Flandre stiffened upon hearing that, then chuckled awkwardly.
"Ahaha, this is just a weapon from a fairy tale book I read. It's not real!"
Talulah stared at Flandre's darting eyes, knowing the little one was lying. However, after thinking for a while, she really couldn't find anything in her memory related to the "Sword of Promised Victory" Flandre mentioned. She held up the weapon, looked it over, and shook her head.
"This weapon does look very noble, magnificent, and has the air of a king. But little Flandre, I founded the Reunion Movement never to become a king, but to help the Infected find justice and lead them to live better on this land. So, it doesn't suit me."
Flandre stroked her chin, looking at the longsword being handed back, and then spoke in a strange, translated-sounding tone.
"Wow, what a picky customer. Let me find a suitable wand for you... Bah... Greatsword transmog! Got it. Steady and low-profile? Then this is definitely low-profile!"
With a wave of Flandre's hand, the longsword vanished, leaving only a faint, shimmering hilt.
"Want to try it?"
This time, Flandre didn't toss it to Talulah but handed over the transparent sword.
??? Everyone looked at her, curious that Flandre hadn't offered any commentary on this weapon.
"Hmm? What's there to say? It's just an Invisible Sword. The effect is just that: formless and shadowless. The advantage is that in battle, others can't see what your weapon looks like or how long it is, so they can't make judgments. But the disadvantage is that you don't know either. Plus, if you drop it, you'll basically never find it again."
After Flandre finished, everyone looked at the weapon, wanting to complain that this might be a bit too low-profile.
"Don't underestimate this weapon; it's quite terrifying in battle!" Red said, looking at the Invisible Sword in Talulah's hand. After all, it's easy to be killed on the first encounter if you can't see the opponent's weapon. This thing is even more underhanded than the previous ones. With those first weapons, you'd at least have the thought of resisting when the opponent swung them. But if someone slashes or stabs at you with an Invisible Sword, by the time you react, the weapon might have already cut you in half or run you through. On the battlefield, it could indeed be considered an invincible weapon.
"Wouldn't this be a bit too underhanded?"
Red's words made everyone nod. Although Talulah had no intention of becoming a king, she shouldn't be this excessively low-profile, right?
"How is it not honorable? This weapon was originally the sidearm of a king. If a king can carry this, why can't Sister Talulah!"
Talulah had never heard of any king using such a weapon, so she asked helplessly. "Which fairy tale book did you see this in?"
"Exactly! Flandre is still small, isn't it normal to read fairy tales?"
Flandre's matter-of-fact answer left everyone feeling that she had a point; they couldn't find any reason to refute her. Talulah thought about it; this weapon actually suited her quite well. Despite the risk of losing it, she had to admit that such an invisible weapon was indeed very advantageous in combat.
Meanwhile, news arrived from the other side. The few people being watched had begun to contact each other. It was clear that they knew each other. But this had never been heard of before. After returning to the office, the group discussed what to do.
"Let's just arrest them! To prevent further complications!" This was Red's idea. After all, with unstable elements in the crowd, who knew how long it would take for them to develop a group of "subordinates"?
"No, we can't arrest them. We need evidence. Otherwise, arresting them without proof, based only on suspicion and possibility, will only cause panic among everyone. Next time, if someone says another person is suspected of having a problem, or if someone among us is suspected, do we arrest them too?" Talulah shook her head.
Although arresting those few directly was the simplest and easiest plan, Talulah stated she had to be responsible for everyone. Unless things became irreversible, such extreme methods could not be used. Hearing Talulah's counter-question, Red also fell silent.
Because he also knew that once this precedent was set, while it might stabilize the situation temporarily, it would be absolutely disastrous for the development of the entire Reunion Movement. If arrests were made based solely on the judgment of a few high-ranking members without evidence, then a large number of people would start following rumors or intentionally filing false reports.
Furthermore, they would have to ensure their judgment was absolutely correct every single time. Otherwise, once a mistake occurred, distrust would spread instantly until the entire Reunion Movement collapsed. After all, even if people chose to trust your judgment under authority, that came with a price. Once your judgment failed, your authority would vanish. No one would want someone over them who could arrest them at any time for any reason.
"So what do we do?" Red asked.
"Continue surveillance, then inform the Captain and have him arrange for people to keep a close eye on the roads leading in and out of the base." Talulah said after thinking for a moment.
"Alright!" Red didn't argue with Talulah and agreed. Flandre, watching from the side, felt it was a bit strange. Red didn't seem to agree much with Talulah's idea, yet he didn't argue further and just agreed.
In the evening, news came from Red that there was unusual movement. Among them, the Milo couple used the excuse of buying medicine at a nearby settlement and left the town after dinner. Before leaving, they had also been in contact with several other families. So it was almost certain they were going to contact the outside world. To avoid being discovered, only three Shadow Guards followed them for now.
"What's the word? Do we arrest them or not?" Red looked at Talulah.
"Don't be in a hurry. Since the Shadow Guard uncles have pursued them, they definitely won't escape. Now we need to keep a close eye on the families still in the settlement."
Since Talulah had made up her mind, her thoughts became much clearer. There was no need to worry about the three Shadow Guards tracking those two. Even if the others were Ursus spies, they would be no match for the Shadow Guards. What needed to be done now was to watch the people back home, lest something go wrong there before the ones outside were caught.
Two hours later, there was a noise outside, and the Shadow Guards returned carrying two unconscious people.
"We followed the two of them and found that after leaving the settlement, they went straight up the mountain. But since we didn't know the situation at the time, we didn't alert them. Then we found them digging up a signal transmitter from somewhere on the mountain. To avoid any accidents, we knocked them out and brought them back before they could send a message." The leading Shadow Guard recounted the process from when they left until they returned.
"Now we can arrest them!" Talulah looked at Red, Alina, and Buldrokkas'tee, and spoke.
The three of them each led a team to the locations of those three families. Flandre followed Alina to the place where the Levi Brothers were. After reaching their door, Flandre looked at Alina.
"They know we're here."
Alina nodded. As a Vampire, listening to heartbeats was a basic skill. After seeing Flandre use it, she felt this ability was very useful, so she had specifically studied it through her bloodline. Although she couldn't accurately judge whose heartbeat was abnormal in a crowd like Flandre could, listening through a door to see if anyone was inside was no problem at all. Especially now, the heartbeats of the two inside sounded like pounding drums to her. This frequency of heartbeats proved they were extremely nervous, which was why Flandre said they knew they were coming.
Alina nodded and looked at the door. "Open the door, Joshua Levi and Rambo Levi. We already know what you've done. Come out and explain yourselves to Leader Talulah. Perhaps she can forgive your mistakes."
The heartbeats inside grew even more intense; clearly, the people inside were having a fierce internal struggle.
"The Milos have already been arrested. Your stubborn resistance is futile."
The moment Alina spoke, the heartbeats inside skipped a beat, then gradually began to level off.
"It seems they've come to their senses!" Alina immediately broke into a smile.
Flandre shook her head. "Not necessarily. Can't you feel the madness beneath that despair, and the determination to fight to the death?"
Alina's eyes widened upon hearing Flandre's words.
"If you don't believe me, go open the door!" Flandre pointed at the door.
Alina naturally believed Flandre's judgment, but she couldn't imagine why the Levi Brothers would dare to risk everything against her. With a curious mindset, she walked to the door and slowly opened it. Instantly, the Levi Brothers pounced out like vicious tigers.
The one in front lunged like a starving dog, tackling Alina to the ground. The one behind picked up an iron shovel and was about to rush over to bash Alina's head. Then Flandre charged in from the side. She used a "Jashin-chan Kick," kicking the person in the back right in the head. That person instantly became a headless Levi.
The one in front who had tackled Alina fared even worse. In the eyes of those who had followed Alina, before they could even move to save her after she was tackled, they saw the man quickly "shrink" like a deflating balloon. By the time everyone reacted, the man had turned into a shriveled heap of Levi.
Still shaken, Alina sat up. Looking at the one-layered Levi before her, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She originally had no intention of killing him. But when he tackled her, her instinct to resist caused her to instantly activate the Pale Touch ability. Over the past six months, as her only means of replenishment, she had practiced Pale Touch to perfection, so the entire person's life force was drained by her in less than five seconds.
Looking at the elder Levi brother who was now just a layer of skin and the headless younger Levi brother, Alina was momentarily filled with endless emotions.