People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Alina, though her face was red from the cold wind, did not appear to be in much discomfort.

She was born and raised here, and has long since adapted to this place.

"It's about three kilometers to the village where the guerrillas usually resupply. From there, we can contact the guerrillas."

Alina reached out and took Himer's hand, warming it for her.

"Hermer, thank you for your hard work."

Himer shook his head: "It's not hard work. It's my responsibility."

She waved behind her, summoning the man in the group responsible for carrying and dragging the supplies:

"Thomson, we're almost there. When we're about a kilometer from the village, you can hand the sled to Alina."

Thomson nodded, indicating his obedience, but then asked with a hint of doubt:

"Chairman, aren't we coming along? I've heard so many tales of the tundra guerrillas on this journey, I really want to meet them!"

Himer gently shook her head.

She could understand the team members' thoughts. The tundra was filled with guerrilla legends—some said they drove away tax collectors, patrolled, and protected villages; others said they robbed, forced buyers, and squeezed every last grain of food from the villagers. Opinions seemed mixed, but in reality, far more people spoke well of them than ill. Those who criticized them were either using the guerrillas' name to commit evil deeds, or they were propaganda from the picket lines, trying to destroy the guerrillas' popular support.

Alina was a non-combatant under the protection of the guerrillas, and she knew the guerrillas better than anyone. She could expose these lies with just a confrontation.

This also piqued the curiosity of team members like Thomson—what a “wonderful,” “legendary,” and “worthy-of-a-movie-to-promote” story it was to have a guerrilla force operating on the barren ice plains, fighting for justice for the poor and infected, and confronting the Ursus nobles who were always trying to assassinate them!

Hemer actually wanted to see her too, but she was very clear-headed.

The guerrillas may not be as wonderful as they imagine. After all, if she had no problems at all, why would Alina have been in Laterano and gotten a metal prosthetic leg?

Moreover, the guerrillas did not agree to meet with them.

This is a team that needs to maintain secrecy. They have their own rules and regulations and are very vigilant. Meeting them without prior notification could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

Therefore, it was only natural for Himer to try to dissuade him.

But Alina gently took Himer's hand: 8

"I'll go and discuss it with the guerrillas."

"After all, you have provided a lot of supplies for everyone. I think that even if you are not allowed to enter the main camp, the guerrillas should send a few representatives to meet you."

Chapter 625 Talulah: The Starving Black Serpent III

Ursus, tundra.

Since being placed under investigation—I mean, demoted to the grassroots level of the guerrilla forces—Talulah feels her temper has improved a lot.

Of course, there was no sudden repentance after going down to the grassroots for on-site investigation, or any enlightenment like "suddenly the golden rope is broken, the jade lock is torn apart, the wind and snow come from Ursus, and today I know who I am." The reason for her good temper, in her view, is quite simple.

When people are extremely hungry, they naturally lose the mood to cause trouble.

When she served as the guerrilla leader and combat commander, no matter how difficult the guerrillas' situation was, Talulah always made sure they had something to eat. The only difference was whether she ate a lot or a little on certain days.

Admittedly, she often took pity on Alina and shared her food with the children and women Alina cared for, but in any case, she could always get something to eat whenever she wanted.

Choosing not to eat and wanting to eat but not being able to are two different things.

It wasn't until she actually went to the grassroots level and became a regular soldier in the guerrilla force that Talulah realized what kind of life the guerrilla fighters lived.

Lacking food and clothing, when they were starving, they could only gnaw on tree bark and grass roots. When thirsty, they could only scoop up a handful of snow and stuff it into their mouths. Diarrhea and fever were common occurrences, and they weren't even worth reporting. After all, everyone knew that painkillers, which were more precious than gold in this snowfield, were only allowed to be applied for when the real pain—Oripathy—occurred.

There aren't enough supplies for everyone to squander.

Talulah was actually considered relatively good. After all, she had been a leader for so long, and many members of the guerrillas knew her. Indeed, some of the warriors had survived in this icy land because of her "lenient policies." They were loyal to Talulah and were happy to stand up for her or offer her rations.

But Talulah didn't want it; she couldn't have it.

She didn't come here to enjoy special privileges.

Whenever she saw those soldiers, thin and pale from hunger, giving her their hard-earned quotas, she felt nauseous and guilty.

I feel disgusted with myself and guilty towards them.

She is now playing the role of one of those "newly joined soldiers," newcomers to the unit who have not yet made any contributions, yet expect the soldiers who have achieved great feats but have not received a full meal to share their rations with them without compensation.

A portion of food needs to be divided in half, and that half needs to be divided in half again, and so on. As the team grows, the food supply gradually decreases. Then, she can say with a perfectly legitimate excuse: "Let's suffer a little longer, warriors. I'll take the blame." And "Where is the food lacking? Reflect on whether you've worked hard these past few days, and whether you've traded for more food?"

How ridiculous.

Yes, she used to believe that this was fair, this was justice, this was a way to win people's hearts. If they didn't do this, the guerrillas would only destroy themselves in the end.

But now, having experienced all of this firsthand, she understands that there is no such thing as "fairness and justice"; on the tundra, there is only "supplies."

Just as the best refutation of democracy is to talk to a voter for five minutes, the best way to understand the truth about life on the tundra is to live among the troops for a few days.

Even now, Talulah is still very hungry.

Go back, Talulah. Go find Yelena, go find Bozokaste. They will forgive you.

That familiar voice echoed in her mind; Talulah knew it was the Black Serpent's voice.

But at this moment, that seductive voice sounded so weak and powerless.

Yes, Talulah was hungry, and so was the Black Serpent.

The black snake planted the seed, constantly nurturing it with words, waiting for it to sprout and take over Talulah's body. But ultimately, this body still belonged to Talulah.

If Talulah is hungry, then the black snake will be hungry too.

Currently, Talulah still holds the reins of this body. If Talulah doesn't truly agree, then there are many things that the Black Serpent can't actually do.

It can only offer suggestions from the sidelines.

But Talulah said, "You're right, but I'm not listening."

So what if I'm hungry? I might as well starve to death. This is the first time I've managed to get my hands on the Black Serpent, so I'll take this hardship!

Suffering certainly won't fill your stomach, but making the Black Serpent suffer a setback gives Talulah some spiritual sustenance, enough to stave off hunger.

After murmuring once more and still receiving no response from Talulah, the black snake fell silent.

Heinous arguments, insidious provocations, and now humble pleas—Black Serpent has tried every trick in the book, but Talulah's only strategy is: "I won't listen, I won't listen, let Pitram chant its mantra!" As long as I'm in a low enough position, you can't do anything to me!

Therefore, from the eighth point to the fifth, the Black Serpent has basically given up its continuous and persistent seduction and has entered a state of silence.

It didn't give up. How could it give up on a natural body like Talulah, a hybrid of Drak and a dragon?

Just like a snake lurks in wait to hunt, it is simply waiting for the right moment.

The opportunity came much sooner than it had anticipated.

"Tallulah!"

A voice that hadn't been heard for some time came from afar. Talulah, who was sitting on a tree stump counting the day's harvest, suddenly stood up, instinctively drew her sword from her waist, and assumed a vigilant stance—to guard against anyone taking advantage of her distraction to steal the grain.

But when she actually saw the person's face, Talulah's wariness vanished in an instant.

She looked incredulously at her companion running towards her from afar and called out:

"Alina! Over here!"

Moments later, at the guerrilla camp.

Talulah led Alina into the guerrilla headquarters camp.

The two women were so striking: Talulah was a former leader who "voluntarily" went to the bottom, while Alina, with her mechanical hands and legs, brought a small technological shock to this snowfield without even electricity.

Of course, what's most eye-catching about them is the sled full of boxes behind them.

Food, water, and the most urgently needed medicine.

With these, Talulah and Alina met Bozokasti and Yelena.

Alina gave the opening remarks:

"The Presbyterian Order of Mount Saints pays its respects to you."

"you from?"

Bozokasti only said three words, and Yelena skillfully translated them for him.

"You're from the Hermitage of the Holy Mountain?"

Alina nodded:

“I met the guides, and I even met the mentors. Lady Yelena, and Lady Patriot. The Order of the Holy Mountain has agreed to aid us, and not only that, the mentors also value us highly.”

"Requirements? Search:$→]" Bozhuokast spoke again.

"Did they make any demands?" Yelena added.

Alina shook her head: "No."

“No,” Bozokastie said decisively.

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. It’s impossible to provide aid without asking for it,” Yelena said slowly.

They are indeed short of supplies, but by tightening their belts together, they can barely manage to survive without any new recruits joining. However, accepting gifts from others would be a different story.

"He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding; he who takes another's money is bound to do his bidding." If you rashly accept their help once or twice, it might not be a big problem, but if it happens too often, some people in the team will change their minds. They will think, "It's so easy to accept their help; I'll never go hungry again."

Then they'll gradually make some harmless demands, and under internal pressure, Yelena will have no choice but to agree. And so it goes, step by step, until they're completely on a path of no return.

This is corruption.

A deal is a deal. It's not that she doesn't want the people in the team to be well-fed, but not everyone can resist the temptation of sweet words and empty promises.

It's best to keep things clear and transparent.

Alina pursed her lips.

Just as Lord Ernst said. What's free is often the most expensive, and given Yelena and Bozocasti's wariness, they would never accept a free gift.

"Actually, it's not entirely nonexistent."

She spoke again.

There are three conditions.

"First, the guerrillas need to send people to accompany and protect the Terra International Human Rights Council during its activities on the Ursus Icefield."

"Secondly, Captain Bozokasti, I need to make sure you receive this message—the World Summit has passed the Kazdel Founding Act, which has been unanimously recognized by the nations of Terra, including Victoria, Ursus, Flame, Columbia, and Letania, and is legally binding. Kazdel has been founded."

"Third, we need to take Talulah away."

"Eh, me?"

Talulah pointed to herself, looking bewildered. Alina turned around and gave her an apologetic smile:

"I'm sorry I haven't told you before."

After speaking, she turned her head and looked at Bozokastie again:

"If you have any questions about the terms, to show our sincerity, Ms. Hemer, the representative of the Terra International Human Rights Council under the World Summit, is waiting just three kilometers away, and you can speak with her in person."

Bozokastie remained silent.

The three conditions revealed three pieces of information, and he really couldn't say which one surprised him the most.

Bojokast had never heard of the Terra International Human Rights Council before, but he could glean a simple understanding of its work from its name.

Human rights are the rights of human beings.

What a great word, though it sounds a bit humorous in Ursus.

But since they dared to come to the tundra, their courage is commendable, no matter what.

However, the idea of ​​hoping the guerrillas would provide them with shelter needs to be carefully considered.

The second condition is even more shocking.

Kazdel has been established, and no Sarkaz could remain unmoved by the news. Bozokasty was no exception.

To be honest, he really wanted to see the new Kazdel with his own eyes right away. Unfortunately, he couldn't get away for the time being.

The guerrilla fighters were also his family; although they weren't all Sarkaz, they were like brothers.

He couldn't abandon them and leave alone.

As for the third condition...

Talulah was the warrior he had chosen and the leader he recognized. Despite her many shortcomings, Bozokasti had not changed his mind until now.

Why are they taking away Ta Yuefeiqun: Yan Liu San Si Er Lu La?

Because of the Duchy of Koschche's claim to her? Because of the blood of the red dragon and the true dragon flowing in her veins? Or because of the black serpent?