Near noon.
The sunlight in the northern border of the empire had no warmth. Even though the sky was clear and there were few clouds, the cold wind was still bleak.
During the non-farming season, most of the villagers in Oliver Village took the initiative to participate in the cremation ceremony.
The traditions of the Scorching Sun Sect overlapped somewhat with those of the rural towns and villages in the North Territory. Mourning the deceased and purifying the sinners were both entrusted to a fire, and finally, the ashes would be scattered on the land to let their souls return to nature.
Gravia stood beside the burial ground, watching the attendant soldiers under the Templar Knights dig out the corpses from the soil and identify them one by one.
Before the cremation began, this work was necessary.
In a few days, the Saint Mary's Religious Domain would learn that the team accompanying the great chantress Elenna on her journey north had been attacked. As a fellow believer in the Salentz Religious Domain, Gravia had to confirm the death of each person here and then report it back to the Saint Mary's Religious Domain. Their families had the right to know the cause and result of the tragedy.
However, as the identities of the corpses were confirmed one by one, Gravia always felt that the whole thing had become suspicious.
Those who followed Elenna to the North Territory were all prayer priests and combat priests with quite a reputation within the church. The remaining attendant guards were also well-equipped.
Not to mention the wandering lowly-horned beasts, even ordinary herds of beasts would have to think twice when facing a team of this size and configuration. The horned beast commanders who couldn't come up with tactics posed no threat to them.
Could it be the herd lord?
Gravia frowned slightly and couldn't help but look up and gaze into the distance at the Dunau Mountains.
Behind the snow-capped silver peaks, the undead were stirring. They had come here with the pope to guard against the invasion of the great lich, but they hadn't expected that the depths of the pine forests in the North Territory had already been occupied by a hidden and large herd of beasts.
The appearance of a herd lord meant that the scattered herds around would all be brought under his command, and then there would be organized attacks on human settlements.
Now the North Territory was fraught with danger, yet the pope, who had proposed to guard the North Territory, had disappeared at this critical moment. Almost all the burdens suddenly fell on Gravia.
It was as if an invisible mountain was pressing heavily on her chest, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
In the past, she was just an executor of orders and had never thought about the reasons behind them. Now that the source of the orders had disappeared and she had become a decision-maker overnight, she could only clumsily imitate the way the godfather used to be based on her experience.
For now, major changes hadn't occurred yet, and past experience could still come in handy and she could handle things decently, but what about later?
Gravia realized that she was very unconfident, but there was nothing she could do. She could only hope to find His Holiness the Pope as soon as possible.
"Your Highness the Saintess, there are a total of sixty-three corpses. Counting Miss Elenna, who came back to life, it's exactly sixty-four people." A Templar Knight in silver armor knelt on one knee in front of Gravia and reported the confirmation result to her.
"Are you sure it's sixty-three?" Gravia glanced sideways. She quickly checked the number in her mind.
"Their identities have also been confirmed. They are all from the Saint Mary's Religious Domain, without any mistakes." The knight was puzzled by Gravia's question. "Are you suspecting Miss Elenna? But..."
"There were some before, but now they're gone." Gravia shook her head, paused for a moment, and then added, "Thank you, Lady Vanitaya."
"Thank you, Lady Vanitaya." The Templar Knight lowered his head and replied piously.
"Let the cremation ceremony begin." Gravia gave the order. She imitated Bertram's previous tone and words. "May the deceased rest in peace. May their devout souls be liberated in the holy flames of the solar corona."
...
The orange-red flames fluttered vigorously in the cold wind, and the cremation ceremony was already halfway through in the blink of an eye.
Gravia didn't bring the only two chantresses, Edith and Elenna, with her. So the village head of Oliver Village volunteered to take on the work of chanting scriptures. He had indeed served as a chantress in the Salentz Religious Domain for a period of time before. After getting old, he returned to his hometown and was quite respected in the village.
Watching the flames leaping, Gravia suddenly had an idea in her mind.
"Can you take me to the place where they were attacked?" She called over a young man in the village and then asked him.
"Yes, but... we don't dare to go there much now... What if the Beastmen are still there?" The young man trembled.
"I'll bring a Templar Knight with me. You don't have to worry about safety. We'll protect you." Gravia took out her staff from under her cloak and showed it to the young man.
When the cremation ceremony was coming to an end, Gravia, a Templar Knight, and nearly two hundred guards and attendants followed the guidance of the young man in the village and continued to explore southward.
Elinna's team had been attacked on the way from Rokan to Oliver. The distance wasn't too far. It would take about half an hour to see the blood and signs of fighting all over the ground.
Swords, shields, and broken arrows were scattered in the middle and on both sides of the road. Horses lay miserably in pools of blood, and the carriages were riddled with holes.
The villagers had only dragged away the human corpses. The corpses of the Beastmen and livestock were left where they were. Valuable items might have been secretly hidden and divided up by the villagers who were the first to discover them, but Gravia didn't intend to pursue this.
These fallen Beastmen were short, less than 1.5 meters tall. Their body hair was faintly yellowish. Their knees were bent backward, and both their feet were like sheep hooves. The horns on their heads were either deformed or incomplete, and they gave off an unbearable stench. Even the smell of the decaying corpses couldn't cover it up.
"They're all lowly-horned beasts." The Templar Knight accompanying Gravia rode side by side with her. He sat on his horse and looked at this area. "Not a single horned beast or great horned beast was defeated. Could it be that Miss Elenna's team was unable to fight back at all?"
Gravia didn't answer. She didn't even need to answer this question. It was obvious that it was impossible.
Her Highness the Saintess waved her hand to signal the team to stop. She dismounted from her horse and walked through the pools of blood herself, looking around. "There's the aura of necromancy." Gravia said faintly.
"Necromancy?" The Templar Knight was surprised. "Could it be that?"
"This herd of beasts is related to Klogthia." Gravia came to a conclusion. "It's not good news. I have a bad feeling."
In the eyes of the Beastmen, the liches in Klogthia were, like humans, the creators of civilization. And the Beastmen hated civilization and advocated barbarism and primitiveness. The undead were also the enemies of those with hooves.
These two should never have joined forces.
But if they really cooperated, the North Territory would surely face the awkward dilemma of being attacked from both the front and the rear.
"Order to return to Kohl Town, immediately." She whistled to call her warhorse, leaped onto the saddle, and then gave instructions to the Templar Knight. "This road is extremely dangerous. Warn all the villagers and townspeople. If necessary, consider evacuating the entire Oliver Village."
The Templar Knight was surprised by Her Highness the Saintess's resolute and valiant decision-making in that instant, which actually showed a bit of the demeanor of His Holiness the Pope in the past.
After being stunned for a long time, he finally reacted and gave orders to his subordinates and attendants: "All troops, listen up! Turn around and return to Kohl Town!"