Chapter 126

Chapter 126

Alius, Belton, and about ten other priests crossed through the village, accompanied by over a hundred soldiers.

The village residents, upon seeing them, cautiously moved away, trying to avoid drawing attention.

“What are the priests doing here so early in the morning?”

“And why does the atmosphere seem so... strange?”

Their expressions were unusually stern.

Having fought a fierce battle the night before, it was no surprise that none of them looked particularly well.

They passed through the village and climbed the hill until they reached the gate of the Count’s castle.

Now it was time to convince the knights and soldiers of the Count’s house to uncover evidence that Hudel was involved with the cult.

The castle gates were firmly shut.

Belton, surveying the castle, muttered, “Strange. They should have opened the gate by now.”

Two gatekeepers peeked out from above the gate.

One of the priests shouted up at them, “I command you in the name of Saisha! There is suspicion that the Count’s family is involved with heresy, so open the gates at once! Delay any further, and you too will be accused of heresy!”

They fully expected the gatekeepers to be terrified and open the gates immediately.

Being accused of heresy in the Empire was no small matter.

But the response was completely unexpected.

“Hah!”

“Filthy heretic scum!”

The gatekeepers hurled insults and shot arrows at them!

“Wha—!”

“Th-those bastards?”

The priests hurriedly cast holy shield spells.

Though their offense might be lacking, defense was a hallmark of holy magic, so the arrows harmlessly deflected.

One of the priests cried out to the gatekeeper in disbelief.

“Darlin! How could you shoot an arrow at me? I officiated your wedding!”

One of the gatekeepers lowered his head, ashamed.

“I-I’m sorry...”

But then he remembered the situation.

“...No, wait! My loyalty belongs to my one true master!”

His speech wavered between respectful and casual, reflecting the awkwardness of the situation.

The gatekeepers retreated behind the castle walls. The priests, too, fell back, glancing at each other.

“Could it be that the entire castle of Count Grenthal has fallen to the cult?”

“If so, this is the worst possible scenario...”

It seemed their worst fears were coming true.

A group of knights appeared above the gate.

“It’s been a while, Priest Belton.”

It was Ancent, the strongest knight of the Grenthal family and a red aura user. Behind him were other knights and a 5th-circle mage named Kamiros.

“Sir Ancent...”

Belton scowled and asked, “Surely you all haven’t joined the cult too?”

Ancent, a knight in his thirties standing in front, looked down at Belton and smiled coldly.

“Who are you calling cultists? Lord Tesranak is the only one who can truly save this world!”

There was no doubt. They had all fallen into the hands of the cult.

Belton let out a sigh of despair.

“I’ve made a grave mistake...”

He had assumed that the forces they fought last night were all the cult had, so he only brought the priests and soldiers.

Karnak and the others weren’t even here.

If aura users and mages were among the cultists, there was no point in trying to fight.

“Everyone, retreat!”

At Belton’s command, the temple soldiers began to withdraw down the hill, casting wary glances at each other.

“Hah! You think we’ll just let you go?”

Watching them, Mage Kamiros raised his wand.

“Come forth, fog. Creep and spread, and cover all directions.”

***

By the time they had fled down the hill and re-entered the village, the priests were confused.

The streets were completely empty.

“What’s going on?”

“Where did everyone go?”

Just moments ago, the streets had been bustling with people. Now, it was as if they had vanished like ghosts.

Belton gritted his teeth.

“We must face them here.”

Fortunately, there were many wounded among the temple soldiers, but few had actually died.

Priests specialized in pulling soldiers from the brink of death and sending them back into battle.

With Karnak and his group around, they could hold out for several days.

Belton encouraged everyone and spoke resolutely.

“We’ll hold out here until the Evil Slaying Brigade arrives.”

That night, the undead army came once more. Just as Serati had predicted.

But there was something she hadn’t foreseen.

The attacking undead were merely zombies and low-level monster corpses.

There were only about a hundred of them at most.

For soldiers blessed with holy spells, they were easy to dispatch.

It made no sense.

The confirmed cultist forces included a red aura user, a 5th-circle mage, nine knights, and nearly a hundred soldiers from the Count’s castle.

Not to mention the necromancers and the worshippers of the Dark God hidden within.

So why were they only sending a meager force of low-level undead?

“I don’t understand.”

“Why would they waste their energy like this?”

The priests were utterly confused.

Only Karnak allowed himself a small, bitter smile.

‘I was confused at first too.’

It wasn’t until after interrogating Lehane and Sephedes that he understood the cultists’ behavior.

They were followers of the Dark God as much as they were necromancers. In other words, they were a secretive cult.

‘That’s the weakness of a decentralized organization.’

The leader of this area, Hudel, was away.

Bishop Lehane, who had taken charge in his absence, had been captured.

Sephedes, the only one with a practical mind, was also now a prisoner.

So, who was left?

A few middle-ranking executives who barely knew each other by name, let alone face, were forced to play leaders.

-We have to wait for Count Hudel to return!

-No, we must strike down the heretics and rescue our comrades now!

The cult had split into two factions.

One group had holed up inside the castle, while the other led a force of zombies to attack the temple.

The latter group was far weaker.

After all, the main forces—Lehane and Sephedes—had been wiped out the night before.

That’s why the cult’s attacks were so half-hearted.

The undead army came every night after that, but it was always the same: zombies and low-level monsters.

Of course, they were easily repelled.

But even though they couldn’t launch an effective counterattack, the temple forces also couldn’t march on the Count’s castle.

Their forces weren’t strong enough to take advantage of the daylight, and the undead weren’t strong enough to overwhelm them at night.

Of course, if Karnak and his team got serious, they might be able to turn the tide.

But they deliberately stayed in the temple, not taking the lead.

“If we move too aggressively, it could be a problem.”

Hudel needed to return to the territory. Only then could they capture him and extract the information they needed.

“What if the situation resolves itself before he gets back?”

The enemy might slip away, disappearing into the shadows.

“Until then, we need to lay low as well.”

***

It had been seven days since the cultists in Grenthal’s territory began their rebellion.

A carriage passed through the main road. Inside was Count Hudel, returning home after finishing his business in the capital.

As he entered his territory, Hudel opened the carriage window.

The castle should be coming into view soon.

He looked forward to resting and shaking off the fatigue of travel after returning to his home.

But as he turned his gaze toward the castle...

“What?”

Hudel blinked in disbelief.

Dark energy was swirling around the castle.

Dark clouds loomed overhead, wraiths floated about, and the village was shrouded in thick, ominous fog.

Shocked, Hudel muttered under his breath.

“What the hell... is going on?”