"Load the catapults!"
A group of soldiers quickly packed a catapult with ten bottles of holy light wrapped around some thin ropes. They were doubtful about wasting such precious item in such a weird way, but apparently it was very useful at fighting the Undead, and Blake had come with the most efficient way of using them.
"Everyone's talking about that brat… Somehow he brought almost a hundred holy water bottles and he keeps bringing more!"
"Is it okay to waste such an item though?!"
"Ellergest approved his idea so we have no choice…"
The soldiers loaded all four catapults with the holy water bottles, and then directed them into the forest distance, right where the Undead Army was located. A barrier of holy light already erected around the entire village, protecting it in the shape of a dome.
Several priests, almost all of them, which were almost forty of them, were gathered around an enormous magic circle in the middle of the village, gathering their mana into the Holy Barrier Magic Formation that the wise Ellergest created in a matter of minutes.
At their side there were several villagers bringing them potions whenever their MP was about to deplete, keeping up the barrier for fifty minutes was all thanks to these Lesser Mana Potions brought by Blake, as the others available were very few, only amounting to twenty.
The priests closed their eyes, concentrating themselves into creating the barrier. But one of them seemed not as concentrated, looking around nervously.
"(To think that the bastard old man would choose this time to attack…)" He thought. "(If things come to this, I should try to ruin this formation when everyone least expect it…)"
However, to his surprise, a group of knights appeared right behind him.
"Priest Jonathan, right?"
The young priest was shocked by the sudden appearance of these people.
"Y-Yes, what do you want?! Don't you see I am concentrated mainting the barrier?!"
"Lord Ellergest has called you for the strategy meeting."
"He says you're an incredible priest and that he has recognized your talent…"
The priest, however, suddenly puffed his chest. Jonathan might be a member of the Cult of Demons of Beelzebub but was also a complete idiot. He was a young man at his early twenties but grew up as a thug that trembled in excitement for any sort of praise… and money.
The cult itself was something he joined out of necessity for money but ended becoming his life career as he began working as a priest to become their insider.
Ultimately, he had lived such a dull and boring life that the mere mention of someone praising him or recognizing his efforts was something that made him tremble in excitement.
He was the same priest that tried to get Erdrich apprehended for being half demon by using excuses of the Dark Age's superstitions, but ultimately got demoted by Ellergest and threatened that if he continued with his little show, he would get his priest title stripped away from him.
Since then he had been lying low, trying his best to regain his renown, cleaning the church every day was one of them, helping the priests with money or other things, and acting like a gentle and humble Samaritan.
Now, he thought he was finally given his proper recognition.
He quickly walked towards the camp, with a smile on his face.
"(Well I can sabotage things later, I just want this stupid old man to promote me, I can pretend I managed to survive later when I run into the capital after this village is gone…)" He thought as he entered the camp.
Suddenly, threads made of blood and shadow whips wrapped around his body, all while a strange, electrifying sensation put his entire body into a paralyzed state. The next thing he saw was a young boy, the bastardly kid he had heard helped stop the demon invasion into the village. One of his eyes was glowing bright red…
"E-Eh?! Akkhh…! Wh-Wha?!" Jonathan groaned in pain as he tried to free himself, but failing miserably, his magic was barely coming out.
"He's the one, Blake?" Asked Ellergest, walking in front of Jonathan.
"Yeah, I saw him in the memories of those souls." Said Blake. "He's the traitor, he has been colluding with the cult for a while. He was most likely behind the delay of the adventurers in the demon invasion and also brought the egg of the wyvern to the village with the help of the necromancer…"
"T-That's…!" Jonathan couldn't even speak, but he was already feeling despair.
"Hm, I see… It all makes sense now." Sighed Ellergest. "Since you arrived at our village that your lack of background was odd enough. No priests become priests without a big background and proper recommendation from other fellow priests. I let it slide but after what you did against Erdrich, I began having suspicions.
It is a taboo to follow the superstitions of the Dark Age, even less use them as a pretext to attempt to kill a child…"
"W-Wait! Lord Ellergest, please wait!" Cried Jonathan.
"What should we do?" Blake said.
"We must throw him into jail of course, then we interrogate him." Said Ellergest.
"He has a bomb inside his stomach." Blake said.
"Eh? Oh… So you're planning to commit suicide?" Asked Ellergest.
"He can't be due to the paralysis, but it will wear out soon." Said Blake.
Jonathan struggled, as he was such a prideful man, he would never try to kill himself even for the cult, but he was willing to use the bomb as an excuse to threaten them, as they wanted him alive. He thought he was a special bargaining chip by himself!
"It can't be helped then…" Ellergest said, as everyone began walking outside the camp, only one remained, Musk, the Adventurer Guild Master.
"E-Eh?!" Jonathan looked at the old man as he smiled back at him.
"You know how they knew me back then before I became a guild master?" The old man said, slowly closing his face at Jonathan.
"H-huh?!" Jonathan began to tremble in fear, feeling an enormous sense of dread.
"Musk, the Bandit Killer..." Musk said, implying his experience killing people.
A long blade quickly closed into the neck of Jonathan.
"Sorry kiddo, but I can't let you just walk around with a bomb inside your stomach."
As Jonathan's head rolled over the floor and a blood trail was left behind, the army of Undead slowly approached the village…
"It's time." Blake said, looking into the distance atop the fortress behind the village's gates.