Over the next few days, the entire village was engulfed in a flurry of intense chatter and speculation regarding the recent chain of events. The various factions reacted to the rapid developments in vastly different ways.
Many of the locals were overjoyed upon hearing that Talulah and her inner circle intended to migrate, especially after learning they had secured a massive mobile platform. These willing souls immediately began packing their bags, bundling their household goods, and preparing to march alongside Reunion.
However, those who harbored no desire to leave their ancestral lands fell into a fierce dispute over whether remaining behind was truly a viable option. The vast majority recognized that once the main force departed, this entire territory would become an exceptionally dangerous border zone, vulnerable to imperial sweeps.
Only a small minority genuinely wished to stay, but a troubling complication arose: a vocal segment of those choosing to depart insisted that their own choice was the only correct path, and they aggressively pressured everyone else to fall in line.
Consequently, the social fabric of the settlement grew increasingly tangled. Whispers and arguments echoed through the lanes at all hours. Yet, despite being fully aware of the rising friction, Talulah chose not to interfere with the choices of the people.
Whatever path they walked, she was prepared to offer her blessing. Furthermore, the core focus of her vanguard had already shifted entirely toward refitting and provisioning the newly acquired moving city.
The pioneers had successfully located an ideal staging ground hidden deep within the mountain chasms. The terrain looked as though it had been custom-made by the heavens to shelter the massive industrial platform—the layout was flawless!
Everyone marveled at the miraculous nature of the peaks, though most of the workers simply shrugged it off as an extraordinary stroke of luck. No one truly believed that anyone could have intentionally carved out such a mountain sanctuary to hide a mobile city block.
Jeanne, however, harbored a different view. Since the very existence of this mountain range was born from a divine miracle, the presence of such a perfect haven was hardly a coincidence; rather, it was an inevitability.
Undoubtedly, the deity who watched over them had foreseen this exact day.
"My word, your Arts truly are remarkably convenient!" Jeanne remarked cheerfully, brushing a layer of frost from her brow as she led a team of workers through the city's agricultural sector. This particular greenhouse block was currently their highest priority.
Collaborating alongside her was Mudrock. Jeanne had quickly discovered that when it came to reviving barren soil, the Sarkaz maiden's earth magic was nothing short of miraculous.
Her ability to effortlessly thaw frozen, iron-hard permafrost and transform it into rich, fertile soil far exceeded Jeanne's prior understanding of defensive Arts.
"Perhaps," Mudrock murmured softly, scooping up a handful of the freshly treated earth. A serene, genuine smile graced her features, reflecting the quiet joy warming her spirit. Utilizing her raw power to cultivate life rather than to end it on a battlefield was a deeply rewarding experience.
Seeing the usually stoic, quiet Sarkaz woman standing amidst the furrows, smiling warmly while cradling a clump of rich loam, was a sight none of the workers had ever witnessed before. A few of the nearby pioneers actually found themselves staring in dazed admiration.
"It is quite simple, really," Jeanne chuckled, directing a heavy beast of burden to till the newly awakened soil nearby. "Once we reach our destination, you will have all the time in the world to tend to these fields. It isn't out of the question for you to manage an entire estate of your own in the future, is it?"
Before long, a planting crew would arrive to sow the rows with hardy winter crops—almost certainly potatoes and other root vegetables.
Mudrock nodded in agreement, her gentle demeanor suggesting that she was already seriously considering the prospect of running her own quiet farmstead when the war was won.
"Sister Jeanne!"
A sudden shout shattered the peaceful atmosphere. A member of the Yeti squadron came sprinting across the field from the access ramps, his chest heaving as he frantically waved his arms to catch Jeanne's attention.
"What has occurred?" Jeanne's posture stiffened instantly, a wave of tension tightening her chest as she stepped forward to meet the breathless scout.
"The Captain just apprehended a rogue element who has been spreading toxic rumors throughout the sectors for the past few days!" the Yeti gasped, resting his hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. "The matter appears to involve your personal reputation. Sister Talulah requests your immediate return to the central council room to decide how this fool should be handled!"
"Where are they holding the suspect? In the old village?" Jeanne asked.
Still, Jeanne was thoroughly intrigued by the nature of the rumors. What manner of slander could possibly drive Talulah to summon her back so urgently? Could there be a larger conspiracy afoot?
Bidding Mudrock a swift farewell, Jeanne invoked her summon, leaping onto the back of her soaring flying dragon. With a powerful beat of its wings, the draconic beast vaulted into the winter skies, vanishing over the ridgeline in the blink of an eye.
"By the gods... her mobility is terrifying," the Yeti scout muttered, staring blankly at the empty sky for several seconds.
"Yes, she is exceptionally swift," Mudrock agreed with a quiet nod, before calmly returning to her work, channeling her focus to soften the next patch of earth for the planting crews.
The moment Jeanne touched down in the village square, she hurried straight toward the main council hut. Upon reaching the threshold, she was greeted by the sight of a miserable figure bound securely to a hitching post, his clothes caked in a thick layer of glittering frost.
Stepping inside the room, she encountered an utterly bizarre spectacle.
Talulah was sitting at the map table, her face buried in her hands as she exhaled a long, exhausted breath. Standing right beside her was FrostNova, who had casually placed a heavy iron kettle directly on top of the Draco's horned head, utilizing her companion's rising body heat to boil water for tea.
Jeanne stood frozen in the doorway, her mind completely blank as she took in the scene. She had never anticipated these two formidable leaders developing such an eccentric dynamic; looking at them now, it was entirely impossible to deduce whether they were the closest of friends or the bitterest of rivals.
"Ah, you have returned," Talulah muttered, lifting her head to greet Jeanne while completely ignoring the steaming kettle resting on her crown. "I swear, the sheer volume of frustration I have endured over the past few days far exceeds the collective annoyance of the entire past year."
Once the water reached a rolling boil, FrostNova calmly lifted the kettle from Talulah's head and poured a steaming stream into a set of ceramic mugs.
"I truly had no desire to pull you away from your work in the greenhouses," Talulah continued, her features hardening into a scowl. "But these subversive elements are growing bolder by the hour. It is no longer a matter of simple campfire gossip; they are actively inciting the villagers to take your life and drive our entire vanguard out into the barrens."
Talulah then proceeded to outline the sinister campaign that had been unfolding during Jeanne's absence.
While Jeanne and the engineers had been fully occupied refitting the mobile city, a series of vicious fabrications had begun circulating through the residential tents. The agitators claimed that Talulah was a high-ranking puppet operative deployed by the Ursus imperial crown to herd the Infected into a grand trap.
Worse still, they had spun a tale painting Jeanne as a ruthless flesh-trafficker, alleging she was capturing vulnerable Infected solely to sell them to Columbia's experimental laboratories for a massive profit. The frozen wretch tied up outside was the agent FrostNova had successfully cornered that morning.
"According to his confession, these slanderous talking points were provided by the very exiles we banished from our gates," Talulah summarized, her voice trembling with a mixture of rage and sheer disbelief. "They claim they are being hunted by our guards because they discovered our 'monstrous secrets'... I simply cannot comprehend how our people, who usually possess perfectly sound minds, can be foolish enough to swallow such transparent garbage."
"They are not fools; they simply choose to embrace a convenient falsehood," FrostNova intervened, taking a slow, methodical sip of her hot tea. Throughout the week, she and Lyudmila had detained a dozen petty gossips, but the captive outside was the first to possess genuine ties to the exiled faction.
"By accepting these lies, they can justify turning their backs on our movement and leaving the camp with a clean conscience. It is a cowardly display, to be sure, but at least it proves they still possess enough shame to require an excuse."
For these ungrateful parasites, the Cautus warrior had long anticipated such treacherous behavior.
"Those scoundrels actually dare to strike back from the shadows?" Jeanne's brows knit together in deep irritation. She had recently chided herself for forgetting to track down those exiles to settle their prior accounts, yet before she could even make her move, the banished troublemakers had proven they were entirely unwilling to let the matter rest.
"Indeed," FrostNova warned, her ears twitching slightly as she leaned forward. "Those wretches have reached a state of desperate madness. We must remain exceptionally vigilant moving forward; if any of our workers venture out alone into the drifts, they could easily be ambushed by a mob."
Hearing the warning, Talulah's eyes widened as a sudden realization struck her like a physical blow. If those outcasts were willing to sink to such depths, there was no telling what manner of atrocity they might attempt next.
"This is disastrous... Alina left the perimeter this morning!" Talulah bolted upright, her chair scraping loudly against the floor planks. "She mentioned that several families from the neighboring settlements were owed a return of their winter grain reserves. She departed at dawn!"
Though the Elafia maiden was no longer entirely defenseless, combat had never been her specialty.
Yet, just as Talulah prepared to sprint out the door in a panic, she noticed that Jeanne remained perfectly still, calmly sipping her warm water with an expression of unyielding composure.
"Calm your spirit," Jeanne advised gently, waving a hand to soothe her frantic companion. "Alina may not be a seasoned warrior, but she is far from helpless. A maiden who has stood firm against the terrifying presence of an Emperor's Blade is not going to be brought low by a pack of miserable rogues."
Jeanne glanced out the window toward the white horizon, a knowing smile playing on her lips. "Furthermore, I took the liberty of assigning a personal bodygu—"
BOOM—!
A thunderous explosion rattled the windowpanes, followed by a brilliant flash of crimson flame erupting from the snowfields just beyond the village perimeter.
Gazing at the rising pillar of smoke, Jeanne slowly exhaled, letting the final syllable slip from her lips.
"—ard."