion. Obviously, this is being put beyond what would be considered a rock and a hard place, and with the fear of Ainz planted firmly in the hearts of the humans, Albedo returns to Nazarick.
Preparation For Ruin
The Kingdom of Re-Estize prepares for war, with the graveness of the situation sinking in as various agents recall their experiences of Ainz Ooal Gown and his fearsome might. Brain Unglaus; now entrusted withthe blade once wielded by Gazef Stronoff, recalls the former top knight of Re-Estize’s final battle, but still does not understand how what he’d witnessed was even possible.
The Razor Edge is possibly the only weapon capable of killing Ainz Ooal Gown, but the problem is simple: it would have to connect to deal any damage. Things are looking very dire for Re-Estize, while back at Nazarick, Ainz, and his Floor Guardians discuss their silent but effective motions towards a complete defeat of Re-Estize without any of the other nations finding out.
Slaughter
The plan put together by Ainz, Demiurge and Albedo, with contributions from the other Floor Guardians, will see them annihilating all the villages surrounding Re-Estize. Their plan is well under motion, with the dead being resurrected as zombies that are now used to toil the land and produce food, some of which will be sent through to the Theocracy as has been the case. While the Floor Guardians are more than willing to enact and continue the massacre of human villages around Re-Estize, the disgraced older sister of Albedo, Nigredo, disagrees with the complete annihilation of humans, believing that their innovation is the kind of ability that can push civilization forward.
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Given her lowered status amongthe ranks of Ainz’s underlings, Nigredo is reprimanded for talking out of turn and not bringing up her feelings with her direct superior, Cocytus. After hearing what Nigredo has to say, Pestonya Wanko finds herself partly in agreement, asking Ainz if he may consider letting some humans live. Pestonya’s logic is that the survivors of the immense horrors wrought upon the human villages will be able to better convey the might of the Sorcerer Kingdom and therefore, be effective pieces in the Sorcerer Kingdom’s international level “carrot-and-stick” tactic. Ainz finds this interesting and promises to think it over, but he’s well aware that the Floor Guardians aren’t going to like that.
Adventurers and Weirdos
Near the port city of E-Naeul lies one of the several villages slaughtered and raised from the dead by Ainz’s Sorcerer Kingdom. Count Naeura, a noble from Re-Estize, enlists the help of some mithril-level adventurers from the Four Armaments to help deal with the undead threat, in particular, the Death Knight and Death Warrior sent by Ainz himself. Despite having the resources to take his family away and run, Naeura has realized that the Sorcerer Kingdomdoes not intend to let anyone live. Naeura galvanizes the army of adventurers by letting them know that he’s prepared a heap of rewards for all of them; however, Lilynette is interested in something different.
Naeura offers up his family heirloom, the Five-Coloured Holy Sword, facetiously adding the condition that he’ll give it to her if she marries his youngest son; however, Lilynette shows her immense depravity as she literally drools at the prospect of being married off to a child, describing her excitement as “drooling at the prospect of fruit that hasn’t ripened yet”. The entire exchange is a moment the episode really could have/should have done without, and it awkwardly attempts to regain its serious atmosphere by moving straight into combat against the undead of the Sorcerer Kingdom.
Adamantite and Crimson
At this point, Overlord’s awkward CGI is simply part of the experience; however, fights likeepisode 4’s bout with Ainz against the Warrior King, Go Gin, rush to memory when combat sequences like this most recent one are shown. The Death Knight and Death Warrior prove to be heavy obstacles for mithril-level adventurers, but they are rescued from debilitating defeat and retreat by a saviour clad in crimson armor, sporting the tell-tale dog tag of an adamantite-level adventurer. The mysterious adventurer happens to carry what appears to be an M-class automatic rifle, using a hail of bullets to deal with both major threats in a matter of seconds before leaving the scene without uttering a word. When Shalltear remarks at the easy dispatching of powerful undead summons like the Death Knight and Warrior,Ainz surprises his underlingswhen he claims that this too was simply part of the plan.
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