Chapter 404: The World's Blessing to Tatsumi

Sheele ignored him.

She did not like to speak when fighting; she silently wiped the stains off her Teigu Scissors and quickly vanished at the end of the corridor.

"Stop right there!"

Tatsumi broke free from his fear and ran forward two steps in anger,

but thinking of the merchant gentleman who had treated him to a meal and the gentle, kind young lady, he hurriedly stopped his pursuit.

He returned to his room and picked up his short sword, which was made of refined steel.

This was a weapon the group had pooled money to have a blacksmith forge when they left the village; he and his two companions each had one.

Suddenly,

Tatsumi remembered that there seemed to be two very similar short swords hanging on the wall of the wealthy merchant's living room.

But there was no time to think; the priority now was to protect the merchant gentleman and the young lady.

"Mr. Fang Yi, are you alright?"

Tatsumi kicked open the door and discovered that Mr. Fang Yi was not sleeping, but was hunched over a desk, writing all sorts of characters he could not understand on a piece of draft paper; in the center of the paper was a black tower towering into the clouds.

"Is that you, Tatsumi?"

Fang Yi did not even lift his head, asking in a gentle voice, "Have you run into trouble?"

In truth, he was asking despite knowing the answer; with his strength, even if the various Teigu Users of Night Raid were hiding at the ends of the earth, he could sense their every move.

Not to mention, they were blatantly killing people inside this villa.

"It's Night Raid!"

Tatsumi said with an agitated tone, pulling at Fang Yi as he wanted to leave the room. He said, "The assassin organization causing turmoil in the Imperial Capital, the wanted criminals; they are slaughtering Aria's family!"

He held up his refined steel short sword, constantly alert to the dangers around him.

"Mr. Fang Yi, you and little sister A Fu hide well; I am going to save the young lady!"

The sound of bullets breaking through chambers echoed not far away.

Tatsumi took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and after reminding Fang Yi to take cover, he raised his short sword and rushed over.

He was very afraid of death,

and the Night Raid organization looked like they were not to be trifled with; just the female assassin holding the scissor weapon radiated a terrifying sense of oppression.

He still wanted to keep his life, get ahead in the world, and help his fellow villagers escape hardship and poverty.

However, Tatsumi was also a person who repaid kindness, and he could not just watch the friendly merchant family lose their lives.

"Wait, Tatsumi."

Fang Yi called out to Tatsumi, who had not run far yet. After walking over, he looked at the other's refined steel short sword and said, "Can you give me your short sword?"

Tatsumi was anxious inside and did not yet know how the young lady was doing.

He had originally wanted to refuse, but as if guided by a ghost, he handed over the refined steel short sword.

"Thank you for your escort."

Fang Yi held the short sword, his fingers lightly touching the blade, then returned it to Tatsumi as if nothing had happened, smiling, "Consider it my blessing to you."

Just like the malice from the food shop owner toward him would lead to a riot of the World Consciousness,

Tatsumi's heartfelt kindness would likewise reap feedback.

A strand of ethereal origin was infused into Tatsumi's body by the consciousness of the Diju Shijie.

And Fang Yi's action

was to turn that origin into ready-made power, rather than some illusory luck or the favor of the world.

"Thank you."

Tatsumi gripped the short sword tightly and suddenly felt something was not right. He did not know if it was an illusion, but his body seemed to have become light, and some strange knowledge was gradually appearing in his mind.

There was no time to think; the situation was critical. Tatsumi ran headlong and finally discovered the young lady's figure outside the woods behind the villa.

Two guards wearing Armor stood in front of Aria, continuously pulling their triggers; sparks flew as bullets shot toward the enemy.

"So weak!"

Leone, in her beast-man form, moved with Agility, nimbly dodging the bullets as she approached rapidly.

The magazine was emptied; taking advantage of the gap, Leone had already pounced like a hunting leopard, her Sharp beast claws tearing through the iron-plate armor and shredding the guard's internal organs.

The other guard let out a terrified howl, threw away his empty pistol, and ignoring Aria's calls from behind, fled into the distance.

"Eliminate!"

Akame was like a nimble nightingale, descending from the sky; the cursed blade Murasame pierced through the fleeing guard's chest. She did not bother to finish him off;

strands of incantations crawled over his entire body like black insects, devouring his life.

"Stop right there!"

Just as Akame rushed toward the terrified Aria, Tatsumi let out a roar.

Akame was unmoved; she tapped her right foot on the ground, arrived in front of Aria in the blink of an eye, and swung the cursed blade Murasame.

Clang! The thrown refined steel short sword accurately struck the cursed blade.

It blocked the attack that was meant to slit Akame's throat. Aria was so scared she wet her pants; the warm yellow liquid soaked her princess dress, and she scrambled away toward the warehouse during the opening.

The warehouse was a cage specially built for torturing and humiliating the lowly people.

To prevent the vicious acts from leaking out, it was built with the most Sturdy bricks, and the door was also made of steel plate.

As long as they hid inside, even Night Raid would not be able to break in.

"Then I'll kill you first!"

Akame ignored Aria, who was using her hands and feet to crawl toward the factory building, and turned to look at Tatsumi, who had interrupted her mission.

In her eyes, anyone who hindered the execution of a mission had to die.

Eliminate! Before Akame could rush over, Tatsumi lunged forward first, picked up his refined steel short sword, and then lay on the ground like a donkey rolling, facing the sky.

Clang! The steel short sword held horizontally in front barely blocked the descending cursed blade.

Such strong arm strength, and the speed is also...

Tatsumi twisted his body, rolled several meters away, and climbed up from the ground, looking at Akame with a grave expression.

Shaking his numb palm,

his heart gradually sank.

The black-haired, red-eyed girl before him—no wonder she could be treated as a vicious criminal by the Imperial Capital; with just one strike, she made Tatsumi realize that his strength was inferior to hers.

Furthermore,

there were several more assassins from the Night Raid Organization.

"Is it not over yet, Akame? Too slow!"

Leone finished off the nearby guards, and upon returning, she saw Akame confronting Tatsumi and teased her.

"Mission accomplished!"

A burly Shadow wrapped in Armor appeared, emitting a voice full of vigor.

"Do you need me to help you strangle him, Akame?"

Lubbock stood in mid-air, his feet stepping on threads, looking down at Tatsumi from above.

Akame did not respond,

gripping the cursed blade tightly as she rushed toward Tatsumi; the blade light flickered, but the successive slashes were all blocked by Tatsumi.

"What is this...?"

Although Tatsumi retreated repeatedly, his steel short sword kept colliding with the cursed blade, and his defense was not broken by Akame.

Even he felt bewildered; when did he become this strong?

Even ignoring physical fitness, judging from the combat techniques the black-haired, red-eyed girl used when killing, he was definitely no match for her.

"Not bad at all, to actually be able to trade blows back and forth with Akame!"

Bulat, who was watching the battle, was also surprised.

Was he a newly hired guard of the wealthy man? His strength was not bad; even most soldiers of the Empire did not possess such strength.

His control over the steel short sword showed at a glance that he had been taught by a famous master.

"Who is he? There is no name for him in the information about the wealthy merchant."

"It seems he is an outsider who just arrived in the Imperial Capital after being deceived by the wealthy merchant, and he is still being kept in the dark."

Leone thought for a moment; it seemed she had seen this kid at the Empire's military recruitment office during the day.

At the time, he seemed to say he had just arrived in the Imperial Capital, but because he did not understand the rules and did not give money to the Empire's soldiers, he was driven out.

She had originally wanted to extort a sum from him to make him retreat and leave the Imperial Capital, but she was attracted by Fang Yi, who looked wealthier, so she did not commit the crime.

"Akame, don't kill him yet!"

(End of chapter)