Eight Greed Kings

Eight Greed Kings (八欲王) were legendary figures in the New World. They appeared five hundred years ago and managed to conquer the world with incredible power before succumbing to infighting.

Background
Five hundred years earlier, the Eight Greed Kings appeared and sought to conquer the New World. During their world conquest, they met Surshana and successfully slew the player who, according to the Theocracy teachings, died trying to defend humanity from their reign.

According to some folk tellers, they exaggerated tales about the Eight Greed Kings, calling them beings who stole the power of the God and ruled this world using their absolute strength. Being taller than the sky with the likenesses of dragons, the Eight Greed Kings were capable of destroying numerous countries and dominant races and species in an instant. As a result, they wiped out most of the powerful races, like the Dragon Lords, paving way for humans to thrive and grow in strength. They were some of the few besides the Six Great Gods to spread Tier Magic further throughout the New World.

The rule of the Eight Greed Kings was surprisingly beneficial for humanity. The Eight Greed Kings treated the humans rather well, while demi-humans and heteromorphs were hunted. Even the ensuing power struggle, which resulted in the weakening of all races, provided an ample opportunity for humanity to flourish in the vacuum.

However, their greed ended up pitting them against one another and created a sour division among them. Ultimately, this resulted in their group's demise as they perished one by one. One could say that the Eight Greed Kings' desires ran deep, and they fought each other over their own possessions was what caused their mutual extinction. In the end, the Eight Greed Kings' rule, after conquering the world, was short-lived.

Nowadays, most of the things they've constructed were literally destroyed, leaving only ancient ruins that once made up their civilization. The only city left standing is under their floating castle, Eryuentiu. Such city was supposedly their country's capital built by the Eight Greed Kings once they have managed to conquer the new world.

After their downfall, Platinum Dragon Lord took up residence in the former Guild Base and took on the task of guarding their magic items to ensure no one would ever be able to misuse them. However, he did allow the members of the Thirteen Heroes to take some of the items to aid them in their battle against the Evil Deities.

The Undead King Arc
There were three magical items that were unimaginably powerful. One of these was left behind by the Eight Greed Kings who had conquered the New World in an instant five centuries ago.

The Dark Warrior Arc
It was mentioned that the reason why species who are said to be physically stronger and possess civilizations more advanced than humans never have control over the continent was due to the Eight Greed Kings. These groups of species ended up fighting the Eight Greed Kings for dominance during an ensuing war, but failed in the process. Humanity was considered one of the few survivors who lived to tell the tale after that war came to an end. If it had not been for the work of the Eight Greed Kings, the human race would long since be extinct.

The Lizard Man Heroes Arc
With Albedo present, Ainz identifies different locations on the map and one of them included a city founded by the Eight Greed Kings to the south in the desert. When Albedo suggested making their vassals conduct reconnaissance in that city, Ainz rejected the idea, reasoning that even if the World Item’s user came from there, they should try to get along cordially with the players until they are sure of their fighting power.

The Men in the Kingdom Arc
Evileye brought up an exaggerated tale concerning the Eight Greed Kings while talking with both Climb and Gagaran about the group of players. She also talks about an extremely powerful item out of all the rest they have in their possession, which confirms the existence of 10th tier spells.

The Invaders of the Large Tomb Arc
Fluder identifies Eryuentiu to be the capital of the kingdom founded by the Eight Greed Kings also its sole surviving city that remain intact to this day. At the same time, he recognized that there are city guardians who were equipped with magic items to protect the city. Fluder Paradyne believes he will be able to vastly improve his own magical skills if he was to borrow items from the Eight Greed Kings.

Platinum Dragon Lord informs his friend Rigrit Bers Caurau that the only ones who have not participated in the war with the Eight Greed Kings five hundred years ago were Brightness Dragon Lord, Heavenly Dragon Lord, and Deep Darkness Dragon Lord. In the end, the Dragon Lord made a request to Rigrit, stating that he wants her to collect information about magic items which can rival the Eight Greed Kings' Guild Weapons.

Members of Foresight took notice of the Great Tomb of Nazarick's traps set in place with long-distance teleportation as 5th tier magic from the past. This information dates back when magical techniques were more advanced in the past, particularly during the era of the Eight Greed Kings. The group remembers the brief history they know of about the Eight Greed Kings, believing that maybe the Great Tomb of Nazarick is an ancient relic of that era five hundred years ago.

The Ruler of Conspiracy Arc
When the cardinals of the Slane Theocracy discussed if whether or not Ainz Ooal Gown could be Surshana, they shortly denied it thereafter. This is because according to their country's oral traditions, the God of Death was said to have been slain by the Eight Greed Kings.

Strength
The Eight Greed Kings were known to be immensely powerful, as they had slain most of the Dragon Lords in battle. They were also able to destroy numerous countries and went on to rule the world with their overwhelming strength, at least for a short while.

On the other hand, they happened to possess a countless number of powerful items in their arsenal, which gave them the means to conquer the New World. Among their items were the Eight Great Weapons, wielded by the kings, like their guild weapon. Among these items formerly in their possession, another one of them is mentioned by Evileye, who stated that their "Nameless Book of Spells" was worth the price of a single country. Given its value, it is possible it may be a World Item. Fluder Paradyne has also stated that if he had a magic item from the Eight Greed Kings, he was certain that his Magic skills would rise by another level.

In the Web Novel, they have unimaginable powers which could move mountains and part the seas. Platinum Dragon Lord claimed that the Eight Greed Kings perpetuated the contamination of the New World with Tier Magic. It has taken about a number of ten Dragon Lords to defeat one member of the Eight Greed Kings. In other words, dealing with one Greed King alone would required a plurality of resources and manpower to be taken care of by the True Dragon Lords. To kill one Greed King however, came at a heavy cost as the dragon side must suffer ten times the damage each time until all eight of them are finally slain in battle.

Moreover, there are rumors that the Eight Greed Kings are capable of using 10th tier magic, but it was dismissed as nothing more than a children's story.

Trivia

 * Climb considered the folktale of the Eight Greed Kings as quite unpopular to some people, but anyone who was somewhat educated knew about it. Although the story was obviously unpopular, there were differing opinions on whether it was fact or fiction. For instance, there were many among the adventurers who felt that they did, in fact, once exist; with power greater than any that currently exist in present time of the Overlord series.
 * The Eight Greed Kings were the second group of YGGDRASIL players to be transported to the New World after the Six Great Gods and before the two players of the Thirteen Heroes.
 * In the Web Novel, it is certain that they are YGGDRASIL players, as their city produces items which only exist on Earth, like a suit or a katana, and they owned a guild weapon.
 * It is also confirmed that they can revive after death, though they become weaker and weaker after repeating the revival. This might be due to the revival penalty of YGGDRASIL.
 * It's stated that if the Eight Greed Kings had not attempted to dominate the world, humanity would have already been annihilated by the stronger races.
 * A fun fact found in the Web Novel is that the Eight Greed Kings were compriseed of seven males and one female.