In the following week, the Horli Kingdom fell into an even more volatile situation.
After Ikol's army left the border, a large number of priests returned to the royal capital and held a coronation ceremony for the princess. It was probably the deadliest coronation ceremony in history. Nobles, knights, clergy... According to onlookers, everyone present was like a wax statue. Except for routine speeches, no one dared to make any other sound, as if they took an extra step. They would all be arrested and hanged.
And it is said that... the church has actually secretly hanged some priests in the past few days.
No one knows the true situation, but these rumors alone are enough to arouse more suspicion. For a time, everyone in Havenlet was in danger, the wind was trembling, and many people could not even sleep peacefully.
But places outside the royal capital are also in constant turmoil.
The church's action of forcibly establishing the princess as king caused a huge backlash. Coupled with the fanning of people from all walks of life, rebels emerged one after another to oppose the local government. Bandits and bandits took advantage of the situation and made people miserable.
At this time, rumors about the "Black Nightmare Society" suddenly spread like ghosts among the people.
"I heard... that this Black Nightmare Club was founded by His Majesty before his death."
"At that time, His Majesty had just escaped from the house arrest of the church. He was drifting abroad and could not contact his former supporters, so he had to re-establish such an organization. Unfortunately, as the organization grew stronger, the church could not sit still. , sent assassins to secretly kill His Majesty. Before His Majesty died, he entrusted his will to the people of the Black Nightmare Society, so they have now formed a Black Nightmare Army."
"The Black Nightmare Army is completely different from other rebel armies. Every time they go out, they only kill the lackeys of the church and never harm innocent people. As long as you join them, they will have enough food and complete armament, and they will be trained to be invincible in a few days. Soldiers, fight to fulfill His Majesty the King’s last wish.”
This type of remarks suddenly became popular in the Hori Kingdom. It may be that after the king's death, the people's lives suddenly became dire, and they inevitably missed the stable life when the king was still in power.
At the same time, the country is in turmoil and they need a "hero" who can save them. But after being exposed again and again, it has become difficult for the church to become a hero in people's minds. Therefore, the Black Nightmare Society, which once exposed the church, has also become a place of hope for people.
Of course, Benjamin's secret fueling is also indispensable.
After the attack on Rhine City, they hid in the Warcraft Mountains and kept a low profile. They only attacked one town in a few days. The church had begun to search for their traces. Sneaky figures began to appear on the outskirts of the Warcraft Mountains. Benjamin had to be careful. .
However, accordingly, the eight major rebel forces in the kingdom responded to Benjamin one after another.
"Legendary demon mage, I didn't expect you to be the leader of the Black Nightmare Army. You are so powerful... Seriously, if I lead my people to sacrifice their lives for you, what good will it do?"
In the small village at the foot of Warcraft Mountain, Benjamin met with the leader of one of the forces here. The other person's name was Bill, he was about thirty years old, and he had a confused look on his face. He was not afraid after knowing Benjamin's identity. Instead, he looked at him a few more times and asked with interest.
Benjamin smiled when he heard this.
"The great benefit—you won't be killed by the church."
As soon as these words came out, Bill was speechless.
But after a few seconds, he still forced out an awkward smile and said: "Well... Master Mage, do you think you don't treat us as human beings? The church is powerful, but my people are not necessarily the same. Can't beat them."
"Okay, then you go back and try." Benjamin still smiled, "As far as I know, the Royal Army has arrived less than two kilometers away from your station, and... How did I hear that you only fought against the Royal Army once? , who suffered a big loss?"
Bill's smile disappeared instantly, leaving only a look of displeasure.
"...where did you hear that?"
"Of course I have my channels, you don't need to care about this." Benjamin stood up and looked at the other party condescendingly, "What you need to care about is how to become a member of the Black Nightmare Army."
Bill was silent for a moment, then suddenly he laughed shamelessly, rubbed his hands, and said in a flattering tone: "Well... you also know that it is not easy to have such a large group of people under your command. Let us help you. You can work hard, but you have to give us some benefits, right?"
"Okay." Benjamin said without changing his expression, "I will protect you from being killed by the church."
“…”
The atmosphere was tense again.
Benjamin stared at the other person's face calmly, watching the smile on the other person's face become more and more unbearable. Finally, Benjamin said this: "If you want to, bring people here. If you don't want to, go back and prepare for the funeral. I won't force you."
Bill lowered his head, held his knees and sighed.
"... Master Mage, others say you are a devil. Are you really not lying?" He shook his head and said helplessly, "To tell you the truth, the three thousand people under my command are already in the woods to the east of the village. . The Royal Army has beaten us to the point where we have no way to escape, and we can no longer hold the hilltop we used to hold."
Benjamin nodded and said, "So?"
"We are all members of the Black Nightmare Army. We dare to pull off the Pope's beard just by your orders."
Benjamin finally showed a satisfied smile.
This is the second rebel force to join them.
So far, he has met all the leaders of the eight factions. Of course, the number eight to two is a bit unsightly. These rebel forces are indeed more rebellious than the other, and it is not so easy to naturalize.
Except for the current group that surrendered, the previous group willingly joined because their leader was a mage and they had admired Benjamin and the Magic Academy for a long time. The other forces kept saying that they were revolting to protect the Kingdom of Hori, and how they admired the Black Nightmare Society's various actions, but as soon as Benjamin said he wanted them to join, they immediately withered.
Obviously, the fire of the church has not burned them yet, and they are doing a good job as the boss, so they are definitely not very willing to be the junior brother suddenly.
But Benjamin wasn't worried.
The church has just begun to counter the rebellion, and some people have not yet felt the terrible pressure. Benjamin also left his contact information for them. When they were desperate, they would naturally not be able to rebel.
"Um... Mage boss, can you really defeat the Pope?" After the negotiation was over, they walked out of the house together. Bill hesitated and couldn't help but ask.
Benjamin didn’t say much, just nodded.
"So we really have a chance to win? Can we bring down that church?"
"of course."
Bill breathed a sigh of relief.
"Although I feel like you are just bragging, boss, I feel more at ease after hearing this." He followed Benjamin and said as he walked, "My people are very powerful, you must not treat us as cannon fodder!"
"No, don't worry."
"Huh..."
In this way, Benjamin quickly led Bill's army of thousands back to the Warcraft Mountains. After the system tested them one by one, he dispersed the entire team and redistributed them according to the test results, and organized them into the original army.
The camp in the deep mountains expanded a bit.