Chlorine Sodium's Arknights

It's rumored to be a failed creation of Rhine Lab, originally intended as a biological weapon for warfare. However, after multiple experimental accidents due to its uncontrollable behavior, it was completely abandoned and sealed deep within an underground testing ground.

Until now, perhaps seeing a chance for repurposing, this thing was moved here and given to the Coffin experimental group.

The deputy director and these researchers indeed had a genius idea: they built a set of "restraining" armor for this uncontrollable war machine.

While it reduced its combat capabilities to some extent, a soldier who can effectively follow orders is better than a defiant troublemaker who doesn't.

Moreover, this restraint device also functions as armor, allowing it to truly serve its purpose.

And the first enemy of this war machine, codenamed "Apostle," is the Snow Demon.

This serves everyone's interests.

However...

"You think this thing can defeat the Snow Demon?"

"Of course, it must defeat the Snow Demon!! This is the power of technology!"

ps: The censorship filter on Ciweimao is truly a case of "protesting too much." A combination of characters I didn't even notice originally created a peculiar effect [side-eye smile]. Isn't this just pointing out mistakes?

The final movie of Eva is coming out! So I specifically made a parody of the final boss of this arc [heart].

Wow, so many people like my book, ah, I'm so happy [teehee].

Chapter 26: The Unfathomable Mist

"Trash! Everyone in the army is trash!"

Duke Ivanov Kim Yusupov, the head of the Yusupov family, a powerful court official currently in favor, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army Group, was furious at his subordinates in his mansion.

On the second floor of the building, his deep yet commanding voice struck fear into his subordinates, who all lowered their heads to endure the scolding.

"I told you to investigate, and what did you find out!"

With a "snap," several newspapers were thrown onto the floor.

These were reports from the past few days. Although the Ursus authorities had always controlled the media's voice, such an event couldn't be completely hidden. Even whispers from the corners were still the truth.

Now, dozens of versions of this incident were circulating among the public. After all, it's human nature to enjoy schadenfreude. Commoners could gossip about the nobility's blunders for over a year, let alone their peers.

Although the reports were brief and written with veiled language, behind them lay a bloody failure.

An entire unit annihilated. Since the founding of Ursus, its army had been unparalleled on the continent of Terra, and no one had dared to openly challenge Ursus's military might.

Let alone an entire unit being wiped out. While the Empire had its share of victories and defeats during its countless expansions, especially in its invasions of the ancient eastern nations where it gained little advantage, it was always a balanced fight.

Inflicting a thousand casualties on the enemy while suffering eight hundred themselves, even retreats were conducted in an orderly, unit-by-unit fashion, with the victor still hesitant to pursue casually.

But now, an entire unit annihilated, and in just one night!!!

"Five thousand people! That's five thousand people, gone in a single night. Even if they were five thousand pigs, the Yan Nation's army couldn't capture them all!!! A bunch of trash!!"

The Duke, enraged, cursed for a whole morning before finally sitting back in his chair.

Of course, his anger couldn't be quelled. The thought of this matter alone gave the Duke a headache.

An Ursus Imperial Guard Infantry Division had a full strength of twenty-five thousand men. Garrison legions typically weren't at full strength, so a five-thousand-man unit would usually be assigned to suppress and deter threats in surrounding areas.

Good heavens, five thousand men, vanished in one night, and they didn't even know who did it. Anyone would be furious.

It would take a few more days for this incident to fully blow over, and by then, the Emperor would likely demand an explanation.

An explanation would be the least of it. Such a massive loss during peacetime would be a huge embarrassment for His Majesty.

Seeing the Duke's anger escalating, his subordinates couldn't even stand up straight.

Indeed, these were the cream of the crop, chosen from a thousand. Those who served the Duke were no fools; they were elites selected from the military system, including staff officers and commanders of subordinate mechanized brigades or regiments.

Yet, these highly efficient elites, who had always been successful, couldn't find a single useful clue in this investigation!

"Trash! A bunch of useless pieces of iron! You're usually so capable, why are you all so limp now?!"

Duke Ivanov Kim Yusupov, advanced in years, slammed the table in anger.

It was like fighting against air, unable to grasp its true form, let alone understand its existence.

The only clues were a codename, "Snow Demon," and a few photographs.

What was the true identity of the "Snow Demon," and how many attackers were there? After all, an attack on the military wouldn't leave absolutely no information.

But looking at it only made things more confusing.

All "conclusions" were derived from "information" gathered during the process.

People analyze "information," and normally, there's no such thing as supernatural information in reality.

But now, the most bizarre thing was that among the residual information from the annihilated garrison legion, there were recordings from vehicle-mounted terminals at the scene, as well as footage from distant areas of the city capturing a bright light.

Based on the information from that time, you're telling me this level of firepower was unleashed by "one person" called the Snow Demon?

Who are you trying to fool?!

The footage didn't show much clearly, but the sight of the sky was unforgettable.

It was a sky full of "meteors."

Of course, anyone could tell that these low-flying objects were actually similar to magical attacks, but there were so many of them. If this level of firepower were to be deployed by the Ursus army, it would require at least a small to medium-sized division of Arts Casters.

So the question is, within Ursus, on Russian territory, where could we find half a division of practical Arts Casters that could approach attack range without the Garrison Legion noticing?

And after a bombardment, vanish without a trace, not even a footprint left in the snow.

Would an army of such caliber need to conduct a sneak attack within their own territory? Or rather, is there any faction on all of Terra capable of fielding such an army?

Other countries' royalty and nobles aren't without powerful and mysterious armed forces, but they lack the numbers.

Even if they had the numbers, they couldn't sneak into Russian territory to cause destruction so silently.

So the question remains.

If it can't be found anywhere on Terra, then who exactly are these so-called "Snow Demons"?

This is truly a baffling matter.

Could it really be the work of some deity walking the wilderness?

It's hard to say, but much evidence points in that direction.

Is it that the Staff Department's strategists are incompetent, unable to uncover the truth and making it seem like divine intervention, or is it truly the prank of some malevolent god?

It's hard to say.

"Continue the investigation, or you can all pack your bags and go back home to farm."

"Yes!"

Subordinates withdrew one by one, leaving only the Duke sitting alone in his chair, eyes closed in contemplation.

On the desk lay the latest intelligence report from the Staff Department.

It was a warning, a post-incident analysis and an assessment of the current situation.

The entire report could be summarized quite simply.

The effectiveness of military deterrence had been weakened, and the news of Infected resisting the military had spread. Even though the military had done its utmost to suppress the spread of information, they still couldn't contain it.

No one could get the truth, but the Infected didn't need the truth to resist.

They just needed a spark.

And now, that spark had been lit. Even though word-of-mouth had led to countless variations of the story, the incident had been spread.

Fire cannot be contained in paper. The Infected might truly begin to resist the Empire's rule.

The issue was no longer how to extinguish this flame, but how to assess its value.

And then consider how to utilize it, how to maximize profits.

This was the reason the Staff Department had issued this report.

Ursus and Columbia were currently locked in a struggle over the "Line 2" issue, requiring a large labor force and more ore transport. Naturally, this meant exploiting cheap labor even further.

The Infected perfectly fit this demand.

But with this incident occurring, what would happen next... it's truly hard to say...

ps: It's Wednesday today, why isn't Orange Mom replying to my message? Don't scare me, ahhhhhhh, sniffle sniffle.

Chapter 27: [A Great Change Unseen in a Century]

Relying on those foolish mortals, who knows how many years it would take to investigate.

On the snowfield, a red-haired woman stood in the boundless wilderness.

Yaga Glazunov, and beside her, Duke Koschei.

"Foolish mortals, having to rely on me for such trivial matters. Do you really think a few prayers to a god can achieve all this?"

"Of course not, but the unfortunate people of this land have nothing, so we can only offer them our meager charity."

The Duke said, hands clasped behind his back.

"Like children who never grow up."

"Hmph, children? Only you think that. I hate children."

Yaga scoffed, but she was still using a wooden comb to straighten her fiery red hair.

Of course, this was only in the eyes of mortals. In Koschei's eyes, the intricate patterns on the wooden comb, upon friction with the strands of hair storing immense magical power, acted like gears and springs, transmitting abstract will into reality.

This was a very ancient method, a legend of Augu passed down in the wilderness.

In the forest, the owner of the red hair would keep lost travelers there forever.

This legend was, of course, true.

However, the monster in the legend who liked to weave nets from red hair was called Granny Yaga.

Looking at the young and alluring red-haired woman before him, in reality, Yaga was no grandmother, at least not in appearance. She herself denied such legends and was not in the woods.

In fact, the Yaga witch in the legend, who was said to eat children, actually detested them.

The ancient incantation caused the strands of hair to grow rapidly, visible to the naked eye, but they did not develop into red hair.

The elongated parts were colorless, blending into the environment and difficult to detect.

It was like the legendary net woven from her long hair, waiting for prey to take the bait.

Of course, since it's an ancient Originium Art, it doesn't need to wait for prey. These strands of hair, extending infinitely in all directions and possessing a certain perceptive ability, are simply perfect for intelligence gathering.

An invisible net, originating from the woman, gradually spread out. With this, finding the Snow Demon would no longer be a difficult task.

And the intelligence gathered would be handed over to the military...

This is how it should be, but if some unforeseen event caused the new nobles to obtain such information through some channel, then things would be hard to say.

Koschei watched Yaga, who was processing intelligence on the snow, with a subtle smile...

"Your Majesty, this is the investigation progress compiled by the military."

The Winter Palace, the Ursus Emperor's bedchamber, and also the center of power for the vast Ursus Empire.

A close minister respectfully placed the dossier on Fyodor's desk.

However, the man sitting on the throne, the Ursus Emperor named Fyodor, merely glanced at the dossier and lost interest.

After all, at the pinnacle of power, information about many events is already received as they happen. The subsequent dossiers are merely for re-organizing and archiving this information.

"Witt, I ask you, is it true that my army, the Ursus army, has suffered deliberate attacks?"

"Your Majesty, your armies still guard the borders of the Empire, and their might continues to deter any petty troublemakers..."

The close minister, Islam Witt, said respectfully.