Lance Charge in Arkship, but No Mount

Claude could clearly sense how the other man had felt at the time. He had been so arrogant and confident; in his eyes, the Reunion Movement had been as weak and lowly as ants. That was why he had not wanted to, nor had he deigned to, conceal his tracks.

Claude liked this situation. Rather, he welcomed it wholeheartedly. He sincerely hoped that every enemy would possess this mindset. Like a fierce and proud beast charging heedlessly into the woods, unaware that the hunter had already laid traps ahead.

And now he had a plan to hunt this arrogant, powerful beast. What the beast did not know was that the hunter had long since learned everything about him. To ensure nothing went wrong, Claude needed the help of several powerful companions.

"Begin evacuating the soldiers and civilians. As for the excuse... say there has been severe Originium contamination and clear out this area. Do not withdraw everyone at once. Do it in batches, slowly."

Claude looked at the area on the map located at the edge of the mobile city. There were not many soldiers or civilians there, so even evacuating them all would not draw much attention.

To lure that cunning beast into the trap, he needed bait. The bait had to be tempting enough to make him cast aside all reservations and enter this area.

Claude opened his communications terminal, switched to several fixed channels, and spoke a few words into each of them. Then, surrounded by the Iron Guard, he climbed into his vehicle. The soldiers' bodies were also properly collected, making it appear as though he had failed to find the culprit and could only let the matter rest.

Bakbarf received an order from his captain. It was an instruction from the general, ordering them to evacuate every resident of the Ash Basin District. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately threw himself into the task.

He was so tall that even ordinary Ursus people stood a head shorter than him. Combined with the Iron Guard's heavy armor and the enormous battle axe in his hands, he looked like a fortress forged from steel. He was proud—immensely proud—because he was Iron Guard, one of the strongest warriors in the entire legion.

He had absolute confidence that even Ursus's most elite forces could not contend with them. Before joining the Reunion Movement, he had crushed a patrol officer's head with his bare hand. After several years of training and tempering on the battlefield, he had long since become a qualified Iron Guard.

Every resident here had been called out. There were not many of them, only several hundred. They uneasily watched these elite warriors. Though they had already been given an explanation, the sight still made them think of many terrible things. They trembled with fear and unease.

Bakbarf looked at them, at these weak Ursus people. But he knew that he was supposed to protect them, because he had once been just as weak, just as anxious about his future. There was no essential difference between him and them.

His captain stepped forward and announced the order to the restless crowd once more. At the same time, he allowed the residents to take their valuables from their homes, soothing their emotions.

The measure proved highly effective. One reason some residents had resisted the order so strongly was that they feared the valuables in their homes would be stolen after they left. After two more inspections confirmed that all residents were present, they issued each person a mask to prevent Originium infection. According to their mission, they would next pass through the contaminated zone and evacuate every resident to other parts of the city.

The residents were organized into columns of five, while Iron Guard and soldiers surrounded them and led them out of the area. They did not know what fate awaited them, but so far, nothing had made them feel they were suffering a miserable fate.

After the soldiers left, on the second day, Reunion Movement leader Talulah arrived in the area. Relying on its strong, sturdy defensive fortifications, she established the Reunion Movement's headquarters there. At the same time, she gathered engineering and technical personnel from across the city in an attempt to clear the Originium contamination.

This was entirely understandable. After all, the place had originally been a military fortress, with the most complete defensive system in the entire city. Choosing it as headquarters was, of course, the correct decision. Yet one puzzling point remained: the Reunion Movement's other officers were not stationed there permanently.

Another day passed, and the Reunion Movement put down deeper roots in the city.

The Rising Reunion Movement: Cleaning Up

Chernobog entered a period of military control. Of the military police from before, a small number had become prisoners, while most had died on the battlefield. Thus, the city's order was now maintained by Reunion Movement soldiers.

The city's residents soon discovered that their lives were not much different from before. The Reunion Movement occupying the city did not burn, kill, loot, or extort property from their homes. Although the mobile city was currently in transit, so they could not leave it, their movement within the city was unrestricted. They could go to hospitals, stores, parks, or anywhere else they wished, so long as they did not leave the city.

Whenever soldiers took charge of a city's operations, all sorts of problems arose. For example, they found it difficult to do a police officer's actual job properly. They had never learned the skills needed to become qualified police officers, so when confronting crimes, if criminals did not surrender, they did not hesitate to use the swords in their hands to solve the problem.

This was no long-term solution, but there was no better option at present. It could only serve as a temporary replacement. Yet Chernobog's public security had undeniably improved. Anyone considering a crime had to weigh whether it was worth risking their life.

The dark, damp sewers were thoroughly cleaned. The garbage inside was hauled out and burned. The Infected moved into dry, spacious rooms with ample sunlight every day, and their faces no longer looked so pale. They actively joined the city's reconstruction. Ruins of buildings shattered by artillery shells were carefully cleared away, and new structures were built in their place. Facilities in the cultivation zones were restarted, and vegetables and grain grew within them.

The livestock in the husbandry modules were sent to factories and processed into various meats, canned food, and dried meat. Batch after batch was then delivered to warehouses for storage.

Most important, of course, were the various vehicles, weapons, artillery pieces, and other military equipment produced by Chernobog's advanced heavy industry. These factories were restarted as well. Workers returned to their posts, promised triple wages, and the factories resumed production at an astonishing speed.

In such a short time, the city recovered its vitality. Though it had changed masters, it did not seem to have changed much. The wounds inflicted by war upon it were pitifully small, completely healed in only a few days, leaving no trace behind.

The weather grew colder by the day, because the city was heading northwest. It was bound for Ursus's frozen plains, where countless Originium deposits could sustain the city's consumption. Moreover, their provocation of Ursus this time had been far too great. They had to avoid the Empire's wrath for now.

But Claude knew well that this country's reaction would not be very fast, because communication in this world was extremely inconvenient. They had carved off a piece of flesh from the Empire, but it would still take a long time before it bled, and longer still before it reacted in pain. That period was their opportunity.

Their advantage in the shadows ended here. From now on, every piece of information about them would be delivered to the Emperor's desk, sent into the Empire's intelligence agencies, and committed to memory by every general. They had openly taken their stand against the Ursus Empire. This was destined to be a shocking act.

But this was a step they had to take. If they did not, destruction would be their only path. Just as feathered beasts had to learn to fly and scaled beasts had to learn to swim, it was necessary for their survival. And now, he had to consider how to get more from the Ursus Empire.

The lord of the legion sat in contemplation upon his throne. Calling it a throne was generous; it was merely an ordinary office chair. Yet this place was the absolute center of the city. Every corner of the city was under his control, and the military constantly shifted under his orders, methodically taking complete control of the city.

Orders were continuously issued, then carried out with meticulous precision. Countless subtle changes began taking place throughout the city. Fresh corpses swayed from the gallows in the city center every day. Not one of them was anything less than thoroughly wicked. Their crimes were displayed in enlarged text upon a massive screen nearby for all who could see them.

The connecting mechanism between the Ash Basin District and the main body had been prepared for release. At any moment, the entire area could be cast into the wilderness.

The police station's prison was packed to capacity, but those imprisoned were not criminals—they were the former masters. Those among them guilty of grave sins had naturally been hanged, while those with lighter crimes had to atone through imprisonment and labor.

Under his will, the city was undergoing a complete transformation.

Ursus's will was being defiled. Ursus's emblems were torn down from every place and thrown into bonfires. Everything belonging to Ursus was being stripped from the city.

As he watched the fluttering red double-headed eagle banner torn from its flagpole and cast down, incomparable rage rose within him. That flag represented everything to him—his faith, his life, his sacrifices. He could say that he had dedicated everything he possessed to Ursus, yet now he had to watch Ursus being defiled with his own eyes.

Rage burned in his heart, nearly driving the demon fragments within his body into agitation as well. Yet he still restrained himself. The Emperor's Inner Guards were the finest warriors; they could control every part of themselves. Besides, he knew that the humiliation suffered by Ursus would always be repaid. Before long, the Empire's iron hooves would crush this place, and anyone who dared betray the Empire would pay a terrible price for what they had done.

And he would begin the first step of the Empire's punishment: killing their leader.

He was the finest assassin. No one noticed him in the darkness. He walked through streets, alleys, rooftops, and eaves, drawing closer to his destination. In this city covered in watchers and cameras, nothing could capture even the slightest trace of him.

Tonight, this city would bleed once more.

"Check this data again. There are still mistakes in it."

Talulah handed the folder in her hands to her subordinate. The subordinate nodded slightly, immediately took it away, and began calculating. The sound of keyboards being struck echoed through the room. The best terminal processor system was here, capable of handling massive amounts of data at once. They had integrated every factory in the city under the unified command and dispatch of Talulah's administrative department. Most of the bloated factory owners who had exploited workers were thrown into prison, while a few particularly heinous ones had already been executed.

The city produced an enormous quantity of supplies every day, piling them into warehouses. As the warehouses gradually filled, Talulah's heart filled with joy. They had never been this wealthy before. Now, she truly saw hope that they could defeat Ursus. Though it was only a sliver, it was immensely precious.

There was also truly good news: the Reunion Movement was blossoming throughout the country. The sparks they had sent out long ago had finally begun to burn. In every Ursus city, people unable to bear oppression rose up in resistance. Though many such rebellions were swiftly extinguished, they still left Ursus genuinely overwhelmed.

The turmoil within Ursus also stirred its neighboring countries. Ursus was simply too aggressive a nation; it had fought wars with every country around it. The moment it showed any weakness, none of those countries would let the opportunity slip away.

The oppression of the Infected since the beginning of civilization had finally shown a glimmer of change. They had created this opportunity with their own hands. The fact filled her with pride and joy. It was like a sky shrouded in dark clouds before a Catastrophe, finally revealing a sliver of sunlight.

But today, she had another and even more important task. Claude had spoken with her privately. For the next few days, she needed to act as bait, draw out a dangerous enemy hidden in the city, and eliminate his threat completely.

She accepted the task without hesitation, because she was the only one capable of doing it. She could guess whom Ursus's monster was coming for, and how her adoptive father—that damned Black Snake—would react upon receiving this news.

So for the past few days, she had put on the appearance of being immersed in work, laboring late into the night every day before returning alone to her dormitory, creating ideal conditions for the assassin.

But the other party was extremely cautious and had not acted for three days and nights in a row.

So today, she once again worked until late at night. Only after the guards had changed shifts twice did she rise, gather her things, and prepare to return for rest.

She nodded in response to the guards saluting her. One hand rested on her sword as her steps rang crisply against the floor, especially loud in the silent night.

All the residents here had already been relocated. The black windows resembled silent eyes, watching her walk down the street. The streetlights seemed cold in the darkness. They could not offer even a shred of warmth; only their harsh light still served to guide her.

Walking in such an environment always created an illusion—an illusion that one was the only person left in the world. At the same time, a loneliness rose in one's heart, a loneliness that could somehow be enjoyed. Talulah was in that state of mind now, and she unconsciously slowed her pace.

Only then did Talulah realize how long she had been tense. Three years? Six years? She could no longer remember. Ever since killing her adoptive father, she had kept her mind taut, doing everything with a desperate, all-or-nothing attitude.

But now their cause had truly begun to flourish. Only then did she realize that perhaps she no longer needed to be that way. They had real hope now. They no longer had to struggle in despair as they once had.

The journey was not short, but with a Draco's strong body, she quickly reached her dormitory. The instant she saw it, even she could not help relaxing slightly. The lapse was so brief that it was not even enough for a blink, but Ursus's strongest assassin still seized the opportunity.

Black mist enveloped the space behind her, and a chilling blade flashed from within, so sharp that merely looking at it seemed enough to cut one's eyes. It was a strike of astonishing speed. The long blade, forged with Ursus's highest industrial craftsmanship, could easily cleave through armor, clothing, flesh, and bone, splitting the Draco girl before it in two.

It was a perfectly timed strike, catching her at the instant she was most relaxed. He had seized the chance completely. The target had not reacted at all. It was a perfect hunt.

Yet this perfect strike failed. The Emperor's Inner Guard revealed a surprised expression, though no one could see it. A faint yellow barrier blocked the blow. Though it was covered in cracks, it was nowhere near collapse. It was only two seconds, but that was enough for the target to react.

The asphalt began to melt, and terrifying heat engulfed the area. Steel streetlights burst, bent, and melted under the heat. Scarlet fire seemed ready to pierce the heavens, reddening the sky.

The violent bloodline of the Draco called upon power. Even the air twisted under the heat, forcing the Inner Guard to temporarily avoid its edge. But he had no intention of abandoning the plan. If he failed this time, the enemy would become wary, and he had no idea how long it would take to complete the mission.

But to his surprise, the girl named Talulah charged straight at him. Joy immediately rose in his heart. The Inner Guard was skilled in the arts of killing. If this girl had remained at a distance and used her terrifying fire-based Originium Arts against him, he would have been temporarily unable to deal with her. Yet she had voluntarily abandoned her advantage and wanted to determine victory with blades. This gave him an opportunity.

But the moment they exchanged blows, he was surprised again. This girl possessed such fierce swordsmanship. Every strike and every form was aimed at killing the enemy—simple and efficient, yet airtight. Though not entirely without flaws, if he wanted to finish her quickly, he would have to use the demon's power.

Having made up his mind, he began to call upon the power of the demon fragment inside him. Black mist began to spread through the street. This was the Inner Guard's most terrifying power. Wherever he stood was Ursus territory. The demon's power would corrupt the land, kill every living thing within, making escape impossible and resistance impossible, feeding upon the fear in others' hearts. Such were the strange and powerful Inner Guards of the Ursus Empire.

Piercing static rose from all around, as though everything in the sky were whispering to her. Distorted crackling came from the air. Within the black mist, there was neither sound nor light. Strange symbols flashed in Talulah's eyes, her head faintly ached, and a cold sense of suffocation crept toward her heart.

At that moment, instinctively, the red dragon drove her power to its fullest, turning the entire block into an inferno. Everything around her began melting into liquid, casting a glaring red light into the sky, as if trying to send some kind of message.

The Rising Reunion Movement: There Is No Country for You Here

She could not breathe or think. Her mind was filled with piercing static, and her hands and feet began to grow cold. The only thing she could do now was drive her Originium Arts with all her strength, creating a hell of lava around herself to prevent any enemy from approaching. She had no way to observe the outside, and did not see the black mist creeping toward her.

The surroundings fell into absolute silence. The earth was dying. The air was dying. Space was dying. Strange whispers rose beside her ears, and it felt as though a sharp blade had stabbed into her mind and stirred, bringing piercing agony.

The Emperor's Inner Guard spread his arms within the black mist, his visor flashing with a glaring red light. He had paid an unimaginably terrible price to obtain this power. Now, he would use it to remove a threat to Ursus. The demon fragment pulsed in his heart, continuously supplying him with terrifying strength.

This would not take long. Once the other party could no longer maintain her Originium Arts, the dreadful black mist would kill her in an instant. Though something unexpected had occurred, it would not affect the completion of his mission.

And now, the already scarce Draco would become even scarcer by his hand.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!!!"

A sound like thunder, like war drums, rang out through the streets. Every beat drove the heart, unceasing as a raging storm or crashing waves.

The Inner Guard immediately turned toward the sound, and then he saw it: a black knight brutally trampling the earth in the night, charging forward. No one had ever seen Claude in this form. Every step made the pavement howl and the ground crack. The shockwave created merely by the air torn apart by his body shattered every pane of glass along the street.

For the first time in this world, he was running with every shred of strength, heedless of all else. The scenery on either side became black streams of light, too fast for even his eyes to see clearly. The shaft of the lance was tucked beneath his arm, level with his elbow. If he himself was a bolt of black lightning, then the lance tip was lightning's edge.

Before the thoughts in his mind had even settled, the lance in his hands was already about to touch his enemy. At this moment, time seemed to slow. The Inner Guard desperately raised his long blade, trying to block the strike, but it was already too late. It was simply too fast. From the moment he heard the footsteps, not even a single heartbeat had passed.

That lethal cold gleam was like a great black python extending its silver-white tongue, biting toward his shoulder. The hastily raised blade was knocked aside with ease. The spearhead pierced through his coat, passed through flesh, and punched through his shoulder blade. The Inner Guard was lifted from the ground by the astonishing force and impaled upon the lance's tip.

Claude drove the Inner Guard into a building with his lance. Reinforced concrete was as brittle as crackers before them. Then Claude flung him off the lance blade. It was not that he did not want to finish the enemy in one stroke, but large amounts of black mist had already begun emerging from the other man's body. He did not dare take the risk of killing him here and releasing the demon fragment, so he could only stab his shoulder earlier.

The Inner Guard rolled awkwardly across the floor, narrowly avoiding the halberd blade that crashed down from above. The plain-looking massive halberd sank deeply into the floor, sending up a huge slab of cement. A heavy shield surged forward, and a savage shield bash smashed into the Inner Guard's head, cracking his mask visibly.

The Inner Guard understood that this was a moment of life and death. He no longer held anything back and began driving his ability with all his strength. Ominous black power spread through the hall. Claude and Boccas also began fighting with everything they had.

For a time, within the black mist, violent lightning continuously plowed the ground and sent shattered stone flying, while crimson bloody light tore through the sky and shook the earth.

How could this fragile building withstand the power of the three of them? It was swiftly reduced to ruins, and continued crumbling into even finer debris. The Inner Guard was naturally no match for Claude and Boccas working together, but the demon fragment inside him made them wary of killing him outright.

The Emperor's Inner Guard quickly noticed this as well, but he had no desire to continue the fight. The mission had already failed. He could no longer kill Talulah. But whether he could leave now was no longer his decision.

The lance blade became a sky full of cold stars, stabbing toward him. In that instant, Claude did not know how many times he thrust. The Inner Guard desperately used his long blade to deflect and block, and the crisp sounds of blades clashing and grinding rang out endlessly. He was clearly being suppressed by Claude. He had no way to launch a counterattack and could only struggle to defend against the onslaught.

The blood-stained halberd descended from the side with terrifying momentum, aimed at his right hand holding the blade. The Inner Guard stepped back, attempting to avoid the blow, but the spearhead clung to him like a maggot to bone. He wanted to evade both attacks, yet both struck him simultaneously.

The heavy halberd severed his left arm in one blow, while the spearhead pierced the shoulder of his only remaining usable right arm. The blood-red long blade clanged to the floor. He appeared to be a lamb awaiting slaughter, but this had been his plan from the start.

His body itself was a cage, a cage imprisoning the demon fragment. Since he could no longer escape, he would use his life to bury these enemies of Ursus completely. He began releasing his restraints on the demon fragment within him. An indescribably strange and cold aura spilled out from his body. He would turn this place into a land of death completely!!

The two Reunion Movement warriors did not retreat at the sight. They both knew what the Inner Guard was. The only way to solve this now was to stop him—at the very least, they could not allow him to manifest a true country here. If it came to the worst, they would detach this area from the main structure and cast him into the wasteland.

The striking end beneath the lance blade smashed into the Inner Guard's helmet, snapping a short wire. His mask shattered completely, revealing the withered human face beneath. Yet his expression was so mad and triumphant. No one could stop him. He would complete his plan in the end.

But Claude did not show any urgency. He used the lance blade to sever both of the other man's knees in succession, completely robbing him of mobility. By then, the deathly black mist had fully enveloped him.

Patriot's strong, long shoulders leaned forward, intending to reach into the black mist and pull Claude out. He knew very well what consequences came from being enveloped by the mist for too long. Those inside would constantly be eroded by the demon's power, collapse, and become infected into new monsters. He had seen this scene countless times—the sight of his comrades and brothers-in-arms turning into twisted creatures. He would never forget it.

"Wait."

Boccas immediately halted his movement and stepped back two paces. He did not know why Claude had said that, but he trusted him. On the battlefield, orders could only come from one voice. No other voice could be allowed to oppose it.

Claude was not absolutely certain either, but he believed it was worth trying. What he was about to do was something that even the oldest creatures in this world had never heard of—he would open a rift leading to another world and throw this man into it.

It sounded like something no mortal could do, but it was not entirely impossible for him. It merely required a considerable price.

Claude did not know what this world was like, but his previous world had been divided into two parts. Like an object and its shadow, beneath the normal world lay another world.

That world was a garbage dump. That was the only way Claude could describe it. The Royal Mages' Association had spent nearly ten years investigating before finally proving its existence. In pursuit of more possibilities, they dispatched explorers three times, but only one expedition had produced a survivor who successfully escaped.

And they had learned what that world was like. From the survivor's deranged words, they obtained enough information—it could only be described as madness. Everything there was madness. What flowed across the ground was not river water, but blazing magma. The magma surged from the ground toward the sky, dyeing the heavens a mad blood-red.

The land could not be walked upon. One step might land on solid ground, while the next would send you sinking straight in. The air there was incredibly thin. Most important of all, no sound could be made there. No matter what sound one tried to create, it could not emerge. They had tried every method—speaking to others, striking swords together with all their strength—yet not the slightest sound was produced.

That was not even mentioning the blasphemous creatures everywhere. Their forms were bizarre and varied, with no fixed shape at all. They were also extremely difficult to kill, possessing terrifying vitality. When they had exhausted themselves killing one monster, its corpse had turned directly into a puddle of sludge and seeped into the earth, as if it had been absorbed. And the people within endured immense psychological pressure at every moment, easily driven mad.

It was as though every negative thing had gathered in that world, a madness so complete that no human being could survive there.

Claude did know how to reach that world, though it was not simple. The greatest requirement was madness—filling one's mind with mad malice and gambling on that one-percent chance. If one sensed the existence of the other world and established contact with that indescribable thing, it might open the door to welcome you.

The color of blood spread through his eyes, and in an instant his heart filled with bone-deep killing intent. It was so powerful that he crushed several stones between his fingers into powder. Such overwhelming killing intent could never be accumulated in a day or two. Only someone who had survived again and again on a hellish battlefield could possess it. He was filled with the deepest hatred for his enemies and the simplest desire—destroy them.

Now, he was gambling that this world had that other side as well.

His consciousness spread outward, wandering without direction as he attempted to explore the hidden door.

Fifteen seconds passed. Patriot finally grew anxious. He stared intently at Claude and the Inner Guard, ready to drag Claude out at any moment.

Suddenly, Patriot's eyes widened beneath his helmet, as though he had witnessed something impossible to comprehend. Space wrinkled like a sheet of plastic, making strange sounds.

The scene, one that would not appear even in the most ridiculous nightmares, left Patriot dumbstruck. But it was not over. Space was crumpled to its limit, then suddenly split open in the middle, revealing a black interior. Like lifting the curtain of a stage to reveal the space behind it, the next moment, white shadows appeared within the utterly black interior, without the slightest reflection. The white shapes slowly turned, revealing pupils of every color. They were densely packed eyes!!

The instant the opening appeared, Claude immediately kicked the Inner Guard in the chest, sending him into the rift.

"There is no country for you here."

Without hands or feet, the Inner Guard could not struggle. One black arm after another began grabbing his body and dragging him inward. Claude immediately retreated and watched the despairing Inner Guard get pulled completely into the rift. Then space stretched flat like a plastic sheet, smoothing itself out and returning to normal.

Claude looked at his bloodied fingers, where bone was exposed. His brow twitched slightly, then he wrapped them with strips of cloth from his body. His luck had been quite good this time; it was only the lightest price. He had refused that world's invitation, and as payment, he had to give up a part of himself. That part was random, but it would not threaten his life.