The Battle of Koester's Defense finally came to an end with the Kingdom Army's retreat.
The news quickly spread across the country. Everyone knew that the Black Nightmare Army had repelled The Church's attack that night and held Koester. Countless people swore they had witnessed everything firsthand: mountains of corpses and seas of blood piled from outside the city into its streets, the Pope and a legendary mage battled for three hundred rounds, dazzling light turning the night as bright as day. Others claimed that halfway through the battle, divine soldiers descended from the heavens—a group of warriors from the realm of gods, wielding gleaming swords and blades, walking through the air as though it were flat ground. They helped the Black Nightmare Army slaughter every priest, sending the Kingdom Army fleeing in panic, shedding helmets and armor along the way...
All manner of bizarre, exaggerated tales spread throughout the country. The Church offered no official explanation, leaving plenty of room for people's imaginations to run wild. In short, after that night, people began to realize that the Hori Kingdom was about to undergo a change of heaven and earth.
The latest reprinted edition of the Truth Gazette had barely gone on sale across the country before it was snatched clean off the shelves. No matter how many bans local governments issued, they could not curb people's urge to learn about the Black Nightmare Army. Meanwhile, the Magic Freedom Manifesto, which had already been circulating among the people, was copied over and over again. Its introductory section on magecraft had undoubtedly given rise to countless new apprentices throughout the kingdom.
It could be said that this battle had completely turned the people's opinions around. The Black Nightmare Army was no longer seen as a band of wandering brigands who had