The Matter of Talula Finding and Adopting Me

"Thank you for your understanding. Now we can celebrate—celebrate that you have chosen the correct side."

Talula put down the transmitter and looked at the nobles with a sinister smile.

"Duke Talula—uh, Tal..."

A noble stood up, trying to call out to Talula, but didn't know what to say.

"Titles are just code names, my friend. You don't need to be so reserved. Ask whatever you want to ask directly."

"You... uh, why, why are you helping those Infected?"

The noble struggled for a long time to squeeze this question out to 'Talula'.

"An interesting question. If you could understand this, you wouldn't be sitting here risking your lives just to fight over scraps left by ferocious beasts to fill your bellies."

'Talula' smiled sarcastically at him, then glanced at a somewhat tattered black tablet in her hand, made by Orson.

"Duke Baikal is moving to the next step. Marquis Rostov, you'll handle the cleanup. I have other matters to attend to."

"I understand—Duke Talula."

The head of the Rostov family bowed to 'Talula', who left the conference room without any delay.

"—You really didn't play any tricks."

After leaving the conference room, Talula casually walked to a window, her tone and demeanor returning to that of the "leader of Reunion in the Northern Territory," rather than "Duke Talula."

[Consider it a form of entertainment, my daughter. I hope that next time, you won't need my power and can manipulate these spineless weaklings at your whim.]

The voice of the Undying Black Serpent echoed in Talula's mind. The entire meeting process had been orchestrated and guided by Koschei.

This was the result of Talula's negotiation with Orson in the consciousness space—getting Koschei to help persuade and unite the nobles who had intended to side with the Baikal faction.

The real reason Koschei decided to help the Infected was quite simple: Orson forced him.

The negotiation process that day had been very tense. After all, Koschei was a "concept" who had lived for nearly 2,000 years, and there was little that could be used as leverage against him.

That was until Orson materialized and forced Koschei to watch a complete collection of TV series about "that mysterious man from the East, known as the Demon of Domination, codenamed XZ."

Koschei immediately rolled a 6D6 SANCHECK.

To materialize something in the consciousness domain, Orson himself had to experience it. Thus, what followed was a pure test of willpower.

Orson started with XZ, then materialized videos similar to "Jue Ji," "Laughing Era," "Insect Emperor 24-Hour Song Stream," "Potion Brother, Do You Match? Real Record," "Beast Enemy Zoo 2," "Unstoppable Gandam," and so on, forcing Koschei to watch them until he agreed to the deal.

Finally, Koschei, who had gouged out his own eyes, felt a moment of genuine admiration for Orson for the first time. The willpower of this young man could no longer be described as ordinary.

The outcome of the torment, whether male or female, was that Koschei agreed to help Orson and Talula deal with the nobles, in exchange for Orson no longer materializing such disturbing content in the future.

Returning to the present—

"To each their own."

Talula responded to Koschei with annoyance, while looking at the black screen in her hand, which was faintly rippling.

This was the surveillance network deployment Orson had been working on when he found W—the Frequency Reflection Array. It could detect activity traces within a certain range, centered on the Rostov family.

"Duke Baikal's elite troops in the city have begun to move. You mentioned before that there are even Inner Guards among them?"

[To be precise, the Inner Guard has its own plans. They are aware of Reunion in the Northern Territory, so they will likely assume the Undying Black Serpent has failed. Next, these self-righteous executioners will probably try to kill you in the name of the former emperor.]

"Your voice sounds happy? Are you waiting for my death so you can possess another soul?"

Talula marked the suspicious trajectory of movement and then mockingly asked Koschei.

[How could that be, my daughter? The scene I anticipate is not you dying under that filthy and meaningless violence. I am anticipating the look of despair on your face when you realize that everything you've done is meaningless.]

"Then do you think I will despair now?"

[...]

Koschei responded with silence, which was rare for him.

"Sleep, Koschei. I have a fierce battle to face. You can watch quietly, or you can scoff at everything I do."

[Talula, Talula, are you planning to head to the battlefield like this?]

"Are you still going to mock that everything I'm doing now is meaningless?"

[I mean—you should change into a black lace-trimmed dress that better suits your temperament—]

System Prompt: Koschei has been muted by administrator Talula.

"I feel like I can't always rely on Orson. This old snake also seems to be getting more and more outrageous..."

Talula flicked her blushing cheeks, then checked the longsword at her waist. After confirming her equipment was in order, she left the corridor.

Within the consciousness domain, Koschei sat motionlessly on his throne, staring at a dusty corner of a bookshelf in the distance.

"2,000 years? Truly, time flies."

There, the life of the first owner of the name [Koschei] was recorded.

52. Unite, Condense, Spread

Near a Reunion stronghold in the Northern Territory, a group of people were pointing and discussing a troop transport vehicle in front of them.

"How did Talula even get something like this... the legacy of that guy Koschei is truly terrifying."

FrostNova and the Abyssal Hunters stared in disbelief at the two troop transports in front of them, each capable of holding at least fifty people.

"According to the intel from Talula, the Enforcement Team has received orders to allow Infected and civilians to enter. We won't have to sneak around like before for our next operation—I feel like I'm dreaming."

Big Bear of the Abyssal Hunters clicked his tongue in amazement. Ever since he joined the resistance, he'd encountered more strange things in the past year than in his entire life before that.

"Yeah, I absolutely wouldn't have believed it if you told me before that the Infected could achieve this—"

FrostNova looked back at the core members of Reunion. They were all dressed in uniforms with red and yellow as the primary colors, carrying standardized cold weapons and crossbows.

A year ago, these people were just a group of "low-class Infected" struggling to survive in the Northern Territory, lacking organized combat capabilities, their own designation, or even a base and supply lines.

But now, FrostNova suddenly realized that Reunion had grown to a certain scale. They were no longer just Infected wandering around, barely surviving for basic necessities, but had truly become an organization that might be able to change things.

All of this change was inextricably linked to that boy who liked to talk but couldn't.

"Big Sister, Petrova and I will join the vanguard. Will you be alright on your end?"

Big Bear and Petrova boarded the troop transport, looking back at FrostNova with some concern.

"Although we've notified those villages, I doubt many of those villagers will join this operation… If that's the case, your main force will likely face immense pressure."

Reunion's operation this time was divided into two main parts. One part, consisting of Shield Guards, Abyssal Hunters, Crossbowmen, and other elite troops, would board the troop transports to reach Kazimierz City as quickly as possible, providing combat support for Talula and the others.

The remaining majority, composed of Guerrilla Forces and Infected fighters, would march normally under the leadership of FrostNova and Patriot—facing the Third Army Group.

"Don't worry, our objective isn't to clash head-on with the Army Group. Even with just these people, it's enough to complete the mission, right, Dad?"

FrostNova looked at Patriot beside her.

"The Ursus army… is already rotten. While we must give our all, there's no need to… fear those rusted… war machines."

Patriot's speech was intermittent.

"Dad, your throat, could it be…"

"The goji berries in the Goji Berry Tea just got stuck in my throat. What's wrong, Yelena?"

"...Nothing."

Health products really were a special attack on the elderly. Even the Spear of Ursus, the Shield of the Infected, couldn't withstand the terror of health products.

But she had to admit, those strange health products seemed to contain some unknown ingredient that could, to some extent, suppress Originium infection. It was absurd.

"See you later, FrostNova Sister." "We're ready to depart, FrostNova."

Ino and Sasha also boarded the troop transport. They would separately lead the Casters and Crossbowmen to support Kazimierz City.

"Yes, be careful. This mission is more difficult than any before, but I believe in you."

FrostNova nodded at the two youths. Unlike their timid and weak appearance when Talula first found them, both had grown considerably. Even the white-haired Liberi boy, who used to be shy and always hid behind Sasha, had now become capable of handling things independently.

"FrostNova Sister, I'll convey your feelings along with mine to Teacher Orson!"

Ino gave a shy smile that radiated feminine charm, causing Snow Rabbit's ears to perk up.

"Sasha—you should say something to Ino!"

"...Huh?" Sasha looked confused.

If this kept up, that white-haired boy would probably be working as a waiter at the Ferris wheel tomorrow…!

FrostNova rubbed her forehead. Her rivals already included Talula and Alina, and now she had to compete with a shota for a man? What kind of world was this?

After seeing off the Kazimierz City vanguard with a peculiar feeling, a portion of the soldiers who would march with her remained at the stronghold.

"…"

FrostNova glanced at the clock. The scheduled assembly time was in 20 minutes, but not a single person from the villages covered by Reunion's trade network had joined yet.

"Dad, how many people do you think will ultimately join this operation?"

FrostNova asked Patriot, looking out at the empty snowfield not far away.

"Don't hold too much hope. We both don't know what impact Talula's policies will have on this continent."

"Mm…"

FrostNova sighed. Today was the day the seeds Reunion had planted over the past year would bloom and bear fruit.

With 15 minutes left until the scheduled assembly time, a few dozen Infected arrived scattered at the assembly point, but these were already soldiers belonging to Reunion.

With 10 minutes left until the scheduled assembly time, residents who originally lived in the Northern Territory slowly began to appear, scattered here and there.

With 5 minutes left until the scheduled assembly time—

"…"

FrostNova blinked, unable to believe the scene before her eyes.

A seemingly endless crowd gathered at the assembly point, with many more people continuously rushing towards it.

"This is the rendezvous point, miss!"

"…Yes, uh, are you sure you want to participate in this operation?"

A middle-aged uncle asked FrostNova, who replied with disbelief.

"Sigh, don't even mention it! Who wants to go head-to-head with the Army Group? That's just sending us to our deaths!"

"But you..."

"But we don't want our next generation to live in this godforsaken place either! If those bastards in Kazimierz City can live so comfortably, now that we finally have this chance, we definitely have to go and fight for it ourselves!"

The uncle patted the hunting crossbow on his back and gave FrostNova a thumbs-up.

"—Yes, you're right."

FrostNova nodded, still a bit dazed.

She had once thought that her and Talula's efforts would never yield results. She had also thought that the Infected and exiled civilians would never have a chance to step back onto the warm land where they could grow crops in their childhood. She had even thought that the Infected would be sold out and betrayed by the residents of the Northern Territory.

But she hadn't expected that the spark would truly spread and gather here today, on the snow-covered Northern Territory.

Those who wanted to return to Kazimierz City, those who wanted to change their fate, those who wanted to change the future for the next generation, those who wanted the Infected to live with their heads held high—

Even though these people had only received the most basic military education, even though all of them combined couldn't match a single detachment of the army group, but... they had truly responded to this action. This one and only roar belonging to the Infected... no, belonging to those "forgotten people."

"Dad, I..."

"Hold your head high, Yelena. Save your tears for after the war."

Patriot gently patted FrostNova's shoulder, and she bit her lip and nodded.

"Your presence here means you already know the fate that awaits you—it is hell made manifest, a nightmare called war."

Patriot looked at this group of sparks and said in a low yet commanding voice.

"In war, soldiers are not remembered. No matter how many lives we sacrifice, we are merely numbers in the mouths of politicians."

"Regardless of the outcome of this operation, no one will leave a mark on history. Everything will be buried and washed away by the blizzards of Ursus."

"But—history will be changed because of us, warriors."