Even the most shrewd person like [ the Ginseng Rooster ] was taken aback by such outrageous remarks.
He pondered for a moment and felt that while sowing discord was important, one should not completely despair people.
Moreover, if we make such confident pronouncements now, and it turns out later that the facts don't match our predictions, the impact on morale will be very significant.
So after some thought, [ the Ginseng Rooster ] shook his head:
"It's not necessarily only that possibility."
He held up one finger:
"Currently, the most probable scenario is that the councilors have reached a cooperation agreement with the vampires, transforming the vampire grand duke into a new councilor."
"If that's the case..."
Chalco asked with some doubt:
"Then why treat us like this?"
Philemon patted Chalco on the shoulder:
"What do you think? Who were we fighting against in the Demon Realm before?"
"Oh..."
Chalco suddenly realized, "So that's how it is—when the Skeleton Alliance and the vampires were enemies, their expeditionary force was certainly the sharpest blade; but now that the two sides have reconciled, they can only be considered an unstable factor that disrupts the peace."
Such unstable factors not only fail to bring any credit, but it's also possible that the ringleaders, or even several of them, will be dealt with.
"The second possibility--"
[ Ginseng Rooster ] raises his second finger:
"The two sides have not reached a complete consensus and are currently in a tug-of-war."
"Perhaps the two sides turned against each other again after the Hall was transformed, which is why there was the chaotic situation before. If we wait, we might receive a formal order from Lord [ Crown ]."
I think... the probability is not high.
Philemon said in a low voice:
"Only councilors can initiate the transformation of life forms, and there has never been any known case of rebellion after transformation..."
"The third possibility is that the council has been completely taken over by the vampires."
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] raised his third finger and then clenched his fist tightly:
"Cooperation, confrontation, or utter defeat—these are the only three possibilities."
His tone was somewhat low:
"But whatever the truth may be, it's not a good thing for us."
As [ the Ginseng Rooster ] pointed out the core issue, everyone's spirits sank.
After a long silence, Colin finally spoke slowly:
"Everyone, let's share our thoughts."
Philemon sat on a clump of sand, his body slightly hunched and looking rather old.
He sighed deeply.
"I don't care anymore. As the one who told you how to fuse with the relic, going back this time will basically mean certain death."
The other warlord's tone also sounded desperate:
"Before me, two of the commanders of this 10,000-strong force had already died in battle. If, according to today's logic, the councilors don't recognize the previous promotions made on the spot, then I'll probably die too."
Based on the known situation, the warlords realized that they all seemed to have already chosen a path to their deaths.
The fact that you took over after the warlord's death shows that you didn't lead the charge ahead of him; you deserve to die!
You're the original warlord, so why did you vote in favor of electing provisional councilors? You deserve to die!
It seems that no matter what, lawmakers always find a reason to get themselves killed, and they can do so by following the proper procedures.
The conversation flowed freely, making the atmosphere increasingly gloomy.
Finally, when the atmosphere in the small meeting had reached its breaking point, a burly-looking warlord pushed through the crowd, knelt down before Colin, and loudly proclaimed:
"Lord Colin, this is outrageous!"
These words shocked the entire audience!
Although everyone is dying, and the situation is utterly hopeless, how did it come to the point of rebellion?
Rebellion is out of the question, absolutely out of the question!
Just then, [ Ginseng Rooster ] stepped forward two steps, disregarding the vast difference in strength between the two sides, and kicked the warlord in the shoulder, sternly rebuking him:
"What nonsense are you spouting?! What kind of rebellion is this?"
After saying this, he looked ahead, knelt on one knee, and earnestly said to Colin:
"Lord Colin, the Council is corrupt and has colluded with foreign powers, thus inviting trouble and causing the situation to spiral out of control."
"Now we are surrounded by the imperial army on the outside, and the vampire duke has usurped Authority on the inside."
"At this critical moment, someone must step forward to set things right!"
"Otherwise, the century-old Alliance will be destroyed in an instant!"
"Failure is called rebellion; victory is called 'purging the court of corrupt officials'!"
"Purge the traitors from Parliament and reserve the seats for those who are truly qualified!"
"This matter is extremely urgent; please make a decision as soon as possible, sir!"
Ah, so it wasn't a rebellion after all?
That's fine, as long as it's not a rebellion.
The skeletons breathed a sigh of relief.
The burly warlord was initially bewildered after being kicked by a human mercenary, but after listening to [ Ginseng Rooster ]'s profound discourse, he realized that he had been shallow before.
Yes, how can this be called a rebellion? I should have studied more; unlike now, I was supposed to show my face, but I ended up showing my backside instead...
After much thought, the warlord couldn't come up with anything nice to say, so he immediately lowered his head and said:
"Yes, sir, that's exactly what I meant!"
With the title and the goal set, the decision truly rested on Colin's mere whim.
The skeletal man, who had been appointed to this critical mission, fell into deep thought once again.
About half a minute later, he looked at his most loyal subordinate—[ Ginseng Rooster ]:
"Come here, I need to ask you something."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] stepped forward as instructed, and the others wisely stepped back to leave enough space.
"Is Your Excellency hesitating?"
"Right."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Of course, why are you hesitating?"
"Is that even a question? Although you've found a reason, the truth is, it's actually..."
Colin was reluctant to use the word "rebellion".
"My lord, are you afraid of raising an army or afraid of failure?"
The issue of "[ Ginseng Rooster ]" remains incisive.
After a few seconds of silence, Colin's tone was somewhat reluctant, and he didn't answer directly, but instead asked in a low voice:
"If given the chance, who wouldn't want to go further?"
So you're afraid of failure.
"Right."
Colin finally faced his own conscience.
"My lord, please forgive my bluntness—"
[ Ginseng Rooster ] whispered:
"Raising an army in a desperate gamble might lead to death."
"Giving up resistance means certain death."
What you fear is meaningless.
Another period of silent contemplation followed as Colin looked at his completely crystallized body.
In just one day, he went from being stuck at the Middle Tier for decades to stepping into the threshold of the High Tier, which can be considered as fulfilling his long-cherished wish.
But he couldn't feel happy at all.
Because greater strength means greater responsibility, and a more devastating fall after failure.
Being considered "High Tier" is merely an admission ticket to the banquet; whether one becomes a guest or food after entering is still uncertain.
"I said--"
Colin looked at the [ Ginseng Rooster ]:
"If I decide to go to war, do I really have a chance of winning?"
In my opinion...
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] had a gleam in its eyes:
"Not only does it exist, but it's also very large."