"If there's any species in this world that's absolutely untrustworthy, it's definitely vampires!"
[ Hard Armor ] slammed his hand on the table and said decisively.
Sailesi nodded in agreement.
"Of course, absolute unbelievability is also a form of credibility to some extent."
"However... [ Thousand Faces ]'s life form has changed, can it still be considered a vampire?"
"Snort!"
[ Hard Armor ] snorted coldly:
"Once a vampire, always a vampire!"
"..."
Sailesi could only remain silent.
Minutes earlier, the two had made a tacit assessment of the situation: someone was definitely up to no good.
However, after a brief period of understanding, [ Hard Armor ] and Sailesi disagreed on their analysis of the situation.
[ Hard Armor ] believes that Hall transformed into [ Thousand Faces ], a dog that can't change its nature. This time, he probably seized the timing of [ Crown ] councilor and successfully controlled or replaced him.
Sailesi, however, believed that the root of all the problems lay with the rebels, and that the Wing Army messenger was likely captured by the rebels and sent to spread false information and sow discord.
[ Crown ] and [ Thousand Faces ] are probably still getting along well, but things are more dangerous outside of Sand Capital.
Once the elite troops are withdrawn from this side, the rebels may turn their attention from the direction of Sand Capital and attack the Great Fortress.
If [ Hard Armor ] were to teleport there rashly, Sand Capital would indeed be safe, but the second line of defense would most likely be destroyed.
Although the two had differing opinions on the matter, they both clearly felt that things were not so simple.
So what are you planning to do about it?
Sailesi looked at [ Hard Armor ]:
"[ The Crown ] Congressman recalled you, perhaps because you are more trusted than me, or perhaps because the enemy intends to eliminate you."
"But if we remain inactive, wouldn't that be a bit too much..."
[ Hard Armor ] nodded:
"I've been thinking about this too, and there's another very important point—what if the Empire launches an attack when I've mobilized my elite forces?"
Sailesi remained silent for a moment, secretly calculating in his mind:
Initially, he intended to persuade [ Hard Armor ] to remain inactive.
However, through their discussions and Sailesi's deliberate manipulation, [ Hard Armor ], despite having doubts about Sand Capital, never wavered in his decision to mobilize troops.
This senator was so overly loyal that Sailesi had to start thinking of other solutions, such as getting him to transfer less or in batches.
However, he outwardly maintained a facade of loyalty and filial piety, agreeing with [ Hard Armor's ] idea:
"No matter what, we still need to gather our elite troops, otherwise we'll be the ones rebelling."
Even if the number is less than 50,000, we still need to take Sand Capital's orders seriously.
"Also, we need to expedite the defense handover process."
[ Hard Armor ] agreed with Sailesi's statement, and the two immediately issued an order to summon the elite troops that very night, and began the handover work throughout the night.
Two hours later, a messenger from the rear of the Great Fortress brought back a strange message:
"My lords, there are two humans outside requesting an audience."
"Humans?"
[ Hard Armor ] and Sailesi were both taken aback.
"Yes, humans. They claim to be part of the human mercenaries from a while ago, and they have crystal clusters on them as evidence."
The two councilors looked at each other, instantly reading one word in each other's eyes—
"Rebels."
"This must be Messenger from the rebels, right?"
[ Hard Armor ] asked with some doubt.
Sailesi for a moment and then nodded firmly:
"That should be it. I remember when we went to the Demon Realm, all the frontline troops were redeployed. Apart from that unit, no human Soul Returner were involved in the other legions."
[ Hard Armor ] seemed thoughtful upon hearing this:
"Since they are Messenger of the rebels, then what about that previous Wing Army messenger...?"
Sailesi could only nod helplessly, inwardly cursing that his misleading plan had been seen through so quickly.
"That's right, my guess might be wrong. That messenger really did come from Sand Capital. So if you're not mistaken, Lord [ Crown ] might really be under control."
"Well."
[ Hard Armor ] sighed slightly:
"Being right isn't always a good thing."
"My lords..."
The skeletal soldier who came in to report asked:
"Should we meet those two Messenger, or...?"
"Kill them!"
[ Hard Armor ] immediately raised his hand and waved, signaling his subordinates not to bother him with such trivial matters.
"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute."
Sailesi quickly pulled him back.
At this very moment, Sailesi's brain is operating at super-high speed.
Based on my previous deductions, the great rebellion instigated by Colin was most likely the result of manipulation by the Son of God from behind the scenes.
In other words, he was essentially on the same side as the rebels.
The Soul Returner are the tentacles and roots of that Son of God. If we can avoid killing them, we should. Not only should we not kill them, but we should also take the opportunity to pass on some information.
Looking at the bewildered [ Hard Armor ], Sailesi calmly said:
"I think it's worth a meeting—they probably don't know that Messenger from Sand Capital just came by. We can pretend not to know and get some information from their conversation."
[ Hard Armor ] listened to this reasoning, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded slightly:
"Then let's meet."
Soon, the rebel messengers [ Western Sharpshooter ] and [ Chosen of the Four Gods ] were brought before the two councilors.
To prevent the internal structure of the Great Fortress from being revealed, the skeletons even blindfolded the two men as they were carried there.
After being freed from their restraints, the two players were finally able to see the light of day again.
"I thought there was going to be some weird play going to happen..."
[ The Chosen of the Four Gods ] whispered.
"This is a legitimate game!"
[ The Western Sharpshooter ] immediately retorted.
Is it really legitimate?
"It's definitely standard, but the characters are a bit too realistic, the degree of freedom is a bit too high, and the visuals are a bit too bloody..."
[ The Western Sharpshooter ] is a bit hard to continue.
"You two."
Just then, [ Hard Armor ], sitting opposite, asked the first question:
"Who sent you? And what is your purpose here?"
[ Western Sharpshooter ] tapped [ Chosen of the Four Gods ]:
"You say."
"Good."
[ The Chosen of the Four Gods ] stepped forward and immediately said earnestly:
"We are here to deliver some bad news to the two councilors—"
"The new councilor [ Thousand Faces ] has secretly taken control of the entire Sand Capital and is jeopardizing the Alliance's future with his foolish actions."
[ Hard Armor ] was immediately startled. The Soul Returner's words were exactly the same as his own thoughts. Could he have really guessed correctly?
[ The Chosen of the Four Gods ] continues the discussion based on the speech previously written by [ Ginseng Rooster ].
"That's right, the new councilor [ Thousand Faces ] is actually Grand Duke Hall, the vampire. We defeated the other grand dukes in the Demon Realm and have now returned to the vicinity of Sand Capital. He feels that his plans are threatened, which is why he wants to wipe us out."
"Fortunately, thanks to Lord [ Divine Wings ]'s legacy, Lord Colin has now risen to High Tier and calls himself [ Broken Sword ], leading his troops towards Sand Capital."