Sigmund tossed the scroll sent from Muling Castle onto the desk.

It not only recorded the horrifying damage caused by the large-scale "Return to Death" ritual held by the Hand of Death in the Urbik territory, but also included testimony from a steward who had miraculously escaped the disaster area.

"Casinar Ulbick... an immortal who has lived for nearly four centuries?" His low voice was drenched in mockery, "It’s laughable. The accumulated wisdom of four hundred years might be less than that of a Goblin that survives the battlefield."

"Daring to teleport to ancient ruins with incomplete intelligence based on some supposed clue they found somewhere? After disappearing, they created such a big mess for the Empire."

"He better be thoroughly dead, otherwise Mofulei would probably be eager to let His Majesty show him what ’worse than death’ means."

Lin Jun thought Mofulei probably wouldn’t get the chance to torture Casinar.

Though he now hangs like a dried sausage calling for attention, and the Fungus People almost treat him as a permanent landscape, he’s actually upgrade material reserved for Little Pig.

And under Lin Jun’s life-giving water, Little Pig is nearing Level 60; it will be time to use him then.

Whether Little Pig will survive the next bloodletting ritual is unknown, but he definitely won’t as material.

Of course, all this isn’t suitable for a chat with Fei-Xi.

Lin Jun asked a question he cared about: "Ah Xi, have you seen the undead?"

Souls are something Lin Jun has seen, touched, and tasted, so it’s no longer rare.

Logically, in a world where souls exist tangibly, the undead should not be a rare phenomenon.

But unfortunately, Lin Jun really has not directly seen one.

Those souls, once detached from the corporeal body, are quickly devoured by the world, unable to remain.

Lin Jun only learned from gathered materials that some aggressive undead exist in the Empire’s Ancestral Tombs, but he never got to see them.

"Seen them." Sigmund replied casually, "They’re just prisoners confined in specific regions, essentially not different from Elemental Spirits that rely on elemental nodes to manifest. It’s good that you haven’t seen them yet; this time you can broaden your horizons."

"You plan to go personally?" Lin Jun was a bit surprised.

The Emperor’s edict indeed required nearby lords to jointly purge the cult and undead.

But Sigmund’s territory wasn’t adjacent to Urbik’s, nor was it out of reach.

Going or not both had their reasoning.

Lin Jun initially thought Fei-Xi would at most send a symbolic small squad.

Sigmund turned and walked towards the wall with a large map, his fingertips tracing the distance between the two territories.

"High Castle Fortress has been completely rebuilt, with the southern defense system fully updated; even if the Human Kingdom launched a surprise attack now, it can hold out until I return."

Lin Jun noticed he only explained the reason he "could leave," but didn’t explain "why go."

But if he doesn’t say it, that’s fine. Lin Jun anyway also wants to see what kind of environment the undead live in.

Just wondering if the Hand of Death is still in the Urbik territory?

...

Urbik territory, disaster area.

The High Priestess of the Hand of Death, a woman in a simple white gown, stood quietly in the center of the altar, her gown fluttering no wind, appearing like a pale flower blooming in a heap of carcasses.

Around the altar, four towering black pillars stood.

Atop each pillar sat a Priest intoning with closed eyes, while on the sides of the pillars, countless strangely serene faces of the offerings were embedded. Most were Demon Race, but there were also quite a few dressed as human and dwarf slaves.

The High Priestess looked upward, her eyes fixed on the heavens, the depths of her pupils swirling with not whites but pure black.

She focused intensely, attempting to receive divine oracles, but heard only noise.

"Not enough, still not enough! More souls are needed!"

Hearing the High Priestess’s demand, including Jini, the four Priests immediately increased the speed of transporting souls from the pillars to the altar’s center.

This, finally allowed the High Priestess a glimpse of an incomplete oracle:

[...fungus... enemy... clearing... world...]

The High Priestess, seeking more detail, was abruptly interrupted in the ritual progress by a sudden cyan Wind Blade.

The Priest atop the outermost black pillar didn’t even have time to open their eyes before their head was severed from their neck.

The lifeless body fell forward; the connection between the black pillar and the altar shattered upon impact, liberating the previously stable stream of souls.

"How dare you interrupt this sacred ceremony!"

Jini sprang up, countless undead souls’ deepest fears in life gathering in her palms, forming an attack aimed at the Wind Blade’s origin.

However, a long transparent snake composed of gelatinous substance darted out, blocking this fear strike, after a brief stiffness, returned to normalcy.

"Attacks formed by emotion indeed wield considerable power, but against a mindless primal creation, they’re less effective than a simple Fireball Technique."

A figure clad in a deep purple Magic Robe emerged from beneath the Slime serpent, five A Level Demon Crystals shimmering like stardust behind him.

"Can you troublesome followers of failures make problems away from my domain?" He spoke, sketching two Teleportation Arrays out of thin air behind him.

Countless red and green Slimes leaped out, engaging with the cultists.

At the center of the altar, the black light in the High Priestess’s eyes faded with the interrupted ritual, revealing the original pale white pupils beneath.

She looked at the intruder, not with anger, but with deep regret: "You don’t understand... just how many sacrifices you’ve just let go down the drain."

"No, I’m very clear about what I’m doing."

The High Priestess stopped debating, raising one pale hand, a pure darkness spread from beneath her feet, silently and swiftly advancing towards the Demon King.

The Slime serpent faced it head-on trying to stop it.

But the instant black tendrils entwined it, countless Slime Cores comprising its body simultaneously lost their vitality, struggling only for seconds before the whole serpent disbanded, collapsing into a puddle of lifeless sticky liquid.

His shadow flickered, darting rapidly between ruins and remnants, always a margin faster than encroaching darkness wherever he appeared.

"You’ve actually mastered the power of the Gods so skillfully; Spirituality is indeed bothersome..."

Dodging, the Demon King’s magic crystals rotated, electric arcs, explosive flames, Wind Blades showered onto the white-robed girl on the altar.

However, the remaining three Priests had long been in array, faith power converged into a dim gray curtain, blocking all attacks.

Time flowed, cultists gradually exterminated the emerging Slimes, commencing encirclement of the continuously evading Demon King.

The Slimes, lacking proper modification, ultimately couldn’t win against enemies of this caliber by sheer numbers alone.

Seeing no flaws revealed soon, the Demon King could only sigh gently, launching an unprecedentedly gigantic Fireball into the sky.

Then, under desperate cover from remaining Slimes, an elaborate teleportation light array illuminated beneath his feet, at the moment the light engulfed his silhouette, the fireball soared to the zenith and exploded thunderously.

Even from afar, the fireball blooming in the sky was clearly seen, the Empire’s cleansing forces inevitably heading this way.