With the disappearance of the major family heads and the crushing defeat of the extermination force, all of Siracusa was officially declared to have fallen under Lappland's control.
At Lappland's command, over a thousand Borisin were organized into small squads and spread out at top speed, taking over the remaining cities of Siracusa one by one before chaos could fully erupt.
Thus, Siracusa—this loosely held-together nation—saw its sovereignty change hands. Surrounded by her Borisin followers, Lappland arrived at the administrative center of Siracusa's capital, Montelupe.
When the great families still existed, Montelupe's administrative center had mostly served a symbolic purpose. Real power had always been firmly grasped by the families themselves. But now, with all the family heads reduced to vapor by Lappland's single strike, Montelupe—backed by Lappland and the Borisin—could truly issue commands to all of Siracusa.
After arriving at the administrative center, Lappland first replaced all key official positions with Borisin girls whose loyalty could be guaranteed one hundred percent. She then organized the remaining Borisin into a formal unit, while simultaneously recruiting a large number of appropriately aged local Lupo girls to form a Borisin reserve force, drafting a comprehensive training program for them.
Once everything had been arranged, the Montelupe administrative center issued a public announcement:
Siracusa's first officially recognized standing army had been established.
Its legion designation—Shadowmoon Azure Wolves.
The name was something Lappland had heard from An Xora. The same went for God-Severing Thunder. She thought both sounded rather nice, so she used them directly.
"Father, all remnants of the major families have been eliminated. All gangs and groups that attempted to exploit the chaos have likewise been suppressed. At present, there is no longer any voice of resistance left in Siracusa."
Inside Montelupe's administrative center, a Borisin girl reported respectfully to Lappland.
After several days of intense work—mainly directing the Shadowmoon Azure Wolves to hunt down family remnants across the cities and crush gangs still harboring delusions of causing trouble—Siracusa's internal resistance had finally been completely eradicated. Only then could Lappland consider the cleanup truly finished.
"From this day forward," the Borisin girl said fervently while kneeling on one knee,
"the skies over Siracusa will no longer be shadowed by the rule of the families. There will be only a single sun, shining upon all Siracusans."
"Well done."
A smile appeared on Lappland's face—but not because she had fully taken control of the country. Rather, it was because of something else.
"Next, I'll be leaving Siracusa. From here on out, this country will be entrusted to you to govern."
Lappland spoke calmly to the Borisin girls before her, as well as the few others selected to form the administrative leadership.
"Leaving? Then what about you, Father?"
The Borisin girls hurriedly asked.
"Me?" Lappland replied evenly.
"Of course I'm going home."
Naturally, the "home" Lappland referred to was not the place she once lived. The Saluzzo family estate had long since been reduced to ashes by her own order.
From the day she was struck from the family registry, the concept of "home" had ceased to exist for Lappland. She had thought it would never exist again—that she would wander forever.
But her luck had been decent. She had met An Xora, a new pack leader willing to accept her.
And so, for the present Lappland, wherever An Xora was—that was home.
As for the Saluzzo family?
One could only say they weren't very familiar.
Now that Siracusa had been completely brought under control and the task assigned to her by An Xora—the pack leader—had been completed, Lappland naturally intended to return to her master's side as soon as possible.
"After I leave, if you encounter anything difficult to decide, you can contact me. Or you may consult Madam Sicilia."
The strike that had annihilated the Siracusan family heads days earlier had not included Madam Sicilia—not because Lappland had held back, but because on that day, Madam Sicilia had not gone with the other family heads to secretly oversee the operation near Volsinii. She had remained in the rear and thus survived by sheer luck.
Afterward, when Madam Sicilia was captured, Lappland had no intention of killing her.
By then, Siracusa had already been fully taken over by more than a thousand Borisin. Rather than killing someone who no longer mattered to the overall situation, it was better to leave Madam Sicilia alive to assist the Borisin in managing Siracusa's subsequent affairs.
Lappland also wasn't worried about Madam Sicilia making any covert moves after her departure. For one, the woman had been extremely well-behaved lately. For another, even if Lappland left, the Shadowmoon Azure Wolves stationed in Siracusa still had more than enough strength to suppress the entire country at any time.
With an absolute disparity in power, there was no need to fear schemes or plots.
"I wonder if anything troublesome has happened over there while I've been gone."
Lappland murmured to herself, her gaze turning toward the direction of Lungmen.
Meanwhile.
Just as a certain dog was eagerly preparing to return home in Siracusa, over in Lungmen, An Xora was dining together with Talulah at the residence where she was temporarily staying.
As the ruler of a nation, Talulah's meals were naturally extravagant. Wei Yenwu, the Governor of Lungmen, despite being her elder, behaved like a terrified grandson in front of her—constantly afraid that even the slightest lapse in hospitality might displease Talulah and cause Lungmen to slip out of his hands.
As a result, the chefs at Talulah's residence had been sternly instructed by Wei Yenwu well in advance. Every meal was prepared on a near-absurd scale, with hundreds of dishes laid out each time—each one essentially a state banquet.
Talulah herself had initially opposed such wastefulness. But after An Xora explained that she now represented the face of the entire Empire—and that any uneaten food could be distributed to the residence staff—she reluctantly accepted the arrangement.
"It's a shame FrostNova and the Doctor aren't here," Talulah said at the table, picking up a dish and placing it into An Xora's bowl as she sighed softly.
"Otherwise, they could've tasted what authentic Yan cuisine is really like."
She had already eaten her fill. An Xora, on the other hand, had a much larger appetite, so he was the only one still eating. Talulah simply watched him, occasionally helping by serving dishes that were farther away.
At that moment, a system notification sounded in An Xora's ear.
"Ding! Detected that Lappland has brought Siracusa under the host's control. Reward: 50,000 points."
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