As the half-elves' senses were much sharper than humans, Jenn didn't allow the others to get too close to these dangerous beings. Instead, he followed their footprints and followed them from afar.
The half-elves in black robes didn't seem to notice the presence of Jenn's group at all. Instead, they walked among the woods on their own. Even though they weren't slow, it didn't take much time and effort for Jenn to track them. Shortly after, they followed the half-elves and arrived at an open space not far away.
Compared to the white snowfield, this place gave off an unusually strange vibe. There wasn't the slightest bit of snow on the ground, only pitch-black soil.
Wisps of green mist could be vaguely seen on the surface. But the most eye-catching thing was the dark red magical ritual that covered the entire black soil.
It was a strange circular array. There were twisted and evil runes on the outer circle, and inside the circle was a huge five-pointed star. In the middle of the five-pointed star, there was a blood-red skull symbol.
The entire ritual made one's scalp tingle. It was incomparably evil.
After entering the magical ritual, the half-elves stood in a specific position in order. Then, the old man strolled to the scarlet skull in the center of the ritual, raised the crystal bottle in his hand high, and chanted a sinister incantation loudly.
Even though the old man seemed old, his voice was as loud and clear as a bell. His strange incantation echoed in the entire valley, leaving everyone's eardrums buzzing.
Shortly after, along with the old man's incantation, the red mist devil that was kept in the crystal bottle was released once again. The white mist that they were hiding in rolled and extended rapidly. Then, the mist expanded and shrunk, spitting out translucent, ghost-like beings one after another.
Shortly after, a scarlet magical rune appeared above their heads and shackled the souls within.
The spirits were like puppets that didn't react at all. They hovered there blankly as though they were some kind of props.
"S-Sir, what are they doing?"
Looking at this scene, the young scout couldn't help but have goosebumps. Even though he didn't know what they were up to, he was sure that it wasn't anything good.
Upon hearing his question, Jenn knitted his brows, pondered for a few moments, and answered.
"If I'm not wrong, they're performing a soul sacrifice."
"Soul sacrifice?"
"That's right."
Zayen nodded. His expression became more and more solemn — of course, this was just a show for outsiders.
As a high Demons of the lower plane, he knew what they were up to as soon as he saw this magical ritual. They actually wanted to use soul sacrifice to open the plane channel and summon the creatures from the lower plane into the main plane!
In the eyes of outsiders, this was a rather crazy idea, but Zayen thought that the Soros Family's idea this time was brilliant.
Since both sides had already fallen out with each other, there was no point in wasting time. Since the Church of Holy Light had already confirmed that we were colluding with the cultists, we might as well collude with them to the end. Zayen was certain that once a dimensional rift opened up here, the monsters in the lower realm would enter the main plane at the fastest speed possible and launch a frenzied attack on everything they saw.
Of course, with the three main shrines around, the creatures definitely wouldn't be able to obtain the final victory. But they could deal a heavy blow to the 'National Freedom Army'. Besides, the flesh and blood of the Demons would also contaminate the soil, making the entire Karkhalan more barren. Perhaps if they were lucky, a few powerful demons would appear and occupy Karkhalan, divert the Holy Church's attention, and give the Soros Family a breather.
Jenn was certain that the ones who appeared here were definitely cultists. As for them, they were definitely related to the Soros Family.
But the problem was that there was no evidence!
As long as there was no evidence, the Holy Church wouldn't be able to do anything to the Soros Family.
And the Soros Family could get a breather.
He had to admit that this was a really good idea.
"Then what should we do?
My Lord? "
Hearing Jenn's description, the expressions of his subordinates changed. Just hearing Jenn say that there might be tens of thousands of Demons pouring out of the plane channel was enough to make them faint.
Tens of thousands of Demons!!
They had never seen so many terrifying monsters before. They were all villains that would only appear in stories. But now, were they actually going to deal with such terrifying guys?
"We must stop this ritual!"
Facing everyone's questions, Jenn made a decision without hesitation.
"At the very least, we must delay the ritual. Based on the current situation, this ritual won't take too much time. Although I still don't know which Demon King from the lower plane they are contacting, it seems that no matter which one it is, it won't be easy to deal with.
Moreover, they have already offered their souls, which is the best bait for the Demon King from the lower plane. They definitely won't sit back and watch.
Although we have sent people to rule over Nadia, she alone isn't enough. That's why we must stop this ritual. Otherwise, when the plane channel opens, none of us will be able to escape! "
Hearing Jenn's words, the young men's faces turned red and white. In the end, the young man in the lead gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
"My Lord, since we followed you, we have already decided to work for you. As long as we can stop their conspiracy, we will do anything you want us to!"
"Very well."
Hearing his subordinates' answers, Jenn nodded 'gratifyingly'. Then, he swept a glance at the magic ritual before him and lowered his voice.
"Then, we will act according to my plan …"
The space began to tremble.
Looking at the trembling souls in front of him, a strange glint flashed in the old man's eyes.
He could feel the power of the souls coalescing in his hands. At the same time, the other half-elves in black robes also raised their hands, closed their eyes, and chanted faithfully to summon the Demon King they believed in.
"I am the servant of darkness. I am the slave of fresh blood. Great Lord, please listen to my call. Please accept my tribute. Please show yourself here!"
Along with the old man's incantation, the others immediately responded.
"Great Lord, please listen to our call. We are the slave of fresh blood. We are the servants of darkness … Ahh!"
And just as the ritual was about to be completed, suddenly, along with a blood-curdling scream, the chanting was cut off.
This shocked the old man. He hurriedly turned his head toward the source of the scream, only to see a believer in charge of summoning in the periphery had fallen to the ground. An arrow pierced through the back of his head, revealing his gaping mouth.
Ambush!
Looking at this scene, the old man's eyes narrowed. How is this possible?
We have already set up sentries outside. What are those idiots doing? Why did they let people in?
Swish! Swish! Swish!
At this moment, along with the sharp whistling of the wind, several arrows flew from all directions.
Facing this sudden ambush, the other half-elves in black robes panicked. Just like the old man, they couldn't understand why they were ambushed.
They had set up sentries outside, so if something were to happen, someone would definitely know. Why did this happen?
But at this moment, they couldn't be bothered to ponder this question because the arrows that came from all directions had completely disrupted their ritual. They couldn't chant the blasphemous incantation anymore, nor could they continue their ritual.
In the beginning, some of them tried their best to continue the ritual. But shortly after, they were beaten to the point where they couldn't lift their heads.
"Continue shooting. Don't stop!"
After nocking another arrow and shooting down another cultist, Zayen narrowed his eyes, stared ahead, and gave a command in a low voice.
Indeed, the cultists had set up sentries outside, but these sentries could not stop Zayen at all. Along the way, Zayen had eliminated all the sentries of the cultists without anyone noticing. It was precisely because of this that he came up with this plan to launch a surprise attack on the cultists!
If an ordinary mage were to summon demons, he would definitely set up defenses around him.
But Jenn was clear that the cultists wouldn't do so during this ritual.
The mage would do so because he wanted to enslave the summoned Demons. However, the cultists could only pray for the arrival of Demons. Therefore, not only would they not set up any defenses, but they also wouldn't cast an anti-evil ritual, which was a standard ritual used to summon beings from the underworld.
Even if the evil aura brought by the Demons from the underworld would permanently erode their bodies and cause irreparable damage to their souls, the cultists didn't care.
Because this was what they believed in!
Apart from that, the Demons weren't easy to deal with. If a summoned Demons found themselves within a defensive ritual, be it inside or outside, they would fly into a rage because it was obviously a threat to them!
Of course, the mage wouldn't care about this. But to the cultists, they definitely wouldn't dare to provoke the summoned Demons!
And it was precisely because of this that Zayen chose the strategy of ambushing the cultists when they were unprepared. The scouts under him were all skilled hunters. Although they were still a distance away from Zayen, it was not a problem for them to ambush the cultists when they least expected it.
But this wasn't enough!
Swish!
Zayen's fingers trembled slightly. Following his movement, two more arrows flew out, and two more cultists fell to the ground in response.
But at this moment, the cultists reacted. They roared and raised their hands. At the next moment, a scarlet barrier appeared around them, blocking the arrows.
Then, Jenn saw the old man standing in the center of the ritual looking at him with a cold expression. He extended his hand and pointed forward.
"With the might of my Lord, I command your souls!"
Along with the old man's snarl, the thick mist hovering above the ritual suddenly paused. Then, along with screams, several scarlet, mist-like monsters emerged from it and pounced on Jenn.
Red Mist Demons!