On the calm Floating Corpse Sea, [ Nether Crossing ] stood on the waves as if walking on flat ground, holding three thick arm bones in his arms.
He bowed slightly to the short, skeletal figure before him:
"Thanks to Councilor [ Whale Tail ] for saving me, otherwise I would be dead here today."
Although the skeleton couldn't make any expressions, [ Nether Crossing ] could still sense the anger in the person in front of him.
He could understand the reason, of course, since he had brought back all four of the [ Giant Arms ]'s Giant Arms.
The fate of the [ Giant Arms ] is self-evident.
After a long silence, the Whale Tail, which made itself appear slightly taller by using a wave, asked in a low voice:
"Is [ Giant Arms ] confirmed dead?"
"Yes."
[ Nether Crossing ] lowered his head again:
"Your subordinate is incompetent; bringing back these was already an all-out effort..."
"Was the plan successful?"
[ Whale Tail ] came to ask again.
Sailesi then remembered that they had come on an assassination mission, but the whole process had been so clumsy that it seemed as if they had come to ask for a beating.
He lowered his head, recalling Ed's Clear Void Pine, the illusion that had been forcibly torn apart and uprooted, and Gray Griss, who was wrapped up in a giant vine ball, unable to be harmed by anyone or harm anyone else...
[ Nether Crossing ] sighed, and said with a hint of regret:
"It failed. The assassination attempt was unsuccessful, and Suolaer's entire group was wiped out..."
Seeing that the [ Whale Tail ] did not answer, he continued:
"Our adversaries were prepared; perhaps another traitor has emerged from among our spies..."
"Shut up."
[ Whale Tail ] said coldly:
You are not a member of parliament yet.
"Yes, sir."
[ Nether Crossing ] lowered his head, but heard an unexpected sentence:
"But it will be soon."
Some of the short skeletons sighed:
Who would have thought [ Giant Arms ] would die here?
"Without him, the plan to raid the Grand Duke cannot proceed."
At this point, [ Whale Tail ] suddenly turned around and asked:
"You killed [ Giant Arms ]!"
Absolutely not!
Startled, Sailesi immediately responded sharply, then realized the other party was bluffing him:
"[ Giant Arms ] was killed by a combined attack from several High Tier individuals. The situation was as follows..."
"Stop talking, I don't want to hear it now."
[ Whale Tail ] waved his hand and said:
"I have informed the other members of parliament about this matter, and [ Crown ] will be questioning you about it later."
"If [ Giant Arms ]'s death was truly unrelated to you and he died at the hands of his enemies, then you are the new councilor."
"..."
Sailesi was at a loss for words, but no matter how much his mind raced, there would be no more Sailesi, only a new skeletal councilor [ Nether Crossing ].
Let's go.
[ Whale Tail ] said from ahead:
"The battle is over, and [ Divine Wings ] needn't come either. Let's go back to Sand Capital and clean up the mess left by [ Giant Arms ]..."
"Yes, sir."
[ Nether Crossing ] lowered his head, letting the waves beneath his feet surge rapidly, carrying him southward at an extremely fast speed.
Beneath the surface, countless points of red light turned south, and tens of thousands of skeleton soldiers began to swim together, resembling a giant deep-sea whale composed of countless bones.
Graycast Corridor, Great Labyrinth City.
Having resolved the issues in the southern coastal cities, Ed, Balund, and Duma finally returned.
"Your Highness the Son of God."
The demon, who had fought for a long time without sustaining any injuries but was somewhat exhausted, bowed to Ed.
Is there anything else I can do for you?
"No, not available at the moment."
Ed shook his head:
"Did you notice anything during your previous battle with [ Giant Arms ]?"
Duma pondered and said:
There are some clues, but it's hard to say.
"Although I didn't get my hands on them, those four arms definitely belonged to a High Tier four-armed demon from the past."
"I can roughly make up a list of who it might be, but the key point is [ Giant Arms ]'s response to me at the time."
When I asked him about his identity, he said that there was no need to talk about the past.
"It seems he knows me, but now that he has a new identity, he doesn't want to go back to the past."
Duma paused for a moment and continued:
However, there is another possibility.
"You say."
"He didn't know who I was at all; he was just using ambiguous language to make me suspicious while lowering my guard."
That makes sense.
"Your Highness, there are still battles against the Skeleton Alliance to come. Please call me anytime to participate. I am very interested in the origin of those bones."
"Good."
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."
"Yes, your task remains the same; your primary focus is still training the legion."
"Yes, sir."
A burst of flame exploded, Duma vanished beside Ed.
In the silent high sky, Ed began to ponder whether the fall of the [ Giant Arms ] today would provide nourishment for Samuer was lurking in the shadows.
Or this question can also be understood as: are the people in the Skeleton Alliance considered alive or dead?
On the other side, looking down at the city that had survived the catastrophe, Balund's expression was anything but pleasant.
The reason was simple: tonight's exchange made him realize a truth: even among those at the same High Tier, the gap between them might actually be greater than he had imagined.
Even with him, Aiboke, and the Great Labyrinth City teaming up in a three-on-one fight, they could only suppress [ Giant Arms ].
The opponent, having only received some off-field assistance, first soared into the sky and then plunged into the sea, proving utterly unstoppable.
Even with numerous reasons, none of them are sufficient to excuse failure.
What if it was a few months ago?
If the Skeleton Alliance had invaded when the Great Labyrinth City hadn't yet awakened its Machine Spirit and when Aiboke was trapped in the coffin, could he and his brother, in his dead state, have truly defeated [ Giant Arms ]?
The Skeleton Alliance has four, no, five, such councilors.
And how powerful would the Twin Kings of the North be if they were to leave their thrones?
Balund stood in the air for a long time, lost in thought, then suddenly turned to Ed beside him:
I'd like to ask you a question.
"Of course, there's no need to be so respectful."
"As... the Incarnation of that one..."
Balund had once shared a similar perspective with Ed, knew some inside information about Ed's identity, but he ultimately couldn't find a suitable word to describe Ed's status and identity in a short time.
"Could you tell me, what exactly constitutes a powerful High Tier High Tier? Or rather, what kind of High Tier is qualified to challenge for the Transcendent Tier?"
Ed knew that Balund beside him was temporarily blinded by the intensity, so he thought for a moment and explained:
"As you said, the High Tier can be roughly divided into three categories:"
"One reason is scarcity. The Immortal King is Amber Dragon, and it is said that he has killed many other Amber Dragon. Therefore, the Authority belonging to the Amber Dragon is concentrated in his hands, making him more powerful than ordinary dragons."
"Some of my subordinates are like that, such as the demon Duma just now, or the Willow who didn't come here, except the latter is only Middle Tier and can be ignored."
"The second is the concentration of Authority, which is different from the previous one. For example, the cardinals of the Theocracy, as long as there are not too many people at the High Tier of the Plant Pathway, they have the possibility of breaking through to the High Tier. For this reason, they do not need to kill the common people of the Tree Worship Church, even if they are essentially on the same path, as long as their own symbiotic plants are rare enough."
"The third category consists of pioneers who forge new paths, such as Aiboke, who failed in his attempt at complete mechanization, the current Great Labyrinth City Machine Spirit, and Nuowa, who created the Elf's Dream to strengthen himself. The paths they have taken are innovative enough that they all have the potential to reach the Transcendent Tier."
Balund nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this, as if he had come to a sense of relief:
"I see, I see."
"It seems that I am no different from Brenfield and the others; we are all walking on a path that countless others have walked."
No wonder that's the case.