"The Emperor's Blade..."
Lucas wasn't from Ursus, so he didn't know what the Emperor's Blade truly signified.
Even without any information.
Just seeing the nearly panicked expressions on the faces of the Infected around him was enough to know how terrifying this person was.
From Lucas's perspective.
The body of this humanoid monster, wrapped in a black greatcoat with a huge metal respirator on its head, was like a giant vortex. These black vortices enveloped the Emperor's Blade's entire body, constantly radiating outwards.
This power of fear continuously stirred the most primal, instinctual panic in all the Infected present.
"....."
As the fear in the hearts of the surrounding Infected magnified infinitely.
Lucas's spiritual body could see that countless black auras from the surroundings were being continuously absorbed into the Emperor's Blade's body. And, as he absorbed this power of fear, the Emperor's Blade's strength also grew noticeably stronger.
A trait that absorbs the power of fear to strengthen oneself?
"I advise you... to commit suicide immediately...."
A coarse voice came from the 'humanoid monster's' respirator. The voice was extremely unpleasant, as if filtered through metal pipes, sounding like it came from hell. Just hearing the voice was enough to make a child cry.
Fear...
It permeated the minds of many Infected.
They were not soldiers. The vast majority of them were ordinary villagers or city office workers before becoming Infected. Even after joining the Reunion Movement and undergoing some physical training, they were, to put it bluntly, still ordinary people.
Under the release of the Emperor's Blade's aura of fear, this group was the first to have their psychological defenses shattered. And in the eyes of the Emperor's Blade, these ordinary people were simply an endless source of power. Fear... brings power...
"Don't be afraid!"
Talulah, as the leader, shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice full of authority.
"So what if it's an Emperor's Blade! We have Mr. Patriot, we have the Shieldguards!! How can a mere Emperor's Blade possibly stop Mr. Patriot's spear!!"
It had to be said.
That shout was indeed effective.
The Shieldguards, who had been feeling somewhat fearful, all took a deep breath.
That's right.
We have the Captain...
How could we be afraid of an Emperor's Blade.
Although these words couldn't completely dispel the fear of the ordinary Infected, they did manage to boost morale to some extent.
"Huuu..."
A deep breath escaped from the Emperor's Blade's mask.
"As the daughter of an Imperial Grand Duke, Talulah... you have betrayed the Empire, betrayed the Duke, betrayed the Emperor, and chosen to associate with the filthy and sinful Infected. This is a capital crime. However, as the Duke's daughter, your status is enough to spare you from death. I will not kill you, but I will bring you back to the Empire to face judgment..."
The Emperor's Blade's voice wasn't loud, but it spread throughout the entire Reunion Movement column.
Almost all the Infected heard the Emperor's Blade's voice.
"The... the daughter of a Grand Duke!!!"
"Talulah is the daughter of a Grand Duke!!!"
"We've been following the daughter of the very nobles who persecuted us!!"
One sentence stirred up a thousand waves.
The Infected, who were already in a state of panic within the Emperor's Blade's 'domain', broke down once again.
This news was simply too shocking.
The Infected, who had suffered greatly at the hands of the nobility, hated them with a passion. They couldn't believe... that they had been foolishly following the daughter of a duke.
Sowing discord?
A possibility popped into Lucas's mind.
Just as he thought.
The Black Serpent didn't want to kill Talulah; he probably just needed her body. Just like himself, the Black Serpent, as a spiritual entity, needed to borrow a very powerful body to exert its power. And Talulah's body... her talent was among the most powerful Lucas had seen so far.
A mixture of Victoria's Draco blood and Yan's Dragon blood.
Talulah's talent was almost unparalleled, even stronger than Ch'en's.
Even...
If Talulah were allowed to continue growing, she might one day surpass the current Patriot...
No wonder the Black Serpent was so greedy for it.
Even he would be tempted.
Unfortunately for the serpent, he had the chance to create a perfect physical body that was most compatible with his own soul, so he didn't need to 'borrow' someone else's like the Black Serpent.
By the way.
Do all serpents like to covet others' bodies?
It seemed a certain serpent in a certain anime was also very interested in the bodies of a pair of brothers.
However.
It seemed unlikely that this Black Serpent could forcibly take over Talulah's body. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to wait for Lucas to show up. It was likely he needed to wait for Talulah to have a mental breakdown to have a chance of possession. And Talulah was now almost completely devoted to the cause of the Infected. If she were to be betrayed by the very Infected she trusted, perhaps that would achieve the goal the Black Serpent desired.
After speaking with Talulah, the Emperor's Blade then looked towards Patriot in the center.
He bowed slightly, expressing his most sincere respect to Patriot.
"Wendigo..."
"We have no desire to be your enemy."
"You are a legend in the Imperial army. Even though our generation has not witnessed your power firsthand, we have heard your story from the previous generation. You should not be siding with the Infected, great Wendigo..."
Just a second ago, the Emperor's Blade's tone was incredibly arrogant, yet the next second, he acted like a student in front of Patriot.
However.
Lucas knew that this was not fear, but a kind of respect.
Respecting you doesn't mean I won't kill you...
"I fight for the Infected now..."
Patriot's voice was incomparably firm. His three-meter-tall body stood like a city wall, shielding the Shieldguards and all the Infected. In an instant, the power of fear that enveloped all the Infected seemed to diminish significantly.
"No... you are mistaken, Wendigo... Buldrokkas'tee."
"Even though you are now Infected, we still eagerly desire to fight alongside you, to push Ursus to new heights once again, to realize the dream that even the late Emperor could not achieve. Come with us, Wendigo... These lowly Infected are not worthy of your protection. What you should be guarding is not the insignificant Infected, but the entirety of Ursus!"
"His Majesty needs you, all of Ursus needs you~"
"Including the Shieldguards. As one of the Empire's former elite units, even if you made mistakes, you can still be forgiven by the Empire. Come with us, charge onto the battlefield for the Empire, and wash away the mistakes of your past."
The Emperor's Blade's power of persuasion was very strong.
Especially when his deep, hellish voice mixed with the continuous release of fear from his body.
The already panicked squadron of Infected immediately descended into madness.
"We're done for!! Mr. Patriot and the Guerrilla Squad are going to abandon us!! What should we do!!"
"Talulah is actually a duke's daughter!! She was born high and mighty, with special privileges, playing with us in the palm of her hand.."
"Don't abandon us, Mr. Patriot!!!"
Clearly.
The Emperor's Blade had achieved his ultimate goal.
To be honest.
When they learned that Patriot was actually among the Reunion Movement, they were utterly astonished. No wonder this small Infected unit could make it so far...
"Ursus... and I.. have nothing to do with each other anymore... or rather... I have lost all hope in Ursus!"
Patriot's determined voice came from within the goat skull.
"I am Infected! We are the Guerrilla Squad of the Infected, so naturally... we fight for the Infected!!!"
Patriot stomped his foot.
Instantly, an aura like a landslide erupted from his massive body, like a mountain torrent bursting forth. The gale stirred up by his Originium energy made the corner of Talulah's coat flap loudly. In that moment, Patriot seemed to become the center of the world. His power, his presence, were unattainable, inspiring only fear.
*Thud!!*
Patriot slammed the large shield in his left hand onto the ground and raised the long spear in his right hand high. One man was a city wall.
"For the Infected! For the Captain!! Brothers, form a shield wall!!! There's only one of them! Even if he's the Emperor's Blade, we'll kill him for the Emperor to see!"
At this moment.
The Shieldguards, who were still somewhat fearful, were inspired by Patriot and instantly conquered the fear in their hearts. A wall of heavy shields was raised in front of everyone.
At this moment...
They were the defensive line for everyone!
"Huuu..."
A long sigh escaped from the Emperor's Blade's respirator through the metal tubes, and thick black mist was continuously released from the gaps in the respirator.
"What a pity..."
"Wendigo... Buldrokkas'tee."
"You have betrayed the Emperor's trust, abandoned all of Ursus..."
"We respect you, but... we are the Emperor's Blade..."
And as he finished speaking.
Around the entire Reunion Movement, as if like ghosts, many more figures almost identical to him appeared...
All the Infected, and even the Shieldguards, couldn't help but widen their eyes.
One...
Two...
Three...
...
Nine...
A full nine Emperor's Blades...
Despite being on an ice field.
Beads of cold sweat unknowingly trickled down everyone's cheeks.
FrostNova took a deep breath... frosty air billowed from her mouth. Talulah's face was ashen... she clenched her teeth tightly. Patriot frowned slightly. As for the ordinary Infected, many were already trying to flee, but were blocked by the Shieldguards and the Yeti Squadron.
A full nine Emperor's Blades!!
Nine!!
One Emperor's Blade was already enough to make these ordinary Infected collapse in fear. A full nine...
We're dead!
We're dead!!
Talulah is a duke's daughter, Patriot and the Shieldguards are former soldiers of Ursus, they can survive. FrostNova, as Patriot's daughter, might also survive. But what about us ordinary Infected...
Some Infected had already been crushed by the power of fear and collapsed on the ground, crying uncontrollably.
In Lucas's field of vision.
A continuous stream of fear energy was gathering in the sky above. This... was exactly what these Emperor's Blades wanted.
"You really think highly of me... sending nine Emperor's Blades..."
Patriot said with some self-mockery.
If there were two, he would be fearless. Three, he could hold them off. Even with four, he could hold on for a short while by fighting to the death. But... nine...
FrostNova and the Yeti Squadron, fighting to the death, could hold off one or two...
Talulah and some of the Shieldguards could hold off one...
What about the remaining six...
"Don't misunderstand, great Wendigo.."
"As a decorated Captain of Ursus, the greatest existence in the Ursus military, even if you have betrayed Ursus, your past contributions to Ursus are indelible. No one in Ursus has the right to sentence you to death, nor does anyone have the right to execute you. We will wait for the day you have a change of heart. We look forward to fighting alongside you."
"And our purpose on this trip..."
"Is not you, but..."
"The 'evil god' who has bewitched the duke's daughter and the Wendigo!"
The lead Emperor's Blade's crimson gaze pointed directly at Lucas within the bracelet on Alina's wrist.
"As I thought!"
Lucas clicked his tongue.
"So their final objective was me after all."
"This Black Serpent... has a screw loose! Knowing he probably can't win on a spiritual level, he just sends people to try and annihilate me on the physical level."
Evil god?
The Infected present didn't know of Lucas's existence. Following the Emperor's Blade's gaze, all the Infected looked in Alina's direction. They were somewhat confused. Miss Alina is an evil god? How is that possible!
And Alina clutched her bracelet extremely nervously.
"You lingering soul, hiding and cowering in a bracelet, your existence poses a threat to the restoration of Ursus, and we will eliminate this threat for Ursus..."
"This is bad!!"
Lucas's eyes widened. Even Patriot, as strong as he was, couldn't possibly block all the Emperor's Blades. Four at most... no more. The remaining four would definitely charge towards him... and he had very little fighting power right now... without a suitable physical body, he couldn't exert much of his strength at all.
Alina's body was too weak...
Dammit!!
In an instant.
The surrounding Emperor's Blades transformed into black streaks of light and charged towards Alina. A normal person would have probably been scared enough to take off the bracelet and throw it away, but Alina held on tightly, protecting him...
I can't lose...
Lucas knew.
He was just a remnant soul; if he was gone, he was gone. But if he was gone, there was a 100% chance Patriot and the others couldn't stop these Emperor's Blades. There was no guarantee that the Emperor's Blades' only target was him, and that they would spare these Infected after killing him...
However.
In the next second.
Patriot had already transformed into a hurricane and rushed in front of Alina.
"Give me the bracelet, Alina!"
"Mr. Patriot!"
"I'll protect Lucas... you all escape... their target is Lucas.."
"But!!!"
Talulah said anxiously, "There's no time, Alina, trust Mr. Patriot!! Only Patriot can protect Mr. Reeve here!"
"Okay!!"
Alina made up her mind, took off the bracelet, and placed it in Patriot's huge palm.