Ark Undead

"Yes!"

After completing the setup, Patriot looked up ahead and gripped the spear on his right.

This is a battle with no winners, and even the Patriots themselves understand that.

But he had no choice but to fight.

On Rhodes Island, after the landing operation, Blaze and Ace's team, who were the first to arrive at the landing point, were receiving brief treatment from the medics to treat their wounds. Meanwhile, Scout's team and Rosemary's team, who were behind them, also received the Doctor's orders at this time.

"Scout Squad, Rosemary Squad, both of you are skilled in guerrilla warfare. As the advance reconnaissance squads, scout out the situation to both sides, advance appropriately, and if you encounter resistance, do not linger in battle, and report the situation immediately."

The Doctor was standing at the edge of the landing site, waiting for Amiya and Kal'tsit to land using the ropes.

He looked at Scout and Rosemary standing in front of him and said.

"Huang and Ace's team are still receiving treatment. Although we can't expect them to return to 100% combat power, there's still a lot you can do in this time. Avoid getting caught up in battle, avoid getting caught up in battle. Got it?"

"Yes!"

Scout and Rosemary, one facing west and the other east, assembled their squad and began their advance.

Based on the doctor's calculations and the force distribution within the landing zone, the doctor believes that there aren't many combat personnel stationed there. Instead, there must be a much larger force belonging to the Reunion Movement waiting for them in the rear.

Especially at times like these, it's crucial to avoid being impatient, otherwise one wrong step can lead to a series of mistakes.

The enemy is a legendary general from Ursus; we must not underestimate him.

Just as the doctor was pondering his next move, a figure descended to the top using the landing rope.

"Mr. Undying?"

Upon seeing the figure approaching him, the doctor temporarily set aside his thoughts and looked at the undead beside him.

"PhD."

The Undead, dressed in his signature armor and carrying a greatsword on his back, approached the Doctor.

"Do you need my help?"

"Ah, it's not necessary for now. Unless the battle reaches a critical juncture, we probably won't need your involvement, but having you here is always a safeguard."

The Doctor's attitude towards the undead is simple, just like Kal'tsit's.

They all believed that the immortals would be a great help. But before that, they couldn't become dependent on the immortals.

Undead can only be an asset, not the main force. Otherwise, if everyone on Rhodes Island relied on undead, how could they possibly become a force to be reckoned with?

The Undead appreciated this attitude, so he simply nodded and said nothing more.

"However, I still hope you can wear headphones. We will notify you through the headphones if we need you."

The doctor took a headset from the side and handed it to the undead in front of him.

"Kal'tsit should have already explained the reward for this operation to you beforehand, right?"

"Ah."

The immortal nodded.

Kal'tsit and his deal clearly state that the reward is the same as before: one bottle of Emergency Sanity Elixir per transaction. For critical rescue situations, the reward will be increased depending on the circumstances.

The Undead naturally had no objections. After returning from the outer city of Chernobog last time, the Humanity Potion used to communicate with SilverAsh had lost some of its effectiveness over time.

One bottle of sanity potion can maintain its effect for about two to three days, based on the Undead's current experience.

After the effect wears off, the undead's appearance and voice will gradually revert to their previous withered state over time. However, his combat mindset and mobility will remain largely unchanged.

"That's all for now. I don't have your access permissions. You're free to wander around until we notify you."

What the Undead does is none of Rhodes Island's business. Rhodes Island has no need to care about the Undead's safety.

The doctor stopped worrying about the survivors and turned his attention to the remaining combat personnel in this mission.

About ten minutes later, Nearl and the Ranger squad, who had been on the periphery drawing attention, landed at the designated landing point along with Kroos.

With supplies and equipment fully prepared, Ace and Huang's team had almost finished their rest and recuperation.

The vehicles that were originally on the ground left their positions to return to the Rhodes Island ships for resupply. Otherwise, if they stayed with the core city the entire time, their stored Originium solution would be insufficient.

Now that everyone is ready, the doctor needs to start planning a new round of operations.

"If our people want to confront the Reunion Movement head-on, they're just asking for death."

"The worst thing we can do in this operation is to fall into the encirclement of the Reunion Movement. Even though the combat skills of each of us are far inferior to those of the Reunion Movement, our numerical superiority will still put us at a disadvantage. Once we are surrounded, there will be no hope of escape."

As the doctor spoke, he displayed a map of Chernobog's core city that he had retrieved from the database.

"Do not follow the main road, try to avoid battle, and avoid the Reunion Movement teams that are patrolling the entire route. Use guerrilla tactics to constantly harass the main Reunion Movement forces."

"Ace and Blaze's team is the main assault force, while Rosemary and Scout's team is ready to provide support at any time. As for the other special operations teams composed of external operators..."

The doctor saw the special operations teams composed of other factions in the combat personnel panel, paused for a moment, and then said.

"Your primary task is to find the last leader of the Reunion Movement and report his location. Incidentally, it would be best to also check if any Ursus forces have infiltrated this operation."

"Ursus?"

Cliff and others, who had joined Rhodes Island from other factions, looked at the Doctor with some shock.

Even Shining frowned; she and Nearl were considered Rhodes Island's core fighting force. Yet, in this meticulous battle, they were still assigned to the special operations team.

"Yes, Lungmen sent Officer Hoshiguma to help, so Ursus has no reason not to interfere with this mission."

The doctor's thinking was very thorough; he thought of some points that ordinary people would not think of.

“I said long ago that the Reunion Movement might just be a scapegoat, and this scapegoat is just one of the preparations put forward by the forces behind it.”

Just as the Doctor was setting up the team, Scout's voice, who was scouting outside, suddenly came through the headset.

"Doctor, we've run into an old friend here."

Scout's voice interrupted the doctor's words, and his tone was full of surprise.

“W, she’s come looking for us.”

...

Escorted by Scout, W quickly arrived at the landing zone.

Ines was very worried about W's condition.

But seeing that W was perfectly fine except for his pale complexion, they were relieved.

However, not everyone was friendly to W after she arrived.

Ace and Huang, who had never met her, and Nearl, who had witnessed W taking the key, all showed W a rather unfriendly attitude.

"Why do you all look so pale? At least smile. You've come this far, it hasn't been easy."

W patted herself, indicating that she wasn't carrying any Originium explosives, which she considered a gesture of goodwill.

"You don't look too good either. Can the leader of the Reunion Movement really turn against us? I thought you were all people with strong minds. Even if you were to kill yourself, you wouldn't turn back."

Lin Guang snorted coldly. She had personally witnessed W taking the key away, and now the core city was in motion, wasn't it because of the key that W had taken away?

"Why are you so nervous? I'm not here to cause trouble. On the contrary, I have a lot to tell you, all of this is intelligence! Intelligence!"

Even though W's words still carried a stubborn air, her expression was not as relaxed as usual; instead, it was quite serious.

"I didn't expect you to come looking for us at this time."

Kal'tsit spoke; she was W's primary contact during this period.

"Is there something you need?"

As Kal'tsit spoke, Amiya explained to the others that W had been providing Rhodes Island with a series of intelligence reports and was considered an ally, to avoid giving everyone too much prejudice against W.

But after all, it's W, a former leader of the Reunion Movement. They won't be welcoming here.

"After Mephisto was stabbed to death by the Undead, Faust disappeared. The Kingkiller and the Bonecrusher were captured by you in Lungmen, and Frostnova also died from exhaustion. Now, apart from Talulah, the Reunion Movement only has one leader left."

W ignored those who didn't have a good impression of her and spoke directly.

"But with your current manpower, you still can't confront the Reunion Movement head-on. And that Patriot happens to be an excellent commander. To achieve your goals, you'll probably have to end up in a lose-lose situation."

“And that’s exactly what Talulah wants to see. Because Patriots won’t back down, and she has other tricks up her sleeve.”

Just then, the Doctor interrupted W.

He needs to correct one point.

"Frostnova didn't die, she survived."

"Shut up! Wait..."

W didn't have a good impression of the Doctor and was about to turn around and say something sarcastic when she realized what the Doctor had said.

"Frostnova isn't dead?!"

"Yes, under Mr. Undead's protection, Frostnova is not dead, she is just unconscious. The members of the Yeti Squad are all being held at Rhodes Island."

The doctor nodded. He was a little confused by W's malice towards him, but it wasn't the right time to ask.

"Frostnova isn't dead... If that's the case, there might still be a chance to break this deadlock."

W exhaled and said.

"Both Patriot and Talulah believe Frostnova is dead. Patriot would never betray Reunion at this critical juncture. So he will fight to the death, and only the victor of your two sides will be qualified to stop Talulah."

The others were completely confused, finding it hard to understand the patriot's logic.

If the Patriots also want to stop Talulah, why don't they just switch sides? Why do they have to fight Rhodes Island?

But after W finished speaking, the PhD students understood the logic behind it.

"He doesn't want to ruin the Reunion Movement's reputation, nor does he want the infected to take the blame for this entirely. So he's made up his mind; the rest is up to you to see if you have the ability to do it."

W looked at Kal'tsit, then glanced at Amiya, and continued.

"But if Frostnova were still alive, there might be a chance. If Frostnova were to stop Patriots... she might be able to hold them off for a while."

"Impossible. Frostnova is still unconscious on Rhodes Island. It will be difficult for her to even wake up in a short time, let alone regain her combat ability."

Kal'tsit shook her head; she rejected W's suggestion.

"Moreover, even if Frostnova were awake, she wouldn't be willing to be a traitor and rebel against Reunion. In this respect, Patriot's idea is the best solution. Only by paying a price can the responsibility for attacking Lungmen be shifted from the Infected to the name of Reunion, and thus away from the Infected themselves as much as possible."

As expected, experience matters, and Patriot and Kal'tsit's ideas largely overlapped on this point.