So, if the Son of God cannot keep the Soul Returner, cannot drive Soul Returner away, and cannot kill Soul Returner, what should he do?
Although he was only an Essence Knight, the skeleton was still banging its hard joints against the stone table in front of it.
With its rhythmic "tap tap tap," it drew itself into the shoes of the Son of God caught in a dilemma, and found a good solution to the problem—
Looking for a new job!
Aren't you worried that driving away the Soul Returner will cause them to defect to the enemy?
Then we can just find them another employer, and that wouldn't be considered eviction, right?
In any case, these so-called Soul Returner are nothing more than an undead army under Adrian's command.
Thinking of this, the Essence Knight was suddenly startled again—
Where will that Son of God being find them their next employer?
Is it the Eternal Domain and the Graycast Corridor in the east of the Theocracy, or the Starlight Empire and... in the south of the Theocracy?
Skeleton Alliance?
If such a powerful army were to be employed by the Skeleton Alliance, then the endless yellow sands could surely continue westward, completely burying that old empire.
Although the Skeleton Alliance currently holds the upper hand in its struggle against the Empire, it is undeniable that if the Soul Returner Legion become pawns of the Empire, the Alliance's grand plans will inevitably be affected.
Thinking of this, the Essence Knight's mindset changed once again.
From initial indifference, to sudden realization halfway through, and now to profound fear:
How terrifying would it be if the Soul Returner were truly controlled by the Empire?
The fate of the Skeleton Alliance is now in their own hands.
It saw clearly, it figured it out, it realized it—
The Skeleton Alliance must firmly grasp the Soul Returner, otherwise the Empire will surely launch a preemptive counterattack!
This is the fastest and most effective way to completely wipe out the remnants of the Empire. This is --
A momentous historical opportunity!
What will become of those Soul Returner after the empire is destroyed?
Or we could send them across the sea to the Graycast Corridor or the Eternal Domain, since the war there isn't over yet.
Moreover, the Skeleton Alliance, a mere skeletal force, doesn't seem particularly afraid of these Soul Returner causing trouble.
In short, if the Skeleton Alliance takes in these unstable elements, the benefits will definitely outweigh the drawbacks.
The Essence Knight's skeletal breastbone throbbed a few times, its lingering habits from its previous life allowing it to calm down.
Finally, it turned its attention back to the two statements it had almost finished reading.
As expected, both testimonies concluded by detailing the purpose of the two spies' trip.
Their primary objective was, of course, to gather intelligence on the terrain and fortifications within the Theocracy.
The secondary objective was to attempt to make contact with the Empire or the Skeleton Alliance, trying to establish a connection to secure a safe future for the Soul Returner.
This was neither Adrian's order nor Son of God 'Ed order, but a private decision made by the two Soul Returner.
Their actions might coincide with the thoughts of that Son of God, and the reason, as I analyzed before, is that their cooperation had reached the brink of collapse.
Adrian holds the power to decide whether the Soul Returner can be resurrected, so each of them tries to demonstrate their abilities at every moment, hoping to be remembered by Adrian and thus gain eternal life.
After reviewing the two testimonies, the Essence Knight entered a meditative state of deep thought.
Its mind had never been so active. After sorting out the logic and filling in some possible scenarios, it began to write a document itself.
As the ruler of a sandcastle on the border between the Skeleton Alliance and the Starlight Empire, this Essence Knight has the right to submit his documents directly to the high-ranking officials in the council, and can even use expedited channels.
Soon, a carrier pigeon made of pure white bones left the sandcastle standing on the border with a report from the Essence Knight.
As for the Essence Knight himself, he descended the stairs from the tall tower to the dungeon located directly beneath the Sandcastle.
It wanted to meet those two Soul Returner in person and try to extract some more information from them.
However, just as the Essence Knight reached the ground, a skeleton wearing somewhat tattered armor suddenly rushed in from outside and knelt on one knee before the Essence Knight:
"Sir Knight, urgent military intelligence!"
"Speak quickly!"
"Our people have learned that large quantities of grain and supplies have been continuously being transported to many fortresses along the empire's borders starting three days ago."
"How many exactly? Have you found out?"
The Essence Knight's tone carried a hint of anxiety.
"Have no idea..."
"Have no idea?"
"The line is so long, I can't see the end of it."
The skeleton who came to report said this, and the Essence Knight in front of him couldn't help but clench his fists upon hearing it.
"Report this to Sand Capital immediately, using the fastest method!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Also, increase the scope of border patrols, and postpone shift changes, with both teams departing together to prevent being divided and ambushed."
"Yes!"
After issuing several orders to strengthen border patrols, the Essence Knight entered the dark dungeon.
Do you think they'll actually believe the stories we make up?
Since they're hanging on, the two Soul Returner have been spending their time online these past few days either browsing videos and posts in split-screen mode or chatting with each other to share information.
The Dark Archmage, who wasn't very confident in his acting skills, also had his usual doubts about the two's plan.
[ Clear Soup Master ]'s response came quickly:
"If you put yourself in their shoes, you'd know they wouldn't believe it completely, but even believing 10% would be helpful; at least it could interfere with their judgment, wouldn't it?"
"Perhaps, who knows how these skeletons think? They don't even have brains."
"The only explanation I can think of is Psionic Energy. After all, 'when in doubt, quantum mechanics' is the way to go. In World of Disorder, Psionic Energy is the perfect alternative."
"Hmm, maybe we're at too low a level right now. Maybe in the future..."
I can hear footsteps here, how about you?
"Yes."
"That's interesting."
In two different cells of the same dungeon, the punisher pushed open the door and entered. Then, amidst the feigned surprise of the two men, he silently removed them from the beam, dragged them behind his back, and walked them outside.
Two minutes later, the two Soul Returner were placed in a slightly larger cell and hung up like dried meat.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the cell, the Essence Knight sat upright on a stone chair behind a stone table.
"Is this the knight who arrested us?"
[ Clear Soup Master ] asked in the chat box:
"I'm a bit face-blind when it comes to skeletons, and I don't know much about their physiques either..."
"That's it."
[ The Dark Archmage ] gave an affirmative answer:
"The crystals are in the exact same locations, and the scratches on the armor are no different from before."
"Impressive, no wonder you're a big shot."