Chapter 161

Her words were still not very pleasant, but Esdeath could detect a hint of displeasure in them.

This cheered Esdeath up.

Necrass was unhappy because she hadn't listened to the ministers and stayed in the capital, but had come here ahead of time, which allowed her to develop her Imperial Arms more deeply and improve her strength.

"I won't keep you waiting that long. Let's wait and see who comes out on top next time we meet."

Feeling a bit better, Esdeath had no intention of continuing the nonsense, and the two turned around and returned to the battlefield together.

At this point, the Three Beasts and Wave Kurome were fighting to a standstill, though it couldn't be said that they were evenly matched.

On the battlefield where Esdeath and Necrass left, several unfamiliar and powerful faces have appeared. These are the dead summoned by the March of the Dead. Although none of them are a match for Daidas, their sheer number is overwhelming.

Even with Niu's support, the two of them often took a lot of damage.

Liver's side was much more relaxed. Wave's noble chariots were indeed very powerful, but Liver was equally strong in places with abundant water. The water from the melting icebergs allowed him to carry out offensive and defensive battles without any burden.

The scene of the two moving closer together in an eerie harmony left everyone puzzled.

"Let's go, Wave, and Kurome too. This test ends here."

Esdeath ignored the reactions of others and walked directly toward her subordinates.

But Necrass, who was standing next to her, suddenly spoke up, "Wait a minute."

Seeing Esdeath turn back in confusion, Necrass smiled and said, "Leave the little girl with black hair; you can take the other one."

Chapter Sixteen: Prisoners.

Upon hearing this, both Wave and Kurome' expressions changed.

Judging from the current situation, although Captain Esdeath's injuries were so minor as to not even qualify as injuries, Necrass showed no signs of fighting. This alone suggests that General Esdeath was slightly inferior in combat.

Although battles cannot be judged solely on a single moment's strength, and often those who start at a disadvantage can turn the tide after figuring out their opponent's strengths and weaknesses, Esdeath, who is stronger than them, could not possibly be unaware of this.

If Captain Esdeath still chooses to retreat under these circumstances, there is only one possibility: she doesn't believe she has a chance to defeat the enemy.

"Oh?"

Esdeath's eyes narrowed again. "I don't recall ever saying I was going to leave my subordinates here."

"We can't just let you leave here without paying a price, can we? Or... do you want to fight to the very end?"

Necrass's expression remained unchanged; from beginning to end, nothing seemed to have stirred any strong emotions in her.

"You seem to want to avoid that kind of situation even more than I do, right?"

Esdeath laughed.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have let her leave without even fighting.

"I just don't want to waste resources pointlessly."

Necrass said, "But if it makes sense, the situation is different."

Everyone knows that Necrass doesn't want the two to fight and reduce the city and even the army to nothing, but no one knows why Necrass has taken a fancy to Kurome. No one knows what she is willing to do to get Kurome.

"Then it seems we have no choice but to continue."

Esdeath felt a little regretful, but this regret could not overshadow her still high enthusiasm.

Yes, if it were a choice between losing after giving it your all and winning in a less-than-honorable way after giving it your all, Esdeath would lean towards the latter. But that doesn't mean she thinks the former is unacceptable. Besides, she wasn't 100% certain she would lose; she just couldn't think of a way to win.

Is this really a good idea?

Necrass raised an eyebrow. "If this continues, the subordinates you want to protect will undoubtedly die because of our battle. Would you rather sacrifice two than one?"

This statement did not sway Esdeath.

She did care about the lives of her subordinates, but she definitely cared about herself even more.

However, Necrass's words reminded Kurome.

As for whether Kurome cares about the Empire, that's... hard to say.

Although she turned against her sister for the sake of the empire, it was less for the empire and more for her fallen comrades in the assassination squad. To prevent their deaths from being in vain, and to inherit their rationality and the reasons they had for living, that Kurome stood firmly here.

At this moment, her choice remains unchanged.

"Captain Esdeath, please leave me here."

Kurome spoke.

"Kurome!?"

Wave stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "Don't give up! We might still have a way to escape..."

"There's no need for that, Kurome."

Esdeath is also an idea.

"Don't worry so much, I won't kill her."

Necrass chuckled and chimed in.

"You bastard! What are you going to do to Kurome!?"

Wave remained wary of this woman with a dangerous, fake smile from beginning to end. In his eyes, Necrass was the template for a villain in a picture book: powerful, ambitious, and with countless evil tricks.

He couldn't let his teammates be led away by someone like that.

"Don't move, Wave."

The cold blade reached Wave's throat before he could react.

It wasn't that his reaction speed had decreased, or that he had lost his sensitivity to danger; rather, he hadn't expected the owner of the blade to be Kurome.

Even though he knew this was forcing him to compromise, Wave felt intense resentment and sadness in order not to be implicated.

It wasn't directed at Kurome, but at my own powerlessness.

Esdeath didn't have the habit of sending her subordinates to their deaths. Seeing the determination in Kurome's eyes, and knowing that her actions weren't entirely reckless, she then looked away.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to her. She'll be perfectly fine when you see her next time. I can guarantee that."

A giant bird, tainted by the Death Fire, landed from the Sky Manipulation. Necrass extended a hand, gesturing for the two to leave. "Would you like a ride?"

Esdeath was well aware of Necrass's abilities.

Although her ability can revive the dead, the strength of that corpse will be fixed. While she could give more power to make the corpse stronger, it would be better to keep that power for herself.

Therefore, Necrass prefers her living subordinates unless absolutely necessary.

Otherwise, she might as well just turn everyone into servants.

Esdeath's initially good mood soured considerably, and without a word, she led Wave onto the bird's back.

This servant bird is definitely much faster than the Danger Beast she came from, since it can fly continuously without worrying about stamina.

She couldn't wait to gather her strength.

Esdeath's departure shattered the Count Fieltz's territory's will to resist. Any earth-shattering battle that took place in the city would have destroyed it. Facing a powerful figure who could easily wipe out an entire city single-handedly, they had no chance of winning.

Kurome became Necrass's spoils of war. He was handcuffed by the Three Beasts, his arms were bound, and his Imperial Arms was taken away. He was then escorted into the city and followed behind Necrass, watching helplessly as she killed the Earl while chatting and laughing.

Seeing her sit down on the desk that originally belonged to the Marquis, Kurome, who had been tied up all the way to the desk, couldn't help but ask, "What exactly do you want to do to me?"

"Do what?"

Necrass smiled, then raised her hand to signal Liver to Kurome.

What does this mean?

Kurome grew increasingly puzzled.

What does it mean? Actually, it doesn't mean anything.

The sisters Akame and Kurome are a major source of pain for Amber in the original work. She came here for recognition, but she still wanted to change some things within her power, such as preventing the sisters from being at odds with each other.

That's what they say, but in reality, Necrass doesn't yet have the confidence to convince her.

Compared to Akame, who is powerful both internally and externally, Kurome is significantly weaker in both aspects. A large part of her strength comes from the drugs that enhance her physique.

Stopping the medication can cause serious side effects, but even continuing to take it can significantly shorten lifespan.

This is strength truly earned with one's life.

This potential hazard needs to be addressed first.

Chapter Seventeen: Nonsense.

"I've heard of you, Kurome, the current ace of the Imperial Assassination Squad."

Necrass's opening remarks startled Kurome: "Where did you hear that from?"

This is not information that can be easily found. The Empire's assassination squads strictly maintain secrecy regarding their identities. It is precisely because they have no information about them that they inspire the greatest fear. Even when she left the assassination squads and joined Esdeath's ranks, she did so as a civilian Imperial Envoy.

Is this woman really some country bumpkin who's never been to the capital? How does she know about something like this? Where did she get the information?

"Don't underestimate my intelligence network."

Necrass did not answer her question directly, but Kurome had a guess.

"It's my older sister... it's my older sister, right!?"

Since Necrass had no presence in the capital, the only possible source of her information was the Revolutionary Army.

The thought that the woman in front of him had been in contact with his sister, and might even have a way to contact her, naturally made Kurome unable to control her emotions.

"No disrespect is allowed in front of Her Highness the Princess!"

Liver, standing behind Kurome, reprimanded him.

Of course, his consciousness is still in the dark room, and he said those words under Necrass's control.

"Princess... Your Highness...?"

Kurome was stunned by those words.

A princess? Who? This Dragon Woman?

"The woman sitting before you is the First Imperial Daughter of the late Emperor of the Empire!"

"Varied...?"

First Imperial Daughter?

Kurome was stunned by this identity, but quickly realized something was wrong.

"If you are the First Imperial Daughter, why are you on the imperial border?"

She didn't ask the question, because before she could speak, Necrass interrupted the conversation, "Liver, that identity means nothing to me."

Her green eyes, shrouded in shadow beneath her Platinum bangs, seemed to shimmer with an eerie green light, revealing a chilling disdain within them. "I have never been anyone's daughter."

Her disdain, coupled with her strength that was even greater than Esdeath's, made Kurome swallow her doubts.

Yes, such a world-class powerhouse would not need any vague or ethereal titles, and driven by this arrogance and rebellion, she would be even less willing to be mentioned as a 'princess'.

What she wanted was to be the 'founding emperor,' not the 'Xxth emperor of the empire who usurped the throne.'

Having figured this out, Kurome completely put aside her doubts. However... once she put aside her doubts, she turned her attention back to what mattered to her. "Do you know my sister?"

"Ah, you mean Akame?"

Necrass casually replied, "That's right, I do know her, and she's one of my most trusted subordinates."

Although she had only been under her command for a few days, and strictly speaking, not hers but her subordinate's subordinate, Necrass had no doubt that if she and Nadjeshda disagreed, Akame would support Nadjeshda without hesitation.

But that doesn't matter, Necrass is already used to talking nonsense.

"Your subordinates...?"

Kurome was puzzled and questioned her own earlier guess, "Are you a cadre of the Revolutionary Army?"

In her mind, this was impossible, but Akame is a member of the Revolutionary Army, Necrass said that Akame is her subordinate, which means that Necrass is also a member of the Revolutionary Army.

"Is it possible that Akame isn't a member of the Revolutionary Army?"

Necrass.

"...?"

"It seems you really don't know about this."