Diablo traveled through time and became a necromancer

"A Westmarch officer? A defector?" The squad leader frowned, not daring to be careless. "Lower the basket! Get him up first! Search him! Check him! Prepare Holy Light Purification! Be careful, it might be a trap!"

Several Rogue warriors quickly lowered a large wicker basket and carefully pulled the unconscious Leonard up the city wall. The accompanying chaplain immediately stepped forward, enveloping him in soft holy light to dispel any possible curses or fel corruption.

Meanwhile, the two soldiers carefully searched his entire body and found nothing but his tattered armor, a bronze wolf head badge with slightly deformed edges that represented his centurion status, and a small metal tube tightly wrapped in tarpaulin that he kept close to his body.

There were no weapons, no poison, only frostbite all over his body and several deep, fresh wounds that looked like they had been torn by some kind of claws, with ominous dark green edges—the claw marks of hellish creatures!

"Captain, he has wounds inflicted by hellish creatures! And this!" The soldier handed the metal cylinder to the squad leader.

The squad leader took the metal cylinder; it was cold and heavy to the touch. She looked at the priest, who nodded: "The Holy Light detected no evil attachment, but the lingering hellish aura in the wound is very strong, requiring immediate treatment. The person is not in immediate danger, but is extremely weak."

"Send him to the medical station immediately! Notify Lord Flavius! And..." The squad leader weighed the metal cylinder in his hand, his eyes grave, "Report to Commander Kasha! Tell him... we might have caught a 'big fish'!"

Inside Kasha's command post, the fireplace roared. Leonard was laid on a makeshift cot, covered with a thick blanket. The army chaplain was tending to his wounds, the scent of holy light mingling with the aroma of herbs. Kasha stood by the bed, arms crossed, scrutinizing the unconscious Westmarch officer like a predator eyeing its prey. Flavius ​​stood silently to the side, holding the opened metal tube containing a scroll of parchment written in coded language and a letter bearing the top-secret seal of the Westmarch military.

“Wake him up.” Kasha’s voice was devoid of any warmth.

The priest nodded, a small ball of gentle holy light gathering at his fingertips, which he lightly touched between Leonard's brows. Leonard's body trembled, he let out a painful groan, and slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was initially somewhat unfocused, but when he clearly saw his surroundings and Kasha's extremely imposing figure, a flash of fear suddenly crossed his eyes, which was then replaced by a resolute determination.

“Commander… Kasha…” He struggled to sit up, but was stopped by a look from Kasha.

“Save your energy, Centurion.” Kasha looked down at him, his gaze sharp as a knife. “Tell me, what makes you think I would believe that a Westmarch officer would betray his general and come to enemy territory to ‘inform’ him? And how did you get those Hellclaw marks on your body?”

Leonard took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision. His left hand trembled as he raised it, forcefully tearing open his tattered chainmail shirt to reveal his chest. Above his heart, a twisted, dark red evil eye emblem, seemingly composed of countless tormented faces, was branded! The skin around the emblem was an unnatural, charred black, as if burned, with wisps of dark green fel energy slowly writhing beneath the brand like living things!

“This…this is the core brand of the ‘Trinity Cult’…” Leonard’s voice was filled with fear and hatred. “Torion…he forced all officers of mid-ranking rank and above to accept the brand…calling it ‘proof of loyalty’…but in reality…it’s control! It’s torture! It erodes the will…amplifies inner fear and desire…turns people into puppets who only know how to obey!” He coughed painfully a few times and continued, “The wounds on my body…were inflicted by the ‘hellhounds’ kept by Torion when I was fleeing the Westmarch border outpost…they…they were kept underground in the military camp!”

Kasha and Flavius ​​exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes. The malevolent aura emanating from this mark was identical to what they had witnessed in Branwell and Kurast!

"So, what about the intelligence?" Kasha's tone remained cold, but a hint of scrutiny crept into his eyes.

Flavius ​​handed the secret letter to Leonard. Leonard glanced at it and nodded firmly: "It's real... This is a copy of the order personally signed by Torion... given to me by his confidant... the commander of the 'Branded' forces... to deliver to the secret base located in the 'Rotting Swamp'..." He pointed to a line of specially marked text on the parchment, "'Seed of Corruption'... that's the key!"

"The Seed of Corruption?" Kasha frowned.

“Yes…” Renard’s eyes were filled with fear, “a… highly concentrated fel energy crystal extracted from fragments of the Worldstone… Torion called it the ‘Key’… His plan… was to take advantage of the Worldstone barrier’s weakest point during the Blood Moon… to implant these ‘Seeds of Corruption’… into the leyline nodes of the Arreat Mountains near Harrogath… and… several ancient magical nodes surrounding Rogue Encampment…”

He gasped for breath and said with difficulty, “Once successful… the ‘Seed of Corruption’ will spread like a plague… along the ley lines and magical networks… corrupting the foundations of the Worldstone… weakening or even paralyzing Harrogath’s ancient defensive runes… and Rogue’s Holy Light Barrier… At that time… Baal’s power… will be able to penetrate more directly… and Torion’s demonic legions… will be able to move unimpeded…”

The command post was deathly silent, save for the crackling of the fireplace. Kasha's face was horribly grim. Leonard's intelligence perfectly matched the fragmented information they had previously gathered—this was no longer small-scale harassment, but a meticulously planned "corruption" war aimed at undermining Sanctuary's northern defenses!

“Harrogath…” Kasha murmured, her gaze fixed on the unknown northern horizon shrouded in snow and wind. “Quarkek… Mara… how are things on your end?” She thought of Wu Ye, the boy who always managed to create miracles in dire straits, who was currently in that frozen land.

She whirled around, looking at Flavius, her eyes burning with a resolute glint: "Flavie!"

"exist!"

"Immediately dispatch the most elite 'Shadow Raven' squad! Escort Centurion Renard and his intelligence to Harrogath as quickly and secretly as possible! Deliver them personally to Quarkek and Priest Mara! Tell them that Torion's fangs have reached for the Worldstone! Rogue and Harrogath must join forces!"

“Yes!” Flavius ​​accepted the order.

Kasha took one last look at the unconscious Leonard, then gazed out the window at the howling snowstorm, as if she could see through space to the frozen fortress and the figures fighting within it.

“Wu Ye, you brat…” she muttered to herself, clenching her fists. “Harrogath’s burden is heavier now…you better not let me down!”