Several of the stronger mages turned and joined the battlefield below, while Benjamin fixed his gaze on Grant once more.
He had not expected The Church to appear so suddenly.
They had sent a large number of soldiers into the mountains and laid such an elaborate ambush... The Church had most likely noticed their movements long ago and spent a long time preparing. Otherwise, neither Benjamin nor the system could possibly have sensed nothing. And precisely because of that, his heart felt unusually heavy.
This is bad...
The situation below was not looking good. They were outnumbered by both soldiers and priests; if the battle continued, widespread casualties would soon follow. Not far ahead of him, Grant did not attack. Instead, he summoned rune after rune, shielding himself as though beneath a golden bell. At the same time, his eyes remained locked on Benjamin. Clearly, if Benjamin tried to close in like last time, Grant would immediately widen the distance.
Seeing this, The Church's plan could not have been more obvious—they only needed to hold Benjamin back, and they would win!
Benjamin let out a cold snort.
He first expanded the Deep Sea Domain and summoned Water Elemental Sprites, putting on the appearance of launching an all-out assault. Then, however, he suddenly turned and charged toward the priests in the sky, shouting down below at the same time, "Quick! Full retreat! Escape north!"
Unfortunately, the provisions, materials... all the good things they had accumulated along the way could not be saved. But at the very least, they had to save their people.
Grant had initially been bluffed by his feint, but after only a few seconds, he immediately caught on and turned to pursue him. By then, Benjamin had already flown close to the group of priests. Nearly ten thousand