The men of the Belmor baronial family had been slaughtered like pigs. The five girls who survived were dragged here as "compensation gifts": four daughters of House Belmor and one maid who served them.
After waking up, the players of the Holy Knight Federation brought them to the meeting room and gently asked what had happened.
The eldest daughter of the Belmor family, Erica Belmor, was the most composed of the group. She knew she no longer had any rights. She still remembered the way those vicious Infected looked at her — like she was a piece of meat on the butcher's table. Yet, unlike their mothers, who met horrific ends at the hands of the Infected, the sisters were instead delivered as gifts to another group of "villains."
She didn't sob like her younger sisters. Her face was pale, but after introducing their identities, she began answering the adventurers' questions.
"They… the Infected of the Reunion Movement stormed in through the gate that connects to the mines. They mixed into the crowds and began killing and burning everything."
As she spoke, Erica bit her lip until it turned white.
"The Streshnev family was the first to fall. The Merzhanov family was occupied soon after… They're dead. They're all dead!"
The players questioning her exchanged looks.
"The Reunion Movement is that strong?"
"They… there were too many of them. The nobles had their territorial troops and good equipment, but their numbers were crushed by the Reunion Movement's mobs."
A tear slid down Erica's cheek. Suddenly, she began to remove her clothes.
"I beg you, please don't touch my sisters…"
A female player rushed forward to stop her.
"Miss, you misunderstand. We are the Holy Knight Federation. We may be Infected as well, but we would never do such a thing."
"You're safe now."
She comforted her and explained the current situation. Erica's tense expression loosened, as if she had finally allowed herself to relax. She collapsed weakly onto the floor.
The maid hurried to wipe her tears and helped her up, bowing repeatedly in gratitude. The players felt a mix of emotions that left them unsure how to respond.
At a time like this… can simply being decent people really make us count as 'good' in their eyes?
When Mr. Han received the intel gathered from the "interrogation," he sat down with Shroud and Raph at the meeting table. After a brief exchange, they realized something alarming: the Reunion Movement had sent gifts to Shroud and Raph as well. They also had trade routes with Belmor Town, and they too received piles of jewels and silver belonging to two other noble families — along with the daughters of those families.
Shroud was furious, more than anyone else.
"This is completely against the spirit of cooperation. Good grief, they massacred almost every male noble and captured every commoner in the town. If you two want to keep working with them, I won't stop you, but I feel sick just hearing the words 'Reunion Movement.'"
He had been angry ever since the burning-villages incident. He tolerated the situation only because of the Brotherhood alliance and the 2.0 storyline. But now, after this, he absolutely refused to work with the Reunion Movement any longer.
Raph frowned. He didn't speak much, but he was clearly unsettled. This unilateral attack without any warning made him feel disrespected. And although Ursus soldiers held grudges against the nobles, commoner NPCs had done nothing. Even if ordinary Ursus citizens feared and hated the Infected, Raph knew the root of the problem was not the people — it was those who ruled them.
"I'm thinking… could this be the late 2.0 Ursus storyline?"
Mr. Han laced his fingers together, his tone calm and measured.
"If we players had never met the Pioneer, never joined Tomorrow's Development, never formed groups to survive in this northern land of Ursus… what do you think our 2.0 story would have become?"
He raised one finger.
"We would have only one choice: join the Reunion Movement."
Shroud understood immediately. He rested his chin on his hand and nodded.
"You're right. If we players joined the Reunion Movement, it would have strengthened them massively. They might have begun doing things like this much earlier."
Raph added stiffly,
"And without us, Talulah would never have allied with the so-called Brotherhood. Their true goal has always been revenge against Ursus… so behavior like this isn't surprising. If we had joined the Reunion Movement, we might have been the first ones charging the walls."
Everyone fell silent, each contemplating the possibility.
After a long pause, Xiao Ran Asagiri spoke softly.
"We've all seen the 2.0 PV. We know what Talulah and the Reunion Movement intend to do, and what they will eventually do."
"But… are we really going to let this so-called 'main quest' shackle us?"
He looked around the table.
"Are we supposed to throw away our principles as players — as people — just because of a main storyline?"
Xiao Ran A continued, "I know some of you don't care about NPCs. Some might think the death of a thousand or two thousand NPCs means nothing. As enemies, I understand that mindset. But as observers…"
He paused.
"NPCs have their own thoughts. They are alive, living on this land with their own emotions. Unlike old MMORPGs where NPCs respawned after death, in Arknights… if they die, they're gone forever."
"I'll do everything in my power to stop them."
Xiao Ran A looked at Mr. Han and the other players of the Holy Knight Federation. They all nodded in agreement.
"The Holy Knight Federation will stop their actions."
Xiao Ran A let out a light breath. "So what if this is the main storyline? If that's the main quest, then I would rather not take part in it!"
"The Reunion Movement keeps growing. After taking a city, their numbers might swell to a hundred thousand."
Shroud's lips were dry. "And that's only a rough estimate. How many civilians lived in Belmor Town? How many became Infected and joined the Reunion Movement afterward? That number will only rise."
He added, "We only have under thirty thousand. We're not afraid of fighting outnumbered. We're not afraid of defending a city. But what we cannot accept is the price of being wounded or killed. While we're counting down our respawn timers, they'll be targeting the NPCs in our cities."
Their three guild forces were not made up of just players. They had many NPC residents as well, handling chores and work that players couldn't always do. Players could start over. NPCs couldn't.
"So what, we're supposed to just swallow it for now?"
Raph sounded annoyed.
Mr. Han shook his head slightly.
"The Reunion Movement is still nominally our ally. Actions like this are meant to win us over, to show goodwill, because they know our strength. As for the future… who can say? And if worst comes to worst, I have one solution."
"What is it?"
"Call reinforcements."
Mr. Han's answer was firm.
"If things reach a crisis, I'll request help from HQ. We'll recruit warriors in Kazdel to bolster our numbers."
Hearing that, Shroud and Raph visibly relaxed. Right — if they couldn't win, they could just call for backup. And both of them carried considerable influence within their own circles.
"What if they keep capturing cities?"
The question landed again. Shroud was blunt.
"We can't save everyone."
"And that," Mr. Han said calmly, "is the real purpose of this meeting."
He took a large map from the hands of a nearby player and spread it out on the table.
"The cities with trade routes tied to the Brotherhood are marked here. Now… we choose our defensive line."
———
Felix browsed the forum and saw chaos erupting across the Ursus board. A bunch of thrill-seeking Tomorrow's Development players were already rushing toward Ursus. For them, any chance to join a storyline or fight a battle meant an exciting game experience.
He was surprised by the Reunion Movement's sudden shift. To him, it made no sense — unreasonable, without warning… what in the world happened?
A knot of worry formed in his chest, especially for Alina and Yelena. Could gentle people like them really endure such acts?
But, he had to admit, this was beginning to resemble the Reunion Movement from his previous life. In the end, nothing had changed the storyline. Felix quickly pushed the matter out of his mind. No matter how big of a scene the Reunion Movement caused, they were still an organization built on mobs. Only the Shieldguards under Patriot posed a real threat; the rest weren't worth fearing.
Half of the year 1095 had already passed. Aside from a few remote corners that still needed repairs, the city of Kazdel was nearly fully restored. With so many adventurers around, the place had become as bustling as Lungmen.
What players looked forward to most now was not the chaos in Ursus — but the complete liberation of Kazdel.
But at such a critical moment, Felix did not issue any order for war mobilization. Aside from the upper ranks of Tomorrow's Development, no one knew he had quietly left Kazdel.
He sat aboard a private plane. With summer vacation approaching, he returned to Lungmen to pick up Senomi, Mandragora, and Susie. The three girls were already adults, and during this time they had been subtly expressing their desire to help "Brother Felix," to support him and share the burden of his work.
Felix had no intention of throwing them into hell-level training right from the start. He wasn't about to hand an entire city over to them and tell them to manage it. Since his "little sisters" wanted to spread their wings, he naturally supported them. So he brought the three of them to Iberia.
He had a small foothold there. Back then, considering their cooperation with Tomorrow's Development, the Inquisition had granted them a town with a population of several tens of thousands to use as their base. Of course, the real local authority of the region was still the Inquisition.
The town was called Brisamar City. From the plane window, Felix could see a number of players standing guard along the city walls. Trucks rolled in and out of the gates. The place was neither bustling nor deserted.
There were quite a few Iberian players. Although their numbers had thinned a bit after Felix's operations in Kazdel, they rarely stayed in one city for long. Most preferred doing merchant-running missions, traveling between towns, or exploring ancient ruins in hopes of finding old-world goods.
When the players noticed this unfamiliar type of aircraft approaching, they were puzzled. Their gazes followed it as it descended and landed within the city, then they exchanged confused looks.
"Which noble came to Brisamar City?"
"Don't tell me that's a player delivering cargo?"
"Did we unlock planes already? I thought we were still stuck buying trucks at best."
They whispered among themselves, curious. Felix stepped out of the aircraft with the three girls. The private airfield was only a short walk from Tomorrow's Development's Iberian headquarters. Waiting there was an operator who had received the messenger's notice hours ago and knew Felix would be arriving.
"Ah, you must be the boss. Hello, hello! My codename is Elysium. I wonder if you still remember— I was one of the first operators you ever recruited."
The young man with multicolored dyed hair wore Tomorrow's Development's long coat, his face bright with a familiar, overly enthusiastic smile. "Boss, you have no idea how lonely it was without you around. You achieved such grand feats in Kazdel that it feels like you completely forgot about us here in Iberia…"
Halfway through his speech, he noticed the odd looks being directed at him. Elysium blinked, tracing the source of the gaze to the three girls behind Felix. He immediately coughed and forced a suave smile he considered charming.
"Whatever work you need done, just say the word. Elysium is always ready!"
Felix smiled and patted his shoulder. "Since I'm here in Iberia, of course I want to develop this branch. Gather all the operators. I want to hear everyone's reports."
Elysium straightened his back at once and hurried off with quick, disciplined steps.
Felix turned to the three girls and gently ruffled each of their heads. "Listen carefully and learn. Since you want to join Tomorrow's Development, you can't stay at the bottom forever. My expectations for you are high. Not only because you're family, but also as subordinates. I want you to aim as high as Sister Degenbrecher and Sister Carnelian."
At the word "family," the three girls' faces flushed as they giggled happily.