Man on the ark, forced to become king

"The army group's base is expanding outwards, but there's no sign of it moving; it's probably just a temporary change of location."

Yelena shook her head gently, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.

Due to her Originium Arts and severe Oripathy, her facial nerves are no longer strong enough to support her in making facial expressions, so she usually looks cold and unapproachable.

But in reality, the seemingly cold Yeti princess possesses the most passionate heart.

Yelena had been watching Talulah's situation closely. She couldn't understand why Talulah would exhibit such a near-pathological obsession when it came to infected individuals, and why she wanted to take all the pressure upon herself.

Does she want to carry thousands of people forward all by herself?

If this continues, it won't be long before the individual named Talulah is crushed.

Yelena wanted to grab Talulah by the collar and scold her severely, telling her that no one can carry everyone forward, and that she was not the babysitter for those infected.

In this world, you have to rely on your own efforts to survive. It may be cruel, but that's the reality.

But Talulah wouldn't listen.

When it comes to infected people, she's like a completely different person.

"That would be best."

Her body was filled with indescribable fatigue. Even Drak would feel powerless after days of hard work, and Talulah's fatigue was obvious.

She forced herself to pull herself together and consider every possibility, trying her best to avoid the worst possible outcome.

She wasn't good at thinking like that, but she had to.

“If the army group has no intention of entering the ice field, then we can choose a closer place to set up camp without having to go too far. In this climate, it is too difficult for everyone to move around.”

"..."

Hearing her say that, Yelena fell silent.

The white rabbit clenched its fist under its sleeve, finally unable to hold back any longer.

“Talulah, this relocation of our base must reach the location we have surveyed. We can’t stop in the middle. Do you think this is a joke?”

Although his tone remained relatively even, anyone could see the barely concealed anger emanating from him.

Faced with Yelena like this, Talulah unconsciously took a small step back, wanting to say something, but was quickly silenced.

"I don't know what your mindset is when you're directing the infected and the integration movement, and I don't want to know."

"What you think is your business; I only need to see the results."

"Before nightfall, everyone must move to the designated location. If anyone refuses to obey orders, the Yeti and the Shield Guard will no longer provide them with shelter, and I will expel them."

“Do you think this is child’s play? We are facing the most elite army of Ursus! The Reunion Movement is no stronger than an ant in their eyes! If you want to survive, you must prepare for the worst. Your indulgence will drag everyone into the abyss, and I will not allow that to happen.”

“…I, I understand.”

Faced with the White Rabbit's questioning and ultimatum-like statement, Talulah closed her eyes in anguish, took a deep breath, and made a difficult decision.

She knew Yelena was right; if she wanted to survive, she had to be prepared for the worst.

If the ice field is likened to hell, then the Third Army is the Grim Reaper in hell. If they are caught by the tail or if any oversight occurs, everyone will perish under the shells of the artillery.

No one could stand against the Empire’s most elite army in such a place, at least not the Reunion Movement.

Therefore, they can only be cautious, and even more cautious.

Yelena's anger was not without reason.

Knowing that a formidable enemy was nearby, yet still harboring wishful thinking and changing the reserved accommodation without authorization out of concern for the physical fitness of some individuals, such behavior was simply suicidal.

Talulah understood this, but that was precisely why she felt even more pain; if possible, she didn't want to abandon any of her compatriots.

"I'm not joking, and you'd better keep your word."

With a cold snort, Yelena, who rarely showed such strong emotions, turned and left, leaving behind only one sentence that drifted to Talulah's ear on the cold wind.

"After the relocation of the base is completed, I will wait for you at the training ground. It has been a long time since we have sparred together."

Feeling angry, indignant, or annoyed?

Then, let's just fight the culprit.

Yelena's idea was simple and straightforward; she simply wanted to beat Talulah up, nothing more.

After all, what bad intentions could a white rabbit possibly have?

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Playing with fire will get you...

"You want to duel with Talulah?"

As the sun sets and the sky dims, night always falls earlier on the snow-covered plains than in other places.

Holding a halberd, Wendigo stood atop a snow-covered hill, gazing down at the nascent camp below. His battle-scarred metal armor draped over him, making him resemble a towering structure amidst the snowstorm.

Originating from the Ursus military, it had long lost its power source due to lack of maintenance, and could no longer provide any assistance to the wearer, leaving only the defensive capabilities of the metal structure itself.

However, Wendigo's immense strength was enough to support this heavy armor, which, once it lost its power, could crush an ordinary person, and he still moved freely.

Severe Originium disease eroded his body, and Originium crystals blocked his throat, making even speaking a difficult task.

Even so, Wendigo, who had experienced countless battles, never laid down his weapons and shield; his presence was enough to make people feel at ease.

It seems that no one ever thought he would fall.

"Dad, has anyone ever told you that the way you speak is easy to misunderstand?"

The unusually petite white rabbit beside Wendigo raised her eyelids. She couldn't make a variety of expressions, but her complaining tone and eyes revealed her feelings perfectly.

"a lot of."

Bozokas mumbled two words; he was never good at dealing with his daughter and had never been eloquent.

He was better at communicating with weapons than with words, but that approach was clearly unsuitable for communication between father and daughter.

"I don't want to duel with Talulah, I just want to fight her."

Yelena followed her father's gaze and saw the busy figures scattered throughout the camp. She sighed almost imperceptibly.

“Dad, Talulah’s condition is making me uneasy.”

"Naive, idealistic, unattainable, and desirable."

Bozokast's language is very concise and often requires a lot of effort to understand, like deciphering a code. However, Yelena doesn't have this problem; she's already used to it and can understand it.

“There’s nothing wrong with naive ideals, and she’s not the only idealist. Isn’t that why we joined them?”

Standing here, Yelena could easily see Talulah bustling around the camp.

Under her pressure, Talulah eventually forced everyone to move here, but that was far from enough.

She admired Talulah's ideals and didn't mind adding her own strength, so they came here.

Otherwise, the Yetis and the Shield Guards would have no reason to associate with this rabble.

They would be better off without the Reunion Movement.

The current Reunification Movement is completely disorganized, a total burden, and has almost no fighting capability.

How could such a group be qualified to attract Yetis and Shieldbearers to join?

What they valued was Talulah herself.

A land filled with suffering can hardly nurture innocent fruits, but if they do appear, people can't help but want to get closer.

Talulah is that fruit.

She stayed on this icy plain with naive ideas and almost impossible ideals, fighting for the future of the infected.

However, it now seems that this admirable quality may also be a fatal flaw.

“Talulah…she always tries to think the best of people. She doesn’t even want to believe that someone would steal food and then sneak away. She…”

Yelena scratched her hair in frustration and didn't continue speaking.

If you were to list all of Talulah's 'sins,' she could talk all night long.

However, there's no need for that. Complaining here won't change anything.

"Maybe we could fight her and wake her up a little?"

"In short, she has to change, otherwise, one day everyone will die because of her naive ideals."

Despite saying that, Yelena's tone was anything but firm.

She had no confidence in changing Talulah's mind; it was just a unilateral decision to do so.

Because... Talulah's behavior was so abnormal. She seemed to completely lack the 'evil' side of humanity. Only the purest 'good' existed in that body.

In some places, it might not be an exaggeration to call such a person a saint.

But this is the frozen wasteland of Ursus, a country that has imposed harsh laws on the infected.

Evil is the dominant theme here.

In a land of sin, there is no room for the fruits of goodness to grow.

Believe it or not, the cold reality is real, and it cannot be fought against with vague ideals.

Unconditional good will only push the Reunion Movement into an abyss, ultimately leading to its complete destruction.