novelcrest Chapter 474 Because You're So Beautiful
Chapter 474 Because You're So Beautiful
Chapter 474 Because You're So Beautiful
News of Esdeath's death spread throughout the empire at an extremely rapid pace. The fall of the most brilliant star of this era caused a great uproar.
From the icy snowfields in the north to the desert kingdoms in the west, from the coastal towns in the east to the wild forests in the south, countless forces were shocked and sent large numbers of elite troops into the empire to gather intelligence. What exactly happened?
The world's格局 (geju, a term referring to the overall situation or landscape) could change!
The Empire was naturally the first to receive the news.
That was the center of the empire—the capital, the economic, cultural, and political center, but also the darkest and most corrupt place, teeming with demons and monsters more terrifying than dangerous creatures, and harboring devilish human hearts.
The root of all this is Minister Ernest!
Ernest secretly murdered the current young emperor's parents, installed him on the throne, and thus ascended to the pinnacle of power, beginning a life of rampant wealth accumulation and extravagant indulgence.
But this day was the worst time of his life.
An urgent letter arrived at the palace and appeared on Minister Ernest's desk. When he finished reading its contents, he stared blankly, and the letter slipped from his hand.
Under the watchful eyes of all the civil and military officials, Minister Ernest broke down in tears, burying his face in his hands, "Esdeath is dead—waaaaaah, how could she be dead!"
There are no techniques involved, it's all about emotion!
Even if it were his own son, Ishtar, who had died, Minister Ernest wouldn't have reacted so dramatically. Esdeath was different; she was his ally.
They were the same kind of people, his trump card in suppressing unrest within and outside the empire and countering figures like Bud. Esdeath's death was enough to shake his rule.
"Well, since he's dead, there's nothing we can do about it."
The next second, Ernest was like a master of disguise; the sadness and pain on his face vanished instantly, replaced by calm, with only a trace of gloom remaining in his eyes. "The living always have to consider practical matters."
Those around him felt a chill run down their spines; this was Minister Ernest, a demonic political creature.
Ernest's face darkened. "Roy? Where did this guy come from? He actually managed to kill that crazy woman Esdeath. He's dangerous."
As a powerful minister who rose to the top, Ernest's ability to regard Esdeath as an ally and share power is enough to prove just how formidable the latter's fighting prowess is.
The fact that her opponent was killed by an unknown boy shows that Ernest believed Esdeath wouldn't hold back, which can only mean that her opponent was too strong!
"What are your opinions?" Ernest glanced at the civil and military officials below.
"————"
Many civil and military officials shuddered, and tried to change the subject, unable to say anything for a long time.
Just as Ernest's patience was about to run out, a burly man with a scarred face stepped forward. "Sir," he said, "I have a plan to rid you of this great threat!"
The courtiers looked surprised. "You have a plan too?"
Ernest: "Speak!"
The burly man continued, "Send out elite assassins to assassinate the heinous criminal who killed General Esdeath. The Imperial Assassination Corps' ace assassins, the Akame and Kurome sisters, will surely accomplish this mission!"
Ernest frowned. "Sisters?"
The burly man nodded. "They are both Imperial Arms users, each wielding one of the Imperial Arms, Murasame and Hachifusa. I believe they will not disappoint Your Excellency's expectations and will surely be able to slay that great sinner."
"One-hit kill Murasame—Alright, let them try." Ernest narrowed his eyes.
He had heard of the ace assassin, Akame, and even paid close attention to him. As the one in power, how could he not know how many powerful men he had under his command?
Ernest consumes large amounts of meat daily, appearing obese and incompetent, but in reality, he is ruthless and highly capable. He is the wielder of the Imperial Arms Jeweled Headband Ireston, a master of physical combat, and a strong individual capable of fighting ordinary Imperial Arms users with his bare hands.
Direct combat and assassination are different!
Murasame, a sword that can kill in one strike, injects a cursed poison into anyone struck by it. There is no antidote, and death is certain. Although the boy was able to defeat Esdeath, he might still be caught off guard by the assassination attempt.
"yes!"
The burly man was excited; he was sure that completing the task assigned by the minister would earn him recognition and a meteoric rise to power.
He returned to the Imperial Assassination Center without stopping.
All the assassins were summoned.
It wasn't just the two ace assassin sisters; the burly man ordered the entire Imperial Assassination Corps to be mobilized.
"Your mission this time is to assassinate the traitors of the rebel army, the great sinners who killed General Esdeath!" The burly man pasted Roy's portrait on the wall.
"I'll fight Roy?"
His words immediately caused an uproar among the assassins. He was the monster who had killed the Empire's strongest general, Esdeath, in a direct confrontation!
Seeing the assassins' reactions, the burly man was exasperated. "I know the mission is difficult, but who doesn't have difficulties in their job? Overcoming difficulties is what a worker should do. Otherwise, how can you get promoted and receive a raise?"
The burly man was most pleased with the sisters' reaction.
Ignoring everything else and focused solely on being a good cook, Akame wolfed down a large piece of roasted meat, while Kurome quickly tossed small snacks into her mouth.
A poor village on the border of the empire.
Esdeath's murder shocked the entire nation, and the news even reached this place. The villagers, with their limited knowledge, couldn't understand why the nobles in the city were so terrified; it must be because a great person had died.
-
Tatsumi asked curiously, "Uncle, is that Esdeath person very powerful?"
Both Sayo and Iyeas were looking at the middle-aged man.
This man was their swordsmanship instructor, a retired Imperial military instructor who had participated in the war.
The middle-aged man's lips twitched as he said, "General Esdeath—she's more than just powerful; it's said that it would take an army of over a million to defeat her!"
"hiss!"
Upon hearing this, Tatsumi, Sayo, and Ieyasu were stunned and gasped. They couldn't even defeat this retired veteran in front of them. Their little minds couldn't comprehend what kind of person required an army of millions to deal with. Was that guy really human? Or was he a super dangerous species disguised as a human?
What shocked them even more was that such a powerful imperial general had been killed, so how extraordinary must that boy named Roy be?
The middle-aged man looked solemn.
Actually, he hadn't finished speaking. Within the empire, there were powerful individuals known as Imperial Arms Users, whose combat strength far surpassed that of soldiers. It would take a million-strong army plus a dozen or so Imperial Arms Users to possibly defeat General Esdeath.
"These are truly turbulent times," the middle-aged man sighed. He seemed to see the storm brewing within the empire, but it had nothing to do with their poor little village.
The outside world was in an uproar over Roy's killing of Esdeath, while at the same time, Roy and Alphia had arrived at the Revolutionary Army headquarters.
The two killed Esdeath, the Three Beast Warriors, and hundreds of cavalrymen, and were treated like heroes.
Nothing dramatic or outrageous happened.
Another reason is Najenda!
Unlike the original timeline where his subordinates suffered heavy casualties and he himself lost an eye and a hand before joining the revolutionary army.
This time, Najenda, along with four other Teigu users, and tens of thousands of loyal followers willing to follow her, joined the group with their own resources, making their status completely different.
To put it bluntly, if Najenda's forces were to fight the entire Revolutionary Army, she would have a 50-60% chance of winning. If Roy and Alphia were added to the mix, it would be a complete rout, a one-sided massacre.
Faced with these powerful figures who had given up high-ranking positions and generous salaries in the empire to join them voluntarily, the revolutionary army treated them like their own ancestors.
Roy can influence Najenda, and Najenda can influence the Revolutionary Army's decisions, which means he indirectly controls the organization. The rest is simple: destroy the Empire and get the reward for clearing the game!
Before that, Roy had to solve a difficult problem.
Alphia's condition had reached a critical point, and she became even weaker after the battle ended.
On the bed, Alphia's aloof and beautiful face, which once looked down on all living beings, was still breathtakingly beautiful, but it no longer had any of its former sternness and strength. It was just a deathly pale face, with pale blue veins faintly visible under her snow-white skin as thin as a cicada's wing.
Her breath was faint, barely perceptible; her long eyelashes resembled the broken wings of an ice butterfly; the fragility revealed between her delicate brows was pitiful.
Roy held Alphia's cold little hand.
Dragging her dying body, she used her LV.3 ability to kill two Imperial Arms users and hundreds of cavalrymen. Only this witch could do that.
The price is the current tragic state of affairs.
"I'm suddenly starting to believe you," Alphia said, staring blankly at the ceiling, her cherry lips slightly parted.
Roy asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"This is another world."
Alphia replied that she had not heard anything about gods or clans from anyone else so far, and the countries and metropolises she knew did not exist. The people here did not even know about Orario, which would have been almost impossible in the original world!
"To die far from home, how unlucky!" Alphia sighed.
"I won't let you die!"
Roy held Alphia's small hand, enveloping it in his warm palm, and held her tightly.
Alphia's heterochromatic eyes reflected Roy's handsome and resolute face, leaving her deeply perplexed.
Why are you so persistent with me?
Roy laughed, "Because you're pretty!"
Alphia was taken aback. "That's it?"
"I'm the kind of person who can't resist beautiful women. Otherwise, why do you think the Astrea Familia has so many girls? If you look like Frini Jamil, the former captain of the Ishtar Familia, I can only wish you good luck." Roy's lips curled up.
Alphia's face darkened. He really was a scumbag. She curled her lip and said, "If I were saved by a guy like you, I'd rather die."
"Hahaha!"
Roy noticed Najenda outside the door out of the corner of his eye, and gently put Alphia's small hand back under the covers. "I'll go check on things. You rest for a bit."
After saying that, he got up and walked outside.
Looking at Roy's tall figure, Alphia knew, of course, that the boy was joking.
Even a great beauty like Esdeath, whose looks and temperament were no less than hers, was killed by Roy without hesitation. There must be a deeper reason why she saved her.
But she just couldn't figure it out no matter what she did.
Could it be that he really is despicable, lusting after my body? A rare blush appeared on Alphia's pretty cheeks as she silently said, "For the first time now, I'm grateful to myself for having such a beautiful face—"
Outside the room.
Najenda looked tired. Having integrated with the Revolutionary Army, she was constantly busy with countless tasks. She finally managed to squeeze in some time and rushed over. "How is Miss Alphia doing?"
"Multiple organ failure, blocked blood vessels—I can live for another two or three weeks," Roy said calmly. Anyone else would have died that day; only she could hold on.
"How could that be!"
Najenda's pupils contracted. She had long regarded Roy and Alphia as her closest comrades-in-arms, so how could she not be upset upon hearing this news?
Roy, "Najeta, I need your help!"
Najenda noticed Roy's expression, and her grief eased slightly. The boy before her was too calm. "Miss Alphia, is there still hope?"
"Yes!" Roy nodded.
Najenda's face lit up with joy; she had truly let her concern cloud her judgment. "Roy, tell me, we're comrades!"
Roy said, "In order to save Alphia, I need an Imperial Arm called God's Hand: Perfector, which is in the possession of a certain scientist in the Empire and is called Dr. Fashion."
"Then I'll go gather information on that person right away!"
"etc!"
Roy stopped the hurried Najenda, smiling mysteriously, "Who said we were going to find them?"
Najeta looked at Roy with a puzzled expression.
"Our prey will come to us!"
A cold glint flashed in Roy's eyes. "Spread the word that we're going to hold a major conference!"
"The conference—what does that mean?" Najenda couldn't keep up with Roy's train of thought.
Roy said, "The 48 Imperial Arms that have been passed down through the Empire for thousands of years possess different properties. Without exception, those who can gain the recognition of an Imperial Arm are talents one in ten thousand. Don't you want to determine who is the greatest Imperial Arm user in the world and who possesses the strongest Imperial Arm?"
"We've prepared a grand stage to gather all the Imperial Arms users, both within and outside the Empire!"
"What's the point of this?!"
Najenda frowned, but a moment later she realized what was going on, her pupils dilating in shock as she understood the immense benefits of the plan. Exclaimed excitedly, "It can work! It can work!"
With Esdeath's murder, Roy and the Revolutionary Army are in the eye of the storm, the focus of public opinion, and their every move will attract the attention of countless people.
How will the Empire react if the Revolutionary Army openly hosts such a large-scale event? If the other side doesn't send anyone, the Revolutionary Army's prestige will be further enhanced; conversely, if they do send someone, who will they send?
With the loss of Esdeath and the three beast warriors, the Empire suffered a severe blow. General Budo needs to guard the palace. If the other Imperial Arms users come over, can they defeat Roy, who killed Esdeath?
A masterful, overt conspiracy!
The Empire either stands idly by and watches the Revolutionary Army grow stronger, or it sends people to their deaths. Ultimately, once the Revolutionary Army acquires Roy, an extraordinary and powerful fighter, the initiative is no longer in the other side's hands.
Roy's powerful kick would accelerate the empire's demise many times over, while flattening the empire and saving Alphia could be done simultaneously.
Dr. Fashion is a rare mad scientist dedicated to researching biochemical weapons and creating equipment comparable to Imperial Arms, for which he needs Imperial Arms as a reference.
The Revolutionary Army's conference attracted countless Teigu users, and Roy didn't believe they could resist.
Of course, he would also make two preparations, having Najenda send people to investigate Dr. Fashion's whereabouts.
The Imperial Arm, Divine Hand: Perfector, can induce hundreds of times more precise finger movements, used to create various sophisticated weapons and to examine and treat human injuries.
Roy was determined to succeed, and used that Imperial Arm to transplant the Crimson Dragon Heart, which would save Alphia's life.