Ursus, inside an Infected mine on the snowfield.
Accompanied by an extremely violent roar, a man wearing a black military coat and surrounded by black flames retracted his foot. The door that had originally been used to block the way had been kicked open by him.
"Compatriots, the days of oppression are over!"
The man shouted, then turned into a black flash and instantly appeared in front of the overseers blocking his path. In the horrified eyes of those Ursus people, flames engulfed them, leaving only burning residue behind.
His voice was loud, spreading throughout the entire mine. Even outside the mine, one could hear his booming voice.
Outside the mine, a woman in military uniform with dragon horns shook her head helplessly and said, "There are mountains nearby! And he is being so loud. Is he not afraid of causing an avalanche? If that happens, the rescue work will become very troublesome. Did that guy Hei Lian learn nothing in class?"
"There is no helping it. He has not read many books, and he was a miner before. It is only natural that he cannot hold himself back when his emotions are stirred at a time like this." Standing to the side, a woman with antlers and a simple dark green dress said this with a gentle smile.
"Alina, is our educational work still not prepared well enough?" The dragon-horned woman looked at her subordinates, who were rushing into the mine like a mob while shouting strange cries, and could not help speaking with an expression darkened by exasperation.
"There is no helping it. I can teach a bit of reading and writing, but when it comes to tactical literacy... I do not understand it, and you do not understand it, so there is no way to teach it."
The woman named Alina was also quite helpless.
"If I had known, when I was with the old man back then, I should have read some books on this subject. Although I read a lot about tactics, I completely skipped over the art of raising and training troops."
The woman complained like this, then looked up and saw a massive surge of white mist billowing down from the distant high mountains. No, that was not mist. That was an avalanche.
"I knew this would happen."
The woman rolled her eyes, took a few more steps forward to make sure Alina would not be caught in it, then suddenly stomped hard on the ground, her body shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
"Hei Lian! Avalanche! You reckless brute, hurry up and block it!"
Hei Lian, who was in the middle of liberating their comrades, heard the woman's shout. He ran out to take a look and indeed saw the avalanche. He awkwardly scratched his head, finally recalling that the common sense lessons he had taken before seemed to mention that shouting loudly near high mountains could indeed trigger avalanches.
He had gotten completely carried away earlier and forgotten all about it.
"I really am just a reckless brute. Leadership and the like... leaving it to the leader is definitely the right choice."
Recalling the ideals, the strategies, and the beautiful future the leader had spoken of during their meeting, Hei Lian could not help feeling his emotions surge.
Although he possessed the formidable power bestowed by that unknown existence, he lacked the wisdom and leadership ability to match that strength. Before meeting the leader, he had been acting recklessly, cobbling together a group that was not even united in purpose and wandering the snowy plains.
"I am better off focusing on being a vanguard who charges into battle."
Just thinking about how his academic performance was worse than a child's made Hei Lian feel that his lot in life was indeed just brute strength.
As he thought this, Hei Lian had already arrived in the path of the descending avalanche. Then, massive black flames ignited across his body, erupting into a wall of fire several meters high around him and blocking the path of the surging snow.
When the raging snow surge crashed into the blazing black wall of fire, vast amounts of steam billowed forth. This time, it truly was white mist enveloping everything.
When the avalanche ended, the area was shrouded in clouds of steam. If someone were inside, forget the degree of scalding, just the thick, likely impenetrable fog would make it difficult to find their way out.
Emerging unscathed, Hei Lian immediately returned to the mine. He looked at the leader, who was glaring at him furiously, and awkwardly scratched his head again, his pair of bear ears trembling slightly. "Sorry, Leader," he said sheepishly, "I got carried away again."
"Sigh! What am I going to do with you? How many times has this happened now?! Last time, you almost provoked an entire army group. If that had happened, every single one of us would have been finished. If this keeps happening, you will not be included in the next rescue operation. You will stay behind to guard the base, and maybe watch the children while you are at it."
"No, no, no, please!"
Hearing that he might be excluded from future operations, Hei Lian immediately panicked. He hurriedly circled around the woman, pleading and promising that he would not act foolishly next time.
The woman sighed, then looked back at the people under her command in the mine, who were gathering the Infected miners. Although it looked passable, overall, it was still somewhat chaotic and undisciplined.
"I originally planned to make contact in a few days, but under these circumstances, we really do need a proper commander to turn these scattered stragglers into a stronger, viable force. We must make contact with the Snowfield Guerrillas."
Alina arrived at that moment. Looking at the woman, she said, "Talulah, while I have no objections to saving our compatriots and liberating the Infected, our camp's food supplies are running low. Including this group we have just rescued, the remaining food will probably only last another week. We must find a way to obtain enough food, and even ensure a stable, continuous food supply for ourselves."
"Leave that to me!"
Hei Lian stepped forward at that moment and thumped his chest.
"I do not know where to find a lot of food, but I know someone who can steadily produce large quantities of food. After I led the workers from my mine in rebellion and escaped, I met this guy. The reason we were able to keep moving across the snowy plains for so long back then was because of the food he had provided us earlier."
"Oh? Why have I not heard about this before?"
"Well... that guy said he did not have any grand ambitions. He only wanted to guard his own little plot of land and live a good life with everyone in his village, free from hunger and cold. Besides, he provided me with a large amount of food back then, so I did not plan to expose his existence. But now, to liberate more of our compatriots, even if I have to tie him up, I will drag that guy out here."
"Also, I suspect he is like me and the leader, someone blessed by that gentleman."
Hearing this, Talulah could not help recalling that gentleman.
It was the knowledge imparted by that gentleman that had given her direction and a goal to strive for. Even though their development was still rudimentary and many arrangements were clumsy, at least she was truly helping others now, truly leading a group of people toward a better future, and even continuously liberating others.
"Perhaps compared to power, that precious knowledge is even more important and powerful... But speaking of which, as we continue to develop, we will need a name for our group. I should think about it carefully."
Thinking this, Talulah agreed to Hei Lian's request to lead a team on this mission.
"I wonder what that gentleman is doing now. Perhaps he is already in another country. Or perhaps, just like now, he is sowing seeds of hope for the beings of this land."
And at this moment, Caelus.
"Partner! Hurry up and take your clothes off!"
Cyrene stood with her hands on her hips, looking at Caelus before her. Although her face was flushed with shyness, her eyes shone with unconcealed excitement.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)