In addition to Aura Concealment, Hel also obtained a large number of [Blood Slave] Traits.
So she decided to "recruit" the nine remaining freelance knights under Lyman's command as well.
Even after that, she still had plenty of Blood Slave Traits left.
Perhaps, in the future, she could use them to control most of the nobles in the city—
but that was a plan for another day.
Right now, she had returned once again to her Necrospace, fusing the newly summoned skeleton soldiers together.
After several rounds of merging, she created twelve skeletal heavy cavalry, each possessing the strength of an Earth Knight (Tier 4).
These heavy knights didn't even have mounts, and their spear techniques were intentionally downgraded by Hel—
she'd only given them blue-grade spear skills.
Even so, the fact remained: they were still Tier 4 beings.
To put it in perspective—
the entire Mandrake Duchy probably didn't have this many Earth Knights.
However, this was a force that couldn't see the light of day.
On the surface, she still needed to play the part of a small, harmless local lord slowly developing her territory.
But with such terrifying strength at her disposal, Hel couldn't help but feel itchy.
Wouldn't it be fun to… release them for a little exercise?
Not too far—just into the Beast Forest nearby.
Hadn't the Free States across the forest already fallen under the undead plague?
She wanted to test whether her twelve skeletal heavy cavalry could lure out some wild undead,
to replenish her rather empty stock of materials.
Besides, she had already digested Netherveil's elemental crystal.
To continue advancing quickly, she needed to consume more crystals—those found in magical beasts.
The Beast Forest was full of them.
She could have her heavy cavalry hunt a few monsters, then merge their elemental crystals using her Necromantic Crest.
That way, she'd never run out of crystals again.
And not just for herself—Lily and the others were also running short on crystals.
Still, she'd wait until Sebas and his team returned.
She needed an undead with a brain to lead that squad—
and besides, the spatial ring for storing corpses was still with Sebas.
For now, she went to find Arwin and Lily again.
After converting all those bodies into undead,
Hel stripped the innate Traits from the ones used as materials—
gaining another massive haul of Talent Traits,
mostly related to Battle Qi Affinity, the natural energy knights used.
Since she had good Traits in hand, there was no reason to keep them. She distributed them immediately.
To Lily, she gave an Orange-grade [Water Attribute Battle Qi Affinity].
As a woman, she was more likely to be targeted by the Church.
After all, once a witch awakens, her innate attribute changes—
just as undead naturally gain Death Affinity,
a witch's attributes also shift upon awakening.
The Church had another way of detecting witches:
they kept tabs on powerful women who suddenly stopped displaying their strength.
That was why Hel had deliberately left Lily's original Trait untouched before—
to avoid arousing suspicion.
As for Arwin, there was no such concern.
He was a rough man—the Church would never suspect him.
So Hel gave him a Death Attribute Battle Qi Affinity, also Orange-grade.
However, she realized that she'd been strengthening Arwin quite a lot lately.
The others might start feeling a little… neglected.
Lily and Anna were both long-term investments—potential powerhouses to be nurtured slowly.
But Sebas, one of her two main enforcers, really couldn't be left lagging behind.
It just so happened that eight days had passed—meaning Hel had eight duplication opportunities.
So she copied two Purple-grade Traits for him:
[Death Mana Affinity] and [Advanced Death Magic].
After replacing his old ones, Sebas's power rose to 151.
Then, from Rose's relics, Hel dug out a rare Purple-grade staff and robe,
and handed them to him as equipment.
With the gear's enhancement, Sebas's Magic Power attribute finally reached 240—
roughly on par with Arwin's strength.
But Sebas's true power could never be shown in public—
nor could the equipment she gave him.
After all, who in their right mind would walk around wearing a black robe
and wielding a staff made of connected spine bones topped with a skull?
That was precisely why Hel, despite being able to use the equipment herself,
gave it away instead.
She was still a child, after all—
it wouldn't suit her image to use something so… grotesque.
So, she decided to craft her own set of gear.
Meanwhile, as Hel prepared to forge her new equipment,
Sebas stood dumbfounded, staring at the epic-level power-ups that both he and Arwin had just received.
"This… this can't be real… Young Master really… ahh…"
He let out a long sigh, at a loss for words.
After a while, he finally spoke:
"My deepest thanks for the Young Master's generosity.
Sir Arwin, to be honest, I only asked for your help because I feared the mid-level knights we're facing might cause too much trouble for me alone.
But now… with the Young Master's gifts, it feels like I was overreacting."
"No problem, Sir Sebas," Arwin replied evenly.
"It's safer with both of us.
But tell me—if they were just a few mid-level knights,
you wouldn't have gone out of your way to ask for my help, would you?"
"…So you saw through me, huh, Sir Arwin."
Sebas sighed again, his expression turning grave.
"This time, our enemy is no ordinary group.
Tell me, have you ever heard of the God-Welcomers?"
"The God-Welcomers? You mean those lunatics who consort with witches?"
Even Arwin, usually calm and composed, couldn't hide his surprise.
"So there are God-Welcomers in Heim City?"
"Yes," Sebas confirmed grimly.
"According to my spies in the Thieves' Guild,
they plan to recreate the tragedy that occurred ten years ago
in Pettis City of the Shumiriti Kingdom."
"You mean… a city-wide blood sacrifice?"
"That's right, Sir Arwin.
The couriers carrying the witch's remains have already arrived in Heim City.
The exchange is scheduled for tonight.
If we're going to stop them, this is our only chance."
"Shouldn't we contact the Church or the Noble Council for help?
Neither of us can afford to reveal our true power."
"It's useless, Sir Arwin."
Sebas shook his head with another heavy sigh.
"Tell me—who do you think is secretly trading with the God-Welcomers for those witch remains?"
"…Don't tell me…"
"Yes. It's our very own king — the King of the Selephis Kingdom."
"Is that information reliable?"
"The Guildmaster of the Heim City Thieves' Guild confessed it himself."
"Then what about the Young Master's safety?"
"Don't worry.
I've already instructed Miss Lily:
if we fail, she'll take the Young Master through the castle's secret tunnel and escape Heim City."
"And you?"
"If we fail," Sebas said calmly,
"I'll detonate the defensive core beneath the city.
Even if it means dragging all of Heim City down with me,
I will not allow any danger to reach the Young Master."
He then turned to Arwin, his tone solemn.
"So tell me, Sir Arwin —
even knowing there might be high-ranking knights among our enemies tonight…
are you still willing to fight alongside me?"