Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

It's truly pitiful that after all this struggle, nothing has changed. Even if we hadn't intervened, they would have been exhausted by their own corrupt army.

Mandela went to find them. She could handle it all by herself.

Everything seemed to be going according to our plan—except for one thing.

...Ravshini ran away."

Lowering her head, Ahmonie reported to the real leader of the Deep Pool in front of her, Draco who controlled the purple flame, the King of the Deep Pool who caused the tragedy in the banquet hall - Abrana.

"So, my servants have failed." Abrana stood there, her white hair ruffling in the wind. Masked, she looked almost identical to Ravshini. It was precisely for this reason that Abrana used Ravshini as her stand-in. However, upon hearing that her sister was missing and six officers had died, Abrana didn't react, not even her tone changing.

"To say I'm not surprised would be a lie. They may be fools, but they're both formidable." Ahmeni lowered her head. "But—we no longer need them. Their ambitions are expanding too quickly. Seeking their own gain, they're desperate to spread the war, even attempting to use Ravshini to conceal their actions from you. In the end, they're consumed by their own desires, which saves us some effort."

"What about you?" Abrana's gaze moved down and fell on Ahmoni.

"...Cough, cough, cough..." Under such gazes, Ahmonie subconsciously held her breath, even choking, despite having done nothing wrong. "You know me. I just want to see... the end. I asked you this when we first met—since life's end is death, and order inevitably collapses no matter how many times it's rebuilt, how do those walking the path endure making these meaningless choices again and again? And you... you reached out to me."

Ahmonie sincerely recounted her hopes, "You showed me that souls, which should have been extinguished, can still thrive after death. Since then, I have always wanted to see with my own eyes what this land will look like after fire has burned through everything."

She did not lie. Lies were useless in front of the naturally intelligent Draco. She was merciless but good at manipulating people's hearts. Ahmonie could not lie in front of such a person.

"Very greedy, yet very honest." Abrana said with a smile, "I forgot for a moment that you were a double agent."

"Ha... The biggest difference between me and those fools is that I know when to lie." Ahmoni breathed a sigh of relief, which meant that Abrana did not intend to hold her accountable.

But, sure enough, it’s not like Abbrana didn’t care.

"So, how do we deal with the Ravshini issue?"

"My sister, who did she choose?" Abrana asked curiously. "Who made her decide to escape from my control and stop being a delicate puppet dancing in my hands?"

"The identity of those who rescued her is unknown, but they saved many people in the city," Ahmoni explained. "Perhaps... a medical aid organization? Honestly, I'm curious. They don't seem to have any connection to any country. I don't understand why they're going against us."

"Haha, that sounds very interesting." Abrana smiled, and her smile looked so charming in the purple flames.

"Do you want me to find someone to follow?" Ahmenee was quite surprised. There were not many things that interested Draco, but this small medical organization actually made her take a second look.

"That's for you to decide, my counselor." Abrana turned around. "Of course, one day, I might want to meet them in person."

"Pass the order down, our target is only Victoria soldiers. If anyone attacks residents again, he will be an enemy of Deep Pool." Ahmoni passed the order down. She knew what kind of attitude she had to make now. She wanted to blame everything on the Victoria garrison. After all, it was the garrison that bombarded Hill County. What did it have to do with Deep Pool?

After such a traumatic experience, the people needed help, not stricter control. Shenchi's soldiers had to demonstrate their innocence towards the people. The flames had already been ignited, and now they needed to preserve Shenchi's image and strength. If the flames were allowed to burn freely, Shenchi's plans would be wasted.

It is not allowed to attack civilians or rescuers. Soon, when the wounds heal, people will remember who cruelly hurt them and who pulled them out of hell.

Deep Pool Soldiers are different from Victorian Soldiers—

This thought, along with the scar, will be forever engraved in the heart of the resurrected city.

As long as the flames are lit, the evil beasts attracted by the flames will gather together. Victoria's power is almost a myth, and what Deep Pool has to do now is to shatter this myth.

As long as there is an exception, those suppressed thoughts will naturally begin to move.

Only when Victoria is in chaos will Deep Pool have the opportunity and the ability to fish in troubled waters.

All we have to do now is make sure this fire is started and burned brightly for all of Victoria to see.

In the firelight, some people smelled benefits, some vented their hatred, and some found faith - is this a happy ending to some extent?

As for occupying Xiaoqiu County... this was not part of Shenchi's plan.

Victoria was crumbling, but any Grand Duke's army could easily crush a moving city into ash.

Even Tallulah, who was so arrogant at the time, only used Chernobog as a bargaining chip. She was only acting within a framework with the secret support of Ursus.

Before the next appearance, the ghost army should return to the grave that Victoria built for itself.

Of course, before leaving - Shenchi wanted to show his strength, and the garrison was very suitable, just a group of wounded soldiers.

Shenchi's troops did not stay in Xiaoqiu County, nor did they harm the people. This group of black-clad ghosts gathered and surrounded the camp of the Victoria garrison, which was already at the end of its strength.

Noah, who had anticipated this, heard the uneasy words of the soldiers in the barracks and sighed leisurely.

Originally, she could certainly get away easily, but she couldn't take so many people out. Those who had to pay the price had already been imprisoned, but the members of the Deep Pool obviously would not let the remaining soldiers go. After all, in their eyes, the so-called moderate and extremist soldiers had a common name, Victorian soldiers.

Now that Horn and others have left the barracks, these soldiers have lost their will to fight. Now the only one who can protect them... is myself?

negotiation?

Originium skills?

Or... a deal?

Several ideas flashed through Noya's mind. With Kuro around, she could more than protect herself, but to stop the Deep Pool soldiers from massacring the military camp... that was almost impossible.

Kuro is just one person, no matter how powerful she is, she can't stop an army.

Noah has to make a decision.

"...Kuro." Noah spoke, and Kuro, who had always been loyal to him, had been waiting by the side.

"As long as you give the order, I will do it. You should know that you don't need to ask for my opinion." Kuro said, "I will stop them."

"No, there's no need." Noah shook his head and smiled, "I'll let them leave peacefully."

"……how do you want to do it?"

"I'm just planning on playing a tune." Phantom piano keys materialized beneath Noya's hands. Xiaoqiujun's negative emotions were consumed by her, granting her the right to once again play the nameless harp.

Distort reality and change people's hearts.

-

The sound of crossbows and screams outside gradually approached, and then there was a moment of silence.

Then there was the sound of dense footsteps, stopping in front of the closed door.

The colonel in prison heard this and after thinking for a long time, he realized that he had been deceived.

Now Xiaoqiu County has been deeply hurt by him, and sooner or later, he will have to pay the price for it.

Dying here wouldn't be such a bad thing...

But as he sat quietly in prison, she heard a piece of music, a sad piano piece he had never heard before.

He stood up involuntarily, only to find someone standing in front of him. He knew this person—it was the woman who had imprisoned her together with the horn. Now she was standing in front of him, throwing a sword at his feet.

"Will you give your life for Victoria?"

She asked—

"...Are you looking down on me?"

Colonel Hamilton picked up the sword at his feet and frowned, "I will completely destroy these bastards who rebelled against Victoria!"

"Well, sacrifice yourself for the cause in your heart." Noah nodded, and then the colonel felt something being pulled out of his body. As his body fell softly, something seemed to be regenerated in his body.

This kind of thing happened in every prison. The extremist soldiers had their lives taken away, and a moment later, their bodies began to move again.

Nocturne

A piece of music whose creator is also unknown - even this piece of music has only been passed down, but it is just a small part, which is enough to be passed down through the ages.

This song was not played to mourn the officers who were willing to guard the barracks. Instead, it was like the god of death, extracting their souls and driving their bodies, using their souls as fuel to make these lifeless corpses move.

At this moment, the corpse was moving forward, and the eyes of the undead body seemed to be flashing with the anger it had in life.

This group of immortals, driven by their own souls and commanded by Colonel Hamilton, launched a desperate charge towards the troops at Deep Pool.

There is no pain, no fatigue, no death, no salvation, only moving forward.

For the Victoria in their hearts, as Victoria's soldiers, they chose to move forward.

Noah played the music, and Kuro was responsible for evacuating the rest of the soldiers. She had to keep playing, and as long as the music did not stop, these people would not fall.

This is the reality she distorts for these people, and how she fulfills their long-cherished wishes.

She didn't think these people were atoning for their sins, but at this moment, their charge would pave a way for those who shouldn't die here, and that was enough.

Noah, who has done such things as depriving others of their lives and driving their souls, naturally has the obligation to play this piece here.

Colonel Hamilton led his troops and rushed into Shenchi's troops. Shenchi did not expect that they would encounter such fierce resistance and did not even react for a while. However, Shenchi's troops had several times more troops than the garrison, and there was no suspense in this battle. It was not until the Shenchi soldiers stabbed their swords into the bodies of those soldiers in Victorian uniforms but no blood flowed out that they realized something was wrong.

These roaring, crazy monsters rushed forward to meet Shen Chi's weapons, not caring whether their bodies were pierced with holes or not. They were fearless and even relied on this terrifying impact to tear a hole in Shen Chi's team.

The one rushing in the front was Colonel Hamilton. As long as the music in their ears continued, they would not fall.

Impaled, beheaded, severed, weapons knocked away, feet severed—none of this could stop them from continuing their attack.

Just move forward! Move forward! Move forward!

The stormtroopers, numbering less than 300 men, managed to hold back the entire Deep Pool Army for ten minutes.

After crushing the colonel's head, Shenchi's troops looked at the empty military camp and fell into silence.

They saw a girl sitting in a wheelchair, her eyes slightly closed and her hair half white.

To keep playing for that long, even though she had enough emotion to pay the price, she also gave something more.

Noah just sat there. Now she no longer had the strength to continue playing the music - Kuro stood beside her. After completing the task, she would naturally return to her side and help her face the vast army.

However, Shen Chi did not act rashly - and a moment later, Shen Chi's formation split to both sides, and their leader slowly came to the front of the team, staring at the strange girl in front of him.

After a long time, she looked at Kuro beside Noya. Abrana felt threatened by her.

As Draco, there were few people in the world who could make her feel this way.

"may I know your name?"

Abrana spoke to this wonderful girl. "I want to know who caused us such great losses. I also want to know who truly changed my sister."

"Noah Kyrielight."

Noah spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"You win, Shenchi." She wasn't afraid, not even trembling. She just smiled and said, "Can I also ask your name? The real leader of Shenchi?"

"Love Brana."

The conversation between the two sides was surprisingly polite. Both sides were brought up in a good educational environment and naturally would not lose their due etiquette.

"I'm sorry, Miss Noah - you are our prisoner now. I hope you won't resist."

Abrana had no intention of harming Noya. Rather, she was reluctant to hurt such an interesting person. Furthermore, if she hurt the girl in the slightest, the guard beside her would probably kill her at all costs.

That's not worth it—

"Or in other words, I cordially invite Miss Noah Kyrielight to visit Deep Pond. How do you think?"

Chapter 25: Prisoner

Noah did not resist, or rather, she no longer had the energy to resist.

Although Kuro is strong, it is still a bit difficult for her to deal with so many Deep Pool soldiers while protecting herself, so Noah stretched out her hand to stop Kuro's actions.

"It just so happens that I'm also quite curious about the deep pool, Miss Abrana..." Noah smiled, "But please forgive me, Miss Abrana, we still need to let our friends know that we are safe, okay?"

"Go ahead." Abrana didn't mind. She was just curious about Noah anyway. When she first heard of Noah's reputation, she thought that Noah was as vicious as the six-member gang, so she traced her to her appearance in Xiaoqiu County and tentatively sent out invitations. However, this little nightmare with the name of a scammer surprised her again and again.

If this person is not really a saint, then she must be the best scammer.

Abrana is a person who is good at playing with people's hearts, and she is also a person who believes that she can see other people's nature clearly, but when it comes to Noa, her vision, which she is proud of, cannot see what her desires are.

Desire is the source of human action. No matter how noble a person is, desire is bound to exist at the root of her behavior.

But she didn't see enough selfish desire in Noah.

It seemed that those undead soldiers before were manipulated by her to delay time, and the evacuation of all soldiers in the barracks was also her doing.

So why did she do that?

These soldiers were neither her friends nor her relatives, nor did they belong to her motherland. They were even hostile to her for a long time.

But Noah was willing to cover the retreat for this group of people——

So, is this a pure Madonna?

Then why did she manipulate the bodies of these soldiers to launch a suicide attack? If she was truly just pure kindness and didn't want to see the Deep Pond troops massacre the military camp, she should have persuaded the camp to surrender.

She took the lives of some soldiers in exchange for the survival of more.

This is not what a good person should do, but it is not what an evil person should do either.

Her style of doing things was so strange that even Abrana was puzzled.

Although she had observed him for a long time, she still did not understand Noah, or rather, she could not understand the purpose of Noah's actions.