This Chat Group's Vibe is a Bit Off Chapter 41

Talulah had suddenly announced that she was getting married, and Reunion had begun mobilizing everyone, looking as though it was ready to start a war at any moment.

What kind of joke was this?! Stay put in Koschei Territory like a little goldfish and help me draw the other nobles' firepower!

As the Emperor of Ursus, Fyodor naturally could not stand by and watch. But the Third Army Group had been under Koschei's control for too long and was not particularly loyal to him, so he could not deploy it immediately. Therefore, the best way to deal with Reunion was...

"These are no ordinary Infected. We must strike hard. Send in the Internal Guard." Fyodor decided to show Talulah—and whoever was backing her—a thing or two.

The Emperor's Blades were the most terrifying military force on Ursus soil. A single individual was enough to slaughter several squads, and they were exceptionally loyal—the Ursus equivalent of airborne troops.

As long as they found where the enemy leader was, the Emperor could dispatch the Ursus Internal Guard for a targeted kill.

You rebel scum, watch as I send out the Emperor's Blades and send every last one of you straight to heaven!

The eighteen Internal Guards who received the order immediately geared up and marched grandly toward Reunion.

This elite unit had only two targets: Talulah, and the one manipulating Talulah from behind the scenes.

Before Ursus, there were no enemies!

???

Koschei Territory, Reunion camp.

A squad of Infected patrolling the outer perimeter suddenly felt a chill run through their bodies. The next moment, eighteen tall Warriors wearing distinctive combat uniforms and masks bristling with tubes slowly emerged from the dark forest and walked toward them.

As Infected who had joined Reunion as Sarkaz Mercenaries, they immediately recognized the identity of the enemies before them.

The Emperor's Blades, the strongest fighting force within Ursus!

There was no need for a single exchange or word. At the mere sight of this squad of Internal Guards, the Sarkaz Infected's bodies had already stopped obeying them. Forget raising their weapons to resist—they could not even cry for help.

Fuck!

Why were the Internal Guards here at Reunion—and why were there eighteen of them?!

They did not know, because their consciousness was freezing as the Internal Guards drew closer. Fear had already taken deep root. Every thought in their minds instantly twisted into a single rope. If they remained still and made no sound, that taut rope would not snap. But if they made any movement or uttered any sound, their lives would unravel like loosened threads, collapsing into countless strands.

"Lowly Sarkaz... How negligent must the Empire's people be to allow you to set foot on Ursus's sacred soil?"

The Emperor's Internal Guard brushed past the Sarkaz Infected. Sarkaz were inherently an inferior race in their eyes, while Infected barely counted as human at all. They were not worth wasting effort on.

Once Talulah and the person behind Reunion were dead, these annoying fleas would perish on their own.

Ursus was not tolerant enough to allow Sarkaz and Infected to survive.

Suddenly, someone stepped forward from the squad of Infected that should have obediently stood there and scattered after the Internal Guards left. His action immediately filled the other members with panic.

"Captain, what are you doing? Reunion is finished. There's no need for us to fight!"

"No. If we leave Reunion, will there be anywhere else that gives us Originium Inhibitors, food, and shelter for free? Do you still want to live like rats, hiding everywhere like we used to?"

"Those are Ursus Internal Guards, and they outnumber us!"

"A fight isn't about numbers or individual strength. What matters is spirit!" The Infected Captain at the front took off his hat and drew his weapon. "Isn't this exactly the time to show our loyalty to the leader?!"

With an angry roar, he charged the Internal Guards alone.

"???"

The Internal Guards were dumbfounded. No, brother, were you really this reckless?

We are the Emperor's Blades, the strongest fighting force in Ursus! Your entire squad isn't enough to take on even one of us, and you're charging eighteen of us by yourself?

Then something even more incomprehensible happened. The remaining Sarkaz Mercenaries did not flee in fear. Instead, they shouted, "For Reunion!" and attacked them.

The Internal Guards sensed that something was wrong.

Sarkaz Mercenaries were famous for valuing their lives. They were the classic type who worked according to how much they were paid; if the pay was insufficient, betrayal and turning on their employers were commonplace. Yet now there were Sarkaz Mercenaries willing to risk their lives against them for Reunion?

What kind of bewitching potion had Reunion fed them?

For the first time, these Internal Guards, who had sworn to serve Ursus unto death and were willing to give everything for it, felt a profound sense of absurdity.

Then, absurdity was replaced by fear.

Their instincts and judgment told them that the people before them were terrifying—enemies who had to be eliminated. Not just these people; Reunion as a whole had to be wiped out without a single survivor!

Otherwise...

The lead Internal Guard grabbed the Sarkaz Infected squad Captain wielding a short baton, intending to crush both his neck and head. But in the next moment, the Infected in his grasp was lowered to the ground—along with the Internal Guard's hand.

Before they could see the newcomer's face, his voice had already reached them.

"persona, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Tens of Thousands of Proverbs--!"

After a single strike, all eighteen Internal Guards stood frozen in place, black fragments of unknown substance drifting from their bodies.

Only then did they see the newcomer clearly. He was a White-haired Youth, his handsome face radiantly brilliant. His silver hair resembled a field of stars, giving off a faint glow, while his bright eyes were like the sun—sacred yet dignified.

Though their lives had reached their end, the Internal Guards still held on through sheer will. At the moment of death, the Abyssal fragments within them would lose control, triggering annihilation and leaving behind a "Realm." This was their final desperate struggle.

Yet upon seeing the person before them, they were more curious about his purpose than about perishing with him.

"Why? Why would someone like you make an enemy of Ursus?" the Internal Guards asked.

"You should be asking why Ursus chose to make an enemy of me." Qianyi casually tossed the helmetless Infected beside him back to his teammates, memorizing his face.

"Do you wish to rule Ursus?" the Internal Guards continued to ask.

"Domination was never what I wanted. What I wanted was a community of shared destiny that not even time, space, or death could tear apart. From the skies of Saint-Junburg to the edge of the Terra Continent, even if the Empire burned, the Sea of Stars boiled, and the Stars fell, my will would never waver."

The Inner Guards nodded, deciding to blow themselves up with Qianyi.

They had thought their estimation of Reunion was already high enough, but after hearing Qianyi's words, they realized they had still underestimated them. The Emperor should have sent every Inner Guard here and had them use their Realms to self-destruct alongside this guy the moment they met!

Unfortunately, it was already too late. They could only send the news back to Saint-Junburg, then fulfill the Inner Guards' final duty.

Realm! Activate!

Looking at the eighteen Inner Guards before him, all ready to make one final desperate counterattack, Qianyi called out to his teammate. "Kiana."

"Off you go." With a snap of her fingers, Kiana sent every one of the Inner Guards high into the skies above an uninhabited zone.

The Inner Guards' Realms exploded into nothingness.

Talulah, who had rushed over the instant she sensed the disturbance, immediately darkened when she learned what had happened. "I never thought that before we even made a move against Ursus, Ursus would strike at us first. How despicable!"

They had always been the ones launching blitz attacks and ambushes against others. This time, they had actually been ambushed themselves. What utter humiliation!

"It's not even New Year's yet, and Fyodor's already homesick." Qianyi felt that the current Emperor of Ursus truly missed his family back home.

"Can we let this slide?" Seele asked coldly.

"We'll hit him tonight!" Kiana said.

Once they had discussed it, the four immediately went to shake awake Artoria, Toyokawa Shoko, and Hiiragi Tina, who were still fast asleep.

Then, dragging along the three disgruntled girls, they were about to head for Saint-Junburg to do something big when Koschei, now in a new body, hurriedly arrived at Reunion. The moment she saw Qianyi and the others, she dropped to her knees and bowed. "From this moment on, you are the Emperor of Ursus."

Koschei (Kashena).jpg

"What do you mean?" Qianyi was baffled. They had not gone after Fyodor, nor had they obtained any Ursus royal bloodline. How had he suddenly become Emperor?

"Fyodor abandoned the throne and ran away. Ursus is now leaderless. Whoever enters Saint-Junburg first shall be king, and Talulah is currently the greatest duke in Ursus. As long as you arrive in Saint-Junburg, you can declare yourself the new legitimate ruler of Ursus."

Huh?

Brothers, Take Office, Ursus!

The current Emperor of Ursus, Fyodor Vladimirovich, had run away.

He had left decisively. According to Koschei, Fyodor had suddenly announced his abdication, taken nothing with him, and simply vanished.

In Qianyi and the others' imagination, this was how they were supposed to defeat Fyodor and seize Ursus.

The seven of them would join forces and fight their way into Saint-Junburg, face nearly a hundred Inner Guards alone, hack their way through every obstacle, and win only after exhausting every last ounce of strength. They would then arrive before Fyodor, utterly spent, where he would clap his hands, acknowledge their power, say something like, "Power is precisely the reason to be king," then tear off his clothes and shout, "I've had enough of all this red tape!" He would cast aside his identity as Emperor and, as a Warrior, choose one of the seven for a duel.

In the end, they would combine the strength of all seven to grant this last Emperor of Ursus a dignified death.

They had all been ready for an earth-shaking battle that would be passed down through the ages across the Terra Continent. Who could have expected their opponent to run away?!

Fyodor, you cowardly lizard!

You are the shame of Ursus!

Oh, no, that was not right. Ursus never had much honor to begin with, so shame was just shame. After all, the prototype for the name Ursus was Russia, and the "E" in Russia meant Mongol occupation—in other words, Mongol captives.

And Ursus was clearly much the same. Before the Ursus people came to rule, Ursus had always been controlled by the "Swift Eagle," known as the "Swift Eagle Empire." That "Swift Eagle" was partially modeled after the Mongols.

If a Mongol Khan shouted in Ursus, "Mongol captives, fall in!" every person in Ursus would have to shout, "Present!"

Koschei often used the example: "Have you ever heard the clash of steel that could level mountains and reroute rivers when the Khan's cavalry trampled the earth and the weapons in their hands collided?" In that sentence, the land beneath the Khan's feet was Ursus territory, while the weapons swept across the skulls of Ursus people.

Thinking about it that way, Fyodor running away like a cowardly lizard suddenly made perfect sense.

"Time is of the essence. We should depart for Saint-Junburg at once and take the throne," Koschei said with a faint smile on her lips. She could hardly wait to see Ursus usher in a new life.

"Who are you?" Qianyi looked at the mature woman before him, whose every movement exuded feminine charm.

Her skin was very fair. Perhaps because she had rushed all the way here, a faint warmth rose from her body, tinting her complexion with a seductive flush.

Though her carefully selected clothes revealed very little skin, the thin, translucent fabric faintly showed the color of her snowy skin beneath, along with the graceful, alluring curves of her well-proportioned figure.

Reunion had a beauty like this?

"I'm Koschei," Koschei replied.

"No, how are you still alive?" Qianyi was surprised. He had thought Talulah had already stabbed Koschei to death.

"Mm... huh?" Koschei looked utterly confused.

"Nothing. I just think Ata is too gentle and too kind."

Qianyi could not be bothered to explain too much to Koschei. He could more or less understand why Talulah had kept Koschei alive. She probably wanted Koschei to witness the awakening of the Ursus people, to let this snake that claimed to embody the will of Ursus die at Ursus's own hands. Typical pure, naïve college-student thinking fresh out of university. If it were a high schooler like him, he would have killed her outright with a single Tens of Thousands of Proverbs.

To Koschei, those words were like a bolt from the blue. Her attitude became even more respectful and cautious. "I have prepared transportation for your journey to Saint-Junburg. Please, Your Majesty, this way."

"Not interested. Can't be bothered to go." Qianyi shook his head.

"Huh?" Not only Koschei, but FrostNova, Patriot, Frost, and everyone else nearby were all left stunned.

No, that was the throne of Ursus!

The throne of the Ursus Empire, a nation strong enough to rank among the top three on the Terra Continent—and he was rejecting it with a single sentence: not interested? Could someone in this world really have that much nerve?

At that moment, the same sentence surfaced in everyone's mind—I'm merely not interested, while you simply lack the talent.

"FrostNova, are you interested in becoming the Emperor of Ursus?" Qianyi, who had absolutely no interest in taking over Ursus's mess, asked the very cold rabbit.

"Ah? Me?" FrostNova pointed at herself, utterly bewildered.

"Want to give it a try?" Qianyi asked with a smile.

"I can't do it!" FrostNova waved her hands repeatedly in refusal. She knew full well she wasn't cut out for it.

"Then what about old Patriot?" Qianyi asked the most respected elder of Reunion.

Patriot shook his head.

Before Qianyi could call Alina's name, the adorable little deer had already begun shaking her head frantically.

To his surprise, none of Reunion's old guard were suitable candidates. Qianyi turned to the Born of Night trio standing farther back. "Frost, are you interested?"

"???" Frost's knees went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees.

Big brother, don't do this. I'm begging you.

"It's just the position of Emperor. Why are you all so terrified? Go up there and serve a term. If it doesn't work out, just step down." Qianyi couldn't understand why they feared it like a tiger.

Everyone: "???"

Was that really something you could just serve a term in and step down from if it didn't work out?!

"I said long ago that, as fellow members of the Community of Shared Destiny, I would never enjoy this glory alone." Qianyi looked at Talulah. "Since no one else is willing, I can only add a little more to your burden."

"Aren't you afraid I'll mess it up again?" Talulah asked in astonishment.

"I've got you."

"Qianyi..."

Talulah's eyes immediately welled with tears. Unable to help herself, she opened her arms, wanting to rush over and give him a huge hug. Qianyi, however, instantly straightened his arm and pressed a hand against her face, stopping her from pouncing on him.

Then, with a twist of his feet and a turn, he let Talulah lunge past him. Facing the gathered crowd, he said, "Brothers, let's go! Ursus awaits our new Emperor!"