Over the course of a month, the elite unit led by Gozuki became extremely active, and spies from the foreign tribes, along with agents of the Revolutionary Army, were purged on a massive scale.
The Empire's assassination unit, which had only just made its formal debut, became a nightmare that kept countless people awake at night.
The Empire's northeastern border.
Gozuki led Akame and the others into position at the mission site.
Although it was called an ambush, it looked more like a vacation.
Watching the children happily playing on the river, his gaze did not relax in the slightest.
Even as he drank, his mind remained terrifyingly calm.
Among the seven, only Nahashu did not join in the fun. Instead, he stayed on standby beside Father.
Seeing his companions this relaxed, he was somewhat worried, but Father said nothing.
That made him wonder whether this, too, was part of the operation.
"Father."
"Mm?"
"The target is supposed to appear here from the river. If we're this relaxed…"
Nahashu understood the importance of this mission very well.
Although they had assassinated many supporters of the Revolutionary Army and many traitors within the Empire, the Revolutionary Army itself was still expanding at an astonishing speed.
The Revolutionary Army needed food and funding in order to operate.
Generally speaking, it should not have been able to grow too large, or it would collapse under its own weight.
But as it turned out, there were capable people among the rebels too.
While expanding their military strength, they had been transporting the wealth and materials they obtained overseas, trading them with the foreign tribes and thereby solving their funding problem.
Because of that, the Revolutionary Army's scale was now growing day by day, and it had already become a considerable threat.
All of this was because their funding needs had been met.
In that case, they simply had to cut off this source of funds. Then the Revolutionary Army would fall into internal chaos and collapse without a fight.
After investigating, they had obtained information about the enemy's cargo shipment.
This mission was to intercept that cargo and ruin the relationship between the Revolutionary Army and the foreign tribes.
After taking a gulp of alcohol, Gozuki said in a grave tone, "Relax while you still can. The battle afterward may be very difficult. After all, there's a high chance the other side has hired Oarburgh."
When he spoke the name "Oarburgh," Gozuki unconsciously frowned.
Nahashu's expression changed even more.
"Oarburgh? You mean that Oarburgh?"
When speaking of Oarburgh, it was no exaggeration to say that its name shook the world.
The assassin society Oarburgh was an organization whose reputation had been built entirely upon corpses.
Because of its long history, Oarburgh could be called a living legend.
Many famous assassination incidents throughout history were connected to that assassin society.
In the underworld, Oarburgh was publicly acknowledged as the strongest assassination group.
Anyone who valued their life even slightly would never willingly make Oarburgh their enemy.
Even Gozuki was extremely wary of that organization.
"Also, this is the border. If the enemy's information network is fast enough, it may even draw assassins from the foreign tribes. Even we can't guarantee a safe retreat if we have to face Oarburgh and foreign tribal experts at the same time."
Gozuki emphasized, "So keep your eyes open. If we confirm the enemy's strength, we must withdraw immediately."
Nahashu nodded heavily, but still asked, "Then what about the mission?"
"If it really comes to that, then we'll have no choice but to call for reinforcements. It's fine. Behind us stands the Empire."
Although he said that, Gozuki knew that against opponents of this level, even if old man Bill sent the enhancement unit as support, they would only be sent to their deaths.
What he needed were experts.
After thinking it over, perhaps only his "old home" could provide effective support.
His old home was Koken Temple.
The Four Rakshasa Demons were senior and junior disciples who had grown up together.
If he made a request, calling the others over to assist him would not be difficult.
The problem was that his own strength was already the greatest among the Four Rakshasa Demons.
Even if all four Rakshasa Demons were deployed, there was still no guarantee of victory against Oarburgh.
Suddenly, while Gozuki was thinking, he noticed something.
He stared blankly at the sky.
There was a giant owl circling above.
"A giant owl…"
'No.'
'Something was wrong.'
As if realizing something, Gozuki's pupils shrank, and he abruptly stood up.
"Nahashu!"
He shouted loudly, and the boy beside him immediately responded.
"Understood!"
The reactions of the two were also noticed by those playing on the river.
In an instant, all of them turned serious.
They quickly returned from the river to the shore, snatched up the clothes on the ground at incredible speed, and immediately put them on.
"We've already been marked. Change of plan. First, we get out of here!"
Gozuki quickly explained the situation.
At the same time, he glanced at the giant owl in the sky.
Sure enough, after noticing their movements, the giant owl suddenly stopped circling and shot off at high speed toward the upper reaches of the White Wolf River.
Seeing that, everyone felt that something was wrong.
Gozuki stated it directly.
"As expected, that giant owl was the enemy's eyes. Our movements have been under surveillance for some time."
The moment he said that, the boys and girls were shocked.
"What?"
They did not even understand the specific meaning behind their own actions, yet the other side had still discovered their identities and placed them under surveillance.
Leaving everything else aside, that ability alone was on a completely different level from the opponents they had faced before.
"If we follow the riverbank, the other side has the advantage of the water route. We'll run back first. After putting some distance between us, we'll move toward the upstream area. That way, once their ship sails downstream, it'll be much harder for them to chase us."
"Understood!"
Gozuki led the seven members of the elite unit quickly back toward the town.
However, the moment they entered the town, he immediately stopped.
His expression darkened as he looked at the town that seemed no different from usual.
The children lacked experience and might not have noticed it yet, but he had already discovered the problem.
Among the people running stalls nearby, there were several unfamiliar faces. Not only that, their stall positions were also very deliberate.
At any time, they could gather and surround the people in the street.
Everyone here was an enemy!
Gozuki suddenly erupted.
He roared, "Scatter!"
It was an emergency order.
The instant they heard the command, the seven did not hesitate or ask questions.
They immediately ran in different directions through the town.
The sudden change stunned the disguised enemies.
Then, one after another, they pulled weapons out from fruit piles, carriages, beneath coats, and various hidden places.
Against a formation of at least thirty or forty people, pursuing seven individuals was not difficult at all.
After those people scattered, Gozuki looked at the four men who remained in front of him and sensed considerable killing intent from them.
'Oarburgh?'
'No.'
'Oarburgh should not be only at this level.'
Gozuki drew Murasame and guarded against the four.
With a low roar, all four charged at once.
They worked in pairs, carrying two blades and two swords.
Gozuki leaned backward, avoiding the first incoming attack.
Then, facing the second wave of pincer attacks, he twisted his body. His abdomen, which should have been stabbed, suddenly wriggled.
His body seemed to have been made of clay. His firm abdomen actually shifted to the side.
Seeing this bizarre sight, three of the four were dumbstruck.
The remaining one was full of terror.
Gozuki rotated his body, and the joints in his arm seemed to loosen and fall out of place.
Along with the turn of his body, his arm became like a whip.
The strange attack range caused the three men at close distance to misjudge it, and they failed to defend in time.
In the end, only one successfully avoided the attack.
As for the other two, while retreating, one had his arm cut, and the other had the tip of his nose sliced open with a shallow wound.
Gozuki smiled coldly.
He ignored them completely and continued pursuing the one who had avoided his attack.
The two who had been cut shouted angrily, "Hey! You only scratched us a little and now you're ignoring us? Aren't you getting too arrogant?!"
With his back to them, Gozuki still did not turn around or show any vigilance.
He simply raised his blade and slashed at the enemy in front of him.
The two behind him were furious and immediately prepared to attack.
However, the moment they tried to lift their legs, they discovered that their bodies had completely stiffened.
"M-My body won't listen…"
"Gah!"
A mouthful of black blood sprayed out.
The two looked at the blood covering their hands and their blurring vision.
They clutched at their wounds and watched strange curse marks crawl out from the cuts, spreading across their entire bodies.
"W-What is this?!"
"Aaah! Aaaaaaargh!"
The curse poison strangled the two to death, leaving the man struggling to withstand Gozuki's attacks utterly shocked.
What was that?
They died just from being touched a tiny bit.
Was it poison?
Then that poison was far too terrifying!
The last of the four swallowed and said, "So it really is you. You bastard… you're one of Koken Temple's Four Rakshasa Demons!"
"What? The Four Rakshasa Demons?"
Because of that instant opening caused by shock, Gozuki did not let the chance slip away. Murasame stabbed forward.
This time, the opponent failed to parry the blade in time, and the tip pierced into his shoulder.
Feeling the pain in his shoulder, along with the sensation of his entire body becoming paralyzed in an instant, the man cried out in terror, "No, don't! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
"Aaaaaaargh!"
Thud.
Only one remained.
Gozuki looked at him, and he looked back at Gozuki. Although there was fear in his eyes, he did not turn and run.
"I never thought the Empire would actually send such a terrifying assassin…"
"Heh."
Gozuki shook the blood off Murasame and praised him.
"I'm impressed you were able to recognize me."
Not many people knew his identity.
The other party said, "I've heard that the Four Rakshasa Demons of Koken Temple have trained their bodies to the limit and can freely control every part of themselves. And that blade… if I'm not mistaken, it's a Teigu, isn't it?"
His hands were trembling.
No, his entire body was trembling.
His body trembled because of fear, while his hands trembled because the weapon he held had already become full of dents and chips.
If one checked, they would discover that the same was true of the weapons held by the other three who had been killed.
Their weapons were simply not on the same level.
With every collision, that blade had carved notches and gaps into their weapons.
Add in its one-hit-kill ability, and it was nothing less than a cursed blade.
A master on the level of the Four Rakshasa Demons, and one wielding a Teigu at that.
He was the worst possible opponent.
Gozuki revealed Murasame's blade.
"Yeah, that's right. This is One-Cut Killer: Murasame. No matter how small the wound, this blade's curse can instantly kill the target."
"That really is… a cursed blade worthy of its name."
The man sighed, then swallowed a pill.
Only a few breaths later, Gozuki felt the life fade from the man before him.
He had taken poison and killed himself.
"This is why I hate fellow professionals. They're too professional. You can't get any intelligence out of them at all."
Gozuki sighed, worry rising in his heart for the seven members of the elite unit.
They were all talented children he had personally raised.
In terms of ability, each of them was more than passable, but they lacked experience. If they encountered opponents on the level of those just now, that was one thing.
But if they ran into Oarburgh, they would undoubtedly be killed.
His worries were not unnecessary.
...
The members who had split up and fled were all stopped at this moment.
After all, when there was such an overwhelming numerical advantage, surrounding a single person was far too easy.
Tsukushi looked at the people surrounding her, and the hand gripping Prometheus trembled slightly.
'So many enemies…'
'Think carefully. In a situation like this, what did Father teach us?'
The handle of a small blade surfaced in her mind.
In her memories—
"When the critical moment comes, use it. And don't hold back."
That was right.
This was absolutely that moment.
Across seven battlefields, seven different boys and girls made the same movement at the same time.
They reached into their pockets, pulled out a short hilt, held it in their hands, and their expressions turned serious.
The same thought arose in every one of the people surrounding them.
'What is that?'
Because it looked far too harmless, not a single enemy chose to strike first.
A moment later—
From different directions in the town, a terrifying shriek of air being torn apart rang out simultaneously, startling many people.
Only Gozuki revealed a satisfied smile.
One invisible slash after another cut entire houses apart.
Corpses split in two were scattered across the ground before finally being buried beneath the ruins of collapsing buildings.
...
At that moment, the true members of Oarburgh, who had been hiding in the dark and waiting for a chance to strike, suddenly raised their heads.
One was an elderly woman who looked extremely old.
Beside her stood a beautiful girl with a single ponytail, along with a girl holding a lollipop in her mouth.
"Whoa, what happened? What happened? Why did things suddenly get so loud? It feels kind of scary."
"Shut up, Chelsea. Don't make such a fuss. Instead of whining here, use your transformation ability to investigate."
"You're ordering me around again? Can't you show even a little humanity, you old hag?"
"You brat! Call me Barbara!"
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