Man on the ark, forced to become king

It was precisely because of this convenient thing that she was able to confidently venture into the mine alone. Otherwise, even if she controlled the garrison in the mine, it would have taken up a lot of time, and she wouldn't have been able to quickly contact the main force outside.

The golden leaves turned into streaks of light and disappeared into the air. Yelena rubbed her empty fingers together and looked in the direction of the mine.

She had searched the entire dormitory; everyone was bound together in a solid ice formation created by magic, making it impossible for the soldiers to break free anytime soon.

Next, we need to deal with the garrison patrolling inside the mine, and then wait for the main force to receive the message and complete the encirclement. Once that happens, the mine will be captured, and the Reunion Movement will gain its first base on the ice plains.

"Hopefully they'll get together, otherwise it'll take a lot of effort... Wait, that's—"

The white rabbit muttered something, then suddenly widened its eyes.

In the distance, a strong energy fluctuation suddenly erupted from the location of the mine, causing even the ground to tremble slightly.

Indistinct shouts drifted on the wind from below the mine, where chaos seemed to have broken out, with the snow on the ground trembling, collapsing, and cracking open.

Right under Yelena's nose, a small mountain slowly rose from the wind and snow.

"That's... an Originium Bug?"

A gigantic creature emerged from the mine, disrupting the White Rabbit's plans. She pursed her lips, trying to find a corresponding entity in her memory, and soon found the answer.

Originium Bugs are the most common and numerous infected organisms in the wild.

They often live in groups and have many variations, but they are generally not very threatening. Even an untrained person can easily kill one or two of them.

Generally speaking, Originium bugs found in the wild are usually only a few tens of centimeters in size, which is considered quite large. But this one... apart from its shell, which looks like an enlarged Originium bug shell, it has nothing to do with common Originium bugs. Where can you find an Originium bug that grows to be much larger than a house?

It was practically a moving hill. On its back, you could see some insects that were not much different from ordinary Originium bugs, or perhaps even smaller, crawling on it, slowly wriggling. Waste minerals and small fragments of Originium crystals were embedded in the shell, and a faint fluorescence could be seen in the gaps.

This creature was beyond Yelena's comprehension, even causing her mind to go blank for a moment.

Without a doubt, although this thing looks like an Originium Bug, its threat level is far beyond that of those easily killed bugs.

Putting everything else aside, just the sheer size of the creature crushing them would be difficult to stop by human power alone. Add to that the thick armor that matches its massive size, and it's uncertain how effective magic and crossbow bolts would be.

After being restored by the blessing of the Golden Tree, Yelena felt that the power of her magic had increased a lot compared to before, and her body could withstand the pressure of using magic. However, she still didn't have much confidence if she were to deal with such a huge monster.

She doesn't have the same powerful attack power as Surtr or Talulah. Surtr is simply powerful; her flames can easily destroy everything. Talulah, on the other hand, can rely on skill to unleash extremely strong single-target destructive power. In comparison, her spells focus more on area damage. It would be too difficult for her to break through such a thick shell with just the ice crystals she conjures.

But are we just going to stand by and watch?

If they let the monster wreak havoc in the mine and make a mess of the place, how can their plan continue?

The mine is in chaos due to the appearance of monsters. The main force has not yet completed the encirclement. If someone manages to escape in the chaos, even if we occupy this place, it will no longer be safe.

“It must be stopped!”

After a brief moment of thought, Yelena made her decision. She gritted her teeth, activated her magic, and rushed towards the mine.

Killing this monster is undoubtedly quite difficult, but stopping it and buying time should not be too difficult.

She had to do everything in her power to delay the monster's movements while suppressing the chaos inside the mine and preventing anyone from escaping in the confusion.

Once Talulah and the Yeti arrived with their main force and completed the encirclement of the mine, things weren't too bad.

By then, they will have ample time to deal with the giant Originium bug that suddenly emerged from the mine. The convoy transporting supplies and Originium will arrive in five days. As long as they can deal with the traces of the battle during this time, the Reunion Movement can still occupy this place as a base.

This is currently the only solution.

There are many Originium mines on the ice plains, but with the army group's thorough search, they may not have another chance to find a suitable place.

Chapter 225 The End of the Script

"Yelena has dealt with half of the garrison in the mine; it's time to make our move."

Golden leaves appeared out of thin air, landed on slender fingers, and then dissipated as fluorescent light. There wasn't much information in the leaves; Talulah simply lowered her head slightly and gave the order.

Behind her, the Reunion Movement's combat-ready personnel were neatly divided into four groups, each consisting of a combination of shield guards, infected warriors, and Yetis—the safest arrangement reached after deliberation.

Although the infected have acquired basic combat capabilities thanks to the excellent equipment provided by Lungmen, there is still a gap between them and regular troops. Led by battle-hardened Shield Guards and Yetis, they can minimize the possibility of accidents.

Even though it was just a simple encirclement of the mine, and there was a high probability that no battle would even occur, Talulah still tried her best to minimize the risks.

"Big sister is really fast..."

The Yeti closest to Talulah sighed and immediately began making arrangements.

In fact, their gathering here to wait for orders was a waste of time. The correct approach would have been to disperse the team while Yelena infiltrated the mine, forming the initial outline of the encirclement, and then immediately take action to complete the encirclement once they received the news.

However, Talulah was worried that doing so would prevent a quick retreat in case of an emergency, so she didn't do that. For now, she could only slowly surround them.

"Wait, did you guys feel it...?"

The male infected man further back reached out and grabbed the Yeti's sleeve, stopping him.

"what?"

The Yeti was puzzled, but quickly realized what was happening, its voice filled with great uncertainty: "The ground beneath our feet is shaking?"

"Your feeling is correct; the ground is shaking."

Talulah looked solemnly at the snow-covered ground beneath her feet. If you looked closely, you could see tiny snow monsters trembling slightly.

This vibration wasn't at the forefront, but it was definitely there, and it seemed to have a certain frequency, slowly getting stronger.

earthquake?

still--

Danger!

His eyes widened suddenly, and his hand instinctively pressed down on the hilt of the knife at his waist, gripping it tightly.

The tremors beneath her feet became increasingly clear, easily discernible even without conscious effort. Talulah slowly raised her head to look at the sky. Before she knew it, the vast expanse of sky was now covered in dark clouds. Enormous clouds, seemingly without end, slowly rotated around a central point, forming a terrifying vortex, within which lightning flickered silently.

Natural disaster?!

In an instant, Talulah recognized what it was. Just now, she had sensed a tremendous energy fluctuation from the sky, which almost made it hard for her to breathe.

Without a doubt, only a natural disaster could create such terrifying changes in the celestial phenomena and such a suffocating sense of oppression.

But when?!

Just a short time ago, perhaps only a dozen minutes ago, the sky wasn't like this, and we didn't notice anything unusual around us. How could a natural disaster suddenly break out? This is completely illogical!

Such a massive natural disaster causes truly catastrophic damage that cannot be resisted by human effort. Even the most fortified mobile cities would have to operate at full power to escape. It cannot appear out of thin air; it takes at least several days to accumulate and gather. This is common knowledge known worldwide.

Otherwise, if natural disasters could suddenly erupt anytime and anywhere, how could anyone escape them? No one could escape their reach, including land-based ships and mobile cities—they were all useless.

“It’s a natural disaster.”

The Yeti also noticed the strange phenomenon in the sky. Not only him, but almost everyone in the Reunion Movement saw the enormous vortex hanging high in the sky, like a giant millstone that could crash down at any moment and crush everything on the ground.

"How to do?"

"..."

The Yeti's question silenced Talulah. What to do? She wanted to know too.

Regardless of why this natural disaster suddenly occurred, its scale and coverage are quite large. The area they are currently in, including the mine, will be 100% covered by the disaster. Under such circumstances, what is the point of taking over the mine?

Even mobile cities cannot withstand a disaster of this scale. When the natural disaster subsides, all that will remain is a desolate wasteland.

This area will remain a forbidden zone for life for a long time to come. Until the Originium dust and radiation dissipate, no one will dare to approach it. The Ursus army will not dare, nor will the Reunion Movement.

So, retreat?

It seems to be a foregone conclusion that once the cataclysm strikes, the raging Originium energy will indiscriminately pulverize everything, even Ursus's most elite army group will be torn apart, with no chance of survival.

However, Talulah thought about things more deeply. They could certainly retreat calmly to the pre-surveyed settlement and avoid the reach of the natural disaster, but what about the infected in the mine?

Her reason for raiding the mine was to develop a base and also to free the infected people inside. If they chose to retreat now, all the infected people would die when the natural disaster struck. The garrison stationed here would not care about them, and the Ursus army would not treat them as human beings. With their bodies weakened by years of exploitation, how many people could escape?

Not to mention, the Ursus army will definitely surround this place. While large-scale natural disasters are terrible, a large mining area rich in resources will also emerge after the disaster. The Ursus leadership cannot ignore this.

Even if the infected manage to escape the mining area, they will still die if they cannot break through the army's blockade.

According to Yelena's intelligence, there are nearly a thousand infected people in that mine, a thousand lives lost!

Now, rush in and rescue the infected in the mine before the natural disaster strikes, then escape with them?

Putting aside the fact that this natural disaster struck without warning and no one knew when it would break out, just how long would it take to organize the evacuation of those infected? And how much time would it take to speed up their journey?

If we are not careful, not only will we be unable to rescue people, but the Reunion Movement itself will be trapped and killed by the surrounding army within the disaster area!

Talulah was caught in a dilemma. Her emotions told her she should save people—a thousand lives—but her reason prevented her from doing so, because it might lead everyone into the abyss of destruction.

"The plan to attack the mine is abandoned. You take the main force and go ahead to the alternative settlement. I will notify Yelena to come back and meet up with you."

After a moment's thought, Talulah made up her mind, looked up, and gave the order.

However, the Yeti did not follow orders.

"And what about you? You want to rush into the mine and rescue the miners?"

The Yeti, completely shrouded in a cloak, stared intently into Talulah's eyes, its tone resolute. They knew the leader of Reunion too well; a little thought was enough for them to guess what she was planning.

"Natural disasters take time to develop; they've only just begun to take shape and won't fall quickly. I have ample time to act. Moreover, my only responsibility is to lead them out of the mining area and guide them in the direction to escape. If we encounter the Ursus army, it won't be difficult for me to escape."

Talulah nodded, looking confident, but the Yeti still saw a hint of evasion in her eyes.

"Ugh."

Staring at his leader, the Yeti sighed; he knew this would be the outcome.

"You would never run away on your own."