Chapter 128: In Shambles (2)

The river of darkness flowed relentlessly. At its largest tributary was an undead army composed of countless deaths. Zombies, ghouls, and the shambling corpses of beasts moved with decayed steps, accompanied by faint groans. Their numbers easily approached the hundreds.

"

Uuurgh

..."

"

Grrrr

..."

Alongside them were humans under mind control. At the forefront were the residents of the castle village and captured outsiders, each holding spears or swords as they trudged forward with blank expressions. Behind them marched the lay followers of the black god, strengthened through the necromantic spell, Apostles of the Black God. Their minds were clouded with drugs, and they muttered the name of their god incessantly.

"Tesranach...."

"Grant us all a new world...."

Overseeing them all were twelve necromancers. Each was cloaked in dense malice and death energy and drawing power from the blessing of the night. The necromancers grinned in satisfaction, feeling the ominous power of darkness swirling around their bodies.

"Truly, the cardinal's power is overwhelming."

"I feel far stronger than usual."

Even the knights of the county radiated faint auras. They had been bestowed with dark aura through the dark arts, enabled by the immense necromantic power flowing from the dark altars scattered throughout the manor. Confidence surged through them. They were absolutely convinced that no one—not even the Brigade of Purification or the imperial army—could stand against their might. Buoyed by this rising morale, Hudel's forces continued their march.

In the distance, the Saisha temple came into view. Its torches blazed across its structure, casting a surprising amount of light even at night.

"They're prepared," Hudel murmured. "Of course, they would be."

They had been attacked by zombie hordes every night, and thus would naturally be anticipating another raid. But unfortunately for them, tonight would not end with mere zombies. Hudel ordered the necromancers, cultists, and knights to remain on standby. His plan was to feign a typical zombie assault before unleashing the full force of his army in a sudden, overwhelming strike.

"Not that I planned it this way, but it seems we've laid a trap for them," Hudel remarked coldly, lifting his right hand.

"In the name of the black god, I command you."

The zombies and ghouls at the forefront began to emit a pale blue glow from their eyes.

"Bring death to this land."

At his command, the army of hundreds surged forward, swarming the Saisha temple. Barriers of light sprang up around the temple, halting the onslaught of the undead. Sparks crackled, and ripples of holy light spread outward.

Crackle!

However, the barriers didn't hold for long. Soon, the holy walls began to crumble, allowing the zombies to breach the temple's defenses. Hudel frowned at the sight.

They're too weak.

The barriers had fallen far more quickly than he expected. Moreover, there weren’t any priests or soldiers in sight. Only the divine wards were fending off the assault.

Have the priests exhausted themselves? Or are they conserving their strength on purpose?

Finally, the wards gave way entirely, leaving the temple vulnerable. Suspicious as it seemed, Hudel couldn't afford to squander the opportunity.

He gave the order for an all-out attack. "Go, children of Tesranach!"

The cult's massive army surged into the Saisha temple like a tidal wave. Roars erupted from all sides.

"Wraaaaah!"

The roars continued to echo.

"Waaaaah!"

But gradually, the cheers began to wane.

“Waa—ah?"

The excited attackers looked around. Their expressions gradually hardened.

"What's going on?”

"Where did they go?"

Panic set in as they searched every corner of the temple, but they found no one. There were no priests, no soldiers, not even servants or maids. It was truly empty. Even the underground prison held no one—not even the captured prisoners.

"They abandoned the temple and ran away?” Upon receiving the report, Hudel's face went blank with disbelief. "That can't be."

It wasn't that he thought priests were too narrow-minded to come up with such a simple plan. Rather, abandoning a temple was tantamount to the holy servants of the goddesses kneeling before the cultists of darkness. Such an act was a severe violation of doctrine. It was a sin no devout servant of the goddess could commit, no matter how dire the situation.

It would be understandable if one or two individuals fled, but the entire temple?

At that moment, a faint rumble sounded from behind him.

Boom...

Startled, everyone turned to look. Their eyes widened in shock.

What the...?

The castle?

Explosions were erupting across the count's castle. But they weren't ordinary explosions. They were imbued with the divine power of the goddess.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Bang! Boom! Kaboom!

And it wasn't just the castle. Lights from holy spells blazed into the sky throughout the fog-covered castle village. Hudel's face twisted into an ugly grimace.

"Co-could it be?"

***

As soon as he sensed his opponent's plans, Karnak immediately sought out the priests of Saisha.

"Count Hudel has returned. It seems he plans to launch an all-out assault tonight."

When the priests asked how he knew, Karnak once again invoked his venerable master's name as an excuse. As always, Dallas made for an excellent cover story.

"The magical school I studied specializes in combating necromancy," he explained.

Alius supported him with conviction. "Lord Karnak has long been deeply knowledgeable in detecting traces of darkness. I can vouch for him."

After all, Karnak had proven his ability before. During the infamous Witch of Sweets incident, he had detected necromantic traces no one else noticed and saved countless lives.

"Lord Karnak's words are trustworthy. I will guarantee it."

Alius was, as ever, a man of loyalty. Meanwhile, Serati silently begged forgiveness.

I'm so sorry, Alius!

With the priests convinced, Karnak proposed evacuating the temple. Unsurprisingly, there was resistance. But Karnak's eloquence managed to sway them. He lacked the skill to truly understand people, but he excelled at stirring them into action.

"All the goddess's faithful must unite and bring divine punishment upon the vile count’s castle!”

So they weren’t actually abandoning the temple, he insisted. It was a full-scale offensive. Even so, the priests remained hesitant.

"But... if we leave...”

"Are we to let this sacred temple be trampled underfoot by foul cultists?”

"That's why we must act quickly!"

Before the cultists could desecrate the temple, they would burn the castle to the ground. That would force the cultists to retreat back to their stronghold.

"Is that so?”

It seemed rather plausible, yet also not entirely convincing.

"Then, what should we do with the cultists we've already captured?”

"Wouldn't it suffice to hide them temporarily in a barn or some such place?”

"What if you lock them in some careless spot and they end up revealing their location?”

"Do you really think anyone would have time to rescue their comrades when their own house is on fire?"

Karnak didn’t bother to bring up the obvious, that fighting would only lead to their deaths. That would only make them appear as if they feared losing their lives, which would be counterproductive in convincing the priests. In the end, the priests were entirely swayed.

And so, here they were, sneaking out of the temple in the dead of night, setting the count's castle ablaze, and dismantling the necromantic domain.

"Saisha, strike down my enemies!"

Even though its power paled in comparison to magic or aura, there was nothing more effective against necromancy than the divine arts of priests. Divine light struck the necromantic domain in multiple places. Each strike shattered chunks of the barrier, scattering the dark energy into the surroundings.

The soldiers, too, were busy at work.

"Set it ablaze!”

"Destroy the evil altar of the cultists!”

There was no real battle. All of Hudel's forces had been entirely drawn away. With the village and castle completely deserted, there was nothing to stand in their way.

Only Serati found the situation puzzling. "This feels... odd.”

She hadn't expected it to be this empty. "At the very least, I assumed they'd leave a few for their defenses."

Karnak nodded as though it was the most natural thing in the world. "If it were me, I'd have done the same.”

He didn't claim to know the minds of ordinary people, but the psyche of necromancers was all too familiar to him. Especially the ones who, when caught using necromancy, would flee at the first opportunity. Their psychology was as transparent to him as the palm of his hand.

"If they're planning to run anyway, why would they cling to the castle? It's just a tool to use one last time and discard.”

Of course, now they couldn’t even make use of it one last time. That left them with only one choice.

As Karnak fixed his gaze on the Saisha Order, he grinned from ear to ear. "They must be scrambling to rush back in a frenzy.”

***

A river must flow steadily, with dignity. If it reverses course, it becomes nothing but sewage.

Hudel's army was retreating in complete disarray. When they had marched toward the temple, they had been like a river of darkness, surging forward with unstoppable force. Now, in their frantic retreat, their ranks were a chaotic mess and their pace completely uncoordinated. Zombies, ghouls, cultists, and necromancers were jumbled together, their footsteps clattering noisily.

At the forefront, Hudel ground his teeth in frustration. "Those cursed bastards!"

With every passing moment, the dark power that had infused his subordinates was weakening. This was undeniable proof that the necromantic domain he had painstakingly erected throughout the castle village were being destroyed in real-time.

The dark energy he had spent years painstakingly gathering was dissipating into the void, wasted. And that wasn't all. Flames were rising from the count's castle, where his precious altar was located.

That altar was essential for offering sacrifices to gain greater power. Without it, even if they managed to capture the priests, they'd be stranded in the territory for several more days. Rebuilding the altar would take at least that long. And inevitably, they would end up facing the Brigade of Purification, accompanied by the imperial army. The outcome of that encounter would be far from pleasant.

Hudel continuously urged the cultists onward. "Run faster!"

Spurred on, they eventually made it back to castle village. The cultists scanned their surroundings at the village’s outskirts. No matter how urgent the situation was, they couldn't afford to be careless now. The soldiers of the Saisha temple would undoubtedly be lying in ambush.

As they cautiously advanced toward the castle, a sudden shift in the atmosphere caught their attention. Night mist began to roll in.

Swish...

Thick fog spread rapidly, veiling everything around them and obscuring their view.

The mage, Camiros, frowned deeply. "It seems they're deploying magical mist.”

"It does look that way. But why?” Hudel questioned him.

Were they trying to make them lose their way? If so, it was a foolish strategy. Hudel and the cultists were all natives of this land, and castle village was their home. No amount of mist could confuse them enough to lose their bearings.

The real issue was that this had been a mistake Camiros himself had made only a few days ago.

No matter how foolish the enemy might be, it was hard to believe they would simply replicate a mistake their opponents had made so recently.

Sir Ancent offered a different theory. "Perhaps they're trying to restrict visibility to ambush us.”

"That seems... unlikely," Hudel replied, his expression uncertain.

On open plains, large-scale ambushes using mist were a known tactic. But this was the castle village. If a battle were to break out, it would turn into urban warfare. If their vision was obscured, the same would apply to the enemy. What advantage could the temple forces possibly gain by limiting visibility here?

I can't make sense of it, but no other explanation comes to mind

, Hudel thought.

For now, he ordered heightened vigilance as they continued toward the count's castle. "Be prepared for an attack! They might be lying in wait!"

They scanned their surroundings intently while advancing, watching both sides of the streets. The temple soldiers could easily be hiding in alleyways. They also kept an eye on the windows and rooftops of nearby buildings, wary of arrows or other threats from above. They had just stepped into the western plaza of the castle village when it happened.

The enemy had indeed set up an ambush. However, the attack came from somewhere netter Hudel nor the other cultists had ever anticipated—beneath the ground.

Aaaaaaaaahhh!

With an eerie wail, countless wraiths burst forth from below. The undead army—zombies and ghouls alike—was caught in the wraiths' assault. They crumbled at a terrifying pace. The cultists, caught off guard, descended into chaos.

"Was this a trap?”

"That's impossible!”

"This is necromancy!"

How could a necromancer possibly be among the goddess's allies? And even if such a thing were possible, how could they dare to use necromancy under these circumstances?

"This doesn't make sense! The priests would never just stand by and—"

Hudel's words caught in his throat. He realized something. The thick mist surrounded them on all sides. It didn't matter whether the priests were standing by or not. It didn’t matter if their eyes blazed red with fury or narrowed in disdain. No one could see anything in this fog.

"Damn it all!" Hudel cursed bitterly.