novelhk Page 239
Page 239
Chapter Ten: A Thousand-Year-Old City Filled with Sin!
Because it was a rapid march, and there weren't as many things to deal with as when we came.
In less than half a month, they returned directly to the capital.
Of course, only Esdeath, Kong Yang, the Three Beast Warriors, and a small squad of soldiers returned; the majority of the army remained on the northern border of the empire.
After all, no matter how corrupt the government was, even the ministers would not allow Esdeath to lead her 100,000-strong army back to the capital.
Because this army of 100,000 is Esdeath's private army in the true sense. Here, the emperor's orders and the country's orders are not worth mentioning. In this place, General Esdeath is everything.
Furthermore, although the minister and Esdeath were partners, he was also afraid of dying.
Esdeath is a true madwoman. While cooperating with Esdeath, the minister also left her a backup plan to prevent her from betraying him and ruining him.
This backup plan was another great general of the empire, General Bude, who had served the emperor for generations.
Following ancestral teachings that military officers should not interfere in politics, he did not intervene despite being aware of the corrupt practices of ministers and others, but instead used his authority to protect officials of conscience.
That is why, although he was dissatisfied with Bud, he was not worried at all.
Because as long as the young emperor is in his hands, Bud will never be able to cause any trouble, and with Bud's existence, Esdeath will also be restrained. This is also a means he uses to keep Esdeath in check.
The capital city, an imperial city with a thousand-year-old civilization, is a true gathering place for the powerful and wealthy, a hell of darkness and sin.
Even before arriving in the capital, Kong Yang could clearly sense the various sins that filled the city. Good heavens, it was truly terrifying, almost like a 'hell'.
Kong Yang was truly shocked. Humans are a race where good and evil coexist, the most imperfect, yet also the most perfect.
Here, evil was truly taken to the extreme, even surprising Kong Yang. This place was practically a perfect nursery.
"Kong Yang, this is the capital city. How does it feel?"
"That's really surprising."
"Indeed, the empire has a history of thousands of years. Even if it is not as prosperous as it used to be, it is still the most prosperous place in the world."
Esdeath didn't catch the hidden meaning in Kong Yang's words, and instead smiled and said...
Daidas and Niu, who were standing to the side, did not pay any attention. Only Liva looked at Kong Yang, seemingly lost in thought.
Ever since witnessing Kong Yang's strength, he had been silently watching Kong Yang, wanting to understand what kind of person Kong Yang was. If it might cause any harm to Esdeath, he would risk his life to help his master.
However, the two weeks in the north and the two weeks on the way back made up almost a month.
Liva discovered that Kong Yang was so special that it was as if he wasn't human.
Along the way, nothing seemed to catch Kong Yang's attention.
At the same time, Kong Yang seemed to be searching for something. When burying the alien race alive, he also noticed that Kong Yang showed an expression of 'satisfaction' and 'pleasure'.
And now, this emotion has resurfaced in Kong Yang once again.
He didn't know what this meant, but Kong Yang was definitely hiding something, something very mysterious.
Upon arriving at the outskirts of the capital, the soldiers, who were not allowed to enter the capital, set up camp outside the city unless they were summoned by special permission.
Therefore, only Esdeath, Kong Yang, and the three beast warriors entered Kyoto.
As the Grand General of the Empire, Esdeath did not care about such material possessions. However, in the most prosperous and luxurious area of the capital, there was a Grand General's mansion, which was a gift from a minister to Esdeath.
However, Esdeath spends most of the year on marches and in wars, and doesn't stay in one place much.
"Although the current young emperor is a puppet of the ministers, the necessary procedures still need to be followed. I'm going to the palace."
"Then I'll take this opportunity to explore the capital."
"Okay, I'll have Liva take you to the storeroom to get some gold coins later, so you don't have to bother."
"Ah."
Kong Yang wasn't opposed to this situation, which was essentially like living off a woman.
It's all small change anyway. Now that I can access the Gate of Babylon, I have plenty of money if I ever need it.
After tidying up, Esdeath led the three beast warriors into the palace. Of course, the first thing she did was not to see the young emperor, but to see the ministers.
The two were collaborators, and upon her return, she naturally had to greet the ministers.
When it's time to meet the young emperor, any rewards or matters will be discussed with the ministers in advance, and the young emperor will be the one to bring them up.
Before Kong Yang left, Liva gave him five thousand gold coins, which, while not a huge sum in the capital, was still considerable.
Although Esdeath is an extremely sadistic queen, she is extremely kind to her subordinates and soldiers. In addition, she has no interest in money, so she gives almost all her rewards, gold and silver, to her soldiers.
This is one reason why Esdeath's soldiers are so loyal to her; besides their faith in Esdeath, it's also because following Esdeath brings wealth.
Fighting a battle, just the loot alone, is enough to pay other soldiers several months' wages, and with Esdeath's rewards, it's even more.
Walking on the streets of the capital, Kong Yang could see countless lifeless 'people,' each one like a walking corpse, almost having lost hope and resigned to their fate.
On the surface, everything is incredibly prosperous, but behind this splendor lies an unfathomable abyss of bones and sins.
Greed! Wrath! Envy! Pride! Sloth! Lust! Gluttony!
In this capital city, the Seven Deadly Sins are simply too numerous to count.
As a result, Kong Yang reaped a massive amount of sin and negative power.
In this place, the despair, anger, jealousy, and other emotions of the lower classes arise like a tide, constantly and endlessly.
At the upper levels, pride, lust, gluttony, and sloth are like a dam that is about to burst.
For Kong Yang, this place was simply paradise.
The bustling commercial streets, the lively Imperial Square, and countless glamorous locations—those unaware of the area might truly be blinded by this 'prosperity'.
Kong Yang walked here as an observer, devouring all the negative forces.
Finally, Kong Yang arrived at the slums where the poorest people lived.
This place is the true face of the capital.
Chapter Ten: Night Raid!
Where there is darkness, there is also light.
In this capital city where power reigns supreme and demons and monsters run rampant, there are naturally voices of resistance.
Night Raid, a renowned assassin group in the capital, is actually a secret assassination unit established by the revolutionary army to overthrow the rule of the capital.
His main job is to accept commissions from the residents of the Imperial Capital to eliminate corrupt officials and villains. He is also responsible for fighting against Imperial Arms users and collecting Imperial Arms. His ultimate goal is to assassinate the root of corruption in the Empire—the Minister.
The leader of the night raid was none other than Najenda, one of the youngest generals in the former empire.
He had once fought alongside his colleague and friend Esdeath on the southwestern frontier. After witnessing Esdeath and her Three Beast Warriors committing atrocities of mass slaughtering alien people and their armies, he could no longer tolerate it and felt deeply about the darkness of the Empire, so he left the Empire.
She changed her appearance, renamed herself Najendan, joined the Revolutionary Army, founded Night Raid, and returned to the capital, becoming a sharp blade to eradicate the dark cancer in the capital.
Today, Najenda, having received the latest intelligence, wore a serious expression.
Surrounding them were members of Night Raid, each a wanted criminal on the Empire's wanted list, and all of them were Imperial Arms users.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
Mine looked at Najenda, whose face was serious, and asked in confusion.
"That guy is back."
"That guy?"
"Esdeath, one of the Empire's two Grand Generals, and also the youngest Grand General."
Of everyone present, she was the only one who had ever been in contact with Esdeath and knew all too well how terrifying and horrific she was.
When she left the army, she encountered Esdeath, who came to pursue her. In that battle, two of her Teigu users were killed, and she herself lost her right eye and right hand.
It was because of that battle that she suffered severe injuries, to the point that she could no longer use her Imperial Arms.
The person standing before her, Mine, is her successor. This Teigu, named Romantic Turret Pumpkin, was originally her Teigu.
“It’s unbelievable that she went to fight the northern barbarians just over two months ago and returned so quickly.”
"You're back? From the North Pole?"
"Ah, the round trip took about two months, which means that she didn't expend much effort in her campaign against the northern barbarians."
"This~"
Those present were all assassins, and some were former generals of the empire, so they were familiar with the various alien races that had been harassing the empire.
The struggle between the empire and the alien races has never ceased for thousands of years. Is Esdeath really that powerful?
"According to the intelligence that came in, a force of 500,000 aliens gathered in the northern capital, but was eventually defeated by a force of 100,000 led by Esdeath, and 400,000 northern aliens were buried alive."
These words struck everyone present like a bolt from the blue.
Of the 500,000 troops, 400,000 were buried alive?
Moreover, he only had 100,000 troops of his own?
With a five-to-one numerical disadvantage, how could they still achieve such an astonishing record?
"Hey, boss, you're not kidding, are you? 500,000 against 100,000? And 400,000 were captured and buried alive?"
"This is the terror of Esdeath, and also the power of the Teigu users. In a battle between two sides, numbers are not absolute; what truly determines victory or defeat is the fighting ability of the Teigu users."
Everyone present fell silent upon hearing this. As users of Imperial Arms, they naturally understood the power of Imperial Arms.
Especially Mine, who possesses a pumpkin, can take someone's head from a thousand miles away. In a war, she could definitely assassinate the enemy leader before the battle even begins.
Without a leader, the entire team will naturally fall into chaos, and the outcome is self-evident.
The reason why the empire has been able to stand for thousands of years, especially now that it is like a rotten tree but still stands, is because even now the empire still possesses a large number of Imperial Arms.
"Starting today, all tasks will be temporarily suspended; we need to lie low."
"Boss, how long should we lie low?"
"At least we need to find out about Esdeath, if possible, until she leaves the capital."
Najenda spoke slowly; she knew Esdeath quite well.
This guy is a war maniac. In order to prevent the war from ending, he would even deliberately let go of some enemies whose countries or forces he had destroyed.
Their sole purpose is to cultivate their rivals, waiting for the day when they will seek revenge.
Therefore, she will definitely not stay in the capital for long, and she will leave the capital soon.
If it were the Esdeath of the past, that would be true, but the Esdeath of today is different, so this prediction is destined to be wrong.
The others were fine, but Leone disagreed with Najendan's words.
In her opinion, even if she is the Great General of the Empire, there are still quite a few Night Raid Imperial Arms Users. If they all attack together, they might be able to defeat Esdeath.
However, she only thought these things to herself. She knew that Najendan was a woman of her word.
Even if he tries to refute her, all he'll get in the end is her iron fist.
"Boss, what about the mission we just took on?"
"What mission?"
"It's about punishing a minor noble family. According to intelligence, they often lure outsiders to the capital, then drug and torture them, killing them. They have a long history of crimes."
"Now that we've accepted the mission, let's complete it as quickly as possible. Tonight, everyone will move out together to take down the target."
"Yes, boss."
Najenda's words immediately made everyone laugh. Although their boss was wary of Esdeath, he was not scared out of his wits.
This is very important; if we are truly held back by fear of Esdeath, then the night raid itself loses its meaning.
They were willing to become assassins in the darkness, to purge the cancer in the capital, naturally putting life and death aside.
None of the people sitting here were afraid of death; otherwise, they wouldn't have become assassins.
Everyone went to prepare; it was about to begin, and it wasn't as simple as a mission at night.
Everything must be scouted beforehand, especially the evacuation route.
After all, they are all wanted criminals, and they could be hunted down if they are not careful, especially now that Esdeath has returned to the capital and the empire is even stronger.
After everyone had left, Najenda sighed helplessly.