Arknights: The Scarlet Devil of Terra — Chapter 70

Chapter 70: Beating the Grass to Startle the Snake

“By the way, how is the investigation into the traitors in the camp going?” Flandre Scarlet asked, tilting her head as she recalled Alina’s previous efforts to root out the spies.

Alina sighed, a hint of discouragement clouding her gentle features. “To be honest, there hasn’t been much progress. Yesterday, everyone in the settlement was ordered to stay indoors, and our sentries stationed at the perimeter didn’t catch anyone trying to sneak out…”

She had spent the entire previous day monitoring the village’s pulse, yet the mole remained entirely elusive.

“There’s no need to rush this,” Talulah said, her voice a steady, comforting anchor. “That mole has been hiding among us for a long time without exposing themselves. That means they are extremely cautious. They are likely still lying low, waiting for the right moment. We just need to screen them further.”

Talulah knew that by the time she and the others had returned yesterday evening—and with Buldrokkas’tee only arriving in the early hours of the morning—the window for the spy to act had closed. Even if the traitor sensed something was wrong, it would have been impossible for them to slip away in the dark without drawing immediate suspicion.

“So, you think they’ll only make their move today?” Alina asked, her eyes widening in realization.

Talulah nodded, a sharp glint in her eyes. “Exactly. That’s why I’ve already arranged for our most trusted people to lock down the few roads leading out of the settlement. If this spy is truly getting impatient, they will inevitably show their hand.”

Hearing this, Alina thought back to the atmosphere in the village earlier that day. On the surface, the camp seemed relaxed, buzzing with the lingering excitement of yesterday’s great victory. Yet, the checkpoints at the settlement’s borders were stricter than ever. The ordinary Infected simply assumed the heightened security was a precaution to prevent accidental information leaks, accepting it without a second thought. Only someone with a guilty conscience would feel the icy grip of dread tightening around their throat.

Flandre chimed in, her tone light and breezy. “Flandre thinks this kind of thing is super easy to solve! No matter how calm a bad guy tries to act on the outside, they’ll definitely be scared on the inside. So, when they hear the news, their emotions will bounce around completely differently from everyone else’s!”

It was the perfect setup. The details of yesterday’s staggering victory hadn’t been officially announced to the masses yet. If Talulah gathered everyone in the afternoon to deliver the news, Flandre could simply watch the crowd. The traitor’s reaction would be the very clue needed to drag them into the light.

“That’s a brilliant idea,” Talulah said, a fierce, excited smile touching her lips. “And even if we don’t spot them immediately, Flandre, we can still beat the grass to startle the snake. We’ll scare them out of hiding. A spy will desperately need to verify the truth of such massive news. And when that time comes…”

“When that time comes, leave the hunt to us.”

A raspy, measured voice drifted from the corner of the room. One of the Shadow Guards stepped forward, his features entirely obscured by his Black Raincoat. “We cannot assist you with much else, but the three of us possess a certain expertise in this field. Perhaps we can help you reel in a rather large fish.”

Ever since arriving at the camp, the trio had naturally assumed the role of Talulah’s personal bodyguards. Though Talulah had politely insisted it wasn’t necessary, the Shadow Guards remained adamant, stating it was the direct mandate given to them by Wei Yenwu. Yesterday, they had intended to march west with Talulah to join the fray, but she had ordered them to stay behind and protect Alina, focusing on internal security over the external skirmish.

They hadn’t caught anyone yesterday, but their lethal efficiency and tracking experience were beyond question.

“Good,” Talulah agreed, looking at the three imposing figures. “If you lock onto a target, do not startle the snake right away. We need to confirm whether this spy is acting alone or if there is an entire network. Three uncles, I will leave the tracking and screening to you.”

The Shadow Guards nodded in unison. All three were fluent in the Ursus language, making this infiltration work a trivial matter for them., the Reunion Movement’s current command structure was relatively simple, meaning they didn’t have to worry about stepping on bureaucratic toes during their hunt.

“Alright, Alina,” Talulah said, turning back to the Elafia. “Go and arrange for everyone to gather in the square for a general assembly at two o’clock this afternoon. People’s hearts have been a bit unstable lately. We need to use this victory to forge their confidence into iron.”

“Understood,” Alina replied, hurrying off to make the arrangements.

“What about Flandre?” the little vampire asked, eagerly raising her hand high into the air.

Talulah chuckled, reaching out to gently poke Flandre’s forehead. “Little Flandre, don’t you need to prepare? Don’t be fooled by the Reunion Movement’s current size. When everyone gathers together, it’s still a massive sea of people.”

“Ugh… fine,” Flandre pouted slightly before her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Take Flandre to the square! Flandre will set up a magic circle. It’ll make catching the bad guy much easier later.”

The Reunion Movement currently boasted several thousand members. Even though not every single person would attend the afternoon assembly, the sheer volume of the crowd would be overwhelming. Pinpointing a single traitor’s emotional spike in a sea of thousands was no simple feat, even for a vampire of her caliber. Preparation was absolutely necessary.

Once she was escorted to the snow-dusted square, Flandre tapped her chin, deep in thought. What kind of spell would instantly highlight the bad guy?

Detect Alignment? No, Flandre thought, shaking her head. That wouldn’t work at all. Given the harsh reality of the Reunion Movement, aside from the truly Chaotic Evil or Neutral Evil individuals, almost every other moral alignment was crammed into this camp. A spy working for the Ursus Empire would likely register as Chaotic Neutral—which happened to be the exact same alignment as the vast majority of the traumatized, desperate Infected. Sifting through that mess would be impossible.

After mentally flipping through her vast repertoire of magic, Flandre’s crimson eyes suddenly lit up.

Emotion Amplification.

The simplest descriptions often yielded the most devastating effects. As an Enchantment-class spell—specifically a suggestion-type art from the psychological control school—it was traditionally used by nobles to manipulate high-society social gatherings. It would drastically magnify the target’s current emotional state.

More, the spell’s structure was incredibly simple. Flandre quickly began weaving the magic, inscribing the core formula alongside a series of expansion runes to blanket the entire square. With a final surge of crimson energy, the invisible trap sank into the frozen earth, lying dormant.

By two o’clock, the Infected began pouring into the square, their breaths pluming in the freezing air. Those who were absent would naturally be screened by the perimeter guards.

Once the restless crowd had settled, Talulah stepped onto the makeshift podium. Her piercing gaze swept over the thousands of faces before she projected her voice, clear and commanding.

“Fellow compatriots! I have gathered you all here today to share some long-awaited good news.”

A hush fell over the square.

“I am sure many of you noticed the sheer volume of weapons and supplies we hauled into the camp yesterday evening and early this morning,” Talulah continued, her voice echoing across the tundra. “You have all been whispering, speculating about where it came from. Now, I stand before you to tell you that your wildest guesses were correct. Every single piece of that gear belonged to the Ursus Patrol.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, a mix of awe and lingering terror at the mention of their oppressors.

“Just yesterday, the Ursus Patrol attempted a coordinated, three-pronged assault on our home,” Talulah declared, her tone hardening into steel. “The eastern vanguard was completely halted at our outermost perimeter by Lord Patriot, unable to advance a single inch! Meanwhile, the two Patrol units attacking from the north and west were entirely wiped out by our forces.”

She paused, lowering her head slightly. “In this bitter struggle, we lost eleven of our brave comrades. Before we celebrate, let us first observe a minute of silence for the blood they shed for our future…”

The square plunged into absolute stillness, the only sound the howling of the bitter Ursus wind.

A minute later, Talulah raised her head, her eyes burning with a fierce, contagious fire. “In these two battles, we annihilated over two hundred of the Patrol’s lackeys! We captured nearly two hundred sets of armor and clothing—most of which are intact or easily repairable. As for armaments, we secured almost two hundred complete sets of standard-issue Ursus Patrol weapons!”

Just moments ago, the crowd had been weighed down by sorrow and anxiety. Losing eleven warriors was a heavy blow to their morale, and many had been quietly terrified that they would be forced to abandon the settlement and flee into the frozen wastes once more.

But the staggering numbers Talulah just dropped left them utterly paralyzed with shock.

“Wait… Leader Talulah!” a man near the front shouted, his voice trembling with disbelief. “I don’t mean to question you, but… how many Patrol members did you say we killed yesterday?”

“The exact count is still being finalized,” Talulah answered smoothly, “but we recovered exactly two hundred and twelve sets of Patrol uniforms. Therefore, the number of dead enemies is only higher than that, certainly not lower.”

The square erupted. The noise was deafening as thousands of Infected broke into frantic discussion.

It was simply too fantastical to believe. The Reunion Movement—a ragged band of sick, starving refugees—had achieved a casualty ratio of twelve to over two hundred against the elite Ursus Patrol? If they possessed this kind of terrifying military might, why had they spent months being hunted like animals across the tundra?

“Compatriots, I know it sounds like a dream!” Talulah shouted, raising a hand to quiet the storm. “Words can be fabricated, but the spoils of war cannot! The Patrol would never march over two hundred soldiers out into this freezing weather, strip off their armor, hand us their weapons, and run back naked!”

A wave of breathless laughter rippled through the front rows.

“This is a monumental victory for the Reunion Movement!” Talulah roared, her charisma washing over the crowd. “After this slaughter, even the enemies to the east have tucked their tails and retreated! Cheer, my brothers and sisters, for we have finally carved out a place to take root! Losing this much blood in a single day will severely cripple the Patrol’s grip on this region.”

She raised her fist into the air. “I will have our scouts monitor the Patrol’s movements closely. For now, we must pour our strength into reclaiming this wasteland. We will strive to harvest our first crop of grain before the next winter descends upon us! That is our path forward! The Reunion Movement will lead all Infected to a life of peace and dignity! Ura!”

“Ura!”

“URA!”

The battle cry tore from thousands of throats, shaking the very snow from the rooftops. Fueled by Talulah’s impassioned speech and secretly magnified by Flandre’s dormant magic circle, the sheer euphoria and excitement of the crowd reached a boiling point.

While the masses cheered, the hidden observers assigned to monitor the crowd went to work. Thanks to the spell amplifying every underlying emotion, the few individuals who felt sheer, unadulterated terror instead of joy stuck out like blazing torches in the dark.

That night, a neat stack of intelligence reports was placed on Talulah’s desk.

“Eight targets in total,” Reid said, stepping out of the shadows of the command tent. After returning to the Reunion Movement, he had been elevated into the core command circle, serving as a trusted officer. During the time Frostnova had been incapacitated, Reid had been personally responsible for the settlement’s security and the safety of the Rhodes Island doctors. He had only been temporarily reassigned to this task because they needed every reliable hand available.

“Among them,” Reid continued, tapping the parchment, “the Levi brothers are veterans. They’ve followed us all the way from the original base. The other six consist of three couples: the Valens, the Milos, and the Theodores. All eight of them displayed obvious, uncontrollable fear and disbelief when you announced the death toll. Our people are already keeping them under strict surveillance. The moment they make a suspicious move, we will know.”

Talulah looked up at the officer, her expression softening slightly. “Thank you for your hard work, Reid.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Purging these black sheep is exactly what we must do,” Reid replied, his tone filled with genuine respect. He deeply admired the woman Talulah had become. She possessed the boundless warmth to embrace the broken Infected, yet harbored the absolute ruthlessness required to slaughter those who would betray them. He didn’t know what had triggered this deep evolution in her leadership, but there was no denying that it had forged the Reunion Movement into an unbreakable spear.

“Then I suppose it is time for us three brothers to take the stage,” a raspy voice echoed from the corner.

The three Shadow Guards, their faces hidden deep beneath the hoods of their Black Raincoats, stepped forward. They silently collected the dossiers on the eight suspects, turned on their heels, and melted into the freezing Ursus night.