"Foolish luck."
The [ Western Sharpshooter ] below the cliff spat:
"What kind of nonsense is this, using 'I' to refer to myself? Doesn't it mean I can't pee without a mirror?"
[ Gill's Cuisine ] Hearing his companion's laughter and insults, the expression on his face suddenly twisted:
"He insulted the emperor! Drag him out and behead him!"
"Have you been possessed?"
"How dare you! You dare to pry into the Holy One's mind!"
Are you out of your mind?
"I am not ill."
"You really think you're the emperor? If I knew your dark history, would you still be alive?"
"I have no place in the world that I cannot tolerate."
After a struggle, [ Gill's Cuisine ] finally pulled out the Crystal Cluster Sword, tied it to his back with vines, and descended the cliff as he had come.
Seeing that nothing serious had happened, the somewhat weary [ Western Sharpshooter ] finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked at [ Gill's Cuisine ] and asked:
What's wrong with you?
"You're a foreigner, you wouldn't understand."
[ Gill's Cuisine ] sighed:
"How should I put it? When I touched this thing, I felt like I was given a mandate from heaven. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Perhaps."
The [ Western Sharpshooter ]'s eyes swept over the crystal cluster sword:
"How about I touch it too?"
"Fine, anyway, your country has never had an emperor or a king."
[ Gill's Cuisine ] turned to the side to allow [ Western Sharpshooter ] to pull the Crystal Cluster Sword from behind him.
Unexpectedly, the moment his hand touched the sword, [ Western Sharpshooter ] seemed to have his soul sucked away, and his eyes suddenly became vacant.
"Hey, what's wrong with you...?"
[ Gill's Cuisine ] poked his best friend's ribs, but this poke seemed to flip a switch on [ Western Sharpshooter ].
He immediately straightened up, as if facing all the people, and said in an extremely solemn tone:
"I solemnly swear that I will faithfully perform the duties of President of the United States, and will use all my strength to uphold, preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States."
"Not a buddy..."
[ Gill's Cuisine ] Facial muscle twitching:
"What normal human being would memorize such lines on their own?"
[ The Western Sharpshooter ]'s eyes cleared again, and he said with a smile:
"What if we need it someday?"
"Can't there be any chance of that?"
[ Gill's Cuisine ] curled its lip:
"Then why didn't you prepare a coronation oath in advance?"
[ The Western Sharpshooter ] did not refute this, his gaze returning to the distance, and his tone became serious again:
"I pledge to uphold the territorial integrity of the Republic; to respect and encourage others to respect the laws of the theocratic agreement, freedom of religion, political freedom, and civil liberties... to levy no taxes except as provided by law; to uphold the Legion of Honour; and to govern with the interests, well-being, and honor of the French people in mind."
[ Gill's Cuisine ] was stunned by what they heard:
"No, you've summoned Emperor Na himself?"
He looked his friend up and down:
"Wasn't your great-great-great-grandfather a true-blue cowboy? How come he knows this?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you?"
[ The Western Sharpshooter ] has a certain exhilarating feeling of a prank that has been prepared for twenty years finally succeeding:
My maternal great-great-grandmother was a noblewoman from Germany!
[ Gill's Cuisine ] With a downturned smile, she retorted with words spoken just minutes before:
"Foolish luck."
The two joked and bantered their way towards Colin's territory, while simultaneously informing [ Ginseng Rooster ] of their success on the "local area network."
Of the twenty-two warlords, only seventeen survived the great battle.
[ Ginseng Rooster ], relying on his status as a cunning strategist, traveled swiftly, constantly informing the other warlords of the meeting to be held at dusk.
More than an hour later, [ Ginseng Rooster ] returned to Colin's vicinity, panting, and saw two familiar faces chatting and laughing.
He waved his hand and led the two directly to Colin's side.
"Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief."
The [ Ginseng Rooster ]'s greetings were somewhat hasty:
"A meeting between the warlords is scheduled to take place in the center of the camp where the councilors are located this evening. Please depart immediately; we will accompany you."
Colin seemed to have not yet recovered from the previous fierce battle. He leaned against his skeletal horse and sat on the ground with his legs spread apart in a very impolite manner.
He simply waved his hand upon hearing his trusted confidant's report.
"I won't go. He's just an acting warlord; he doesn't have that much power or experience."
His tone carried a hint of frustration.
Before today, Colin still held some hope for promotion and did not feel that the position of warlord or even higher was out of reach for him.
But since the battle began in the afternoon, the short three-hour fight had completely shattered Colin's worldview.
In the first few decades of his life—no, in the life of a skeleton—the largest battles he experienced involved around a thousand people.
Commanding such battles already consumed almost all of his energy.
And the number of Rosalind's vampire legion on the battlefield this afternoon was...
One million.
Even though the crowd had reached an unreasonable level, Colin still couldn't see the end of the enemy lines.
But this was only the shock inflicted on him by the enemy.
The impact of his own people on Colin was no less than that of his enemies.
Regardless of the Soul Returner mercenaries who were nearly as insane as the Blood Corpse, the performance of those few overseers alone was enough to make Colin feel inferior.
Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, the warlords rode through their armies, banners fluttering, issuing orders to their lords.
Advance, retreat, provide support, encircle...
Although most of them did not directly engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, their value far exceeded that of ordinary soldiers.
If High Tier combat power can be achieved through accumulation and practice, then how did Colin accumulate such a wealth of combat experience?
The more he thought about it, the more inadequate he felt. As a result, the flame of ambition that had been burning was like a flame in a storm; instead of burning brighter, it was extinguished, leaving only a few sparks.
In addition, the senators' battles are also changing Colin's worldview.
In his view, the skeletal councilors were no different in essence from the Supreme leaders of other human nations.
In his eyes, those strong people would never die.
But the truth is, of the three councilors who participated in the battle, the final result was two dead and one seriously injured.
Two enemy grand dukes also perished, in addition to two High Tier overseers and countless ordinary High Tier dukes.
In the past, powerful figures who were high above others and wouldn't even bother to glance at him were like snowflakes falling on a furnace on a battlefield of this level, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
This wouldn't have been a particularly strong feeling for an ordinary skeleton, but it was precisely because Colin was ambitious, capable, and insightful that he felt his own insignificance and helplessness.