"In this battle, we eliminated nearly 20,000 enemies and captured thousands of prisoners. Only one-fifth of the Horli Kingdom's invading army remained. I think it's time for us to launch a counterattack!"
In Regina's palace hall, the general below knelt on one knee and reported in an passionate voice.
In the hall, everyone couldn't help but nod their heads after hearing the words.
After retaking Regina, they cleaned up the battlefield, appeased the people, and rescued officials and soldiers who were imprisoned... It took them two full days to repair the scarred capital before the situation gradually stabilized.
So, two days later, they gathered in the hall again to discuss the next action.
"There is still a lot of territory to the west of us occupied by the Kingdom of Hori. They have only captured it not long ago, and they will definitely not have time to build defenses. We cannot miss this opportunity and must take back all the territory that belongs to us."
As soon as the general's report came out, many officials nodded in agreement, and someone suggested this.
The executive prime minister stood in the middle of the hall, touched his beard, and suddenly asked: "What is the situation with the remnants of the Horli Kingdom? Where have they withdrawn?"
"The plain west of Rock City. The spies reported that the remaining enemy soldiers and priests are gathering there. It's unclear what they plan to do after the gathering is completed."
"Still gathering..." After hearing this, the Prime Minister nodded thoughtfully and said, "Since they have not evacuated, it means that they still do not want to give up and plan to add a group of reinforcements from the Horli Kingdom to regroup and continue the attack."
However, at this moment, the attitude of most officials has become more and more confident.
"Our army is now in full momentum, and Carites' reinforcements have also entered Regina this morning. If the Kingdom of Hori still wants to fight, then they are seeking their own death!"
"The Horli Kingdom's military strength is not that strong. If they continue to fight, they will only drag themselves to death."
"That's true. We will kill as many reinforcements as they come..."
With high morale, even the most conservative peace faction in the past now unanimously agreed to completely eliminate the enemy within the territory of Ikol. After listening, the Prime Minister looked at the president next to him, and finally turned his attention to Benjamin, who was leaning against the wall at the edge of the hall.
"Dean Benjamin, what do you think about how we should counterattack?"
As soon as these words came out, nearly a hundred officials in the hall also turned their heads and looked at Benjamin with expressions of awe. Everyone fell silent and no one dared to say a word.
-Through a series of actions and decisions during the war, Benjamin has won the respect of everyone present. If in the past, they thought Benjamin was a genius mage and the boss of the magic academy, now, they almost want to regard Benjamin as their boss.
Therefore, Benjamin's opinion has become one of the most important things in the entire Icol.
"Hmm... Then send troops to fight."
While everyone stared at him silently, Benjamin just shrugged and said casually.
"Don't you have any special suggestions, Mr. Dean? After all, the Horli Kingdom is likely to have reinforcements coming, and the next battle will probably be a tough battle." The Prime Minister asked with a somewhat surprised look.
Hearing this, Benjamin lowered his head, thought for a moment, and said, "Don't worry, they won't send any more reinforcements."
Everyone was stunned.
"Master Dean...are you so sure?"
Benjamin smiled relaxedly and replied: "I can't say how sure it is, but the time is about the same. The news should be officially transmitted within the next few days."
When everyone heard this, they looked at each other, a little confused.
To be able to say this with such certainty, they felt that Benjamin must have some basis. However, at this moment, they couldn't figure out the whole story, they just felt that Benjamin had become mysterious again for a long time.
And that afternoon, the news came from the front line.
"Reporting to your lord, the Kingdom of Hori has begun a comprehensive withdrawal of troops. Both the offensive troops and the soldiers guarding the fallen cities have all withdrawn to the Crusad gate. We have sent some troops to conduct a tentative pursuit. There was no ambush at all, and the overtaken soldiers showed almost no signs of resistance.”
After receiving this news, all the officials in the palace hall had expressions of disbelief.
"Aren't the Horli Kingdom planning to send reinforcements?" the Prime Minister asked the general who was reporting.
"I don't know why, but it seems that the enemy's reinforcements have been...cancelled?" the general replied hesitantly, "The specific situation is still under investigation, but what is certain is that the Horli Kingdom cannot continue to attack."
The officials were dumbfounded and couldn't help but turn around, trying to search for Benjamin in the crowd. However, it was only then that they noticed that Benjamin had already quietly left the hall and no longer participated in the internal discussions in Icol.
Suddenly, they froze on the spot, looking at each other, and everyone was silent for a while.
As for Benjamin himself…
"Everything is almost packed. Let's go back to the academy early." In the mage camp outside Regina City, Benjamin nodded to everyone and said, "The two-month vacation that was supposed to be a good one was ruined for a month." , I won’t give you any holiday homework.”
-The war is over. There is no need for them to stay any longer. They can return to the academy and have a good rest.
He knew in his heart that the Hori Kingdom could no longer maintain the war. And all of this is thanks to the letter that Benjamin and his two siblings forged together when the war first started.
At that time, he discovered a priest from an overseas sect in Regina, and after killing him, he obtained the seal that the priest carried with him. Therefore, he used the seal to forge a letter, in which he exaggerated the church's massacre of overseas sects and reminded them that the Kingdom of Hori was about to be empty internally, and that the next step might be the best time to take revenge on the church. After the forgery was completed, Benjamin hired a ship to send the letter to the overseas sect according to the location given to him by the two siblings.
After doing all this, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the war between the two countries. He only regarded this letter as a back-up move and did not hold out much hope. However, as the Horli Kingdom suffered several defeats and began to mobilize reinforcements from its own country, Benjamin also realized that the letter might play a huge role.
—The more the Kingdom of Hori transfers people to Ikol, the more empty its internal defense becomes. Once overseas sects are really successfully instigated, the church’s hometown may not be safe.
Therefore, he asked the secret members of the academy hidden in the Kingdom of Horli to pay special attention to this trend. A few days ago, they sent information to Benjamin - there seemed to be some incidents in several coastal cities, and at the same time, there were also There have been several cases of priests disappearing without explanation.
At that moment, Benjamin finally let go of the big stone in his heart and breathed a long sigh of relief.
People from overseas sects were fooled!
Dog bites dog, hairy mouth, there are many conflicts between the church and overseas sects, and those people are good at telekinesis, even the church may suffer if it is caught off guard. In fact, Benjamin even somewhat hopes to see overseas sects successfully control the Hori royal family, but instead label the church as a cult.
That must be fun.
Benjamin almost couldn't help laughing when he thought of the expressions those priests might have on their faces when they returned to the Kingdom of Hori.
However, he also knew that the Hori Kingdom began to withdraw its troops, indicating that the church was aware of the invasion of overseas sects. This round of revenge may still not be able to shake the foundation of the church.
But... there's nothing to be dissatisfied about.
Regardless, they defended Ikol.
Under the afterglow of the setting sun, Benjamin looked into the distance and could see scattered figures on the main road. They were civilians who had fled. After being displaced for many days, they could finally turn around and return to their hometowns one after another.
From a distance, they look like rows of matchsticks. There are not many of them, they are in groups of three or five, some tall and some short. They walked slowly along the horizon, their shadows stretching long on the dark brown ground.