Chapter 154: Master of the Dungeon (5)
Hugot moved busily. The altar had already been set up in the central sanctuary, but adjusting it for the descent ritual required a significant number of necromancers. Because of Karnak's raid, many subordinates had been lost. Now, aside from Hugot himself, only four dark priests remained in the Wellad Branch.
"We're short on manpower."
So, he raised the dead necromancers as undead. With necromancy, the death of an ally didn't necessarily mean a loss of combat power.
"When Tesranach descends, he shall grant you a new life. Until then, serve the church faithfully!"
"Yes."
"Understood."
The resurrected subordinates, now elder ghouls, retained their intelligence. They were also put to work preparing the ritual. A total of eight necromancers controlled the vast flow of dark energy and formed a barrier over the entire altar to prepare for the ritual. Hugot let out a sigh of relief while watching the process.
"At least everything is proceeding as planned."
The sacrifice for the ritual was Leven Strauss of the Strauss family. This had been planned six months ago, ever since Demphis had arrived from the main branch. Fortunately, the target was Leven and not Emil, the firstborn son. As the heir to the Martial King, Emil was someone they wouldn't dare touch without overwhelming force.
Leven, on the other hand, wasn't even an aura user. He was just a regular knight. His skill was considerable, but not beyond Hugot's ability to subdue. However, things hadn't gone smoothly. Unfortunately, Leven had joined the King’s Order of the Ethriel Kingdom, an elite force specifically trained to hunt the Church of the Black God.
On top of that, members of the King's Order rarely operated alone. However, it wasn’t as if they could wait for a time when Leven wasn’t on an official mission for the King’s Order. After all, he was part of the Strauss family. If anything, targeting him while on a King's Order mission was easier.
So Hugot had waited patiently. Then, by chance, the Wellad branch’s location was discovered, and even the Eustil Kingdom began moving against them. At first, Hugot had simply thought: annoying, but manageable.