The next day.
Lucas Reeve and the others left Jessica's house.
Jessica's parents were naturally very busy as well; they had already taken a Raythean Industries aircraft early in the morning to attend a meeting in another country.
"Mmm~~"
Franka stretched languidly, a comfortable expression on her lovely face. Her proud curves formed a graceful S-shape under the morning sun.
"I slept so well yesterday~~"
"Jessica's bed is so big and soft! Hehe~~ When I was sleeping yesterday, I was just like Ceobe, asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. There's even a SPA and a massage room in the villa..."
Beside them, inside the stretched limousine, Ceobe, who had been silently nibbling on a honey biscuit, lifted her head. She blinked her innocent, wide eyes at Franka and tilted her head.
Huh?
Ceobe had been starving yesterday.
For some reason.
Ceobe's body seemed to burn through energy very, very quickly. Perhaps it was this rate of energy consumption that made her physical functions countless times stronger than a normal person's. Her body's potential was also ridiculously high. With professional training, and based on Franka's previous assessment of her, Ceobe might even surpass the most powerful group of mercenaries in Blacksteel Worldwide in terms of strength.
"Speaking of which... Jessica...."
Franka suddenly remembered something but was hesitant to ask. After a moment's pause, she spoke up.
"Hm? What is it, Franka-senpai?"
Jessica was happily gazing out the window.
Her mind was still on the scene of Mr. Reeve meeting her parents yesterday. Although it was a pity that she couldn't have Mr. Reeve truly meet her parents, perhaps... there would be opportunities in the future.
Jessica had already decided that, from now on, whenever she had the chance, she would subtly ask her parents whether they believed in the existence of souls in this world...
But her parents seemed to like Mr. Reeve a lot and approved of him highly.
Heehee...
Jessica's eyes curved into crescent moons. She was already starting to fantasize about the future...
Franka sighed and said, "Little Jessica, are you going home soon to be trained as the heir?"
At first, Jessica didn't understand what Franka meant.
She nodded.
"I think so. It probably won't be long..."
But as soon as she said it, Jessica instantly understood. Her expression dimmed slightly, and she realized what Franka was asking.
Going home to be trained as the heir meant that she would basically be separated from Franka-senpai and Liskarm-senpai.
These two seniors had been with her for a very long time.
At the very least, not long after Jessica first joined Blacksteel Worldwide, she had, by a stroke of luck, interned under them. The three of them were not just seniors and a junior, but also very good friends.
The atmosphere in the car fell silent for a while.
Only the sound of Ceobe smacking her lips in confusion could be heard.
Finally.
Franka let out a laugh, returning to her usual bubbly self.
"Pah, pah, pah! What's with this sad topic? At worst, Liskarm and I will just retire in the future and become your bodyguards. After all, as the future head of Raythean Industries, you'll need one or two skilled bodyguards, right? But, our salary can't be low, you know."
Franka said jokingly.
After that, she started chatting about other things.
The vehicle slowly drove into the residential complex where Jessica lived. Franka and Liskarm said their temporary goodbyes to Jessica and drove away.
Ceobe also joined Jessica in the training room on the top floor of the villa to begin a new day of training.
"Mr. Reeve!!"
A voice called out in Lucas Reeve's ear.
This voice.
Alina!
Could it be that over there...
Immediately, Lucas slipped into the necklace, his main consciousness arriving in Ursus.
——————
"Alina?"
Lucas emerged from the bracelet. At that moment, Alina was holding the bracelet he was in, her expression slightly worried.
Lucas looked around. It seemed to be the wooden cabin where his soul resided.
And inside the cabin.
Patriot, FrostNova, and Talulah were also here.
"What's wrong?"
Lucas asked.
"Thank you for the information you provided, Mr. Reeve."
Talulah was the first to express her gratitude to Lucas. At the same time, a small stream of Prayer Power flowed into Lucas's soul.
+100
"According to the intelligence from the Scouts we sent out, it seems that rumors about our Reunion Movement are indeed spreading in the cities to the north of Ursus. It seems... the Fourth Army Group controlling the north has already sent some regular troops over, attempting to encircle and annihilate our Reunion Movement."
"!"
Lucas frowned slightly.
The regular army.
As expected of that old Black Serpent.
Knowing he might not be able to outplay me on the spiritual level, he decided not to act himself and instead let the Ursus army handle it. As the 'god' of Ursus, the old Black Serpent has countless avatars, and who knows how many of his Serpent's Scales have already taken control of various important positions in the country of Ursus.
What a cunning bastard...
Calling for backup when you can't win.
Although Lucas had never encountered the Ursus regular army, their strength was definitely not something the so-called Infected Pickets could compare to. Whether in terms of daily training or equipment, there was simply no comparison.
Lucas suddenly thought of a problem.
Perhaps the Black Serpent's purpose in sending the regular army wasn't simply to kill him or everyone in the Reunion Movement. It might just be to use the pressure of the regular army to destroy the stability that Reunion had painstakingly built with his help.
After all.
If the Black Serpent really wanted to kill them.
With his level of control over Ursus, there were many ways to eliminate the Reunion Movement. But it had been so long, and even before Lucas himself appeared, Reunion had survived on this ice field for several years. This meant that the Black Serpent's goal wasn't simply elimination, but... control...
"So what are you going to do now?"
Lucas asked.
Talulah glanced at Patriot beside her before speaking.
"We are preparing to evacuate this place. As early as when you reminded us, Mr. Reeve, we had already prepared all members of the Reunion Movement to be ready to evacuate at any time."
"Evacuate..."
It seemed to be playing right into the Black Serpent's hands, but there was no other choice. The regular army was about to arrive. Even if the Reunion Movement had the Guerrilla Squad and a top-tier powerhouse like Patriot, Patriot, as strong as he was, couldn't single-handedly fend off an entire regular army. The only path before them now was to escape...
Fortunately.
Because Lucas had been constantly catalyzing the food supplies these past few days, Reunion now had a considerable stockpile. Coupled with what they had traded for and the meat from hunting, dividing these rations among every member of the Reunion Movement was enough for them to survive for some time.
They got to work immediately.
At Talulah's command.
The members of the Reunion Movement, who were already prepared, finished packing their belongings. With some reluctance, they began to leave the village where they had lived for several months. When the village had a supply of grain and even vegetables, many members thought they could finally settle down and live a peaceful life. They never expected this peace to be shattered so quickly...
If it were in the past.
Perhaps many members would have complained, grumbled in their hearts, and some might have even lost faith in the Reunion Movement and chosen to flee.
But after days of Reunion providing enough food to fill their stomachs, and even fresh vegetables.
These Infected had long since developed a strong sense of belonging to this organization.
Even with the evacuation now.
Few had any complaints. At most, they would verbally curse the Ursus army for being brain-dead.
A large group of people evacuated quickly.
By the time the Ursus regular army arrived, the settlement was already deserted. There was even a large line of '*Ursus Profanity*' spelled out with snow on a wall, to 'welcome' the approaching regular army.
The officers of this regular army gritted their teeth in anger when they saw the vulgar *Ursus Profanity*. However, their orders did not permit them to continue the pursuit. A military order was absolute, so the officer could only, in a fit of rage, command his men to burn all the wooden cabins to the ground.
"Hahaha~ Those Ursus running dogs will probably grit their teeth in anger when they see the message I left in the village."
On the road during the Reunion Movement's mass migration, an Infected who wasn't very old said with a laugh.
"I did something different. I set up a trap in the snow nearby. Those lackeys are in for some bad luck if they step on it..."
"Dammit, I left in such a hurry I forgot to leave a message mocking those running dogs. I'm so pissed!!"
Along the way.
Many of the Infected recovered from the gloomy atmosphere. Some of the more lighthearted ones even started joking around.
This was the effect of cohesion and recognition.
It was precisely because of the crops and fresh vegetables provided by Lucas that the mindset of these Infected shifted from being skeptical of Reunion to feeling like they had joined the right organization. Making these Infected loyal was all too simple. Being able to fill their stomachs, this simple yet 'difficult' request, was enough to make an Infected risk their life for an organization.
Listening to the optimistic words of her comrades behind her.
Alina smiled happily in her heart, her face blooming with an incomparably gentle smile.
"It's all thanks to you, Mr. Reeve..."
"Because of you... our Reunion Movement has become even more united..."
Another small wisp of Prayer Power flowed into Lucas's soul.
"It's nothing. In helping you, I'm also helping myself."
Lucas replied with a smile.
It was true.
So far.
Reunion had provided Lucas with tens of thousands of points of Prayer Power. It seemed that choosing to have a showdown with Patriot was the right move. Only an organization like this could provide more Prayer Power.
They migrated along a pre-planned route.
Usually.
After arriving at a base, the first thing the Reunion Movement would do was dispatch professional Scouts to find the next viable location for a temporary camp, in case an accident required them to move to another place.
Because it was daytime.
The snow on the ice field was not heavy.
Occasional snowflakes drifted down, adding a touch of quiet and tranquility to the white ice field. It was a beautiful sight. For someone who had never seen snow, they would want to live here. But for the Reunion Movement, this snow... was more terrifying than the grim reaper himself...
Just as they were about to reach the next base.
The Shieldguard Squadron leading the way stopped. The Infected behind them craned their necks forward in confusion.
The next second...
Almost all the Infected froze on the spot.
Not just the Infected.
Even the battle-hardened Guerrilla Squad and Talulah froze in place. Even Patriot frowned slightly.
Directly in front of them all.
A black figure blocked their path.
A tall figure, dressed in a pitch-black greatcoat. But what shocked everyone the most was the black metal device on the person's head. Numerous tubes extended from the front and back of this metal mask, connecting to his back.
He just stood there.
Just one person.
But he halted the steps of the entire Reunion Movement. Everyone's eyes widened. Even FrostNova's Yeti Squadron couldn't help but tremble as they spoke.
"This is!!"
"This is!!"
Panic spread through the entire group in an instant.
"The Emperor's... Blade!!"
A Shieldguard slowly called out the name of the strange figure before them, and Lucas could clearly hear the trembling in his voice as he spoke.
They were afraid too.
Even the battle-hardened Shieldguards couldn't hide the fear in their hearts.
This dark figure stood there.
He didn't move, he didn't even speak.
But everyone felt as if this figure was constantly growing larger. Fear instantly consumed the hearts of all the Infected, and many had already collapsed to the ground in terror.
The fluttering snowflakes slowly landed on the Emperor's Blade's shoulder, but the moment a snowflake was about to touch his shoulder.
The white snowflake was suddenly corrupted, turning into a viscous black mud and falling to the ground. It wasn't just the snowflakes; in the snowy ground where the Emperor's Blade stood, the snow under his feet had completely turned into black mud and merged with the earth. It was as if there was a natural barrier around his body that could corrupt anything nearby...
*Huuu...*
Lucas's eyes widened a bit.
The oppressive feeling this enemy gave Lucas was very, very strong. Even in Lucas's spiritual vision, this person was constantly releasing a terrifying and peculiar field around him. Any object that came into contact with this field would instantly wither away.
However...
Although his overall strength was very, very strong, he was still a fair bit weaker than Mr. Patriot.
Could such an Emperor's Blade block the path of the Reunion Movement?
Obviously impossible.
Even without Patriot making a move, FrostNova and the Yeti Squadron working together could probably repel this single Emperor's Blade.
"It's you!! The Emperor's Blade!! You filthy butchers!"
Talulah immediately shielded Alina behind her, glaring at the enemy before her with gritted teeth.
Although she had learned from Lucas that Koschei would retaliate.
At first, Talulah thought that mobilizing an army group was the limit.
But...
When she saw this 'Emperor's Blade', she finally understood just how absurdly powerful Koschei's Serpent's Scales were in Ursus... They could even find a way to mobilize the Emperor's Blades, who were said to be loyal only to the Emperor himself!