The Shieldguards stared, mouths agape, unable to believe what they were seeing. The longsword had passed cleanly through Patriot's body. The flames upon the blade had already died out. Even blood would have been burned away under such fire.
Patriot, the Patriot who had led them forward all this time, had lost?
No. Looking at him now, could it be that he was only wounded?
Just as unease began to spread among the Shieldguards, Patriot spoke.
"Why… did it not… pierce… my body?"
"This was ultimately a battle to prove one's strength," Felix replied calmly. "Not a fight between mortal enemies, where one must die."
Felix withdrew his sword. The blade had only pierced Patriot's cloak, not even scorching his armor. Both of them understood perfectly that, had Felix wished it, he could have seized that fleeting moment and driven the sword straight into Patriot's chest. He had simply chosen not to.
"..."
Patriot lowered his weapon. The helm-encased head slowly lifted as he looked toward the sky, where the flames had burned open a hollow. Sunlight poured through that gap, shining down upon the shattered land below.
"I… concede."
He spoke each word with weight. "The Shieldguards… will join… Tomorrow's Development."
"I am honored to have your recognition, Patriot," Felix said.
He sheathed his sword. Only then did the surrounding Shieldguards slowly gather around. They had heard the exchange clearly. With a single conversation, they had changed allegiance, yet none of them felt any resentment. They truly did not wish to fight under Talulah's banner. For those who had followed Patriot from the very beginning, fighting for Patriot himself was always their first instinct, with the organization he served coming second.
As for whether they held any loyalty toward Reunion, the answer was obvious. They had long since grown sick of its current state and were desperate to leave. Their complete disregard for Reunion's upper ranks made it clear that they already stood apart from the organization.
"Patriot, there will be many matters in the future on which I hope to seek your guidance," Felix said.
"I will… gladly… assist."
Patriot extended a hand. The dark, armored palm rested on Felix's shoulder, and then Patriot lowered his head slightly.
The Shieldguards' eyes widened. Never had they seen Patriot bow to anyone. And today, they finally did. Those who could command such respect from Patriot were figures they had never even laid eyes upon. Certainly not Reunion's leader, Talulah. Patriot had never bowed to her.
To them, there was only one thing in this world that could make Patriot lower his head: his death.
When Loughshinny arrived with the senior staff to welcome Felix back, he immediately noticed the fervent, almost blazing enthusiasm in their gazes, as though they might melt him on the spot. Unbeknownst to him, those aboard the Venus had already used their drones to record the battle from afar, fully intending to savor the footage at leisure.
"Take them for routine physical examinations," Felix instructed. "They are brave warriors and deserve the best treatment."
"Understood."
Loughshinny gave a slight nod to Folinic and Perfumer. As one of Kal'tsit's students, Folinic's medical skills and work ethic were highly regarded by Loughshinny, who naturally harbored thoughts of recruiting her into Tomorrow's Development. The medical operators stepped forward to speak with the Shieldguards. These men, all rough and hardened veterans who usually spent their time wrestling one another, had never been treated so gently by nurses and doctors. One by one, their weathered faces flushed red like adolescents experiencing first love.
The medical team departed together with the Shieldguards. Patriot left as well. Though his body still appeared robust, Felix knew that his speech and physical discomfort were the result of Oripathy. If Columbia's special medicine could ease even a little of his suffering, that would be enough. At the very least, it would allow him to live without pain.
Patriot's defection symbolized the complete collapse of Reunion. To Felix, this was merely a minor objective. How strong had Reunion ever been? It was nothing more than an ordinary group, barely even an organization. Its basic combat strength consisted of mobs and caster squads. Could such a force truly be called powerful?
In the previous timeline, Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals had suffered devastating losses in Chernobog. Elite operators and action teams fell one after another, and no one could truly match Talulah. Even Patriot had only been brought down when everyone attacked together, fighting him to the death. In this life, with ACE and Scout surviving, and with the main force gaining extensive experience during operations in Chernobog, casualties in later battles would naturally be reduced. Dealing with Reunion's mobs would be far easier.
Felix stepped toward the main force. He still needed to make a call to Yelena, to report his situation and to tell her that her father, and his future father-in-law, was already aboard the ship.
The battle for Lungmen ended far faster than anyone had expected. Without the backbone of Reunion to rely on, the so-called adventurers collapsed into utter disarray. With the upper ranks either fleeing or being captured, the caster squads and mobs quickly abandoned all resistance, dropping to their knees and begging for mercy. It was the very same thing the civilians had once done, except that Reunion had answered them with bloodied daggers driven into their bodies.
Once the red-named adventurers were neutralized, they were thrown into prison. The same fate awaited Reunion's mobs. With the entire leadership of Reunion taken into custody, Lungmen gradually returned to its former calm. Only the devastation of the lower and middle districts remained as a grim reminder, making large-scale reconstruction inevitable.
In the past few days, the Rat King and his men, together with Wei Yenwu's forces, had gone on a literal killing spree in the lower districts. The meaning was entirely literal. Many Infected had slipped into the city in disguise, intending to incite civil unrest. Fortunately, they were discovered in time, and the response was swift and merciless.
"It's finally… over."
Watching the sun rise in the distance, Yui sat atop a pile of broken walls and sighed softly. Her MP had been drained completely during the night of constant movement, replenished by eating, and then spent all over again. Professional teams were not much different from firefighters. No, firefighters did it out of professional duty. These professional team members, on the other hand, charged at Reunion mobs like children spotting a beloved toy.
Apparently, taking down a Reunion mob awarded contribution points. She had heard them say those points could be used to buy keys to draw weapon skins. Watching those frenzied professional players, Yui could not help but quietly marvel at the difference between professionals and ordinary players.
"Mmm… the mission is finally almost over."
Qiu Muyu sat down beside Yui and yawned. She had been fighting in the game for several Terra days in a row, which in reality amounted to spending a full day and night inside the game. While her body felt no fatigue, mental exhaustion was unavoidable. After joining a professional team, she had moved into the Ice Rose team's dormitory in Japan. Convincing her parents and the team manager had taken quite some effort, but now her full-time job was simply playing games.
"Are your university classes going to be okay, Yui?" Qiu Muyu asked.
"Huh? I already finished all my credits," Yui replied. "Now I'm just thinking about what I want to do in the future."
After so many Terra years, Yui in the real world had grown from a high school student into a graceful university student. She and Qiu Muyu lived on neighboring streets in Tokyo as well, their relationship extending far beyond the virtual world.
"Mm… have you ever thought about working in the Arknights field?" Qiu Muyu asked.
"Huh?"
Qiu Muyu raised a finger. "As Arknights keeps expanding, everyone's playing now. Commentary and streaming, for example. You know that while equipment in Arknights isn't sold for real money directly, internal trading is supported, right?"
Yui nodded rapidly.
"Those are the gold-farmers who specialize in crafting and farming gear. Once they get good equipment, they sell it on real-world forums and earn a pretty decent living. Tomorrow's Development' gear is good, but there are always people who manage to dig up specialized gear or even ancient-tier weapons."
She continued, "If you want to be more professional, you could also work as a team psychologist, a healer, or join the coaching staff."
Yui smiled faintly. "I don't think I'm cut out for that…"
"You still have plenty of time to think about it," Qiu Muyu said, ruffling Yui's hair.
Amid their playful banter, the Lungmen Defense mission finally came to an end. Players who had fought through the night raised their hands toward the sky, letting out victorious roars.
They gained a massive amount of experience, along with a brand-new dungeon crystal. When the professional teams saw the name of that crystal, a chill ran down their spines, and they all shuddered, as if recalling something deeply unpleasant.
Clearly, a new round of raid competition had begun.
Felix also received the notification of success for the Lungmen Defense. He, too, obtained a dungeon crystal, though his had been granted directly by the system.
[Zero-Type Lungmen Defense]
Not bad. This could serve as an additional reward for the players. Felix stepped off the aircraft. After handling some of the affairs aboard the Venus, he returned to Lungmen. The biggest event of early 1097 had finally come to an end. In the previous timeline, Lungmen had still been engulfed in flames at this point. Even the LGD headquarters had been destroyed, and Ch'en had gone alone to Chernobog to kill Talulah. Looking at Ch'en Hui-chieh standing before him now, Felix's thoughts drifted away.
"When are you planning to leave?" she asked.
"After the cleanup and handover in Lungmen are finished."
Ch'en frowned slightly. Although Lungmen had emerged victorious, everything needed to be rebuilt, and many issues still required internal discussion. Some entrepreneurs, having witnessed the Infected's indiscriminate slaughter, angrily declared that they would refuse to do business in Lungmen unless the city imposed a total ban on Infected entry. Others had taken an interest in the adventurers' Originium Arts that prevented death and wanted to hire them as private security. Still others hoped to establish cooperative ventures with Tomorrow's Development.
Those, however, were matters for Tomorrow's Development to decide.
The post-battle cleanup within Lungmen was exceptionally complex. Beyond the issue of Infected infiltration, there was also the grave problem of traitors operating from within the city itself. All of this had to be handled by Ch'en Hui-chieh and the LGD officers under her command.
"How is Chief Wei?" Felix asked.
"Him? Hard to tell," Ch'en replied.
She seemed to carry a certain unresolved emotion toward Wei Yenwu. It became especially obvious whenever she and Felix were alone, much like someone complaining to their lover about an elder in the family.
"Does he know you're leaving?" Felix asked.
"Yes."
"And Talulah… how is she?"
"She sits in her cell every day, thinking about who knows what. She keeps asking me to execute her in the most brutal way possible. What do you think?"
Ch'en parted her lips slightly. "I want to visit her."
"All right."
___
Wei Yenwu still appeared as unhurried as ever. Lungmen's current state had not flustered him in the slightest. That was hardly surprising. A leader stationed at the center of power could hardly afford to look anxious.
The Venus was scheduled to depart Lungmen after several dozen Terra days, exactly as stipulated in the original contract. In the meantime, Mountain was overseeing supply operations. After the war, some adventurers chose to remain behind to assist with Lungmen's reconstruction, while most decided to continue traveling with the Venus, exploring the land beyond.
"What are your plans next?" Wei Yenwu asked.
He closed the contract folder and set aside his work persona, his tone growing noticeably more relaxed. "Is there something happening on this land that has caught your interest, something urgent enough to make you leave in such a hurry?"
"Siracusa," Felix replied. "Lady Sicily has formally invited Tomorrow's Development to the Grey Hall for talks. The messenger arrived two days ago."
He shrugged. "Probably to discuss a business deal. After all, the military strength produced by Siracusa's family-based system is not particularly impressive."
"Military strength," Wei Yenwu repeated, savoring the words. "You're well aware of Yan's stance. Given the appearance and power Kazdel has demonstrated, Yan has decided to slow its approach toward Kazdel. This battle proved that Tomorrow's Development possess decisive strength and a well-trained army. Until you bare your fangs at Yan, they will regard you as an equal ally."
He continued meaningfully, "After this battle, Tomorrow's Development' strength has become known to most powers on this land. Kazdel may be on the verge of a second opportunity to truly bloom. Do you intend to use force to guide Kazdel onto the path of diplomacy?"
"Kazdel's diplomacy has been a mess in the past," Felix said calmly. "I hope that under the influence of Tomorrow's Development, it can gradually be set right."
"As for Siracusa," he added, "I'm quite curious what Lady Sicily wants to say to me. In a land ruled by families, it should be impossible for an outsider like Tomorrow's Development to gain a true foothold there."