Early the next morning, the members of Reunion gathered outside the village, having already packed up the night before as ordered.
Calling it "packing" was a bit of a stretch. Reunion was made up almost entirely of Infected, and most of them were dirt poor. Aside from the clothes on their backs and whatever scavenged weapons they carried, their entire worldly possessions could probably be packed in less than ten seconds.
The only ones who looked like they had truly prepared were the logistics members, carefully carrying the remaining thirty jin of grain from Reunion's warehouse. Though the amount wasn't much—barely enough to fill a single backpack—it was all the food left for more than a hundred people.
"Prepare to move out."
This time, the order came directly from An Xora himself.
As for Mebius and Makima, they had already returned to their respective worlds the previous night.
Mebius said she needed to make preparations and would return once Reunion reached Kashchey's territory.
Makima, on the other hand, was busy in the Jujutsu world, meeting various national leaders as a representative of the jujutsu higher-ups and couldn't be away for long.
"Move out!"
Talulah echoed the command. At the very front of the formation, Patriot—so massive that even the heavily armored Shieldguards looked small beside him—immediately led his unit forward.
The Reunion procession advanced in force toward Kashchey's domain.
"Marching this openly through Ursus territory… won't we draw the attention of the Infected Suppression Units?"
Along the way, Talulah muttered uneasily.
"Don't worry," An Xora said, appearing beside her at some point.
"Mebius made all the necessary arrangements before leaving last night. We won't face any threats from the Ursus government along this route. Just keep an eye out for other dangers."
"An Xora… sir."
Seeing him approach, Talulah instinctively moved to step aside—then stopped herself, as if remembering something, and merely nodded to him.
It wasn't that she intended to turn hostile just because Mebius and Makima had left. Rather, An Xora had specifically asked her not to treat him with excessive deference in public.
Private matters were one thing; public appearances were another. According to the plan, Talulah would need to be very visible for a long time to come. If too many people learned too early that the future ruler of Terra had a "master" behind her—and word spread everywhere—her image would collapse far too soon, which would ruin the fun.
The same rule applied to An Xora's other avatars as well. Unless it was in front of semi-insiders like Talulah, he didn't want outsiders learning the true relationship between himself and his avatars too early.
Put simply—this was part of the play.
"No need to be nervous," An Xora continued casually.
"Even though Mebius said everything should prioritize my will, under normal circumstances I rarely voice my opinions—especially when Mebius and the others are present."
"After all, they're far smarter than I am. Anything I can think of, they've already thought through. If there's something I want to do, they usually handle the planning for me in advance. Most of the time, you can just pretend I'm not here."
Talulah nodded somewhat stiffly.
Although it felt disrespectful, An Xora's description involuntarily conjured a certain image in her mind:
an incompetent noble, surrounded by loyal, capable subordinates who handled everything for him.
Such figures weren't unheard of in Ursus—or even across Terra. Yan had countless stories like that. If you added jealousy and cruelty—where the incompetent lord persecuted his loyal aides—it would be even more "classic."
…No, wait.
Given Mebius's and Makima's appearances, maybe you could also throw in debauchery—accepting loyal service while forcibly taking beautiful female subordinates because of their looks, the women enduring it while fighting off enemies for him—
No, no, that was going too far.
That kind of plot didn't belong to reality, or even to common folk tales. That was the sort of thing you'd only find in certain underground books circulating in Lungmen—books that would get you arrested on sight.
Besides, Mebius could casually hand out something that multiplied the strength of herself, FrostNova, and Patriot several times over. Makima wielded methods so terrifying she could rip Kashchey's soul out and reshape it at will.
What kind of "incompetent noble" had subordinates like that?
Reality wasn't a Yan folktale. Someone without ability simply couldn't earn the loyalty of people like Mebius and Makima—or be addressed by them as master.
Both of those women gave Talulah an unmistakably dangerous impression. They weren't just powerful; their personalities didn't seem the type to submit quietly to anyone.
So if An Xora could command them, he definitely wasn't what her imagination had briefly painted him as. The fact that he had let Mebius handle everything back in the village must have been deliberate.
Unaware of the increasingly wild thoughts racing through the white-haired Draco's mind, An Xora led Reunion onward. After several days of travel, the entire group finally arrived at Kashchey's domain.
Normally, such a lofty ducal territory—especially the central ducal fortress—was utterly inaccessible. Forget Infected like Reunion; even ordinary Ursus citizens weren't allowed to approach.
But now, not only did Reunion's Infected enter openly, they were even greeted by a ceremonial guard assembled in advance outside the fortress. The troops assigned to maintain order stood ramrod straight, completely ignoring the Infected passing by them.
The reason was simple.
According to their orders, everyone arriving at the ducal domain—including the Infected—were distinguished guests.
In the end, An Xora, Talulah, FrostNova, Patriot, and a few others were respectfully escorted into the ducal fortress. The rest of Reunion was properly settled in a designated area within the territory to rest and regroup.
"Now that we've safely arrived at the ducal domain," Mebius said, having returned from the One Punch Man world and standing in the council hall,
"we can proceed to the next phase of the plan."
"We'll remain in Kashchey's territory for a while. During this time, we will take control of the Third Army Group."
She paused, a faint smile forming.
"And then… we declare war on the Emperor of Ursus."
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