'I messed up!'
Rey could already sense the expectations of the audience directed towards him and Esme—specifically Esme.
'Because of our actions, most of them aren't turning back.'
There just wasn't enough casualties or despair to drive the weak away. For that very reason, many of them thought they had a chance.
'But what was I supposed to? Watch as all of them got wiped out?'
If he did that, the number of casualties would have exceeded what the Guilldmaster had projected in his grand plan.
Pretty much anyone who was a Veteran would have died.
'That would be an extremely negative blow on the entire Conquest. The Veterans might have chosen to leave at that point.'
Even after the Conquest was over, the deaths of those thousands was bound to negatively affect the Adventurers Guild.
'The Guild earns a certain percentage from the Quest Rewards that Adventurers get directly from them. Also, Adventurers pay taxes too…'