Red Star Movement

--The entire Third Army Group was basically his private army.

It was a military force capable of destroying half a duchy.

Even the Ursus Emperor had to weigh his options when facing a Grand Duke with such real power.

Russell opened by demanding all of Grand Duke of Baikal's assets.

Black Snake felt as though its heart were cramping.

"Eek, eek, eek, didn't you say, 'You want to take most of the Grand Duke's territory and the Third Army Group without paying even a little? Don't you think that's absurd?'"

"Doesn't that mean that as long as I pay a certain price, you'll help me seize the Grand Duke of Baikal's territory and the Third Army Group?"

Russell blinked, then repeated Black Snake's earlier words.

By now, it was not just Black Snake's heart cramping. It could no longer control its facial expression either.

That was a fucking empty promise.

And where the fuck had you paid any price?

Hadn't you been looting my intelligence reserves and savings this whole time?

"You jest, sir. That was merely a joke on my part. Isn't it perfectly normal to paint a rosy picture to lure people in?"

Black Snake's pupils trembled for an instant, but quickly returned to calm.

The young man before it seemed somewhat surprised.

Then a smile appeared on his face, polite yet eerie, like the mocking grin of some demon.

That expression made Black Snake feel as if its heart had suddenly grown heavy.

This fellow Russell.

Most of the time, he behaved like an unleashed stray dog.

Willful and utterly unreasonable.

But now, he had put away that laughing face and resumed the bearing of a Noble.

What trick was this bastard going to play now?

"Mm, I understand what you mean. Next, I'll try to marry a Sarkaz woman, then move to Londinium."

The young man said something that left even Black Snake baffled.

No, how had he gone from seizing a Grand Duke's assets to marrying a Sarkaz woman?

"...What do you mean?"

After a long silence, Black Snake asked.

Sometimes, it truly felt that Russell might be its nemesis. Ever since meeting him, nothing had gone right for it.

And its understanding of the world kept getting overturned.

"If I can't get resources from Ursus, then I'll ask the Regent King for them."

Russell said it lightly.

His words carried an air of complete naturalness.

So arrogant it made one want to roll one's eyes.

Victoria's Regent King, Theresis, was a man like an ascetic monk.

Under the pretext of settling disputes between dukes, he had gone to Londinium, subdued Victoria's parliamentary guards, and taken control of seventy percent of the city defense forces.

By exploiting Londinium's residents to build the Shard Tower and an aerial fleet, he sought to launch a war of revenge against the nations across Terra that had once conquered Kazdel, intimidating all sides through violence and carving out living space for the Sarkaz.

Want resources from that man who would skin a fly for its fat?

You might as well try getting Ursus Nobles to do something decent.

If anyone else had said that, Black Snake would have started applauding immediately. "Oh, my friend, hurry along. Don't stay here."

Someone like that would only lower Ursus's average intelligence.

But those words had come from Russell...

Russell... though his methods were far from respectable, he was a genuine Noble schemer.

Mad blood flowed through his veins.

He would never rest until he tore apart the Son of Heaven of Great Yan.

What exactly did he have in his grasp that made him certain he could gain Kazdel's support?

Black Snake's heart suddenly grew heavy.

As if noticing Black Snake's gaze, the young man somehow had a stone painted with a horse in his hand. Black Snake had seen similar stones before; it had been separated from Talulah's body because of the talisman painted with a Yin-Yang Tiger.

Did this stone possess a power the Sarkaz desperately needed?

Black Snake's mind was moving faster than ever.

Before Black Snake's eyes, the young man took out his cane—his casting tool, with an Originium crystal embedded in it. As Black Snake watched in disbelief, he grasped the Originium crystal—

Crack!

Ya Zi's power crushed the Originium crystal directly, but at the instant it shattered, his hand was slashed open and drenched in blood.

Black Snake's pupils shook violently. This bastard...

He was infecting himself with Oripathy!!

The instant Russell's body was infected by Oripathy, the noble horse shone brightly, and the Originium that had entered Russell's body was driven straight out.

No, it was not that simple.

There was not the slightest wound on Russell's hand.

Even the Originium crystal that had been crushed was restored, perfectly intact and embedded in the cane once more.

Perfect healing?

No, perfect restoration!!

A terrifying thought flashed through Black Snake's mind.

"The noble horse repels all external forces and restores all matter."

"I don't know this thing's upper limit, but it should be enough to let the Sarkaz use Originium Arts freely, keep war machines in perfect working order forever, and send the wounded back onto the battlefield."

"By chance, I know the whereabouts of the Child of Earth, and I have Talulah's loyalty. If I succeed in marrying into them, I think Theresis should be willing to restore the authority of the Gargoyle Royal Court. If negotiations go well, perhaps I can even take Victoria's throne. Then I will join Kazdel, Victoria, Kashimir, and Leithanien in declaring war on Ursus."

The young man spoke calmly.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"If the stone in your hand has such power, I can guarantee that the Blood Demon Lord will kill you at the first opportunity and seize that power. Your plan is nothing but fantasy."

Black Snake rarely showed such furious emotion.

It craved war, but that meant war between one nation and another, not a pack of nations ganging up on it alone!

Just because Russell had failed to obtain Grand Duke of Baikal's assets, he was actually trying to launch a joint extermination campaign against Ursus?!!

The worst part was...

It was a war that could absolutely happen.

Ursus had conflicts with every nation Russell had mentioned. If Russell could link together two or three countries, the others would undoubtedly follow without hesitation. Even Great Yan, if it did not receive an invitation, would still bite Ursus.

When that happened, Ursus would vanish into ashes just like Gaul!!

"Heh. Why do you think I lack the ability to devour this power?"

The young man, who had already displayed multiple Originium Arts, smiled faintly as he looked down at the no-longer-calm Snake Lord.

"Want to gamble on whether I can devour the Horse Talisman?"

Chapter 41: Red Star Movement

This month, a few small things happened within the Reunion Movement.

For example, after Leader Talulah was unanimously certified by her companions as being very masculine, she fell into a depressive shutdown.

A few small things also happened in the chat group.

For example, after a vote, everyone decided to establish a salon in Terra.

At the same time, a few small things happened in Ursus.

For example—

Grand Duke of Baikal died, holding a confession letter, with eighteen stab wounds in his back, facing St. John's Fort as he passed away.

The death of a Grand Duke was undoubtedly a major event.

Yet in Ursus, it failed to stir even the slightest ripple.

Of course, none of that had anything to do with Russell.

After all, it was done by Ursus Nobles from Siyifeng's faction.

What did it have to do with me, Russell?

Russell stood before the mine, watching groups of pitch-black soldiers laboring throughout the various mining sites.

Twenty-four hours a day without interruption.

Under Mine Manager Naruto's command, they continuously transported the output to the Originium processing plant through the shadows...

Every passing shadow represented accumulated wealth.

"Life just keeps getting sweeter."

Russell looked ahead, feeling refreshed and relaxed, as though his Originium Arts were on the verge of breaking through.

After Huihui returned with the reconstructed magical tool, made using the Shadowkhan masks, Grand Duke of Baikal naturally kicked the bucket. Black Snake secretly met with certain people and took control of the Third Army Group.

"Boss, boss, are you about to succeed as Grand Duke? That's incredible!!"

Beside him, Huihui fawned over him.

Ever since Russell had acquired a certain ability, this little brat had become his tagalong, hanging around him as his lackey.

Though she looked like an unhinged Explosion Magic enthusiast.

In truth, Huihui's original dream was to become a busty beauty. She had no particular obsession with Explosion Magic.

When Huihui was six, she went to an evil god's tomb in search of treasure to improve her family's circumstances, and casually freed the voluptuous evil god Wobak.

The evil god promised her one wish. After Huihui made a string of impossible wishes—"conquer the world," "become busty," "become the Demon King," and "teach me how to catch crayfish to add to dinner"—the evil god was left sweating profusely and, in the end, grudgingly chose to teach Huihui the magic she thought looked cool—Explosion Magic.

Her days with that unlucky evil god were probably Huihui's happiest times.

The reason she was so fixated on Explosion Magic was actually because it was her promise to the evil god—she would definitely let Big Sister see her Explosion Magic.

But sadly, because that spell consumed so much mana, Huihui's mana circulation developed serious problems.

Malnutrition, flat-chested genes, and obstructed mana circulation...

Her path to becoming busty went straight downhill.

But fortunately—

Huihui looked at Russell, her eyes blazing.

The time has come for me, Huihui, to defy fate and change my destiny!!

"Wrong. You should call me Lord now."

Russell solemnly corrected Huihui's improper form of address.

"Mm-hm, mm-hm!!"

Huihui eagerly changed what she called him.

"Lord Russell!"

Russell stood up and looked down at the laboring Shadow Clone Army, overjoyed. He even felt as though his Originium Arts had made a breakthrough.

This Lord really had made it big.