"Brain-dead fans?"
"This is much scarier than brain-dead fans. At least the brain-dead fans of those idols in Lungmen won't take your life," Ch'en said with a smile.
"That's not necessarily true. I saw a file at the Lungmen Guard Department before about a young fan of an idol group. Because she was dissatisfied that her favorite member always danced the most but got the fewest lines, she had a 'bright idea' to poison the other members to make them mute."
Flandre recalled the case she saw while browsing files at the Lungmen Guard Department. After reading it, she felt as if her brain had been tossed into a washing machine. Even Cirno would probably admit defeat in the face of such people's logic and bizarre thought processes.
"Oh, I remember that one. That person mailed homemade poison to her idol and even taught him how to poison the others without getting caught. The poor little idol was so scared he called the police overnight. Even after being caught, that fan was still saying the idol betrayed her and she was going to leave the fandom..."
Ch'en also remembered that case because she was the one in charge of it. It caused quite a stir back then. Mainly because poisoning cases are always handled as serious crimes. That person never even thought about what kind of punishment her actions would face until she was arrested. Leaving the fandom... that idol probably wished he'd never meet a fan like that again in his life.
"But speaking of which, hasn't it always been said that the Twin Queens are inseparable, acting as one person? Why do the people who admire them end up fighting each other!" Ch'en was somewhat speechless at these people's logic.
"It's like that idol group again. Clearly, some are good at singing and some are good at dancing, and everyone together forms that beloved team, but some people only like one of them... Group stans versus solo stans? I think those are the terms, right! It's actually the same for the two Queens. I've looked into the modern history of Leithanien. The White Queen acts gently and excels at soft power. The Black Queen does things efficiently and likes to cut through the knot. It's not that one way is more correct than the other. But people will always have preferences."
Flandre continued, "Sister Ch'en, for example, moderates will side with the White Queen, while radicals will side with the Black Queen. The two Queens can't control this either. After all, from their perspective, no matter which side someone is on, they are all their own people. But those below insist on beating each other's brains out to prove who's better, so the Queens can only try to break up the fight."
Flandre indicated that her time reading books in Lungmen wasn't for nothing. If nothing else, regarding this situation in Terra, she could deduce about seventy or eighty percent of it by combining it with the plot in her memories.
"Although comparing the two Queens to idols feels a bit disrespectful... I think what you said makes sense. After all, there's a common saying : 'Where there are people, there is a conflict'. Humans will have their own preferences. One can only say that while preferences are preferences, being extreme is still bad."
Ch'en smiled and poked Flandre's forehead with her finger.
However, since this matter involved the Remnants of the Witch King, those brain-dead fans probably wouldn't have a very good time. As for Flandre and the others, as people who were purely caught in the crossfire, it was already quite good that they hadn't asked Leithanien for emotional distress compensation. Fortunately, because the cause had been identified, Flandre and the others didn't need to stay here any longer to wait for the case to be fully resolved.
The next morning, Flandre and Ch'en got into the vehicle, ready to set off for Lungmen. Just as they were about to leave Zwillingstürme, the White Queen's Chamberlain, whom they had met before, appeared in front of them again. He held two exquisite gift boxes in his hands.
"Her Majesty the Queen has already heard about yesterday's events. You two were also affected by Leithanien's internal affairs. Therefore, Her Majesty specifically asked me to bring two gifts to you both, hoping to express her apologies."
Both Flandre and Ch'en understood his meaning: take the gifts and don't talk nonsense when you go back. Since they were still at someone else's doorstep, they naturally knew what to do. After obediently accepting the gifts, Ch'en spoke to thank the White Queen, and the convoy was finally able to set off again.
Once out of the city, the two opened the boxes to look at the "compensation" the Queen had prepared. On Flandre's side was a complete set of the latest textbooks from Enwald Ludwig University, plus two books that couldn't be bought outside, which Fremont had mentioned before. As for Ch'en's, it was a Leithanien royal gift set. Inside were various valuable and exquisite trinkets. They weren't very useful, but they looked nice on display. Moreover, anyone who knew would recognize at a glance that these were "tribute items."
It could be seen from this that the other party was quite targeted in their approach. They were both quite satisfied with the things given to them. Needless to say for Flandre, these books were quite hard to find; even if she went back and asked Wei Yenwu, he might not be able to get them. As for Ch'en, looking at this gift box, she remembered she hadn't brought anything for Old Wei. She could use this set to return the favor.
After leaving Zwillingstürme, the convoy did not travel fast. Mainly because although the battle between Ursus and Kazdel had ended, many people on both sides were still fighting along the border. And the fact that this convoy had previously delivered things to the Reunion Movement certainly couldn't be hidden from those Ursusians. So there was no way to take the safest Ursus route.
As for the Kazdel side, it was even more out of the question. There were quite a lot of things in the vehicles; if the Kazdel people found them, they would surely swallow it all up. Who didn't know that the Sarkaz were a bunch of starving ghosts? These dozens of wagons of goods were no different from fat sheep in their eyes.
So while they were traveling along the Leithanien border, they were also inquiring about news from the east, trying to find a safe route forward. After reaching the border line, the convoy came to a complete halt. It turned out that a Guerrilla Squad from Ursus and a mercenary group from Sarkaz had clashed again nearby. The two sides had been fighting at a warehouse for over two days. They were currently still at a stalemate.
"So we can only wait for them to finish fighting?" Flandre asked with some confusion. After all, in her view, that warehouse was still over a hundred meters away from the route they were traveling. The convoy could clearly let them fight their fight while they went their way; why did they have to stop?
"That's right, we can only wait for them to finish, and it would be best if the Ursusians win," Ch'en explained the reason.
Don't just look at the battlefield being over a hundred meters from the road. But no one knows if both sides have Casters or Snipers. A distance of a hundred meters for a Sniper is basically equivalent to you walking right past someone's face. If he wants to snipe you, he'll hit every single time. Then there's the question of whether both sides have placed landmines or other explosives on the road.
"Also, Sister Ch'en, if the Ursusians win, that's better; they will remove the mines on the northern route, as they don't want to step into their own minefield if they encounter an enemy attack and need to retreat. But the Sarkaz lunatics are different. They really dare to lay minefields wherever they go, and crucially, they leave no way out. If you chase, you have to enter the enemy's minefield and everyone dies together; if you don't chase, he bets on his own luck to escape safely."
After hearing Ch'en's explanation, Flandre somewhat understood why it was said that Sarkaz mercenaries were the most useful mercenaries. Because they were cheap and truly unafraid of death. Especially when fighting for their "homeland" like this. They could even leave themselves no way out at all.
After waiting for another day, good news came from the front: the Sarkaz had been driven back, and the Ursus army had taken over the warehouse and was clearing the nearby area. They would be able to pass through here in a day or two at most. Everyone couldn't help but cheer for a while upon hearing this news. After all, they had been waiting here for nearly a week. If they waited any longer and winter arrived, traveling toward Lungmen would be much more troublesome.
However, Flandre looked toward the east and always felt something was not quite right. Given the current situation where Kazdel already had a major advantage, how could Theresis tolerate a local defeat? But she couldn't say exactly what the reason was, so she could only have Ch'en tell their people to be careful.
Upon learning this, Ch'en looked at the intelligence in her hand and then summoned several Shadow Guards.
"Uncles, I called you here today because I want to ask for your opinions." Ch'en recounted Flandre's view of the nearby small battlefield and her own view of the great war between Ursus and Kazdel, then said, "Could this possibly be a bait deliberately set by the Sarkaz, a bait to lure us out?"
"It is indeed possible, but the arrow is on the string and must be fired. It's almost winter now. If we can't set off in time, it will be difficult to return to Lungmen before the snow arrives. You should know that after leaving here, there will be no supplies for the three-day route until we reach Lungmen. If we really encounter snow, there will also be accidents like vehicle breakdowns, making it even more dangerous in the wilderness."
The leading Shadow Guard indicated that Ch'en and Flandre's concerns were not without reason. But at this time, everyone was eager to return home, and since the road would only become harder to travel if they waited, they definitely had to set off. They would just have to be more careful on the way back.
The next day, the convoy indeed began to advance toward the east. Once out of the city, they were met with a chilling atmosphere. Debris from explosions was everywhere. There were objects, and also biological tissue. Many people's faces turned pale at the sight. Many in the convoy somewhat regretted it; had they known it would be like this, they would rather have waited a few more days in Leithanien.
Facing this tragic scene of corpses strewn everywhere, Flandre remained expressionless. From time to time, she would examine those corpses and report her guessed time of death to Ch'en. Although the convoy moved slowly and bumpily, they were extremely lucky not to enter any minefields or encounter the Ursus or Kazdel armies, and they arrived safely in a range of hills.
Considering it was getting late, the convoy prepared to rest and reorganize here.