Chapter 413: Esdeath's Return

Najenda bowed and said, "Thank you for your generosity."

After allocating assets from the Revolutionary Army headquarters to purchase Game Invitation for all members of Night Raid, they spent the following several days continuously hunting Pollution Monster within the Samsara Game.

"Speed Gem?"

A white gem landed in Akame's hand; looking at the game prompt, her cold gaze flickered slightly.

Once this gem is socketed into equipment, it can increase movement speed.

【Murasame】 contains cursed poison, kills upon drawing blood, and slays with a single strike.

Without needing a physique as strong as Bulat's, Akame has always pursued ultimate agility and speed.

Hum.

The gem was socketed into a pair of green leggings, blooming with a faint white halo.

Bulat felt it was a pity and said, "Akame, gems are quite rare; wouldn't it be better to socket them into high-level equipment?"

Night Raid members are all combatants, and their speed in hunting Pollution Monster is very fast; it won't take long to reach Lv. 19.

These low-level pieces of equipment will soon be phased out.

"After socketing, I can hunt pollution better."

Akame did not explain further; this was the difference in their personalities.

Having been raised as an assassin by the Empire since childhood, she had absolutely no thought of preserving her strength; she treated every day as if it were her last, training and slaughtering in order to survive.

"News from the Imperial Capital: Esdeath seems to have been missing for several days."

Bulat carefully put away the experience orbs opened from the treasure chest and said, "Najenda has already led people to raid two key strongholds of the Imperial Capital; word has come for us to assassinate those evil officials without fail."

"Understood."

Akame responded briefly; these past two days, Night Raid had not only been hunting Pollution Monster, but taking advantage of the death cooldown, they also used their newly acquired extraordinary powers to assassinate high-ranking officials in the Imperial Capital.

This caused the high-ranking officials of the Imperial Capital to feel that everyone was a threat.

Clearly, the interference of the mysterious merchant had caused the grand plan to breach the Imperial Capital to be set in motion ahead of schedule.

Imperial Capital, Royal Palace.

High-ranking officials of the Imperial Capital stood on both sides, heads bowed in silent stillness.

With a large belly and a fat physique, the Empire's Minister, Aoneisite, sat beneath the throne with a gloomy expression.

On the throne sat the Little Emperor, full of curiosity, fiddling with the scepter in his hands.

"Greetings, Emperor."

Esdeath walked slowly into the palace and knelt on one knee toward the Little Emperor.

Before the Little Emperor could speak, Minister Aoneisite spoke up, with a hint of reprimand in his tone: "General Esdeath, the battle report sent back said you had already dealt with the northern tribes, yet you suddenly disappeared."

"In the few days you were missing, Night Raid went on a frenzy assassinating officials in the Imperial Capital, and the Revolutionary Army took advantage of the Imperial Capital's weakness to capture two key Empire strongholds. Do you know your crime?!"

If not for the protection of the Rasa Sigu, he wouldn't even be able to sleep well with Night Raid making such big moves.

Esdeath, in her military uniform, stood up and said unhurriedly, "Minister Aoneisite, according to the original plan, it was to resolve the northern tribes within half a year, right?"

"And I used only three days, so even if I returned to the Imperial Capital a little later, it would be quite normal."

She raised her eyes, her ice-blue pupils staring straight at Minister Aoneisite as if looking at some noisy prey, and continued: "The defense of the Imperial Capital has never been my responsibility, but rather that of General Budo's Imperial Guard, right?"

"You actually..."

Minister Aoneisite was so frightened by her gaze that he retreated repeatedly, bumped into the steps, and stumbled to the ground.

The Rasa Sigu, hidden in the shadows, hurriedly jumped out to protect the Empire's Minister.

To actually dare to have armed guards lurking within the palace,

This act of overstepping was seen by the officials of the Imperial Capital, yet no one made a sound.

After all, everyone knew that the person in power in the Imperial Capital was the fat Minister, not the ignorant and naive Little Emperor.

Minister Aoneisite wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and squeezed out a smile: "I didn't mean to blame General Esdeath; I only meant that if you had returned earlier, perhaps the Empire's losses would have been reduced."

What is going on?

In the past, no matter what victory Esdeath achieved, he would always suppress her like this.

And Esdeath never minded being accused or slandered, or having her rewards stripped; she was just like a cold war machine, her mind filled only with battle.

Esdeath shook her head and said, "Such matters have nothing to do with me."

"That's right, Minister Aoneisite."

The Emperor agreed deeply, waving the Golden Scepter, and nodded: "Defending the Imperial Capital is something General Budo should do, right?"

Hearing him say this, General Budo, who had been silent, stepped out, knelt on one knee, and admitted his fault: "It is this subject's negligence; I have already dispatched the Imperial Guard to strengthen the defense of the Imperial Capital and will not let any assassin get through."

Idiot!

Minister Aoneisite cursed inwardly.

Although the young Emperor is easy to control, he has no brains; what he wanted to do was to diminish Esdeath's burgeoning prominence, but this time it seemed he could not continue.

Seeing this, he had no choice but to bow slightly and wait for the Emperor's next move.

The Emperor sat on the throne, dangling his feet which couldn't even touch the floor, and asked curiously: "Having defeated the northern tribes, Esdeath is the youngest general in the Imperial Capital; is there anything you need?"

"Gold, manors, slaves, titles... anything is fine!"

"Gold and a manor."

Esdeath answered without hesitation.

This time, the officials of the Imperial Capital and Minister Aoneisite all showed expressions of shock.

All this time, Esdeath had no interest in any kind of treasure; now she was actually taking the initiative to ask for it? Could it be that the battle with the northern tribes had enlightened Esdeath? "Good, then grant General Esdeath the most luxurious Noble Manor and ten thousand taels of gold!"

The Emperor felt no heartache at all, or rather, he had no concept of assets whatsoever.

Hearing this, even Minister Aoneisite, who held power over the court, felt a twinge of pain in his heart.

"Thank you, Emperor."

Esdeath curled the corners of her mouth and bowed respectfully.

The moment the Emperor announced the reward, she exchanged the manor and the Kinkaku for everything; the luxurious manor in the most prosperous area of the Imperial Capital was 150,000 Reward Points, and the Kinkaku was 40,000 Reward Points.

In any other world, even assets in the Imperial Capital would not be this expensive.

But in the Diju Shijie, the corrupt Emperor and the Minister had swallowed up the assets of the entire world like a whale, gathering them into the Imperial Capital, resulting in slaves and starving corpses everywhere, with all the original essence being engulfed by the Imperial Capital.

A single luxurious manor was worth half a town.

The Emperor was clearly in a good mood and continued to ask: "General Esdeath has never accepted my rewards before; is there anything else you need this time?"

Minister Aoneisite's eyes twitched, but with everyone watching, he could not simply cover the Emperor's mouth.

Esdeath's face flushed slightly, and she said: "If it is possible, your subject wishes to fall in love."

Silence.

The Minister, who had been nervous that Esdeath would make an exorbitant demand, was stunned for a moment.

The bloodthirsty war machine actually wanted to fall in love? Sure enough, even a mad beast would yearn for the opposite sex once it reached a certain age.

The Minister breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

The Emperor pointed to the bloated Minister beside him and asked: "How about the Minister?"

"The Minister does not meet my requirements for love."

Esdeath took out a list she had prepared long ago and handed it to the Little Emperor.

After reading it, the Little Emperor said with difficulty: "Is that so? How about holding a grand martial arts tournament to find a suitable romantic partner for you? Would that be acceptable?"

Esdeath nodded slightly and thanked him: "Thank you, Emperor."

The Minister rushed to speak: "Emperor, leave this matter to me; I will certainly be able to fulfill General Esdeath's request."

He did not want the Elite chosen by the grand martial arts tournament to all be recruited under Esdeath's command.

He had to find a way to send her away; just then, the Minister pretended to have suddenly remembered something and said: "As it happens, we are about to meet with wealthy men and merchants willing to pledge loyalty to the Empire, so I will trouble General Esdeath to help review them."

A list of wealthy men and merchants coming to meet the Emperor was handed to Esdeath.

Esdeath glanced at it, then shook her head and refused: "This kind of thing, I am not inter..."

Her voice stopped abruptly.

Esdeath's demeanor shifted, and she said: "Leave this matter to me."

The Minister revealed a triumphant smile and hurriedly left the palace, beginning to replace the soldiers under Esdeath's command with men loyal to himself.

"So troublesome."

The Emperor was clearly not meeting wealthy men and merchants for the first time, and he shook his head in boredom.

But this was the Minister's order, so he had to obey.

"Let them in!"

The Emperor leaned back on his throne and waved his hand, signaling the guards to bring in those seeking an audience.

(End of this chapter)