Chapter 890: We Have Not Lost
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"We have not lost."
Standing on the stage and gazing upon the vast crowds beneath him, this was the first sentence that Benjamin spoke.
The eyes of the soldiers lit up at that moment.
Within these few days, they had been trapped in a state of confusion and unease. It was not only because their fellow comrades had died in the collapse in the previous days, but also because they had lost their way. What were they to do now? Were they still able to beat the Church? Having received such a huge blow, should they... continue pushing on?
As members of the Black Nightmare Army, their hatred towards the Church was a common trait amongst all of them. However, without Benjamin, without those powers at the top, it would forever be impossible for them to have gathered together. Because of that, even if they wished to persevere, this army would still be on the verge of being defeated and scattered if the attitude of the people at the top changed.
They needed a declaration, and Benjamin had already presented all of that attitude through that one sentence he had spoken the moment he opened his mouth.
That was right, they had not lost.
"Due to my negligence, we have suffered the terrible loss before our eyes. This is a responsibility I cannot avoid. However... we cannot let the Church win just because of that," Benjamin gave everyone another look and continued. "Too many people have given up their lives for this, as we walked from when we were unremarkable, until this day. The soldiers sacrificed in battle, our brothers buried deep under the earth... Every one of them died holding on to their convictions. They believed that we can pull down the Church, they believed that their sacrifices are not for nothing. And we, standing on the high stage held up by them with their corpses, must make sure their deaths are not in vain."
"The Church is a chronic illness deeply embedded in this country. To get rid of it, we must pay the price. You might suspect that there will not be peace after having gone through this tribulation, but look at the Kingdom of Helius now. We have already pushed the Church to the edge of the cliff, and this is merely their desperate counterattack. If we can carry this through, the one to die would be the Church. If we aren’t able to carry this through, we shall be the ones to die. We have fought to the death until this day, could it be that you are willing to give up at this final juncture?"
"Right now, within the city of Worchester, there are three thousand mages, ten thousand soldiers, rations enough to support us for another three months, five Cannons of Holy Light that have just been moved to the campsite, and the six thousand armors sponsored for us by the patriots of the country. Everyone here can already see that we still possess the ability to fight. The materials in the city are sufficient, and the logistics team has already begun, once more, to rush the production of the enchanted weapons. If we look further out, there is the Runic Defense Technique protecting us; the Church won’t even be able to blast our doors open without bringing up a dozen cannons. What is there for us to be afraid of?"
At his words, the spirits of the soldiers began to be roused up little by little. They recalled the past scenes of bloody battles and remembered why they had chosen to join the Black Nightmare Army in the beginning. That zealous passion seemed to be slowly awakened once more. They were not just fighting for themselves; this fight was also for the Kingdom of Helius, for the comrades lost. They could not give up.
Also, what was more important was that they understood the specific conditions of the Black Nightmare Army now, through Benjamin’s words.
Although they had been beaten... it was definitely not to the point where they could not fight anymore. The entire army still possessed a good combat ability. When they thought about this, their confusion was lifted in one sweep, and they were soon as filled with confidence as they had been before. The Church thought that they could defeat them this way, but they were definitely not going to admit defeat!
The morning sunlight shone on them at a slanted angle and was reflected in the eyes of every soldier, causing them to light up.
Finally, Benjamin ended his speech this time with this sentence.
"May the brave souls of the dead be with us."
He clenched his right fist tightly and brought it to his chest and gave a deep nod towards his audience. Everyone did the same action in unison. The shadows on the ground moved uniformly, stretched out long by the sunlight.
One hour later.
Benjamin sat in a room in the town hall, putting down the report in his hand slowly. There was a rather solemn look on his face as he rubbed his chin, as though he was mulling over something. The door of the room was shut tight. The other person in the room was the person in charge of the Academy’s Black Operation, who was standing patiently on the side right then, waiting for him.
"...Are you guys sure that this report on the casualties in the war is not wrong?" Suddenly, Benjamin spoke to pose the question.
"There might be some small errors, but we’ve checked the news concerning the important people three times. We can confirm it."
Hearing that, Benjamin sighed again.
In actual fact, the results presented by this report on the casualties they had suffered in the war was not too bad. The losses of the Black Nightmare Army were terrible and heavy, but most of the deaths were those of the ordinary soldiers. During the collapse, the mages had relied on their magic, so their survival rate was higher. Also, Benjamin had brought with him the stronger troops and bigger groups of mages with him when he had attacked Worchester, so they had still retained good combat power.
However... a few crucial names had appeared on the report.
"Those six nobles, including Duke Collin... Have they really all been sacrificed?" Due to the gravity of the news, he had to confirm it once more.
The person in charge of the Black Operation nodded.
"Yes, many people have seen it with their own eyes. When the collapse happened, they were shifting out with their families, following one of the teams, and had just reached the narrow exit at Pearl Lake. The Church detonated the explosives right then, and the area surrounding the exit completely collapsed. The entire team was buried inside. I can say... that there is no chance of survival."
After hearing the details of what had happened at the time, Benjamin could not help but let out another long sigh, shaking his head.
Who would have thought?
The nobles had kidnapped the Princess and successfully brought her out from the capital, but that had caused a result like this.
There was some grief in Benjamin’s heart. They had been able to gather and build the Black Nightmare Army in the first place all thanks to the support of those six people, and although there had been many disagreements and clashes amongst their opinions throughout the entire way, Duke Collin had indeed provided them with a massive amount of assistance. They had all been looking forward to the day when the Church would be pulled down, but they would no longer be able to see that with their own eyes today.
"...Inform the knights of their respective families of the news, don’t let them suffer too much," After a moment of silence, he slowly opened his mouth and spoke thus.
"Understood."
Benjamin rubbed his forehead in contemplation once more, before adding, "Also, send a message to Ferelden. I remember... that Elizabeth’s Mercenary Group is there. Whatever it is, she has the right to know about this matter."
The person in charge was slightly startled, but he immediately nodded and turned to leave without another word.
Benjamin gave the report a few more looks, before standing up and walking out of the room. He set off in flight alone, finally landing on the north city gate of Worchester. The guard on the city wall bowed towards him. Through the barrier of the Runic Defense Technique, he could see the remote main road outside the city.
His eyes followed the main road all the way until the end. On the horizon, a few blurry figures were flying about.
As they were too far away, Benjamin was unable to see them clearly or sense them; those figures were as tiny as mosquitoes in his eyes, but... for some reason, he seemed to be able to see flashes of Holy Light upon the bodies of those figures.