When Kashchey returned to the vessel he was currently using as a shell, the reigning Emperor of Ursus was sitting right beside him. This was a ruler whose daily itinerary was usually packed from dawn until dusk, yet he had somehow carved out a brief window of time just to watch over the slumbering duke.
"How did it go?" the Emperor asked, lifting his eyes the moment Kashchey stirred. Though his voice sounded detached, the serpent could easily detect the hidden layer of anticipation beneath the words.
"The situation remains unchanged," Kashchey replied smoothly, shaking off the lingering fog of the mental domain. "The girl will not choose hostility with our nation, but attempting to recruit her into our ranks presents an extraordinary challenge."
It was a matter of pure timing; right as the two women had summoned him, Kashchey had been in the middle of sharing intelligence with the monarch. Intrigued by the opportunity, the Emperor had commanded him to test the waters and see if Jeanne could be swayed to their side.
Even though the odds were vanishingly thin, the ruler had felt compelled to try. He desired nothing less than the backing of that colossal entity that had altered the field in Kazdel; such a force would carry immense historical weight for the future of Ursus.
Hearing the serpent's assessment, the Emperor recognized that the recruitment effort had reached a dead end. The probability of success was smaller than the chance of all his political rivals dropping dead simultaneously.
While the young saint did not harbor an active hatred for the empire, she was far too sharp to hand such devastating military leverage to a nation whose appetite for grand warfare remained so voracious.
"No matter. Since it has failed, let the matter rest," the Emperor murmured, waving a hand dismissively as he rose from his seat. Every meeting with the duke had to be stolen from a relentless schedule, and he needed to return to the palace immediately.
His relations with the noble factions were growing increasingly fractured by the day. Currently, neither side could force a decisive breakthrough, leaving the grand chessboard of the capital locked in a tense stalemate.
The Emperor had to admit that even with ample preparation, he had still underestimated the high nobles. The raw power concentrated in their hands was formidable, so much so that he dared not risk an open rupture under the current conditions.
Because of this deadlock, he found himself quietly anticipating Talulah's upcoming march. Perhaps the outcasts of Reunion would serve as the catalyst to break the stalemate, forcing a new turn in the kingdom's fortunes.
Watching the monarch depart, Kashchey felt the unfolding drama within Deity Grypherburg becoming more delightful by the hour. He was eager to see if, with his subtle guidance, this Emperor could escape the historical destiny of becoming a mere puppet for the aristocracy.
Shifting his focus away from the capital, the serpent projected his awareness to a distant fortress city to attend a rather chaotic assembly.
The high nobles gathered there were absolutely furious over Reunion's bold movements. In their eyes, an army of infected commanding an imperial landship was an insult to their ancestral dignity, and many were demanding that regular regiments be dispatched to crush the outcasts instantly.
Kashchey's primary objective in this gathering was to goad these arrogant lords into deploying as many private enforcers as possible. He wanted them to waste their military strength on Jeanne's vanguard—depleting combat assets that the crown could never hope to control anyway.
As for his second motive... the old snake was filled with a wicked delight just imagining the look of sheer horror that would cover their faces when their forces were completely annihilated. The thought alone brought a warm smile to his lips.
Still, he needed to balance the scales carefully. If the high nobles suffered an excessive loss, it would damage the core strength of the empire, which was a historical outcome he wished to avoid. More importantly, if anyone managed to offend the young saint during the clash...
Kashchey had zero desire to witness a divine blade descending from the heavens to reduce the ancient kingdom to ashes, turning Ursus into the most ridiculous punchline in the long river of Terra's history. That would be entirely too foolish.
While the various factions of Ursus were setting their gears in motion, Talulah gathered her commanders to outline the incoming threat. They understood that an open confrontation was necessary to establish their sovereignty and make their presence known to the world.
"If these reports hold true, this clash may present us with a magnificent opportunity," Patriot remarked after a long silence. The veteran warrior showed no sign of surprise.
He had boarded the landship fully expecting to face the imperial military; it was an inevitable hurdle. The arrogant rulers of the realm would never tolerate a disciplined organization of the infected moving freely within their borders.
An open victory would serve as a beacon for the downtrodden. Once the host proved they could defeat an imperial force, countless infected across the tundra would find the courage to join their ranks.
"True, but our immediate focus must be on how to secure a flawless victory," Talulah noted, scratching her head in frustration. "If we look at raw military numbers, a significant chasm still exists between our vanguard and a trained imperial host."
Calling it a "significant chasm" was a polite understatement. Under normal circumstances, an open engagement with the full might of Ursus would end in a swift defeat for the movement.
Unless...
At that exact moment, every officer in the room turned their gaze toward Jeanne, who had remained quiet during the tactical debate, and the tiny child currently curled up in her lap.
Ultimately, the resolution of this conflict would rely on the saint's extraordinary strength.
"Why is everyone staring at me like that?" Jeanne asked, blinking in confusion. "You cannot possibly intend to leave me behind in the mobile district while you go out to risk your lives against the imperial regiments?"
Her first thought was that perhaps bringing a child to such a serious command briefing was inappropriate. But as the silence stretched, she realized with a jolt that they seemed to be excluding her from the deployment plan entirely. Did they view her as an outsider?
"Of course not," Talulah explained quickly, offering a reassuring smile. "But before you deploy your gifts, our own warriors must demonstrate their strength on the field. This march cannot rely on you alone. We will settle your specific role in a moment."
Jeanne subsided into silence, content to let the commanders resume their work. She quietly stroked Fafnir's hair as the officers debated troop movements and defense lines, offering no further interruptions.
"Very well, Jeanne," Talulah said, turning back to her once the core outline was complete. "Do you have any specific insights or adjustments you wish to add?"
"An adjustment... actually, I have one suggestion," Jeanne replied, her expression turning remarkably serious as she addressed the council.
Her tactical philosophy had always favored absolute simplicity: summon a massive host of wyverns before the lines met and let the terrifying weight of numbers crush the opposition.
This time, however, she proposed an entirely different approach for the council to consider.
"I am wondering if we should allow Fafnir to make her formal debut in this upcoming engagement? It might be wise to demonstrate to our enemies—and any potential allies watching from afar—the true nature of the strength this little one possesses."
As she spoke, Jeanne gestured to the incredibly small child resting in her arms—a tiny creature who, in reality, was vastly more formidable in combat than the dragon leader standing at the head of the table.
The suggestion sent a shockwave through the room. The officers stared at the tiny girl in astonishment; Jeanne had never seemed like the type of guardian who would drive a young child onto a violent battlefield.
They had all heard stories, or witnessed firsthand, the terrifying fragments of power the child could wield. Every commander acknowledged that the young one was a fire caster whose raw destructive output surpassed Talulah's own arts.
Yet, despite that power, she remained a child who hadn't even reached her teenage years. Why would Jeanne choose this moment to expose such a young life to the horrors of open warfare?
None of the commanders doubted the saint's intentions, but they were deeply curious about her reasoning.
Meanwhile, the few inner circle members who understood Fafnir's true identity felt a sharp prickle of apprehension. This incoming force was merely the first wave dispatched by the nobility; was it truly wise to reveal their ultimate trump card so early in the campaign?
But upon further reflection, the strategy carried a brilliant merit. Even if Fafnir was their ultimate asset, she was an asset that defied conventional counter-strategies. No military tactician could devise a defense against her nature. Revealing such overwhelming force in their very first engagement would set an unforgettable precedent.
Without further debate, Talulah and the senior leadership nodded in unison, granting their approval. Seeing their consensus, a bright, joyous smile illuminated the young child's face.
It was a strange sight for the regular officers, but they chose to trust the judgment of their leaders, confident that Talulah and Jeanne possessed an unshakeable grasp of the situation.
This was precisely the outcome Jeanne had envisioned. She intended not only to display Fafnir's terrifying might to the scouts watching from the snowfields, but also to familiarize their own people with the grand scale of the protection watching over their city.