The armed forces of Ravenfell had found themselves in a world of trouble. Initially, they had positioned themselves around the boundaries of the city, stationed on the walls and in the harbor watch towers.

Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined their enemies had already infiltrated the city, emerging from the sewers long before anyone realized.

Or perhaps, the Magi commanding the armed forces had already taken this scenario into consideration. These were Mana Vortex Magi; they were not foolish. Of course, it would make sense for them to take into account every small detail, including the possibility of the enemy utilizing the sewer networks to infiltrate the city.

But little did everyone know… the higher-ups had already been compromised. More specifically, the Lord Commander of Ravenfell, Sabrina Benton, had already fallen victim to the enemy's insidious trap way before the battle had even begun.

It was unknown whether Marden knew everything that was happening in the Council's headquarters, or if he had been pulling the strings from behind, using his own mother as his marionette.

Or it could have also been the Cult using the subtle, cunning perception-changing magic that they had used in Hannes City and Blackshore—and who knows where else.

But one thing was certain… Marden knew too many secrets. And not just about Ravenfell. Moreover, he and the Cult had been planning for this day long before the Brotherhood even came to know about it.

And so, before the battle had even begun, the armed forces of Ravenfell had already lost.

To the north of the city, in the mountain ranges, the Emperor Emeritus, Gerald Acadia, Black Fire Balthazar, and the Silent King were battling four Mana Core Magi of the Cult.

Considering that the cultists had already begun summoning their powerful undead creatures, their battle was becoming more and more serious by the second. Unfortunately for them, the three Magi they were fighting against were quite problematic.

Gerald Acadia provided support with his sealing magic, Balthazar's black fire served as the perfect counter for undead creatures, and then there was the Silent King, who posed the most danger out of all three.

For now, the three Magi seemed to be holding up just fine against the Cultist. If anything, they actually seemed to have a slight advantage against them.

To the south of the city, in the farmlands, a violent battle was taking place between Headmaster Marcus Blackwood and the Elder of the Inner Circle, Marden Benton.

Their battlefield was shrouded in darkness, and it was hard to tell how the two were faring. But judging by the destruction left in their wake, their battle was turning out to be quite calamitous.

Fortunately, the battlefields of the Mana Core Magi were far away from the city.

Then, there was the battle raging within the city itself…

Out of the six quarters that made up the city of Ravenfell, four of them had already been overrun by the cultists. Expertly navigating through the complex sewer tunnels, they had made sure to concentrate their forces underneath these four districts, thus taking the enemy by surprise.

Uptown Quarter, Downtown Quarter, Market Quarter, and Northern Quarter were the districts where the battle was the most intense. Almost all of the city's armed forces were gathered here, bravely fighting against the cultists. The battlefield had become an urban warzone.

Thanks to Adam's efforts, however, a good chunk of the cultists' forces had already been taken care of. As for his current whereabouts… nobody knew. And that is what made him all the more dangerous.

Meanwhile, the Harbor Quarter was still in the hands of the city's forces. A lot of Magi had made their way here in order to provide support to the Brotherhood's naval fleet. As time went by, the city's own ships also joined them in battling the Cult's fleet.

This area of the city was perhaps the only district where things seemed to be going in favor of Ravenfell. Under Kenelm Bowman's leadership, the Brotherhood was dealing severe damage to the Cult.

Just from the general situation of these five districts, it was evident that the forces of Ravenfell—and the Brotherhood—were on the losing side.

And then there was the sixth and final district…

Things had been awfully quiet and ominous in the Corvid Quarter ever since the battle began. There were no cultists present there, strangely enough.

That was because the Cult was using a different weapon there.

The residents of Corvid Quarter… they were the Cult's weapons!

The disenfranchised and neglected people of Corvid Quarter, over a million of them, had ended up becoming the vile cult's living weapons.

About a decade ago, when the Red Fists ruled over this district with an iron fist, a strange pandemic had spread across this district. Strangely enough, this disease never permeated outside the boundaries of the Corvid Quarter… almost as if it had a mind of its own.

Thousands of people fell dangerously sick, and thousands more died. Just when the people of this district thought that all of them would give in to this strange disease, the Red Fists lent them a helping hand. Because the rest of the city never would.

The Red Fists provided them with mystical medicines and cured these people, thus receiving their widespread faith, respect, and admiration.

However, what they believed to be their cure had become their undoing.

And now… over a million people who called the Corvid Quarter their home had turned into mindless zombies!

Moreover, this horde of bloodthirsty zombies was now surging towards the rest of Ravenfell.

But that wasn't all…

Deep within the heart of Saratoga Castle, a towering onyx statue of a raven slowly spread out its wings, revealing the entrance to a secret passageway beneath its taloned feet.

The weathered stone doors of the passageway shifted sideways, and a few moments later, hundreds of silhouettes emerged from within.

They wore dark robes, and the aura of death and decay clung to them. Their eyes gleamed with a predatory light as they looked at the dimly lit chamber they had arrived in.

A large portion of them were Mana Liquefaction and Mana Foundation Magi. There were a few dozen Mana Vortex Magi, and their leader was a mighty Mana Core Magus!

But the most shocking thing was… none of them were affiliated with this ancient castle.

The leader of this small army glanced at the ancient chamber with a cold look in his eyes. His lips curled up into a crooked smile, and he said:

"So this is the famous Saratoga Castle!"

He then turned to the people behind him and ordered, "Slaughter everyone in here, and burn this place to the ground."

The Cult of Bones had done the unthinkable…

They had infiltrated one of the Four Pillars of the Empire!

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