Bringing Talulah to the guerrilla camp, Steven quickly confirmed what Yelena had told him—the main forces of the guerrillas had already left on a mission.
The entire camp was nearly empty, with only a handful of people remaining.
However, Steven had no intention of sticking around and waiting for a fight.
Once he confirmed the situation, he decisively led Talulah away in another direction.
"Shouldn't we wait for them to return?"
Talulah frowned.
She felt like Steven was even more impatient than she was.
Could it be that someone in the Guerrilla Fighter was particularly important to him?
"Tsk, you just don't get it. If they're not here, it means they've gone out to stir up trouble. And you know what that means? It means the fun is about to start."
Steven explained to Talulah with a serious expression. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he snapped his fingers.
Come to think of it, this particular "fun" seemed to be related to Talulah.
After all, the guerrillas' primary ambush target was likely the Infected Patrol Squad, which had been harassing other Infected.
"If I told you where they went, you'd be even more anxious than I am."
"…"
"What do you mean? Take me there, now."
Steven simply gave Talulah a knowing look, and she immediately understood what he meant.
Her expression turned grave in an instant.
Without another word, she rushed ahead to lead the way.
If the Guerrilla Fighters were launching a large-scale operation, it could only be related to the Infected.
And the largest Infected settlement nearby? The answer was obvious.
With that realization, she broke into a sprint, dragging Steven along as they raced toward the settlement.
But by the time they arrived, it was already too late.
Though, contrary to what one might expect, there was no tragic scene of Infected slaughtered en masse.
In fact, it was quite the opposite.
The Infected Patrol Squad had taken the heavier losses.
The battlefield's center looked like a frozen wasteland—countless members of the Infected Patrol Squad lay scattered across the ground, their corpses turned into lifeless ice sculptures.
The few survivors who tried to flee were swiftly intercepted by the Yeti Squadron and the Shieldguards, leaving almost no one left to escape.
Meanwhile, the Infected huddled together, shivering inside their camp.
They had just witnessed an overwhelmingly one-sided battle, and for a moment, they had no idea how to react.
As if he had expected this outcome all along, Steven simply shrugged his shoulders and gave a helpless look at the panicked Talulah, who had dragged him here at full speed.
This was a Guerrilla Fighter led by Patriot himself.
What could possibly go wrong?
"I really don't see why you were in such a hurry."
"How could I not be?!"
Talulah shot Steven an irritated glare.
She genuinely couldn't understand how he managed to remain so relaxed in any given situation.
Or maybe… was this just the confidence of the strong?
Before the two of them could start their usual bickering, a towering figure suddenly appeared before them, blocking their path.
The sheer size of the shadow cast over them forced Talulah to squint as she looked up to see who it was.
And when she finally got a clear view, she immediately recognized him.
It was a fearsome, oppressive, and almost skeletal visage—the skull-like head of a Wendigo, stripped of all flesh.
Talulah knew exactly what this meant.
A pureblood Wendigo—there was probably no second one like him in all of Ursus.
"Yo~ Patriot, how's your day?"
Compared to Talulah, who was nearly overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the towering Wendigo, Steven acted like a young man chatting casually with their friend.
Without the slightest discomfort, he greeted Patriot naturally—even tossing out a completely pointless question.
"Could be better."
To Talulah's surprise, the massive Sarkaz actually answered the question seriously before silently turning around and leading the way.
...Just how much influence did this guy have?
Even Patriot treated him with this much respect?
Talulah couldn't wrap her head around it.
Seeing the confusion in her eyes, Steven simply grinned and smugly began showing off.
"Why are you looking at me like that? If you were as rich as I am, and as strong as I am, you'd get the same treatment."
Talulah rolled her eyes.
She hated how pleased he looked with himself, but she couldn't actually argue against it.
Because at the end of the day, he was right.
Strength and resources earned respect, no matter where you were.
Under Patriot's guidance, Steven soon found Yelena, who was packing up her gear.
She didn't seem the least bit surprised to see him—almost like she had expected him to show up.
"Looks like I came too late. I missed your grand performance—what a shame."
Steven greeted her with a playful smirk.
He already knew exactly how the battlefield had turned into a frozen wasteland.
There was only one person who could unleash that kind of devastating glacial phenomena.
Patriot could achieve something similar, but ice wasn't his element.
"That's not something worth watching."
Upon seeing Steven, Yelena couldn't help but smile, but at his compliment, she simply shook her head with a sigh.
At the end of the day, it was just killing.
No matter how elegant or spectacular it looked, it didn't change what it was.
However, her smile soon stiffened.
She had noticed the girl standing close to Steven.
Her species was difficult to identify, but her horns were unlike anything Yelena had ever seen before.
More than that, she was clearly close to Steven.
—But who was she to him?
Based on her appearance, she obviously wasn't related to him by blood.
If they were just friends, why would he bring her to such a dangerous place?
This wasn't a tourist attraction.
And the Guerrilla Fighters weren't friendly people.
Not that she was bothered by the fact that there was suddenly another girl around Steven.
Of course not.
She was just concerned that someone as easygoing as him might get taken advantage of.
After all, while Steven was undeniably strong, he was also far too approachable and way too agreeable.
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"So? Aren't you going to introduce us to this… friend… of yours?"
Yelena subtly glanced over Talulah from head to toe before stepping closer to Steven and pointing at the girl beside him.
Talulah, for her part, was also curious about this white-haired, rabbit-eared girl and why she seemed so close to Steven.
He never mentioned meeting some beautiful girl in the Guerrilla Fighter.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot to introduce you two."
"Talulah, this is my friend Yelena."
"And Yelena, this is my friend Talulah. Why don't you get to know each other?"
Steven casually introduced them to each other.
Then, he immediately noticed something off—both of them were smiling, but those smiles didn't look natural at all.
—Was this really happening?
Could personality traits really be affected by their elements?
Were fire and ice truly incompatible even outside of combat?!
Sensing incoming drama, Steven wisely decided to take a step back and let them have the stage.
If they ended up fighting or arguing, well, that had nothing to do with him.
At most, he was just the introducer here.
"Sigh, you should call me FrostNova instead. It's an easier name for strangers to accept."
Yelena flashed Talulah a smile that was anything but friendly.
She didn't extend her hand for a handshake—just gave her a brief nod.
Talulah, on the other hand, paused the moment she heard that name.
And just like that, she instantly figured out the true identity of the girl before her.
No wonder her Arts were so powerful—if she was the Princess of the Yeti Squadron, that would explain everything.
Still… Steven was impressive.
He had only been gone for a day, and he had already built this kind of close relationship with someone like her?
"Well, I still prefer people calling me by my real name. Don't you agree, Mr. Steven?"
Talulah obviously noticed FrostNova's thinly veiled hostility—especially since she, for some reason, felt the exact same way about her.
And since FrostNova just bluntly stated that they weren't close, Talulah saw no reason to back down either.
Reaching over, she pulled Steven into the situation—grabbing his arm with one hand as she flashed him a brilliant smile.
—Only Steven knew just how hot her palm was.
Her heat was nearly enough to roast his arm alive.
If not for his resistance, he would've definitely flinched.
But even then, it was far from comfortable.
What the hell was she doing?
He didn't do anything to her!
Why was she suddenly taking it out on him?!
As Steven stared at Talulah in utter confusion, Yelena wasn't about to back down either.
She stepped forward, grabbed his other arm, and clung onto it.
Unlike Talulah, she didn't even need to try.
The moment she made physical contact, a bone-chilling cold immediately seeped into his skin.
And with her emotions clearly running high, the temperature around her dropped even further.
With a smile that was anything but innocent, Yelena narrowed her eyes at him.
"Steven? Oh? Mr. 'Steve', you never told me you had another name."
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1]
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 182: Why Target This Little Iberian Chick?[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/124724465?collection=55713[3]
https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/arknightcraft-124768044
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/124724465?collection=55713
[4] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl