Rebelling Against the Empire

Because of Esdeath, the army marched much faster than expected.

They quickly reached the border and slaughtered every Foreigner ravaging the region, leaving none alive.

Most of them were killed by Esdeath's subordinates.

But that was not all.

"What? You want to wipe out the Foreigner tribes?"

Nacita stared at Esdeath in shock. Did Esdeath not know that the harsh environment beyond the Empire did not support the movement of large armies?

"I know what you're worried about. I'll only bring a squad of elite soldiers, along with my Three Beasts. If you don't want to come, you don't have to. Besides..."

Esdeath looked directly into Nacita's eyes. "Wiping out the Foreigner army this time will not make them feel any real pain. Before long, they will organize another army and continue harassing the border. Only when we kill them until they are terrified will they know fear."

Hearing the killing intent in Esdeath's voice, Nacita did not know how to respond.

She understood Esdeath's reasoning as well.

But the places where those Foreigners lived were exceedingly harsh. Trying to kill them all was clearly unrealistic.

That was why the Foreigners were so detestable.

In the end, Nacita still decided to bring her personal guard and act alongside Esdeath.

Then, aside from being shocked by the strength of Esdeath and her subordinates, she was also stunned by their brutality.

She had thought Esdeath had brought people to eliminate the remaining Foreigner forces that had escaped.

But she had not expected Esdeath to spare not even the Foreigner tribes!

There were many women and children among those Foreigners!

Yet Esdeath's subordinates struck without the slightest hesitation.

Nacita wanted to stop them, but she held herself back.

She was an Imperial citizen, and even more so, an Imperial general. Neither her bloodline nor her position allowed her to plead for the Foreigners.

Moreover, after dealing with the Foreigners for so many years, she understood all too well the danger they posed to the Empire.

To Imperial citizens, the only good Foreigner was a dead Foreigner.

Over the next few days, Nacita did not continue accompanying Esdeath in wiping out the Foreigners.

It was not because she could not bear it, but simply because there was no need for her to follow anymore.

Every time they went out, she and her subordinates seemed like little more than extra bodies.

After the matters at the border were settled and she returned to the Imperial Capital, Nacita's heart still could not calm down for a long time.

She had not expected a simple expedition to reveal Esdeath's terrifying strength.

"With that kind of strength, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her the Empire's strongest Teigu user."

After the shock faded, Nacita thought of the atrocities committed by Esdeath's army, then of the increasingly corrupt Empire, and could not help sighing again.

Nacita was an exceptionally upright person. She could not turn a blind eye to all the evil within the Empire.

She thought of the Rebel Army within the Empire.

The current Rebel Army was disregarded by the Empire. Or rather, no one took those rebels seriously at all. Most people in the Empire were thinking only about how to squeeze even more wealth from the common people.

The rest were considering how to protect themselves.

As for those advocating the extermination of the rebels, they were the Conscience Faction.

Although those rebels flew the banner of "resisting the Empire's tyranny," rebels were still rebels. No matter how pleasant their words sounded, what they did genuinely threatened ordinary people.

After all, these so-called rebels had initially been nothing more than a group of farmers on the verge of starvation, gathering together in an attempt to seize some food.

By now, they had long since lost their original goal of merely filling their stomachs.

Nacita had already unconsciously been concerned about the Rebel Army. Now, she paid even closer attention to intelligence regarding them.

"By the way, it's been two weeks already. Nacita still doesn't seem to have made a move?"

In a spacious room, Esdeath and Ozneth sat at opposite ends of a long table.

Ozneth tore into a huge piece of meat laid out on the table.

"I don't know why..." Ozneth swallowed the meat. "Nacita clearly seemed inclined to leave some time ago, but she hasn't made any major moves recently. Still... strangely enough, that woman has recently been sounding out her subordinates. It seems she intends to take the entire army with her."

"Oh, now that's interesting. She really came up with that."

"With that woman's personality, she probably wouldn't make her subordinates risk their lives alongside her. Something must have provoked her."

Ozneth looked at Esdeath. He found it strange. Had Esdeath done something to Nacita during their last expedition?

"Provoked her? I don't recall doing anything excessive. Other than showing off a little of my strength in front of her."

Ozneth: "..."

Ozneth was somewhat speechless.

He knew exactly how powerful Esdeath was.

It seemed Nacita had realized that if she alone joined the Rebel Army, then should they encounter Esdeath someday, the Rebel Army might not be able to defeat her. So she was preparing to send them more people!

"Esdeath."

"?"

"If Nacita betrays us, try to kill all of her subordinates too."

That rabble of a Rebel Army could not compare to the regular army at all.

If an elite army joined the Rebel Army, it would undoubtedly be a threat to the Empire.

And anything that threatened him had to be eliminated!

Another week passed before Nacita finally made her move.

Only after learning that Esdeath had returned to the Empire's northern border did Nacita use the pretext of eliminating bandits to lead her subordinates in rebelling against the Empire.

In truth, after leaving the Imperial Capital, Esdeath had not returned north. She had hidden herself away, waiting for Nacita to act.

Nacita and her subordinates did not take the main roads, instead traveling along remote paths rarely used by anyone.

Along the way, Nacita was constantly uneasy, always feeling as though something was about to happen.

But there was no medicine for regret now.

She could only lead the subordinates who believed in her toward the Rebel Army's headquarters.

"I hope nothing unexpected happens."

As the saying went, what you feared was what came to pass.

"Yo~ Isn't this General Nacita? Weren't you off eliminating bandits? Why have you come here instead?"

Armored soldiers emerged one after another from both sides of the road, and Nacita was incomparably familiar with the owner of that voice.

"Esdeath, hadn't you already returned to the northern border?" Nacita practically gritted out her question.