[ The Chosen of the Four Gods ] took the Kong Lao'er's blessing to the extreme, and when the various warlords left, he went up to each of them and asked for his own eyeballs. After everyone had left, he wiped them clean and put them back.
Colin gathered everyone in the meeting hall, and without regard to whether the men below were Fang Soldiers or military police, he slung his broadsword over his shoulder and bowed deeply to them.
"When we return to the Skeleton Alliance, I will repay everyone handsomely!"
Although [ Ginseng Rooster ] tried his best to keep it up, his expression was still somewhat distorted.
As for a generous reward... as long as Colin doesn't forget his roots.
Moreover, the Skeleton Alliance's true nature—whether it's good or evil—is still uncertain. If one day it's revealed that they're not good people, these Soul Returner still have to be ready to "return to the battlefield if called upon," and it's not impossible that they might turn around and give the Skeletons a good beating.
Having successfully obtained the position of acting legislator, subsequent developments proceeded very smoothly.
Colin led his team back to his territory, only to be stopped at the camp gate by a large group of Bastion Lord who had been sent to assist him.
He had no choice but to introduce himself in front of everyone and give a brief overview of his plan.
The Bastion Lord also offered their loyalty in unison, though it was unclear how much of it was genuine and how much was not.
After fooling these guys, Colin was finally able to return to his own tent.
He sat on the wooden chair made by the Fang Soldiers, stroking the blade of the crystal-embedded horse-slaying saber, reminiscing about everything that had happened that day.
In just one day, his status was completely different from that of the morning.
How did a knight who had spent decades guarding the border become an acting councilor?
That's utterly absurd.
But in reality, he hadn't changed much. Apart from learning some combat skills in his life-or-death battle with Grant, he didn't seem to have made any other progress.
So how do I keep those promises I made?
For bosses, the happiest time is when they're making empty promises, and the most frustrating time is when they're actually making them.
Colin looked at his men:
"So what happens next..."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] stepped forward:
"Please leave it to me."
He said confidently:
"I can roughly guess what the Theocracy's army wants; after all, that's where I used to be."
This is a lie.
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] wasn't a guess; it was something Ed asked directly.
But Colin, of course, didn't care about such details at all; what he was concerned about at the moment was something else entirely:
"You told me before that there was a risk of a rift between two high-ranking figures in the Theocracy."
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] was momentarily stunned, then remembered that it was a story he had made up to deceive, no, to appease Colin, saying that " Ed " and " Adrian " were about to break off their relationship...
It now seems that the Theocracy is steadily improving, with no problems whatsoever, and it can even send troops to the Demon Realm.
His eyes darted around, and he immediately came up with an excuse, quickly explaining:
"My lord, as I told you before, the Soul Returner care about nothing but war."
Colin nodded:
"That's true."
"But the Theocracy is no longer at war, so what should we do?"
Colin paused for a moment, then exclaimed in astonishment:
You mean...?
[ Ginseng Rooster ] said confidently:
"That's right. The Soul Returner Legion you saw descending from the sky is less about coming to support the Demon Realm and more about them having nowhere else to go."
"They come here to fight precisely because there is war here."
Do you really think this is an order from that Son of God?
" The Theocracy and the Demon Realm are separated by thousands of miles, and there are even two other forces in between: the Eternal Domain and the Graycast Corridor. What reason does the Theocracy have to eliminate the Demon Realm?"
[ Ginseng Rooster ] thought for a moment and added more ingredients:
"And I don't know if you've seen those mobile fortresses in the Soul Returner Legion; they're the iconic battle structures of the Graycast Corridor."
"Although I haven't been back for a long time, I guess ' Ed ' has peacefully handed over ' Adrian ' and the Soul Returner to the Graycast Corridor."
"And the latter just happens to have a need to wipe out the Demon Realm, which is why they dumped them all here."
With Colin's limited knowledge, he certainly couldn't come up with any deeper reason, and the " Ginseng Rooster " theory was as reasonable as ever.
He nodded, seemingly lost in thought, and said:
"Then... could you help me recruit some more Soul Returner to join the ' Fang Soldiers '?"
Oh, so they've tasted the sweetness of success...
[ Ginseng Rooster ] suddenly realized.
But how can you just say it exists and then it does?
Of course, you have to keep Colin hanging on to get a better price in this kind of situation to make a profit.
He shook his head and said:
"It's unlikely. They came to the Demon Realm to fight, while you came to bring the skeletal people back home."
" The Soul Returner won't go to places where there's a high probability of no war."
Colin frowned upon hearing this:
"But the Alliance is also at war with the Empire..."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] immediately showed a look of disdain:
"The Empire has been fighting for a long time without making any progress. If we hadn't abandoned the front lines, they would probably still be engaging in minor skirmishes with us."
"Compared to the Blood Corpse of the Demon Realm, most Soul Returner know which option to choose in a battle of this magnitude."
But he didn't rule out the possibility entirely, instead offering Colin a glimmer of hope:
"But not all Soul Returner are so fanatical. When I go to negotiate later, I can ask if any of them would like to experience Alliance life. If so, I'll bring them along."
"But I need to tell you beforehand that there won't be many such Soul Returner."
Colin nodded:
"I understand, I myself cannot recruit more foreign mercenaries than allowed."
"Since that's the case--"
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] bowed with a smile:
"Then I'll get back to work, Your Excellency."
He emphasized the word "senator," which made Colin's expression relax even more.
Stepping out of the tent, [ Ginseng Rooster ] immediately felt a sense of relaxation.
Although playing the role of a strategist felt great, the pressure was also immense.
The two birdwatchers around him gathered around, ready to go with him to the Soul Returner Legion to pretend to negotiate with Duma.
[ Gu Gugu ] said in a low voice:
So, where is the plan at now?
[ Ginseng Rooster ] shrugged:
"Of course, it's the ' Dunkirk Evacuation ' step."
[ Ever-Changing Master Ye ] whispered:
"What about the 'grand birthday celebration'? I still want to be a versatile Alpharius!"
[ Ginseng Rooster ] sighed slightly upon hearing this:
"The 'grand birthday celebration' is proving a bit difficult now, haven't you noticed? Colin is the type who won't bite unless he's pushed to the limit."
Whether we can even play the "Grand Birthday Celebration" depends on whether the Skeleton Alliance behaves themselves.
"If I were one of those councilors from Sand Capital, I would remove Colin's 'deputy' title when he gets back, promote him, give him a bunch of good stuff, and keep him as a symbolic mascot."
"Once they reap the rewards of victory, Colin will definitely be all set for himself. How will everyone celebrate his birthday then?"
The three chatted and laughed as they crossed the buffer zone tacitly left by the two forces, verified their identities, and entered the territory occupied by the Soul Returner Legion.
Meanwhile, in a camp south of the Skeleton Alliance military camp, several skeletons were frantically searching for something.
"Hurry, hurry! That 'military police' in charge of receiving the reorganized troops has arrived!"
Scattered items were scattered all over the ground, and one of them took out a pale finger bone engraved with numerous runes.
"I found it! I found it!"
The surrounding people instantly gathered around, all staring at the bone with its dazzling runes:
"Is this really it?"
"It can't be wrong."
The first skeleton found exclaimed excitedly:
"These are teleportation runes!"