Finally, about four hours later, the Royal Army arrived at the plains outside the north city gate.
"Cooster is ahead."
Seen from a distance, the vast army is like a black sail on the yellow ground, which appears extremely vivid under the scorching sun. They stopped about one kilometer away from Coster. The leading general turned around with his horse on his horse, nodded towards Grant, and reported the report respectfully.
Red and white flags fluttered above their heads, each embroidered with a replica cross.
"Rune Defense Formation..." Grant was riding a silver-helmeted horse, wearing a papal robe, looking at Coster, and slowly narrowed his eyes.
The general immediately responded: "Yes, we got this information a few days ago. This group of rebels had already established a rune defense formation on the night they occupied Koster, so we tried our best to do our best during this expedition. We have transferred all the Holy Light Cannons in our inventory."
Upon hearing this, Grant turned his head and said with no hint of emotion or anger: "General Press, what is your battle plan?"
Preston suddenly felt a sudden increase in pressure.
They suffered a big loss from this thing when they attacked Ikol before. After returning home after defeat, he almost didn't even save his life as a general. However, after a series of internal fights in the Hori Kingdom, there were not many people left who could lead troops in war. Therefore, he was able to survive. This time, he was entrusted with the important task of taking back Coast.
Although he was honored, he still felt more terrified.
What if they didn't capture it this time? With the Pope's temper... Pres didn't dare to think about it anymore.
"My plan is to attack by force." He took a deep breath, pretending to be confident, and said, "The rune defense formation must be broken with one blow. We are tired from marching, so we will camp and rest first, pretending to attack tomorrow. In fact, we launched a surprise attack late tonight to catch them off guard!"
After Grant heard this, looking at his expression... I didn't know whether he was satisfied or not, but after pondering for a moment, he at least nodded.
Pres also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He quickly waved his hand and ordered the army behind him to set up camp on the plain. The detective priest hovering in the sky also descended at this moment. Tents with crosses painted on the tops emerged like fungi after the rain, occupying the entire main road and blocking Coster's communication with the outside world. The main path is cut off at this point.
And at the same time.
Standing at the top of Coster City, Benjamin looked at the large tents of the Royal Army with a solemn expression.
Although he had known for a long time that the Royal Army would arrive, but... He had just rushed back to Coster with his front foot. As soon as he stabilized the morale of the army, the enemy attacked from behind. Therefore, even though he was mentally prepared, he still felt that everything happened too fast, and full pressure surged into his heart.
"How much of their situation can you detect?" He suddenly asked towards the system.
"It's too far. I can only estimate their number by analyzing the area and graphics." The system was silent for a while and then replied helplessly, "Fifty thousand people. The number of priests is unclear. It may be similar to yours."
Benjamin nodded after hearing this.
On paper alone, the disparity is not that serious. The question lies in what cards the church has prepared.
After observing the enemy for a moment, he nodded towards the guards at the top of the city, turned around and left, returning to the city. The city has completely entered a state of martial law. The doors and windows of every house are closed, and the streets are filled with barricades made of sacks and deer antlers. Both the Black Nightmare Army and the mages are stationed near the city gate at this moment, ready for battle at any time.
Benjamin went straight back to City Hall.
Currently, the city hall has become their command center. The strongest among the academy mages gathered here, and the six noble family knights, who commanded the Black Nightmare Army, also gathered here, waiting for Benjamin, the actual and nominal owner of this army, to give orders.
"Sir! The Royal Army has arrived. I think we should attack immediately and catch the enemy by surprise while they are still settling in!" As soon as Benjamin came in, several knights from the family ran up and said with suppressed grief.
Benjamin looked at them, shook his head, and sighed.
"I understand how you feel. Several adults were killed by the church, and I also want to avenge them." He comforted, "But... we have no advantage in taking the initiative. You know how to fight better than me, so you should also Do you understand this?"
Hearing this, the knights lowered their heads in silence.
Benjamin continued: "In order to fulfill their legacy, we must not lose, right?"
"...The Master Mage is right."
The knights sighed one after another, showing helpless expressions, nodded, and retreated.
Others gathered together, and Benjamin walked to the center of the city hall and started the military meeting. Everyone's expressions were not very good. The power of the royal army, the huge number of priests, and the powerful armaments... Apart from the advantage of the defenders, there was almost no adjustment that could be beneficial to them.
Fortunately, no one was afraid.
"Using the Rune Defense Formation, we can delay it for a lot of time. The church is already unpopular, and the longer we delay, the better the situation will be for us. There are also uprisings in the north of the kingdom from time to time. If we delay it any longer, they will have their own backyard. It’s on fire and we have to withdraw!”
"The enemy may choose to attack by force. We should use all the elemental barriers in reserve to strengthen the defense as much as possible."
"We also have the Holy Light Cannon, which can be used for sneak attacks when the enemy is not paying attention..."
Unlike the situation when Ikol was guarded, no one was pessimistic and there was no so-called "peace faction". Everyone is actively thinking of ways, draining their brains, and they are coming up with endless strategies. Although not many people participated in this meeting, Benjamin heard nearly a hundred plans, and the city hall was not quiet for a moment.
Finally, the discussion ended temporarily after two hours, and they came up with a very detailed defense plan. They turned around and went back to arrange the formation of soldiers and the grouping of mages.
And Benjamin also walked into the room that originally belonged to the mayor.
"We need to issue a statement to the whole country of Horli." Looking at the ANBU leader in the room, he slowly said, "About the origin of the Black Nightmare Army, about the collapse in the Pearl Lake area, about the death of the king, etc. All kinds of truths... We are already an independent force and we want the whole country to know what happened."
-Although they are caught in a war, this matter cannot be postponed.
At present, people seem to have lost confidence in the Black Nightmare Army. Even the residents in Coster City do not think they can stop the church's attack. Therefore, they must stabilize the people's sentiments and at the same time seize this opportunity to once again increase the pressure of public opinion on the church and cut off their escape route.
The academy's ANBU still has manpower in various parts of the kingdom, and members of the Black Nightmare Society are also active underground. They can complete this task.
"No problem." The person in charge nodded and said, "We can print another issue of Pravda and put our statement on it. The church's attention is all on Coster, and they won't have time to care about this. of."
"That's it!"
Benjamin immediately nodded in agreement.
Just like that, the person in charge turned around and left to deal with the matter, and Benjamin took a deep breath. This is no longer just a simple war, not just weapons, massacres, and artillery fire... While all this is going on, the struggle without gunpowder smoke will never stop.
They must mobilize everything they can to win this war.