Chapter 168 Esdeath Returns to the Imperial Capital.
Leone chuckled, "Once the minister dies, the young emperor will absolutely be unable to control the situation, and the empire will inevitably descend into chaos."
Aoki said, "The young emperor will also die!"
"Hmm?" Leone quickly reacted, "You still want to assassinate the young emperor?"
"That's right, that was my original purpose for going to the palace."
"Wasn't your purpose to find something?"
"There's no rule that says you can only have one purpose, is there?"
Leone muttered, "He's definitely not a good person!"
Najenda swallowed the words in her mouth.
For the Revolutionary Army, the best course of action would be to kill the minister and then publicly execute the young emperor.
But since the young emperor was Aoki's target, they had to abandon this plan.
However, these were just minor details; overthrowing the empire was the most important thing.
The group discussed some more details, and the topic ended close around noon.
Najenda said, "Then let's discuss hunting down the Super Dangerous Species!"
Aoki said, "The Super Dangerous Species we need to hunt is in a state of turmoil, far from the Imperial Capital, probably beyond the Empire's borders.
However, I have a way to quickly get people there. You don't need to worry about anything else, just prepare for battle."
Najenda nodded slowly, "Do you know what kind of Super Dangerous Species it is?"
"I don't know the name, but I know its appearance and abilities."
Aoki explained the information he knew in detail.
"Super Dangerous Species, truly terrifying!" Najenda took a drag of her cigarette.
"I have a question,"
Mine said, "Leaving aside the other three for now, how do we deal with the Super Dangerous Species that possesses spatial abilities?"
Aoki said, "My plan is..."
For the rest of the day, Aoki and the Night Raid members discussed their plan to hunt down the Super Dangerous Species.
He readily adopted all reasonable suggestions from the night raiders.
After all,
they knew their Imperial Arms best, and his plan was merely based on his own judgment.
The sun set and the moon rose, night enveloped the earth.
"For now, this is all we can do,"
Najenda said, lighting a cigarette and hesitating for a moment. "Although we've made a detailed plan, there's still a possibility of failure."
"If things really don't work out, we'll retreat!"
Aoki said.
This was one of the advantages of having more people.
Even if the hunt failed, they could leave calmly; it was impossible for those Super Dangerous Beasts to trap them in the secret realm.
Najenda breathed a sigh of relief: "I'll go back to the Revolutionary Army tomorrow to see if I can find some more help."
This was a way of returning the favor.
Aoki's cooperation was very important to the Revolutionary Army.
Aoki naturally wouldn't refuse.
However,
those who could participate in hunting Super Dangerous Beasts were either Imperial Arms users or top-tier experts like the Four Demon Kings.
It wasn't that ordinary people were useless;
it was that a small number of ordinary people were useless.
If they could bring 100,000 elite troops with ample weaponry, their impact would be no less than a night raid.
However, let alone the Revolutionary Army, even the Empire itself cannot afford such extravagance now.
Only when the Empire was newly established, at its peak of strength, and under the unparalleled prestige of the First Emperor could such a grand undertaking have been possible.
...
The Imperial Capital, the Imperial Palace.
Bud stood in the palace, arms crossed, expressionless, like an iron tower.
Beside him stood the Emperor, and on the other, Minister Ernest.
Everyone waited silently.
Tap tap tap.
Accompanied by a series of crisp footsteps, a woman with long blue hair, skin as translucent as snowflakes, and an exquisitely beautiful face entered the palace, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
But after just one glance, everyone lowered their heads.
Esdeath, the Empire's youngest and most powerful general.
On the northern border, she had slaughtered four hundred thousand foreign tribes in one fell swoop.
She was an extremely dangerous woman; though beautiful, no one dared to provoke her.
Esdeath approached the throne, removed her hat, held it to her chest, and knelt on one knee.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
"You're back, General Esdeath!"
The young emperor waved his hand. "The suppression in the north was well done. As a reward, I've prepared ten thousand taels of gold for you."
Esdeath smiled. "Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty. I will give it to the soldiers who stayed behind to defend the north; they will surely be grateful!"
Money, fame, power—she had no interest in these worldly things.
Slaughter, battle, torture—these were what she craved.
The young emperor said, "The reason I urgently summoned General Esdeath back is because of the assassins.
Two groups of assassins are causing trouble in the capital.
One group, called Night Raid, has many members, all of whom are Imperial Arms users.
The other group consists of a lone assassin who has only recently appeared, but is even more dangerous than Night Raid.
He can change his appearance and has the ability to travel through space. In his first appearance, he killed four top fighters under the minister, and later killed several members of the Imperial Fist Temple.
General Budo must protect me and is unable to spare the time. I hope to enlist General Esdeath's help to eliminate the assassin!"
Esdeath had heard of Night Raid before; it was indeed a worthy target. But now she was more interested in the other assassin.
"The ability to travel through space? I once encountered someone with that ability!"
Although some time had passed, she still had a very vivid memory of the man who had barged into her tent.
Everyone looked at her.
"That was on the northern border. He not only possesses the ability to traverse space, but also has wings, allowing him to fly. He has incredibly powerful regenerative abilities; even a piercing of the heart wouldn't kill him."
Esdeath smiled excitedly. "I wonder if the assassin in the capital is the same person I encountered?"
"That's possible."
Bud said in a deep voice, "Before the assassin broke into the palace, the dangerous creatures kept in the palace were awakened.
The assassin first appeared outside the highest palace.
A large number of guards were added around the Imperial Fist Temple, but no trace of the assassin's intrusion was found.
Now it seems he likely entered the palace and the Imperial Fist Temple from the air!"
"That's wonderful!"
Esdeath's beautiful face shone with excitement.
Bud, however, noticed a problem, his face turning grim. "Didn't you manage to stop that person back then?"
"The ability to traverse space is indeed troublesome for escaping, but I already have a way to deal with it."
Esdeath smiled and looked up. "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, as long as I encounter an assassin, I will definitely kill him!"
"Then I'll leave it to General Esdeath!"
The young emperor nodded happily.
Ernest felt relieved.
Both groups of men he'd transferred from the Imperial Fist Temple had died before taking up their posts, which had annoyed and worried him.
That assassin had become a real threat.
(End of Chapter)