Once FrostNova started her attack, she showed no mercy. After freezing most of Mephisto's Reunion forces, she immediately launched a barrage of ice spikes toward Mephisto.
Having survived the harsh snowfields of Ursus for so long, FrostNova was no pushover. Her attacks also targeted Faust, even though she had a decent impression of him. Once the fight started, everyone was an enemy.
"Damn it, block her!"
Seeing his Reunion forces frozen, Mephisto's expression turned grim. As he spoke, the Reunion forces around him immediately moved to shield him and Faust.
As a caster, Mephisto was well aware of his weakness—his lack of close combat skills. That's why he always had Reunion forces guarding him, especially those of the Sarkaz race.
The Sarkaz's physical constitution, combined with Mephisto's Originium Arts enhancement, made it difficult for FrostNova to freeze them completely. However, after being struck by numerous ice spikes, their movement speed was significantly reduced.
"Sigh."
Seeing Mephisto in danger, Faust sighed inwardly, raised his crossbow, and with a flash of purple light, fired a purple bolt at FrostNova.
Faust was well aware of Mephisto's issues, but the two were best friends. While others might abandon Mephisto, Faust never would.
Faust's crossbow bolts were incredibly powerful, forcing even FrostNova to pause her attack and summon an ice shield in front of her.
*Bang!*
The purple bolt struck the center of the ice shield, causing it to crack and shatter into countless icy fragments that scattered in all directions. The bolt itself also broke into several pieces and fell to the ground. The exchange was evenly matched.
After blocking Faust's attack, FrostNova resumed her assault. This time, before Mephisto could prepare to withstand her attack, Faust pulled him back. Although FrostNova's attack remained the same—ice spikes—the surrounding cold intensified.
In such an environment, fighting FrostNova as a ranged attacker like Faust would be foolish.
"Speaking of which, if FrostNova and Talulah were to fight, I wonder who would win. Considering racial advantages, FrostNova might not stand a chance."
FrostNova's ice and Talulah's fire countered each other, but unfortunately, FrostNova was just a Cautus, while Talulah had the bloodline of both dragons—a Draco.
"The Phantom Crossbowmen are no match for the Yeti Squadron, but where did W go? And what about Alex and Misha?" FrostNova single-handedly suppressed Faust and Mephisto.
Meanwhile, the Yeti Squadron had an easier time. The Phantom Crossbowmen were formidable when coordinated with Faust, but on their own, their effectiveness dropped significantly. This was especially true now that the Yeti Squadron had the protective shields Daniel had provided.
"Mephisto, you lunatic! Siracusan curses! Let's get out of here!"
Seeing Mephisto being forced to retreat under FrostNova's assault, the Crownslayer, who had been observing the battle, cursed loudly and immediately ordered the Reunion members around her to retreat.
At this moment, a large amount of dust began to fall from the sky—this was Mephisto's Originium Arts. While harmless to normal people, it could slowly turn infected individuals into Reunion forces. Of course, this was the theoretical state of his Arts.
Whether an infected person could be turned into a Reunion force depended on the strength of both parties. Just like in the original story, Mephisto used this ability to discover that Officer Ch'en was infected, but that was as far as it went.
For Mephisto, the easiest to control were corpses. As the dust fell, the bodies of those who had died earlier began to rapidly develop black Originium crystals and stagger to their feet. However, before they could join the fight, FrostNova's freezing cold immobilized them, causing Mephisto to curse repeatedly in Ursus slang.
With his Reunion forces frozen, Mephisto's combat effectiveness dropped by at least 80%. He could only rely on the few remaining Sarkaz Reunion forces to block FrostNova's attacks. But as FrostNova's assault continued, even the Sarkaz Reunion forces began to dwindle. After being struck by numerous ice spikes, even the Sarkaz would eventually freeze.
If this continued, once all the Sarkaz Reunion forces were lost, Mephisto and Faust would be unable to evade FrostNova's attacks.
"Faust... Sigh, I guess I'll save him after all."
Seeing Faust's unwavering loyalty to Mephisto, Daniel sighed softly. Mephisto deserved to die, but Faust was different.
"FrostNova, that's enough." Daniel appeared in front of Faust and Mephisto, waving his hand to block the ice spikes FrostNova had launched. At the same time, he froze Mephisto's last two Sarkaz Reunion forces.
"You want to save him? Do you know what he's done?" After Daniel appeared, FrostNova immediately stopped her attack. At the same time, the Yeti Squadron and the Phantom Crossbowmen also ceased fighting. While FrostNova's side was engaged in a life-and-death battle, the others were merely holding each other back, not going all out.
"Of course I know. But as you can see, if Mephisto dies, Faust will likely die with him. I'll handle his issues."
Nodding to FrostNova, Daniel didn't wait for Mephisto to speak. With a wave of his hand, Mephisto collapsed to the ground, unconscious. A faint, illusory feather appeared in Daniel's vision—Feather of Xuanyuan.
Seeing Mephisto fall, Faust immediately lowered his crossbow.
"I'll seal his memories from the past few years, leaving only his childhood memories before he was corrupted by the Black Snake. How does that sound, Faust?"
After the battle ended, Daniel called FrostNova, the Crownslayer, and others over and explained his plan to Faust. Since killing Mephisto wasn't an option but leaving him as he was also wasn't ideal, the only solution was to alter his memories. With his current abilities, Daniel could completely rewrite Mephisto's memories if he wanted to, but after some thought, he decided it wasn't necessary.
"Can you really do that?"
Hearing Daniel's words, Faust's expression immediately became excited. In fact, Faust had been the first to notice Talulah's changes. He had originally planned to leave with Mephisto, but before he could act, Talulah caught on and threatened Mephisto's safety.
Faust's ability to detect Talulah's changes earlier than others was likely due to his race—Feline, the same as Koschei. In other words, snakes.
For Faust, if Mephisto could return to his former self, it would be the best outcome. Back then, Mephisto had been a boy who loved to sing but couldn't.
"Of course. But you'll have to take care of him from now on. Just say he lost his memory due to the battle. You can figure out the details."
As he spoke, Daniel activated the Feather of Xuanyuan and entered Mephisto's consciousness to delete, seal, and modify his memories. Originally, Daniel could have used the Feather of Xuanyuan to rewrite Mephisto's consciousness, but that would have required fabricating new memories, which was too troublesome. It was simpler to just claim he had amnesia.
"Since I'm helping, I might as well go all the way."
After sealing Mephisto's memories, Daniel also treated the Originium in his throat. As a child, Mephisto had been a very loyal person, having swallowed Originium to become infected.
"Sasha, what's wrong with me? My head hurts so much. And why do you look taller?"
When Mephisto woke up, he immediately grabbed Faust's hand with a smile. But upon seeing FrostNova and the others, he greeted them warmly.
"Big Sis."
Back in the day, Mephisto had been on good terms with FrostNova. He had even learned a lullaby from her. However, due to the Originium in his throat, he could no longer sing.
Mephisto's smile made FrostNova pause for a moment, but she didn't respond. Instead, she turned to Faust and said, "I've already told you what's going on. Now, organize the retreat."
With that, FrostNova turned and left.
"Sasha, did I offend Big Sis?" Watching FrostNova leave, Mephisto asked Faust with a puzzled expression.
"No, there are some things I'll explain later." Seeing Mephisto almost back to his old self, Faust wasn't sure how to explain the situation and decided to stall for time.
"I didn't expect you to help." Following FrostNova, Daniel met up with W and Alex, who were organizing the Reunion forces' retreat. Strictly speaking, the retreating group wasn't just Reunion members—there were also some infected from Lungmen.
"I just don't want my comrades to be used as pawns." Alex said coldly, no longer wearing his Skullshatterer mask.
"Keep up the good work. W, find some people who can operate vehicles."
One of the terms Daniel had negotiated with Wei Yenwu was for Lungmen to provide some supplies, mainly food and water, which Reunion desperately lacked. Even after capturing a mobile city, they were still in dire need.
The current Reunion had no development philosophy—everything was about plunder. It had to be said that the Black Snake had taken Ursus's traditional "war sustains war" strategy to the extreme.
Originally, Reunion's plan had been to seize a city module as a base and then leave.
Under the circumstances, Daniel naturally wanted to prepare more supplies for those willing to leave Reunion. Of course, while Wei Yenwu had agreed to provide supplies, he wouldn't hand them over directly to Reunion. They would have to take them themselves, so if word got out, Wei Yenwu could deny any involvement.
After all, it was Reunion who had taken the supplies by force. Of course, Daniel still had to pay the price.
"Reunion is preparing to retreat."
In a dilapidated room in the slums, several figures in Reunion uniforms and a tall woman with long red hair gathered.
"Yes," one of the Reunion members said.
"Why aren't you leaving?" the woman asked.
"Because we don't know who to trust anymore."
The sudden change in orders had exposed the dissatisfaction some Reunion members had been suppressing toward Talulah.
"What made them retreat?"
"They said it was a trap set by Ursus. Chernobog was intentionally left vulnerable for us to capture, and Talulah fell for it. Now, two Ursus legions are lurking near Chernobog."
The fact that the current Talulah was not herself but the Black Snake was known only to Reunion's leaders and some core members. Since Talulah might still be Reunion's leader in the future, it was impossible to fully reveal her situation here.
"That makes sense. I always found it strange that you could capture a mobile city so easily, and that Ursus's military hadn't responded for so long. Now it makes sense."
"You—" Someone in the room wanted to retort, but another person stopped them.
"I don't trust Talulah. She's the heir of that Grand Duke. Who's to say she's not a spy sent by Ursus?"
Many within Reunion distrusted Talulah because of her noble background. For many infected in Reunion, nobles were not to be trusted. When Talulah's identity was exposed, if it hadn't been for Patriot's support, Reunion might not exist today.
"So, what are you planning to do now?"
"I don't know. But for now, we'll have to leave this place first."
"Another group of Reunion members left with someone. Was it Nine? Well, that's good. It helps clarify Reunion's ranks."
The former Talulah had been too kind, accepting any infected who came to her, even after being betrayed multiple times. After being controlled by the Black Snake, she became even more indiscriminate in accepting infected members.
To put it bluntly, Reunion had been infiltrated by numerous factions. While the failed attack on Lungmen had resulted in heavy casualties, it was ultimately a good thing for the future.
"Faust, I'll leave this to you for now. If anyone wants to leave, let them go. Don't stop them."
After speaking with Faust, Daniel was relieved he had saved him. Faust turned out to be a rare managerial talent, something Reunion desperately needed.
Reunion's resource distribution system was entirely military-controlled, as resources were scarce, and this was the only way to ensure most people survived. But if they occupied a mobile city, such a system would no longer work.
"Misha, come with me. Your condition is serious, and you need a thorough check-up at Rhodes Island."
After the Reunion members willing to leave had moved away from Lungmen, Daniel made some general arrangements and then took Nian, FrostNova, W, and Misha to Rhodes Island.
The Yeti Squadron was reluctant to leave FrostNova, but since it was Rhodes Island, and the two sides had clashed fiercely at Chernobog, it wasn't appropriate for a large group to appear at Rhodes Island.
Misha had wanted to stay with Alex, but due to her Oripathy, Daniel took her along.
As for W, although she wasn't thrilled about possibly meeting Kal'tsit, the fastest way to reach Chernobog was by boarding the Rhodes Island landship.
While Daniel could have used a Quinjet or similar aircraft to reach Chernobog quickly, the need to rescue people meant waiting for Rhodes Island to mobilize.
"Once I get back, I'm definitely building a Hyperion."
The Quinjet was too small to carry many people, and using the power of the Herrscher of Reason to construct a Hyperion would be a waste of energy. If technology could handle it, why use his own power? Besides, this wasn't about building a Hyperion for combat—it was for transporting a large number of people.
More importantly, this was a chance for Daniel to visit Rhodes Island.
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