Patriot watched Jean just like that, and Jean stared back at Patriot without a hint of fear.
"Thank you for saving my daughter, but the future of the Infected is unreachable. Words alone are not enough."
"Words alone are not enough? Then how about this?"
Jean placed a hand on the sword and drew it slightly. In an instant, Jean's presence surged to the extreme, as if the heavens and earth faded, leaving only Jean as the sole color in this space.
Everyone's instincts were constantly screaming warnings, telling them to run immediately; an immensely great danger had descended.
It was as if a lion's fangs were already pressed against their throats, making it impossible to breathe.
Those whose wills were not so firm saw the world go white, on the verge of losing consciousness.
Then came a 'click' sound as the sword returned to its sheath, and everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened at all.
"Showy, but not bad." Patriot gave his assessment. It seemed the sudden burst of aura just now hadn't affected him.
Looking at the others, Kaltsit looked over with a grave expression, Crownslayer, who had just been wallowing in self-isolation, took another hit, while Amiya looked over with glowing eyes while flipping through a book.
It seemed she had realized this was actually a technique from the book—using one's presence, or rather, aura, to strike directly at the minds of those around to achieve a deterrent effect.
However, the "showy" comment from Patriot was spot on. In reality, the aura Jean released only affected people; even some determined warriors wouldn't be affected at all.
It couldn't compare at all to Milim's aura, which, when she was even slightly serious, could crush the very matter around her.
But fortunately, Patriot still gave a decent assessment. The only question was when to go and present the betrothal gifts.
Just as Jean was already mentally preparing to bring Frostnova home as a bride, Kaltsit also collected herself and decided to proceed with the real business.
"Patriot, long time no see."
"Kaltsit, Lady? Why haven't you... aged?"
... (Catching up)...
'Honestly, Big Dad, you're going to get beaten for saying that. You actually exposed the fact that Empress Kaltsit is an old lady.' Jean retorted internally.
"Teacher Jean, no, Master Jean, could you lend me this book for a while longer? I just managed to control everyone's emotional influence!" Amiya came over and asked with a serious face.
"I cannot lend you this book for any longer."
"I see." Her rabbit ears visibly drooped.
"But! I have a copy here that I can give you." Jean then took out a set of "The Actor's Self-Cultivation" that he had photocopied and handed it to Amiya.
"Wow! Thank you, Master Jean!"
"You'd better stick to calling me Teacher; 'Master' sounds a bit weak."
Just then, the two heard Patriot say: "No. The Reunion Movement cannot end. If we join hands, the Reunion Movement will inevitably fall apart."
"But you should be clear: Chernobog could still be explained away by the Catastrophe, but in Lungmen, the Reunion Movement truly set fires and slaughtered civilians. There will be no place left in this world for the Reunion Movement!" Kaltsit retorted angrily.
"Fight. The Reunion Movement is the banner of the Infected. No matter what, it cannot be lost." Patriot then drew his halberd.
The Rhodes Island operators also took up their weapons.
"How did the conversation break down when it hasn't even been five minutes?" Jean muttered.
Amiya also looked confused. She had thought it was just Dr. Kaltsit catching up, but it suddenly turned into a clash of ideologies, and now they were about to fight.
Although Amiya hadn't noticed, Jean had been paying attention the whole time; thanks to the convenience of Synesthesia, multitasking was a daily routine.
The whole situation wasn't complicated:
Patriot believed that the banner of the Reunion Movement could not be abandoned, and that they should control Talulah, at least to preserve her as their banner.
Rhodes Island, on the other hand, stated that the Reunion Movement had already transformed from an anti-oppression movement into a full-blown terrorist organization in the international community. They would ultimately suffer the consequences of operating under the name of the Reunion Movement. They should take this opportunity to defeat Talulah, extract the other members, and start anew. (And incidentally try to recruit people to Rhodes Island.)
"Captain, Sarkaz mercenaries and many members of the Third Army disguised as Reunion Movement members are launching an assault on us."
The arrival of the Shieldguards prevented this firefight, and at the same time, it seemed that preserving the Reunion Movement had become an empty talk.
"Gather the Infected and leave this place. I am going to see Talulah."
---
Just in this gap, suddenly, a strange singing voice rang out, as if it were some ancient melody, yet it revealed something eerie and insane.
In Jean's field of vision, everyone visibly became restless, their spirits gradually tending toward activity and instability.
Looking around, one could see in the distant sky that there seemed to be a large number of light spots flickering, and they were getting closer and closer.
"Hurry and stop that singing!" Jean shouted.
The others also keenly sensed that something was wrong, so without hesitation, they rushed toward the direction of the singing.
On a plaza not far away, there was a creature with a twisted body, spreading seven or eight wings, four or five arms, a huge head, several mouths, and a large number of tentacle-like limbs.
Just by taking one look, Jean felt nauseous, dizzy, and at the same time, feelings of terror and the like wanted to well up inside.
The others were even more directly clutching their heads in pain.
"Amiya!"
"Understood, Master. Leave it to me!"
Then, as Amiya performed her arts, a layer of transparent, shield-like substance appeared on the surface of everyone present; this was precisely the method for mental pollution defense recorded in the book.
Jean also added this layer of shield to Frostnova beside him, though with Jean's spellcasting ability, he could only manage it for himself and one other person.
But Amiya started off with a group shield, and this was a spell she had just learned...
"Me-, Mephisto?"
Now everyone could truly look directly at this thing, though the appearance alone was already extremely sanity-draining.
This person must be Mephisto; although he was already like this, some features still remained.
Some operators who knew him and had low tolerance even started vomiting. After all, a simple monster was one thing, but it was certainly hard to accept when someone they knew had turned into this.
Jean was busy identifying it: green blood, tentacles, twisted limbs, and a smell of seafood, as well as Kaltsit, who was struggling to control Mon3tr and retreating.
'Something from the deep sea?'
Then, Jean charged forward first.
"The stars have not yet aligned, so seafood shouldn't be flailing about on land!"
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