A Mess
The Ancestors of the Spirituals Religion, all of whom were ready to take action, felt as though their bodies had frozen. A dangerous aura locked onto them and it felt like if they took just a single step in any direction, their heads would be pierced through.
They were all Ancestors, and Leonel was just using puppets. Just how could he have the strength to make them feel threatened to the point that they were immobilized?
What they didn't know is that by having the Ancestors consume their own bodies during the formation of their souls, they were actually at least 50% stronger than they would be otherwise. They were closer now to Overlords than they were to normal Ancestors.
This was a lesser form of [Breathe] that came from the weaker techniques of the Emperor's Might Lineage, known as [Cannibalize]. It could be used on the corpse of a soul alongside [Arise] to make them stronger.