Of course, this was not physical ability a human could possess.
Even if Noah's average proficiency had reached A-rank or higher, it would still be difficult for him to rely purely on his legs to erupt with speed surpassing the dynamic vision of these two.
After all, they were not ordinary people either.
To say nothing of suppressing a giant like Sten with one hand and leaving him with no room to resist.
All that could be said was that a skill capable of manipulating every element was far too unfair.
Against opponents who did not possess "supernatural properties," even experts like the Four Rakshasa Demons were still merely mortals.
Noah removed his hand from Sten's face and slowly stood up.
Sten felt as though that overwhelming weight still remained on his body.
His eyes stayed wide, and he could not recover for a while.
Suzuka's side was even stranger.
At some point, her training clothes had loosened, sliding down along her shoulders, while her heavy breathing rose and fell continuously.
These injuries were not especially serious for two people at the level of the Four Rakshasa Demons.
Their ability to freely control their bodies also gave them self-healing capabilities far beyond ordinary people.
"Now, you should have no objections, right?"
Sten stood up and bowed respectfully.
But he did not say anything.
That proved he still had objections, but had chosen to remain silent.
There was nothing he could do.
If he could not win, what else could he do?
Suzuka had already put her clothes back on.
Although her face was still somewhat flushed and her gaze somewhat unfocused, in short, she did not seem to intend to continue stopping him either.
...
Gozuki sat near the entrance of the cave.
This way, if anything moved nearby, he would be able to sense it immediately.
Inside the cave were the seven elite members.
Their expressions were somewhat gloomy, because ever since their debut, this was the first time they had faced such a predicament.
"Is Oarburgh really that powerful?"
Guy placed both hands behind his head.
Because he had been stuck inside the cave, he was already feeling extremely stifled.
Seeing that he could not stay calm, Nahashu sternly scold him, "Shut up, small fry. The enemy is an assassin society with a legacy as long as the Empire's. The fact that they've survived until now and still bear such a famous reputation means they definitely aren't simple."
Akame and the others nodded.
They had undergone even harsher training, so although they were dissatisfied with the environment, they could endure it.
The one suffering the most was none other than the rice-loving girl, Akame.
Even during infiltration missions, she could steal and even eat all the meat in the kitchen.
For such a pure glutton, being unable to light a fire or go outside and having to rely only on the supplies she carried had already left her starving.
"Grrrrr."
'Ugh, I'm so hungry. I want meat.'
If it were normal, Akame would definitely pitifully hold her stomach and say that.
But they were on a mission now.
The girl suppressed those thoughts.
The cursed blade Kiriichimonji in her hand had not left her grip for over ten hours.
She remained alert to every movement around them.
Gozuki secretly observed the children he had spent eight years painstakingly raising.
Although they were in this situation, he still felt that this was a very good lesson for them.
If they could survive against Oarburgh, their strength would definitely improve greatly.
Suddenly—
"Squeak…"
An almost imperceptible sound was instantly caught by Gozuki.
His pupils shrank.
Following the sound, he instantly used his powerful eyesight to pierce through every obstacle in the surroundings and locked onto a squirrel hiding in the bushes.
Whoosh!
A sound of air being torn rang out.
The squirrel's body was struck by a terrifying attack.
Half of its flesh was directly torn away, and it collapsed onto the ground, kicking its legs before dying.
Seeing this, Gozuki frowned.
He retracted the finger he had extended.
If anyone looked at his fingertip now, they would discover that his fingernail was gone.
"Just an ordinary squirrel?"
Gozuki realized that he might have become somewhat overly sensitive.
Because he knew about the existence of a transformation Teigu, the instant he saw the squirrel, he had controlled the muscles of his fingertip and fired out his nail.
This technique was one of his trump cards against enemies.
The more experienced an expert was, the harder it was for them to notice it.
For experts, fists, feet, and even fingernails could all be deadly weapons.
Even bare-handed, they could easily kill. But no one would ever imagine that fingernails could be fired out like bullets from a gun to attack an enemy.
Body control.
As someone who had mastered this path, Gozuki could fire not only the nails on his fingers, but even the toenails on his feet.
Enemies would be caught off guard and easily struck.
The nails he fired had power no weaker than bullets, and were even stronger. They were also coated in poison capable of quickly depriving the victim of mobility.
In order to definitely eliminate that transforming Teigu user, he had used such a terrifying technique on a real squirrel without even taking time to hesitate.
...
Not far from the squirrel's corpse, another squirrel clutching a pinecone froze in shock at the sight of its "companion" dying so miserably.
Ever since she had transformed into a squirrel, Chelsea had constantly been harassed by male squirrels.
Just now, she had watched that squirrel leap into the bushes in order to win her favor, perhaps similar to how humans danced in front of females they liked.
But in an instant…
That squirrel had died violently.
Chelsea was panicking now!
She did not dare move, afraid that the next one to be killed would be herself.
She had no idea what had happened or how that squirrel had died, but in any case, she needed to run!
Gaea Foundation's transformation ability was a complete transformation.
Once she transformed, her abilities were no different from those of a real animal.
For example, right now, as a squirrel, if she encountered a snake, she might very well become its meal.
After fleeing back to the temporary base in terror, Barbara saw her covered in sweat and asked.
"Judging by your appearance, you discovered something, didn't you?"
Chelsea wiped the sweat from her forehead and complained, "I risked my life and the danger of being violated by animals to investigate so painstakingly, and you don't even say one word of comfort?"
Barbara curled her lip.
"Stop whining. I'll give you twenty percent of my bonus. That should satisfy you, right?"
"Satisfied, satisfied!"
The moment Chelsea heard she would receive another twenty percent of the bonus, she immediately revealed a bright smile.
Then she described what she had encountered in the forest.
She also analyzed, "That may have been some kind of attack method. When the squirrel died, I couldn't sense anything around it. But my instincts were warning me of danger. That should be where they're hiding."
"Mm."
After hearing that, Barbara silently fell into thought.
She had only received this level of information in exchange for twenty percent of her bonus, yet she had no complaints.
At her level, even from tiny details, she could extract a great deal of useful information.
At that moment, Taeko, who had been quietly standing nearby, suddenly spoke.
"Instructor, I believe the other side is waiting for reinforcements."
"Oh? You think so too?"
Barbara looked at Taeko and nodded in satisfaction.
Taeko was a child she had picked up.
After bringing her into the organization, Barbara discovered her extraordinary talent and taught her everything she knew. She was the disciple Barbara was proud of.
And the girl lived up to it. Despite her young age, she already possessed extremely powerful skills.
Barbara was confident that Taeko had no equal among her peers.
Because she was a genius.
And one personally taught by Barbara herself.
By comparison…
When Chelsea heard their words, she gave an exaggerated "Ehh?"
That disdain was not even being hidden.
"How annoying. They actually called reinforcements? In that case, why don't we call people too?"
A vein bulged on Barbara's forehead.
Smack!
"Ah, that hurts! What are you doing, you old hag?!"
"You brat! How many times have I told you to call me Barbara, you damn little imp!"
Barbara pointed at her nose and scolded, "We are an assassin society. Our mission is assassination, not war!"
They were only killing a few people.
Were they supposed to gather the entire organization and fight the enemy head-on?
That was something desperate mercenaries would do.
"Go notify the Tengu Party. Tell them their enemies have been found."
Taeko nodded and stood up, acting extremely decisively.
Chelsea looked at Barbara's sinister smile. "You still plan to use the Tengu Party as cannon fodder to test the enemy? How wicked."
Barbara glared at her.
"What else? We only have three people, while the other side has eight. They killed so many of the Tengu Party's people. The Tengu Party wouldn't let this go anyway."
"Yes, yes. Everything you say is right…"
Chelsea broke into a cold sweat.
She had used both the enemy and their allies at the same time, yet she still sounded so reasonable.
As expected of an old fox who had lived this long.
...
The sun began to set and the sky was gradually dyed red.
Gozuki sensed the atmosphere in the forest quietly change and immediately stood up, speaking to the elite seven members, "Prepare yourselves. Looks like we won't be able to escape this time."
Nahashu asked in confusion, "Father?"
He was fairly sensitive to auras as well, but right now, he had not sensed anything.
But seeing Gozuki's grave expression, he knew this was no joke.
The others also stood up one after another, taking out their weapons and gripping them tightly.
"The sound of the forest has changed. The sounds of the animals have disappeared. That means they've all hidden. The enemy's numbers are likely considerable."
Gozuki's experience was profound.
Just from the atmosphere in the forest, he had already grasped a certain degree of the situation.
He turned his head and said, "Guy, use Thousand-Layer Robe to investigate and come back immediately. Don't take risks."
"Got it!"
Guy grinned and put on the Shingu, Thousand-Layer Robe.
His tall, one-meter-eighty frame completely sank into the ground, leaving no visible trace to the naked eye.
In reality, Guy was already swimming underground like a fish in water.
With the power of his Shingu, his speed moving through the soil was by no means slow.
In a short time, he circled the entire forest once.
What he saw left him deeply shocked.
He returned to Gozuki and the others, and the first thing he said after poking his head out was.
"This is bad! We're surrounded. There are at least over a hundred enemies. Several of them give me a pretty dangerous feeling!"
Hearing his report, Gozuki's first concern was not those enemies "before their eyes."
They made Guy feel danger, but they had not discovered him.
Tch.
With that, he understood.
Those people were not Oarburgh.
In other words, damn Oarburgh still had not shown themselves even in this situation.
The ones who had come were most likely that mercenary group whose members had died last time.
That meant the worst-case scenario was that they would have to fight these people while Oarburgh remained hidden in the shadows.
Gozuki did not voice his worries for now.
Based on Guy's report about the enemy's distribution, he assigned each person a combat area and strategy.
"Go. Let these people see the strength of those of you who grew up in the mountains."
For Akame and the others, a forest like this was almost the same as returning home.
How to move, hide, and fight smoothly in such complex terrain was something they had learned and studied every day since childhood.
Even though the enemy had many people, they had taken the terrain advantage first.
...
One after another, white-clad Tengu Party members searched through the forest.
From time to time, they had to cut through branches blocking their path, push aside grass, and deal with vines constantly tripping their ankles.
Their advance was extremely slow.
Several members of the Tengu Party were getting angry and impatient, completely unaware that the Grim Reaper's scythe had already been raised above their heads.
Whoosh!
A soft sound rang out.
Akame dropped freely from the tree, burying her entire body in the grass.
Hearing the sound, several Tengu Party members turned back to check.
"Hey, don't make weird sou—"
Aaaah!
The instant they relaxed, Akame's figure suddenly emerged from one side.
Kiriichimonji was gripped in a reverse hold, and the blade passed across the neck of the nearest Tengu Party member.
Blood immediately gushed out like a fountain.
The remaining Tengu Party members were about to shout loudly for their companions, but the girl's movements were so fast they did not seem human.
In the blink of an eye, she arrived before them.
Her slashes were incomparably clean and decisive.
As she passed by them, she precisely attacked their vitals, killing every enemy in one strike and not allowing them to make even a single cry.
"Burial."
With a blood flick, Akame shook the blood from the blade.
Her body had been dyed red by the Tengu Party's spurting blood, making her look exceptionally bewitching.
After killing several people in succession, Akame felt that her body was in an exceptionally good state.
'It feels like strength is constantly welling up inside me…'
If Noah were here and used appraisal, he would discover that the grace elixir was producing a considerable effect on Akame's body, promoting her growth.
The same situation was also happening to the others.
Enemies that had once felt troublesome to them now gave them the impression of being unable to withstand even a single blow.
"This is really… getting exciting."
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