Besides, if anything happens in Sand Capital, theoretically the message should be sent to me.
Regardless of qualifications or background, I am a complete skeleton.
As for [ Nether Crossing ], although he seems to be fine now, three councilors died in the two wars, but he himself was unharmed.
Even if he clears himself of suspicion, it still seems rather strange.
Why would such an untrustworthy outsider receive individual orders?
etc...
A thought suddenly occurred to [ Hard Armor ] --
What kind of person would secretly send messages to outsiders?
The answer can only be...
Another outsider.
"[ Thousand Faces ]... Could it be you?"
[ Hard Armor ] stood in a corner of the fortress, whispering the name.
There are only four members of parliament left, and only two of them are from the local area.
It now seems that the remaining two outsiders are showing signs of forming a united front...
If they join forces, Lord [ Crown ] will be in danger!
But this is just speculation. Even if I pretend nothing happened, the responsibility won't fall on my shoulders in the end.
But...
[ Hard Armor ] fell into deep thought.
Should one prioritize self-preservation or remain loyal to the Alliance?
In less than two seconds, he made up his mind.
He needed to know what orders Sand Capital [ Nether Crossing ].
This is not overstepping one's bounds; it is an expression of loyalty!
What if I pretend nothing happened, and the Wing Army has already been taken control?
What if [ Nether Crossing ] is to secretly return to Sand Capital to participate in the coup?
At that time, I will still be at the front resisting the empire's attack, while Lord [ Crown ] will be isolated and helpless behind.
[ Divine Wings ] Councilor is dead; we cannot allow Lord [ Crown ] to be put in danger any further!
Having thought this through, [ Hard Armor ] no longer hesitated.
He pressed down on a stone brick in front of him, and the Psionic Energy Formula hidden behind the stone wall slowly activated, causing the perfectly sealed stone brick to recede, making way for [ Hard Armor ] to create a narrow and dark passage.
He slipped inside, and as the stone walls slowly closed, the aura of the [ Hard Armor ] vanished without a trace.
That's right, there are secret passages within the Great Fortress, and they're not ordinary passages, but rather passages that connect most of the rooms and are protected by concealment spells.
Those clumsy designs in Sailesi's eyes were actually compromises made to serve the purpose of the secret passage.
Sailesi, an outsider, assumed that the work wasn't done meticulously because they were rushing to meet deadlines.
As the core of the Skeleton Alliance's second line of defense, a true military fortress, it must consider how to continue resisting after the outer perimeter and even the inner layer have been breached.
[ Hard Armor ] I am the designer of the Great Fortress.
In his eyes, there was never an option to surrender.
If the defenses collapse, hold the Great Fortress; if the outer perimeter collapses, hold the inner perimeter; if the inner perimeter also collapses, send soldiers into the secret passages to continuously sabotage and delay the enemy.
After all, the humans of the Empire are made of flesh and blood, and no one wants to be suddenly attacked by a group of skeletons while sleeping or using the toilet.
If the Great Fortress does fall, [ Hard Armor ] intends to leave behind an elite force to harass the enemy in this way.
Thanks to the persistence of [ Hard Armor ], the entire Great Fortress almost exhausted all the stone the Alliance could find in a short period of time.
So the seemingly extremely thick stone wall was indeed extremely thick, but there was only a path in the middle large enough for two skeletons to walk side by side.
The stone walls were so thick that even though the middle had been converted into a secret passage, it was impossible to detect it using conventional methods.
With a pre-set concealment array and Psionic Energy energy array in place, [ Hard Armor ] did not feel that it would be exposed.
Even without any light source, he easily discerned the intricate path of the tunnels and soon arrived behind the wall of the [ Nether Crossing ] room.
At this moment, the presence of [ Hard Armor ] was completely concealed, but [ Nether Crossing ] was very clear in his eyes.
A one-way leak scenario is ready; now it's time to eavesdrop on secrets—no, to demonstrate loyalty to the Alliance.
The Wing Army uttered the same words as his companion from the previous day, and after hearing his request, Sailesi waved for the other soldiers to leave and closed the house door.
Apart from the Hard Armor eavesdropping behind the wall, only Sailesi and the Wing Army messengers remained in the room.
"What is it? Speak."
Sailesi spoke calmly:
"What is it that you can't tell Lord [ Hard Armor ], and can only tell me?"
These words pleased the Hard Armor behind the wall.
If [ Nether Crossing ] didn't know he was here, then he's actually quite considerate, thinking of him even at a time like this.
Thinking of this, [ Hard Armor ] listened with even greater focus.
The messenger from the Wing Army also began explaining the situation at a set time.
Sailesi, on the other hand, performed flawlessly. Although he already knew about Colin's rebellious act, he acted as if he had just found out.
" Colin? You mean the Colin who wrote to the council suggesting a large-scale recruitment of humans from Colin Theocracy as mercenaries?"
Sailesi's face was filled with disbelief:
"Isn't he just a lowly knight?"
The Hard Armor behind the wall was equally puzzled.
He also signed the proposal to recruit Soul Returner as mercenaries and set up restrictions. It's truly unbelievable how a castle knight with only petty cleverness could transform into a rebel leader.
But he soon realized a point of doubt from before—no wonder he insisted on having the Wing Army deliver the message in person.
Once this news reaches the ordinary soldiers below, even those Hard Armor knights who share their power will surely be thrown into chaos.
This is a serious matter—a fire breaking out in the rear!
But upon further reflection, new doubts arose in [ Hard Armor's] mind—
If there's a rebellion that needs to be quelled, then why keep it a secret from me if I'm not allowed to return to Sand Capital?
He couldn't figure it out for a moment, so he could only continue listening attentively.
Meanwhile, the Wing Army outside said somewhat awkwardly:
"Regarding this matter... he was previously promoted to Bastion Lord for his meritorious service in repelling a sneak attack by the Empire's elite forces."
"That's just a minor lord."
"During the Demon Realm War, he temporarily took over the position of a fallen warlord, and was later entrusted with the troops by another fallen warlord."
"That's just a minor warlord..."
"I don't know what methods he used, but after returning to the vicinity of Sand Capital, he had already become High Tier and now calls himself a councilor of [ Broken Sword ]."
Upon hearing this, Sailesi feigned anger and slammed his hand on the table in front of him.
"This traitor! Doesn't he even know his place? How dare he call himself a member of parliament?"
Although the messenger from the Wing Army was startled, he also felt that what Sailesi said made perfect sense.
[ Hard Armor ] behind the wall was equally itching to speak, but could only slap his thigh; there wasn't even a table to slap.