Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Just then, Talulah finally showed a faint reaction. She opened her eyes and looked at Theresa with her gray eyes, as if she wanted to say something, but could only cough. Helpless, she could only move her arm slightly and give Theresa a thumbs up.

Well done! That's a really good start.

Theresa read the meaning of the action from Talulah's mind in fragments.

"You almost got burned to death, and you're still saying you're high!" Theresa was stunned for a moment, and just as she was about to speak, Tarua rolled her eyes and fainted.

"Talulah, Talulah, are you alright?"

Theresa checked Talulah's breath a second time, and after confirming she wasn't dead, she turned her head and glanced helplessly at Surtr, who was innocently pointing at his finger. She sighed and said:

"Sultry, call Mr. Bozocasti in."

Surtur nodded, strode out of the tent, and returned a few seconds later. He lifted the curtain and asked, "Who is Bozokasti?"

"The tallest one is accompanied by a white-clad Cartes! Hurry up!" Theresa hurriedly examined the ten rings on her hand, squinting as if trying to discern which ring contained the power of life (healing).

Surtr hurriedly closed the curtain. A few minutes later, the Wendigo giant, having received the news, strode heavily into the tent. Behind him, the silver-haired Katarina girl frowned slightly, her hands clenched tightly in worry.

Upon entering the tent, Bozhuokast immediately smelled the acrid odor and a strange fragrance in the air. He also noticed the melted snow and exposed, charred ground on the tent floor. His heart sank, and he said:

"A battle... has taken place here?"

"Where is the leader? Is she... alright?"

Theresa stepped forward apologetically, holding a scepter entwined with snakes. At first glance, one might mistake the lifelike serpent sculpture on the scepter for a real giant python. She pointed to the humanoid figure on the bed, tightly bound in bandages, resembling a Sargon mummy, and said:

"There..."

"Something happened, a small... accident."

Theresa was so anxious that even her way of speaking became patriotic.

Chapter 142 What if Alina didn't exist?

"Cough, cough, cough!"

The bloodstains at the corner of her mouth revealed the girl's weakness, and her forced spirit could not conceal her pale face. Although she possessed a physical form, several illusory, pitch-black tentacles swayed behind her, resembling an octopus demon from the deep sea.

If any members of the infected guerrilla force were present, they would surely recognize the girl before them. She looked almost exactly like Talulah, except for her golden eyes, which seemed to resemble the shadow of a snake from legend. However, Theresa's call and the aftershocks of the battle had drawn all the guerrilla soldiers to the vicinity of the camp. With only a few scattered ordinary refugees remaining, no one noticed the figure of "Talulah," and naturally, no one would notice how this Talulah differed from their leader.

"Longmen, I have to go to Longmen..."

Talulah kept repeating the phrase "Black Serpent" as if in a dream. Her eyes were lifeless, and she was in a semi-conscious state. If it weren't for the powerful spirit of an immortal that kept her conscious, she might not have even had the strength to escape here.

"Waaah!"

Her body was covered in wounds of all sizes after being burned. The black and white dress that symbolized her difference from the real Talulah was now tattered. As she walked, she accidentally kicked a pebble buried in the snow, causing her to groan in pain. Fortunately, the pain also brought her back to some consciousness, and the outline of the infected settlement in the distance was reflected in her blurred eyes.

"Hmm... hiss—"

The black snake took a long breath. She looked down at her body, her charred remains a gruesome sight. However, this was the best-case scenario; if her reaction had been even half a second slower, she wouldn't have escaped Surtr's flames. She clenched her fists in resentment, but the flames on her hands could no longer ignite—she wasn't the real Talulah, but merely a "shadow" forced to flee in a sorry state by the Demon King and the red-haired Sarkaz.

Her schemes—to possess Talulah, take over the Reunion Movement, conquer Chernobog, and finally crash into the Great Flame, instigating wars in Lungmen, Ursus, and even Victoria—all came to a complete failure when her shadow was forced to leave Talulah's body and become a pitiful, lonely ghost in the wilderness.

Black Serpent clicked her tongue in utter resentment. Throughout thousands of years, from before Ursus's birth to its current impending demise, Black Serpent's plans had failed before, but a failure like today's was unprecedented. And all of this was "thanks" to that damned Demon King, and that complete stranger, yet equally damned, Vayne!

However, the Black Serpent was no match for the Demon King, nor could she cross the kingdoms of Ursus to reach the capital of Victoria and exact revenge on Vayne, whom she didn't even know looked like. After much deliberation, she could only cowardly vent her anger on the red-haired Sarkaz who had suddenly attacked.

"Damn it, how can a Sarkaz have such powerful fire magic? She's not even a banshee!"

Drak's flames are no ordinary flames. According to the Sacred Covenant, the pinnacle of Aslan wields "the supreme power to establish order," while Drak possesses "the sublime power to conquer all." This power is certainly not as simple as flames; Drak controls "temperature." Although Talulah is not a pure-blooded Drak and can only unleash half of this bloodline's power—the power of temperature increase—such flames are still not something ordinary fire magic can withstand.

Simply put, any flame that collides with Drak's flame will be affected by Drak's magic, causing its temperature to drop and eventually being consumed by Drak's fire.

But this law did not apply to Surtr!

"No, calm down. The properties of Originium Arts don't fail for no reason."

The black snake silently processed its thoughts, pondering everything that had just happened, finally fixing its gaze on the jet-black greatsword that Surtr had pulled from the blankets and cotton coat. The greatsword appeared plain and unadorned, even somewhat old and twisted, with rust covering its blade. Yet, the moment Surtr unleashed his fiery demonic energy, the greatsword was clearly the first to be engulfed in flames!

"Even Draco's body couldn't withstand the flames, yet this broken sword could. Something's definitely strange about it!"

Black Serpent whispered coldly. But understanding was one thing; he still had no way to deal with Surtr—he couldn't even defeat her with Talulah possessing her, let alone now that he was crippled.

Discovering the suspicious points and the truth was merely a way to give oneself some psychological comfort. The Black Serpent also upheld the Ah Q spirit inherited from another world.

"Cough cough cough-"

A dark, congealed mass, unlike blood, spurted from his mouth, but the black snake's expression upon seeing it was even more unsightly than if it itself had coughed up blood. He remained silent for a moment, then turned his gaze towards the distant infected settlement.

If he wasn't mistaken, that should be the rear area of ​​the tundra guerrillas, where the guerrilla fighters, the victims rescued from the mines, the wounded who couldn't fight, and the old, weak, and disabled all gathered. The guerrillas protected them, and they would use their own strength to help the guerrillas, such as helping with cooking, gathering firewood, and negotiating with villages when they encountered them.

There are plenty of supplies there... and maybe even medicine.

The black snake narrowed its eyes, and more importantly, there were many people there who "cared about" it.

As the evil god of Ursus, he always despised those who could barely survive by relying on the help of outsiders. In his view, only those Ursus people who survived the selection process of war and constant fighting deserved to live and be adorned with "glory." The rest were merely defective products existing to serve as a contrast to the "survivors of glory," to highlight their status, and to cultivate pride.

Whether they live or die is irrelevant. As long as Ursus exists, these gray beasts will continue to be born.

But among these people considered worthless and inferior products, there are quite a few who are the "guerrillas' targets," such as the one named "Alina" Elafia.

The black serpent slowly curled its lips into a smile. Possessing Talulah wasn't originally this difficult. Given Talulah's composure when she fled her duchy, the black serpent was confident it could completely possess her in less than a month. However, this timeframe had to be indefinitely extended after arriving in the snowfields, all because of the "obstacle" deer beside Talulah. Countless times, within the Empire of Consciousness, when Koschei tried to bewitch Talulah, she had mentioned this name, repeated her own words, to solidify her resolve and refute the black serpent's delusions.

What if Alina didn't exist?

The black snake suddenly accelerated, transforming into a phantom as it rushed towards the infected settlement in the distance.

Chapter 143 You Can Dress Up as a Woman, I Have a Doll

The infected people lived in a fenced-off plaza.

Life on the tundra is primarily about survival. Knowledge and education were luxuries even when they were ordinary villagers, let alone now. With basic necessities and safety uncertain, who would be willing to spend money to hire a teacher for their child's so-called early education?

"All they need to do when they grow up is write their own names, write their parents' names, and know how to farm, hunt, and herd livestock." This is what one Ussus man from the frozen tundra thought. Sadly, he was not alone; almost all the Ussus men from the frozen tundra thought the same way.

But there are always a few exceptions, and Alina is one of them.

She was physically frail, and although she was of the Elafia race, her labor capacity in the frigid weather was far inferior to that of the Ursus race, making it difficult for her to help others in the settlement with farming. When Bozokasti was assigning work, he intended for her to collect cotton and sew cotton clothes for the guerrilla fighters alongside the infected women, but Alina secretly mentioned another idea to Talulah:

"Talulah, I'm wondering, are we, this generation, destined to wander the snowfields forever?"

“I don’t think this will work. Even if we don’t have the ability now, we will eventually have to enter the city. I’ve never seen a city, but I quietly asked Mania in the group. She’s been to the city, and she said that the people in the city don’t farm or make their own clothes. They live on wide streets, can buy food and drink in supermarkets, and don’t pick up cotton in the snow to sew a cotton coat themselves. Most importantly, they are civilized. They speak civilized language, act civilizedly, and use civilized writing.”

"Talulah, is that so?"

Alina gazed into Talulah's eyes, where Talulah's hesitant expression was reflected in her clear pupils, and she already knew the answer in her heart.

“Talulah, you come from the city. You don’t need to hide it from me. How could I not see through the thoughts of someone I’ve been with day and night?”

"So, I'm thinking, even if it's just for the future, for the children, we should do something. I don't want to join the sewing team. You're the leader of the guerrillas, can you help me persuade Mr. Bozokastie to let me open a small school in the settlement?"

She scratched her head, a little shyly saying...

"Actually, I don't know much, but I will do my best!"

Thus, in the harsh winter of the Ursus tundra, a "school" that would only appear in a civilized, mobile city appeared in a precarious, homeless community of infected people.

Although it was just a small piece of land enclosed by a fence made of a few decent bamboo poles on the snowfield, Alina enjoyed her time there. The children's questions and smiles were so genuine, and those were the most touching things on this snowfield.

"Today we're going to teach arithmetic. Don't look so glum, Siever, you're the best at arithmetic here."

Alina paused, her smile softening.

"The person who has made the fastest progress."

Alina raised the pointer she had made from a twig she had gathered, pointed it at the boy named Siever, and asked:

What is 30 + 26?

"Five...fifty-six?"

"Correct! Keep it up!"

Alina's gaze shifted slightly, intending to choose the next child to ask a question, but she unexpectedly noticed a familiar figure. Her brow furrowed slightly, she put down the branch and whispered to the children:

"Excuse me, teacher, I'll be right back."

After saying that, Alina saw the girl leaning against the entrance of the settlement sway and almost fall. Without saying anything more, she immediately opened the fence and ran out quickly.

"Talulah!"

She called out the name of Draco's dearest friend, reached out to support the swaying Talulah, her face almost overflowing with worry.

"What's wrong? Talulah, you look terrible! Did something happen with the guerrillas?"

"We...we were attacked...by the riot police, and they even brought the army..."

Talulah raised her head, her eyes smeared with blood, forcing her to keep them slightly closed, making her look exceptionally pitiful. Her voice was hoarse as she struggled to speak.

"Mr. Patriot, along with Miss Yelena and the guerrilla fighters, have gone to engage the enemy. I'm here to lead you... to evacuate!"

Alina swayed, her eyes widening in disbelief:

"What...but...how could this be...?"

Her eyes were filled with self-reproach. She had mentioned to Talulah not long ago that the village had been being checked by the patrol, but Talulah had only agreed and then nothing more. Now, she thought that if she had been more attentive and repeated herself a few more times, perhaps Talulah would have realized the seriousness of the problem and notified Mr. Patriot to evacuate in advance.

Alina, already gentle and responsible, was now filled with immense self-reproach. Talulah, witnessing this, couldn't help but show a hint of mockery. But only for a moment, she quickly composed herself, took Alina's hand, and said:

"Alina, let's go quickly!"

Alina looked at Talulah in a panic: "Shall we go?"

“Yes, let’s go!” Black Snake took Alina’s hand and walked towards the exit of the camp. “I know a passage that Mr. Patriot left for us to escape. There are soldiers guarding the way, and we can leave from there.”

"But children, and fellow countrymen in the settlement?"

"Yelena will come back to save them!" Black Snake said urgently.

She could feel her last bit of energy rapidly draining away. Her soul didn't belong to this world; her shadow could only exist within the Empire of Consciousness. The secret technique of the seed had allowed her to escape the flames of the Balrog, but the Empire of Consciousness wouldn't give her a second chance.

She didn't have time to perfect her disguise. People who had spent so much time with Talulah would notice something amiss, no matter how perfect their disguise. Just like Bozokasti would have become suspicious of her.

At this point, Black Serpent could only hope that the bond between Talulah and Alina would allow Alina to lower her guard and walk with her.

However, faced with Talulah's pitiful plea, Alina pursed her lips, glanced back at the children still eagerly waiting in the fenced classroom, and shook her head:

"No, we have to take the children with us, Talulah. Remember what I told you? No matter what happens to our generation, the children are the hope of the snowfield!"

"you!"