Man on the ark, forced to become king

Unlike Talulah's idealistic talk, the Golden Tree truly possesses the power to eliminate suffering. If this golden realm were spread across the entire land, illness and disaster would be far away, war would disappear, and everyone would have a better life, no longer needing to resort to any means to survive, bathed in the golden glow, and even eating could be replaced by the life force sprinkled by the Golden Tree.

Before he met and learned about the Golden Tree, the best future he could imagine was no better than the present.

"You want to rule the world."

As he said this, Bozokastie's tone remained calm, without any dissatisfaction.

While war is certainly abhorrent, the ambition to conquer the world runs counter to peace.

However, that depends on who does it.

Wars between nations driven by interests and ambitions only drag the world into chaos. Even as dynasties fall, new nations rise to replace them, creating a cycle that has no beneficial impact on the world.

The Golden Tree is different; its order can free the world from its past constraints and truly usher in a new life, a future that everyone should look forward to.

In this respect, there is no doubt that the rule of the Golden Tree is stronger than that of any country on earth. Everything it pursues can be achieved under the rule of the Golden Tree. What is wrong with such a dynasty ruling the world?

At least, Bozokast felt he wasn't opposed to it.

"There are some differences, but you could say that."

Lin Lu did not deny that he did intend to bring this world under the rule of the Golden Tree and let the Golden Law bloom again in this world. Even if he did not destroy the existing countries on the land, once the Golden Tree grew to its full size, it would not be much different from ruling the world.

He looked at Bozokastie and felt that he could state his intentions directly.

Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere of the Great Golden Tree during this period, the stubborn Wendigo was much easier to talk to than expected, and his recognition of the Golden Tree was also stronger than anticipated. In fact, he had begun to accept the Golden Tree's ideology and felt that letting gold dominate the world was a good thing.

That would make things much easier.

If he had known this would happen, Bozokasti might have become the first Forge Knight before Skadi.

“I am preparing to assemble an elite team, and one soldier has already joined. You are the second.”

After a moment's consideration, Lin Lu changed the subject and directly shared her thoughts.

"This team is called the Forge Knights. It's a small team, estimated to have only a few dozen members, but each member will be a strong individual with a strength comparable to yours."

"This name is of great significance to the Golden Tree. In the past, the Forge Knights followed the Golden King to conquer the world and establish the first Golden Order."

"Now, I will bring it back to life in this world, so that it may exist as the sharpest sword and the strongest shield of the Golden Tree."

"However, a Forge Knight must be loyal enough to be loyal to the will of gold."

The meaning is quite clear now, and anyone who isn't a fool can understand it.

Although Bozokastie was not good with words, he was by no means stupid.

Wendigo's long life gave him extraordinary experience far beyond that of ordinary people, making it not difficult for him to understand the meaning behind his words.

However, understanding is one thing, making a choice is another.

Many years ago, he fought for the Sarkaz and came under the rule of the Demon King.

After leaving Kazdel, he joined the Ursus army, fought for Ursus in various battles, and came under the rule of the Ursus Emperor, where he gained great fame.

Finally, after the death of the former king of Ursus, he left and wandered the ice plains with the shield guards who followed him, becoming the 'Shield of the Infected'.

Now, another choice is presented to him.

Should they remain silent, continue as they are, and fulfill their promise to defeat the powerful enemy for the Golden Tree, or should they choose to pledge allegiance to the King of the Golden Tree?

A pledge and loyalty are two completely different concepts. The former means contributing one's strength, while the latter means giving up everything, including one's life.

Loyalty is a rather heavy word.

"I will not promise you anything. By becoming a Forge Knight, you will have the opportunity to realize your dreams with your own hands and drive suffering from this land."

“Now, tell me your answer, Bozokasti.”

"..."

The tall Wendigo remained silent, his eyes, which gleamed with a faint red light, fixed on the man across the table.

That body wasn't tall; when it stood up, it was about the same height as him when sitting. However, its imposing, mountain-like aura was enough to make him take notice.

Both his personal strength and his knowledge of everything about the Golden Tree demonstrate that he is a great king.

So, should we follow? Follow the new king to explore a whole new world, set new rules for this world, and realize our ideal vision?

The answer is already very obvious.

"Forge Knight, Bozokasti, pays homage to you, my king."

At this moment, the newly born Wendigo lowered his head, paying homage to the king he followed.

After leaving the Reunion Movement, he found a purpose for which he was willing to dedicate himself.

He wanted to see what a world covered in gold looked like.

Chapter 222 The Naïve Dragon Girl and the Grateful White Rabbit

"The Yetis have found a new campsite, and the supplies in the camp have been packed up, so they are ready to set off at any time."

Inside the tent, Talulah was deep in thought, looking at the map on the folding table, when Yelena lifted the heavy curtain and walked in, her gaze falling on the map on the table.

The Reunion Movement has now completely changed its appearance. Not only have many infected individuals gradually taken on a military-like appearance under the training of the Shield Guards and are now using new standard equipment, but the supplies they use are no longer scarce.

The supplies transported from Lungmen via the Golden Tree relieved them of their worries about food shortages, and their dilapidated tents were all replaced with brand-new, high-end snow gear, significantly improving their quality of life.

This is certainly a good thing. With sufficient supplies, no more infected people will die from poor living conditions. If they can eat their fill, they will have more energy to train and quickly improve their combat effectiveness.

However, even with sufficient supplies, the crisis was still imminent.

Ursus's army conducted a large-scale search across the vast ice plains. Although the ice plains were vast and the search teams of the army group were not very densely packed, the chances of being discovered were still quite high if they stayed in one place for a long time.

Therefore, they had to change their base every few days and set up camp again. If it weren't for sufficient supplies, such frequent changes of location would have been enough to bring down the entire Reunification Movement.

"How many were found?"

Talulah looked up, her face showing lingering weariness.

As the leader of the Reunion Movement, she had too many things to think about. Apart from Yelena and Alina, she couldn't find anyone else to share the work. Most of the infected people couldn't even read and were unable to participate. Almost all the pressure fell on her shoulders.

"Three places, probably... here, here, and here."

Yelena walked to the table, examined the map, and pointed to three locations on it with her finger.

Naturally, there can't be just one relocation location prepared in advance. The Yetis always prepare several locations in advance for them to choose from, and this time is no exception.

"..."

Talulah stared at the three locations for a while, then slowly shook her head.

"Go to the vicinity of the mine. I remember there is an Originium mine here that has been mined for a long time. Send out the word to send a group of people to transport supplies. Select the people who are good at combat to go ahead. This time, we are going to take over this mine."

"Attack the mine? Are you sure?"

Yelena couldn't make any expression, but you could tell from her tone that she didn't approve of this choice.

The defenses of an Originium mine are insignificant; the Reunion Movement could easily take it over.

However, doing so would also expose their location. Once the Reunion Movement comes into view of the Ursus Army Group, they will be surrounded and annihilated by a large force.

"Ursus has a very limited means of controlling these Originium mines. On the ice plains, communication between the mines and the higher levels is entirely conducted through the regular transport of Originium. This is our opportunity."

"We can't keep changing our base so frequently. Without a stable environment, we can't do many things, and our team's strength will improve very slowly. In the short term, it will be impossible for us to compete with the regular army."

"By taking over this mine, we can absorb the infected to expand our forces and directly occupy the place. As long as we disguise ourselves to deal with the patrols and maintain the regular supply of Originium, in the eyes of the nobles in charge of this place, the mine will still be there and unchanged."

“The Ursus army group will not search a mine that has already been searched and has not changed. This approach may seem dangerous, but in fact, it is much safer than our frequent relocations.”

"If this attempt succeeds, we can use the same method to occupy more mines, expand our team, and gradually accumulate strength."

This was certainly a risky attempt, but Talulah felt the chances of success were high.

A large portion of the infected in the Reunion Movement came from the Originium Mine. Talulah obtained a lot of useful information from them, and after the reunification, she had a sufficient understanding of how the mine was managed.

The icy plains are frigid, with constant winds and snow. On this vast frozen land, the only thing of value is the Originium ore formed by natural disasters.

The Originium reserves in these mines are often depleted within months to years, and they do not meet the conditions for long-term mining. Therefore, the Ursus government does not make detailed arrangements for these temporary mining facilities.

All they needed was an Originium mine. They could simply build a wall around it, station some soldiers there, and then throw in the infected and refugees, and a mine would be complete.

Under such circumstances, naturally no one would waste time and effort to build costly communication chains for these rudimentary mines. They would be abandoned in no time, so why would they need such an expensive investment?

Regularly dispatching patrols for supervision is sufficient. In addition, the source stones transported from the mines are received on time. The upper-level nobles and officials generally do not want to know more details, let alone spend time and effort on personnel changes.

Therefore, as long as the mining area is captured quickly enough and a tight blockade is implemented to ensure that no one escapes or passes on the information, the Reunion Movement can gain a base that does not have to worry about being searched by the army group at all times after the capture.

Even if there are patrols or military searches, there will be clues to follow. They can get advance notice and disguise themselves. The members of the Reunion Movement are infected themselves, and the Shield Guards were once regular soldiers in Ursus. One plays the role of a miner, and the other plays the role of a guard. No one can tell anything is wrong.

As for materials and equipment that shouldn't be in the mine, some can be hidden in the mine shafts.

"Then do as you say."

Yelena stared at the map for a while, then nodded in agreement.

They had attacked many mines before, and she herself was rescued from a mine by Bozocasti, so she naturally knew about the situation there.

I hadn’t thought about it this way before. After all, in normal people’s minds, after an attack, the best thing to do is to retreat as soon as possible. There’s no such thing as staying at the scene.

Furthermore, before joining the Reunion Movement, the guerrillas' goal was to liberate and rescue the infected in the mines, and they never stayed in one place for long.

Things are different now. The Reunion Movement is indeed in dire need of a stable base. Following Talulah's words, she realized that the mine was indeed a good choice. It seemed like a dangerous place, but it was actually safer than most places.

"I will lead the Yeti to scout ahead and determine the situation inside the mine. Then you can arrange for people to surround it."