Driven along by forces from every side, news of the king's funeral quickly spread across the nation.
People everywhere were stunned. They had never expected the king's body to truly be in the hands of the Black Nightmare Army. No matter what, the cause of the king's death had been debated among the people for far too long, and the answer would finally come in a few days. Thus, many simply ignored The Church's ban and set out for Koester.
—After failing to attack Koester, The Church had decreed that anyone who communicated with the Black Nightmare Army would be deemed a traitor to the nation.
But in truth, not many people still took that decree seriously. The Kingdom Army had suffered devastating losses, and The Church could not even spare people to block the roads around Koester. Every route was completely open; people could go if they wished. And now that The Church's prestige had been severely damaged, a mere verbal decree had long since lost all power to intimidate.
Strictly speaking, the kingdom was still at war, and the area around Koester was not particularly safe. But under the Black Nightmare Society's covert propaganda, people had begun to form an impression—the sun had already set on The Church, and its destruction was not far away. Therefore, everyone believed The Church would never take the initiative to attack at a time like this. They were already finished.
Even as Benjamin received a secret report:
"The Kingdom Army has started recruiting again?"
He raised an eyebrow, though he was not particularly surprised. Recruitment was inevitable. To replenish their fighting strength and manpower, the Black Nightmare Army had also begun recruiting on a small scale. But from another perspective, for a side that had once possessed abundant troops, The Church's sudden