Chlorine Sodium's Arknights

However, to be fair, while there were many Infected, they weren't exactly everywhere. To meet this mandatory quota, some of the regular soldiers or military police simply resorted to filling the ranks with whoever they could find.

Take this situation now, for example. You call these people Infected? The regular soldiers wouldn't believe it in a million years. After all, these children clearly looked like they came from ordinary families. Yet, the veteran soldier merely glared at the new recruit and said nothing.

This wasn't an isolated incident. The concentration camps had already rounded up quite a few people, and this kind of situation had already emerged. However, everyone tacitly agreed. After all, they all had to meet this mandatory quota. The higher-ups didn't care if there were actually that many Infected in the city. They just gave a number, and you had to meet it. Fail to do so, and you'd be sent home to farm.

"Sister..."

Lost in the crowd, Yelena, who had been brought over, looked around at the chaotic throng with confusion.

She hadn't resisted when the military police came to take her away. It wasn't that she couldn't, but rather, she was following her sister's instructions. If she encountered any problems without immediate danger to her life, she was to refrain from using Originium Arts. Firstly, it would break the disguise that would release her. Secondly, this wasn't some remote wilderness; the entire city was filled with Ursus people. Using her powers would only complicate matters.

Chlorine Sodium disliked trouble, which was why she had given the girl such instructions.

The military police indeed hadn't resorted to force, and instead, they had brought her here.

There were many Infected here. Most of them had vacant eyes, unfocused minds, and ragged clothes, looking like homeless people and frequent visitors to the slums.

Of course, there were also a small number of well-dressed citizens. Every single one of them wore an expression of confusion and fear to varying degrees.

What in the world was going on?!

Among them, one family seemed to be arguing with the military police.

They appeared to be saying they weren't Infected.

"You can't just arrest people!! We're not Infected, are you crazy to put us among the Infected!!"

Indeed, the man argued until he was red in the face. However, the crowd was also self-segregating. The Infected watched the well-dressed Ursus citizens with cold indifference, while the Ursus citizens gradually began to huddle together, distancing themselves from the ragged Infected around them.

The Infected's eyes held schadenfreude and mockery, while the citizens' eyes held disgust and arrogance.

The two sides looked down on each other, but it was clear that even though Infected were usually treated like rats in the street, now that everyone was gathered together, and the military police were barking orders and threats at everyone they apprehended, the Infected actually felt a little better.

This strange sense of fairness was truly a pathological and twisted society.

Meanwhile, on the other side, a military officer standing on a platform was flipping through a report.

The quotas had basically all been met, which was good. A few instances of filling the ranks with unsuitable individuals were acceptable, as the order itself regarding the numbers was somewhat excessive.

Therefore, a little bit of padding here and there was harmless.

Closing the list, the distinctively dressed officer cast a cold gaze over the crowd gathered in the square by the military police.

He was an officer from the Ursus special forces, not a regular Army Group or Mechanized Group, but a Mage.

As a relatively small and strategically significant branch of the military, Mages were naturally at the top of the military hierarchy. Unlike the regular army, which was comprised of illiterate grunts, Mages required talent, money, and knowledge. They not only needed the talent to use Originium Arts but also had to learn how to use them, how to concentrate their Originium Arts in combat to deliver firepower. All of this required knowledge. At the very least, they had to be able to read a manual, right?

Therefore, such talents naturally received the best resources and were considered the ace troops of all the Army Groups.

Of course, they were also the main combat force for this special operation.

[Operation Snow Removal]

The existence of the Snow Demons had begun to threaten Ursus's military supremacy. Someone had to deal with this problem.

So, they had come. The military had even deployed their ace Mages as a special handling unit.

Of course, this was a top-secret matter. The military police were only told to mobilize; the reason was naturally classified. Even the regular soldiers cooperating with the operation were carrying out their tasks with bewildered expressions.

The secrecy level of this matter was extremely high. It was estimated that even the Imperial Council was unaware of the planning and execution of this operation, only receiving the results at the end.

"Acting privately without the Council's knowledge... isn't that a bit problematic?"

Beside the officer, his adjutant, who wore a black special uniform resembling a raincoat instead of a standard military uniform, asked with some worry.

"In the East, there's a saying that perfectly fits the current situation."

The gorgeously dressed officer explained calmly, appearing completely unconcerned and even full of confidence.

"What is it?"

"'Speed is of the essence in warfare.' Victories are fleeting. Where is the time for slow, step-by-step reporting? We only need to alleviate the Emperor's worries and achieve victory ahead of time...

As for the reasons, those are matters for the Empire's politicians. Do you understand?"

It did sound somewhat reasonable.

But... what if there was no victory?

He had wanted to say it, but seeing his superior's face filled with confidence, as if he couldn't wait to order his troops to march and engage the Snow Demons, the adjutant still held back his concerns.

While "speed is of the essence in warfare," and historians and politicians would find the reasons later, the idea wasn't bad.

But that was contingent on victory.

If Operation Snow Removal was successful, it would be one thing. But what if it failed?

Wouldn't that be an even greater crime?!

Moreover, as the adjutant, he wasn't privy to the detailed content of the plan. At most, he only knew that such a plan existed, so he couldn't quite understand why the first step of the plan was to round up the Infected.

However, his superior seemed to have noticed his adjutant's doubts and offered a simple clarification.

"Their role is very important...

...After all, they are the best disposable materials for concentrated spellcasting..."

ps: It's so cold. The heating pipes in my apartment are also having problems. My home is turning into an ice cellar, ahhhhhh!

I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, sniffle.

Speaking of which, YJ released a video today. It looks like they're finally releasing Shining's story arc???

No, don't do this to me! I just finished writing about Shining, and now you're spoiling it for me. How am I supposed to write anything now? collapses

Section 30: Chapter Thirty [Operation Begins!]

I'll have to go back late today.

The sun was setting, and within the forest, Chlorine Sodium leaned against a tree, her golden eyes emitting an ominous glow in the dim woods. Atop the tree, a bird covered in purple markings stood on a branch, its golden eyes gazing at a marching convoy in the distance.

Through the bird's vision, which was enhanced by a Honkai Energy Puppet, the Ursus transport convoy marching across the snowy plains was incredibly conspicuous.

What unit was this? She didn't know. She wasn't like Koschei, that old fox, who knew the entire Empire's military system like the back of his hand. Chlorine Sodium, not specializing in intelligence, could only gather information with her own eyes. Because she was a Power-type Villain, she didn't have many subordinates and lacked the ability to become a savior for evil.

Of course, in return, Chlorine Sodium's strength was tens of times greater than that of Intellect-type Villains. If a villain who possessed personal charisma and looked formidable had a combat power of one hundred, then due to the principle of trade-offs in this system where everything requires a price, Chlorine Sodium, a pure Power-type Villain who had focused all her talent points on might and power, had a combat power of one thousand, or even ten thousand.

The difference between surpassing Mortals and Demigods was significant. The strongest Mortal was still a Mortal, and the weakest God was still a God.

It was the difference between zero and one, a vast gap that could never be crossed.

Previously, due to her frequent harassment, the Ursus Garrison Legion and non-core legions had significantly reduced their presence. They even extended their reconnaissance further during marches to preempt her attacks.

Although Chlorine Sodium found it meaningless – once they entered her range, any method was futile. Unless they were incredibly durable, nothing would remain under her concentrated bombardment.

But this time was very unusual. She could almost see the marching formation with her naked eye, Yet, this was the first time Chlorine Sodium had encountered a logistics convoy that was simply accelerating without any reconnaissance of its surroundings.

Was this a sign of disrespect? Or were they truly in such a desperate hurry that they couldn't afford to be cautious?

However, the convoy did appear to be moving in haste. Of course, there was another possibility.

It was similar to a plot in a certain mecha anime. A large convoy and military operation were deployed to attract the attention of a giant robot organization that claimed to be working towards the "Extinction War," as if they were afraid the enemy wouldn't notice. When the enemy attacked the convoy, a hidden allied force would suddenly attack from the surroundings, intending to defeat them one by one.

If not for the timely arrival of allies to save the day, the anime might have ended after the first season.

However, Chlorine Sodium was not someone who wished for an Extinction War, nor was she interested in doing good deeds. She was truly an evil person.

Perhaps she had held some illusions in the beginning, but after experiencing much, her hands stained with blood, and having witnessed countless deaths and betrayals, Chlorine Sodium was no longer interested in such things.

Killing is killing. Regardless of the reason, the moment the knife pierces the body, the right or wrong of it becomes meaningless. What needs to be done is to eliminate the opponent, to cut the weeds and remove the roots by any means necessary.

A trap?

Then she would completely destroy the ambushing army as well, increasing her KPI a little.

In Chlorine Sodium's eyes, human lives held no special value.

After all, humans were like that. When one's strength became so great that the difference with those around them grew, their empathy as social animals would gradually disappear.

So—

It was time to go.

A purple storm gathered beneath her feet. As the snow on the ground swirled up and into the air, the girl had already vanished from the forest.

"Will the Snow Demon... take the bait?"

"Of course. How could a convoy so brazenly appearing right under our noses not be attacked?"

In the distance, on a snow-covered hilltop, several eerie black silhouettes stood amidst the swirling snow of the night. They were the implementers and overseers of this operation for the military.

The Emperor's Royal Guard, without any external equipment, could observe every movement several kilometers away solely through their peculiar visual Originium Arts.

The convoy was moving towards its target location, and everything had been calm so far. As bait, if no fish took it, the entire operation would be considered a failure from the very first step.

However, the Emperor's Royal Guard and the military behind them were quite confident.

Given the conspicuous nature of this march, the Snow Demon had no reason not to take the bait.

Once it took the bait, everything else would be manageable.

The operational content of [Operation Snow Removal] aligned well with the traditional Ursus mindset: bigger, stronger, more.

It might sound a bit like the Greenskins, but it was indeed the case. There was nothing that couldn't be solved with firepower. If it didn't work the first time, then do it a second time.

This time, they had even brought siege cannons. As long as the Snow Demon dared to appear, a single saturation bombardment would be enough to injure it. After that, it would be a matter of continuous firepower, exhausting the opponent to death.

Mages had energy consumption requirements. The large-scale use of Originium Arts would certainly consume a significant amount of Originium products. If they didn't want the precious Imperial Mages to become disposable, That's why they had conscripted many Infected, even dragging out Infected miners from the mines belonging to the Seventh, Sixth, and Third Army Groups, using them all as Living Originium Batteries.

This would ensure several hours of uninterrupted firepower.

Not only could they eliminate the scourge of the Snow Demon, but they could also consume the Infected, making it a model of achieving two goals with one action and reusing waste.

As for humanitarian concerns, did Infected count as people?

What? You ask about the ordinary people who were just filling the ranks?

—The Empire's policies do not need to conform to common sense or habit.

An excerpt from a speech prepared in advance by an Ursus news spokesperson.

Time ticked by. The soldiers hidden in the heavy snow were all on standby. All levels of information relay systems were operating at full capacity to ensure complete coordination of the Ursus' vast army during the operation.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the Snow Demon's next appearance.

Seconds felt like an eternity as snowflakes drifted down, landing on their clothes and slowly melting into water droplets that dampened their attire.

Suddenly, the Emperor's Royal Guard, whose Primal Vision was exceptionally keen, spotted a faint purple bloom in the distance.

"It's the Snow Demon! The Snow Demon has arrived!!"

ps: Received a chapter recommendation for "I, Imprisoned by My Family Immediately After Transmigrating"

Also, ahhhh, I'm on the recommendation list!!! Probably tomorrow, or Monday, Orange Mom's Youthful Dream.

So happy, so happy!!!!

Section 31 Chapter Thirty-One [The Battle Begins!]

Things are a bit lively.

The convoy showed no signs of caution, still rushing along.

Boring.

There are two types of fights I find annoying: fighting an opponent with strong regenerative abilities, where you have to repeatedly kill them until they break mentally or their resurrection ability reaches its limit—it's incredibly tedious.

The second type is a stomp.

When the opponent is incredibly weak and numerous. While creating art everywhere might provide temporary pleasure, the downside is the subsequent emptiness.

After all, it lacks any technical skill at its core.

But, a mission is a mission, and work is work. If you're going to do it, do it well.