A few days later, when another group of towns were attacked by the Black Nightmare Army, there was considerable panic within the church.
"Where are they hiding?"
The bishop stood in the quiet room of St. Peter's Basilica, looking haggard, and his eyes were much darker than before. The disappearance of the Black Nightmare Army had already made them frustrated enough, but during this period of time, they searched all the places they could think of but found nothing. Instead, under their noses, various parts of the kingdom were constantly being attacked, as if they were enemies. Laughing at their incompetence.
But in this regard, he couldn't even feel angry, only stunned.
How can it be
They carefully studied the cities attacked by the Black Nightmare Army, trying to find out something from them, but... the more they studied, the more permeable they felt. From the eastern border of the kingdom to the center, the Black Nightmare Army appears back and forth at a very dense frequency, and the distance of hundreds of kilometers seems to be easily covered in just a few hours.
This is impossible... At least in his understanding, this is not something that the human army can do. Coupled with the elusiveness of the Black Nightmare Army, the bishop even felt that they were facing a ghost army.
"We have searched all places, and there are no traces of their encampment. There are even very few traces of marching." The Paladin knelt on the ground and reported, "Unless they hide underground, no one can do this."
"Underground? Where can an army be hidden underground?"
"… have no idea."
The bishop couldn't help but close his eyes and hold his forehead. He felt that this was probably the only possibility, but if the Black Nightmare Army was really hiding underground, it would be even harder to find them.
-The large amount of manpower and material resources consumed by the excavation is somewhat unaffordable for them at the moment. And more importantly, if the direction is wrong, all their efforts will be in vain.
"Master Bishop, what should we... do now?"
Seeing that the bishop had not spoken for a while, the paladin hesitated and asked.
"Of course we want to find out those rebels! You are lucky to be alive. If the delay continues, who will deal with it on His Majesty's side?" the bishop replied without hesitation.
"How to find it?"
The bishop took a deep breath, lowered his head, remained silent for a while before raising his head again, and suddenly lowered his voice and said: "Then... this is the only way left."
The Holy Knight was stunned for a moment, then showed a solemn expression, nodded deeply, and turned away.
A few days later.
Underground at Pearl Lake, in the main tent of the Black Nightmare Army, Benjamin looked puzzled, looking at the battle reports of the past few days, and suddenly turned his head to look at Morris aside.
"Do you think the fighting situation these days is a bit strange?"
After hearing this, Morris picked up the battle report and looked at it a few times and said, "Do you think it went too smoothly?"
"It's not that everything went smoothly, it's just that the church shouldn't have no response at all." Benjamin frowned, "Although we try our best to disrupt the order of attacks, it's been so many days, and it's impossible for the church to not detect any patterns. But just Judging from the battle report just now, they didn’t prepare anything.”
-The battle report states that they attacked the three target cities yesterday. There were very few soldiers guarding the cities, and there were only single digits of priests in the churches. In the current tense situation, this does seem a bit weird.
It wasn't a big deal. Benjamin felt that he might be overly concerned, but... there might be something really fishy.
"If it was the church I knew about before, there must be a conspiracy behind it." Morris thought for a while and said, "But... after so many years, to be honest, I don't know what the church has become now."
Benjamin rubbed his temples, thought for a moment, and said, "Let's do this. I'll keep an extra hand prepared. You and others can find another secret escape route, just in case."
"I am only responsible for prop production, not this."
"You can lead some people to do it. It doesn't require you to go into battle yourself. Just give some command."
“…”
Morris held his forehead helplessly and was speechless for a while before he said, "Forget it... I'm here this time to tell you about the progress of the crackdown on St. Peter's Cathedral."
Benjamin's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Have you researched it?"
Morris nodded.
"The craftsmanship of the cathedral is very complex and exquisite. I can't completely crack it. But if one day we can attack Havenright, with this thing and your key, we can temporarily disable half of it. Hours."
As he spoke, he slowly took out a black cross from his pocket and handed it to Benjamin's hand.
Benjamin took it and looked at it curiously. This cross seems to be made entirely of metal, with strange patterns engraved on the back, and because of its pitch-black color, it ultimately presents a completely different temperament from the church cross.
Holding it in my hand, it feels eerie, as if a lot of dark elements are condensed inside.
"As long as I use it, I can invalidate the protective barrier of Havenlight, and can even resist the force field that strengthens the magic inside the cathedral?" Benjamin asked.
Morris nodded and said: "Its function is to completely disable the power of St. Peter's Cathedral. Of course, it can be used. However, this thing can only be used once, and if you want it to be effective, you must consume the Cathedral Internal Communication Coin." The key to the divine world. Therefore, I suggest you only use it at the most critical time."
"clear."
Benjamin smiled and carefully put the cross away.
That time he infiltrated, the force field inside St. Peter's Basilica was still fresh in his memory. With the force field, a dozen bishops could trap him. If Grant was there, he would definitely be finished. And only by solving this problem can they completely destroy the church.
He would use this half hour carefully.
In fact, with the development of the Black Nightmare Army, its combat effectiveness has become stronger and stronger, with abundant food and grass and complete weapons. After counting the kingdom soldiers and priests they killed, Benjamin gradually felt that the power of the church had been weakened a lot, and they could now confront the church head-on!
If they find a good opportunity, they can capture the city, establish a stronghold, and officially start the rebellion.
—It just so happens that I’m getting tired of being underground.
So, after Morris left, Benjamin began to plan in his mind the actions of the Black Nightmare Army from underground to above ground. They needed an event and a name to powerfully tell the whole country that they would use force to pull the church down from its altar.
As for what incident...
Benjamin thought for a moment, suddenly stood up, and left the tent, arriving at the warehouse area of the station again.
In the deepest part of the remote warehouse, he found a huge iron box and opened it. There was an ice coffin placed in the dark box, and inside the ice coffin was the king's still perfectly preserved body.
—Although it had been some time since Grant had killed him, and Benjamin had a private funeral, he preserved the body and carried it with him to this day.
It's almost time for it to work.
"It's so disgusting. I want a dead body. When did you become so heavy-handed?" The system suddenly appeared and said with disgust.
"... You are the one who is full of crooked ideas." Benjamin shook his head and said, "I kept the body because it wasn't time for him to be buried yet."
"And a true king needs a real, grand funeral that can be known to the whole country."