It appears to be an equal exchange, but in reality, the decision-making power lies with the other party.
What if your side cede the camp, but the opposing commander doesn't keep his promise and instead openly moves in as if nothing happened?
By then, we won't be able to go home, and the campsite will be gone too.
Am I supposed to lead hundreds of thousands of skeleton soldiers in a survival game in the Demon Realm?
Even though the skeletons don't need to eat, they still feel it's dangerous in the Demon Realm.
You must be joking!
Colin clenched and unclenched his fist. After a long silence, he finally gave the order:
"This is a major matter. Inform all warlords that we will discuss it in the meeting hall in one hour."
"Yes!"
A group of Soul Returner, carrying small command flags, and began to spread the word. As time went by, the atmosphere in the conference hall was even more somber than yesterday.
"I think... we can agree to their offer."
One of the warlords sighed and said:
"With the councilors gone, it will be difficult to restore morale."
Last night I heard many Alliance soldiers discussing returning to Sand Capital.
"This can't go on; we should retreat as soon as possible."
"It would take ten days to walk from here to the southern coast, not to mention that the Graycast Corridor might not lend us a boat."
"Now that someone can teleport directly, this is actually the best option."
I disagree!
The other warlord seemed quite resistant:
"This is an attempt to completely devour us! How is this any different from Blood Corpse? It's simply... another form of annexation! A bloodless annexation."
"I don't think the key issue lies there."
The third warlord expressed his opinion:
I know what you're all worried and doubting about--
"It's simply that they didn't keep their promise, and there's nothing we can do about it, right?"
The warlords all nodded in agreement.
"Then why can't we do anything about them?"
The core issue is --
The experienced and prudent warlord said earnestly:
"We have no more High Tier."
He raised a question that no one wanted to face, which was also the essence of all the conflicts that had arisen in the past two days.
"Whether it's Osmond or Palmer, as long as one of them is in High Tier, those humans certainly wouldn't make such a demand."
"The conditions for teleportation are strict, but not to this extent."
"If one of our High Tier members were also in command, the enemy would most likely just force us to gather in the camp rather than slink away in disgrace."
Perhaps the topic was too heavy, for a warlord's deep, muffled voice came from the side:
"It's a pity the war is like this; what's the use of saying all this?"
"No, it won't work."
The old warlord repeated himself with certainty:
"It works."
He looked at Colin, then another warlord looked at Colin, then a third warlord looked at Colin...
All the overseers turned to look at Colin.
The old warlord said earnestly:
"Congressman Colin, your knife... shouldn't it be considered the Holy Remains of Lord [ Divine Wings ]?"
Colin nodded slightly and then shook his head:
"It can be considered a sacred relic, but it might not qualify as Holy Remains."
The old warlord neither confirmed nor denied this, but continued:
"Although I've been in this business for decades and am still just a military governor, I do know a little about the succession of councilors."
"Just as Lord [ Nether Crossing ] inherited Lord [ Giant Arms ]'s Holy Remains arm, the Holy Remains left behind by each councilor after their death can be inherited."
"And those who inherit the Holy Remains become the new councilors, naturally High Tier."
Silence fell over the meeting room upon hearing this.
"That can't be right?"
One of the warlords retorted:
"If I remember correctly, one of the conditions for the warlord to become a 'candidate member' was that he had to be of High Tier."
"In other words, their High Tier was not obtained by inheriting the ' Holy Remains,' but rather they were already of High Tier, and simply used the ' Holy Remains ' to further strengthen themselves and gain more power."
"It's not that I'm disrespectful to Lord Colin, but there are some facts about their strength that we can't ignore."
"Moreover, there is another problem-"
"The inheritance of the ' Holy Remains ' should require a ceremony held by other councilors in Sand Capital, but even then there is a risk of failure. Right now, we lack both the external conditions (the ceremony) and the internal conditions ( High Tier ). Isn't this just sending Lord Colin to his death?"
Ultimately, this rebuttal by the warlord didn't actually show much respect for Colin.
The problem is, there are only so many people now, and if Colin dies, someone else has to take his place.
While it's true that tall people can hold up the sky if it falls, if you keep dying like this, it won't be long before you become one of those tall people.
I don't want that kind of thing!
Upon hearing this, the old warlord shook his head:
That's true most of the time, but not always.
Eighty years ago, the Alliance and the Empire had a brief but bloody war, during which the [ Hard Armor ] underwent a replacement.
"That new [ Hard Armor ], who is now Lord [ Hard Armor ], inherited the Holy Remains of the old [ Hard Armor ] councilor on the battlefield against the Empire, and thus became the new councilor."
"At that time, he was also at the Middle Tier strength. There was no ceremony, not even the slightest preparation. It was all done in battle, but he still successfully advanced."
The old warlord looked at Colin after the story was told.
"Congressman Colin, if—and I mean if—you can't make a decision about the deal, then let's offer something more substantial."
"Or you could simply make the decision yourself, which we would certainly accept, after all, you are the acting legislator."
He said all he had to say and awaited Colin's response.
This was certainly a forced resignation, but it was also a decision that had to be made.
In the Skeleton Alliance, everyone has the opportunity to become a councilor.
Becoming a member of parliament also means taking on corresponding responsibilities.
Since Colin's livelihood is based on the lives of hundreds of thousands of skeletons, he must make sacrifices for it.
Either you make the decision alone and bear the consequences and potential backlash alone.
Either you risk your life to try and make those Soul Returner have passed away see us as human beings, and with you, the tall one, taking the blame, everyone will be happy to share some of the blame.
Colin, still seated with the fish head facing the direction, finally understood what the overseers meant.
They hoped to use the relics of [ Divine Wings ] in this battlefield environment to try and advance to High Tier, thereby gaining greater bargaining power.
Colin knew very well that if he wanted to keep his seat secure, he had to win this game, and not just a small or medium win, but a big one!
So he nodded:
I will do it, and as soon as possible.
"Are you implying that this operation could be fatal?"
The old warlord nodded silently.
Colin nodded as well:
"I understand. So if I die, please collect Divine Wings ]'s belongings and hold another election for acting councilors."
"The new acting senator will inherit all of my troops; as for future strategies..."
Colin couldn't come up with a good explanation, but suddenly laughed:
"I'm already dead, what do I care about?"
A dozen or so people stood up and bowed to Colin in unison, but Colin was preoccupied with other thoughts.
"Old Overlord, how do I proceed to merge with the Holy Remains?"
The older warlord also seemed somewhat unsure.
He pondered for a moment, then said in a tone that even he wasn't entirely sure:
" Holy Remains are divided into two categories. The first category includes those like those of Lord [ Giant Arms ] and Lord [ Whale Tail ]. To inherit these Holy Remains, one must first remove the corresponding part of one's own body."
Colin brandished the broadsword in his hand, as if he were saying something, but also as if he wasn't.
The old warlord nodded:
"The other type is the Holy Remains outside the normal body, such as those of Lords [ Hard Armor ], [ Divine Wings ], and [ Crown ]. Inheriting such Holy Remains does not require removing the corresponding parts of the body; in fact, it is best to keep the body as intact as possible."
So what should I do?
The old warlord pondered for a moment and said:
"The key is 'connection'; you need to build a Psionic Energy connection with the ' Holy Remains '."
"Just like we are all skeletons, although the bones are tightly connected, the essence is not that there is any material connecting them, but that they are connected by Psionic Energy."
"Including yesterday, when you chopped off Grant's head with a single sword stroke but didn't shatter his vertebrae, you were essentially severing the Psionic Energy connection."
"The resurrection of the skeletons in Sand Capital is about rebuilding this Psionic Energy connection, so for us, death is nothing, but having our bones broken is a big problem."
Colin nodded repeatedly at the lengthy explanation, but the old warlord began to shake his head:
"But I'm not sure about the specifics of how to do it. After all, if I could understand the in-depth application of Psionic Energy, I wouldn't just be a warlord stuck at the High Tier threshold."
So you've basically given me a completely useless explanation!
Seeing that he couldn't get any other questions, Colin nodded and said:
"I understand. That's all for today. Everyone, go back and manage your teams well."
"I won't procrastinate. Things will be resolved today, whether it succeeds or fails."
"Yes, Congressman!"
The warlords' responses carried a degree of respect.
Risking your life isn't respectable; risking your own life is.
The meeting proceeded quickly and was conducted entirely through Psionic Energy communication, with no Soul Returner participating.
After returning to camp and relaying the problem to [ Ginseng Rooster ], unsurprisingly, this loyal human minister displayed an expression of utter grief and loss:
Is this really the only way?
Looking at the [ Ginseng Rooster ]'s appearance, Colin couldn't help but sigh, feeling that the other party was filial, no, loyal.
He didn't know that [ the Ginseng Rooster ] was sad because the acting congressman he had painstakingly cultivated was at risk of death, and might even cause him, a black-haired man, to bury a hairless one.
Hearing his question, Colin sighed and shook his head:
"There is none left.
Only now do I understand what you once said: 'Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.'
"Let me give it a try."