October 1, 1086, 6:17 p.m.
Churvik Village, Northeastern Ice Plains, Ursus Empire
Night had fallen.
The sky and the earth were abruptly divided into two distinct colors. The snow on the plains spared no effort in reflecting the light of the twin moons, while the night sky was dotted with stars of various sizes.
Like stars themselves, the villages across this ice field were scattered in an orderly fashion between the white mountains and black waters, adding a touch of mortal warmth to the desolate ice plains.
To develop the mineral resources of the north, the Ursus Empire had once relocated a group of people to the region for large-scale exploitation, among them quite a few nobles.
Consequently, this place was effectively a private mineral fiefdom controlled by the nobility.
The glorious Northern Advance brought the nobles wealth and glory, which quickly transformed into capital in the hands of the ambitious, nurturing new hopes.
And now, two more stars had been added to this place.
Sergei squatted before the newly built wooden cabin, lighting the wick of his pack-beast-hide lamp.
A dim, yellowish glow washed over the snowfield, giving it an unusual yet harmonious hue.
"That should about do it..."
Enduring the cold wind, Sergei shook the wood-dust-covered cotton coat and trousers he had been wearing, then quickly put them back on.
Wearing only a shirt was still far too cold.
He couldn't help thinking.
Yet the case in his hand was still clutched as precious cargo.
"Good enough."
Feeling how well his clothes fit, the smell of mildew and sour sweat emanating from his own body made him frown once more.
Having walked the ice plains for nearly a month and a half, he hadn't taken a bath in all that time.
Presumably, everyone else was much the same.
But night had fallen now; tomorrow he would organize the people and get everyone washed up.
With that, he pulled a whistle from his case and hung it around his neck, then took out a book—
This case was not merely his luggage; it was his bookcase.
Inside were various books he had bought from the library of the Imperial School of Finance and Economics.
What he pulled out now was *Classical Lateranian Historical Materialism Philosophy*.
Looking across the vast array of philosophical texts, there were many that spouted high-sounding nonsense, obscure and agnostic, but very few that were truly useful.
Whenever Sergei grew weary of studying accounting, he would pull out this book and a copy of *Terra General History* to read together, and over time he had formed a framework of his own thoughts.
Later, as he entered the workforce, he found less and less time to read this book.
Back when he used to collect taxes with the Infected Inspectorate led by Koschei, his head was entirely filled with thoughts of hurrying back to sleep, paying no mind to any of this; it was only now that he truly appreciated the comfort of rural life and the beauty of the natural environment.
Night on the Ursus ice plains was mysterious and quiet.
Under the dim lamplight, there was only the gentle breeze and the turning of book pages.
Sergei removed the gilt bookmark stamped with the words "500th Anniversary of the Founding of Ursus," held an ordinary carbon pen in his hand, and from time to time jotted down strings of Ursus annotations in the blank spaces beside the paragraphs.
"Rustle—"
He began to immerse himself in his own world.
……
Perhaps a long time had passed, or perhaps not very long.
It was only when a hand tapped his shoulder that he snapped back from his train of thought.
"What are you looking at, Sergei?"
Charles patted him on the shoulder.
"Ugh, damn you, you scared me."
Although Sergei cursed out loud, he still handed the book over.
*"'Classical Lateranian Historical Materialism Philosophy'? That stuff existed before the Witch King was even born. Why are you reading that?"*
"One of the few genuine philosophies. All the other modern philosophies are nothing more than empty talk and useless fluff."
"If you like it, be my guest."
Sergei's ears suddenly twitched.
He immediately tucked the bookmark back into the book, then reached for the crossbow slung across his back.
"What is—"
"—Shh—!"
Sergei cut Charles off mid-sentence.
He put the book back into his case, then took the assault crossbow from his back—
Mounted on it, aside from the mechanical sights, was a blue-dot laser pointer.
This was something they had previously confiscated from the Infected Inspectorate; it was extremely easy to use.
Cocking the crossbow and nocking a bolt, Sergei raised the weapon.
Seeing this, Charles did not dare to be careless either; he pulled out the confiscated three-burst assault crossbow, fixed the bayonet into its slot, and loaded a bolt into the magazine.
Both men raised their crossbows, silently finding cover and taking pre-aim at the positions where enemies might appear.
Then, a pair of crimson eyes flashed with dangerous light in the dark.
Sergei's pupils instantly constricted, and he immediately used his mechanical sights to lock firmly onto the leading Ursus Rift Beast.
He subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Seeing this, Charles quickly placed the whistle from around Sergei's neck directly into his hand.
Understanding immediately, Sergei kept his left hand raised to aim, while placing the whistle to his lips with his right hand as his finger rested on the trigger.
Then—
"Tweet—tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet!"
"Tweet—tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet!"
As the whistle blew, the once-serene village instantly burst into activity.
At the same time, four bolts streaked like shooting stars toward the lead Rift Beast.
"Roaaar—!"
A heavy roar of agony burst from the Rift Beast's throat, miserable and laden with fury.
Sergei felt as though his Feline eardrums were about to be torn to shreds—this was probably one of the reasons the Rift Beast got its name, he thought.
Clearly, there was no time left to adjust themselves.
Charles's gray-white Liberi ear-feathers pressed tightly against his head to block the sound, and he ran backward alongside Sergei.
The illumination rapidly expanded from a tiny guard tower to engulf the entire village; the men, young and old, of Churvik Village and the members of the Reunion Movement rushed out of their houses, grabbed their weapons, and sprinted toward the source of the whistle.
A single day of getting acquainted was not enough for the two factions to drop their guard against each other, as could be seen from the way they deployed and formed their battle lines.
Once the formations were set, both sides eyed each other warily while being forced to divide their attention toward the direction of the whistle.
Until Sergei and Charles rushed back from the outpost, closely followed by the successive roars of Rift Beasts.
"Rift Beasts! A pack of Rift Beasts—!"
The broken shouts drifted faintly on the wind as one Feline and one Liberi dragged each other along, rapidly retreating back into Churvik Village.
Right behind them, a Ursus Rift Beast peppered with multiple arrows was in hot pursuit.
Though heading into the wind, Sergei could distinctly smell the ancient, unmelting stench coming from its maw.
Subjected to both psychological torment and physical exhaustion, Sergei genuinely wanted to vomit.
Yet he forced down the churning in his throat, feeling a burning sensation in his windpipe, and blindly loosed a crossbow bolt backward over his shoulder.
"ROAAAAAR—!!!"
Though winter was just around the corner, every villager and Reunion member broke out in a cold sweat at that exact moment.
We're done for!
This fucking thing is a whole pack of Rift Beasts!
The foremost Rift Beast slammed down its claws in fury, desperate to tear Sergei and Charles to pieces.
The other Rift Beasts followed the dense scent of blood on it, eager for a feast.
"Rip—"
Sergei felt as though his heart had leaped straight into his throat.
The instinct for survival suddenly erupted, and the two men threw themselves into a wild dive to widen the distance.
Blood rushed straight to their heads; the sheer pressure of survival forced them to do so.
Then, a massive, dark cloud of projectiles suddenly appeared before their eyes.
There were throwing spears, Originium Arts, crossbow bolts, and even bows and arrows.
"Roaaar—!"
Even more agonizing cries rang out as a large number of Rift Beasts tumbled to the ground.
Yet what followed was an even more ferocious, retaliatory counterattack.
Dragged out of bed just moments ago by Alina, Talulah gritted her teeth.
Fortunately, they had reacted quickly; otherwise, the Rift Beasts would have already broken through by now.
"Fall back and reorganize the line! Lay traps, crossbowmen take the high ground!"
"Understood!"
Though small in number, the Reunion members had at least traveled far and wide.
They possessed rich survival experience and were fiercely loyal to Talulah.
For no other reason than that the leader who charged at the front served as the spiritual beacon in everyone's hearts—
At least unlike other "leaders" who only urged them forward from behind while staying safely in the rear to reap the rewards.
Sergei and Charles scrambled up from the snow in a clumsy scramble, then quickly caught up to the Reunion battle line.
"Ursus curse, follow them!"
"......Understood!"
Seeing this, the Churvik Village line followed closely behind.
Soon, the pristine white snowfield was peppered with dark, hidden traps.
Steel bear traps, makeshift landmines, and spike pits were enough to make anyone shudder just looking at them.
Yet the pack of Rift Beasts cared nothing for that—
"Roar—!"
The waves behind pushed the waves ahead; the beasts in front fell, while those behind grew increasingly frantic as they caught the scent of blood.
The pain and restriction inflicted by the traps made it difficult for them to move while causing them to roar all the more frantically.
Pain constantly battered their nerves, rousing their feral nature—and with it, the savagery of the entire pack.
Sergei scrambled hands and feet onto the roof of the newly built cabin, grimacing through the pain as he readied his crossbow.
The enemy in the mechanical sights was somewhat blurred by the pain, but that glaring red patch undoubtedly provided him with an optimal target.
Without hesitation, he squeezed the trigger.
"Thwip!"
The bolt tore through the night sky, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen under the light of the twin moons as it flew straight toward the lead Rift Beast.
"Roar—!"
An earth-shattering roar erupted as the Rift Beast, struck directly in the eye, instinctively raised its front paws in an attempt to pull out the bolt that had driven straight through its eye socket and deep into its brain.
Instead, that swipe only churned its brains into pulp.
"Roar........."
With the death of this Rift Beast—whose eye had been popped by Sergei's single bolt—the morale of the entire defensive line surged.
"Keep depleting their effective strength! Do not act rashly! Now is not the time!"
"Understood!"
With their rich hunting and survival experience, the Reunion members did not act impulsively.
The momentum of the Rift Beasts—maimed and killed one after another as they continually triggered the trap field—finally began to drop step by step.
Right now!
"Comrades! Charge with me!!!"
Seizing the opportunity, an angry roar suddenly erupted from the front of the Reunion ranks.
Talulah had a pair of dark circles under her eyes, but the fury and fighting spirit in her gaze were entirely genuine.
The gloves on her hands were venting steam against the snow, and the charred blackness nearby bore witness to the sheer intensity of her Originium Arts.
With Talulah at the spearhead of the advance, the Reunion line pushed forward in a cone formation.
"Let's charge in with them!"
The village chief of Churvik Village shouted as well.
Slinging his bow across his back, he snatched up a nearby spear and kept close to the flank of the Reunion line.
Sergei also grabbed his machete.
The Reunion battle line formed a cone not only to pierce the enemy's front with a concentrated point, but also because the range of Talulah's Originium Arts was simply too massive.
She drew her longsword from its scabbard.
Stripped of its gemstone decorations, the noble's longsword remained sharp, its fuller clean and bright as new, the cold blade gleaming with a sharp luster under the twin moons.
Then, Talulah pressed her fingers together into a sword-hand gesture and slowly traced them across the flat of the blade.
Orange-yellow flames tore through the night sky, rapidly rising in temperature and searing the air.
Yet the Red Dragon seemed completely untouched by the heat; the inferno on the blade blazed ever more fiercely, shifting step by step to a lighter, paler blue.
Until... it turned pure white.
The flames burned silently; the pure white fire looked pristine and tranquil, yet the terrifying heat it radiated was simultaneously scorching Talulah herself.
The D32 steel blade could barely withstand it, quivering tremulously as if announcing the arrival of its critical threshold.
[Corona]
As the longsword slashed out fiercely, the inferno crowning the blade instantly sprang to life.
Obedient to the Red Dragon's will, they lunged forward, ferociously tearing into the pack of Rift Beasts.
"Roar—aaah........."
Beasts were naturally afraid of fire. Under such burning heat, the scorching stench filling the air and the visibly raging flames instantly forced the Rift Beasts—which had just been howling with terrifying might—to retreat in panic.
Finally, amidst the roar of the Rift Beast matriarch, the entire pack scattered in all directions, fleeing into the surrounding mountain forests.
"Roar—"
Sergei clutched his back, locking eyes directly with the Rift Beast matriarch.
That warning roar seemed to portend something..........
None of that mattered now, however.
"Only those who survive are the ultimate victors."
Talulah propped herself up with her sword, the entire Drakken kneeling half-ground.
Surrounding her, waves of steam continually rose into the air.
Talulah had used this move before.
Yet its intensity today far surpassed anything from the past.
"Ivan, lead the team to continue the advance, focus on driving them away! Charles, guard the leader with me!"
"Understood!"
Sergei could tell Talulah was in bad shape—or rather, anyone with eyes could see she was in bad shape.
Though Reunion had not yet officially organized into specialized military units, the battle line automatically split into two groups.
Ivan hauled his longsword and led a group of agile fighters in hot pursuit.
Meanwhile, Sergei and the others cautiously formed a defensive circle around Talulah, both guarding against any potential charge from the Rift Beasts and watching out for any backstabbing from the villagers of Churvik Village.
A mere half-day of acquaintance was not enough to dissolve the wariness and prejudice between them.
No matter what, this was an Infected organization in the truest sense.
Although some villagers were hiding their own Infected relatives, exposing the Reunion Movement would also net a hefty reward.
Yet Reunion had built two large wooden cabins for them the moment they arrived, and now they had resolved such a massive beast tide crisis—
Wait, didn't Rift Beasts usually act alone? Why would they form a beast tide?
Clearly, that was not something they needed to consider right now.
"……There's no need for this. You should go ahead... and support the front as well."
Talulah gritted her teeth against the pain and spoke.
"But—"
"There are no buts."
Struggling to her feet, Talulah hoisted her longsword once more.
The acute Oripathy brought on by over-exertion could knock her down, but it could not defeat her.
As a warrior of the Infected, she had never fallen.
Sergei gritted his teeth, then cautiously dispersed.
The temporarily formed security squad line left a gap, but the wing-flung squads still watched the Churvik Village line vigilantly with their ranged weapons ready.
Ahead of Talulah, the Reunion fighters leaped forward continuously through the trap field, wave after wave of suppressive fire erupting from the ground to pin any fleeing Rift Beasts to the earth.
Fear shifted once again from the humans to the beasts.
And the sight of Talulah rising to her feet undoubtedly galvanized the Reunion members further, while serving as a deterrent to everyone else present and to the fleeing beast tide.
Seeing this, Sergei gritted his teeth and rapidly made up his mind—
"Long live Reunion! Long live the Infected Liberation Movement!"
"Long live Reunion!!! Long live the Infected Liberation Movement!!!"
"Long live Reunion!!! Long live the Infected Liberation Movement!!!"
Time and time again, facts proved that giving others a push at the appropriate moment yielded doubly effective results.
Talulah's leadership position was once again consolidated, and Churvik Village would not dare to stab them in the back anytime soon.
Killing two birds with one stone.
Watching the fanatical Reunion members, Sergei smiled.
For the Reunion Movement to have reached this day—without Talulah's guidance as a leader and the concerted efforts of all its members—forget about achieving anything, even surviving would have been a question mark.
"Looks like I'll have a good dream tonight."
"Mhm."
Talulah smiled as well, then returned to her cabin surrounded by the crowd.
The hunters of Churvik Village looked at one another in dismay, ultimately choosing to join in the celebration.
Infected or no Infected, this haul of game could be traded for a hefty sum of Ursus Tjalven!
Especially the Rift Beast hides—well, glossy and slick, top-tier quality, ninety-nine percent pristine, absolute rarities!
…………
Sergei returned to his newly built cabin.
The bedding left behind by the hastily mobilized Reunion members was messy, and the weapon pile by the wall was in complete disarray.
Silently picking up a straw broom, Sergei swept the interior clean, then pulled the book out from inside his tunic.
With all the chaos during the battle, several pages had become soaked with accumulated snow, which had melted into a patch of wet water.
Carefully unfolding the book, Sergei placed it on the windowsill to dry.
Soaking book pages and letting them dry would make the paper much more fragile, but right now, that was the only remedy left.
Wrapped in his quilt, enduring the itchiness all over his body, Sergei drifted into an exhausted sleep amidst the long night, having just walked the line between life and death.
Soon, the soft sound of breathing filled the small wooden cabin, while outside, the people busily processing the Rift Beast carcasses bustled with fervent energy, as if this communal dormitory were a micro-world belonging entirely to him alone at this moment.
…………