"We didn't lose. ”

Standing on the stage and looking around at the crowd below, this was the first thing Benjamin spoke.

The soldiers' eyes lit up at that moment.

In the past few days, they have been stuck in confusion and unease. And not just because their former comrades died in the collapse, but also because they lost their way - what now? Have they been able to beat the church? Having suffered such a big blow, they ...... Should you still stick to it?

As a member of the Dark Nightmare, hatred for the Church is something that everyone has in common, but without Benjamin, without those forces above, they would never have been able to come together. Therefore, even if they want to hold on, if the attitude of the people above changes, this army will be on the verge of collapse.

They needed a statement, and Benjamin had put it all in the words he spoke.

yes, they haven't lost yet.

"Because of my negligence, I have led to the current heavy loss, which is an unshirkable responsibility. But...... We can't let the church get away with it. Benjamin glanced at everyone again, and then spoke, "We have gone from unknown to today, and there have been too many people who have paid for this, soldiers who died in battle, brothers buried deep in the ground...... Everyone dies with faith. They believe that we can bring down the church, and they believe that their sacrifice is worthwhile. And we, standing on the high platform held up by them with their corpses, want them to die worthwhile. ”

"The church is a disease buried deep in this country, and if you want to get rid of it, you have to pay a price. After this setback, you may be suspicious, you may be uneasy, but look at the current kingdom of Hori, we have pushed the church to the edge of the cliff, and this is just their desperate counterattack. If we carry it, it will be the church that will die, and if we can't resist it, it will be us who will die. You've fought all the way so far, are you willing to give up at the last minute?"

"Now in Koster City, there are 3,000 mages and 10,000 soldiers, enough food and grass to support us for another three months, five Holy Light cannons have just been transported to the camp, and the domestic warriors have funded us 6,000 armor. As you can see, we still have the strength to fight. The city has plenty of materials, and the logistics force has resumed its efforts to craft enchanted weapons. Further out, the rune defense array guards us, if we don't bring a dozen cannons, the church can't even open our door, what are we afraid of?"

With his words, the soldier's expression became more and more uplifted. They recalled the scene of the bloody battle, and remembered why they chose to join the Black Tare Army in the first place, and that enthusiasm seemed to be gradually awakened again. They fought not only for themselves, but also for the Kingdom of Hori, for those dead comrades. There's no way they're going to give up.

And more importantly, from Benjamin's words, they learned about the specific situation of the Black Nightmare Army now.

Although it was hit, it ...... It is true that it has not yet reached the point where it cannot be fought, and the entire army still has good combat effectiveness. Thinking of this, their confusion was swept away, and they soon became as confident as before. The church thought it could defeat them this way, but they wouldn't throw in the towel!

The morning sun shone obliquely, shining brightly on every soldier's eyes.

Eventually, Benjamin ended the speech with the words:

"May the heroic spirits of the dead be with us. ”

He clenched his right hand into a fist, leaned on his chest, and nodded deeply to the crowd. Everyone also made a movement, and the shadows on the ground were uniform, stretched out by the sun.

An hour later.

Benjamin sat in his room at the town hall and slowly lowered his report. His face was a little solemn, and he touched his chin, as if he was thinking about something. The door to the room was closed, and besides him, there was also the head of the Academy's dark department, who was waiting patiently at the moment.

“...... Are you sure there is nothing wrong with this death report?" asked Benjamin suddenly.

"There may be some small errors, but we have confirmed the information about important people and we can be sure. ”

Benjamin sighed when he heard this.

In fact, the results presented by this death report are not too bad. The Black Nightmare suffered heavy losses, but most of the deaths belonged to ordinary soldiers, and when they collapsed, the mages relied on magic to survive a higher rate, and Benjamin also brought a strong force and a large number of mages with him when he attacked Koster, so at present, they still have a good fighting force.

But...... There are a few key names that appear on it.

"Those six nobles, including Duke Colin...... Is it true that all of them have been sacrificed?" he had to confirm again because of the importance of the news.

The head of the dark department nodded.

"Yes, many people have seen it with their own eyes. At the time of the collapse, they and their families were moving out with a procession, just in time for the narrow exit of Lake Pearl. As soon as the church detonated the explosives, the vicinity of the exit completely collapsed, and the whole team was buried inside, so to speak...... There is no chance of survival. ”

After listening to the details at that time, Benjamin couldn't help but let out a long sigh and shook his head.

Who would have thought?

The nobles kidnapped the princess and took her out of the royal capital, but it ended up like this.

Benjamin felt a little sad in his heart. The Dark Nightmare were initially able to be formed thanks to the support of the six of them, and although there may have been many differences of opinion between them, Duke Colin did provide them with a lot of help along the way. They were all looking forward to the day when the church would be brought down, but now they could no longer see it with their own eyes.

“...... Tell the knights of their clan about this, and don't upset them too much. After a moment of silence, he spoke slowly and said this.

"Understood. ”

Benjamin held his forehead and thought again, adding, "Also, send a message to Freden, I remember...... Elizabeth's mercenary group is there. In any case, she had the right to know about it. ”

The person in charge was slightly stunned, but immediately nodded, didn't say anything, and turned to leave.

Benjamin glanced at the report a few more times, got up as well, and walked out of the room. Alone, he flew all the way to Koster's North Gate. The guards at the head of the city saluted him, and through the barrier of the rune defense array, he could see the desolate main road outside the city.

The gaze followed the main road to the end, and on the horizon, some vague shadows flew around.

Because it was too far away for Benjamin to see or feel, the figures were as small as mosquitoes in his eyes, but ...... For some reason, he seemed to be able to see a flash of holy light on those shadows.