Starting from Jujutsu Kaisen, Eating the Soft Rice of Clones Chapter 40

To put it simply, the current Talulah was just like Black Serpent Talulah—someone you could actually trust now.

"Alright, no more distractions. There are only fifteen minutes left until the coronation ceremony. Go over the speech one more time, then we'll be ready to head out."

"Okay."

Hearing An Xiu's words, Talulah nodded, used the remaining time to rehearse the speech a few more times, then rose and walked out with everyone else in the room.

Even though she was about to step onto the stage under the watchful eyes of countless nations and factions, Talulah felt not a shred of nervousness.

Because An Xiu had already told her that this coronation ceremony wasn't really important—it was essentially just a formal announcement of her new status to the world. The military parade that followed was the real deal, a blatant show of force aimed at every country and power across all of Terra.

The ones who should be nervous weren't her, but the representatives from other nations and factions who had come to scout the situation.

So all she had to do was treat it with a calm, ordinary mindset.

That was what An Xiu said, and that was what Talulah did. Since An Xiu told her not to be nervous, she just needed to listen to him and not overthink anything else.

Chapter 85: Swire's Expression Had Clearly Turned Respectful

Outside the palace, on the open ground before the coronation stage.

Amidst solemn ceremonial music and the roar of celebratory cannon fire, Talulah led the high-ranking officials of New Ursus as they stepped onto the fresh, clean red carpet and slowly ascended the platform.

Normally, at a time like this, the former Emperor of Ursus would place the crown upon the new emperor's head before the eyes of the crowd. But since the former Emperor Fyodor had already fled, that step was simply skipped—Talulah walked onto the stage already wearing the crown.

Of course, no one cared about that detail anyway. On this brutal continent, power was the only thing that mattered. And Talulah, who had now fully grasped the war machine that was Ursus and brought all the Group Armies previously controlled by various dukes under her command, was unquestionably the most powerful woman on this land.

Even if she had just grabbed a handful of grass from the ground, woven it into a ring, and declared it the true crown of Ursus, no one would have raised a single objection.

So, amid the cheers and gazes of countless citizens, Talulah completed every step of the coronation ceremony on the platform to the music of the honor guard. She raised the Scepter in her hand, formally proclaimed herself Emperor of Ursus, and began her speech.

About the future development of Ursus, the promotion of new infected policies, the changes in imperial taxation after the new emperor's ascension...

Countless journalists from various countries faithfully recorded the scene below and broadcast it live to their home nations.

(Except for a very few countries that weren't connected to the network.)

Columbia, Victoria, Kazimierz, Great Yan...

Great Yan, Lungmen Guard Bureau.

Chen Huijie, who had just finished handling a case, walked in from outside. As soon as she entered, she saw a crowd gathered around a screen in the hall, watching intently. Even Swire and Hoshiguma were among them.

"Wow, I didn't expect Ursus's new infected policy to be like this?"

"Infected can actually enjoy basic human rights and civil treatment? And they're setting up factories specifically to hire infected workers..."

"This new Emperor Talulah of Ursus treats infected people this well?"

"That's not all. I heard that as soon as she took power, she purged a huge number of noble high-ups, and some of the new officials she promoted are apparently infected themselves."

"At this rate, a lot of infected are probably going to flock to Ursus."

"There are policies for that too, I think. Foreign infected have lower priority than Ursus's own infected, and to get the benefits mentioned in the policy, you have to register through official channels to get Ursus citizenship. It's probably pretty complicated."

Hearing the chatter, Chen Huijie, who had just stepped closer, froze.

What did she just hear? Talulah? The new Emperor of Ursus? And a new infected policy?

It had been years since she last saw Talulah, her half-sister, after Koschei had taken her away. How had she become the Emperor of Ursus, and was even pushing a policy that treated infected people well?

She had been so busy investigating a major case lately that she hadn't been watching the news. Chen Huijie had no idea what had happened in Ursus.

Was the Talulah her colleagues were talking about the same one she knew?

Thinking this, Chen Huijie immediately squeezed in, startling the group gathered around the news.

"Damn it, Cheungzheng Lung, how do you walk without making a sound? You scared the hell out of us, you know that?"

Swire, who had been focused on the news, was startled and snapped at Chen Huijie irritably. Hoshiguma, on the other hand, made room for her and asked curiously.

"Old Chen, you're interested in this news too?"

But Chen Huijie, unusually, didn't reply. She just stared blankly at the figure on the screen, speaking from the high platform.

Clearly, she hadn't been mistaken. It was the Talulah she knew.

"Old Chen, do you know the new Emperor of Ursus?"

Noticing Chen Huijie's unusual expression—one that clearly showed she recognized the Talulah in the news—Hoshiguma was startled by her own guess.

Instantly, all the officers turned their curious gazes toward Chen Huijie.

What? Their boss had a connection to the Emperor of Ursus, all the way in another country? What kind of explosive gossip was this?

Seeing this, Chen Huijie opened her mouth, hesitating over whether to reveal her relationship with Talulah. But since she had already made it so obvious, and the officers present were all trusted, long-serving veterans she knew inside and out, she decided to nod.

"Yeah. By blood, she's my sister."

Hiss...

Everyone in the room drew in a sharp breath.

Wait—their superintendent's connections were that solid? The Emperor of Ursus was her sister?

So they had been working alongside royalty all this time, for years no less. That was practically climbing the social ladder.

"Never would have guessed, Cheungzheng Lung. So you've got that kind of background."

Under Chen Huijie's watchful gaze, Swire suddenly let out a sigh, patted Hoshiguma beside her, and her expression turned noticeably respectful.

"So from now on, do we have to call you Lord Chen?"

As if you didn't already know...

Chen Huijie shot Swire an exasperated glare.

"Cut it out. Everyone get back to your posts. I have something to discuss with Governor Wei, so I'm stepping out for a bit."

Caught off guard by the sudden news of Talulah's coronation as the new Emperor of Ursus, Chen Huijie was still a bit dazed. She planned to go see Wei Yanwu to get a handle on the situation—what exactly had her half-sister been through?

Watching Chen Huijie's retreating figure, Swire's expression returned to normal, then turned serious.

She and Hoshiguma looked at the others, and after a moment, she spoke slowly.

"Treat this as a joke and bury it in your stomachs. No one is to speak of it, understand?"

Even though everyone present could be trusted, some things had to be made clear from the start.

Faced with this warning, the other officers nodded one after another.

They weren't stupid. Getting tangled up in something that involved someone at the level of an emperor—with their own meager standing, leaking it carelessly could easily cost lives. Better to just pretend nothing happened.

At worst, they'd just find more chances to cozy up to Superintendent Chen later on.

Holy Steed Castle, capital of Ursus.

The stirring, solemn music filled the air. Talulah's coronation ceremony and speech had already concluded, and what came next was another weighty ritual—one of the main reasons so many nations and factions had sent representatives here.

The Imperial Grand Parade!

Chapter 86: Kal'tsit: Why are there two unfamiliar humans beside the Doctor?

The pre-rehearsed army marched past the square before the palace in perfectly synchronized steps and resonant chants. To make this military parade even more grand, aside from a few group armies needed to guard the borders, Talulah had pulled most of the remaining idle forces to the capital.

Watching the ranks of spirited soldiers pass before their eyes, many onlookers' expressions grew solemn.

The scene before them showed that, despite a political upheaval, Ursus's military strength had not declined in the slightest.

No—if anything, it was stronger than before.

After all, previously Ursus's various group armies were held by the grand dukes, each fighting for themselves. But now, Ursus had only one voice, and every soldier moved for a single will.

A unified Ursus alone was enough to instill fear and dread in the nations of Terra, let alone the fact that what they saw wasn't even the full picture of this reborn empire.

Because...

Boom... Boom... Boom...

Pebbles on the ground trembled. Heavy footsteps approached from afar.

One by one, massive, towering figures exuding an aura far beyond ordinary soldiers slowly came into view.

Barbaric, bloody, brutal, mighty...

Every word that sprang to mind was laid upon this terrifying army. Two thousand five hundred Wendigos, five to a row, marched forward carrying a pressure as heavy as a mountain, appearing before countless guests.

"Th-this is the rumored trump card of Emperor Talulah—the Wendigo Legion?"

"What kind of joke is this? How can there be so many?"

Wendigos—a race thought to be nearly extinct on Terra—now appeared before countless eyes in the form of an army.

Staring at the literally unstoppable legion, people from many nations and factions swallowed hard.

Why? Why did such a terrifying army exist on this land?!

With a legion like this, what the hell could stand against Ursus in the future?!

In a hidden room high up, with a clear view of the square before the palace, Theresis and the Blood Demon Great Lord fixed their gazes on the distant Wendigo army.

"So powerful, so magnificent an army—it's like seeing the glory of the Royal Court of old and the wails of the weak being trampled!"

The Blood Demon Great Lord's face lit up with excitement, his emotions running high. Even the crystal goblet filled with fragrant blood in his hand was crushed to pieces.

Theresis wasn't much better. His eyes burned with fervor as he watched the Wendigo Legion, carefully sensing the immense aura radiating from each Wendigo.

The Blood Demon Great Lord had said before that every member of this Wendigo Legion, now under the control of Ursus's current emperor, was elite-level combat power for the Royal Court. But now, that assessment seemed off.

This was far beyond elite-level combat power. With the strength of these Wendigos, if he were alone, it would probably take just five or more to push him into a desperate fight.

After all, who was he? He was one of the Six Heroes of Sarkaz. Aside from godlike Giant Beasts, he believed there were few on this land who could match him. Yet even someone like him, facing this legion head-on, would have no choice but to flee.

An army like this on the battlefield couldn't be described as merely unstoppable. If this Wendigo Legion appeared on any battlefield, even a Giant Beast would face nothing but defeat.

Such a powerful army—if it could serve him, then reviving Kazdel might no longer be a distant dream!

This was an invincible army!

But after the initial excitement, Theresis quickly calmed down, his burning heart gradually cooling.

Because he suddenly remembered something. According to the intelligence he had gathered, the master of this Wendigo Legion, Emperor Talulah, was apparently a Drac.

Being of Drac descent meant that Talulah, seated on the high platform and now Emperor of Ursus, also held a legitimate claim to the throne of Victoria—and at the highest priority level.

And Theresis was currently the master of Londinium, Victoria's capital, holding the reins of Victoria's throne.

That is to say, before Theresis now lay a good news and a bad news.

The good news: the Wendigo race had revived, and an invincible legion of Sarkaz now existed on this land.

The bad news: this legion would likely charge into Victoria in the future and beat him into the ground.

The moment he imagined himself surrounded by thousands of Wendigos, Theresis couldn't help but shudder involuntarily.

"Calm down. Ursus and Victoria are still separated by Kazimierz. Even if that Emperor Talulah has designs on Victoria's throne, Kazimierz will be the first to suffer!"

After taking several deep breaths, Theresis covered his face in pain.

He couldn't calm down at all. Those small fry in Kazimierz—could they stop Talulah, who controlled all of Ursus's military, could make this war machine run at full speed at any time, and held an invincible Wendigo Legion in her hands?

Kazimierz was such a tiny place. Even with the Silver Lance Pegasus, they couldn't handle this lineup.

To put it bluntly, could Kazimierz's Silver Lance Pegasus even number over a hundred? Even if Kazimierz had a hundred or more Silver Lance Pegasi, when Ursus's army pushed in and the Silver Lance Pegasus clashed with the Wendigo Legion, each Pegasus would have to fight ten to twenty Wendigos on average.

Or, using another formula: in the current Wendigo Legion, just five Wendigos could put Theresis in a tough fight. In other words, each Kazimierz Pegasus would have to take on at least three to five Theresises...

No matter how he thought about it, this battle was unwinnable!

"No, Victoria is no place to stay. Once I get back, I'll squeeze out one last profit and then find another way out."

Having already decided in his heart to emulate a certain former Ursus emperor and become a cowardly lizard, Theresis prepared to return and quickly flee Victoria, this land of trouble.

Meanwhile, in a crowd not far away, Kal'tsit stared blankly at the Wendigo Legion before her, then lifted her head to look at the familiar figure standing beside Talulah on the high platform.

"These Wendigos, and the Doctor, and..."

Passing over the Doctor's figure, Kal'tsit turned her gaze to An Xiu and Mobius among the group.

No horns on their heads, no tails behind them, no animal features anywhere on their bodies—just... like humans, hehehe...

Her normally upright ears now pressed back flat, and the fur on her ears and tail stood on end and bristled from overwhelming agitation.