When A Mage Revolts

"What on earth happened? The Director... Why hasn't he appeared yet?"

Within the camp of the Black Nightmare Army, an atmosphere of unease was slowly rising up. At the moment, it was already the morning of the second day; the time to attack has arrived, but Benjamin had not yet appeared. A few mages had hurriedly rushed into the tent to find Benjamin lying on the bed, in a state of unconsciousness that he could not be awakened from, no matter how many times they shook or called him.

Immediately, many people fell into a panic.

Healing magic, noises, medicine... They tried various methods, but no to avail. They examined the unconscious Benjamin again and again. There were no injuries, no illnesses; nothing out of the ordinary that could be found on him.

"The people over in the Wood army is urging us again. Don't we have to inform them of this situation?" Joanna walked in from the tent, speaking with a troubled look on her face.

After some thought, Morris waved his hand and said, "No, let them wait a little longer. Don't let news of what's really happening get out. Also, reassure the soldiers outside as much as you can, don't let other people walk into this tent... Whatever it is, the fact that the Director is unconscious must not be made known to anyone aside from the few of us.

The few mages in the tent nodded. After that, however, they looked at Benjamin again, who was on the bed. Worried expressions came over their faces.

What on earth... had happened?

"Not good! Elizabeth has brought people and rushed in, I wasn't able to delay them." However, after just a short while, Joanna had walked in from the outside again, speaking anxiously.

"This..."

Morris hesitated. The Wood army was their ally; they definitely could not use forceful methods to block them, but on the other hand, he did not trust this ally much. The Director was now unconscious, so who knew what actions the Wood family would take? Not to mention, if the news were to leak out and the Church got to know about it, things would certainly become extremely troublesome.

Whatever it was, they had to protect Benjamin.

Because of that, after some thought, Morris gave those few mages a look, signaling for them to keep guard in the tent. As for himself, he pushed his wheelchair out the tent without a change in expression, blocking the path of Elizabeth, who was heading towards them, quickly.

"What's going on? Where's Mage Benjamin?" Bringing over a dozen mages with her, Elizabeth was blocked by a wheelchair and was unable to proceed. She could only halt her footsteps and asked such questions.

Morris gave them a courteous smile.

"Honorable duchess, you don't have to panic. The honorable Director had suddenly received new inspiration regarding his magic this morning, and is currently meditating. He might need some time. We can postpone the attack. Don't worry, we're surrounding the members of the Church tightly, they wouldn't be able to fly out even if they stuck on wings."

"Meditate?" A mage from the Wood family frowned, and said, "At a time like this, why would he specifically pick a time like this to meditate?"

Morris put on a helpless expression. "Inspirations to do with magic... You guys understand as well, how can you pick a time for this?"

The mages immediately exchanged looks amongst themselves, unable to say anything.

"...You're looking for an excuse." However, Elizabeth glanced in the direction of the tent, and suddenly spoke. "There's no magic oscillation whatsoever inside, it's impossible that he's meditating. Why are you searching for an excuse? What on earth has happened, that has forced you into covering it up as much as you can?"

Morris was stunned. For a moment, he was stuck for words and could not come up with anything to say.

"Forget it."

Seeing that, Elizabeth shook her head, waving her hand to summon a strong wind. The strong wind blew towards Morris. Although it did not deal much damage, it blew Morris and his wheelchair to the side. Then, bringing her men, she entered the tent.

However, it was at this moment that a cluster of waves appeared in the air, holding on to Morris' wheelchair.

Everyone on the scene was stunned.

All they could see was the door curtains of the tent being lifted open. Benjamin walked out, with an expression as solemn as that of a statue.

"You..."

Elizabeth came back to her senses, feeling that something was strange, somewhere. Her instinct told her that something had happened to Benjamin; otherwise, he would not have delayed his appearance for so long. Moreover, the time they had set to attack had already passed. She had the right to know the reason why.

However, Benjamin waved his hand and cut her off the moment she opened her mouth to ask.

As everyone watched, Benjamin stood at the entrance of the tent. He did not speak; all he did was lift his head and shift his gaze between the sky, the camp and the mountain range. There was an expression on his face as though he had just awakened from a great dream, as though he had changed into another person. Although they had known him for a long time, the people present suddenly felt a slight unfamiliarity. It was like... the young man before their eyes did not belong to this world.

"...Director Benjamin?" After hesitating for a moment, Elizabeth opened her mouth and asked tentatively.

The young man did not respond. It was as though Elizabeth was not calling him.

The few mages around them frowned.

"We should now..." Morris pushed his wheelchair over, with a bemused expression on his face. However, he was just halfway through his question when he was interrupted.

"Let's set off."

Benjamin... Oh, no. Kubei, opened his mouth to speak. His cold and harsh tone of voice echoed throughout the camp of the Black Nightmare Army. When they heard the command, the people were stunned; nevertheless, they came back to their senses very quickly. There seemed to be an irrefutable determination in those words. Thus, no one asked another question more. The soldiers picked up their weapons while the mages formed their teams...

The great doors of the camp slowly opened. The horn sounded, and all the troops of the Black Nightmare Army set off.

Kubei flew alone in front.

Watching his back, Elizabeth showed some hesitation. She ended up not anything more, however. Victory was nigh; the most important thing before her eyes now was to eliminate the Church. Therefore, since there were no more problems on the part of the Black Nightmare Army, she did not wish to continue dragging it on. The longer the delay, the likelier it would be for changes to occur. 1

The time for vengeance had arrived!

She quickly turned around and returned to the camp of the Wood army, unleashing the army that had been ready to charge at the same time.

Accompanied by the sonorous sound of the horn, countless of soldiers rushed out. The winding mountain paths were filled with the figures of people; from above, it looked as though blood had suddenly gushed into densely packed blood vessels. In the middle of this web of blood vessels, Karl village was the heart that beat calmly, waiting for fresh blood to pour in.

Battle cries rang throughout the entire mountain.

However, there was not the slightest movement in Karl village at the moment. No defensive construction had been done in the village, and the soldiers, Holy Knights, and priests inside... seemed to be on the defense in the residential alleys, squeezed into a cluster as they waited for the army troops outside to rush in. In the air, the mages that saw this scene realized and worried that they were about to face a difficult battle.

Nevertheless, throughout the entire time, they were unable to find the Pope.

"Grant... Or Abel? Perhaps the possession of his body has not yet ended, even until now." In the sky, Kubei subconsciously spoke in his heart.

It was only during the next second, however, that he gave a start. There was no one who could reply to this sentence of his. Because of that, the corners of his lips curved downwards once more. His eyes became cold instantly; all he did was stare at the village on the side of the mountain, no longer thinking about anything.