On the other hand, after exiting the hall, Liora didn't rush to study the crimson item that she had just pocketed.

For the time being, she carefully placed it in the Space Orb, right next to the soul of Marquis Lavender.

Feeling the trembling of the floor beneath her and sensing the battle taking place not far behind her, her footsteps didn't pause.

She ignored the collision between the holy and demonic powers and quickly made her way to the previous hall, and then to the underground "research facility".

Perhaps this facility had been specifically designed and reinforced by the Marquis, as there were no signs of the battle taking place below.

In fact, Liora's consciousness detected that the members of the Necronomicon Sect were still going on with their lives as usual, not knowing that their leader had perished nor that the Lord they worshipped had descended into the stronghold.

Of course, Liora wouldn't waste any time explaining this to them.

Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one to obstruct her, she decided to put her initial plan into action.

The Spear of the Blighted Sun materialized in her hand, and her figure teleported beside one of the patrolling teams of guards.

While doing her best to suppress the spear's demonic nature, she waved it forward, using it like a sword rather than an actual spear.

Still, her overwhelming strength made this awkward, non-standard motion deadly.

With a simple sweep of the spear, its body sliced through the bodies of the Knight Apprentices as if they were made of paper, separating them into two.

Until their death, the guards didn't know that they were about to die, much less realize who their killer was.

Watching their bodies crumble to the ground, Liora restrained her impulse to have the Myriad Devils Body devour them.

Though that indeed could slightly enhance its defenses, such a weak essence would not help her undergo a major improvement.

Rather than doing that, it would be better to leave those corpses here.

The holy power remaining on them would be more than enough to serve as proof of the Holy Church's involvement.

That's right.

From the start, Liora had planned to destroy this stronghold while framing the Holy Church as the perpetrator during the process.

Although such a plan was admittedly straightforward, being simple was a good thing as far as Liora was concerned.

The experiences of the Soul Devil and Lord Embers had taught her very early in her life that intricate plans sounded great but were difficult to succeed.

At the first appearance of an unforeseen factor or of the tiniest change, the entire plan would crumble and bite back at its designer.

On the other hand, though a simple plan was not as grand or thrilling, it was way easier for it to succeed while also being far more flexible.

While Liora was deep in thought, her movements didn't pause.

After she briefly cast a glance at the corpses around her, her figure flashed once again, appearing beside another one of the many patrolling teams.

The same sweep soon occurred, and the lives of another batch of guards were harvested.

Then another one, and another.

Before long, the underground facility was enveloped in utter silence. Even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.

A large number of corpses lay scattered across the cold floor, as if an intense and bloody battle had unknowingly taken place.

Yet, Liora had neither the time nor the will to marvel at the results of her hard work.

She could feel that the battle below was growing increasingly fierce, and the imperceptible vibration of the ground only served to further confirm her suspicions.

Thus, she didn't linger.

Following the path according to her memories, she ascended a long spiral staircase and quickly returned to the surface.

Just like the guards underground, no one here had noticed the changes below.

Therefore, although the defenses were still tight, Liora didn't face any difficulties in bypassing them.

Shortly after, she had exited the central building and even the barracks themselves.

However, she wasn't planning to leave just yet.

Leaning down, she briefly glanced at the towering walls standing not far away and began carefully carving Devil Runes on the field encircling the barracks.

Fortunately, although the stronghold was quite big and housed a large number of people, the only major threat—Marquis Lavender—had already been dealt with.

Liora didn't need to inscribe any particularly powerful array.

As long as it could deal with True Knights and possessed certain sealing capabilities, it would be enough.

Hence, it didn't take her long for her creation to be completed.

Only a couple of minutes later, Liora's hand gently engraved the last stroke down, concluding the array's formation.

Feeling the successful establishment of the connection, she didn't rush to activate the array.

She knew that it was not truly complete just yet.

Stretching her hand, her mind moved, and the Spear of the Blighted Sun appeared within her grasp.

She lowered her head and glanced at the array's core beside her before suddenly letting the spear go.

The spear didn't drop to the ground, though. Instead, it stopped abruptly in the air and began revolving around the core.

Instantly, the crimson Devil Runes painted with fresh blood quivered, gaining a deep golden hue.

Watching this, Liora understood that the time had finally come.

Her mind moved and united with the array as she began to operate it.

The Devil Runes—now dyed in holiness—shook.

A vast holy power emerged and quickly spread along the runes' path, drawing a circle around the barracks and forming a high dome.

The next moment, the rate at which the Spear of the Blighted Sun was rotating grew even faster.

With a faint hum, countless golden lights dropped from the sky and gently landed inside the barracks.

Under the astonished gazes of the Necronomicon Sect's members, these lights quickly grew into dozens of humanoid figures.

With blurry faces, adorned in golden armor, and holding lustrous swords, they materialized right in front of them.

Then, before the members of the Necronomicon Sect could comprehend what was happening, these bizarre knights brandished their weapons and swung them right at them.

Instantly, a large number of piercing screams echoed, followed by the sound of flesh being torn.

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