As midnight approached, although everyone had rested for a long time, anxiety was clearly brewing within the Great Fortress.
[Hard Armor] knew he had to do something.
He found [Nether Crossing] and discovered that the other party was reading a series of defense documents he had left behind. He was once again deeply moved by the unwavering loyalty of this outsider.
Although [Nether Crossing] did not show it on his face, he was overjoyed inside.
For Sailesi, these two days of escalating Infernal Affairs could have ended in only two ways—
Result 1: [Hard Armor] did not lead troops back to reinforce, so his identity as a mole remains safe and he does not need to flee for the time being. However, the cost is that the empire receives incorrect military intelligence, which may result in heavy losses.
Result 2: [Hard Armor] successfully led his troops back to reinforce the city. After comparing intelligence, both sides discovered their identities. However, the Empire had already launched an attack. He sold the second line of defense for a good price and then made a clean getaway.
But now, for reasons unknown, by some twist of fate, the hidden "outcome three" has been revealed.
[Hard Armor] gathered troops but did not teleport back to Sand Capital.
His identity remained undetected, the Empire's intelligence advantage was still accurate, and everything seemed to be going too smoothly, so much so that Sailesi began to wonder from evening where things had gone wrong.
Even now, when [Hard Armor] came to visit him, he still couldn't figure it out. But no matter how much he couldn't figure it out, Sailesi was still very happy.
Hearing familiar footsteps, he put down the military intelligence report in front of him and looked at [Hard Armor]:
"Over in Sand Capital, has Lord [Crown] not activated the teleportation yet?"
"No."
[Hard Armor] said with some annoyance:
"Where exactly did things go wrong? Could something have happened in Sand Capital?"
Sailesi frowned, sensing that [Hard Armor]'s thinking seemed to be deliberately avoiding certain directions.
The intelligence that [Hard Armor] received regarding the gathering of troops to reinforce came from his own side, while his own intelligence came from the Wing Army.
But now, faced with this sudden turn of events, [Hard Armor] neither doubted the Wing Army nor himself, but instead directly pointed the finger at Sand Capital.
Does this align with normal logical thinking?
If he still had flesh and blood, Sailesi's face would have shown a fleeting frown, but after transforming into Skeleton Man, his micro-expressions made it difficult to discern any problems.
Soon, Sailesi had a guess in his mind—
I'm being monitored.
Even if [Hard Armor] wasn't present when he met with the messenger from the Wing Army, there must have been his trusted confidants secretly watching him.
That's why [Hard Armor] was able to never doubt himself from beginning to end.
However, with the existence of [Dream of Rebirth], the minds of Skeleton Man below the High Tier cannot escape its surveillance.
However, the High Tier warlords would be able to sense it themselves.
Several sparks of inspiration flashed through Sailesi's mind; he had a guess, or rather, a conclusion—
[Hard Armor] personally monitored himself.
Good lad, I didn't know you had this trick up your sleeve.
Sailesi appeared outwardly unchanged, but inwardly he was somewhat astonished.
Fortunately, Sailesi has held a high position for decades and has no family.
With unwavering resolve, he is able to fulfill his role as a leader in every moment of his life, and has never lost his composure or made any inappropriate remarks due to private or unfriendly circumstances.
In just a breath, Sailesi had already regained his composure.
He did not expose [Hard Armor's ] previous heinous acts, but instead looked at the other party and asked seriously:
So what do you plan to do now?
When faced with a situation where he himself is suspected, Sailesi will not offer any specific advice, but will only fill in the gaps after the other party has made up his mind.
[Hard Armor] remained silent for a moment, then finally spoke his mind.
"I plan to... return to Sand Capital."
"One person?"
"I can't teleport alone, the warlords need to maintain order, and the second line of defense needs you. No one can go back with me."
That's true.
Sailesi nodded.
"So, when are you leaving?"
"Now."
"Okay, then I'll see him off..."
"Report!"
The sound of hurried footsteps accompanied by a shout came:
"My lords, there is an urgent military situation to the north."
"What?"
[Hard Armor] and Sailesi both exclaimed in surprise, one in shock and the other in delight.
"The Empire dispatched several elite squads to simultaneously attack fifteen small and medium-sized sandcastles and three large sandcastles an hour ago. All of those sandcastles have now lost contact."
"Because of the withdrawal of reserves, our northern defense line has been breached and cannot be repaired."
"This is outrageous!"
[Hard Armor] raised his hand to smash, but after searching around, he couldn't find anything to vent his anger on.
He let out a heavy sigh and plopped down on the stone bench to start thinking of a solution.
Sailesi was astonished by the speed at which the Soul Returner could transmit information. In just one day, they had launched such a meticulously planned blitzkrieg, completely clearing him of suspicion.
[Nether Crossing] Councilor spent the whole day with [Hard Armor] Councilor. Your suspicion that [Nether Crossing] Councilor leaked information is essentially the same as your suspicion of [Hard Armor] Councilor.
Furthermore, if you were placed in Lord [Nether Crossing's ] position, could you transmit the intelligence within twenty-four hours and convince the Empire to be fully prepared?
Cannot?
You dare doubt Lord [Nether Crossing]?
With a sigh of relief, Sailesi found a seat and looked at [Hard Armor], saying:
"As long as you haven't left, command remains in your hands; I only have the right to offer suggestions."
"So whether to shrink the defensive line, whether to repatriate the elite troops, whether you want to go to the Sand Capital —these are all decisions you need to make yourself."
[Hard Armor] also knew that Sailesi was doing this to avoid suspicion, to show that he had neither done anything wrong nor had the intention to do anything wrong.
But at this moment he had no time to think about so much. The second line of defense had collapsed, Sand Capital was out of contact, there were rebels inside and enemies outside.
The situation has deteriorated to an all-time low.
The so-called third line of defense was just a plan a few months ago.
These were a group of large war fortresses surrounding the Sand Capital, capable of serving multiple purposes when the enemy besieged it.
If the enemy launches a strong attack on the fortress, the fortress will certainly fall, but the enemy will also suffer heavy losses and waste a lot of time.
If the enemy bypasses the fortresses and directly surrounds Sand Capital, the skeletal soldiers inside these fortresses can go out and harass the Imperials from time to time.
According to the original plan, if the second line of defense were to fall, half of the soldiers would enter the fortresses surrounding the Sand Capital.
However, the current situation is slightly different from before.
According to the messengers of the Wing Army and the rebel Messenger, the rebels will soon arrive at the Sand Capital.
In other words, those large fortresses originally intended to protect the Sand Capital may have already been included in the list of abandoned assets before they were even completed.
In this situation, the third line of defense was already practically defunct.
After much deliberation, [Hard Armor] felt that things had completely fallen apart.
However, if I return to Sand Capital and assist [Crown] in resolving Sand Capital's internal problems, and then rely on the elite troops to quell the internal strife, there is still a possibility of turning defeat into victory.
With the third line of defense abandoned, the empire's supply lines had stretched for thousands of miles.
Every second the war dragged on, the empire's economy drew one step closer to collapse.
By then, he could stall long enough until the empire withdrew its troops.
Moreover, the timing is easy to calculate.
The people of the empire need to eat, and to eat they need to farm, and to farm they need to be in the fields on time in spring, or they'll starve to death!
In an instant, many thoughts flashed through [Hard Armor's] mind.