Chapter 92: 052. Imperial Prince is Hunting Santa -4 (Part Two)

“B-but if we do that, we’ll all die! Our lifespan…”

“Dude, what’s the worst that can possibly happen to you besides ending up dead and becoming a zombie? You chose to become a Necromancer even though you knew what your end would look like, so what’s with all this fuss?”

The Imperial Prince got up from the chair.

His expression, previously colder than a sheet of ice, immediately changed after he discovered Harman’s presence. “Oh, you’re here? Finally.”

“…”

His previous voice and appearance which were filled to the brim with barely-contained rage had vanished instantly. Even though he looked okay right now, Harman could still tell that the boy was trying hard to hide his current emotions, and that only made it seem like he was wearing an ill-fitting mask instead.

“What good timing. I have a new task for you.”

“A task, your highness?”

The Imperial Prince then pushed forward a piece of document.

Harman took it and his mouth immediately clamped shut afterwards.

“They call it the ‘Chaos Plan’ or something.”

“…”

“And they were trying to make it happen for real.”

Harman responded while scanning through the document. “They are truly foolish, your highness.”

The Black Order couldn’t be classified as a small organisation by any stretch of imagination. But even then, them planning to do these things against the Theocratic Empire was akin to committing a mass suicide.

“This plan is completely outlandish. I can guarantee that it’ll end in failure in less than two, maybe three hours after commencing, your highness.”

“The thing is though, that means they will be able to buy two, three hours worth of time, right?”

Harman looked back at the Imperial Prince. “Are you saying that these bastards have another goal in mind?”

“Yeah, otherwise why would they willingly risk committing acts of terror that are basically the same as killing themselves for nothing?”

“…”

“Looks like there are still other rat holes throughout Humite where more of these bastards are hiding in. The same story goes for the other cities, too.”

Indeed, it wasn’t just Humite, but Ronia, Laurensis, and many others besides.

As far as the scale of the operation was concerned, this city’s hideout should be the biggest. But regardless of what, the Necromancers were planning to unleash the undeads ‘simultaneously’ throughout the empire.

The Imperial Prince groaned loudly. He settled down on the chair and crossed his legs. After contemplating something for a while, he spoke to Harman again. “These guys weren’t cowards at all. Nah, they’re just insane. Then again, they’ve probably lost their bloody minds by the time they tried to assassinate me.”

Harman inwardly clicked his tongue. He couldn’t help but retort in his mind that they weren’t as mad as the Imperial Family.

“Anyways, Harman.”

“Yes, your highness?”

“I’ll hand over some of the Black Order survivors to you. Take them to the imperial palace and let the Crimson Cross have their ways with them.”

The Necromancers fell into unrest after hearing the name of the Crimson Cross. They knew what was going to happen to them.

They were about to be handed over to the worst of the worst Heresy Inquisitors out there. They now knew that the fate waiting for them would be endless torture until they kicked the buckets.

“Will it be fine, your highness?”

Harman suddenly became worried.

If these Necromancers ended up in the hands of the Heresy Inquisitors, then it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that the matters of the holy undead would be brought up.

“It’ll be fine. The archbishop discovered it back in the imperial palace anyway. It’s only going to get harder to weasel my way out of explaining it.”

“…”

“Even his majesty the emperor has probably noticed it by now too. However, he hasn’t said anything yet. I’m guessing that he wants to wait and see how things play out for the time being.”

“His majesty is really doing that?”

“In any case. Inform the palace as soon as possible. Make sure that enough soldiers are dispatched throughout all the important cities. Oh, and tell them that I need to increase the number of my vacation days. There are some matters in this city that require my attention at the moment.”

“Understood. If I use a communication sphere, the news will reach the imperial palace in less than a day. As for the transfer of the Necromancers, I shall personally handle it, your highness.”

Harman nodded then left the underground hideout while leading away a portion of the captured Necromancers.

The Imperial Prince shifted his gaze to the remaining Black Order members. “Alright then. Why don’t we start the mop up operation and tidy up all the loose ends?”

Another evil grin spread on the boy prince’s lips.

He then began a new round of interrogations.

“So, where are your other friends hiding in Humite?”

**

In the region bordering the kingdom of Aslan, a lone small house could be found in this location.

But under this seemingly deserted house, Necromancers were busily moving around.

“What did you just say?!”

“It seems that our group in Humite was done in, sirs.”

“Numerous Paladins and Priests have been suddenly dispatched throughout Laurensis, Havilon, Hilda, Hedron, and the other strategic cities, sirs. If we wish to carry out our Chaos plan, then we will need a lot more manpower now. In our current situation…”

“…There is a very good chance that we will fail the moment we initiate our plan, sirs.”

“…”

The executives of the Black Order were clenching their teeth upon hearing the reports.

The one that looked like the leader roared out. “Humite was the most important location! What the hell do you think will happen if we fail there? And with only one month remaining in our schedule, too!”

“It seems that the ones in the Humite district were acting too openly, and that caused their tails to be exposed, sir. A lot of our agents had been assigned there and it presented a serious problem with recharging demonic energy, so…”

“Bloody idiots! They should’ve been more cautious since that was the most important location in our plan!”

“Not only that… It seems that the Imperial Family has sensed something is up as well.”

“…What was that?”

“It seems that the Heavenly Army has been stationed near the border to Aslan, sir.”

The Heavenly Army was one of the five strongest forces belonging to the Theocratic Empire. They were always mobilised solely for the sake of warfare.

An army consisting of one thousand Paladins who obeyed the will of heaven was currently dispatched to the border region.

All of the Necromancers present began clicking their tongues. They were planning to delay the Order of the Golden Cross stationed near Humite, but now, the damn Heavenly Army acted first.

With how things were going, their plan had basically been ruined.

Their ‘job’ was a simple one. Procure as many zombies and skeletons as possible, then when the time comes, commit acts of terror in the strategic locations around the empire. Then, cause ‘paralysis’ for at least a minimum of two hours, or ideally, three hours at most.

Also, just as importantly, they would tie down the Order of the Golden Cross currently stationed in the Humite region.

Those were the extent of their roles.

However, it was already a failure before they could begin.

The executives of the Black Order could only groan unhappily.

“What did Aslan say?”

“…They wish to postpone the plan for the time being. They are instead thinking of sending an envoy to the Theocratic Empire soon.”

That made some sense.

The organisation of the Black Order enjoyed close ties to the kingdom of Aslan, after all.

There was little doubt that this event would cause the Imperial Family to begin suspecting that Aslan was harbouring foolish thoughts, and since the emperor and his whole family were certifiably insane, they could even lead a massive army to invade and pillage Aslan afterwards.

The envoy dispatched by the kingdom would suss out the situation, and then vehemently deny their ties to the Black Order while being conscious of the threat of the Theocratic Empire’s immediate invasion.

The executives groaned and their heads faltered.

“So it’s a complete failure?”

“No, it isn’t, sirs.”

The Necromancers making the report shook their heads. Cold sweat drops trickled down their backs while they stared at the executives.

“As the message implied, they are simply ‘postponing’ it.”

“…”

“They also promise to send us the signal when the right time comes. They ordered us to be on an indefinite standby until then…”

“Damn it all to hell!”

They thought this was their chance to escape from the southern wastelands.

They really thought that they could obtain the verdant, fertile lands blessed by the gods and occupy the city of Laurensis, which was often referred to as the gods’ holy ground.

But then, the idiots at Humite district just had to go and make foolish mistakes, which in turn led to their plan falling apart even before it could get started.

-Failure?

The executives flinched at that voice and turned their heads.

-Don’t make me laugh. Do you really believe that our noble and great Aslan has failed because of something like this?

The low growl continued reverberating throughout the meeting room.

A pair of crimson lights glowed intensely from the darkness. Their owner then stepped into the dim light.

A black skull with thin, fragile-looking bones visible under the loose-fitting robe… An existence wielding a staff made out of bones walked out into the dim light.

It was an undead Lich. The founder of the Black Order and their highest commander glared at the gathered executives.

All of the Necromancers knelt down and bowed deeply at the creature’s presence.

-Send word to the envoy. The timing will be delayed, yes, but our plan will go ahead nevertheless. As for the failure of Humite, I shall personally fill the void.

The crimson light in its eyes became harsher as the Lich continued on.

-Also, find the cause for the failure of Humite’s group. Uncover who or what sniffed out our hideout in the city. And when you do…

Then, those crimson lights narrowed down to slits.

-I shall personally eliminate that existence along with Humite itself.

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