Chapter 473
Ablana struck first, igniting the reeds with Purple Flame that symbolized death. Talulah, her bright red flames setting the surrounding bushes ablaze.
Purple and red blended together, and for a moment, neither could gain the upper hand.
This is a clash of fire, and also a feast of fire!
Percival called Red to help in the battle, but the raging flames separated the Rhodes Island members.
Neither the purple nor the red flames were ordinary fires; the winding rings of fire created an arena that no unauthorized person was allowed to enter.
Ablana smiled as she sized up Dolak, who was dressed in a simple gray robe.
"You've heard your story, Talulah. You're probably the only noblewoman in Ursus, and indeed on this entire land, who has voluntarily become an Infected. You refused to accept the noble Dolak Blood within you, choosing instead to mingle with those poor souls who tried to defy their fate. Talulah Atreus, what can I say to you?"
Hearing Ablana call her by her real name, Talulah was extremely displeased, and her aggression immediately spiked.
"What right do you, a descendant of a deposed royal family, have to judge me? Whether I become an Infected or not is my own business, what does it have to do with you? I have no interest in Victoria's throne. You, an unqualified Dolak, are desperately trying to steal what I gave you, and now you're criticizing my actions? You have a thick skin."
Talulah became an infected person in the first place because she didn't want to fulfill Duke Koschei's wishes. Since Ablana had disgusted her first, she naturally had to make up something to disgust her in return.
"It's true what they say, 'If you don't see eye to eye, even half a sentence is too much.'"
Ablana's face turned ashen, and the purple flames burned even brighter. King Gael had indeed been demoted to the royal family of Tara, a past she had always been reluctant to mention.
The reeds could not withstand the scorching flames, and along with the Dead Twig scattered on the ground, they were all burned to ashes.
Nine, leading the members of the Rhodes Island, shouted loudly from the perimeter of the flames, asking:
"Talulah, are you alright?"
"It's alright, I can handle this. You guys retreat first."
Seeing that Talulah dared to turn her back on her, Ablana had never been so disrespected, was furious:
"Where are you looking?!"
The purple, dying flames were clearly more intense, yet they couldn't extinguish the opponent's raging red fire. She understood that the rightful heir to the Victorian Throne was serious.
Ablana squinted her eyes, suddenly extinguishing the purple death flames, and spoke to persuade her:
"Look at you, Red Dragon. Your flames are as powerful as mine. Are you really willing to let Aslan's descendants inherit the throne? Victoria was founded by Dolak; Aslan is merely a usurper."
"Sorry, I have no interest in that crown. Talulah Atreus is dead. Standing before you now is a member of Rhodes Island."
Ablana looked disappointed, as if she still wanted to try harder. If she could get Talulah to swear allegiance to her, it would be much easier to seize the throne.
"What, are you still going to play house with those infected? I can give you a chance right now, a chance to start over. I don't care about your infected status, or even whether I control you. Fight alongside me, Talulah. I will do my best to give you everything you want. As long as you submit to me, Tara will be with you!"
Talulah remained calm, showing no emotional fluctuation after listening. The Victoria Throne that the other party desired held no appeal for her.
Besides, to submit to her?
Ha, what a joke.
Talulah thought Ablana's suggestion was absurd and showed a lack of understanding of reality:
"You only have desires in your eyes, using the banner of liberating Tara and revenge to satisfy your own selfish desires."
Haven't you noticed that the politeness and sophistication you display are all fake? Your arrogance is ingrained in your bones; you consider yourself superior. But no matter how eloquently you speak, you cannot conceal your filthy nature.
Perhaps even you yourself haven't figured out what your deepest, most unfathomable desires truly are. If you really can't understand it, I can give you a proper lesson."
A fleeting glint of murderous intent flashed in Ablana's eyes as she gritted her teeth and threatened:
"Talulah, don't be so arrogant. It's not certain who'll be teaching whom a lesson. Your presence here means the Rhodes Island is nearby. If you refuse to submit, I'll have the Deep Pool Forces wipe out the Infected. At that point, will you still be so stubborn?"
Upon hearing this, Talulah's expression became extremely solemn.
Even if Ablana is a smooth talker, she does indeed have an elite Tara Armed Forces.
In addition, there was the strong support of the Old Duke Wellington. The Deep Pool Forces and Victoria soldiers should have set up camp near the reeds.
If Ablana were to order the massacre of the infected, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Seeing that Talulah was Rhodes Island, Nine passed through the flames to her side:
"Talulah, this isn't the first time we've faced power and threats. No matter how many troops she controls, she's all alone now. Let's join forces and kill her before those soldiers arrive. Whatever the cost, she must die here today!"
Ablana felt a sense of foreboding; she had just dismissed the officer who could quickly contact the army.
She was racking her brains for a way to escape when she was so shocked by the strange phenomenon in the sky that she forgot to think.
What, what is that?
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Chapter 548 Attracting Global Attention (Bonus Chapter)
Kristen had a dream.
In her dream, she came to the End of the Earth, where the sea and the sky meet.
A floating sphere suddenly opened its eyes; perhaps this is the answer Kristen has been searching for all year.
In early 1098, Rhine Lab's research base in the suburbs received a signal from an unknown source.
No one could decipher the contents; it seemed to be written in a script completely foreign to the Terra civilization.
The unknown means infinite possibilities.
This piqued Kristen's interest, but she studied it for a long time without success. Then, during a conversation with Nasti, the head of the engineering department, she suddenly had a breakthrough.
Since they couldn't decipher the meaning of the text, they decided to find the source of the mysterious signal. With Nasti's help, she attempted to capture it using a wireless transceiver.
Surprisingly, the signal came from 3,000 meters underground, 100 kilometers northwest of Trimon. Kristen used his government connections to confirm that there were no research projects or mining operations taking place there.
Driven by her strong thirst for knowledge, she wanted to investigate further. So she approached the Columbia Ministry of Defense and established a scientific research project there.
Today, we're almost at three thousand meters.
Kristen was filled with anticipation; what secrets did the Underground Space hold? Perhaps an ancient civilization, or a groundbreaking discovery that would astound scientists?
The sphere in the dream said she was not qualified to enter the sleeping palace. It displayed weapons far beyond the level of contemporary technology, only to persuade Kristen to give up.
But scientists' curiosity is only amplified when they encounter new things. In her dream, she tirelessly asked questions, hoping to understand the principles behind the creation of these weapons.
The sphere did not answer, and turned to float into the sky.
When Kristen looked up, she saw a shooting star streak across the sky and plummet rapidly from the heavens.
"Ring ring~"
The shrill ringing woke her from her dream. Kristen was usually engrossed in experiments, and her work phone was always in airplane mode. This time, it was a personal call, and it could only be from Nasti, the head of the engineering department.
Saria also knew the number, but unfortunately, the two had gone their separate ways and hadn't been in contact for a long time.
Upon seeing the caller ID note, Kristen pressed the answer button, held the phone to her ear, and immediately asked:
"Have you dug through? Any new discoveries?"
"Not yet, only one hundred meters left. We'll reach three thousand meters tonight."
This made her slightly displeased, and she retorted:
"Why are you calling me if you haven't dug through? Didn't you say you'd only call me if there were any new discoveries?"
Nasti knew the Director General's temperament and didn't get angry about it, trying to speak calmly:
"Kristen, are you in the lab? Open the curtains, and you'll see a surprise you've never seen before!"
"A surprise? Hopefully not a shock."
Although Kristen was displeased, she still went over and drew back the curtains. She usually stayed in the laboratory day and night, and the curtains were almost always completely closed.
"Sizzle~"
Kristen drew back the curtains and stared in astonishment at the breathtaking scene in the sky that she would never forget.
Within the territory of Yan, there is a high mountain trade route.
A caravan that set out from Shangshu is traveling on the mountain trade route to Liyue City.
As exchanges between the two regions increased, such large caravans also became more and more common.
Liyue City is located in a cold, mountainous region and has few notable local specialties. Even its crops are far less fertile than those of Shangshu.
Fortunately, there are still some fruits and crops grown in high-altitude and cold environments that can be sold as local specialties.
For example, there are cherries that can adapt to low temperatures, and some cold-resistant grapes. Because of the high-altitude environment of Liyue City, there are almost no pests, which makes the fruits grown there brighter and of better quality.
However, the planting scale is not large, and this area is still in the exploratory stage. Once the planting direction is determined, the monthly transaction volume between the two places will increase.
Whenever a large caravan arrives in Liyue City, both cities send people to escort them throughout the journey. This time, Liyue City sent Rosa as the leader, accompanied by Thorns as the bodyguard. On Shangshu's side, only Miss Ling came.
Rosa is Ursus student who was rescued by Shi Lei during the Chernobog incident. Her family was killed by Mephisto, and she later stayed in Liyue City with the Ursus Student Self-Government Association to complete her remaining studies.
Having spent two years in Liyue City, Rosa has grown into a stunningly beautiful Ursus woman. Given her consistently excellent performance, Logistics Minister Hegre finally agreed to let her and Thorns take charge of this caravan escort mission.
Ling had met them before, but they weren't close.
He sat alone on the roof of the pack animal wagon, listlessly drinking the fine wine from his gourd.
The caravan had been traveling for several hours, the only sounds being the growling of the pack animals and the turning of the cart wheels. Rosa sensed the somewhat somber atmosphere and initiated a conversation:
"I've heard that your Miss Ling is exceptionally skilled at poetry. Why not compose a poem based on the scenery along the way?"
Upon hearing this, Ling shook his head and politely declined, saying:
"Poetry is all about feeling. When the feeling comes, the pen flows like a god's. When the feeling doesn't come, anything forced or cobbled together is simply not presentable."
After hearing her explanation, Rosa stopped there. Although the trade route built by Lord Shi Lei was straight and clean, the trees on both sides of the road were very common. Miss Ling didn't have the inspiration to write poetry; it couldn't be forced.
"Ton ton ton..."
Ling took a big gulp of the fine wine and felt a little tipsy. She wanted to take a nap on the roof of the cart and wait until Liyue City to wake her up. If she accidentally overslept, it could be hundreds of years later.
After she finished talking to Rosa, she leaned back and looked at the sky, and suddenly burst out laughing.
For some reason, the Rosa looked up and asked:
"Miss Ling, what's wrong?"
"I guess I really am drunk. I actually saw a huge hole punched in the sky. Haha, looks like I drank a little too much, hiccup~"
Upon Rosa looked up at the sky and saw a large, funnel-shaped hole. Ripples like water swept across the horizon, and halos of light swept across the sky. The clouds spread out in layers and circles like ocean waves.
"No, Miss Ling."
She swallowed hard, staring blankly at the extraordinary sight in the sky, speechless for several seconds:
"It's true!"
He squeezed his eyes shut and looked up at the sky, suddenly realizing that this was not an illusion, and instantly sobered up considerably.
Why is the sky broken?
What exactly happened?
At the same time, in Syracuse.
The sky here is always gray, like lead that can't be washed away, casting a thin fog over the city.
Madam Sicily, dressed in a black gown, sat in the main seat of the Grey Hall. Below her were the representatives of the Twelve Families who had come after receiving the rallying order.
For some reason, everyone hung their heads and remained silent, like children who had done something wrong.
Madam Sicily swept her cold gaze over the heads of the Twelve Families present, exuding an aura of authority that commanded respect without anger.
"Speak up! Are you all mute? You dare to do things, but you're too ashamed to admit them?"
The patriarchs of the Twelve Families remained silent, so quiet that even their slightly heavier breathing could not be heard.
"Nobody's going to say, is that it? Fine, if you won't tell, then I will. Everyone here knows perfectly well who's behind Lappland. She's been missing for over half a year, so why is it only now that the news has reached me?"
Seeing that everyone still had their heads down, Madam Sicily began to call on people and ask them questions:
"Tell me everything you know."
"How would I know? Lappland did pass through my jurisdiction, but that was around February. Everyone knows she has Penguin Logistics and that man backing her, who would go looking for trouble?"
After listening, Madam Sicily turned her gaze to the face of the next family patriarch.
"Madam, you know me. I have no conflict of interest with Lappland. I remember she goes to Lungmen every year around February."