Patriot / Medicine

"I only trust the Captain's judgment. We'll talk when they return." The Shield Guard wore a fully enclosed helmet, and his voice was grave.

Bai Ye roughly understood the current makeup of Reunion's personnel.

First came the civilians and children, who made up the largest number. They lived in the settlement, and most of them handled logistics.

Then there were the fighters with combat capability, who fought alongside Talulah.

Then came the Shield Guards. Their leader was Patriot, and the Snow Crab Squad operated alongside them. Though they also obeyed Talulah's orders, that seemed to have been Patriot's requirement.

In truth, only the Shield Guards were genuine soldiers and warriors. However, there were simply too few of them to fight Ursus's regular army.

Bai Ye frowned.

It seemed Talulah did not possess absolute authority either. At the very least, the Shield Guards trusted Patriot more.

"They're back."

As he pondered, Bai Ye heard commotion rising around him.

He then stood up.

The temperature seemed to be dropping. He could feel a distinct chill—the Snow Crab Squad, carrying ice-crystal Originium on their backs.

Then something enormous filled his vision.

Even though he had already seen him in his previous life, the figure before him still left Bai Ye shaken.

Patriot.

The last pure-blooded Wendigo.

A being Players had jokingly called "Gundam" in his previous life.

Patriot

Bai Ye had mentioned before that he held a certain obsession with Patriot.

In a sense, this was the first time Bai Ye had tasted a clear and crushing defeat.

Though he had not been an official member of The Revelry Tea Party, his strength had clearly met the Tea Party's standards. Bai Ye, hailed as the Tea Party's blade, possessed the strongest single-target breakthrough ability. He had always believed that as long as something had a health bar, he could find its weakness and deal damage.

That belief lasted until he encountered Patriot—Bokkas.

Patriot was not even the final boss, yet he was stronger than Talulah, the final boss. In the world-story instance dungeon—something akin to a main quest or Archon Quest—Patriot was a scripted death.

More precisely, he had died on his own.

In that stage, Players needed to cover Rhodes Island's assault squad while resisting Patriot's attacks as much as possible.

Until his bodily functions ceased.

That was why Players initially jokingly called Patriot the "gatekeeper."

That alone would have been fine, but in the later standalone instance dungeon, "Patriot's Heart," Players had to face Ursus's ultimate killing machine of war: a Wendigo monster at the height of his strength.

Only then did Players understand that the Patriot they had faced before had merely been an elderly man barely clinging to life.

It thoroughly slapped the faces of those Players who had grown stronger with each new version and begun looking down on early-version bosses.

Near the end of Version 4, The Revelry Tea Party faced "Patriot's Heart." When Bai Ye pulled the boss, he was shocked to discover that his blade could not pierce the Wendigo's armor.

Bai Ye himself was completely shattered: ￥%＃@＃*＃＆...

A full fifty Players, the most legendary Player group in the game's history, supported by the twenty strongest Players in the entire game, carrying the finest equipment and gear available, backed by multiple large guilds and Player organizations, and led by the most famous commander, took an entire month of attempts before they finally cleared that brutally difficult instance dungeon.

They had to clear the Shield Guard mobs while first destroying the Wendigo's Sarkaz ritual altar, then find a way to break through his hardened armor, and finally suppress the monster with sheer firepower, dealing continuous damage as his wounds healed and Originium crystals grew in place of flesh.

Until the Wendigo finally became a stone.

When Bai Ye saw Patriot, he had thought the shock would leave him unable to breathe. Yet after being enveloped by the shadow cast by that pure-blooded Wendigo, Bai Ye found himself remarkably calm.

All that rose in his heart was the feeling of seeing an old friend again: Long time no see. There was even a sense of familiarity.

Yes, Bai Ye would not be afraid anymore.

Players were those who conquered the impossible, who found the sole possibility among countless failures after hundreds or thousands of attempts. Even if it was a god, as long as it had a health bar, they would kill it.

Much less a boss that had already been cleared.

"Bai Ye?"

Seemingly noticing Bai Ye's unusual state, Skadi tugged at his sleeve.

Bai Ye shook his head and smiled. "I'm fine now... But I've always had a tiny little question about whether you're stronger than that Wendigo."

Yes, Bai Ye was quite curious what would happen if the two monsters of the sea and land collided. Didn't Players often wonder about such things? So-called BvB—Boss VS Boss—was exactly that.

Uh, had he already assumed Skadi was boss-level?

"He's strong." Skadi clearly knew whom Bai Ye meant.

She could sense Patriot's presence as well. After pausing for a moment, the girl softly said, "I used to think land-dwellers were all frail and weak."

Well, if it had been the second captain, she probably would have added words like "barbaric," "technologically backward," and "ignorant."

As for the third captain—she was probably about the same as Skadi.

"Of course, Bai Ye is different."

Perhaps afraid Bai Ye would misunderstand, Skadi added that in a comforting tone.

However, this dense girl probably did not know that such words were even more hurtful...

"But that land-dweller is different." Skadi continued on her own. "I feel like... I can't win."

"At least... two, or three Abyssal Hunters."

After thinking some more, Skadi added, "But in the water, I can definitely win."

"Of course you'd be stronger in the water..." Bai Ye was speechless.

Though Abyssal Hunters escaped the crushing pressure and resistance of seawater on land, they also entered a state of dehydration. Dryness and a lack of water weakened them—supposedly.

Only in water were Abyssal Hunters at their peak. How many land-dwellers could fight an Abyssal Hunter underwater?

Patriot: "..."

To Bai Ye's surprise, when faced with him and Skadi suddenly appearing in Reunion's camp, Patriot said nothing. He merely stood quietly to one side.

The other Reunion officer, the captain of the Snow Crab Squad—the Caters girl known as FrostNova—was the one whose gaze toward him was filled with wariness.

However, her attention was soon drawn away by Talulah's situation.

A Shield Guard walked over to Patriot and informed the Captain of Talulah's abnormal behavior. At the same time, he advised, "Captain, you should correct Talulah. Even as the leader, leaving the unit without authorization is a serious breach of discipline."

The Shield Guards were stubborn. They had once been soldiers, and thus placed exceptional importance on discipline.

However, what FrostNova cared about was the girl Talulah valued. Though she and most of the fighters did not know that girl well, they knew she seemed to be a teacher.

Yet judging from Talulah's attitude, that person clearly shared no ordinary relationship with her. Everyone had matters they kept to themselves, and perhaps this matter belonged to Talulah alone.

For some reason, an emotion called relief welled up in FrostNova's heart. If that Little Deer had died, then perhaps another thread holding Talulah together would have snapped.

When FrostNova first met Talulah, she had once spoken with Big Daddy. From that moment on, she knew Talulah was Duke Koschei's heir. Patriot had initially intended to kill Talulah, but FrostNova had strongly opposed it and ultimately persuaded Patriot to trust Talulah.

Looking at Patriot, whose intentions were impossible to read, and the wary FrostNova, Bai Ye shook his head. Reaching cooperation with Reunion might not be so easy.

Perhaps he needed to find a breakthrough.

Sitting on a log, Bai Ye could sense at least three pairs of eyes watching him at that moment.

FrostNova was among them.

That cold Caters girl seemed very concerned about Bai Ye and Skadi.

Medicine

"Bai Ye, want some fish soup?" Skadi raised the bowl in her hand toward Bai Ye.

She could naturally sense those probing gazes as well, but an Abyssal Hunter simply did not care.

The girl's voice jolted Bai Ye from his thoughts.

Only then did he realize he had not eaten for a long time. As his Constitution attribute continued to increase, Bai Ye found that his superhuman aspects were growing stronger as well.

He could consume a massive amount of food at once, yet also go without eating for a long time.

Eating after intense combat could also speed up the recovery of his stamina and injuries.

"Where did the fish come from?" Bai Ye took the bowl brimming with fish soup and asked curiously.

Skadi was eating grilled fish, with a little grease still staining the corners of her mouth. At his question, she pointed to the side. "They brought it over."

Bai Ye followed the direction she pointed and saw several children peeking at him and Skadi from behind a tree.

The moment their gazes met Bai Ye's, the little brats scattered at once. One of them, perhaps a little bolder than the rest, even turned around and stuck out her tongue at Bai Ye.

Bai Ye understood. These infected children were probably the civilians within Reunion. In colder terms, they were non-combat units.

What Bai Ye did not know was that because he had rescued Little Deer Alina, he had earned an excellent reputation among the infected civilians. Everyone was deeply grateful to him.

However, Alina's reputation was limited to the civilians. The fighters did not know this spiritual mentor who often guided Talulah.

That was why Bai Ye and Skadi received such good treatment. Not only had someone brought them grilled fish, but they had also been placed in the warmest location at the center of the camp. Even their vehicle had been left completely untouched by the infected.

Though many of them knew full well that it must be loaded with food.

"Don't run away." Bai Ye beckoned to the bolder little girl.

The child hesitated for a moment, then ran toward Bai Ye on her short legs.

The little girl looked around twelve years old, like a flower bud waiting to bloom. She wore an oversized coat that did not fit her, and the cold had reddened her little face.

"Thank you for the fish soup." Bai Ye spoke in not-so-fluent Ursus. He had only recently begun learning the language; his status panel showed that it was only level 0.

"Because you saved Teacher," the little girl said softly.

Gradually, she stopped being afraid of Bai Ye. Clearly, the affinity aura was taking effect.

"These are for you all." Bai Ye took a bag of candy from his pocket and placed it in the little girl's hands.

The poor child had perhaps never seen so much candy before. Her mouth fell open, and she looked utterly stunned.

Bai Ye could not help reaching out to ruffle her hair. Then he patted her little head and smiled. "Take them. Don't eat too much at once, or you'll get cavities."

Well, he was not sure whether Terrans got cavities.

The little girl remained rooted to the spot, torn with hesitation, so Bai Ye gently nudged her shoulder.

"Thank you, big brother."

Finally, the little girl, now somewhat incoherent with excitement, solemnly thanked Bai Ye before running off with the candy in her arms.

"Does Bai Ye like children?" Skadi asked from beside him.

"It just reminded me of the past." Bai Ye was an orphan, but conditions at his orphanage had been good. The budget had been ample, and aside from the heavy pressure of studying and training, they had never suffered.

Bai Ye had once believed all orphanages were like that.

Yet the suffering across this land had struck him deeply...

Unfortunately, he could never explain such things clearly to Skadi, so Bai Ye could only nod awkwardly.

Skadi seemed to misunderstand something and tilted her head suspiciously.

As Bai Ye drank his fish soup, he suddenly sensed someone else approaching. Turning his head, he saw a doctor in a white coat walking toward him.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Bai Ye?" The middle-aged doctor's face was filled with respect as he approached.

"I'm Bai Ye. Did something go wrong with the equipment?"

Before leaving Laterano, Bai Ye had purchased several medical instruments and devices. If necessary, they could even set up a simple sterile operating room in the wilderness. After saving Little Deer Alina, Bai Ye had lent the equipment to Reunion's doctors.

"No, no. We used everything very carefully—everyone is extremely grateful to you. To be honest, I haven't touched surgical knives that fine in a very long time."