Man on the ark, forced to become king

"How to do?"

"We have contacted the nearest patroller."

"Understood, I'll be waiting for you up ahead."

Pressing the communicator clipped to his collar, the bodyguard in the black overcoat raised his head, which was covered by a respirator, and a crimson light seemed to flash in his eyes.

A giant golden light curtain suddenly appeared between heaven and earth in the distance, which was extremely conspicuous in the darkness. Anyone with eyes could see it clearly from a great distance.

The enormous golden tree shadow that illuminated half the sky before the light curtain formed was as conspicuous as the sun, making it difficult to miss.

It was something that had never appeared on this ice field before, nor was it recorded in the database. Its nature and origin were completely unknown, making exploration imperative.

On the far north ice plains, nothing is allowed to appear outside the Northern Legion's control. Whatever it may be, they must ascertain its impact and, if necessary, eliminate it. This is their innate mission.

In this frigid, far-northern land, even the emperor's authority is of little use; the power struggles within the empire are all halted by the constant blizzards.

Everything else pales in comparison to the threat of evil.

The Northern Legion takes no orders from anyone; their sole purpose is to keep evil out of their lines of defense.

Do whatever it takes.

Zhiqua~zhiqua~

The heavy footsteps compressed the snow into a thin layer. A moment later, three guards who were almost indistinguishable in appearance awoke from the snowstorm. They looked at each other and began to move toward the direction where the golden curtain stood.

Chapter 266 Nobody Cares Who Sit on the Throne

"No abnormalities found, continue forward."

In the wind and snow, the bodyguard with a military knife at his waist bent down and scooped up some snowflakes from the ground. He had just taken a step when he was stopped by an arm that reached out from the side.

"No abnormality is the biggest abnormality."

The guard who reached out to stop his teammate spoke in an even more hoarse voice, as if it were being squeezed out of a decaying organ. He bent down, picked up a handful of snow, examined it closely, and muttered to himself, "The snow here is so clean."

"clean?"

Hearing this, the guards who were positioned further back also grabbed a handful of snow, examined it, and nodded slightly: "It is indeed too clean. No one knows better than us what the ice field is like now. Pollution has been spreading, and the claws of those things are lurking in the shadows, sowing the seeds of fear. However, the snow here shows no signs of being polluted."

"Such a pure object should not appear near the border unless there is external interference."

The demons are powerful because they are known, and to fight them, without corresponding means of restraint, one must rely on a small number of elite individuals. Therefore, the Northern Legion does not have many people, and it is almost impossible to maintain the entire defense line without any loopholes around the clock.

Coupled with the heavy casualties in the Battle of Sunset Canyon, the Northern Legion was actually facing a shortage of personnel and a lack of replacements, making their battle against the demons even more difficult.

Even today, while the pollution caused by evil spirits is not ubiquitous on the ice plains near the border, it is not rare either, and it covers a vast area, even spreading into the Sami territory.

Strange things lurk in the wind and snow, encroaching on the human realm. Pure things that are untouched by any trace of aura are now quite rare.

The Inner Guards haven't seen snow as clean as this in many years. Only through the intervention of external forces can such an 'untouched paradise' appear.

As for what the external force was, no one said it explicitly, but everyone present looked up at the golden barrier standing between heaven and earth in the distance.

No need to guess, the answer is right in front of you.

"That thing can remove pollution?"

The guard who had been silent spoke up in a low voice, his tone clearly questioning.

The corruption and contamination caused by evil spirits are not insurmountable; otherwise, how could the new generation of inner guards have gained power and grown up so quickly by implanting flesh and blood?

However, that method could not be widely adopted; the enormous resource consumption was beyond the capacity of even a vast empire, let alone the luxury of using it to clean up a snowfield.

Anyone who knows the inside story would question the veracity of this matter.

"It sounds like a good thing, but it only sounds like it."

The first guard to stop shook his head, his hand resting on the military knife at his waist, his tone enigmatic.

"There's no point in arguing about this now, let's move on."

The hoarse, piercing sound brought the discussion to an end. Pure white snowflakes drifted down from their fingertips. The guards exchanged glances and disappeared into the snowstorm, leaving only shallow footprints that were quickly covered by the blowing snow, disappearing without a trace.

-------------------------------------

"Field missions have turned into stationing missions..."

Huang casually tossed the broken metal door wreckage onto the open ground, sniffed, and muttered under his breath, "I don't really have any complaints, but this place is so cold, it's terrible for Felin."

"That's your misconception. With your constitution, temperature won't have a significant impact."

Saria carefully picked up two unbroken sample bottles from the ground, answered casually, and then added, "This is a rare opportunity for you. The key to opening the barrier is in our hands. You can go out and fight those pollutants at any time. Real combat is always the fastest way to improve your strength."

"But is it alright for us to stay here any longer?"

Chen's political acumen wasn't particularly sharp, but it was still much stronger than the others in the team. Hearing Seria's explanation, she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"This is Ursus territory after all. With such a commotion, Ursus shouldn't ignore it. If we don't change our location, they'll find us soon, right?"

"That's not something you should be thinking about. In fact, someone is already here soon."

Leaping out of the ruins of the research station's room, Saria crossed her arms and stretched her slightly stiff arms. She then focused her gaze on the more distant darkness, where four black shadows, unusually conspicuous against the pale snow, strolled from afar and stopped at the very edge of the golden tree's sealed light.

"Continue cleaning the room, I'll handle the negotiations."

The figure that had been walking in the darkness paused at the edge, showing no intention of moving forward. After a moment's thought, Saria gave the order to continue working and left the research station alone, heading towards the end illuminated by the light.

At the boundary between light and darkness, the guards stood like stone statues in the wind and snow, watching Saria approach step by step without making a move.

"Golden Tree, Seria."

This time, Saria didn't bring her shield. For her, the shield was for better protection of her teammates; in a one-on-one fight, it wasn't as useful as her fists.

The hard enamel allowed her to fight without weapons, even bare-handed.

"The Golden Tree... is not recorded. Where do you come from?"

One of the guards stepped forward, moving from darkness into light. His hoarse voice was as somber as the night behind him, sounding unfriendly.

However, in Saria's view, who had some understanding of Ursus's inner circle, the fact that they could communicate and didn't directly take action was already a very friendly gesture.

Those blades roaming the Ursus territory would never ask about origins or reasons; their best way of solving problems is with their blades.

These people seem to be different from the guards described in the records.

"That's not important, is it? I think what we're doing is helpful to you."

"It seems so for now, but this is not the territory you should be venturing into, Vayvan, and... some cubs."

“I thought you would say that this is the land of Ursus.”

“It sounds like you’ve seen those hyenas. Don’t confuse us with them.”

The guards sneered disdainfully, seemingly showing little respect for their 'fellows,' and even harboring some contempt.

"The land beneath their feet is the kingdom of Ursus... Ha, they have probably forgotten where their power comes from."

"So, you're not the Imperial Guard? The Emperor's sharpest weapon?"

Lin Lu suddenly appeared next to Saria, waved his hand, indicating that he would handle the rest of the conversation, and then looked at the man in the black coat opposite him, asking with great interest.

"It used to be, but it never was."

The inner guard showed extreme vigilance at the man who suddenly appeared before him. It was a primal instinct; his intuition told him that this man was terrifying, a powerful being even more terrifying than the extraterrestrial demons. But despite his vigilance, he did not shy away from answering questions.

“Indeed, the Imperial Guards wouldn’t say such a thing. What should I call you?”

"...We have no name, no past, and no future. If you need a clear identifier, you can call me 29."

29... It's more like a number than a name, and that's probably true.

However, Lin Lu didn't care. Compared to these trivial details, he was more interested in these 'internal guards' stationed on the border.

The situation inside Ursus seems to be more complicated than the Golden Tree knew. Who would have thought that in this harsh borderland, there would be a group of imperial guards who do not obey the emperor?

It was clear that they looked down on the emperor's blades and had little respect for the supreme imperial power. This unconventional attitude was worthy of much scrutiny.

"Well then, 29, I think we can have a pleasant exchange and get what we need."

Pointing to the shimmering golden seal, Lin Lu smiled slightly and said, "My seal has severed the path of erosion. As long as it exists, no evil spirit or its minions can cross it, which should save you a lot of effort."

"In exchange, answer a few questions for me, how about it?"

"..."

29 fell silent. He wanted to say that nothing outside the control of the Northern Legion could exist on the ice plains, especially since that thing involved border security.

However, after comparing the strength gap between the two sides, he still didn't dare to say it directly. A powerful figure who could cause such a commotion would inevitably cause heavy damage to the entire Northern Army if he became an enemy.

The Northern Legion is already stretched thin and cannot afford to suffer heavy losses, which is why he did not take direct action but chose to communicate first. For them, everything except their mission can be put aside.

After thinking for a moment, he changed his approach to a more tactful one: "Communication is possible, and I can answer your questions. However, I hope you will remove your seal and personnel from here. We don't need this kind of thing."

"That depends on the situation. Let's talk about it first, shall we?"

Lin Lu neither refused nor agreed. These guardians of the civilized border had real achievements, so he didn't mind showing them more leniency. However, whether he would ultimately grant their request depended on whether the outcome of the exchange would satisfy him.

"...You may begin asking questions."

After a moment's thought, 29 raised his hand and gestured 'stop' behind him, nodding slightly.

The strong naturally have more say, and the current situation seems to leave him no room to refuse; he can only take it one step at a time.

"Then let me ask you this: you and the other guards I've seen are not much different in terms of equipment and strength attributes, but you don't seem to like them?"