Setting off again from the small forest, the truck now had an additional Ursus person.
The Ursus person's name, like those in the Northern Country, was very, very... long.
So, the two decided to just call him Ivan from now on.
To avoid attracting unnecessary attention, the complex parts of the shieldguard's armor were buried in the small forest, with only the shieldguard's sturdy shield and some chest armor hidden at the bottom of the truck.
Then, due to the increased weight, their travel speed became even slower.
"At this rate, it will take us at least a week to reach the vicinity of Saint Junius's shipping lanes," Ivan explained to Xing Chen and Ms. Theresa, holding a map of Columbia.
"However, if we travel a bit further, we'll see a small mountain range formed by a Catastrophe, and there's a town there."
"Is the town quite large?"
"This city supplies more than half of the Originium to western Ursus—we can't possibly transport ore all the way from the east, can we?"
An regional energy hub, then it must be very prosperous.
The three sat in the car, exchanging their stories.
Ivan was curious about what Sarkaz culture was like, how the Wendigo used to coexist with other Sarkaz in Kazdel, and whether Sarkaz ate people, among other topics.
Ms. Theresa patiently explained to him the differences in Kazdel between her childhood and after she grew up (and was crowned).
As for those stereotypes, one can only say that their existence had reasons.
However, Sarkaz are also people, and they possess all the emotions that normal people do.
"So, do you really eat people? I heard that the troops fighting alongside Patriot had to paint special anti-witchcraft coatings on their armor."
"If I had to say... many Sarkaz tribes have a tradition of cannibalism."
Ms. Theresa had intended to avoid this topic, but outsiders seemed particularly interested in "demons eating people."
"Blood Demons eat normally; Dukare has mental issues; Wendigo eat corpses, which is their way of remembering loved ones; Carrion Eaters... that's determined by their physical structure, they would continuously weaken if they didn't eat people. Can you accept having a bunch of illnesses without doing anything?"
"Ms. Theresa knows so much. So, living in Kazdel, a mixed-blood Sarkaz has to learn so much knowledge."
"I am a noble of Kazdel; I simply left the city due to some matters."
"I understand. Every year, the Ursus Empire also has quite a few nobles who lose power struggles and flee to other countries."
Xing Chen couldn't interject from the side because he didn't understand Gaulish at all.
However, it was beneficial for Ms. Theresa and Ivan to open up and talk, establishing their identities (allowing the Ursus person to fill in the blanks himself). At least, it would save a lot of trouble when encountering ordinary Ursus soldiers.
One lie needs more lies to cover it up, but if the first lie is already rationalized into a truth acceptable to everyone, then subsequent lies are unnecessary.
It's like making colonial people figure things out for themselves.
"Yawn~~~ This is so boring," Xing Chen leaned on the edge of the carriage, looking at the unchanging scenery around him.
If he stayed like this any longer, his mind would probably go crazy too.
"Ivan, are your horned beasts black?"
Ms. Theresa translated Xing Chen's words to the Ursus person.
"How could snow camouflage be black?" Ivan replied dismissively. "If there really were such horned beasts, they'd probably be eaten by fanged beasts before they even grew up."
"But look at the forest over there."
Xing Chen's eyesight wasn't good, and he usually didn't wear glasses on Terra, so he couldn't see clearly anything a little far away.
Ivan and Ms. Theresa followed Xing Chen's hand and indeed saw several black horned beasts lying in the forest.
Ivan found it strange why the fanged beasts had killed the horned beasts but hadn't eaten them.
Ms. Theresa, on the other hand, felt that the black color was a bit abnormal, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
The three of them discussed it and decided it would be better to get closer and check.
"Oh my, these horned beasts have such big bellies; could they all be pregnant?"
Parking the car on the nearby snow, Ms. Theresa and Ivan held explosive guns, and Xing Chen carried a grenade crossbow, slowly approaching the suspicious corpses.
"The season is wrong. Some feathered beasts breed their young in winter, but large horned beasts don't—this season simply cannot provide enough food."
Xing Chen picked up a stone and threw it. The horned beast's corpse didn't move, but the stone couldn't be found.
It hadn't disappeared; a layer of black snow covered the area around the corpse, and the stone also took on the same color upon contact with the horned beast.
"Ms. Theresa, Mr. Xing Chen, have you heard of an Ursus legend?"
"The evil demons of the North?"
"What is that... No, it's the will of the Ursus Emperor, the Imperial Guard."
They knew, of course they knew. The two of them transported the boundless flower from the depths of Sami precisely to attract the Imperial Guard.
However, saying such a thing could easily arouse suspicion.
Moreover, evil demons and the Imperial Guard were essentially becoming the same kind of thing.
Ivan probably hadn't been to the northern front line, and coupled with the Ursus Empire's information blockade, he knew nothing about the evil demons.
But the Imperial Guard was different.
"You mean, the Imperial Guard appeared here... just to kill a few horned beasts?"
"I don't know, but I have a way to find out," Ivan said, raising his explosive gun and firing a shot at one of the horned beasts.
The explosive round accurately grazed the horned beast, tore through the corpse, and exploded nearby.
"Good marksmanship," Xing Chen couldn't help but exclaim. Suddenly, he noticed some black things emerging from the corpses.
Immediately after, the nearby horned beast corpses also began to squirm, then burst open instantly.
A large number of black lumps rapidly rushed towards the three. While Ms. Theresa and Xing Chen were still hesitating about what the things were, Ivan's ingrained combat memory was activated.
He quickly half-squatted, got into position, aimed, and fired.
It was fluid and seamless.
Ms. Theresa immediately followed suit. Although she lacked experience in frontline firearm shooting, her skills as a Caster's long-range support would tell her what to do.
Each explosive round from the two of them could take out several black lumps.
However, the number of black lumps was quite large, and with each reload, they would get closer to the three.
But the good news was that despite their large numbers, these lumps had low health and very low defense.
What should they do at this point?
Of course, it was time for incendiary rounds.
Xing Chen immediately fired several incendiary rounds, creating a large burning area between them and the black lumps.
The black lumps, as if without intelligence, charged directly into the burning area and were incinerated into ash.