Capítulo 157: CHAPTER 156
The crumbling hallway in the southwest residential area.
Four burly men were guarding the passage that connected to the non-residential area.
They were specially selected followers from the Wellard branch, skilled in martial arts.
Of course, no matter how skilled they were, it would be impossible for ordinary people to stop Karnak and his group.
Hugot wasn't counting on them as a formidable defense force.
That's why he increased the guard formations from teams of two to teams of four and had everyone wear bone-made whistles around their necks.
The intent was for at least one of them to survive and blow the whistle to alert of any intruders, should they encounter any.
From the start, there was no expectation that they could actually stand against the enemy.
The mission was almost like a suicide squad, but surprisingly, their vigilance was strict.
This was because they had fanatical faith in Tesranak.
Even if they were killed in battle, they believed they would be resurrected by the Dark God.
So, as the four guards gripped their spears and longswords, watching the dark hallway, it happened.
Woo...ooo...
Suddenly, an eerie sound echoed, and a cold chill began to spread. At the same time, the torches flickered and started to go out one by one.
"Huh?"
"What's...this?"
The guards looked at each other in confusion.
While this would be a spine-chilling, eerie phenomenon in the outside world, it felt different in these parts.
"Is it a wraith?"
"Why would a wraith be here?"
For these cultists, the existence of wraiths was no different from tigers or wolves lurking in the mountains. They were just neighbors from the next village over.
They were something to fear, but not an unknown terror.
They were merely puzzled as to why wraiths were showing up when no intruders could be seen.
The youngest of the guards made a guess.
"Could it be that the intruders are controlling the wraiths?"
And he was immediately scolded.
"How could that be? That's only possible through necromancy."
"The intruders are from the Yustil Kingdom's King's Order. How could they control wraiths?"
The senior, a middle-aged man, reminded his companions.
"Still, we can't be too sure. Stay vigilant."
Nodding in agreement, the guards hung the Dark God's insignia from their weapons.
If this were a non-residential area, just one of those wraiths could kill them all in seconds.
But in the residential area, things were different.
The powerful necromantic barrier of the cult was spread here, preventing even strong wraiths from exerting their full power.
Even regular cultists could handle them.
Woo...ooo...
With the faint sound of wailing, the chill intensified.
At last, faint shapes appeared in the distance, beyond the darkness.
The forms were of soldiers, pitifully killed, with spears and arrows stuck in their bodies.
The senior guard raised his spear and shouted.
"They're coming!"
His shout was only half correct.
The wraiths started to charge down the corridor but suddenly stopped.
About ten meters away, the wraiths and the guards stood facing each other.
Woo...ooo...
The youngest guard quietly asked.
"What are they doing?"
That was when it happened.
The wraiths suddenly turned their backs. Then, they disappeared back into the darkness.
The guards stared in bewilderment.
"...What the hell was that?"
***
A corpse bat flew quickly toward the skull throne in the chapel. Then, it fell to the floor with a thud.
"Two wraiths have appeared in zone 3-3."
A human voice emerged from the bat that had fallen beneath the throne.
It was long-distance communication through necromancy.
"Wraiths?"
Demphis tilted his head in confusion upon hearing the report.
"And the intruders?"
"They were not seen. Only the wraiths appeared. It's possible that the intruders are controlling them..."
This made even less sense to Demphis.
He had predicted various means the fleeing King's Order of Yustil might use. But none of those predictions included this scenario.
"Could the King's Order be using necromancy? That's not possible."
Nevertheless, since wraiths had appeared, he needed to assess the situation.
"Were the wraiths dealt with?"
"No."
"What do you mean, 'no'?"
"They disappeared on their own."
"...What?"
The situation grew stranger.
The wraiths had simply appeared and disappeared without doing anything.
It was almost like they had wandered out for a stroll from the non-residential area.
Of course, that couldn't be the case.
"This is really odd."
The strangeness didn't stop there.
More corpse bats flew in with reports.
"Wraiths have appeared again."
"And they disappeared again."
It was always the same.
There was no combat. Wraiths kept appearing in various passages of the residential area, loitering for a bit, then vanishing.
After pondering for a moment, Demphis smiled.
"It's a diversion."
Of course, since he was a skeleton, he couldn't actually smile, but it was a feeling like he had.
Demphis sent out more corpse bats and gave instructions.
"Even if the wraiths retreat, don't chase them. Stay in your positions."
If the enemy truly intended to lure the guards away, they would show some response.
Perhaps by launching a light attack, trying to draw the guards out.
"What's happening?"
Several reports came in.
"They attacked lightly...but then disappeared again."
Demphis was now certain of his theory.
"Just as I thought."
He had a rough idea of the enemy's plan.
Whether it was necromancy, magic, or holy arts, there was always a common point in large-scale rituals.
They were most vulnerable when attacked during the ritual.
The enemy was surely aiming for that timing.
'They wouldn't come out for a head-on fight when they have no chance of winning.'
Since he had figured out their intentions, countering them was simple.
He sent out corpse bats to the patrols.
"Thoroughly search every space in the residential area. Don't miss even the smallest crack that a mouse could slip through."
To launch an ambush during the ritual, one requirement must be met.
They had to hide near the altar and wait for the right moment.
'If they can't even get close, we won't have to worry about being attacked during the ritual.'
Now that the solution was in place, only one question remained.
The current situation made it seem as if the fleeing King's Order was controlling the wraiths.
But necromancy was clearly involved.
'How could a mage control wraiths? Did some new magic arise for this?'
The world had already changed a lot.
Just because he didn't know about such magic didn't mean it didn't exist.
The blue flames in the empty eye sockets of the Arch Lich flickered.
"Karnak, was it?"
***
In the darkness of the non-residential area of Maleficus Dungeon.
Karnak, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, quietly muttered.
"Good. Now I know exactly where and how they've set up their defenses."
Wraiths can pass through walls. That means they can move freely, unaffected by the terrain.
By using this well, it's easy to scout the enemy's geography and troop deployment.
Of course, it wasn't an easy task.
Controlling such a large number of wraiths and using distant-view spells to grasp the layout required incredibly delicate necromantic skill.
But for the former Death King, it wasn't too difficult.
"Well, what do I have left besides my senses? I've lost all my powers."
Serati was puzzled.
"If you had this method, why did we sneak in and steal a map?"
"Because this is the way I used to live."
Karnak looked at her as if she had said something absurd.
"Or are you suggesting I should have used necromancy from the start?"
"O-of course not. It just felt so natural that I forgot for a moment."
Karnak continued manipulating the wraiths for a while longer.
Then, suddenly, he clicked his tongue.
"I thought of using this as a diversion, but it won't work."
No matter how much pressure he applied with the wraiths, the guards wouldn't leave their positions.
Because of that, he couldn't figure out what was going on inside the chapel where the altar was set up.
"I'll have to figure this out another way."
Karnak stood up and gestured.
"I've found a weak spot in their defenses, so let's sneak in."
Serati was confused.
"Already? But the ritual still has a long time to go, doesn't it?"
The cultists were thoroughly searching every corner near the chapel in preparation for any emergency.
There was no place left to hide.
"I thought we were going to wait here until right before the ritual started."
Karnak waved it off as if it were nothing.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
***
Most of Hugot's necromancers from the Wellard branch were focused on the altar ritual in the chapel.
The ritual was so complex that they were short on manpower and had to reanimate the dead to participate in the ceremony.
However, there were still two necromancers guarding the residential area instead of the chapel.
They were Walter and Soress.
Both had been buried alive during Karnak and his group's infiltration.
They had been discovered later during a search of the residential area.
There was a reason Hugot hadn't been focused on finding them from the start.
—I can't believe it. You two survived?
Inquisitors of the Seven Goddesses' Church didn't kill necromancers recklessly.
More often than not, the dead were far more troublesome.
That said, they didn't let them live freely either.
Leaving them intact often led to betrayal.
So, instead of killing them, they would cut off their limbs and tongues, rendering them combat-ineffective.
—You're very lucky. It seems the inquisitor of the King's Order has a kind heart.
For that reason, Walter, who had been found late, was assigned to patrol duty, and Soress was in charge of overseeing the residential area as usual.
It was during the second search of the area under Demphis's additional orders that Walter and a patrol of cultists stood in front of a stone chamber—Soress' personal quarters.
After locating Soress at the door, they relayed Demphis's instructions.
"He said to make sure to thoroughly investigate every corner."
"Of course. That's what we'll do."
Soress nodded and gestured to his room.
"I've already checked this room myself, so you may move on."
"What? But he said we need to cross-check everything..."
One of the patrol members gave him a suspicious look.
Could it be that he was being coerced into hiding something in his room?
At that moment, Walter cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Ahem!"
Realization dawned on the patrolman.
That's right.
Soress thought he had hidden it well, but in such a closed, small community, there were no real secrets.
'Ah, this is one of those rooms.'
'Right, understood.'
They exchanged knowing glances and moved on.
"Let's check elsewhere."
"Yes, Lord Walter."
It was a place so obvious that there was no point in searching it. It was also a place no one really wanted to approach.
As they left, one patrolman muttered under his breath.
"Ugh, that perverted bastard..."
As soon as Walter's group disappeared, Soress' eyes went blank, and three people emerged from the room.
Karnak, Barros, and Serati.
"I'll say it again..."
Karnak smiled warmly, exuding a sense of trust.
"Where else would you find a better hiding place than this?"
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