The battle ended quickly, with no suspense whatsoever.
Despite being more than three times the number of Holy Knights, these monsters still had no chance against them. In less than ten minutes, a total of sixteen Holy Knights had annihilated all the monsters, only paying the price of one lightly injured person and one warhorse.
Yu Ying, who had not participated in the battle, showed a relaxed smile, and many infected civilians watching from a distance near the outpost cheered excitedly. The powerful Holy Knights gave them a sense of security, and their overwhelming victory injected a shot of adrenaline into these people whose spirits were already extremely fragile.
But Mo Tan showed no sign of relief; on the contrary, his face was very worried, and he kept his brows furrowed, lost in thought.
Yu Ying glanced at the Holy Knights who had formed their ranks amidst the people's cheers, then turned to Mo Tan and asked curiously, "You don't seem very happy. Why not?"
"Eight minutes," Mo Tan watched the Holy Knights returning, sighing softly.
Yu Ying's dark red eyes narrowed slightly, "You mean the duration of that battle just now?"
Although Yu Ying no longer role-played as a cold-faced killer in front of Mo Tan, a fellow player, her reaction was still swift, indicating that this girl was also a meticulous and calm person in reality.
Mo Tan nodded, "That's right. From the moment the Holy Knights formed their Charge to the last Mutant having its head cleaved off, it took a total of eight minutes."
"Is eight minutes very long?" Yu Ying tightened the red scarf around her collar and smiled, "They were facing enemies several times their number. Achieving such a result is already very good."
Theoretically, there was nothing wrong with her words. After all, each of those Holy Knights, whose strength was at least comparable to a Level 20 player, had killed an average of three to four Mutants, and remained almost entirely unharmed throughout. This could definitely be understood as an overwhelming combat power comparison, and under normal circumstances, it was undoubtedly a quite impressive achievement.
But now is not a normal situation…
Mo Tan gave a wry smile and shrugged at Yu Ying, "The battle lasted eight minutes, with sixteen Holy Knights participating and fifty-three Mutants. The first Charge eliminated eighteen, and the enemies were completely wiped out after six minutes…"
Yu Ying rolled her eyes, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Mida City has one hundred Holy Knights," Mo Tan held up a finger and gently wiggled it, "Judging from the battle just now, even if the Holy Knights maintain peak condition forever, they can at most only deal with five to eight times their number of Mutants simultaneously. Misha County has over three hundred thousand civilians, and at least one in three of these civilians is infected with the Plague, and severely wounded Plague-infected individuals have a high probability of transforming into Mutants…"
Yu Ying pondered for a moment, her expression gradually turning grim, "It seems the situation isn't that optimistic."
"No," Mo Tan shook his head and turned to walk towards the city, "The situation is terrible."
The girl stood silently for a while, then pouted in the direction of his retreating figure, "Hmph, what's with the cool act…?"
Ten minutes later,
Mo Tan and Yu Cheng, who had met at the Holy Church United Chapel, arrived at the temporary outpost west of Mida City and found Mid-Tier Holy Knight Tairo inspecting the situation in front of a row of makeshift barracks.
"Holy Maiden," Tairo immediately bowed to Yu Cheng, and also nodded to Mo Tan as a greeting, then quickly asked, "Why are you here? Is it safe outside the city now?"
Mo Tan nodded, "Yes, Mr. Tairo, that group of Mutants has been annihilated by the Knights."
"Very good," Tairo nodded with satisfaction, "The great Goddess protects us; all filth will melt away under the light of Dawn Nova."
Mo Tan smiled, but in his heart, he was somewhat dismissive of this typical Theocrats rhetoric. After all, he had already interacted with the Goddess whom Tairo spoke of twice, and his impression of her was, well, a bit odd.
Yu Cheng's expression was also a bit strange, as if she had choked on something, clearly indicating that her emotional control was not yet entirely proficient.
"We will eventually overcome this trial," Mo Tan replied with equally Theocrats-like solemnity, then whispered, "However, there are some matters that Holy Maiden Wang Yu and I would like to discuss with you…"
Although it was only Mo Tan's idea, he very naturally included Yu Cheng.
Upon hearing that the Holy Maiden had something to discuss (he subconsciously ignored Mo Tan), Tairo immediately straightened his face, "Yes."
So Mo Tan recounted the details of the battle outside the city to Tairo and repeated what he had just said to Yu Ying, finally concluding, "Therefore, Holy Maiden and I both feel that although we are much stronger than those Mutants in terms of individual combat ability, they have an absolute numerical advantage. The number of monsters is increasing every moment, and if this continues… the situation is indeed not optimistic, and the Holy Knights are very likely to suffer casualties."
"Every one of us is prepared to die for our faith at any time," Tairo replied solemnly, "Death and danger cannot shake a Holy Knight's faith."
Mo Tan sighed, feeling a headache…
Tairo was a very Holy Knight-like Holy Knight; he was steadfast, square-faced, loyal, brave, and kind. He adhered to the Knight's Code, had no schemes or hidden motives, and did not care about sacrificing himself for his faith. But at the same time, he was also somewhat stubborn and rigid, which was why Mo Tan had gone to the City Hall to discuss with Sol first, instead of coming to this 'insider' immediately.
Mo Tan had originally planned to gather the low-tier professionals outside the city before discussing with Tairo, but the sudden monster attack just now gave him an opportunity, or rather, a reason. So, he immediately brought Yu Cheng here after returning to the city.
"Mida City currently only has one hundred Holy Knights," Mo Tan said to Tairo, carefully choosing his words, "You are also flesh and blood; you will get tired, and your warhorses will get injured. And those monsters are very likely to appear continuously in the future. At that time, our situation will become very passive."
Tairo patted the long sword at his waist, "Our will is as strong as steel."
"I believe that," Mo Tan immediately nodded, then said in a deep voice, "But even so, there will still be casualties. In a 1:5 situation, one Knight was injured in the entanglement, and a warhorse had its chest torn open in the chaotic battle. What if the enemy's numbers increase even more?"
Tairo made a praying gesture and said devoutly, "After a glorious death in battle, we shall return to the embrace of the divine."
I guarantee that Goddess does not want to embrace you all…
Mo Tan grumbled inwardly, then smiled and asked, "Then what will happen to the civilians after everyone has died in battle?"
Tairo hesitated, then said seriously, "We will protect the innocent until the last moment."
"But when the 'last moment' is over, those people will still be slaughtered," Mo Tan narrowed his eyes slightly and pointed at Yu Cheng, "That might include our Holy Maiden."
Yu Cheng shrunk her neck, her small face a little red.
Tairo fell silent. The steadfast Holy Knight remained silent for a long time, eventually sighing, "We can only do so much. As you said, Black Vatican, there are too many Mutants."
"I have a plan," Mo Tan winked at Tairo, then repeated the 'conscription' plan he had discussed with Sol earlier.
"Let those civilians who can't fight at all pick up weapons?!" Tairo's eyes widened, and he shook his head vigorously, "No, absolutely not. They are supposed to be the protected ones; we cannot do this."
Mo Tan twirled the cross on his wrist and added, "Not just those civilians, but also the low-tier professionals who previously defended the city. They also have some combat power."
Tairo frowned, saying in a deep voice, "I admire those people, but they don't have the blessing of Holy Light or formal baptism. If they are injured by those monsters, they can easily contract the Plague."
"The choice is theirs," Mo Tan smiled and said softly, "The City Lord has prepared some rewards, and we can prioritize treating the families or relatives of those brave individuals. Even those who are infected with the Plague but are still young and strong, if they are willing to fight to defend their homes, the Holy Maiden can prioritize healing their bodies…"
Tairo suddenly waved his hand, interrupting in a deep voice, "This is a threat."
"No, this is just the reward for the brave," Mo Tan shrugged and spread his hands, "We just want to encourage them to pick up weapons and defend their homes themselves. The Holy Maiden also means this."
Yu Cheng, who had already discussed with Mo Tan on the way, nodded gently, "Yes, Mr. Tairo, everyone… everyone has the right to defend their home. The Goddess also hopes that everyone will unite to overcome this difficulty, rather than letting a few people bear everything."
Aside from invoking the Goddess's name, these words were also Yu Cheng's own thoughts, not pre-arranged lines.
Tairo nodded with some struggle, hesitating, "But those civilians…"
"It would be best if the Knight Order could train them a bit," Mo Tan knew exactly what the other party was hesitating about and calmly explained, "Although those Mutants have several times stronger physical qualities than normal people, that's all there is to it. I think those trained civilians can at least help the Knights tie down the enemies."
"Tie them down?" Tairo scratched his cheek, his expression somewhat confused.
Mo Tan nodded as a matter of course, "Of course, I didn't intend to use them as cannon fodder. The main combat power will still be the Knights plus those low-tier professionals. At least for now, those civilians only need to cooperate with you, and the risk won't be very high. Moreover, the Holy Maiden will prioritize healing them."
After hearing this explanation, Tairo finally breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Alright then, I will cooperate fully."
This somewhat rigid and stubborn Holy Knight was finally persuaded…
Half an hour later,
Holy Church United Chapel, Yu Cheng's room
"But this is just the first step," Mo Tan leaned against the door, yawning wearily, and said to Yu Cheng with a wry smile, "We still don't know what the actual effect will be."
The girl chuckled, "Mo Tan Tong Xue has worked very hard, much more amazing than me."
"Don't say that," Mo Tan shook his head slightly and smiled, "If it weren't for you, most of those infected civilians would probably be dead by now."
Yu Cheng giggled, then cast a Holy Healing on herself.
"You lost health?" Mo Tan asked curiously.
"No," Yu Cheng shook her head slightly, then released a warm Dawn Nova in place, and said softly, "I just wanted to see if there were any harmless divine spells under the influence of darkness, so Mo Tan Tong Xue wouldn't have to be my… um, my target every time."
Mo Tan shrugged, "I don't mind, I can heal myself anyway."
"But it must be uncomfortable, right? Ah, here it comes!" Yu Cheng exclaimed softly, then pondered for a moment, clapped her hands, and said, "Let's try Calm Aura this time~"
Five seconds later, a pure white aura spread out with the girl at its center. Because of the Holy Light Avatar talent, this interfered divine spell still shone with Holy Light, showing no signs of blackening whatsoever.
But…
"It seems pretty good, I didn't lose any health… Hey!?" Mo Tan, who had been brushed by the aura, had only spoken halfway when he suddenly felt his body stiffen, then he ran out the door under Yu Cheng's bewildered gaze.
The girl stood there blankly, feeling a bit flustered.
A moment later, the door reopened, and Mo Tan walked in with a helpless expression, waving his hand vigorously at Yu Cheng, "This won't do, this absolutely won't do."
Yu Cheng tilted her head, "What went wrong with this one?"
"It didn't drain health, but this thing has a forced fear effect," Mo Tan said with a wry smile, "I suddenly felt a chill all over, and then my body uncontrollably opened the door and ran. A negative status called 【Panic】 appeared on my character panel, lasting for about four or five seconds."
Yu Cheng was startled, "Ah, what if this is used during healing…?"
"I highly suspect that severely injured people would be scared to death directly," Mo Tan made a serious judgment, looking at his hands with lingering fear, "Completely uncontrollable, and I felt a bit panicked. It might be even more pronounced if it were on an NPC. This skill of yours is quite formidable… area-of-effect fear."
Yu Cheng gave a sheepish smile and stuck out her tongue, "Sorry, did I scare you~"
"Not really, it's just…" Mo Tan shook his head, then suddenly paused, and then smiled at Yu Cheng, "I need to go offline. I have some things to do outside. Talk later."
The girl nodded blankly, "Oh, okay."
Then Mo Tan quickly returned to his room without another word, and then he exploded on the spot… I mean, he disconnected on the spot.
Chapter 190: The End