Colin nodded, but then lowered his head again.
"How did things get to this point?"
He sighed sadly, his voice barely audible.
"Sir, what did you say?"
[ Ginseng Rooster ] A rhetorical question.
Colin looked up at the Soul Returner, and after a long while, gritted his teeth and said:
"I said, fuck him!"
Alright!
[ Ginseng Rooster ] seemed to have been injected with a stimulant, its eyes instantly widening and even appearing bloodshot.
He turned to look at the assembled warlords and nodded slightly amidst their expectant gazes.
"Good!"
Several cheers erupted from among the warlords, and some even began to pump their fists in excitement as if they had already won.
"Come on over, everyone. There are some things that need to be double-checked."
"Oh, and bring that Wing Army officer with you too."
Colin stood up from the sand pile, waved to the crowd, and gave the order.
The meeting of the military governors continued, and the officers of the Wing Army were soon brought in.
Colin's eyes were filled with determination after he made up his mind:
"The first thing is our total troop strength."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] immediately reported the numbers:
"One hundred and seventy-nine thousand five hundred and thirty-seven men. If the previous reports from the various governors were correct, this should be the number."
He looked at each of the military governors and checked their troop strength once again.
Colin nodded, having obtained the exact number.
"The second question is, how many troops does Sand Capital have in and around it?"
His question was not directed at the military governor, but at the captured Wing Army officer.
"You, you're rebelling!"
The Wing Army officer started shouting as soon as he was untied.
The burly warlord, who had previously misspoke, immediately threw two punches, knocking out all of the officer's front teeth.
Do you know why I hit you?
The burly warlord said earnestly:
"Because you made a mistake—this isn't a rebellion, it's setting things right."
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and began to sing the red-faced song:
Don't you think teaming up with vampires is risky?
"Imagine a future council hall filled with seven vampire grand dukes, each with a codename like ' Thousand Faces,' 'Devourer,' ' Drain,' and ' Absolute Punishment '..."
"So many Blood Corpse under their command are lining up to transform into new skeletons."
"What will become of you former skeletons then?"
"The entire Alliance is on the verge of collapse because of Lord [ Crown ]'s flawed decision-making!"
"You only have one chance. Tell us, for the sake of the Alliance."
The Wing Army officer, who had been punched twice, thought about it along the lines of [ the Ginseng Rooster ] and realized that it really made sense.
He felt exceptionally clear-headed at that moment, unaware that he was merely using the Crown reasons given by the other party to mask his survival instincts.
"... Alright, I'll explain. The defense of Sand Capital consists of two parts. One part is the legion of Councilor [ Divine Wings ], which is us ' Wing Army '. Because we are the best of the best, our total number is around 50,000, which is less than that of a regular legion."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] interrupted and asked:
"Can all the Wing Army fly?"
"Right."
"What other abilities do you have?"
"Um... Upon reaching the Middle Tier, you can use some of Lord [ Divine Wings ]'s abilities."
"Teleportation and beam attacks?"
"Almost..."
"Go on."
"Okay, the other part of the defense consists of the regular city patrol army, which is mainly used to maintain order. Because the density of skeletons around Sand Capital is very high, there are often disputes. These people number about 30,000 and don't have any special abilities."
"Etc."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] interrupted again:
"Does every member of parliament have their own legion?"
The Wing Army officer nodded.
What about [ Thousand Faces ]?
[ Ginseng Rooster ] asked follow-up questions.
I'm not sure about that.
The Wing Army officer hesitated and said:
"Lord [ Nether Crossing ] previously had a legion because he inherited the power of Giant Arms [ Nether Crossing ]."
He looked at the large group of governors who had gathered around him, and soon spotted Chalco. He asked inquiringly:
"Is that so, Lord Chalco...?"
"That's right."
The Wing Army officer continued:
"As you said, the birth of [ Thousand Faces ] did not inherit the original Holy Remains, and naturally there is no corresponding legion."
"Good."
[ Ginseng Rooster ] nodded and began to carefully calculate:
"Most of the elite troops of the [ Nether Crossing ] Legion are here with us, and they are the main force in this effort to restore order."
"The entire [ Hard Armor ] Legion is at the front lines."
"[ Divine Wings ] Legion takes the route of elite troops and is responsible for the defense of the capital."
Where is the [ Crown ] Legion?
The Wing Army officer quickly said:
"We don't usually call it the [ Crown ] Legion; similar to the ' Wing Army,' we refer to it as the ' Holy Army.'"
I don't care about this or that!
[ Ginseng Rooster ] immediately kicked him:
Where is the [ Crown ] Legion?
The Wing Army officer covered his face and said:
"Since the invasion of the Demon Realm, the front lines have rapidly collapsed. The [ Crown ] Legion has been transferred to the front lines and is now under the unified command of Lord [ Hard Armor ]."
Before [ the Ginseng Rooster ] could ask further, he quickly said:
"The [ Whale Tail ] Legion, part of which went to the Demon Realm, should be among you. The remaining 50,000 are located at the port outside Sand Capital; they are not very combat-effective once they leave the sea."
The warlord from the [ Whale Tail ] Legion immediately turned grim, but remained silent.
Colin for a moment and said:
" The Wing Army has 50,000 troops, the regular army has 30,000 troops, and the [ Whale Tail ] Legion has 50,000 troops..."
"The numbers are indeed considerable, but overall our side still has the advantage."
The warlord from the [ Whale Tail ] Legion could no longer contain himself and immediately stepped forward, saying:
"My lord, you can't calculate it that way—Lord [ Whale Tail ] is dead. We've followed you, but the remaining 50,000 men of the [ Whale Tail ] Legion will hardly be trusted, and they may not even have the opportunity to participate in the war..."
"I am willing to send envoys to infiltrate the harbor area and persuade them to side with us, or at the very least, maintain neutrality."
Colin for a few moments and nodded slightly:
"Okay, I'll do it in a bit."
"Regarding the strength of both sides, what other thoughts do you have? Please share them."
The first person to speak was none other than the Wing Army officer who was being held down on the ground:
I have something to say.
Everyone looked at him.
"[ Nether Crossing ] has left Sand Capital after being ordered to exchange defense duties with [ Hard Armor ]."
"Defense handover is not that simple. Even during a stalemate, it can take several days. If there is fighting, it is even more impossible to change commanders during the battle."
"If you really want to build... to do big things, you'd better hurry."
Colin's expression changed:
"How many men will [ Hard Armor ] bring back?"
"As Lord [ Crown ] intended, only one person will return."
Colin looked slightly better.
"Does anyone else have something to say?"
Governor Philemon raises his hand:
"It's time to send someone to make contact with Lord [ Nether Crossing ]..."
"After the handover, the vast majority of the Skeleton Alliance's power will be in the hands of Lord [ Nether Crossing ]. As long as he remains inactive and focuses solely on the front lines..."
He didn't spell it out very clearly, but everyone understood what he meant.
Colin gestured with his eyes to [ the Ginseng Rooster ], who nodded.
I'll arrange it right away.
"Furthermore, I might be able to find some additional troops."
[ The Ginseng Rooster ] suddenly said.
"Um?"
The warlords looked at the [ Ginseng Rooster ]:
"Humans?"
"Right."
Colin wondered:
"Didn't I tell you before that I couldn't attract more Soul Returner?"
[ Ginseng Rooster ] shrugs:
"They didn't say anything about going to war before."