The old Black Snake was panicking intensely right now.
He was an evil god bred from the black earth of Ursus, a careerist who peddled the flames of war, his hands stained with blood.
But he cared about this country. What he wanted was for the Ursus military and parliament to fight it out and determine a victor, so that this nation wouldn't rot away in division and mediocrity.
He didn't want Ursus to become a pawn in the hands of some lunatic, ultimately burning to the ground.
Yet, the entity residing in Talulah's body, who called herself "Yoru," made him feel a chilling dread from the very depths of his soul.
"What did you do to that Patrol member?" the Black Snake's consciousness echoed in Talulah's mind.
Yoru, occupying Talulah's body, chuckled lightly. She swung the Spinal Cord Sword in her hand and immediately sighed—clearly very dissatisfied with its power.
"It's simple! Since he is my property, I have the right to dispose of him! It's just that he's too weak, and I don't feel any guilt towards him. He doesn't even count as a handy toy!"
The old Black Snake was completely speechless: Although he also believed in the power theory of the strong ruling the weak and the weak serving the strong, a careerist doesn't act like this!
You should first divide people into different classes, co-opt one group to strike another; for those with utilization value, rope them in with benefits and intimidation, occasionally displaying your PUA and deterrence tactics.
How could you just turn them into disposable consumables right off the bat?
The Black Snake was somewhat worried: she might track down every powerhouse within Ursus's borders one by one, just to find a handy weapon.
Although Ursus had a very high tolerance for ordinary soldier casualties, the precious powerhouses couldn't withstand such devastation from her.
In reality, the Black Snake didn't know: the current War Devil was a battle-damaged version after being gang-beaten by Pochita in Hell, and her power hadn't fully recovered yet.
If she were to regain most of her power, the things she could turn into weapons wouldn't be individuals, but entire nomadic cities.
"Right, this child Talulah seems to have the right to inherit the thrones of Victoria and Yen, doesn't she?" Yoru's tone was full of eagerness to try, as if she had already seen more backup weapon arsenals.
"It's not that easy!" The Black Snake tried to pacify her ambition—the old fellow had lived for thousands of years and never thought he would become the conservative one.
"Leaving aside how cautious the Victorian Parliament and the Yen Imperial Court are regarding throne succession, just considering power alone, do you think two great nations with millennia of inheritance wouldn't have supernatural wills like you and me backing them? Don't think you can just act recklessly forever!"
"Then let the flames of war ignite!" Yoru said nonchalantly. "Let the entire earth burn, and let those old fogeys participate too! By then, won't your wish be fulfilled as well?"
"You are playing with fire!" the Black Snake warned. "Ursus and Yen, these two countries, also bear the responsibility of fighting against enemies from other dimensions and preventing the entire world from collapsing! If you drag the whole earth into war, everything on this planet will be wiped out!"
This sentence finally turned Yoru's expression serious.
"I see. It seems there are annoying guys like Death in this world too! Humans are such an interesting species, and Ursus is such an interesting country, they can't be allowed to go extinct..." she muttered to herself while scratching her head, seemingly falling into distress.
But quickly, she revealed a confident expression.
"Then I will be the one to protect this world! Humans are responsible for constantly plunging into war to provide me with power, and I will use this power to ensure this planet isn't destroyed. This is a very fair contract, isn't it!"
At this moment, Yoru, spouting grandiose words, didn't know how difficult this promise of hers would be to execute.
And Kal'tsit, currently in Chernobog, also wouldn't know that Terra had just gained another powerhouse she could trick into taking the fall.
The Black Snake, meanwhile, was continuously shocked by the sheer magnitude of her tone and the simple directness of her thinking, silently muttering in his heart:
If this woman can truly resolve the various apocalyptic disasters of this planet, even if she treats more Ursus people as consumables, I'd have to kowtow to her a few times.
"Then let's start expanding our forces from now on! After all, my combat style has never been fighting alone! It's relying on the power of companions and teamwork." Yoru seemed full of drive.
But the next moment, her expression suddenly changed, a flash of sharpness passing through her originally fanatical eyes.
She slightly turned her head, looking towards a certain corner of the distant camp. Based on her perception ability regarding her familiars, a playful smile curled up on the corner of her lips:
"It seems... one of my companions wants to rebel!"
Before her voice even faded, her figure disappeared from the spot, blending into the night like a ghost.
At this moment, in the other corner of the camp, Reze was looking down at the intel in her hands, evaluating Denji's current situation in Lungmen.
Hoederer stood to the side, still pondering Reze's suggestion from earlier.
"Eradicating illiteracy is indeed a priority, but that has to wait until the war in Londinium is over. As for joining a certain faction... given the Sarkaz's situation, it's easier said than done."
"Not necessarily. Although your race has a bad reputation on this earth, at the end of the day, everyone can still be considered human." Reze said something Hoederer couldn't understand. "Perhaps in the near future, a threat large enough will appear, sufficient to make everyone put aside racial barriers and force them to unite?"
Hoederer paused for a moment, just about to press her on the deeper meaning of these words.
But Reze had already stood up. She took a hand-knitted scarf from her backpack and handed it to Hoederer. The stitching wasn't exquisite, but it was visibly made with care.
"This is for you," Reze said. "The winters in the north are very cold."
Hoederer was stunned. He took the scarf, entirely at a loss for words for a moment.
Not far away, W pulled on Ines's arm, standing on her tiptoes to peek over, shouting in a lowered voice:
"Ines, say something! They're even exchanging gifts now. If I were you, I definitely couldn't tolerate this!"
Ines didn't speak. She could sense other people's emotions through their shadows.
Based on Ines's judgment, Reze wouldn't become her romantic rival—this girl's thoughts were constantly drifting far away.
Reze then walked over to W and Ines. She pulled a well-crafted, powerful bomb from her pocket and handed it to W.
"This is for you. The technical intricacies inside are enough for you to study for a while."
W, who had just been fanning the flames, accepted this precious gift without a second thought.
Then, Reze brought out another scarf—one that looked like a matching pair with the one given to Hoederer—and handed it to Ines. Its meaning was self-evident.
W suddenly realized something. "Are you leaving?"
Reze didn't deny it. Instead, wearing a smile full of happiness and longing, she put her hands together in a pleading gesture:
"After I leave, take the squad out on an operation for a while, and help me cover my tracks."
All three nodded; they were already accustomed to partings.
Reze turned around, then looked back and waved, saying, "This world might become very dangerous soon. Take good care of yourselves."
The three waved in unison, saying with one voice, "You take care too."
Right amidst this atmosphere of parting, a wave of coldness swept over them.
The air seemed to freeze.
A figure appeared at the entrance of the camp. No one had seen clearly how she appeared.
Reze's finger instantly hooked onto the pull-ring at her neck, her body tense as a drawn bow.
But when she saw the person clearly, the devil she had contracted with, "Bomb," began to shiver violently—not even when facing Makima had the Bomb Devil produced such an emotion of dread.
The figure at the camp entrance was none other than the Reunion leader, Talulah.
The three mercenaries felt a bit awkward: We were just discussing running away, and the boss shows up at our door.
But Reze clearly saw: that Talulah had several hideous scars on her face, and she exuded an aura that she feared the most.
"Where are you going, my little bomb baby?" Yoru slowly walked over.
"You're not Talulah, you're..."
Reze's hand trembled slightly. She had already realized the latter's identity and let her finger drop from the pull-ring.
"A wise move!" The War Devil smiled, sizing up the Bomb Devil's current teenage girl appearance, while casually glancing down at her own mature, older sister figure.
"I really like our current appearances, just like our previous dynamic. In Hell, you could only be considered a loli!"
Yoru leaned in and patted the Bomb Devil, who in the eyes of others was incredibly vicious and terrifying.
"Now then, make your choice! Become my familiar once again, or be turned into a weapon by me."
Reze took a deep breath and kneeled on one knee without hesitation. "I shall pledge my loyalty to you..."
She had no choice. Only by surviving could she see Denji. If she hesitated for even a second, she might be torn to pieces by the woman before her.
The next moment, just as Reze sorrowfully thought she was once again reduced to a tool for slaughter, Yoru gave an answer she never expected.
"Very well. Let us work together to first protect this world from being destroyed!"
In order to plunge this earth into eternal war, Yoru first set a small goal for herself: investigate what that apocalyptic disaster in the Black Snake's hands was all about.
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