The Same Attack Won't Work on Me Again!

Inside the ship's cabin.

Nyau and Liva sat facing each other. This time, the one who played the biggest role was Nyau's Imperial Arms.

Military Music Dream: Shriek could directly hypnotize everyone aboard the ship, putting them all into a deep sleep. That made killing the others much easier.

The mournful sound of the flute spread throughout the entire ship.

"Well, the flute's been playing for quite a while. Even if I stop now, the people on the ship will remain weak for some time."

"Don't let your guard down. Lady Lilith came along this time too. You don't want some country bumpkin who knows nothing about music still standing perfectly fine in front of Lady Lilith, do you?"

Liva's words made Nyau shudder.

So he decided to keep playing a little longer.

Thud~

Tatsumi dropped to his knees on the deck.

"What's going on? Why are my arms and legs suddenly weak? Is it because of that flute?"

Tatsumi struggled to stand, because he was afraid that if he lay down, he would fall asleep immediately.

"Hey, what's with you? Why are you still standing? In that case, I guess I'll have to kill you."

Though he spoke reluctantly, Daidas's expression told a different story.

If Lilith had not been standing beside him, he would probably have burst out laughing in delight.

This guy could resist the hypnosis of Nyau's flute, so he was no weakling. He should provide quite a bit of combat experience!

"Hey, brat. Draw your weapon, fight with everything you've got, and then let me kill you!"

Tatsumi drew the sword hidden on his person and pointed it at Daidas.

"Are you the ones impersonating Night Raid?"

Tatsumi demanded loudly.

"Impersonating? I see. So you're a genuine member of Night Raid. What a pleasant surprise!"

Daidas was so pleased he nearly laughed aloud.

He glanced at Lilith from the corner of his eye. When he saw that she did not stop him, he immediately relaxed.

Lilith's tacit approval let Daidas cut loose.

"Come at me, boy, and become my experience points!"

Daidas's arrogant words ignited Tatsumi's anger as well.

"Then I'll kill you!"

Tatsumi charged at Daidas with his sword in hand.

Seeing Tatsumi rush in so recklessly, Daidas gave a scornful smile and raised his axe before bringing it down with all his strength.

With a thunderous crash, a huge hole was split into the deck, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

"That power..."

Tatsumi barely dodged the blow. Seeing the large hole in the deck, he was stunned.

"I'm not done yet!"

The axe in Daidas's hand suddenly split into two, and he hurled both halves at Tatsumi.

Tatsumi twisted aside and dodged them, but he had not expected the axes to come back. Though he instinctively tried to evade, one of the returning axes still grazed his abdomen, leaving a wound.

"This... could it be?"

The axes could fly back after being thrown—could this be an Imperial Arms?

Daidas caught the returning axes and said, "That's right. This is my Imperial Arms, Belwack."

Tap tap~

Just as Daidas was about to continue his attack, Lilith's footsteps made him stop.

"Come out. You can't hide from my eyes."

Who?

Daidas froze for a moment, then realized that another Night Raid member must be hiding aboard the ship.

Yet he had not sensed anything unusual at all.

As expected of an assassin—they had hidden themselves remarkably well.

"I never intended to keep hiding."

Bulat stepped out openly and stood in front of Tatsumi.

"Big Brother!"

Tatsumi was overwhelmed with excitement when Bulat appeared.

Twice, twice already!

He had encountered noble ladies twice, and both of them had turned out to be bad people, despite looking so kind.

Heaven have mercy, Tatsumi's psychological trauma instantly deepened considerably.

"Silver hair, crimson eyes, and a petite body as perfect as a doll—Lilith!"

"I never expected everyone to have underestimated you."

Only when he stood before Lilith as her enemy did Bulat realize that the girl before him was no delicate noble lady, but a terrifying predator!

Lilith did not reply. She had seen too many people underestimate her because of her appearance.

Moisture in the air began to gather, and in the blink of an eye, a ball of water appeared beside Lilith.

"Water? That really does complement Esdeath's ice control!"

Lilith wanted to say that Esdeath did not need anyone's assistance, but she was not in the habit of wasting words on enemies.

"Die."

The water ball split into hundreds of tiny droplets and shot toward Bulat.

"Incursio!"

Bulat roared as he summoned Incursio and donned it. At the same time, Incursio's auxiliary weapon, Red-backed Shrike, appeared in his hand.

Red-backed Shrike—though its name was rather strange—was actually a powerful weapon.

Wielding Red-backed Shrike, Bulat swept it several times, deflecting every single droplet.

Then Bulat charged toward Lilith in great strides.

They were currently atop the Grand Canal, surrounded by water. For Lilith, who possessed a water-controlling Imperial Arm, this would undoubtedly greatly enhance her strength.

So he could only fight Lilith at close range and drag the battle into a field where he excelled!

Facing Bulat as he charged toward her, Lilith pressed together the index and middle fingers of her right hand and drew a line through the air before her.

Seeing Lilith make such a strange gesture, Bulat wondered what it meant, but he did not slow down.

With Bulat's strength, only a few steps separated him from Lilith. Yet just as he was about to reach her, the sharp instincts honed through countless battlefield fights made him raise Red-backed Shrike vertically before himself in defense.

The next second, Bulat, clad in Incursio, seemed to have suffered a heavy blow. His body came to a halt, and his legs sank deeply into the deck.

At the same time, explosions rang out on both sides of Bulat. Invisible attacks pierced through the deck and the hull before plunging into the Grand Canal, throwing up waves several meters high!

From the corner of his eye, Bulat looked at the holes in the deck beside him, a bead of cold sweat rolling down his forehead.

Fortunately, he had trusted his instincts and defended himself. Otherwise, even with Incursio's formidable defense, his body might still have been injured by the impact.

But...

"An invisible attack... What exactly is going on?"

"Big Brother, they're water blades—extremely thin water blades!"

Tatsumi's shout came from the other side, and Bulat immediately understood.

"Thanks, Tatsumi. That helped a lot."

Bulat pointed Red-backed Shrike at Lilith.

"That attack just now was specifically calculated based on my line of sight, wasn't it?"

"But the same attack won't work on me again!"