Chapter 921: A Dangerous Battle Strategy

In the end, this military conference drew to a close, in a way that many of them had not expected.

“Honorable duchess, do you really think we should do this? I’m talking about… bypassing the Church and launching a surprise attack on Havenwright. There are just too many risks attached to such an operation.” After the representatives of the Black Nightmare Army had left, the commanding general of the Wood army turned his head to look at Elizabeth. He could not help but advise her as such.

“I understand.” Elizabeth nodded, saying, “But if we wait until the Church has sent their soldiers out, the defense forces in the region of the Imperial Capital will surely decrease greatly. This is their desperate retaliation, so they won’t be leaving themselves an escape route. If we plan our routes beforehand properly, it’s possible for us to get close to the Imperial Capital without anyone noticing.”

“But even if we get close to the Imperial Capital, we might not be able to attack and take over within a short time.”

“It might have been difficult previously, but now… we have this.”

Saying thus, Elizabeth opened up the palm of her hand to reveal a black cross and a piece of fresh and green ginkgo leaf that looked new.

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These were what Benjamin had personally passed to her at the end of the meeting.

This piece of leaf was the key to the secret door in St. Peter’s Cathedral. As for the cross, it was the magic-restraining treasure that the Academy of Magic had specially produced. According to Benjamin’s description, using the key and activating the cross would be able to cause the Holy Barrier around the entire city of Havenwright to deactivate for half an hour. Half an hour was already sufficient for them to invade the Cathedral that would have been left internally defenseless.

Then, all they needed was a torch, and they would be able to completely destroy the foundation of the Church!

Another point to note was that the piece of ginkgo leaf had a tracking spell attached to it by the Church before. However, after a special treatment by the Academy of Magic, the traceability on it had long been gotten rid of. They did not have to worry that the Church might use it to discover that something was amiss.

When they saw the black cross and that key, all the few members from the Wood party were shocked. They had never imagined that Benjamin had prepared even the secret weapons needed to attack and invade the Imperial Capital. Because of that, they finally allowed this risky plan to pass.

The Black Nightmare Army was to defend the Town of Crewe and attract the attention of the Church. At the same time, the Wood army would secretly bypass the royal army and conquer Havenwright in a single blow!

In reality, the Black Nightmare Army had taken the initiative to bear most of the burden in this plan. They were the ones responsible in putting up a resistance against the desperate attack of the Church. Not only that, they even had to drag the enemy back. In comparison, the Wood army only had to face a capital that was only defended by a few. This was also one of the reasons why not many of those on the side of the Wood army protested against the idea.

Nevertheless, it was obviously that the Wood family would have to give up something as well.

“Do you really want to leave the Town of Crewe and the gateway behind, for the Black Nightmare Army to defend?”

“The Church will be charging at them, and only they can attract the attention of the royal army.” Elizabeth nodded, and said, “Don’t underestimate the Black Nightmare Army, and even more so, the Academy of Magic. They must’ve prepared many unexpected things to be so confident. Who knows, they might really be able to hold the fort.”

Hearing that, the commanding general hesitated for a moment, before uttering the question anyway. “But… Even if they’re able to defend the place, what if they take over the gateway and never return it?”

In an instant, Elizabeth revealed a grave expression. She stared coldly at the commanding general. “General Trey, do you know what you’re saying? The battle has not begun, and yet you already want to fight your own allies internally? You’ve disappointed me so much. From this moment on, you’re no longer the major general of the Wood army. Go back and reflect on this well.”

The commanding general was stunned.

The other few people in the room also had on rather surprised expressions.

“My Lady, you cannot do this to me…” The commanding general panicked. He stepped forward, trying to plead with her.

“You need a good wake up call.” Elizabeth shook her head. With a sudden wave of her hand, a gentle breeze blocked the other person from her. “You don’t have to join the attack this time. During this period of time, go into the underground room and reflect on yourself properly. No one is allowed to see him without my orders.”

Saying thus, she opened the door, and turned around to leave the room.

At the same time.

On the other side, Benjamin had just brought his men back to the camp.

Their expressions seemed rather nervous, but these were also accompanied by much excitement at the same time. The plan had been set. They were going to face the Church once more, and although this was not the first time that they were fighting the royal army, it was very likely that this would be the last if they were able to hold the fort this one time.

If the Wood army succeeded in conquering the enemy base secretly, the Church would forever be deprived of a place to rebuild themselves.

Because of this, the battle of defense this time was extremely crucial. If they defended the Town of Crewe, the Church would be trapped in the middle, with enemies both in front of and behind them. They would not be far from destruction. If they failed to defend the town, then the Church would invade the gateway and be able to draw one last breath for a period of time, before death. Having gone through this war for such a long time, everyone eagerly hoped that all of this would come to a quick end.

They had to defend the Town of Crewe.

“Let’s begin building the Runic Defense Technique, we’ve already received permission.” Benjamin beckoned at two mages who specialized in runes, and said, “The remaining people can also move there slowly. We will be stationed in the Town of Crewe after this.”

In reality, the plan that Elizabeth had agreed to was equivalent to loosening their grip and handing the Town of Crewe over to them. Although Benjamin was not very interested in squabbling over territories, it had still been inconvenient for his army to be stationed outside of the town, so he had felt at ease and justified when accepting this.

The Black Nightmare Army began to organize their things once more. The griffins they had captured were locked up in soundproof cages that had been specially built. With a layer of cloth covering them, they were ready to be moved into the town.

So far, the griffins could be considered to be their greatest trump card. There were altogether twenty five of them being reared in the camp. In truth, it had already been very difficult for them to find tracks of griffins in places other than that valley. Furthermore, the two siblings could not take action because they had to reserve their spiritual energy to control the Griffin King. As for the remaining psychic spellcasters that the Academy had nurtured… They were only able to control this number of griffins.

Although these were just ordinary griffins, their combat abilities were still amazing.

Benjamin had experimented. In a one-on-one battle, an ordinary mage was completely unable to beat a griffin; there had to be at least five men fighting together to be able to cope with it. After great amounts of emergency training, those psychic spellcasters could already ride on the backs of the griffins. They wore armor and wielded heavy hammers in their hands; engaging in battle while riding it, they would be directing their own undead minions to kill on the battlefield. Their combat power was extremely frightening.

Not to mention, they had the Griffin King.

In addition, he had even begun requesting for aid from Icor.

“As a favor for when I helped you guys defend your country the last time, sell me a few Cannons of Holy Light.” Benjamin used the transmission woodpiece to speak with the president. “You can raise the price up slightly, but not too high. Don’t forget that I was the one who’d sold those cannons to you.”

In the process of moving, quite a few of the Cannons of Holy Light that had originally been in their possession had been damaged and destroyed. This was a desperately formed solution in a situation where none were available.

In addition, after they had slowly weathered the previous dilemma of the Academy of Magic, it was now absolutely impossible for the students to engage in battle again. However, they could send an appropriate number of teachers over as support. Because of that, Benjamin sent Varys a message as well… Whatever it was, this was going to be the most crucial battle. They did not have to keep hiding and sneaking around anymore.

Under the setting sun, Benjamin watched the campground that was suddenly bustling with activity. He took a deep breath and nodded to himself secretly.