Talulah, before being possessed by the Immortal Black Snake, was a true warrior. Patriot knew his own limitations—he could only protect a portion of the infected, and even then, their survival was precarious. Talulah, however, offered the infected a better future and a clear direction forward.
Initially, Patriot didn't trust Talulah. It wasn't until he witnessed her actions on behalf of the infected that he began to believe in her and support her, even going so far as to confront the Imperial Guards for her sake.
Even after Talulah changed, Patriot continued to tolerate her behavior for the sake of the infected's future. After all, no matter how much she had changed, Talulah was still fighting for the infected, at least on the surface.
If Patriot had turned against Talulah and killed her, the only outcome for Reunion would have been complete disintegration—something he could never accept.
As Patriot had once told Amiya and the others, Reunion could be destroyed, but it must never fall to internal strife. Indeed, even after the failure in Chernobog, a new Reunion rose, and its approach had changed. The new Reunion began to cooperate with non-infected individuals, no longer excluding them entirely.
"Old stubborn, do you know that the current Talulah is no longer the original Talulah? She's been taken over by Koschei." FrostNova explained Koschei's conspiracy to Patriot.
"The Evil God." After hearing FrostNova's words, Patriot fell silent. He had never considered the possibility of Talulah's betrayal on this level. His previous assumption was that Talulah had been hiding her true intentions all along, only revealing them later.
Patriot had experienced too much betrayal in his life, and Talulah's betrayal had deeply pained him. However, there was nothing he could do about it.
"Exactly, the Evil God. While discrimination against the infected is widespread across Terra, only Ursus treats them so harshly. This is all due to the Evil God's influence, who sought to alleviate Ursus's growing internal conflicts to prevent the nation from collapsing and himself from being destroyed."
Although there was no concrete evidence that Koschei was behind Ursus's infected policies, given the country's situation and the turmoil when the policies were implemented, this speculation was almost certainly accurate.
At the time, Ursus's expansion had failed, and internal conflicts were rampant. The slightest misstep could have triggered a nationwide uprising. It was at this critical moment that the infected policies were introduced, redirecting the people's anger toward the infected and easing internal tensions.
"Old stubborn, we must stop Koschei's conspiracy, halt the core city, eliminate the conspirators hiding in Chernobog, and restore order to the city." Seeing Patriot's silence, FrostNova spoke again.
"What do you want to do?" Patriot looked at FrostNova in surprise. He hadn't expected her to return so changed.
"I want to establish a city for the infected—right here. Since they all treat the infected as pawns, today I will shatter their chessboard." FrostNova's words drew the attention of most people present, though some glanced at Daniel.
"A city for the infected? Did you teach her this? What is your goal? You're not infected, are you?" Patriot looked at Kal'tsit and then turned his gaze to Daniel.
"My goal? I don't have one. This is FrostNova's choice, and I'm just helping her achieve it. Of course, I'm not infected, but so what? Does that mean I can't help the infected? Officer Ch'en."
Daniel was about to say more, but when he saw Ch'en suddenly rush out impatiently, he realized she was eager to see Talulah.
As Ch'en made her move, Patriot tried to intercept her, forcing Daniel to step in and block him.
*Boom!*
The moment Patriot's lance clashed with Daniel's Black and White Flower, a thunderous explosion erupted, sending shockwaves radiating outward.
The powerful shockwave forced the shield guards to raise their shields to block it. On Rhodes Island's side, Amiya was about to act when Nian suddenly stepped forward, waving her folding fan to dissipate the shockwave.
"Patriot, sorry, but we're in a hurry. If you have any questions, we can discuss them after everything is settled." Although Daniel wanted to have a proper conversation with Patriot—and with FrostNova's help, he might have been able to persuade him—Ch'en had already gone to see Talulah. Daniel had no choice but to subdue Patriot first.
"Black and White Flower, release."
As he spoke, Daniel's Black and White Flower began to glow with a white light. From their earlier exchange, Daniel had already sensed a portion of Patriot's strength.
In the original Chernobog battle, Patriot had faced Amiya, Mint, and Kal'tsit alone and still managed to reach Amiya. If he hadn't hesitated at the last moment, thinking of FrostNova, he might have actually killed Amiya.
And this was his strength while his body was riddled with Originium crystals. Without those crystals, he would have been even stronger. For some, Originium crystals enhanced their abilities, but for others, they were a limitation.
Under different circumstances, Daniel might have wanted to test Patriot's strength, but now, considering Patriot's condition, fighting him would only drain his life force. In the end, Daniel would have to heal him, which would be a waste of effort. So, from the start, Daniel had planned to restrain Patriot.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to project the Black and White Flower.
Seeing the glow from Daniel's weapon, Patriot thrust his lance forward with a piercing whistle. In Patriot's eyes, Daniel was clearly activating some kind of Originium Arts.
*Boom!*
Just as Patriot's lance was about to strike Daniel, the ground beneath him began to tremble. A green shield emerged in front of Daniel, blocking the attack.
Patriot stared in shock at the green shield, which had only been slightly pierced by his lance. With his strength, even a shield made of D32 steel shouldn't have been so resilient.
But before Patriot could process this, thick green vines sprouted from the ground beneath him, while more vines emerged from the shield, wrapping around his lance.
Patriot tried to retreat, but it was too late. The vines had already tightly bound his body.
Using Wood Release and the Ten Thousand Leaves Flying Flower technique, Daniel's control over the Black and White Flower became even more precise. After restraining Patriot, Daniel didn't stop. More green vines continued to sprout, eventually forming a massive green sphere that enveloped both him and Patriot.
"Captain!"
Seeing Patriot in danger, the shield guards rushed to his aid. However, as they prepared to charge, FrostNova appeared in front of them, blocking their path.
"Stop! He won't harm the old stubborn. He's treating his Oripathy. They'll come out soon."
"Miss FrostNova."
FrostNova's intervention made the shield guards hesitate. If it had been anyone else, they would have charged forward without a second thought. But they trusted FrostNova and believed she wouldn't let any harm come to the Captain.
"If Miss FrostNova says so, we'll wait."
"His armor, body, and Originium are fused together. What terrifying vitality."
Daniel had trapped Patriot in the vine sphere to treat his Originium crystals. Unlike in Rhodes Island, there were too many people outside, so he needed to conceal his actions.
Once the vine sphere formed, Daniel used the Ope Ope no Mi to separate Patriot's body. What he saw was the most severe case of Oripathy he had ever encountered.
Patriot's body had a 60% Originium assimilation rate. The pain this caused was unimaginable, yet Patriot had endured it for so many years.
This was also the first time Daniel had used the Ope Ope no Mi to split someone into hundreds of pieces. Without doing so, it would have been nearly impossible to remove the Originium crystals from Patriot's body.
"Do you know how I convinced FrostNova? This is the answer. If there's anyone in this world who can completely cure Oripathy, it's me."
Daniel spoke to Patriot, who was now just a head. Of course, "me" didn't just refer to himself—it also included the resources he could draw upon.
For example, Mobius would undoubtedly be fascinated by Oripathy and Originium. If one world's power couldn't solve the problem, then combining the strengths of multiple worlds would.
This applied not just to Oripathy but to other areas as well, such as researching Rhodes Island and the Sarcophagus.
A household physiological repair device—aside from its other effects—had an energy supply that far surpassed the Arc Reactor. While a large Arc Reactor could power a mobile city, it couldn't sustain the same level of energy output as the Sarcophagus for so many years.
"Completely cure Oripathy?" Patriot, now just a head, looked dazed.
"Yes, this is the only way to truly end discrimination against the infected. I don't have time to explain the details now, but once things settle down, you'll understand the truth."
As he spoke, Daniel had already removed most of the Originium crystals from Patriot's body. His condition was too severe for more delicate treatment at the moment.
"This armor is beyond repair. Here, use this for now."
After restoring Patriot's body, Daniel looked at the shattered armor on the ground. After a moment's thought, he took out a large amount of steel and forged a new set of armor for Patriot on the spot. Of course, this new armor couldn't compare to Patriot's original set in terms of defense, but it would serve as temporary protection.
"Captain."
When the vine sphere dissipated, revealing Patriot in his new black armor, the shield guards were stunned. It had been a long time since they had seen Patriot like this.
These shield guards were veterans who had fought alongside Patriot for decades.
"Now, tell us your plan."
"The plan is simple. The shield guards need to maintain order in the city and eliminate the regular army disguised as Reunion members. Be careful—there are Imperial Guards hiding in the city. If you encounter them, retreat immediately. Someone will deal with them."
Daniel quickly explained the current situation in Chernobog to Patriot and the others. Hearing that regular army soldiers were hiding in the city, Patriot and the shield guards were furious.
"Amiya, let's go." After explaining the situation, Daniel prepared to take Amiya to confront Talulah. The reason for bringing Amiya was to give the Immortal Black Snake a little surprise.
"Wait, take care of Amiya." Kal'tsit called out to Daniel.
"Don't worry, I won't let her fight."
"The defenses are tight. Is this to prevent Patriot from acting? So Ch'en was able to get up there because of Talulah's orders."
When Daniel arrived at the core city, he saw a large number of Reunion members and Sarkaz mercenaries guarding the entrance.
Although W was now the leader of the Sarkaz mercenaries, it was only in name. Not all Sarkaz obeyed her.
In fact, Koschei had prepared a death trap for Patriot—using Reunion members to deal with him. It wasn't that these members were strong enough to defeat Patriot, but rather that Patriot couldn't bring himself to fight them. It had to be said, the Immortal Black Snake was quite skilled in schemes.
*Boom!*
The Judgement of Shamash unleashed its power once more, engulfing the defenders of the core city in a sea of flames. The sudden blaze turned the sky red, drawing the attention of everyone in Chernobog.
Even Koscheit, who was confronting Ch'en on the core city, frowned at the sight of the towering flames.
"Officer Ch'en, are you okay?"
After being carried by Daniel to the top of the core city, Amiya immediately ran to Ch'en, who was partially covered in blood, likely injured during her fight with Koscheit.
"Ch'en, are they the ones trying to drive a wedge between us sisters?" Seeing Daniel and Amiya descend from the sky, Koscheit seemed to understand something.
"Koscheit, it's time to stop pretending to be Talulah. Don't you find it disgusting? By the way, let me introduce you—this is the Demon King of Kazdel. Do you think you can hide anything from her?" Daniel walked over to Amiya, patting her head as he smiled at Koscheit.
In the original timeline, Koscheit had panicked and become flustered upon seeing Amiya.
"The Demon King of Kazdel? A Cautus? Your joke is quite amusing." The idea that the Demon King of Kazdel wasn't a Sarkaz was something no one would believe without seeing it firsthand.
"Malice, deep malice. And another emotion, faint but different." Amiya ignored Koscheit's words, focusing on sensing his emotions.
"You said you could save Talulah. Why haven't you acted yet?" Ch'en's gaze shifted from Talulah to Daniel.
"Don't be so tense. I promised, so I will save Talulah. But don't you think letting Koscheit off so easily is too lenient?" After comforting Ch'en, Daniel gave Koscheit a meaningful smile.
"Koscheit, did you know your plan has completely failed? The two high-speed landships you had ambushed outside have been dealt with by me." Daniel tossed two badges in front of Koscheit.
"You should recognize these, right? Not just them, but the forces you ambushed in the city are being cleared out by Patriot and W." Seeing Koscheit's expression remain unchanged, Daniel continued, "You might be counting on your Imperial Guards, but unfortunately, I've already dealt with them before coming here."
With that, Daniel swung the Judgement of Shamash, turning the sky above the core city into a sea of flames. Since he couldn't perform a feat like slicing the core city in half, he had to display his strength this way.
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