Chapter 188
"Daughter of the Duke, you should address us with more civilized terms, given your status."
Most of the infected in the vicinity fled, but quite a few combatants remained at the scene. They looked at their leader strangely, never expecting her to be the Daughter of the Duke.
Talulah turned around and noticed the strange looks she was getting from her subordinates, so she quickly explained:
"That's utter nonsense, pure slander! I am Dolak, Koschei is Phidia. Use your brains, how could I possibly be the Daughter of the Duke?"
The voices of the Elite Guard, amplified through their gas masks, reached the ears of the infected in the surrounding area:
"You are angry. Anger stemming from frustration is an emotion that wants to escape the truth."
Talulah was really angry and shouted:
"**, I'm going to run away from you, you son of a bitch!"
Genshin Impact beautiful pictures. jpg
251 Justice, what a high-sounding word (3K)
Talulah's sudden outburst of profanity startled the two Elite Guards, who asked uncertainly:
"Daughter of the Duke, is it necessary to act to this extent? Or is hiding your true identity and leading this infected organization a plan you've been devising all along?"
These words caused an uproar in the room.
The Rhodes Island members present looked at each other in disbelief.
"A well-planned scheme? Tsk, what exactly are you plotting behind our backs?"
"Ha, no wonder. I knew it was impossible for a noble Miss to be mixed up with infected people. So you were trying to use us. You deserve to die."
Talulah was utterly speechless and longed to smash the heads of these fools open to see what was inside.
"Don't believe them, this is just pure sowing. The great cause I'm leading has nothing to do with my past identity."
Seeing this, the Elite Guard didn't think she was being controlled by Koschei. They never imagined that the cunning Black Serpent would meet such an end.
"Daughter of Koschei, you now need to answer a question. Based on this answer, we will decide whether to continue cooperating with you or to end it here."
Hearing them discuss their supposed Cooperative Relationship with her with such seriousness, Talulah was furious. She raised her greatsword, which instantly burst into flames:
"Nonsense! Die!"
The raging flames surged forth, yet they could not break through the "Kingdom" domain created by the Black Mist.
Talulah wouldn't let these guys sow discord between her and the Rhodes Island, so she started launching a series of attacks.
An Elite Guard nodded in satisfaction, acknowledging the other man's immense potential. In the future, this man would surely become a renowned figure.
Black Serpent, no wonder you chose her as your vessel.
The Elite Guard, having escaped the significantly slowed fireball, solemnly issued a warning:
"Daughter of Koschei, we have the answers we wanted. There is no point in continuing to fight. We are the guardians of Ursus, not butchers. You can continue to live as the leader of these infected. We each get what we need, and we can cooperate again in the future."
Unable to Talulah angrily rebuked:
"Ha, guardians? Please, stop flattering yourselves. I can point out your atrocities one by one and expose your heinous deeds to the world! It's a huge joke that executioners like you dare to call yourselves guardians of the nation!"
"Every country needs to use a whip to lash out at its laziest and dumbest people. Even so, our Inner Guards are the blade, not the whip. If pruning the useless branches of a tree that only know how to absorb nutrients is considered an evil, then it is only an evil directed at the useless branches. If you don't agree, then defeat us honorably!"
Having said that, he began to step forward.
The Black Mist generated by the two Elite Guard standing together was actually stacked. With each step they took forward, the Black Mist advanced one step further.
Talulah sensed the strangeness of the Black Mist, but she couldn't figure out a way to break it.
Instead of rushing in for close combat, she maintained her distance and continuously unleashed fireball attacks.
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
Once the flames enter the [Kingdom] territory, their speed decreases rapidly. The two Elite Guard easily passed through the floating fireballs.
Approaching step by step.
The Rhodes Island members on the scene stood frozen, doing nothing, as they watched their leader retreat.
"The boss seems to be losing steam. What should we do? Should we go up and help him, or should we retreat first?"
"Idiot, what good would it do you to go up and help? No one who goes into that black smoke ever comes out alive. What, do you want to die?"
"That's right, and she's probably trying to take advantage of our sympathy. Since we can't get involved in a fight of this scale, we might as well just watch them fight amongst themselves from nearby."
Talulah kept throwing flames but couldn't cause any damage, and a sense of powerlessness welled up inside her.
"Damn it, you monster, die!"
The Elite Guard seemed particularly sensitive to the word "monster," and immediately sprang into action upon hearing it. One of them loudly recited an incomprehensible numerical riddle, while the other warned:
"Daughter of Koschei, this will be your last chance. We have no patience, so answer this question quickly. Perhaps we can spare your life."
Talulah had no idea what the problem was and kept throwing out fireballs that couldn't cause any damage.
If it were just one Elite Guard, perhaps she could put up a fight. But if two Elite Guard stood together, she really wouldn't stand a chance.
"Damn it, damn it..."
Unlike her instant kill by Shi Lei at the Patriot' camp, Talulah now not only doubts her own strength but is also disheartened by the indifference of the Infected.
What are they still standing there for? Either come and fight, or get out of here!
Talulah retreated while firing fireballs until her back touched the trunk of a large tree. Realizing there was no way to retreat, she tried to quickly get around it.
But the Elite Guard showed no intention of avoiding her, advancing with their unparalleled [Kingdom] domain. The Black Mist was about to engulf her...
No sooner said than done.
At this critical moment, the two Elite Guard suddenly sensed something. They immediately abandoned Talulah and retreated swiftly, back to back in a defensive stance.
Members of the Rhodes Island, unaware of the true situation, scoffed at this abrupt act of leniency.
"See? I told you they were in cahoots. They don't even know how to put on a proper act; it's so fake."
"Exactly, this is an insult to our intelligence. Let's go, I'll never trust Talulah again."
As they urged the others to retreat, a huge rock suddenly appeared in mid-air.
Huh???
The Rhodes Island members had never seen anything like it before, and they stared in astonishment, mouths agape. They all stood rooted to the spot, momentarily forgetting to retreat.
What is this?
The two Elite Guard stared warily at the thick, disc-shaped rock, which resembled a can:
"Daughter of Koschei, is this your plan?"
Talulah was completely bewildered; she had never seen this rock before and had no idea what was inside.
A moment later, the giant rock slowly sank and landed on the ground. As the rock door opened, Alina and a masked man emerged.
Shi Lei and his group had lunch at the valley base before setting off. Since he had never been to the Rhodes Island's Temporary Camp, he flew in the air and asked Mudrock for directions.
En route, they saw a girl with antlers leading many women and children in a panicked escape, so they stopped to inquire. Only then did they learn that Ursus's Inner Guards were attacking the camp.
Shi Lei assigned a Rhodes Island member named Red to escort the women and children to the valley for refuge. He then took Alina and ascended into the air to search for them.
Considering that the Inner Guards were regular Ursus troops, he didn't send Mudrock, Exusiai, and Chen out. This was to avoid the possibility of their identities being exposed and causing trouble if there were nearby long-range sentries.
Having detected Talulah's danger from the air, Shi Lei unleashed a pressure similar to a power filter. As a result, the two Inner Guards didn't linger and quickly retreated.
"Who are you?!"
Two Elite Guard stood ready, their eyes fixed on the masked man emerging from the large rock.
Faced with the Inner Guards's question, Shi Lei had no obligation to answer directly. His gaze pierced through the Black Mist surrounding the scene, not even glancing at the infected corpse lying in a pool of blood not far away. After withdrawing his gaze, he asked coldly:
"Who I am is not important; what is important is that you need to come up with a reason for me to spare your lives."
"..."
The two Elite Guards were unable to determine the man's race based on his appearance. Because he was wearing a mask, they couldn't see his face clearly. Furthermore, not knowing his name, they could only address him respectfully.
"Sir, we do not wish to be your enemy! We are here on His Majesty the Emperor's orders to eliminate the Inner Guards of the infected organization. If this mission conflicts with your wishes, we will immediately withdraw and notify the follow-up troops to halt this operation."
"That's right, sir. There's absolutely no need for us to be enemies. Please feel free to make any requests you may have, and we will do our best to meet them."
Seeing the Elite Guard who had been dominating her actually back down, Talulah emerged from the edge of the Black Mist, angrily accusing him:
"Kill them! Don't believe these liars!"
The two Elite Guards were utterly bewildered to hear that Talulah had actually encouraged the mysterious man to kill them.
"This is wrong, Koschei's daughter. You shouldn't have instigated this gentleman to take action; it seriously violates our cooperation."
"We were ordered to eradicate the infected organization"
It was to eradicate this cancer in Ursus. This land, this era, was already so terrible. Not only the infected, but also the ordinary citizens of Ursus suffered greatly.
The lack of order, the neglect of power, the decay of Morality —these are all wrong. At the national level, individual gains and losses are insignificant. We can correct these errors because we are the embodiment of justice...
"Justice, what a high-sounding word."
Any act that masquerades as justice but is disguised in false pretenses is nothing but the behavior of a rogue and a scoundrel.
Shi Lei was too lazy to exchange riddle tips with the Inner Guards, and in an instant, countless Rock Spear shot out like a torrential rain!
The two Elite Guard roared, releasing more Black Mist from their combat suits. The dense aura quickly enveloped them.
When the Rock Spear touched the Black Mist, its speed became abnormally slow. It had been making a whooshing sound when it flew out, but now it was frozen in time, like a still movie, completely at the mercy of others.
Seeing that all of the mysterious man's attacks were blocked, the Elite Guard breathed a sigh of relief.
That was close! I almost thought I was going to die here.
An Elite Guard retrieved a signal flare from his black Combat Suit and fired it into the sky. A brilliant burst of fireworks shot straight into the heavens, exploding with a deafening roar. The sound carried far and wide in the open air.
Hmph, you think there are only two of us Inner Guards? Once the other three Inner Guards arrive, it will be your death day!
252 Have you ever heard of the Chasm? (3K)
His Majesty the Emperor's Inner Guards is the most capable individual combat unit in Ursus.
In fact, their group combat skills are also very strong, and they are a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
They release Black Mist called "Nation" from their Combat Suit, which greatly reduces the attack speed of enemies within range and decreases the damage they receive. The more of them there are, the more the Black Mist can stack.
The two Elite Guard weren't there to wipe out the Rhodes Island. Their main objective was to confirm whether Koschei had taken control of Talulah's body.
So initially, two people arrived. They were able to handle most situations with ease.
Out of respect for 'Patriot' Broca, the former captain of Ursus, the Elite Guard also summoned three Inner Guards to stand by near Lake Vega.
If they unfortunately find themselves in danger, besieged simultaneously by guerrillas and the Rhodes Island, they will fire signal flares to summon their comrades for help. At that point, even the strongest Patriot will be unable to handle five Inner Guards at the same time.
"Smack!"
Witnessing the signal flare ascend into the sky filled the Rhodes Island members with a sense of foreboding. They knew without a doubt that the Inner Guards was calling for reinforcements. Once their army was on their way, escape would be impossible.
"If you don't want to die, run away quickly!"
Someone shouted something, causing a large number of Rhodes Island members to run in the opposite direction.
The Rhodes Island, founded by Talulah, has a very complex membership. Some came seeking refuge because of its reputation, while others were recruited along the way. The former preferred to preserve their lives rather than stay and witness this battle.
The remaining infected were all loyal followers of Talulah. Even the evacuation of their companions could not sway their choice.
Shi Lei saw the signal flare ascend, but did not stop it. With his abilities, stopping it before it exploded would have been entirely possible.
The problem we need to consider now is that the Rhodes Island is too weak. Once Shi Lei leaves, if they are caught by the Inner Guards, they will almost certainly be wiped out.
It would be better to wait for those two Inner Guards to call in reinforcements. Then, they could pack up and deal with the problem once and for all. This would not only eliminate the threat of the regular army to the Rhodes Island, but also benefit the Patriot's guerrilla forces.
FrostNova hid inside the rock-built house, and the usually open rock door provided Shi Lei with information about the Inner Guards:
"Divine Doctor, Divine Doctor, you must not let your guard down. This Inner Guards is extremely powerful. I heard from my father that they possess a special ability: they can release Black Mist to slow down enemy attacks. Once their Combat Suit are damaged, it will cause the Demons power within them to go berserk, leaving large areas barren."
Doesn't that sound like a radiation soldier?
Shi Lei learned about the Inner Guards, but still had no intention of making a move.