The Matter of Being Picked Up and Adopted by Talula

The Internal Guard lay on the ground, while Orson knelt beside him, trying to stabilize his left arm, which had fractured while blocking the attack, and gasping for breath as he tried to calm his racing heart.

"Ha... ha. Curtain Call really is powerful as an opening kill."

After a brief rest, Orson walked over to FrostNova, wrapped bandages around her fractured areas, then hardened them to create temporary casts.

"It might hurt a little. Bear with it."

"Why would you..."

Just as Orson lifted FrostNova, the two of them almost simultaneously felt a sudden chill run down their spines.

"Those who betray must be exterminated—"

The Internal Guard, with a dagger embedded in his skull, climbed back up from the ground. He pulled out the dagger and charged at them in an extremely bizarre posture.

Damn it, I can't dodge...!

Unable to control her body, FrostNova could only watch helplessly as the enemy lunged toward her.

Squelch!

The dagger pierced through Orson's right hand, with nearly half the blade sinking into his throat.

Because FrostNova could not dodge the blow, Orson had forcibly taken the Internal Guard's final desperate attack himself.

"Orson...!?"

"As long as—you're—okay..."

His broken voice came out in fragments amid the sound of blood spraying, and that was the last sentence Orson could "speak."

After that, Patriot led the Guerrilla Force over. They successfully repelled the remaining troops inside the mine and even killed an Internal Guard, suppressing this operation that had nearly ended in total failure.

Orson had practically destroyed half the army by himself before charging into the heavily sealed mine shaft at the first opportunity.

This battle was later known within Reunion as the Silence Campaign.

Talula had originally been deeply suspicious about why Duke Baikal's mine had two Internal Guards nearby, but because of Orson and FrostNova's injuries, she had no choice but to set the question aside and move them somewhere safe in the north to recover.

Orson's injuries had been extremely severe. If FrostNova had not used the last of her strength to freeze some of his bleeding blood vessels, Orson likely would not have lasted until the troops returned.

In the end, Ino used his Originium Arts to save Orson once again, but this time Orson paid a steep price—

For the following five days, Ino watched over him intensely every day. Whenever Talula and the others went to visit Orson, they would almost always find him looking horrified as he tried to shove Ino, whose eyes were full of hearts, off the bed.

After recovering, Orson went about three days without speaking. When he finally made a sound again, it was after he had grown familiar with using his virtual vocal cords.

As for FrostNova, after that incident, she made herself learn a new ability as well.

"..."

On the battlefield between the army group and Reunion near the Chernobog wilderness, Orson looked at FrostNova. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

But—

"Rabbit Plan begins in five seconds!"

FrostNova shouted, relaying Orson's message to the soldiers.

That was right. FrostNova had learned how to understand Orson's lip movements.

You lost your voice for me. At the very least, let me become someone who can understand your silence.

You Think You Can One-Shot Me? You Think an Old Man and a Mute Can Kill Me?

"What is this Rabbit Plan!? And why did the artillery platforms suddenly explode!? What is that brat who suddenly appeared—where are the caster units!? Caster units! Suppress those people with firepower!"

Inside the command tent, Viscount Kerk roared questions at the soldiers around him, but everyone else wore equally confused and panicked expressions.

The large-caliber artillery platforms that were supposed to fire had not activated as planned. Instead, they had exploded on their own, and the unexpected development left everyone baffled.

"Attempting suppression... no, I don't know what's happening. The staves aren't responding at all!" "We suddenly lost contact with the inside of the artillery platforms!" "The crossbowmen's Originium Arts that assist with loading suddenly failed, so they can only use windlasses to reload slowly now!"

After Orson used Curtain Call, the Ursus army group's division instantly fell into chaos. After all, relying on Originium Arts for enhancement had become these soldiers' most basic combat instinct.

Take crossbowmen, for example. They used Originium Arts to enhance the loading process. Otherwise, people could only place their crossbows on the ground and brace them with their feet while winding them, which was incredibly slow.

Unlike the chaotic army group, Reunion, led by Patriot, was completely unaffected. The pure-blooded Wendigo charged through the confused defensive line in one breath with his shield raised, while the Shield Guards followed close behind, forcefully tearing open the point Patriot had broken through into a gap.

"Their offensive is too fierce!? This is completely different from the intensity of the previous waves!" "They were just waiting for this chance! They were only lulling us into complacency before!"

The soldiers on the front line were directly scattered by Reunion's sudden all-out assault.

"Damn it... fuck, don't panic! Forget why Originium Arts have temporarily failed. Everyone, abandon unnecessary defensive formations and focus on close combat. Those people definitely can't use Originium Arts either!"

Inside the tent, Kerk gritted his teeth and shouted out orders.

Just as the soldiers put away their staves and crossbows, FrostNova's Abyssal Hunters suddenly sprang into action.

"Now—!"

FrostNova shouted and swung her staff. Originium Arts surged from within her body, while the Originium crystal weapons carried by the surrounding Abyssal Hunters acted as catalysts, instantly freezing and injuring more than half the enemies before them.

At the same time, the casters and crossbowmen behind Reunion launched a dense barrage together.

"Urgh!? It's recovered? Originium Arts—then use them already!"

Kerk roared through gritted teeth.

"No... they haven't recovered at all!? But the enemy's Originium Arts attacks have stopped again too...!?"

The casters beside him had completely descended into confusion. No one could understand what was happening.

"Forget the Originium Arts—someone stop those monsters!! Vice Commander, we can't stop that thing at all!"

Several soldiers at the front reported the state of the battle line to Kerk in disarray. At that moment, Patriot was leading Reunion through the line again and again like a spear.

Meanwhile, The Silence of the North was continuously tearing apart the formation from within the army group.

"There's only one of him. What kind of trouble can he possibly cause??"

"I... I don't know how to describe it. His movements aren't within the realm of a normal person!"

The soldier delivering the report looked terrified.

While Kerk spoke with the scout, Orson continued moving through the army group's encirclement some distance away from the command post.

"Aim at him—damn it, his movements... cough!?"

One soldier tried to aim his crossbow at Orson, but before he could even line up the sights, Orson had already reached him and drove a heavy punch directly into his internal organs.

The soldier flew backward like a comma, crashing into several people around him. Orson caught the crossbow in midair, pulled the trigger, and pierced the arm of a soldier charging toward him from behind. The man screamed and let go, and Orson immediately seized the chance to snatch the machete from his hand, using the blunt side of the blade to hammer down three soldiers who had surrounded him.

The instant the machete shattered under the strain, Orson canceled Curtain Call and immediately manipulated Rest Note to seize two blades from the ground, gripping them in his hands once more.

To everyone else, the black-haired young man before them looked like a terrifying urban legend from the stories told to children.

Blood constantly seeped from his throat. His hands were covered in black, vein-like patterns, and no one knew how many weapons he had taken. He simply kept tearing through everything around him.

"Bastard, where are the heavy infantry! Defend! Block that bastard in!"

Kerk forcibly ordered the heavy infantry at the front to turn around and deal with Orson, but without the buffs from their Originium Arts, they were all smashed apart with a single punch. Orson snatched their shields and used them to forcibly ram a path open.

Not only that, Reunion used Originium Arts several more times afterward, striking the army group's forces effectively.

"Damn it, damn it... why can those people use Originium Arts!? Forget it, crossbowmen, crossbowmen! Attack!"

Kerk ordered the crossbow units to aim at the Abyssal Hunters, but while they were still winding their crossbows, a pitch-black spear slammed down from the sky.

Boom—!!!

Patriot single-handedly interrupted the Crossbowmen Squad's attack with a thrown spear, while the Abyssal Hunters seized the chance to join forces with Reunion's casters and directly wipe out the army group's crossbowmen in a concentrated attack.

"Bastards, bastards... they're just a bunch of lowborn trash and old fossils, plus some bullshit Silence. How did we get beaten this badly!? Nobody needs to care about formation anymore. Kill that Silence and Patriot! Just kill the two of them!"

Kerk screamed hysterically, and his utterly thoughtless order finally enraged the soldiers.

"Abandoning formation will only let them tear through our forces faster, Vice Commander!"

"Vice Commander, you haven't participated in many battles. That order is absolutely wrong—"

"More importantly, why are we even fighting these people? Intelligence said Chernobog had already permitted their movements!"

The soldiers' voices kept reaching Viscount Kerk's ears. Finally, he roared and flipped over the table in front of him.

"That's exactly the reason! Chernobog has already betrayed us. Those traitors want to rebel against Ursus. Damn it, do you want to rebel too!?"

"..."

The soldiers frowned, but none dared to contradict the vice commander.

The original commander of this Third Army Group division had not been Viscount Kerk, but a lieutenant with extensive combat experience. Later, however, the original commander suddenly "died in a civil conflict," after which Viscount Kerk had been parachuted into the position.

Although Ursus was an exceptionally warlike nation, its military system was incomparably rotten. Commanders who were brave and genuinely fought for the people were usually purged and impeached. Generals like Patriot and Hegre, who suffered persecution, were even more common.

Even so, the soldiers still did not dare resist these old nobles. Once they were branded as "traitors," not only would they be sent to the gallows, but their families would be implicated as well.

"...At least please retreat to the rear, Viscount Kerk. The frontline is already very close to here. This place may become dangerous."

"Dangerous my ass! There are still so many soldiers up front. Don't tell me you can't handle people like that!"

Kerk shouted.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield—

"The distance is about right, and most of their soldiers are temporarily tied down, Dad!"

FrostNova confirmed the situation on the battlefield before looking toward Patriot.

"Mm. It is time—Orson."

Patriot nodded, then charged straight toward Orson in the distance.

"Protocol Three, Orson."

Patriot's deep voice rang out. Upon hearing those words, Orson's eyes widened, and after hesitating for a second, he immediately shook his head frantically.

"...!!??"

Shaking his head and waving his hands did not help. Unable to speak, Orson was lifted up by Patriot with a terrified expression. After roughly judging the direction and height, Patriot simply—threw him.

"...Cough, cough, cough! Senior Patriot, this is you taking personal revenge, isn't it!"

Orson, turning into a shooting star, dismissed Curtain Call and screamed in midair. He quickly reached his destination—the command tent where Kerk was located.

"Could that guy possibly fly over here—"

Boom!!

Before Kerk could finish speaking, a black object tore straight through the tent and landed in front of him.

"—!?"

"Hi. Nice to meet you."

Orson stepped out of Rest Note and greeted Kerk.

I heard from senior writers that if you do not open a reward campaign when you first start a book, then when readers have all left later, you will not be able to open one even if you want to.

Since that is the case, I will try opening one too!

100 blades: one extra chapter

11,000 in tips: one extra chapter

I will set the deadline as this Friday for now. Afterward, I will tally up the blades and tips from the previous day every day.

That is all. I hope the number of extra chapters will be neither too few nor too many! Thanks in advance for everyone's support!

(Actually, there have been a lot of main plot chapters recently, and I am trying to finish writing them as soon as possible...)

There is an illustration here. It can be viewed after updating the version.

Talula's Railgun

Inside a villa on Duke Baikal's territory, Duke Baikal, the instigator behind all the chaos, sat in a luxurious chair with a wineglass in hand, chatting with the person hidden in the shadows before him.