Over the following days, the village appeared as calm and undisturbed as ever on the surface. Yet beneath that tranquil exterior, dangerous undercurrents were churning, flowing through hidden spaces where regular folk rarely paid attention.
It was bound to happen; Talulah's desire to lead an expedition toward the south was simply impossible to keep under wraps. Thanks to the deliberate efforts of a few disgruntled characters, rumors had spread like wildfire, and within days, the vast majority of the residents had caught wind of the plan.
Everyone harbored their own stance regarding the matter, but the dominant sentiment was a deep, underlying terror over the departure of their leaders. They were utterly terrified of what would happen if they lost that protection, dreading the day they would have to face the imperial scouts and outside enemies completely on their own again.
Yet, they had no desire to abandon the settlement either. They had poured their sweat and tears into this soil for months, and for many of them, this village offered the most secure and comfortable existence they had known since the day they were born.
As long as the combatants—with Talulah at the forefront—remained here, this land was a paradise, far more comfortable than any other corner of the world!
On the flip side, there were plenty who were fully prepared to accompany Talulah on the march. They believed in their hearts that she must have an excellent reason for making this move, and they were more than willing to follow her down a path that ordinary folk deemed completely reckless.
As for Jeanne, the greatest impact these past few days had on her routine was a recurring sensation of being watched. Lately, she could frequently detect hidden eyes tracking her movements from the shadows.
Whenever she stepped through her doorway, someone would magically happen to stroll past, or perhaps feign an accidental encounter just to offer a polite greeting. They were clearly trying to gather information on her character from every possible angle, though their true intent remained obscure.
Jeanne wasn't the type to sit idly by. She had personally caught several of these prowlers who were clearly up to no good, but the culprits would invariably insist they were simply passing through or merely curious about her background.
Without a shred of hard evidence, Jeanne couldn't exactly deliver a severe beating over a suspicious glance. Her alternative solution was to hand these characters over to someone who possessed an extraordinary talent for teaching folk exactly how to behave.
And so, she escorted every single prowler she caught straight to Patriot. She had absolute faith that under the old gentleman's firm and disciplined guidance, these folk would swiftly lose their appetite for such discourteous behavior.
That very evening, Talulah filled her in on the ultimate fate of those troublesome characters.
Under Patriot's imposing gaze, the culprits hadn't dared to utter a single fabrication. They had immediately spilled everything, confessing that they had been trying to uncover Jeanne's weaknesses or dig up some form of leverage. Their grand design was to blackmail her, using her influence to pressure Talulah into canceling the march.
It was a fascinating dynamic; while Talulah was the official leader of the movement, the most revered figure within the ranks remained Patriot. The old general commanded a level of authority and respect that was truly unmatched across the entirety of Reunion.
Even Talulah lagged a bit behind Patriot when it came to sheer, commanding presence.
"Patriot and I have completely settled the matter. You shouldn't be bothered by any more of those characters for the foreseeable future," Talulah murmured, her tone sounding rather listless. She looked as though the sheer weight of her daily duties had left her thoroughly drained.
"I had every confidence that the two of you would handle it! But honestly, I think you should be focusing far more on your own health right now. You look completely worn out."
Jeanne placed a cup of warm water before her companion. Among everyone in the camp, the Draco had undoubtedly carried the heaviest burden lately; ever since she had made her intentions public, her days had been anything but smooth.
Balancing the administrative workload with the emotional strain of the village's division was taking a visible toll on her, and watching her friend suffer like this left Jeanne feeling a pang of genuine sympathy. Seeing her dragon driving herself into the ground, how could she not feel concerned?
Lately, Jeanne had been going out of her way to take tasks off Talulah's plate. Yet, this uncharacteristic helpfulness only made the Draco deeply suspicious, leaving her wondering if Jeanne had accidentally broken something expensive or committed some massive blunder behind her back.
"..."
Talulah stared at the cup on the table, then looked up at Jeanne, her eyes filled with a bizarrely complex expression.
Sensing that strange look, Jeanne felt a sudden urge to roll her eyes. The way this dragon was acting was practically begging for a swift reprimand.
"If you keep staring at me with that ridiculous expression, I am going to paint designs all over your tail tonight while you are asleep!" Jeanne threatened, leaning forward with an irritated huff.
"Ahem... my apologies. I have just been drifting off to sleep while sitting upright lately," Talulah hurried to explain, catching sight of Jeanne's tightly clenched fist and quickly offering a reasonable excuse.
"You've been dispatching scouts to survey the surrounding sectors these past few days. Why? Are we taking action soon?" Jeanne inquired, her eyes dropping to the snowfield map laid out across the desk. Judging by Talulah's focused expression, a strategy was already taking shape.
Jeanne hadn't been paying close attention to military matters lately, having spent most of her energy ensuring Alina and Fafnir were bonding well, alongside managing the tedious logistics of the supply depots.
Because the Draco had been entirely overwhelmed, Jeanne had simply taken charge of the smaller chores that Talulah lacked the focus to handle.
"There is an objective," Talulah answered, her demeanor turning entirely serious. "It is a matter I have been considering for some time, but the preparations are finally complete."
"We have located a mobile city that was seized by a faction of rogue rebels. More importantly, the core mechanisms are still fully functional! We intend to capture it before we begin our journey south."
Talulah looked directly at Jeanne as she delivered the news.
They had stumbled upon this discovery entirely by chance during their recent operations, noting that these rebel forces were actively raiding local infected mining camps to hoard refined Originium ore.
The value of a functional mobile city required no explanation. Even though Talulah and her inner circle knew they would eventually have access to a proper landship, they simply couldn't ignore the massive tactical advantage of securing an entire city sector.
"A mobile city? How large are we talking?" Jeanne's interest flared instantly upon hearing the news.
If they could secure a second mobile platform, they wouldn't have to rely entirely on their own two feet to journey south, which would have been an incredibly slow and exposed trek across the open plains.
As for their first mobile city, there had been no new updates from the Ursus interior. The Emperor was currently locked in a fierce political struggle against the conservative nobility, meaning his attention would be entirely occupied for the foreseeable future.
Jeanne suspected that whenever the domestic situation in Ursus became critical enough to warrant a distraction, the crown would unleash their movement like a bombshell to reshape the political landscape.
"It isn't grand by any means," Talulah explained, waving her hand to dispel Jeanne's rising excitement. "The entire structure consists of no more than eight small blocks. Even if we successfully capture it, we will likely only be able to salvage five of those sectors. It is a very modest settlement."
Hearing that description, Jeanne's excitement cooled slightly. It sounded like a minor town, completely incomparable to a major hub like Chernobog. Even the nomadic city blocks in Kazdel were probably grander than this prize.
With fewer than ten small blocks, even if they linked them all together, the platform could host perhaps ten to twenty thousand souls at most—and that was assuming they converted every single inch of available space into crowded residential sectors.
"What is with that look of utter disdain?" Talulah scolded, catching Jeanne's deflated expression. "Small though it may be, if we utilize those blocks for hydroponic farming, we can significantly ease our food security issues as we journey south... We are still incredibly impoverished, you know!"
"I am not looking down on it," Jeanne hurried to clarify, raising her hands in defense. "It just sounds a bit tiny. Still, it will serve its purpose perfectly. It gives our people an excellent opportunity to familiarize themselves with driving a mobile city!"
Jeanne leaned over the map eagerly, asking, "So, what is the plan? Do you require my personal intervention for this assault?"
She was already rearing to go, deeply curious to see what kind of capabilities these rebels possessed to hold an entire mobile city in a wasteland like this.
"I absolutely need you on the front lines. There is no need to deploy the Wyverns for this operation; I want you to lead Mudrock and her squad to break the enemy's main defensive line!"
Talulah had zero intention of leaving Jeanne on the sidelines. Since the maiden had actively volunteered, it would be a terrible waste not to utilize her formidable combat prowess.
As for the destructive might of Wyvern squadrons? Talulah had no desire to see the city's infrastructure leveled to the ground. The concept of vaporizing the enemy along with the very buildings they were trying to capture was a tactic best left locked away for now.
"Understood! I will go get everything ready right away!"
With a bright grin, Jeanne turned and hurried out of the quarters, eager to seek out Mudrock and map out the details of the coming assault.
(Fumina: Sorry for not updating the last few days, got hit with two tests back to back.)