The Battle of Coast Guard finally came to an end with the retreat of the Royal Army.
The news quickly spread throughout the country, and everyone knew that the Black Nightmare Army repelled the church's attack that night and defended Coster. Countless people swore that they witnessed everything that happened at that time. Mountains of corpses and seas of blood were piled from outside the city to the city. The pope and the legendary mage fought for 300 rounds. The dazzling light made the night seem like day; some said that the war was going on. Halfway through, suddenly a group of warriors from the God Realm descended from the sky. They held gleaming swords and walked in the air as if they were on the ground. They helped the Black Nightmare Army kill all the priests and killed the Kingdom Army until they left their armor behind. , fled in panic...
All kinds of bizarre and exaggerated stories are circulating in the country. There is no official explanation from the church, which also gives people room to use their imagination. In short, after that night, people realized that the Hori Kingdom was about to change.
The newly reprinted "Pravda" was sold out as soon as it went on sale in various places. No matter how many local governments issued bans, they could not curb people's urge to learn about the Black Nightmare Army. The "Declaration of Magical Freedom", which was originally circulated among the people, has been copied thousands of times. The introduction part of the mage in it has led to the birth of many new apprentices in the country.
It can be said that this battle completely changed the minds of the people. The Black Nightmare Army is no longer just a bandit taking advantage of the chaos, but has become a magic weapon that saves the kingdom. The powerful ruling image of the church in people's hearts also collapsed.
Instead, the public began to be optimistic about the Black Nightmare Army.
However, the story of that night was almost spread to the sky outside, but in Coster City, the people in the Black Nightmare Army knew that the situation was far from being as good as others thought.
"Three thousand people, are these what's left after the battle?" Benjamin looked at the report in his hand with a serious expression, "Two-thirds of the soldiers died in this battle, and more than half of the mages died... This news is thousands of It must not be spread, otherwise, the enemy may even come back."
In the small room of the city hall, several confidants, including Morris and Knight Commander Lance, heard the words and nodded.
Moreover, the troubles they have to face are far more than that.
"Master Dean, Director Wallis has just arrived at Coster and said he has something important to see you."
Benjamin probably knew what was going on. Therefore, he took a deep breath and said slowly: "Bring him here."
Two minutes later, Wallis opened the door and walked in.
"Dean, too many of our students died this time." He closed the door and immediately complained endlessly, "The news has not spread abroad, but many parents have already come to our college. Protests are difficult to deal with. And when the death list is announced, this amount of pensions will definitely drain most of our college's funds!"
"Some college sponsors seemed to have caught wind of the news and came to inquire about the situation. They doubted our operational capabilities and believed that we failed to shoulder the educational responsibilities of a college and instead put students at risk. Many people showed signs of Intent to divest!”
"And the most troublesome thing is that the Mercenary Guild is also dissatisfied. Just because we can't provide enough students to do internships there, they have sent people over every day to put pressure on us in the past two days, and we are almost unable to withstand it. Got it!"
After listening to this overwhelming complaint, Benjamin felt like his head was getting big.
He knew very well that although most students owed the college a large amount of tuition, it was only natural to help the college. But letting them join the war is a decision with huge hidden dangers. Even if the students themselves are willing, their families and relatives... will never tolerate it.
They had suppressed the news before, but after that battle, students died on a large scale, and it was obvious that they could no longer hide the news.
Wallis was originally responsible for staying at the academy, but he was now forced to go all the way to Coster for help. This already showed the seriousness of the problem.
It must be resolved properly.
"The pension will definitely be provided. I believe in the college's ability to attract money. The Black Nightmare Army does not need the college's financial support for the time being." After thinking for a long time, Benjamin slowly said, "As for those sponsors, if they want to withdraw their funds, leave them alone. , big ones... You can bring out some of the research results of the academy and retain them, such as... like the element desk lamp that was previously researched, they will definitely be interested in such a product with extremely wide applicability. "
After hearing this, Wallis thought for a moment and nodded.
"So... what should the Mercenary Guild do? We have signed such a large contract with them, and if there are no students to go and intern, I don't know what kind of actions they will take."
Hearing this, Benjamin also sighed.
This is what I fear most.
In fact, he also thought of a solution, which was to send back all the students currently stationed at Coster to fill the hole as much as possible. But... once this is done, Coster's internal defense will become even more empty. When students go on internships, they must be accompanied by tutors. After going back and forth like this, there may only be a hundred or so mages left in the city.
Don’t forget, the war is not over yet. The church was only repelled by them, but not killed by them.
"Dean..."
Seeing Benjamin's delay in speaking, Wallis had no choice but to speak and looked at him helplessly.
"Okay, you take them back." Benjamin finally shook his head, with a helpless look on his face, "No matter what, we can't close the college. You stabilize the situation over there first, and here... there will always be There are solutions."
Wallis nodded, patted Benjamin on the shoulder, turned and left.
Benjamin also slowly walked out of the city hall.
He arrived near the North City Gate. Soldiers from the Black Nightmare Army and many civilians were walking on the street, busy cleaning up the mess on the ground. The battle that night was extremely brutal, and even now, there still seems to be a faint smell of blood floating in the air. People washed the ground over and over again, trying to smooth away the traces of pain in the city as much as possible.
However, when they saw Benjamin appear, they all smiled and nodded towards him.
In fact, as long as he was in Coster City, no matter where Benjamin went, someone would recognize him. Even children as young as four or five would jump up happily, shouting "Mr. Master" and run over to say hello to him.
That night of fighting changed the city's attitude toward him. He had been an occupier before, taking temporary possession of the city and not being trusted by the local citizens. After the church almost destroyed this place, no one believed in them anymore, and the Black Nightmare Army became the real army in everyone's eyes.
-This is probably the biggest gain in the city defense battle.
Benjamin walked up to the top of the city, looked at Coster who was alive again, and took a deep breath. The rune defense array had been repaired and was once again protecting the city, and the worries in his heart were relieved a lot. Although they were in trouble,... Actually, if you think about it, the Royal Army's losses in this battle were not lighter than theirs.
And, more importantly, Grant was afraid that he would never dare to fight with him alone again.
After the church withdrew its troops, it had been hiding in Havenright. It seemed that it was scared and was motionless. It would definitely not do anything in a short time.
In that case... why didn't they just go ahead with the original plan