Translator: Cinder Translations
...
The desperate howls and indiscriminate slaughter, like soldiers possessed by demons... The Church Army fell into a massive disaster.
It wasn't only the soldiers within the Church Army who witnessed this large-scale roar of the camp.
The 3rd Reconnaissance Squad of the 1st Battalion of the Alden Marine Corps was ordered to sneak close to the Church Army's camp under the cover of night to gather intelligence for the planned retaliatory action.
The soldiers hid their figures in the bushes, silently watching the scene they had never seen before in the distance.
Within the Alden Army, from generals to soldiers, everyone knew about the so-called "roar of the camp." The instructors had educated the soldiers on military knowledge, focusing on this topic and explaining its causes from a psychological perspective.
This was very different from the practice in other armies, where it was regarded as a taboo, rarely mentioned, and often explained away with reasons like demon possession.
But when they witnessed it firsthand, they were still shocked by the terrifying spectacle.
In the reconnaissance report, the squad leader wrote:
"Everyone went mad, falling into an indescribable frenzy. Perhaps some managed to stay clear-headed at first, but they were soon engulfed by an incomprehensible, massive quagmire. The soldiers wielded whatever weapons they could get their hands on, and with terrifying shrieks, they attacked comrades they had fought side by side with in the day. Some killed others, while some were killed in return."
"The bloody slaughter lasted until 4 a.m., and chaos led to a fire breaking out in the camp. This, however, saved the few survivors. Although they were insane, their instinct to fear the fire drove them to scatter and hide, bringing a sliver of reason back to their minds. Another key reason was that everyone was completely exhausted."
"The allied forces in Niceport did not take the opportunity to attack the camp. From the city walls, they could probably see the chaos within the Church Army's camp. Perhaps they thought it was a trap, or perhaps they were also frightened by the sight of the Church Army killing each other."
The Marines withdrew before the sun rose.
By then, the terrifying roar of the camp had finally ceased. The chaos-induced fire had burned down the Church Army's camp, and the ground was littered with burned, unrecognizable corpses. However, these corpses might have already fallen to their comrades' blades before the flames reached them.
The surviving King Garrett II of Collins, with the support of the equally surviving emissary from the Horns Bay Church, Corvo, became the temporary commander.
As for the previous commander of the Church Army, General Cook, he was unfortunately found dead near the stables by his sleeping quarters, possibly having tried to flee on horseback from the chaos in the camp but was surrounded by the mad soldiers. His body was covered with horrifying knife wounds but was easily identifiable as it hadn't been touched by the fire, with the bodies of guards around him and many more of the mad soldiers nearby.
General Cook had been sent by the Church from a distant land to assist the local church in winning this religious war. However, he died just a step away from victory, and so did the victory.
There was no time to mourn for the general. The Church Army had to retreat before the allied forces in Niceport responded. After suffering huge losses the previous night, continuing the attack was simply unrealistic. Even though there was still some strength left, they needed to rest and replenish.
Under King Garrett II's command, the Church Army hastily collected the bodies, packed their bags, and retreated to a stronghold in the direction they had come from. It was only when they arrived there that they had time to count the number of survivors.
The result was dreadful. When they had reached the gates of Niceport, they had 30,000 men. After several days of besieging the city, they still had over 26,000. But after the terrifying roar of the camp, the survivor count now was less than 10,000. After collecting the bodies and giving a rough report, nearly 10,000 had been buried, and over 6,000 were missing. The overall losses were far greater than those from the siege.
The southern Church Army, which had been the main force of the assault, had suffered heavy losses.
King Garrett and the church emissary convened a discussion and quickly set the narrative: the evil, fallen, and heretical alliance had cast a terrifying witchcraft upon the Church Army, causing them to turn on each other. At the same time, the greedy and lawless merchants in Lion's Port had also aided the heretical alliance.
In Alden Town, Paul received the emissary from the Horns Bay Church in the castle.
The emissary presented a letter from Archbishop Elvis of Horns Bay, severely condemning the merchants in Lion's Port for maintaining large-scale trade with the heretical alliance during the war. The continuous influx of weapons and supplies had caused great trouble for the Church Army's military operations, severely violating the Horns Bay Church's various prohibitions.
As the initiator of the war, the Horns Bay Church naturally believed that all entities within its jurisdiction should adhere to its bans, even in places it hadn't actually militarily occupied.
Paul, however, sneered at this and noted that the Church Army had also bought goods from Lion's Port.
He smiled at the emissary and said, "Respected sir, first, I must make my stance clear: I have always supported the Church's sacred and great cause. If these merchants were in my territory, I would throw them into prison without hesitation... I mean, if they broke local laws."
"But unfortunately, they are in Horns Bay, and I have no control over what they do there. Even if they commit crimes, it's not in Alden, so I have no jurisdiction. As for Lion's Port, it was established as an autonomous city by these merchants overseas, and the land was bought from the Horns Bay alliance. I am the lord of Alden; how could I extend my authority there?"
To avoid complications, the official stance was that Lion's Port was an autonomous city founded by a group of merchants, though many knew the real situation.
"Does this mean the Church can punish these greedy merchants for crimes committed on foreign soil?" the emissary asked with a cold smile.
Paul hesitated briefly before responding, "I advise you to consider other, milder approaches. As far as I know, Horns Bay's production has suffered greatly due to the war, and Lion's Port plays an irreplaceable role."
"For the greatness of the divine cause, any sacrifice is worthwhile," the emissary said, seeming to feel he had gained the upper hand.
"Then I must express my regrets!" Paul spread his hands helplessly.
The emissary of the Horns Bay Church left the Northwestern Bay in displeasure.
However, he was unaware that the new orders for Alden Town had already been issued, nearly simultaneously: instructing Lion's Port to eliminate the surrounding military threats under the name of volunteer forces.
(End of the Chapter)
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