Night Raid Gets Suspicious; Investigating Koku Shibo's Background / Daily Training; A New Incident

Yorii Tsugikuni opened his closed eyes and returned to his usual calm expression. Looking at Sayo, he said evenly, "Let me do something for them."

Having lived for decades, Yorii Tsugikuni knew very well where these corpses would be thrown.

Corpses so mangled that their features could no longer be distinguished would most likely be tossed directly into a mass grave.

Yorii Tsugikuni decided to do what he could for these dead people.

Of course, it was not because he liked meddling in other people's affairs. It was because Yorii Tsugikuni felt that he had made a mistake in this incident.

"Alright, I'll escort Aria back first."

"You can handle the rest yourself."

Sayo nodded. She had originally wanted to question Yorii Tsugikuni about why he had let the Night Raid members go.

But seeing Yorii Tsugikuni's somewhat silent expression, she swallowed the words before they could leave her mouth.

"Master, we'll help you."

"Tatsumi, you come help too."

Sayo pulled Ieyasu along behind Yorii Tsugikuni, while also calling out to Tatsumi, who was still standing there in a daze.

For Tatsumi, everything he had seen today had deeply shaken him as well.

Whenever he remembered that he had once protected demons, Tatsumi felt as though the corpses lying on the ground were roaring at him.

The sky was still dark.

Under the efforts of Yorii Tsugikuni and the other three, the bodies in the secret chamber were quickly loaded onto a carriage.

One carriage was not enough, so they found another one.

They worked until dawn before the four of them finally recovered every corpse, including their scattered parts.

Jingle, jingle!

The carriages rolled slowly down the streets, with Yorii Tsugikuni driving one of them.

He drove very slowly, as though he feared the corpses inside might be hurt again.

By noon.

Yorii Tsugikuni, Sayo, and the others arrived at the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.

Night Raid Became Wary, Investigating Yorii Tsugikuni's Background

They eventually stopped before a mountain.

In truth, aside from Sayo and the others, the Security Force members traveling with them could not understand Yorii Tsugikuni's actions.

To them, these corpses were no different from dead stray dogs.

Thus, after delivering the bodies, they left.

"Let's start digging."

"I hope they can live better lives in their next reincarnation."

Yorii Tsugikuni began digging earnestly. The scene reminded him of when he had buried his wife and child.

If he had returned home earlier back then, perhaps that tragedy would never have happened.

Each time he finished digging a grave, Yorii Tsugikuni carefully laid one deceased victim into the earth. He and the other three kept burying them from noon until evening before they finally finished.

"Master, everyone has been buried."

"What should we write on the gravestones?"

Ieyasu was far more serious than usual, and he put extraordinary effort into his work.

In their village, they saw people starve to death every year.

So scenes like this were actually very familiar to him.

"Leave them blank."

Yorii Tsugikuni sat on a stone nearby as the wind swept through the forest from afar, stirring his hair.

He had seen too much death, so he did not feel much about it anymore.

Once everything was done, Yorii Tsugikuni led the three of them back toward the Imperial Capital's urban district.

From the outskirts to the city, the scenery along the streets gradually changed.

The Empire's prosperous Imperial Capital displayed an obvious divide between social classes.

The slums outside the city were littered with starving corpses, while ragged, gaunt, yellow-faced people could be seen everywhere.

Yet inside the city, the people were all neatly dressed and rosy-cheeked. The difference between the two was nothing more than a single city wall.

The era Yorii Tsugikuni had lived in had been an age of unending war.

He knew all too well the suffering people endured in that era.

So when two utterly different scenes separated by one wall appeared before him.

Yorii Tsugikuni deeply felt that the foundations of this vast Empire had truly begun to rot.

I wonder where my homeland is.

Sitting on the carriage, Yorii Tsugikuni began to ponder.

After joining the Imperial Guard, he had seen a map of the entire Empire.

He had also learned the names of several surrounding nations, but there had been no information whatsoever about his homeland.

That could not help but trouble Yorii Tsugikuni.

After thinking for a moment, Yorii Tsugikuni made a decision. He would continue searching through documents and find his homeland.

Having regained his youth, his only lifelong wish remained to slay that Demon King.

The carriage stopped at where the group lived, then quickly disappeared again.

"This was left by an Imperial Guard officer."

"She said she still had matters to attend to, so she asked me to pass it on to you all."

It was already evening. After digging graves all day, all four of them felt sore from head to toe.

Just as they were about to return to their rooms to bathe and rest, their middle-aged landlord stopped them.

He carried over a food box and placed it in Yorii Tsugikuni's hands.

"Did Sayo send this?"

Yorii Tsugikuni opened the food box slightly. Four portions of food had been neatly arranged inside.

There was no need to think about it. The only person in the Security Force who would send them food was Sayo.

Looking at his own portion—a simple rice ball with some green vegetables placed beneath it—Yorii Tsugikuni's lips curved into a faint smile.

Inside a secluded manor.

Leone sat at the table drinking, several empty cans scattered across the floor.

Across from her, Akame had her head down as she ate, as though the food in front of her was all that remained in her world.

"Ahhh, @＃@￥@＃%.."

Mine lay on a sofa off to the side.

Her legs kicked irritably as she muttered to herself. It was impossible to tell what she was saying, but Yorii Tsugikuni's name occasionally popped from her mouth.

The tone alone, however, made it clear that she was grinding her teeth in anger.

Faced with the unusual behavior of the three people in the room, Sheele could only stare blankly from the side. She did not know how to comfort her companions, whose mission had just failed.

She flipped through the book in her hands over and over again.

"Why are you all so dejected?"

"Cheer up. Our Revolutionary Army will definitely achieve final victory."

Nadjeshda pushed open the door and entered. She rotated her alloy arm, her single eye sweeping over the Night Raid members seated around the long conference table.

As Night Raid's leader, she naturally did not want to see them looking so dispirited.

"That man called Yorii Tsugikuni needs to be taken seriously."

"Chelsea, find an opportunity to investigate his background. Brood will assist you."

Nadjeshda sat down on a sofa and sank into thought.

She had already learned what had happened during this operation. A young man named Yorii Tsugikuni had rendered even Akame, their ace assassin, helpless.

He had also blocked the attacks of three Imperial Arms Users.

Such a person could no longer be judged by the standards of an ordinary enemy. In Nadjeshda's mind, Yorii Tsugikuni had quietly been labeled a dangerous individual.

"What should we do about Aria?"

"We can't just leave her alone completely, can we?"

Lubbock crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, his gaze fixed on Nadjeshda.

What they had thought would be an easy mission.

Had become extremely complicated because of Yorii Tsugikuni's appearance. Seeing Nadjeshda's slightly furrowed brow, Lubbock asked casually.

"Keep watching her."

"If she does not receive her final punishment, we'll strike again."

Nadjeshda took out a cigarette and lit it lightly. Smoke shrouded her sharp, valiant face.

After a brief consideration, she made her decision.

But at that moment, Nadjeshda's thoughts.

Were focused more on how to deal with the newly emerged Yorii Tsugikuni.

The next day arrived quickly.

"Don't make unnecessary movements."

"Especially you, Ieyasu. Your strength is too scattered. Learn to concentrate all your power into one point."

Looking at Sayo, Ieyasu, and Sayo within his field of vision, Yorii Tsugikuni said seriously, "Learning how to exert force is an extremely important part of swordsmanship."

"And mastering your strength is the most important part of swordsmanship!"

Whether it was Sayo, Ieyasu, or Sayo, all of them possessed exceptional combat talent.

Their displayed fighting ability was indeed powerful, but through the Clear World, Yorii Tsugikuni could see that they each had many problems. Their control over themselves was far from perfect.

Daily Training, A New Incident

When one portion of strength would achieve the desired result, they insisted on using two or three portions instead. Ieyasu in particular lacked technique badly, sometimes even using six or seven portions of strength.

In Yorii Tsugikuni's eyes, it was far too crude.

If he encountered an evenly matched opponent, Ieyasu would definitely suffer a major loss.

"Concentrating my strength into one point is so hard."

"Master, I've tried really hard to control it, but I just can't do it."

Ieyasu looked somewhat aggrieved as he watched Yorii Tsugikuni reprimand him.

There was nothing he could do about it. Compared to Yorii Tsugikuni, a genius born with the talent for the Clear World and who had awakened markings, it was indeed extremely difficult for Ieyasu to use his strength with Yorii Tsugikuni's perfect precision at all times.

"Not hard enough."

"Sayo and Sayo have much better control."

Yorii Tsugikuni shook his head slightly at Ieyasu's complaint, then looked toward Sayo and Sayo.