Flandre waved her hand dismissively, a confident and somewhat mischievous grin spreading across her face. "It wasn't Alina who told me... My sister and I were just passing by outside and saw you all heading this way in such a hurry, so I got a bit curious and decided to see what was happening!"
She gestured wildly with her hands as she recounted the sequence of events to the gathered commanders. She and Remilia had been wandering through the mobile city as was their usual habit. Upon arriving near the central administration area, Remilia's keen senses had noticed that the atmosphere among the soldiers was significantly off; the air was heavy with the scent of adrenaline and iron, as if the entire force were preparing for an immediate campaign.
Driven by her natural curiosity, Flandre had pulled her sister toward the office, originally intending to ask what was happening and if the Reunion Movement needed their help with any minor troubles. As it turned out, once they saw the group huddled in the office through the window, they didn't bother to knock or enter formally. Instead, they had lingered in the shadows and eavesdropped on the entire conversation from outside.
Compared to the calm and composed Remilia, who had wanted to listen longer to understand the full scope of the Reunion Movement's plan, Flandre lacked the patience for such slow deliberation. She had burst through the door, appearing before the startled leaders just as the discussion reached a fever pitch.
Talulah naturally believed that Alina wasn't the type to leak sensitive meeting news, so she breathed a visible sigh of relief after hearing Flandre's explanation. However, her expression remained grave as she addressed the sisters.
"Those Victorians are coming specifically for you; if you are the ones to go and meet them, it will only cause even more troublesome consequences," Talulah spoke up, her voice steady but laced with worry.
The others in the room immediately voiced their agreement. In the eyes of the Victorian military, this expedition was a matter of seeking bloody revenge for the previous massacre of the village. Under these volatile circumstances, the active presence of the Scarlet sisters on the battlefield would not only be detrimental to any hope of peace talks but would also easily make the other side even more furious. To the Victorians, this would look like nothing less than the Blood Demon sisters directly provoking the power of Victoria.
In Talulah's view, this behavior was incredibly dangerous; if they weren't careful, Flandre and Remilia would be officially hated and wanted by Victoria as international criminals. This was not a situation she wanted for her guests.
Seeing the hesitation, Remilia shook her head slowly and then spoke with a voice that commanded the room. "Since Flandre is willing to help block the Victorian army to the south, then leave this side to us. And my suggestion is that you pay much more attention to the west. I believe that once the Reunion Movement's development becomes too powerful, The Emperor might intentionally sit back and watch the tigers fight."
She adjusted her posture, her red eyes gleaming with the wisdom of centuries. "After all, to him, the overwhelming strength of either you or the Old Nobility is something he cannot truly accept. Do not be in a hurry. Admittedly, he is indeed relatively friendly toward the Infected, but that's only because, from his standpoint, winning over the Infected is beneficial for maintaining his rule. The Infected are the absolute enemies of the Old Nobility, making you a useful shield."
Remilia continued, her tone clinical and sharp. "But this doesn't mean the Emperor absolutely trusts the Infected. On the contrary, in my view, he merely sees the Infected and the Reunion Movement as a very useful tool. A tool can be powerful, but it cannot be too prickly to handle. With the current Reunion Movement gaining more followers, and this location being far from the Emperor's direct range of control—coupled with the funding you receive from Lungmen, Victoria, and Leithanien—the Emperor is very likely to misjudge your movement."
"To determine your true strength," Remilia posited, "he might intentionally let an army through and then arrange for his people to monitor the battle from behind. If you handle the opponent easily, then to weaken you next, the Emperor will allow more of the Old Nobility's forces to come from the west. If you can't hold out, then his people will launch an attack from behind to 'help' you under the guise of providing timely assistance. This way, he can understand your strength while also winning you over to help him target the Old Nobility. So I believe that while the enemies on the north and east sides will find it difficult to break through, they are very likely to make a move from the west. Moreover, the passages to the west and south are not far apart, allowing for coordinated operations."
Although Remilia was not typically someone who specialized in schemes and intrigue, she had the advantage of having lived an immense life and seen much of the world's cycles. As someone who had successfully navigated the path to Gensokyo with her sister, she was by no means lacking in strategic depth.
Though everyone was initially reluctant to believe her cynical assessment of their ally, the room was soon filled with a heavy sense of tension. Originally, in their eyes, the only true trouble was the threat to the south, which was why Buldrokkas'tee had been prepared to volunteer to go south and engage the Victorians. Now, it seemed the most troublesome and unpredictable situation might very well be brewing in the west.
After Talulah's group deliberated for a while, she looked up at Remilia. "Miss Remilia, are you truly confident in blocking the Victorian army to the south without causing too many casualties?"
This was a critical point, as part of the Reunion Movement's resources and political leverage came from the Victorian side. Talulah did not want to make things too tense with them. If they broke ties with Victoria, Lungmen's funding would be limited, and the Ursus Emperor's support would be even less; they would be forced to rely entirely on Leithanien. This would mean handing control of the Reunion Movement's economic lifeline over to another power, which Talulah could not accept.
"Of course, this is not a difficult matter for me," Remilia said, crossing her arms and lifting her head with great, aristocratic pride. As the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, she felt no pressure at all dealing with these ordinary people. If there was any pressure, it was only the challenge of how to defeat the opponent without killing them. If it were a simple war of annihilation, she didn't think it would require wasting much effort at all.
"Then the Victorians to the south will be left to you... How many troops do you need?" Talulah asked.
"Troops... aren't needed. The people from our Scarlet Devil Mansion are enough. After all, this matter can be considered trouble that we caused; it's only right to leave it to us to handle."
After Remilia finished speaking, she turned and pulled Flandre out of the office. Although the southern front had been taken over by the Scarlet Devil Mansion group, the mood in the office did not lighten. If what Miss Remilia said was correct, they were facing a pincer attack from the Old Nobility from both the west and the east simultaneously.
They soon hammered out a comprehensive defense plan. Talulah and Alina would take the newly trained army and drive the mobile module toward the valley in the east, using the narrow terrain to block any enemies from that direction. Buldrokkas'tee would serve as the primary commander for the west, with Yelena as his deputy, leading the main force of the Reunion Movement—the Shield Guards and the Yeti Squad—to intercept the enemies from the west. Finally, Red would lead the last Infected legion of about five hundred men as a mobile force, ready to support either direction at a moment's notice.
Once the decision was made, the Reunion Movement immediately sprang into action. Talulah was open with the Infected about the fact that the Ursus nobility wanted to persecute them once again. The "good" reputation of the Old Nobility over the years meant that the Infected felt no fear at all upon hearing the news; they were only filled with a cold, righteous anger. Life here with the Reunion Movement was a paradise compared to their pasts, and they were ready to defend it.