Ark Undead

Chernobog is a border city belonging to the northern country of Ursus.

Although it's located in a region not close to the far north ice sheet, the temperature remains low year-round, which is considered warm for the people of Ursus.

But winter has arrived, and snowflakes are falling in the city. When they land on the streetlights, they are immediately melted by the slight warmth of the streetlights and flow down the poles.

Pale green branches clung to the old brick wall, a last stand of the plant against winter.

Despite being a cold city, the hearts of the people here remain warm. They do everything they can to survive, even if they are infected.

Ursus's tough stance on the infected blocked all their paths to survival, leaving them to crash headlong into a wall covered in spikes in the darkness.

At this moment, in the outer city of Chernobog, a patrol squad composed of Chernobog garrison troops is arresting suspicious individuals.

"Get out of the way!"

"My lord! Our Sharon only has a small wound! A small wound!"

"Don't make me say it twice, get out of the way!"

The cold blades separated the parents from their child. The girl looked desperately at the soldiers approaching her, trying to make a final stand.

Unfortunately, despite being an infected person, she did not awaken Originium Arts like other infected people.

A strong hand gripped her wrists tightly from beneath the protective suit, and a soldier subdued her completely.

The father roared and grabbed the hunting axe hanging on the wall from behind him, but just as he was about to swing the axe, a longsword pierced his heart.

The sergeant's cold gaze fell from beneath the isolation suit mask onto the ordinary man who was trying to resist the Ursus machines.

"Fall back."

...

At the same moment, on a high-rise building across the street, the white-haired boy looked down at the merciless scene below.

"This is Ursus, this is Chernobog, Frostnova."

His voice was still immature, yet it carried a rare hint of flippancy and mockery.

"Don't you understand? Without resistance, we infected people will never have a chance to rise up. The swords in our hands are tools to fight for our rights!"

He opened his arms as if to embrace the sky and hold the entire cloud in his heart.

"The only reason we can stand here today is because we share the same goal! We have partners who can move forward with us! This is part of the grand plan of Talulah. We want to declare to the world that the Infected are no longer people to be bullied! The swords in our hands can pierce the hearts of the oppressors!"

Right beside him, the white figure seemed to be disappearing into the swirling snowflakes.

She glanced coldly at the boy beside her and asked.

"Then why didn't you send someone to rescue her?"

The boy shook his head and said nonchalantly.

“Compared to the group of infected, a single life is meaningless. We cannot let this one life expose our existence. Isn’t that also Talulah’s order? Let us not act on our own.”

The woman known as Froststar ignored the boy and stared at the girl below who had completely lost consciousness, pursing her lips.

"Big Bear".

“I know, big sister.”

Right behind her, a team member wearing a fur cloak immediately responded and went to the stairwell with his two companions behind him.

They knew that their eldest sister would not stand idly by, just as she had done in the past when they met her.

"Frostnova, you are ignoring Talulah's instructions!"

The white-haired boy next to him immediately raised his eyebrows and scolded Froststar beside him.

“I don’t need you to teach me how to do things. I have my own code of conduct. Remember, she is only the nominal leader.”

Froststar glanced at the white-haired boy whose expression had changed slightly, and said softly.

“Mephisto, don’t forget, our team has always fought for the infected. There are our own kind being oppressed right before our eyes, how can I stand by and do nothing?”

"Ha, whatever. If the plan goes wrong, let's see who takes responsibility!"

"Even if the old stubborn man were here, he wouldn't be able to hold his spear steadily."

Froststar said something indifferently, then fell silent.

The boy called Mephisto sneered and ignored Frostnova. He was about to turn and leave when he heard Frostnova's puzzled voice beside him.

"what?"

Mephistopheles looked in that direction and saw that the situation on the street had changed.

A blood-red figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The icy cold blades and the ghostly figure intertwined. With just a light brush, several sprays of blood appeared.

The blood that flew everywhere, after floating for a moment, gathered together and instantly formed three lifelike spears.

The figure, stained with blood, waved his hand lightly, and a spear, flashing like lightning, pierced into the patrol team's armored vehicle.

Cing!

The steel was pierced through amidst screams of agony, and the warm, bloody spear pinned the driver, who was trying to escape, to his seat. Then, it softened and liquefied, flowing down the wound and disappearing without a trace.

In the blink of an eye, the situation reversed. Blood returned to the earth, and his blood returned to his body. His pale face appeared in the blood curtain, and his crimson eyes looked down at the ground, at the girl Shar, who was tied up and trembling on the ground in front of him.

The figure that emerged from the tide of blood crouched down, gently untied the ropes binding the girl, pulled her up, and lightly brushed the snowflakes off her body.

"Do you remember me? I'm the older brother who stayed at your house a few days ago."

He forced a smile, trying to salvage his image in the girl's eyes.

The girl nodded nervously; it was the first time she had ever seen so much blood. But for some reason, she didn't feel any discomfort.

"Very good, just remember me."

Blood Demon Sarkaz nodded in satisfaction, then patted the little girl's head and turned her towards her parents, who were standing on the street corner, too afraid to move.

“Your father was just injured, but I helped him clot the wound, and he’s fine now. Go see him.”

Sarkaz, who had been traveling around, patted the little girl on the back, urging her to move.

Only then did the girl dare to rush out, throw herself into her mother's arms, and grasp her father's right hand, embracing each other and weeping.

Sarkaz ignored the corpses along the way, as if they were nothing more than roadside trash, not worth mentioning.

He approached the family, took out a few gold coins from his tattered clothes, and placed them on the table.

"It's no longer safe for you here. Soon, others will come to capture you. Leave this place, leave Ursus. If you want your children to live well, don't come back."

The mother wiped away her tears of joy and nodded repeatedly to her benefactor.

Watching the departing figure of the Blood Demon Sarkaz, the elderly mother asked a question.

"Hmm... my benefactor! May I ask your name?"

The ragged figure didn't linger; he simply waved and quickly disappeared around the street corner.

They took him in and gave him a house to rest in on a cold, snowy night.

This is his moment of retribution; there is no favor owed, only an equal exchange.

Moreover, we are all the same kind of people cursed by this land.

The family, having just escaped a crisis, quickly packed their remaining money after a brief stay and left the city as night was falling.

The two people who witnessed it all fell silent.

"Not one of yours?"

"You know that the Yeti Squad doesn't have this person."

As Froststar spoke, she glanced back at the big bear behind her.

Big Bear shook his head at her, indicating that he didn't know what was going on either.

"interesting."

Mephistopheles's serious expression gradually relaxed, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.

"Look! What outstanding fellow human beings! These are the rebels hidden in the shadows! They are also our future partners!"

Frostnova didn't speak. She felt that Mephisto's mind was getting stranger and stranger, but there was one thing Mephisto was right about.

They are indeed their partners; as long as they are still helping infected people escape danger, they are one of them.

The Integration Movement welcomes all comers.

But here's the question: where did such a powerful infected person come from? Why did he end up in Chernobog?

"In short, you've achieved your goal. Although you didn't save them yourself, that poor family is now preparing to leave this city that's about to become history."

Mephistopheles' tone returned to its flippant manner.

"Don't lose your mind, Froststar. Fight for a greater cause, not just for the immediate situation."

"You have no right to lecture me. Do your own job. What about that reconnaissance team from Rhodes Island? Have you dealt with them?"

“I’ve already sent mercenaries to deal with them. Those guys who do things for money have no true faith; their god is gold. Letting them test the waters is the best thing to do.”

With that, Mephisto jumped off the edge of the rooftop and left with his men.

"Don't let Talulah down, she will be the key to our rise."

The sound faded into the distance, but Froststar remained silent as she watched the infected man who manipulated blood disappear around the street corner.

Even a passing infected person was more compassionate than Mephisto.

Mephistopheles, what's wrong with you?

"Big sister, we should leave now. The officials will be here soon."

The big bear behind Frostnova gave a soft reminder.

Froststar hummed in agreement and nodded.

“I know. Let’s go, let’s leave here first, then go check on our comrades who are being held captive, and make sure they are safe.”

At that moment, the infected person who had just performed the good deed sighed in the shadows of the street corner.

Those guys on the high-rise building just now didn't seem to be targeting him, but why didn't they make a move either?

Are those so-called integration movements just empty talkers?