At this moment, many sighs echoed throughout the hall, presumably as everyone accepted this despair-inducing reality.
"If the intelligence is true, then what should we do? As Guardians of humanity, how should we deal with that army of the Undead?" The Marshal also had no choice but to accept reality, revealing a deeply bitter expression as he spoke.
"The question is how the Magic Caster King will use the army of the Undead at his disposal. If it's only for defensive purposes, there shouldn't be too much of a problem for now, right?" Fire Chief Priest Bernice, the Firegod-Official, said.
"What foolishness are you speaking? Who would be so idiotic as to use a world-destroying army solely for defense? You must understand that the Magic Caster King himself is Undead, an Undead being who hates the living. He will certainly use this army of the Undead to attack the various nations of the Central Continent," the Marshal retorted, clearly annoyed.
"Everyone, calm down. The current issue is not to discuss how the Magic Caster King will use the army of the Undead at his disposal, but rather to devise a strategy for how to deal with this force," Earth Minister Raymond, the Earthgod-Official, quickly interjected to mediate.
"Then… can the Black Scripture handle it?" The Marshal turned his gaze to Earth Minister Raymond, the Earthgod-Official, who oversaw matters concerning the Black Scripture. Everyone's gaze also fell upon Raymond, as the Black Scripture was the Theocracy's trump card, humanity's final ace in the hole.
"Heh…" Raymond revealed a very complex smile. Upon seeing Raymond's smile, many of those present felt a slight sense of relief, but…
"The Black Scripture cannot handle it. Allow me, in my capacity as the former Third Seat of the Black Scripture, to say this: facing the monsters of that army of the Undead, even if their numbers are equal to the Black Scripture's, there is no chance of victory. But currently, that army of the Undead numbers in the hundreds. Otherwise… Astrology Thousand Miles wouldn't be so withdrawn. However…" Raymond said, maintaining that peculiar smile.
"If it's a God-kin, that's another matter entirely."
At these words, the others finally truly breathed a sigh of relief.
"If it's those two, even if the army of the Undead attacks our nation, we can easily handle it. What's more, we now have a third individual whose combat power rivals that of a God-kin. Of course… we must also be prepared for backup," Raymond continued.
"That's truly excellent!"
"Indeed… This should put our minds at ease." The tense atmosphere that had filled the hall earlier immediately eased considerably.
"…" But Shui Shenguan Zhang Xineding, the Shui Shenguan Zhang Xineding, remained silent, merely staring intently at Raymond's very subtle expression.
"Raymond… you should just tell the truth," Xi Neiding said.
At these words, everyone's gazes once again converged on Raymond, and at the same time, flickered between him and Xi Neiding, completely bewildered as to why Xi Neiding would say such a thing.
"As expected of Sir Xi Neiding, the most insightful and wise, you saw through it in an instant…" Raymond chuckled softly, shaking his head helplessly.
"Some of you should know Astrology Thousand Miles's recent condition, right? She's been withdrawn ever since that battle on the Katz Plains. No matter what, she's a member of the Black Scripture; she wouldn't be scared by those Undead legions, would she? She must have seen something even more despairing to become so withdrawn, right?" Xi Neiding said.
"Precisely. I originally wanted to gather more intelligence to confirm it, but since Sir Xi Neiding has noticed, then I shall share it with everyone here. After all, bearing this alone would only give me a stomachache. So, please turn to the dossier at the very bottom," Raymond said.
And so, silence descended upon the hall once more, broken only by the sound of rustling dossiers…
Then, after a long while… no one in the hall spoke again. Instead, they stared intently at the contents of the dossier in their hands, all with expressions of utter despair as they looked at the few lines of text in the dossier.
"So that's how it is… You didn't show us this initially because you were worried we wouldn't believe it?" Light Chief Priest Ion, the Lightgod-Official, asked.
"Yes, if this report and the previous report on the army of the Undead were given to everyone together, no one would have believed it," Raymond nodded in reply.
"Yes, if this report about the Kingdom's casualties on the Katz Plains battlefield had been given along with the report on the army of the Undead, I absolutely would not have believed it," Ion directly admitted.
"This is too outrageous, isn't it? One spell wiped out half of the Kingdom's army?! This time, the Kingdom deployed 260,000 troops! Half? 130,000 in one strike?!" The Marshal expressed his skepticism.
"Seeing it might not be as outrageous as the actual casualties, but from the description that one strike completely annihilated the Kingdom army's flank, it must have been at least 80,000, right?" Raymond said.
"But even so, that's 80,000, and then those people were sacrificed to summon an incredibly gigantic monster?" Ion continued to ask.
"Yes, regarding the gigantic monster, other members of the Black Scripture who arrived at the scene afterwards can also confirm it," Raymond continued.
"We can no longer deny the truthfulness of this intelligence. What Astrology Thousand Miles saw was probably the magic of the Gods, magic beyond the Tenth Tier. If that's truly the case… could it be?" Fire Chief Priest Bernice, the Firegod-Official, raised a question.
"You mean… the descent of a God?" Raymond asked.
"Yes, this intelligence describes the Magic Caster King's appearance as closely resembling that God. I'm wondering if it could be?" Benice continued.
"I have considered that possibility, but if it truly were the descent of Sir Xia Na, the God of Death, then that individual should have informed us immediately, as that individual is Sir Xia Na's first attendant," Raymond stated his opinion.
"In that case… it can only be…" Ion only spoke half his sentence, and everyone else nodded knowingly. Ion also felt there was no need to continue speaking; everyone understood.
"Then, let us now focus on how to deal with the Magic Caster King," Raymond continued to preside over the meeting.
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