Ark Undead

But it was precisely this sentence that made Vina put aside many of her weaknesses and face her own destiny in the following year.

These words jolted her awake, making her realize the truth. Despite becoming the leader of the Glasgow gang, she ultimately failed to fulfill the duties of a leader.

However, why did the Undead say those words?

He was like a wise elder giving life advice to a younger generation.

Can Mr. Ghost see things further away? What exactly did he see?

Vina was thinking over there, and the Undead were thinking over here.

Speaking of connections, the Undead did think of one, but it wasn't very obvious.

After thinking it over, he took out a stone from his pocket, rubbed it in his hand for a while, and then showed it to Vina.

Have you seen this before?

At first glance, Vina couldn't see it clearly, but when she focused her gaze on the faint pattern on the stone, her pupils visibly shrank.

"I've seen it!"

Vina said firmly.

"This pattern appears frequently in the secret files concerning Draco's faction!"

104. The struggle between royal factions

Throughout Victoria's long history, three forces have served as the pillars of Victoria's upper echelons.

They are the red dragon Drak, the lion Aslan, and the unicorn.

These three factions check and balance each other, ensuring that the country moves in the right direction.

Among them, the red dragon Drak and the lion Aslan rule as kings of the country, governing Victoria.

Every few decades, there is a change of power among the factions; perhaps Drak seizes the throne, or perhaps Aslan becomes king.

But what remains constant is that in every power struggle, there will always be a unicorn acting as a mediator, balancing the forces of all parties.

Unicorns will not become kings, but they will become the force behind the king, assisting in the king's rule, while also preserving the flame of another faction so that the tripartite balance of power will not disappear.

Now, with only a faint ember remaining in Aslan, Vina is all that's left.

The Drak are even more regrettable, at least on the surface, because no one is qualified to succeed to the throne as the leader of the Drak faction.

But this does not mean that Vina can easily ascend to the throne.

Factions are factions, and nobles are nobles. To ascend the throne, one must naturally become a king recognized by the majority.

Without the support of the nobles and the people, Vina, as queen, is nothing but an empty shell.

Moreover, this wasn't the only obstacle hindering Vina.

With Victoria now without a king for many years, the nobles all have their own agendas. They are taking advantage of the absence of a king to maximize their own interests.

The National Parliament holds immense power, with the Upper Parliament and the Lower Parliament jointly managing all matters of state.

Beyond the nation, other forces are also eyeing Victoria with predatory intent, reaching out their claws towards her.

Within the nation, there are also forces rising from the bottom up, who, in order to protect their rights as human beings, are launching a rebellion against the parliament that currently controls the country.

Victoria maintains a fragile and delicate balance; the slightest misstep could plunge the entire city into flames.

The situation in Victoria was not as tense as it is now, and what caused this was the infected riots a year ago.

The riots by infected individuals have exacerbated internal conflicts within the country, but it is impossible to expel all infected individuals.

Infected individuals are inseparable from the general public. Having a dedicated living area for infected individuals is already the limit; it is impossible to do more.

In other words, ever since that infected riot, all the forces hidden underground in Victoria have begun to emerge and observe the movements of the entire Victoria.

The culprit behind all this has yet to be found, which is Vina's biggest headache.

"Draco, faction, files?"

Despite listening to Vina's explanation, the Undead's attention remained focused on the dragon head stone in his hand.

"This pattern has appeared in the Drak faction archives many times?"

"Yes, the Drak faction is now showing signs of disintegration. However, the Unicorn, as a check and balance, still preserves much of the Drak faction's core information."

Vina nodded, she said.

"Although the Draco faction was considered extinct twenty years ago, we don't know much about what Unicorn did afterwards. Moreover, there's another trend emerging internationally..."

"Mr. Wandering Soul, have you heard of the Reunion Movement?"

Vina then changed the subject and mentioned a new term.

For the immortal, this was the first time he had ever heard of this.

"Integration, movement?"

The immortal shook his head.

"what is that?"

"It is an infected organization that has sprung up on the ice plains near Ursus. Their goal is to help the infected reclaim everything that belongs to them, including the city they live in and the capital they have to make a living."

Since Vina had never heard of the Undead, she began to explain what they were.

"That sounds pretty good."

The Undead expressed his opinion.

"Is it related to them?"

"It's related, very much so."

Vina sighed, took the bottle of water Hannah handed her, twisted it open, and took a sip.

"The Reunion Movement's ideology is to fight for the infected and provide them with the means to make a living. However, their actions have become increasingly extreme, even to the point of spreading terrorism between countries."

"And the leader of the Reunion Movement, Talulah, after verification from multiple sources, is indeed a Drak."

As Vina finished speaking, she couldn't help but glance again at the stone in the undead's hand.

"Although I don't know how a member of the Drak royal family traveled from Victoria to Ursus and even became the leader of the Infected, her identity is something that everyone has to take seriously."

"Currently, Victoria still lacks a true king, and even the domestic situation is far from optimistic. If the Reunion Movement were to infiltrate the infected's living areas..."

"Are you worried about a second wave of infected people and riots?"

The immortal asked.

"Do you think they might be part of a reunion movement?"

"Although I think it's unlikely, we can't rule out the possibility."

Vina thought for a moment, tapped her head with her hand, and then spoke.

“My main concern is that the symbol on this stone represents the Drak faction within Victoria, which, together with other forces abroad, is preparing to destabilize the entire country. Then, they might introduce the Integration Movement as a spearhead to attack Victoria.”

"Regardless of whether Reunion will actually send anyone here, as long as the infected in Victoria know about this organization, they will be easily instigated. At that time, those with ulterior motives will become the masterminds behind all of this."

After listening, the immortal fell into deep thought.

According to Vina, the Drak faction currently lacks a leader. The person who might become their leader is an Infected individual, and moreover, the leader of an overseas organization advocating for the interests of the Infected.

This is quite interesting. If Draco's faction were to compete with Vina for the throne, they might actually be willing to invite trouble.

Rights are always something people pursue, while interests are the eternal bargaining chip.

The most fundamental contradiction among the people is whether they can obtain a stable living environment.

Normal people want to avoid being threatened by infected individuals. So they confine them to a harsh environment.

Those infected yearn for an environment where they can live a normal life.

But they are all people of Victoria, and how to resolve the conflicts among them has become the biggest challenge facing Victoria today.

"If the assassins have a base in areas inhabited by infected people, then they are very likely to be connected with Drak's faction, or even with the Reunion Movement."

“If their people are already in cahoots with Victoria’s top brass, that’s even more terrifying. I can’t imagine what that means.”

Vina sighed; she had been troubled by this for quite some time.

Frankly, she wasn't afraid of being assassinated; what she feared was that Victoria's current peace would be shattered, and all her efforts up to this point would be in vain.

To make the gap between the lower and upper towns less obvious, she worked hard to navigate the social circles of the nobility in hopes of improving the lives of the people in the lower towns.

However, the problem of infected people remains a major concern. Vina can only try to temporarily quell it, but cannot fundamentally solve the problem, because she is not yet in power.

The current authorities are far too indifferent to those infected.

The indifference has extinguished any hope among the infected, who have begun their own protests around their settlements, near the upper and lower city areas.

Then another question arises: why are the Undead associated with Drak's faction?

Vina couldn't help but look at the undead, a slight guess forming in her mind.

Could the Undead be supporters of Drakk's faction? But that doesn't seem likely...

This matter, involving the royalist strife of Victoria, is far removed from the story of the Undead, a wandering spirit who always warms himself by the fire at home.

Mr. Wandering Soul's personality is completely unlike that of someone who would get involved in power struggles.

Just as Vina was about to ask a question, the Undead spoke first.

He said.

"I came here to verify a fact."

The Undead clenched the stone in his hand, feeling a faint power within it, representing immortality and eternity.

"I need to find Draco. At least, find some of the files."

He wanted to know whether Victoria still had any followers of the Gu Long Way.

Did the person who left the dragon head stone truly embark on the path of the ancient dragon and obtain that immortal power?

Now, the Ancient Dragon Path has become entangled with Victoria's Drak faction, and Vina happens to be investigating matters concerning Drak.

This presents an opportunity for the immortals.

He didn't really care about the royalist infighting, but if Vina could help him, that would be the best thing.