"It's entirely possible..."
[ Thousand Faces ] whispered to [ Crown ].
He knew he was sowing discord, and [ the Crown ] knew he was sowing discord as well.
The key is that even if both parties know the truth, if the lie is repeated enough times, it can subtly shift a person's perception without their awareness.
After a moment's thought, [ Crown ] jumped down from the Crystal Cluster Palace.
In the large square below, he could indeed see the dust from the vast desert region.
Clearly, [ Thousand Faces ]'s judgment is correct.
The teleportation worked, but there was no one on the magic circle on the other side.
[ Crown ]'s entire body turned slightly red, and after taking two deep breaths, he gritted his teeth and said:
"Bring the Wing Army who was in charge of relaying the order yesterday to me immediately. I will interrogate him personally."
Less than fifteen minutes later, the Wing Army who was in charge of reporting the situation yesterday arrived at the Crystal Cluster Palace.
He was completely baffled. After all, he had exhausted himself flying back and forth yesterday, covering nearly a thousand miles in total. After reporting the news yesterday, he was given the order to rest.
So what happened?
Upon arriving at the Crystal Cluster Palace, he quickly encountered [ Crown ] and [ Thousand Faces ], and began answering their questions with utter bewilderment.
[ Thousand Faces ] had never met [ Hard Armor ], so he naturally didn't know any of the councilor's little habits.
However, having worked together for decades, [ Crown ] and [ Hard Armor ] naturally have a deep understanding of each other's personalities and habits.
However, after some questioning, even [ Crown ] felt that the messenger from the Wing Army had seen [ Hard Armor ] himself.
What's going on?
[ The Crown ] fell into deep thought.
He quickly realized a possibility --
Could it be that [ Nether Crossing ] secretly sabotaged us?
But why did he do this?
Logically speaking, it doesn't make any sense at all...
He looked at the Wing Army and asked again:
"Where was Councilor [ Nether Crossing ] in yesterday when you went to deliver the message privately?"
The Wing Army fell into a brief moment of thought.
He recalled that after entering the Great Fortress yesterday, he did indeed meet [ Nether Crossing ], who also wanted to know what message he had brought.
But after she said she couldn't tell, he didn't scold her; instead, he praised her for being very discreet.
Wing Army thought that Councilor [ Nether Crossing ] wouldn't do anything detrimental to the Alliance, but judging from the current situation, Councilor [ Nether Crossing ] seems to have inexplicably become a suspect?
He thought about it and finally told the truth, only embellishing it a little:
"When I arrived yesterday, Councilor [ Nether Crossing ] was inside the Great Fortress, but later went to inspect other places, in the opposite direction from Lord [ Hard Armor ]'s location."
[ Crown ] remained noncommittal regarding the soldier's statement.
He had a general understanding of [ Nether Crossing's] abilities, knowing that the other party could create illusions to a certain extent.
Could it be him?
[ The Crown ] pondered for a moment, then came up with a not-so-good idea—
Let's test the waters with [ the Nether Crossing ].
Since the [ Hard Armor ] that this soldier saw might be an illusion or an imposter, it would be better to directly synchronize this information with [ Nether Crossing ].
Let [ Nether Crossing ] personally gather elite troops and then send [ Hard Armor ] back.
This way, if any problems arise again, we can immediately pinpoint who has malicious intentions...
Moreover, this matter cannot be known to [ Hard Armor ] and [ Nether Crossing ] at the same time, otherwise [ Nether Crossing ] will choose to hide his thoughts even if he has them.
Then I'll have to inform [ Nether Crossing ] separately.
If elite troops are indeed teleported here tomorrow, then the problem lies with [ Hard Armor ].
He either had his own plans, or he simply didn't have enough time to gather his troops and teleport.
If tomorrow's teleportation yields no results, then the traitor will have been found.
At this moment, [ The Crown ] had already decided to give up entirely.
Even if it means wasting another day, we absolutely cannot let the wolf into our house!
After dismissing the Wing Army soldiers, [ Crown ] signaled [ Thousand Faces ] to return to the underground space to continue screwing in the screws.
He then issued another order, summoning new messengers from the Wing Army, who relayed yesterday's order in its entirety, the only difference being that the recipient was now [ Nether Crossing ] instead of [ Hard Armor ].
Several hours later, the exhausted Wing Army soldiers finally flew to the Great Fortress area.
As yesterday, he landed, verified his identity, entered the Great Fortress, and, supported by two soldiers, went to the room where Councilor [ Nether Crossing ] was located.
After rounding a bend, a tall, imposing skeletal figure appeared before the three of them. He was covered in thick armor, and even just standing there, he exuded an aura of authority without being angry.
"Sir [ Hard Armor ]!"
The three skeletal figures immediately bowed.
" Wing Army?"
[ Hard Armor ] sized up the somewhat weak fellow before him:
"You've come from Sand Capital? Is there something important you want to tell me?"
Wing Army's tone became hesitant and stuttering:
"My... my lord, it was Lord [ Crown ] who gave Lord [ Nether Crossing ] orders."
"Oh."
[ Hard Armor ] nodded slightly in a calm tone:
"I can't know?"
The Wing Army seemed somewhat at a loss:
"My lord, if Lord [ Nether Crossing ] deems it appropriate for you to know, then he will inform you."
[ Hard Armor ] neither confirmed nor denied this.
"Then why not use runic bones for communication?"
Wing Army's forehead broke out in non-existent cold sweat:
"[ The Crown ] Lord said there is a risk of leaks..."
"Leaked secrets? To whom were they leaked secrets?"
"Perhaps it's... the ordinary soldiers who don't understand the bigger picture."
Wing Army said, quite embarrassed.
He knew his claim was completely baseless, but... what could he do but be a messenger?
"Is that so? Then go and report it."
[ Hard Armor ] waved his hand, signaling the three to continue, and then walked past them in another direction.
"Yes, sir."
The Wing Army felt as if they had been granted a pardon. Watching [ Hard Armor ] walk further and further away, they followed two other soldiers to [ Nether Crossing ]'s room.
[ Hard Armor ] wandered aimlessly through the Great Fortress, turning left and right without any apparent pattern, and his attention was indeed not on inspecting the Great Fortress.
Is something being kept from me by Sand Capital?
He was somewhat confused.
It's not because he's petty or anything; as someone who rose from Middle Tier to become a councilor, [ Hard Armor ] has only loyalty to the Alliance and the Council.
But that's precisely why he was puzzled by what had just happened.
Starting from the lord level, officers at every rank possess one-time-use rune bones that can quickly transmit orders.
Why did the people of Sand Capital insist on using this method to send messages to the Great Fortress?
The excuse is that they are worried about leaks, but races other than the skeletons have absolutely no way of using this tool.
That's really strange.