The Necromancer's Church Management Manual

Zane shuddered, turned around, and found Gar looking down at him from above.

For some reason, his pale yellow eyes flashed with eerie golden lines, appearing terrifying in the dimly lit room.

There was no trace of sympathy or pity in his eyes, only an endless indifference.

It was as if he were looking at a dying man.

"Mere heretics, these are the children of my Cardiac family..." Before Zane could finish speaking, Gar had already raised his staff.

"A clown like you who only blames others for everything, I guess I have to beat you to your knees with force."

A shimmering orb burst forth from the tip of the staff. The orb spell, upgraded to Lv2 by the increase in followers, slammed straight into Zane's instinctively raised hand, the immense force instantly sending him flying several meters away against the wall.

Zain coughed up blood, and the impact caused cracks to appear in the walls.

Immediately afterwards, the large glass window behind Garr was smashed to pieces by the three summoned creatures that surged in.

One is the Swift Leopard, with its glossy, dark purple fur that shines like silk and whose entire body crackles with pale electric arcs.

The second is a savage bull covered in spiderweb-like dark red cracks, its horned sword burning with dark purple demonic flames.

Thirdly, there is a giant dragon turtle with a massive shell covered in deep blue ice crystals resembling mountains, exuding an icy aura.

They landed beside Garr, fully prepared, ready to tear their enemies to pieces at his command.

Lucia leaned against the doorframe, raised her swollen eyes, met the indifferent gaze of Gar, and immediately turned her head away in anguish:

"Don't...don't look at me..."

Gar looked at the remorseful Lucia, his fists clenched tightly. It was all because of him that Lucia was now so distraught.

"Lucia, it's all my fault..." Gal threw his glasses far away, took off the Faceless Man mask from his face, cupped Lucia's face in his hands, and faced her with complete honesty.

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault as Andrew, so please don't blame yourself."

"Brother..." Lucia forgot to breathe, gasping for air, her chest heaving. "But it's too late now, it's all too late, Father..."

"No, it's not too late, Lucia. I'm back. I have the protection of the gods. I have become very powerful. I will save the Cardia family from this calamity." Gal grabbed Lucia's hand and solemnly promised, "Lucia, I promise you, I swear to the gods, I will make the Cardia family flourish."

Lucia looked at Garr, whose expression was serious, and her soul flame, which was about to be extinguished in the flickering flame, was soothed at this moment.

dong dong dong-

A series of hurried footsteps came from the end of the corridor. The footsteps were dense and orderly, which made Gar turn his head.

Dozens of elite knights clad in silver armor and with longswords at their waists arrived late. The knight commander, upon seeing Garr's unfamiliar face, immediately turned grim, drew his longsword, and pointed it directly at Garr.

He roared, "Intruders! Attack en masse! Kill them all!"

At the command of the knight commander, all the knights drew their longswords and charged forward menacingly.

Garr frowned, somewhat helplessly. It seemed that the commotion caused by Adrian's summoned creatures breaking through the window had attracted the attention of this group of elite knights.

However, he was prepared and did not panic at all.

"Selena! You'll have to hold off these guards for now!" Gar shouted out the window, and soon there was a commotion outside.

Outside the window, on the lawn, a barrier was lifted, and several figures emerged from it.

Selena, Hans, Ian, Smithson, Vinia, and Adrian.

Yes, the Realm of Concealment.

Gal used Selena's Concealment Domain to enter Zane's mansion and used Necromancy to summon all of his main forces and hide them inside.

They had a plan in advance: Gar would enter the mansion alone first to negotiate with Zain. If things didn't go smoothly, they would simply beat him up with force and then continue negotiating until the other party agreed.

The light orb spell that Garr just cast was the signal that the battle had begun. Adrian was the first to summon his three summoned beasts to cheer on Garr. If Zane still disagreed, then they would prepare to deploy all their forces.

Unfortunately, the knights arrived ahead of time, so they no longer intended to hide.

Selena was the first to climb through the window, looking at the large group of knights rapidly approaching. She swallowed hard and said, "Hey, Garr, judging from their attire, they seem to be elite knights, especially that knight commander... I can't hold out for much longer."

"Okay, I'll finish the battle as soon as possible!"

"Ugh—I'll try my best!"

Garr took a deep breath and looked at Zane, who was being helped up by Phoebe.

"Master! Are you alright?"

"roll!"

Phoebe asked anxiously, but Zane showed no appreciation for her loyalty. Clutching his wrist, throbbing from taking the light orb, he shoved Phoebe aside without hesitation and snapped:

"Didn't you hear me tell you to get lost?"

Frightened by his roar, Phoebe hid under the dressing table, too afraid to utter a sound.

Zane ignored Phoebe and looked toward the door with a serious expression.

He hadn't expected this heretic to be so despicable as to launch a direct sneak attack on him, causing him to suffer this heavy blow.

Moreover, the other party's blessing looked extremely familiar.

It wasn't until Gal removed the Faceless One that he had a sudden realization. At the same time, he couldn't help but recall the frustrating stage play from the previous day, and the tragic experience of the night caused phantom pain to begin in his anus.

He tensed his buttocks slightly, trying to suppress the pain, but doing so only made it hurt more, which made him even more annoyed.

"Andrew!" He made a grasping motion in the air, and a flaming sword instantly formed. The intense heat ignited the curtains beside him, and the fire spread rapidly, quickly covering half of the room.

Phoebe hid under the dressing table and watched the burning curtain fall to the ground. She immediately patted it with her hands, making her little hands all black.

Hearing the knight's approaching footsteps, Zane grew even more arrogant, showing no fear even though Garr was surrounded by several undead and a lady:

"Andrew! You should have died long ago, but you've delayed until now, and you've almost caused me to lose my title as earl." He raised his flaming sword, pointing it at Gar. "But it doesn't matter, today is your death day. Die!"

Garr shrugged, mimicking Zane's gesture, and raised his staff, pointing it at Zane, who was engulfed in flames.

"My foolish little brother, I know you have a lot to say to me," Gar said, his eyes gleaming. "But the situation is urgent. You'd better enjoy a good beating from your older brother first!"

"Divine protection!"

The dazzling light descended upon the three summoned beasts. The electric arcs on the Swift Leopard gained a golden outline, the Bull was radiating golden light, and the Dragon Turtle's chilling aura became even more intimidating.

The next instant, the Swift Leopard struck first. It was as fast as lightning, turning into a purple blur and disappearing from its spot as it pounced on Zane.

Zane was completely focused at this moment. After all, he was Kazan's disciple. With his concentration, he could quickly catch sight of even a Swift Leopard with a speed mastery level of 43.

However, after arriving in Black Twilight City, he neglected his sword practice. The days without enemies or opponents allowed him to indulge in comfort, to the point that now, when facing a powerful foe, his sword faltered.

He hurriedly raised his flaming sword to defend himself, but before he could even get into position, the sword collided with the leopard's claws, sending sparks flying.

The swift leopard's powerful pounce once again slammed Zane into the wall.

Not only that, but the lightning bolts all over Swift Leopard's body were released at this moment, and the lightning flashed and attacked from all directions. Zane was pinned against the wall and had no way to dodge. He could only bite the bullet and take the whole attack.

The electric arc itself did not cause any significant damage, but it completely paralyzed Zane, leaving him stiff and unable to move.

The Swift Leopard didn't linger in the fight; it leaped up as soon as the electric arc touched Zane's body.

Because behind it was a raging bull ready to charge.

The bull, with its horns raised, smashed through the door. Its coordination with the swift leopard was excellent, so Zane didn't even have time to resist before being knocked up by the bull.

The bull's horns pierced straight through Zane's abdomen.

Boom—

Amidst a massive cloud of smoke and dust, the already crumbling wall finally succumbed to the force and was completely shattered by the impact.

But the bull's charge did not end there. It continued to charge at Zane, crashing into the bushes in the backyard of the mansion, where the force of the charge gradually dissipated.

It flung Zane off the bull's horns before walking back into the room.

The dragon turtle slowly stepped into the room, and its icy aura instantly filled the entire room, extinguishing the rapidly spreading fire.

Garr glanced at the dying Zane outside the hole, nodded slightly, then looked up at the three summoned creatures and commanded:

"Dragon Turtle, Bull, Leopard, you guys go help Selena hold off those knights."

They nodded as if they understood human nature and all came into the corridor.

The corridor had now been divided in two by a barrier made of vines.

This was due to Selena's blessing as a priestess; the Green Vine Barrier, imbued with powerful vitality, kept the group of elite knights outside.

When the elite knights reached the Green Vine Barrier, they immediately used their swords to slash directly, but their swords would be entangled by other vines the moment they cut through the vines.

The knight, empowered by flames, immediately unleashed his own fire in an attempt to burn the vines. Although the flames did have a restraining effect on the vine barrier, burning away most of a section of vines, the barrier quickly recovered thanks to Selena's continuous supply of magic.

Of course, this also greatly depleted Selena's magic power, and she felt powerless to do anything about it.

After all, these elite knights all possess platinum-level strength, and within the Oak Guild, they are undoubtedly the backbone of adventurers.

All Selena could do was focus her attention and try to use every bit of magic effectively.

In the brief interval between the burning and repair of the fortress, several elite knights rushed in. Fortunately, Smithson fought desperately to hold them off, and the defensive line did not collapse immediately.

However, the knights also discovered a loophole. They went around from the outer garden to the glass window and climbed up behind Selena.

He raised his sword and slashed it down at her back.

Just a second before Selena was about to be injured, the Swift Leopard burst into speed, instantly tackling the attacking knight to the ground, while the Dragon Turtle immediately released an ice wall, blocking all the glass windows behind them.

The defenses, which were on the verge of collapse, became impregnable.

Once Garr confirmed that the battle situation was stable, he walked quickly into the backyard and stood in front of Zane.

At this moment, Zain was like a dead fish, carelessly tossed onto a lawn. His eyelids were so heavy that they were drooping. He really wanted to fall asleep right now, but his mind was still wandering.

Why...? He and Andrew had only been apart for three days, so why had his strength become so terrifying?

Zain felt the burning sensation in his abdomen, and with difficulty moved his fingers to tentatively touch it, only to find it empty.

Yeah, my abdomen... it feels like it's been pierced through, by that bull's horns, so terrifying.

"Cough..." Zane coughed up a mouthful of blood, watching the figure gradually approaching under the dim sky.

Those pale golden eyes were still so eerie, reminding Zain of the day Andrew easily defeated him—a look that seemed to regard him as trash.

At that moment, Zain suddenly realized that he was about to die.

His mind went blank for a moment, and then countless thoughts began to emerge.

He didn't want to die... He hadn't become the Duke of Gusenberg yet, he hadn't earned Kazan's approval, and he hadn't turned the tables at the casino...

Zain realized this, and tears of regret streamed down his face.

In order to survive, he began to plead with the people he hated most:

"Please...please, brother...brother, save me...you...you can make me do anything...I'll do anything...please...maids...wealth...land...I can have it all...I don't want it...I don't want it..."

"Heh, so you're even calling me 'brother' to save your life?"

Gar sneered and squatted down in front of Zane: "Weren't you bullying your sister just now, having a good time? When you slapped her, did you think about this moment?"

"Waaaaah... Brother... I really... know I was wrong... I apologize to you... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

As his words grew increasingly pleading and powerless, Garr stood up and aimed the tip of his staff at Zane's abdomen.

"Listen, Zane, I'll save you this time, but in return, you'll become my slave. A slave contract, you know? Like the contract you had with those girls." Galton paused. "And you must apologize to Lucia."

"Okay... contract... I will definitely... save..."

"Alright, you can shut up now," Garr interrupted, channeling all his magic into Hephaestus's staff. The tip of the staff immediately emitted countless golden points of light, which converged into a soft beam of light that slowly landed on the wound on Zane's abdomen.

Immediately, flesh and blood grew back from the bleeding hole.

The bull's charge deliberately deflected his vitals. Although Zane's wounds looked frightening, he wouldn't die if he received timely treatment.

With the Lv2 level Light Healing spell combined with the staff's efficient conduction, Garr exhausted all his remaining mana and successfully healed Zane's piercing wound.

He turned around and looked through the opening into the corridor. The battle over there was nearing its end, and Garr breathed a sigh of relief.

We managed to weather this crisis without any major incident.

"Then, the next step is to clean up the battlefield."