Chapter 127

Chapter 127

The Lord’s office in Count Grenthal’s castle.

Hudel sat at his work desk, cradling his head in his hands with a heavy sigh.

“Sigh...”

The dozen or so men lined up in front of him anxiously watched for his reaction.

“Count?”

“Your Excellency, the Cardinal?”

To his left were the knights of the Count Grenthal, and to his right were the followers of the Dark God who had been hiding within the estate.

Hudel lifted his head briefly, scanning the faces of those standing before him, then lowered it again.

Another deep sigh escaped him.

“Sigh...”

He had only delayed by about two weeks, no more.

The only thing that delayed the schedule was a little bit because Elezar had suddenly ordered the collection of the cursed sword he had used, and he had to give related instructions to the Dark God’s cult hidden within the capital.

But when he returned, the household was in shambles, and he was one step away from becoming a wanted man.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Stifling the urge to cry, he tried to assess the situation, but it only made things worse.

‘What? They declared war on the Saisha Temple?’

Hudel knew that Lehane had some zealous tendencies.

But since he was effective at expanding the influence of the cult, Hudel hadn’t considered it much of a flaw. Little did he expect Lehane to cause such a colossal disaster.

“What on earth were they thinking, attacking the temple openly?”

The knights of the Count’s territory seized the opportunity to condemn those standing opposite them.

“Exactly!”

“What were they thinking with such a foolish move?”

Meanwhile, Lehane’s followers nervously glanced around, anxious and unsure.

“We did find it a bit suspicious...”

“But it was Bishop Lehane’s order...”

“He said it was the will of Tesranak...”

Hudel, finding their excuses pathetic, turned away from them and glanced out the window.

A few wandering evil spirits drifted lazily through the thick mist.

Though it was still broad daylight, and their power was weak, such things shouldn’t be wandering around at this hour.

Hudel’s gaze shifted back to his knights.

“If they had already caused trouble, the least you could have done was clean up the aftermath. Why is the castle in this state?”

This time, it was Lehane’s followers who shouted, agitated.

“Exactly!”

“Why is the castle in this state?”

The Count’s knights answered awkwardly.

“There are things in the castle that priests shouldn’t see...”

“We couldn’t let them inside...”

“And without you here, we didn’t know what to do.”

Hudel understood.

Their mission was to protect the castle, and they were just following orders.

If they were just ordinary knights, they hadn’t really done anything wrong.

The problem was that these knights were also followers of the Dark God...

‘Come to think of it, we never really had protocols for a situation like this.’

They had always cut off the tail to preserve the body when problems arose, but now, the entire body was exposed for the first time.

Hudel smiled bitterly.

‘Well, this was bound to happen sooner or later.’

The Gallant Mountain incident was just the trigger.

The Dark God’s cult had been growing in power across the continent for over five years. Even those who had been persecuted now had some strength.

It’s human nature to want to use power when you have it.

There had been increasing voices within the cult calling for judgment upon the world in the name of Tesranak.

They had been patient because they lacked power before, but now they had the strength to change the world.

Of course, it still wasn’t time.

The world remained strong. The Seven Goddesses’ Church was still solid.

But not every member of the cult was wise enough to understand that.

Hudel forced himself to regain his composure.

The situation had already blown up. Blaming Lehane now wouldn’t change anything.

First, he needed to understand how the Empire would respond.

Lehane’s actions amounted to rebellion. They would have declared an emergency.

‘They must have started gathering troops immediately.’

If the brigade assembled their forces and marched to Grenthal at full speed, it would take about three to four days.

‘They’re probably on their way now. If they’re fast, they’ll be here in two days.’

Having finished his calculations, Hudel leaned on his chin, lost in thought.

‘What do I do now?’

The first thought that came to mind was to clean up the situation and escape unscathed.

Kill everyone in the Saisha Temple, rebuild the temple with only the low-ranking priests, and throw a few cult members to the authorities as sacrificial lambs. Hudel and his faction would then pretend they had no ties to the Dark God’s cult.

‘No, that won’t work.’

There are limits to how much you can cover up with lies.

That strategy only worked when there were a few people involved.

They had caused too much damage this time.

Not only had they attacked the temple, but they had also destroyed the entire village below the castle.

‘They even messed with outsiders.’

Grenthal’s territory was a key trading hub for merchants crossing the mountains to the Seven Kingdoms.

Even after the incident, merchants continued to visit the estate.

These foolish and zealous cult members had enslaved all of those outsiders with mind control.

‘How could they so recklessly kill the goose that lays the golden eggs...’

Having built up the estate’s prosperity to this point, the situation pained Hudel greatly.

Now, only one option remained.

He had to flee in the night.

He would have to abandon the power, status, and wealth he had accumulated.

‘Yes, I must give up my position in the Empire.’

But he couldn’t give up his standing within the cult.

If he was going to lose his influence as an imperial noble, he needed to secure power as a Dark Cardinal. Only then could he maintain his status within the cult.

‘And the easiest, fastest way for a necromancer to grow in power is by offering sacrifices.’

Powerful aura users, mages, and devout priests were the most coveted sacrifices for demons. And they were all holed up in the Saisha Temple.

“Tonight, we will use all of our forces to wipe out the temple.”

Having made up his mind, Hudel issued his command.

“Activate all of the necromantic barriers in the castle to draw out power!”

The expressions of those gathered brightened.

A powerful necromancer alone could display the strength of an army. Hudel was strong enough to achieve that.

“For Tesranak!”

“We will finish them off tonight!”

They were now ready to secure a decisive victory for the Dark God’s cult.

The knights of the Count and the necromancers alike smiled with joy.

‘Don’t smile, damn it!’

Seeing his subordinates celebrating made Hudel’s head throb once more.

***

Karnak, who had been lounging around the temple, suddenly looked up.

“Oh, I think he’s here.”

Baros looked at him in confusion.

“What’s here?”

“That Hudel guy.”

Serati, also puzzled, asked, “How do you know? Did you sense Hudel’s presence?”

“Sense the presence of someone I’ve never even met? How would I do that?”

Scoffing, Karnak threw a question back at the two of them.

“Do you feel the change in the castle?”

Baros and Serati concentrated for a moment before shaking their heads.

“No, not at all.”

“It feels the same as usual.”

“Right? You can’t feel anything, can you?”

The change happening in the Count’s castle right now was so subtle and refined that only someone like Karnak could barely perceive it.

“If a necromancer that skilled had been in the castle from the start, last night’s attack wouldn’t have been so weak.”

In other words, Hudel had returned.

“We should let the priests know. We need to start preparing.”

Karnak was about to leave the room to find Alius when Serati absentmindedly asked, “What will you say? How will you explain how you figured it out?”

Karnak paused mid-step.

“Oh, that’s a problem, isn’t it?”