Chapter 127: In Shambles (1)

Count Hudel sat at his desk in the lord’s study of Grental Castle, clutching his head. "

Haah

..."

About a dozen people stood in a line before him, shifting uneasily as they glanced at him.

"Your Excellency?"

"Your Holiness?"

On his left were knights of the Grental territory. On his right stood followers of the black god, who had been hiding within the territory. Hudel lifted his head briefly, scanning the faces of those present before lowering it again with another deep sigh.

"

Haaaaah...

"

He had only been delayed by about two weeks. Elezar had abruptly ordered him to retrieve the demonic sword, and he had spent time coordinating with the church members in the capital. It had caused a slight delay in his schedule, but nothing more. Yet when he returned, he found his estate in shambles and himself on the brink of becoming a wanted criminal.

What in the world happened here?

Suppressing the urge to weep, Hudel tried to assess the situation, only to discover that it was far worse than he imagined.

What? They launched a full-scale assault on Saisha temple?

Hudel had always known Bishop Lehein to be a bit of a zealot. However, since Lehein had been instrumental in expanding the church’s influence, Hudel hadn’t considered his fanaticism a significant flaw. He never expected him to cause such a colossal disaster.

"What was he thinking, openly attacking the temple?" Seizing the moment, the knights on the left eagerly took the opportunity to criticize the men on the right.

"Indeed! What were you thinking?"

"Why commit such a foolish act?"

Meanwhile, Lehein’s followers fidgeted nervously, glancing at each other.

"Well, we did have our doubts..."

“But Bishop Lehein ordered it..."

"He said it was the will of Tesranach..."

Hudel groaned in frustration and turned his gaze away from their excuses. He glanced out the window, where faint shapes of evil spirits wandered leisurely amidst the dense fog. They were weakened since it was broad daylight, but in the first place, he found it incredulous that they were roaming around this time of day.

Hudel’s irritated gaze shifted toward his knights. "If you were going to make a mess, you could at least clean up after yourselves. Why is the castle in this state?"

Now it was Lehein's followers who bristled, raising their voices.

"Exactly! What were you thinking?”

“Why did you do something so foolish?"

The knights exchanged awkward glances.

"The castle holds many things that the priests shouldn't see.”

"We couldn't just let them inside..."

"And with your absence, we didn’t know how to proceed."

Hudel nodded grimly. He understood. Their orders had been to protect the castle, and they had followed those orders to the tee. For ordinary knights, this was not inherently wrong. The problem was that these knights were also members of the black god's church.

Our church never developed protocols for situations like this, after all.

The church had always operated under the principle of cutting off the tail to save the body whenever trouble arose. But now, for the first time, the body itself was exposed. Hudel gave a bitter smile.

So, it’s finally happened.

The Galant Mountain incident was merely the trigger. The black god's church had been growing in influence across the continent for over five years. Those who had long been persecuted had begun to amass power. With power, the natural desire was to use it.

Within the church, voices calling for judgment upon the world in the name of Tesranach had been growing louder. Until now, they had lacked the strength to act, but now they believed they possessed the power to change the world. Of course, the time was not yet ripe.

The seven goddesses' church remained strong, as did the current world order. But not all cultists were wise enough to see that reality. Hudel forced himself to stay calm. The damage was done. Blaming Lehein now would not change anything. First, he needed to assess the empire's movements.

"Has the temple managed to contact anyone outside?" he asked.

His subordinates answered in turn.

"They seem to have sent a messenger to Kallat City."

"We attempted to intercept them but failed."

"They moved quickly. Evidence suggests the messenger left the morning after the attack."

Hudel stroked his chin thoughtfully. "So, the morning six days ago?"

It would take a swift traveler about two days on foot to reach Kallat City from Grental territory. That left ample time for the temple to have alerted the Brigade of Purification.

Of course, expecting this madness to go unnoticed was absurd.

After receiving the message, when would the brigade arrive in Grental territory?

I'll need to calculate how long it'll take.

Hudel spread a map of the empire's western region across the table.

***

The Seven Kingdoms Alliance followed a traditional feudal system: kings ruled the realm, with lords overseeing each region under a mutual contract. The Lacania Empire, however, operated differently. While it was fundamentally feudal, imperial authority was just as powerful.

This peculiar mix of centralized governance and local autonomy was made possible through a seemingly contradictory system. Though the regions were ruled by feudal lords, imperial cities under the emperor's direct control were scattered between them.

The emperor wielded considerable influence over the lords through these imperial territories, massively surpassing the authority of the kings of the Seven Kingdoms Alliance. The success of this system relied on a key feature: each imperial city was equipped with magic communication centers exclusive to the empire.

In the current era, the most common method of communication was still by courier. Whether traveling on foot or horseback, a person physically delivering a letter remained the most reliable means.

Carrier pigeons were sometimes used for urgent messages, but they came with numerous drawbacks. As their homing instincts allowed only one-way communication, pigeons couldn't return. They were also prone to being lost en route, and training them was labor-intensive.

Thus, they were mainly used for military purposes.

Magic expanded communication options slightly. Advanced mages, particularly those of the seventh circle or above, could use magic messengers to replace carrier pigeons. These magical alternatives were far more reliable, with a significantly lower chance of being lost and no need for training.

However, this method had its own limitations. Only mages of the seventh circle or higher could send or receive such messages, and there weren't nearly enough mages of that caliber. Moreover, mages of such power rarely reduced themselves to delivering letters for others. High nobles or royalty might pay exorbitant sums on occasion to request such services, but it was not a systemically viable method of communication.

On the other hand, necromancers had their own, slightly more practical methods. Instead of magic messengers, they used zombie crows or pigeons to carry messages. It was a simple spell even novice necromancers could perform.

However, this method came with a major drawback: it emitted large amounts of malice during the process. To a passing priest, such a messenger would appear as a dark, ominous entity reeking of foul energy. Hence, only those with a death wish would use such ignorant methods. Thus, across the continent, the most widespread means of communication remained human messengers.

However, the Lacania Empire was different. Befitting a vast empire ruling over more than half the continent, it had employed a staggering number of high-ranking mages to achieve an audacious feat. They had established an expansive magical communication network across its territory.

The cost was astronomical—something the Seven Kingdoms Alliance wouldn't even dream of attempting. The initial setup alone consumed a significant portion of a nation's budget. The high-level, three-dimensional magic circles required for the communication stations used catalysts as valuable as their weight in gold.

Even the maintenance costs were immense, as each transmission consumed yet another batch of these expensive magical catalysts. Simple maintenance of such a network was worth about half the annual budget of a small kingdom like Eustil.

But its utility was undeniable. Unlike other systems, operating a magical communication centre didn't require extremely high-level magic. A mage at the third circle or above could use it to relay real-time information anywhere within the connected regions.

The imperial capital, Thea Krahan, along with the four major territories of the north, south, east, and west, and seventeen other cities under the emperor's direct jurisdiction, were all equipped with magical communication stations.

This system allowed the emperor to achieve unparalleled speed in gathering and disseminating information, giving him an enormous advantage over the lords scattered across the empire. It gave him a significant edge both economically and militarily, and the stations acted as one of the key pillars upholding the emperor's authority.

Examining the map, Hudel began estimating the messenger's route.

They likely reached Kallat City by the evening five days ago and immediately used magical communication to contact the Brigade of Purification.

Unlike the King's Order in the small Kingdom of Eustil, the Brigade of Purification was the oversight agency of the sprawling empire. Naturally, it was subdivided into smaller operational units, stationed in the north, south, east, west, and central regions of the empire.

In this case, the unit responsible for this area was the Western Brigade of Purification, stationed at Fort Harlan, about two days from Kallat City. So, what would the brigade have done after receiving the message? What Lehein had orchestrated was essentially a rebellion, so they would have immediately gone on high alert.

They would have started assembling their forces that very day.

If the Brigade of Purification had gathered its troops and marched toward Grental at full speed, they would likely take about three to four days to arrive.

They’re probably well on their way now. At the earliest, they might arrive in as little as two days.

Having finished his calculations, Hudel rested his chin in his hand, deep in thought.

What do I do now...?

The first idea that came to mind was to clean up the situation and wash his hands of it. The plan would involve annihilating the Saisha temple, rebuilding it with the priests under his control, and offering up a few cultists as sacrificial scapegoats to feign compliance. Hudel and the forces at the Grental manor would then act as though they were never involved with the Cult of the Black God.

No, that’s impossible.

There were limits to covering up the truth. Such a tactic could work if only a few people were implicated, but this time the damage was far too extensive. Not only had they attacked the temple, but they had also effectively ruined the entire castle village.

Not to mention the outsiders they've dragged into this mess.

Grental territory served as a strategic crossroads for merchants traveling from beyond the mountain range to the Seven Kingdoms. Even after the incident began, peddlers continued to arrive. However, these foolishly devout followers had enslaved the merchants with mental domination and drugs, turning them into mindless slaves.

They gutted the goose that laid the golden eggs...

As the one who had worked to develop the territory to this point, the situation felt like a dagger in his chest. With things as they were, he only had one option remaining. He could escape under the cover of night. He would have to abandon the power, status, and wealth he had built over the years.

Fine, I'll relinquish my position in the empire.

However, he could not afford to lose his standing within the Church of the Black God. If he forfeited his authority as a noble, he would need to compensate by consolidating his influence as a Dark Cardinal. That was the only way to maintain his position within the cult.

And the fastest and most efficient way for a necromancer to grow in power is through sacrificial offerings.

Powerful aura users, mages, and devout priests were the most coveted sacrifices for demons—and they were all conveniently gathered at the Saisha temple.

"Tonight, we will use all our power to eliminate the temple scum." Having resolved himself, Hudel issued his orders. "Activate every necromantic domain around the manor and draw out all available power!"

The expressions of those gathered brightened instantly. A powerful necromancer alone could wield the destructive force of an entire army, and Hudel was precisely that formidable.

"For Tesranach!"

"Tonight, we'll end them for good!"

For the first time, it seemed certain that victory for the Church of the Black God was within reach. The knights of the manor and the necromancers alike grinned with excitement.

Don't smile, damn it!

Seeing his subordinates revel in their enthusiasm gave Hudel another pounding headache.

***

At the temple, Karnak, who had been idly lounging, suddenly lifted his head. "Ah, he must be here."

Varos frowned curiously. "Who's here?"

"That Hudel guy."

Serati, just as puzzled, tilted her head. "How do you know? Did you sense Hudel's energy?"

Karnak scoffed, shaking his head. "How would I recognize the energy of someone I've never even met?"

He then posed a question to the two of them. "Do you feel any changes in the castle?"

Varos and Serati concentrated briefly before shaking their heads.

"No, not at all."

"Feels the same as always."

"Exactly. You don't feel anything, right?"

The changes happening at the manor were so subtle and sophisticated that only someone of Karnak's caliber could barely detect them.

"If a necromancer that skilled had been in the manor all along, there's no way last night's attack would've been that pathetic."

In other words, Hudel had returned.

"I should inform the priests. We need to start preparing too."

Just as Karnak was about to leave the room to find Alius, Serati absentmindedly asked, "What are you planning to tell them? How will you explain how you figured it out?"

Karnak froze mid-step. "Uh... now, that's a problem, isn't it?"