In the end, Benjamin returned to the newly built camp of the Black Nightmare Army.
No matter what, their priority now was to gain a firm foothold here and work to restore their former strength. Looking at the sparse soldiers scattered throughout the enormous camp, Benjamin felt it was necessary to gradually replenish the combat power they had lost along the way.
"With our reputation, plenty of people will definitely come to join us," Maurice said in the command tent. "The only question is how much time we have to digest all of them."
The others nodded as well.
"The Church must be in a panic right now. They won't let us rest and recuperate. We need fighting strength that can take shape in a short time."
Time was money, and Benjamin understood that deeply. Given their current finances, and with Elizabeth's permission, they could recruit a large batch of soldiers in Cru Town. But a massive influx of rookies would inevitably lower the training level of the entire army, and it would take considerable effort before they could become battle-ready again.
They truly could not adopt a rapid expansion strategy.
Thus, after discussing it to the end, Benjamin decided to employ some extraordinary measures.
"You should have studied the Mind Arts manuals we obtained from the island long ago, right?" He looked at the brother and sister, his expression solemn. "Then... how much have you learned about using Mind Arts to control Magic Beasts?"
The siblings exchanged a glance.
"Controlling Magic Beasts isn't difficult, but if we want to command a large number of them in war, it will consume an enormous amount of mental power," the boy replied. "Besides, we need Magic Beasts that can be commanded in the first place. We can't control them for long periods.