Chapter 215: Turning Back Again
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Up until now, things were going smoothly. Floating in the sky, Benjamin lowered his head until he could see the enthusiastic expressions on the people’s faces.
There was no question, these people believed him.
So, he did not intend to let it drag on. Time waits for no man, who knows what the church was going to do on the other side of Regina. He did not understand much about the whole situation, but he believed the faster he moves the better it is.
"The enemy is at our doorstep; we have no other choice." The tone of his voice was firm. "This is the last chance to save Icor, we have to grab it. If not, we will have no choice but to flee from today onwards and die while being chased by the enemy."
"Follow me!"
As he said this, he kept his arms apart and gently flew in the direction of the prison.
Among the crowd, there were people who looked fearful, but most of them did not hesitate. They followed behind Benjamin and moved quickly towards the Anti-Magic Prison. From a different point of view, it did not matter who they were before, a beggar, a carpenter, a merchant, a teacher...after experiencing the chaos, they were already exiles.
Those who were cowardly had already run away during all the chaos. The people who left had their bodies covered in blood. They were so desperate that they were willing to bet their lives on this.
Because of this, they decided to listen to Benjamin.
So Benjamin went along the road, flying low in front of them. Around him was a large group of people with different clothes on and of all ages, but covered with fresh blood. With determined looks in their eyes, they followed Benjamin, walking forward.
Not too long after that, they met patrol guards on the road. This group of more than a thousand people was nothing against the smattering of guards. With both sadness and anger, they surged on, and just like before, they killed all the guards.
There were also guards who tried to escape, but Benjamin attacked from the sky. There was no way they could warn anyone else.
He understood very clearly that the enemy could not be ready in the slightest if he were to attack the prison with this group of people. The guards at the Square could not be compared with those at the prison. Benjamin had observed before that while the guards by the prison were not in the thousands, they had at least three to four hundred people.
A mob of above a thousand people, against three to four hundred soldiers. Even with the help of magic, Benjamin could not imagine how many of these people will survive.
They had to use stealth and get the imprisoned mages out to let them join their forces; then only can they ensure that the church’s plans are dashed and lose their control over Regina.
About the church’s involvement in kidnapping the family and friends of the Mages Guild, Benjamin thought about it. But now, he did not even know where the church was keeping them, and it was impossible for him to split the group up to save them. So, he decided after reaching the prison, he will lie to the mages there and tell them their loved ones were all killed by the church, this will definitely trigger them into doing something.
This is...definitely going to bring about another wave of terror.
But there was no other choice, in order to curb the church’s evil plan, he had no other move to make. If not, the church will take complete control of the situation, and the mages in prison will have no other ending except for death.
When he thought about it, it required a lot of energy from him to go against the church. He controlled the light water spheres around him and made it trail him so he would not lose the "halo" that inspired the thousands.
Benjamin could not help but feel a little helpless.
Honestly, although he did not know what was going on with the queen, she was definitely gaining a lot out of this.
Taking down the prison would be the limit for Benjamin and the crowd. Now that their anger is still pulsing they should take this opportunity, once time passes, they might change their mind; to keep them on as his underlings then would be impossible. And those mages in the prison may not want to follow Benjamin’s instructions anymore.
It was because of this that he could not bring Regina into the fold. The things that he was doing was only a last resort to give the church trouble and to help the mages get a better life.
His mind was going through all the questions – how do they take down the prison, how to get something out of all of this for himself, what will happen after all this, they don’t have a retreat plan, how to find some space that while fighting the church, he had to get Augustine out of the blond woman’s reach and her plan... Benjamin felt the pressure was great, these questions, he had to solve them in a very short amount of time.
Truthfully, he was no Zhu Ge Liang [1]. And even if he was Zhu Ge Liang, under this kind of complicated situation with little to no information and a short timeline, there really was no hope.
He could only wring his brain and try to get all of these things settled.
And so, while thinking about all of these things, after about half an hour, Benjamin brought the people closer to the Anti-Magic Prison.
He did not continue his flight across the sky, and also got rid of the light reflecting water spheres. It was too conspicuous, and it would just bring the guards to where they were. He walked in front of the group, leading the large number of people to the pre-planned location of the attack.
The location is just behind a group of huge buildings. Even if the thousand people hid here, they would not be noticed by the guards near the prison. Standing at the corner, Benjamin turned and looked at the different faces that were looking at him. He held his hand in a fist and a complex feeling filled his chest.
A group of normal people who were forced to the Square and under his instigation, became a group of soldiers who did not act like soldiers, and a group of bandits who did not act like bandits. This battle might be their first and their last.
There was no need to mention that the elderly and the children are not too far away from death’s door.
Benjamin felt as though he should say something.
"The prison is up ahead, we just need to release the imprisoned mages and tell them this is all part of the enemy’s plot, and Icor will be saved." After giving it some thought, he added, "maybe before this, you were just a beggar, a merchant, a homemaker, or a stable boy who sweeps horse dung every day. But from today onwards, you are all heroes."
Everyone stared at him blankly, no one gave him any response. It was even more so for the people standing far away. Since Benjamin was not floating, they could not even see his face or hear his voice.
Seeing this, Benjamin went a little blank. Suddenly he started to laugh.
It was him who was thinking too much...
It did not matter what these people’s thoughts were, if they could follow him all the way here, it showed their determination.
With these thoughts, Benjamin turned back and took a deep breath. Suddenly, he cleared his throat, and yelled like the guy at the Square hysterically: "Fuck the soldiers! Fight them all!"
Like a familiar memory, anger and determination showed on the people’s faces. They rushed out of the corner, rushing towards the tiny house in front.
Of course, the guards at the prison door heard the shout, and were shocked by the appearance of such a large crowd. In that moment, they gathered together hurriedly, preparing to fight with the weird group that looked like they just came out of a pool of blood.
"Attack! Attack!"
The guards screamed and the normal people yelled, echoing across the clear afternoon skies.
Just as the two groups of people were about to hit each other, suddenly, there was a loud signal like it could break through the eardrum, and covered all the other noise.
Benjamin was stunned.
Just then, on the other side of the prison stood another group of troops. When they appeared, a familiar, magically enhanced and loud voice rang out:
"The queen is here! All rebels surrender! The queen is here!"
At that moment, Benjamin felt a weird premonition.
He stopped in his tracks and looked up at the direction of the sound.
The other group of people were all on horses. They all looked well trained with a majestic air around them. Their beautiful armor glinted in the sun and looked very different from the soldiers of Regina.
And the main silhouette in front, Benjamin thought it looked really familiar.
The queen, who should still be in Crusader’s Gateway, was at that moment, here in Regina.
She was at the head of the group on a horse, a look of "I will handle this" in her smile, leading her battalion of soldiers, and charged towards the prison.
Translator’s Notes:
1. Zhu Ge Liang: he was the prime minister and regent of the state of Shu Han and the most recognized strategist of his era. The author of The Art of War.