Section 14: Insanity

In the camp outside the city, a small festive feast was going on. The main course of the banquet is a roast suckling pig grilled to a golden brown color and an appetizing aroma, accompanied by a variety of exquisite dishes. A servant was carefully dividing the suckling pig into small pieces and placing them on a dish in front of each magician.

"As I have long said, these old-fashioned Stygians have no idea the true power of magic. A magician said with a smile on his face. "That Thomas is an invincible commander, but it's clear that he has no experience with magic. ”

Master Koenig smiled and raised his glass full of mulled liqueur.

"Let the people of Paro know the importance of the Church of the True God. Everyone, fight for the glory of the gods of the Star Field!"

"For the glory of the gods!" all the magicians took their cups and took a big sip. A few even drank it all.

Master Koenig smiled and twisted his goatee, even the scars on his face looked less terrifying. If it weren't for the Church of the True God, there would have been few battlefields that could have gathered such a large lineup of magicians. The general Thomas was actually cautious, but he still underestimated the strength of the True God Church's support for Paro.

Although on the surface, the Magic Academy of the Church of the True God has nearly a thousand apprentices, and it claims that "anyone can learn magic". But in reality, no more than thirty students graduate each year who can truly master the winds of magic and learn to throw destructive energy at the heads of their enemies (instead of turning themselves into pieces). Not to mention that most of these graduated junior mages did not survive their first year. In fact, there are few professions that require more talent than a magician, and only those who possess outstanding concentration, patience, intelligence, and enough caution can master the dangerous winds of magic, while only those who possess very outstanding concentration, patience, intelligence, and extreme caution can survive on the battlefield and eventually become a master magician.

This time, in order to ensure that the Paros can win. The Church of the True God sent nearly forty magicians to Paro, who won the Paros a huge advantage in every battle. And now, more than half of the magicians are gathered here.

Princess Irina's expeditionary force, there is no chance.

In the distance, there was a clear pop.

"Are those moles still digging?" asked Master Koenig casually.

"It seems like yes. Someone replied.

"Unfortunately, it's not their turn. Master Koenig smiled and raised his glass again. "Just wait for the right opportunity, and we can wash the whole city with magic. If this happens, if it happens two or three times, the defenders will definitely collapse without a fight!"

In the past two days, they have further developed this kind of morale-damaging operation. Not only during the day, but also at night. As soon as the defenders lit a campfire to keep warm, lightning and fireballs fell on the fire. It would have been better if the prophetesses had joined in, as the Paro army had enough magicians to take turns, while the defenders had only three prophetesses.

This momentum boosted the morale of the entire Paro army. The haze of the first day's fiasco had cleared, and now it was the turn of the defenders to be held down and unable to lift their heads. And General Rudolph wisely chose to support the magicians' battle plans. Although he also wanted to take the castle as soon as possible, he also wanted to reduce casualties.

Even most people have forgotten the fact that it was Master Koenig who proposed the assault at the beginning, and now it is Master Koenig who has decided to defeat morale without a fight. And on the first day of the assault, it was Master Koenig who made the magicians unable to do anything under the pretext of "observing the enemy's magical combat power".

Because Master Koenig is not only a rare master of magic, but also an official high-ranking priest of the Church of the True God.

If this continues, the influence of the Church of God in the Paro army can be further deepened. Master Koenig thought as he sipped the mulled liqueur. Victory was easy to obtain, and three prophetesses could not resist such a powerful magical attack. But in order to maximize the influence of the Church of God while winning, it needs to be carefully considered and carefully considered.

Thinking of the prophetess, he immediately had a great idea. If a prophetess can be captured alive and brought back to the public, it will definitely deal a great blow to the faith of the god of nature and expand the power of the Church of the True God. But it's not so easy...... We also need to think carefully about a good way......

The banquet dispersed. Except for the three mages on duty - responsible for continuing to fight the defenders, everyone else went to rest. If the wind of magic is right tomorrow...... Hum......

The sentinels outside the camp had already lit a bonfire to keep warm, but at the head of the city, the patrol sentries of the defenders did not dare to light a bonfire. They should rub their hands together and breathe while blowing the howling evening breeze, and endure the long night in the cold.

Ashruphat walked into Thomas's room alone. He stared at the old man's face. During this time, the old man's face became more and more haggard. Thomas was originally in good spirits and had a ruddy complexion, but if it weren't for his white hair, he wouldn't look like an old man over eighty years old. But now his cheeks were deeply sunken, and the physical pain and mental pressure had embarrassed the old man.

"Ashrufat......" Thomas said softly. "Is that you?"

"It's me, Lord Thomas. Ashrufat replied. There was no light in the room, but he could still see very clearly. Instead of sleeping, Thomas stared into the darkness with wide eyes, as if thinking about something.

"We have four hundred and ninety-two killed, and the number of wounded is almost equal to the number of the dead. Thomas's voice sounded a little sad in the darkness. "I killed them. ”

"It's not your fault, Master Thomas. "No one expected that there were so many magicians in Paro's army. It's no one's fault, and the Stygians are no stranger to magic, but they are by no means familiar with it.

Such a situation of gathering dozens of magicians in a battle was something that no one expected. The three prophetesses, relying on their excellent ability to dispel magic, are enough to deal with ten magicians of the Church of the True God. Anyone thinks that this number is more than enough. But I didn't expect the number of magicians to double.

The same is true of the enemy's army. Thomas expected the enemy to have no more than 40,000 mobile troops, but in fact there were 70,000.

"No matter whose fault it is, someone has to be responsible. I'm the one responsible. Thomas whispered.

Ashrufat walked over to Thomas's bedside. The old man's heart was tormented by deep pain and remorse at the moment. Although he was physically injured, he knew that even if he was safe at the moment, nothing would change.

"Ashrufat, perhaps...... We should have given up...... Because of the delusions of this bad old man, so many people have died......"

"You've lied to me again, Master Thomas. Eshurufat gently placed his hand on Thomas's face and wiped away a drop of cold liquid.

"I'm telling the truth...... If ......"

"You're lying again. I remember that the knight seemed to be unable to lie. ”

"Did I lie to you?"

"Didn't you lie to me once? that story you improvised that day when you gave me that dress. What do you say that it was a thing to receive a gift when you were young...... It's true that the dress has been made for a long time, and the story you made up is really wonderful. But Lord Thomas, I already knew that it wasn't given to you by anyone. That's what you have for your son—for him to be an adult, when he is young. ”

"Where did you know that?" asked Thomas, after a moment of silence.

"One of your servants told me. When he saw the dress I was wearing, he was surprised and asked a few more questions. I asked for the result. Why did you give me such an important gift? Was it just because you wanted me to go to that unimportant party? You also prepared armor and a shield for me...... There were only a dozen knights that day, and did you expect that one of the dozen or so knights would attack me?"

"Remember the first time we met, Ashrufat?" replied Thomas at last. "It's the moment you appeared in front of me with the princess. At that time, your calm and confident eyes reminded me of my son. In my imagination, this is what he should look like when he becomes an adult. ”

"I'm old and I don't have any special hopes or hobbies. Wealth and power mean nothing to me. Only in the dark of no one do I occasionally recall my poor child. I would have imagined what kind of man he would have been if he hadn't died by the sword of a robber, what kind of man would he have been if he had lived to adulthood, what would he have looked like, how tall would he have been? Would he have been a brave knight? Or would he have just been an ordinary man who lived in my shadow? What kind of eyes would he have? What attitude would he have towards an old immortal like me? What kind of woman would he like? How much he would drink? Will I have the opportunity to hold my grandson? It was only with these fantasies that I was able to get through those lonely nights and face the lonely days again. Then I met you. ”

"For a moment, you were surrounded by my men, but I could not see a trace of fear on your face. You calmly observe your surroundings with a confident look in your eyes. At that moment, fantasy and reality overlapped in my heart. In my imagination, my son should have such a look. If I hadn't seen my son's body with my own eyes, if I hadn't buried him with my own hands, maybe I would have thought you were my missing son. ”

Thomas let out a dry laugh, but the laughter tugged at his wounds, and the pain was clear on his face.

"But it's just an old man's stupid delusion. My child has died in an accident, and you are from far away and have nothing to do with me. But I can't resist giving you that dress, hoping that you will show up in it at the party. Just so that I could see with my own eyes—even though it was all the whims of a bad old man like me—the back of my child in that dress. ”

Thomas coughed suddenly, each cough causing great pain as his countenance distorted.

"Ashrufat...... If we go on like this, we really ......," Thomas continued, finally regaining his composure. "I'm old, I've fought all my life, even if I lose once, it won't have any effect......"

"Master Thomas, you're lying to me again. If you could really accept defeat, then you would speak with such pain and despair!" Ashrufat wanted to question in a cold tone, but in the end he didn't say it.

"Don't worry, Master Thomas, get some sleep. When I wake up tomorrow, everything will be fine. ”

He couldn't stay any longer, because he felt as if there was a force in his chest about to explode.

"The host...... No...... The danger index is too high......" Carrie begged in a crying voice in her mind.

But he couldn't take care of it anymore.