Ark Undead

"But unfortunately, Frostnova and the others can't come back... at least not now, they've been left in Lungmen."

Talulah glanced down at her fingernails and said as if she didn't care at all.

"You know her personality; she's incredibly stubborn. If someone really tries to capture her, they'll probably only end up with a corpse."

Talulah never intended to hide this from Patriot, nor did she consider how to explain it to him.

This is the operational requirement of the Reunion Movement; their goal is to use Chernobog to ram the gantry.

Therefore, any number of casualties is "reasonable." Even if Mephisto dies, even if Shattered Bones dies in battle, even if Kingslayer is wounded and joins the fight, even if Frostnova is left behind at Lungmen.

"Yes."

The patriot was incredibly calm at this moment.

"Froststar, no, she won't surrender. W said that she used Originium Arts in Lungmen, regardless of the consequences."

He was Frostnova's adoptive father, knew how talented she was as a sorcerer, and also knew how bad her health had become.

"But she did find the key for our Reunion Movement, and she brought hope to the Reunion Movement."

Talulah lowered her hands, lifted one leg and crossed it over the other, speaking casually.

"This is good, Patriot. At least we've achieved half of our goal. Now we just need to wait. When the core city truly crashes into the Dragon Gate, that's when we can reap the benefits."

Talulah's remarks completely disregarded the Patriots.

She didn't care at all what the patriots would do, nor did she care at all how the patriots felt.

"Alright, Patriot, I know what you're thinking. We don't need to pretend here anymore. Anyway, it's just the two of us here."

Talulah sighed, and then her words became casual.

"I know you're heartbroken, after all, she's your daughter. I also know you've been suspecting me for a long time, but what's the use of that?"

Talulah spread her hands.

"At least for now, I am the leader of Reunion. Infected people all over the world are watching us, waiting for us to fire the first shot. And Reunion cannot die, let alone fall apart because of internal strife."

"I feel uncomfortable, and you feel uncomfortable, if you keep pretending to talk like this."

"I know."

The patriot nodded calmly.

"I will not lay a hand on you."

Even so, the red light in Patriot's eyes burned fiercely, as if a demon were awakening within him, ready to drag him entirely into hell.

"Haha, that's good, that's right!"

Talulah burst out laughing, as if she had witnessed a farce.

She couldn't help but clap her hands, and then burst into unrestrained laughter.

Patriot stood before her, calmly watching Talulah laugh wildly in front of him.

On the throne, someone indulged in unrestrained arrogance.

Beneath the throne, some remained as still as water.

After Talulah finished laughing, she wiped her eyes and then threw the key in her hand under the throne.

The key bounced twice on the ground before sliding to Patriot's feet.

"Go, turn on the power reactor, and get the entire core city moving."

Talulah gradually calmed down, leaned back on her throne, and spoke.

"Then, take the key and protect the core city. Even if you die, you cannot let the core city stop. Understand?"

Patriot looked down at the key at his feet.

He slowly bent down, picked up the key—the key that Froststar had brought back at the cost of her life—and held it in his hand.

"Yes, Chief."

Even if the two of them were to speak frankly, Talulah would not be afraid that the Patriots would turn against her at this time.

Because she knew that no matter what she said, the patriots would remain silent in her presence.

Then, following his own orders, he does the next thing he asks of himself.

Patriots are a shield for the infected, not a sword that incites internal strife.

No matter how angry the Patriot was, no matter how much he wanted to pierce that body with his halberd, he couldn't bring himself to do it to her.

Because she is the leader of the Reunion Movement. No matter what, the Patriots cannot raise their weapons against her.

Patriots have no reason to stand against the leader of the Infected. Otherwise, it would be tantamount to saying that Talulah thinks that everything the Reunion Movement has done so far has been a farce—an unwarranted riot instigated by the Infected.

Unless, of course, Talulah is the first to kill her companion.

Unfortunately, Talulah did not do that.

She spared W's life.

At least on the surface, Talulah won't give the Patriots any chance.

Patriot silently walked up the stairs to leave, and Talulah watched him gradually disappear into the distance.

Talulah's carefree expression gradually faded, eventually turning into a hint of unease.

He is the last Wendigo, and an old monster who never stopped moving forward throughout his life.

If he were to attack Talulah, she would not fare well, no matter what.

Fortunately, Talulah had his biggest weakness exposed.

Now he has dedicated everything to the Infected, as long as it is for their sake. Patriot will accept Talulah's arrangements no matter what.

Now, once again, fate has him by the throat.

But patriots will not give up the fight.

Simply because he spent his entire life fighting against fate.

"So, Talulah isn't herself anymore, and this battle plan might not be the result that the original Reunion Movement wanted?"

Amiya asked.

"That is indeed strange. Why would an infected organization abandon such a large mobile city as Chernobog after occupying it, and instead use the core city to attack Lungmen? They clearly cannot take Lungmen, yet they are unwilling to rest and recuperate in Chernobog."

Wei Yanwu nodded and said.

"That person's goal is to instigate a conflict. Ursus has been recuperating for several years. During these years, it may seem that Ursus has been resting, but in reality, it has been deteriorating."

"They ended the war with Victoria, and the war with Kazimir. But border skirmishes have always existed, and most of them are initiated by Ursus."

"Ursus cannot stop its external conquests until its internal conflicts are resolved. Otherwise, Ursus will only collapse little by little after hitting a bottleneck."

Amiya looked at Wei Yanwu with confusion, unable to understand her words.

According to Wei Yanwu, this way Ursus only needs to resolve its internal conflicts, right? Isn't this short-sighted and detrimental? Don't the Ursus leadership understand this?

Wei Yanwu noticed Amiya's confusion, smiled slightly, and said...

“I know what you’re thinking, young leader of Rhodes Island. You’re thinking that Ursus only needs to solve his internal problems first, right? After all, the importance of internal problems and external problems is definitely not on the same level.”

"But here's the problem: Ursus probably can't handle such internal conflicts."

As Wei Yanwu spoke, she looked at Kal'tsit beside her.

"Ms. Kal'tsit should know what kind of responsibilities we, Great Yan and Ursus, bear."

Kal'tsit nodded, she said.

"Suppress the South, then launch the Northern Expedition."

"Yes."

Wei Yanwu nodded.

"What if Ursus is already unable to withstand the pressure of the northern expedition, or even if someone in the royal family has been invaded by evil spirits?"

Kal'tsit immediately frowned.

Zhennan and Beifa refer to actions between two major powers that, though different in name, are remarkably similar.

Beyond the far northern wilderness of Ursus lurks evil spirits eyeing the continent of Terra, while in the far south of Great Yan lies a place known as the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons.

This is a secret known to only a very few, and it is a power capable of overturning the entire Terra.

The reason Ursus has not yet made up its mind to reshuffle its internal affairs is that this could very well overthrow the royal family's rule and trigger chaos in the north.

But some people want Ursus to descend into chaos.

"The Reunion Movement is just a pawn, a pawn that was born abruptly at a time when chaos was about to break out, but it was also a pawn that made sense."

Wei Yanwu's gaze seemed to pierce through the house, looking towards the far north, Ursus.

"And this person who used the Reunion Movement is the culprit who wants to throw the whole of Terra into chaos and plunge the world into darkness."

"abyss..."

The Undead took a deep breath; he roughly understood.

The Great Flame suppressed the Abyss, but in the northern ice plains of Ursus, there were also Abyss forces eyeing Ursus.

Some people want to instigate a war between the two countries through the Reunion Movement, and then take advantage of the chaos to open a passage for the Abyss to enter Terra.

Talulah was used as a sacrifice.

"Talulah is a pitiful person. She probably never imagined that her original idea of ​​changing the living conditions of the infected and resolving the internal conflicts in Ursus would be used to this extent. As for herself, her body was taken over and even her will was erased."

Wei Yanwu was in a low mood.

Regardless, Talulah is his niece.

There is an indelible bond of kinship between them.

"But that's precisely why we must prevent the core city from crashing into the Dragon Gate."

Wei Yanwu spoke with a firm tone.

"Whether it's for Lungmen or for Terra, we must stop the Reunion Movement's plans!"

...