The Empire's Youngest General

Seeing their companion hit the ground in an instant caused quite a commotion among the watching soldiers.

However...

"Saika, you're useless! You can't even beat a little girl!"

"Saika, get up and keep fighting."

"Saika, get up and hit her back!"

The onlookers around them were all eager to make a spectacle of it.

After all, in a godforsaken place like this, aside from seeking comfort from ladies in certain special professions, there was practically no other entertainment.

Having finally come across something this interesting, they naturally did not want it to end so soon.

"That one didn't count. I let my guard down—you ambushed me!"

Saika got to his feet, his back burning with pain from being thrown down.

"Hmph. Then I'll beat you until you admit defeat!"

Lilith approached the other gate guard. "Is this really okay?"

Lilith pointed at Saika and the soldiers making a spectacle of things.

Was it really okay for them to have so little military discipline?

Lilith's approach made the gate guard's heart skip a beat. He then forced himself to remain calm and said, "It's fine. This isn't a big deal."

Hearing that, Lilith's mouth twitched. Were these really regular troops?

Lilith looked at the two duelists, whose match had once again been decided in an instant without any surprise, then at the soldiers around them who were noisily egging them on.

Weren't they just bandits!?

"Get up, Saika!"

"Get up already!"

Seeing the winner decided in an instant once more, the crowd's cheers grew even louder.

They had not expected such a frail little girl to be so powerful.

At the same time, they wanted to see just how strong this little girl really was.

After being instantly defeated twice in a row, Saika finally understood that Esdeath's strength surpassed his by an immeasurable amount.

He did not foolishly challenge Esdeath again. Instead, he returned to his post.

"What are you all gathering here for? Don't you have anything better to do?"

Saika put on a stern expression as he looked at the soldiers, making it clear that he still had guard duty and no time to join their foolish commotion.

The soldiers jeered and looked down on Saika.

Then some soldiers went over to Esdeath and began asking all sorts of questions.

What was her name? Where was she from? What was she doing here? Things like that.

Quite a few people even gathered around Lilith.

Listening to the chattering voices around her reminded her of flies buzzing around in summer. It was incredibly irritating.

Esdeath, meanwhile, stated that she wanted to enlist.

This time, no one laughed at her.

Even so, the soldiers still exchanged glances. This... woman wanted to join the army.

It was truly their first time seeing something like this.

Come to think of it, most people who enlisted were those who could no longer survive, and nearly all of them were commoners.

There had never been girls like Esdeath and Lilith.

If Saika had not sacrificed himself moments ago to show them Esdeath's strength, they probably would have gotten the wrong idea and assumed Esdeath wanted to enter a special profession.

"Make way, make way! Why are you all crowding together? Didn't you hear that these two young ladies want to enlist? You're blocking their way!"

A soldier pushed through the crowd and appeared before Esdeath and Lilith.

"You want to enlist? Come with me. I'll take you to see the commanding officer."

He then led Esdeath and Lilith away.

"Damn it, he beat us to it!"

Watching their retreating figures, the others finally came to their senses and began to regret it.

This had been a perfect chance to make an impression on Esdeath and Lilith!

If they got lucky, they might leave a good impression, take things a step further and become friends, then take things even further...

They instantly felt as if they had lost a fortune!

After displaying their strength, Esdeath and Lilith joined the army without any trouble.

Incidentally, Lilith also revealed a little of her strength, which far exceeded that of an ordinary person.

After discovering Esdeath and Lilith's abilities, the upper ranks of the city's military were overjoyed.

Their army did not lack manpower, but powerful warriors had become rare among new recruits. Now, two powerful warriors had joined at once.

They were ecstatic.

Esdeath and Lilith joined the army just as the northern Foreigners were growing restless and preparing to strike the Empire's borders.

During this period, while no large-scale groups of Foreigners appeared, small groups frequently came to harass them.

The Imperial army merely exterminated these Foreigners and had no intention of pressing farther into the ice fields.

Throughout this time, whenever the Foreigners came to harass them, Esdeath was always the first to charge forward.

Had anyone else been so reckless, they would have died long ago. Yet Esdeath was exceptionally strong.

She could always cut through small Foreigners units by herself. In the army, aside from Lilith, who was with her, no one could keep up with her speed.

Because of this, after Esdeath finished killing the Foreigners around her, the fleeing Foreigners would always lead her far away, and it would take her quite some time to return.

Lilith often complained to Esdeath about this, telling her to stop playing around.

Yes, playing.

Others might not have known, but Lilith had noticed that in every battle, Esdeath would first tear through the Foreigners' ranks and scatter them, then deliberately refrain from killing them, tormenting their minds instead.

"You need to change that personality of yours. Otherwise, one day, you'll suffer for it."

Whenever Lilith warned her, Esdeath would always reply, "I know." Lilith always felt that she was not listening.

Sure enough, the next time the Foreigners came to harass them, she revealed her true nature again.

Because Esdeath was so powerful, she soon became a centurion, and Lilith did as well.

However, Lilith refused. After spending so long with Esdeath, it was impossible for her to feel nothing for Esdeath.

Besides, she had no interest in power, so she stayed by Esdeath's side and became her assistant.

After some more time passed, Esdeath might not have cared, but Lilith noticed that their ranks had not changed for a long time.

Esdeath only cared about having battles to fight and had not even noticed it.

But Lilith was not someone who could endure being wronged in silence.

This scarcely required any investigation. With a little thought, it was obvious that the commander of a thousand men above them had taken credit for their achievements.

Thus, that commander of a thousand men died in a small-scale battle with the Foreigners.

Esdeath then became a commander of a thousand men upon the recommendation of the other centurions.

Two years later, after the former general retired to his hometown, Esdeath became the Empire's youngest general!