What the Black God Deserves

"Oh!" She was a little slow to react, pausing for a moment before replying, "I mean, okay."

The Specter, which had been obediently undergoing the examination, suddenly broke through the equipment and came to Oute's side. The barefoot Abyssal Hunters stopped abruptly in front of Oute and then gave a perfunctory bow in his hospital gown.

"My Lord, please allow me to serve as your protector!"

Specter gently touched his chest and made the request.

Her ability to act so proactively demonstrates that her mental state has indeed improved.

Beside the medical equipment, the medical staff skillfully locked themselves inside the laboratory, just like Warfarin and Folinic had done not long ago. Some even secretly turned on the recording or photo function of their handheld terminals when they realized that the scene in front of them was very similar to the photo that had recently circulated on Rhodes Island.

Kal'tsit was startled by the Specter, and even Mon3ter silently hovered on the ceiling.

Oute raised an eyebrow: This will inevitably draw the two girls' attention to the ceiling, making it harder for Shirayuki to hide in the pipes.

He simply raised his head as well.

This was indeed unplanned. Oute's original intention was to have PRTS cause some trouble for Shirayuki on his way to the Engineering Department and distract her.

But as it is now... it's about the same.

After unexpectedly sensing something, Mon3ter roared.

Kal'tsit immediately realized what Oute was trying to imply.

No, he just wanted to establish a purely physical relationship with you based on feelings. Oh, and to distract your senses so you wouldn't easily notice Shirayuki.

The process was flawed, but the result was correct. Kal'tsit had no intention of doing anything to the mysterious figure in the ventilation duct at this point, but Specter's behavior was somewhat out of control.

She leaped nimbly, her delicate pink toes slightly parted as she pushed off with her feet, then pressed together as her feet touched the wall, the back and forth motion resembling breathing.

After leaping from the ground, Specter used the wall for leverage, and Abyssal Hunters's fair yet powerful thighs swept across the ceiling in a crescent shape, exposing the ventilation ducts buried in the ceiling.

The ninja Anaty (Itachi) then fled from the pipe in a disheveled state.

Using the momentum, she leaped back to the ground, Specter's beautiful legs once again concealed within the loose hospital gown. Now, Specter clenched her fists, fiercely demanding, "You wicked scoundrel who dared to covet my master! Are you prepared to pay the price!?"

Her scarlet eyes were filled with a pointed killing intent.

Oute reached out and stopped him, saying, "Stop."

"After arranging for you to come in, Madam Wen Yue did mention that you might engage in similar behavior." Oute looked at the hole in the ceiling, then shook his head. "But in any case, spying on others and causing this to happen will always come at a price."

In the original timeline, Wen Yue provided data on Shirayuki's behavior patterns to minimize the likelihood of this inevitable "accident" escalating. However, in this timeline, Wei Yenwu's hints prevented this data from being delivered to Rhodes Island.

Furthermore, in the original timeline, it was Closure who exposed this matter—although Kal'tsit was aware of Shirayuki's existence at that time, she did not directly reveal it to her. In this timeline, however, the Anaty ninjas are exposed simultaneously in front of the two leaders of Rhodes Island.

Therefore, Shirayuki's actions at this moment were like directly confronting a scale head-on... and the weight was terrifying.

"... This was my personal action."

Kal'tsit said, "On this land, the individual is an illusory concept. Only a lucky few, or perhaps the unluckiest, can break free from the spiderweb and stand completely independent..."

"Ahem." Oute coughed lightly, then said, "Whether this was an individual act or not, we cannot directly hold Miss Wen Yue accountable."

Through Specter's eyes, Oute could see that Shirayuki breathed a sigh of relief.

"However, such behavior that seriously disrupts the order of Rhodes Island must be punished."

Oute emphasized, "Of course, in your personal name."

She also has to thank Rhodes Island...

"As you see fit."

"Since you're a ninja, intelligence gathering is your job." Oute glanced at the ceiling and said, "Now, I need you to gather intelligence on someone else."

"Who?" Shirayuki asked warily.

"This mission is actually quite dangerous," Oute said in a riddle. "There are still some unsolved mysteries surrounding the previous attacks in the Lungmen slums."

"To guard against the worst-case scenario, I specifically mobilized the Rhodes Island flagship. I hope that, relying on the Rhodes Island flagship, we can execute a perfect tactical maneuver in the wilderness."

In reality, it was to let the Deepwinter Soldiers see blood.

"Then?"

"I need someone to go to Chernobog and check on... the situation of the Reunion Movement leader."

Chapter 149 The Black God's Deserved Fortune

December 30, 1096, 15:29:42, two days after the "Sarkaz Begging Incident", Rhodes Island deck.

No, Wei Yenwu, you're quite good at making fun of people...

To some extent, for a "civilian mining vessel" like the Rhodes Island, its deck could easily be used as a plaza.

And that's exactly what Oute is doing now.

On the spacious deck, rows of Deepwinter Soldiers, shrouded in gray overcoats, stood in a subdued square formation. A leather strap connecting the two ends of their muskets crossed their shoulders, securing the crude, cold-fired weapons to their backs. Among the crowd, some soldiers were noticeably larger, requiring their muskets to be secured not only over their shoulders but also over a large, backpack-like object.

Unlike the original design, the Deepwinter Soldiers now share a single gas-filled backpack in groups of ten. Currently, this backpack can only inflate their assigned "Winter Soldiers," but the Engineering Department already has ideas for more advanced features.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the Deepwinter Soldiers were not at peace; a burning passion was surging from their hearts, and their eyes were almost spitting fire.

The wheels propelled the entire landship toward the sun, while Warfarin, pouting, quietly stood in the shadows of Oute and Dobermann. The cold north wind slanted through the formation, bumping against the seemingly bulky coats.

Within the formation, the Deepwinter Soldiers' hushed conversations were completely drowned out by the sound of the wind and the noise of the land-based ships.

As chickens raised to market weight in just three days, their ability to even stand in line is already a result of occasional micro-management by Oute...

That's not surprising.

The first batch of Deepwinter Soldiers came from diverse backgrounds, including artisans, petty bourgeoisie, intellectuals, Chernobog workers, Ursus serfs, and more. Perhaps their only commonality was that they all lived within the administrative boundaries of Chernobog.

But...

Through the loudspeaker, Oute's cold logic began to assault their minds. "Chernobog has been destroyed."

"Burning stars slowly descended from the iron-gray clouds, and everything in sight was either crushed by the massive clusters of raw stone crystals or engulfed in flames."

The recruits had already begun whispering among themselves.

"But I was also in Chernobog that day. Some of you may have seen me when we broke out." Oute deliberately tried to build rapport.

"We all know that what destroyed Chernobog was not Catastrophe."

"The elderly and children, men and women."

Someone started to sob.

"You know better than anyone who was laughing maniacally over their corpses."

"The cook and the lamb, the uninfected and the infected."

Some people stared wide-eyed.

"As you all know, that white-haired brat Liberi has a truly twisted mind."

"Catastrophe destroy only Mobile City; Catastrophe take only lives."

Of course, Oute knew that some people struggled for a long time before dying... but now was not the time to bring that up.

"And the Reunion Movement, and that person, he stole every night we could sleep peacefully."

After processing, PRTS spoke in an exceptionally deep voice, "From then on, every night, every time I closed my eyes, was a long and arduous adventure."

"The distorted images converge into an indescribable nightmare... an open chest and abdomen, mutilated limbs... every night, I can smell the blood at the tip of my nose, I can feel the sharp blade."

Many of the new recruits also showed expressions of empathy.

Oute shook his head, as if trying to shake the nightmare out of his mind.

He took a deep breath and said, "And that Liberi (bird) man is just ahead."

Oute said, enunciating each word clearly, "Let us take our revenge."

A subtle sense of identification spread from the depths of everyone's heart.

The Deepwinter Soldiers, forming an exceptionally neat square formation under the influence of the "atmosphere." Unfortunately, their varying heights and builds, despite their best efforts to arrange their positions, still left a slight blemish on the otherwise perfect square formation.

Wilderness.

"Damn it! Damn it! Rhodes Island! Alexander! Ludmila!"

Mephisto's mental state remained worrying, and his physical strength seemed to be severely depleted; he was lying on the back of an ordinary host soldier.

But neither the Skullshatterer nor the Crownslayer were to be seen.

Clearly, through deliberate encirclement and interception, Rhodes Island has forced Mephisto and his party to deviate from their route back to Chernobog.

But at some point, this "group" was reduced to just Mephisto alone... From the wilderness, Mephisto created a new batch of host soldiers from the dying Chernobog refugees by the roadside.

However, due to the weakness of their foundation, the combat effectiveness of these host soldiers was also quite worrying. Not to mention, due to the lack of decent weapons, their already precarious combat effectiveness plummeted to rock bottom.

Furthermore, not everyone is capable of surviving in the wilderness, especially not a large group like this. Soon, Mephisto's group's supplies were running low...

He deserved to live like that.

The metal bullet kicked up a cloud of dust as it hit the ground.

Compared to the howls of the Winter Lieutenant series, even when the Winter Soldier series reached a certain size, their "cries" were not loud. It was more like the mournful howls, or even whimpers, of some wounded wild beast.

The Deepwinter Soldiers.

In a daze, they felt as if they and their comrades were one. Some sacred connection allowed them to vaguely sense their comrades' emotions—kill him!

Before long, those already vulnerable host soldiers were defeated one after another.

Oute was casually sketching out minion waves on the PRTS terminal when an urgent email arrived from Kal'tsit.

The title was deliberately written in extra-large, bold black font.

Chernobog's Core City has been activated! It's charging towards the Lungmen!

Oute glanced at it, opened the email to confirm that the content matched his expectations, and then started drawing lines again.

This was within his expectations.

As a schemer, Black Snake always devises a plan to achieve multiple objectives. Take the Chernobog incident as an example: if Black Snake's objectives are achieved, Ursus will be able to extricate itself from the quagmire of the reformists and warlords entangled in each other—whichever way; and Talulah, who personally killed Ch'en and severed her last thread, will completely transform into a kite with a broken string, becoming the new Black Snake.

Also...

Oute shook his head.