Fight

Lilith followed Esdeath south.

Esdeath had once told Lilith that the place where she lived was in the northern part of the Empire.

As for those Foreigners driven out by the Empire, the vast majority of Imperial citizens did not even know what ethnic groups they truly belonged to. They simply called them "Foreigners," at most adding two more words based on their direction.

For example, the place where Esdeath lived was in the north of the Empire and was frequently harassed by the northern Foreigners.

Esdeath's father and clansmen had also been killed by the northern Foreigners while Esdeath was out hunting.

Ever since she was young, Esdeath had been instilled by her father with the idea that "only the strong can survive." After witnessing the deaths of her father and clansmen, she became even more convinced that only the strong could live. If someone died, it merely meant they were too weak.

It had to be said that, in Lilith's eyes, that way of thinking was somewhat deranged.

But when she thought of the other lunatics in this world, Lilith immediately felt that Esdeath was actually quite normal.

At the very least, she was gentle with her subordinates and someone with whom one could hold a normal conversation.

Speaking of which, Lilith thought of a certain little police officer in the Imperial Capital. Usually, she was a warmhearted policewoman, but the moment anything related to "evil" came up, she became a completely different person.

Her expression, her tone, and that utterly distorted face—people would believe she was a villain.

"The Imperial Capital..."

Lilith had not forgotten that Minister Honest, the source of all evil, was in the Imperial Capital.

But speaking of the source of all evil—

Although the Imperial Capital bred evil everywhere—

Most of the nobles in the Imperial Capital were beasts wearing human skin. Nothing they did could be called human, or rather, the kind ones had all been driven to death.

And in the slums, people died almost every moment.

Yet compared to the shadows hidden beneath that glamorous exterior, the visible evil of the slums instead gave many people a sense of security.

It had to be said that it was deeply ironic.

Though Minister Honest was called the source of evil, in Lilith's eyes, compared to those so-called nobles, he was more like a "human"—a pure villain rather than a beast.

But no matter what, the Imperial Capital was far too dangerous for Lilith right now.

Before she had enough strength to protect herself, she had no intention of going to the Imperial Capital.

But Lilith would definitely find time to visit the Imperial Capital.

If nothing else, she did not want to miss those miraculous Teigu.

After all, even in the hands of ordinary humans, those Teigu could turn someone into a warrior capable of fighting a hundred men, or even a thousand.

Among everyone who knew about Teigu, there was one thing they all understood.

Only a Teigu user could kill another Teigu user!

That was a lesson paid for in blood over the past thousand years by all those who had tried to challenge Teigu users.

And in the future, Esdeath, the strongest Teigu user, would grow powerful enough to fight the entire Rebel Army alone.

That made Lilith wonder whether Esdeath alone could slaughter her way through the entire Empire.

The reason Esdeath had not done so was simply because it would be too boring.

After all, once she slaughtered her way through the Empire, there would not be a single enemy left who could interest her. That was something Esdeath could not accept.

"Hey, Lilith."

"What is it, Esdeath?"

"After we reach the Empire, where should we go?"

Esdeath's question made Lilith fall silent for a moment.

Logically speaking, after entering the Empire, joining the military was the best path for someone as strong as Esdeath.

In the future, Esdeath would rely on her formidable strength to make a name for herself in the army, then catch Minister Honest's attention.

And a turbulent Empire was exactly what Esdeath wanted.

Thus, the two hit it off and became collaborators.

In order to make Esdeath stronger, and also to turn her into his shield, Minister Honest invested in her without restraint.

Minister Honest truly had a keen eye for people. After obtaining the blood-type Teigu, Demon's Extract, Esdeath finally became the strongest in the Empire.

With Esdeath around, Minister Honest's actions became even more reckless.

He had originally been somewhat wary of General Budou, who protected the imperial family, but now he became even more unscrupulous.

As long as things followed their original course, Esdeath would obtain her own Teigu within a few years at the latest. However, Lilith felt somewhat resistant toward the Imperial Capital.

She knew very well how charming she was. She knew that if she appeared in the Imperial Capital, those idiots whose brains were full of lust would certainly come bother her.

But...

Lilith looked at Esdeath ahead of her.

Although Esdeath was a little less beautiful than Lilith, she was still a rare beauty. Yet many people only knew of her strength and forgot that she was a woman.

Some people, let alone harboring improper thoughts, would wet themselves the moment they heard Esdeath's name.

All of this was because of Esdeath's overwhelming strength!

"If you want to become stronger, joining the military is a good way."

At present, all of Esdeath's skills had come from hunting Dangerous Species. Although Dangerous Species were difficult to deal with, they were still different from humans.

Esdeath still needed time to grow, and the battlefield was also the fastest way to become famous.

The current Esdeath was merely an unremarkable young girl. She had no way at all to obtain a Teigu.

Of course, that did not rule out the possibility of them happening to pick up a Teigu while walking down the road...

"Join the military..."

Esdeath nodded.

Sure enough, Lilith had thought of the same thing.

She had originally planned to join the military anyway.

First, she wanted to temper herself in the army. Second, she wanted to kill more northern Foreigners.

After all, she still had a blood feud with the northern Foreigners that had yet to be settled!

At this point in time, Esdeath had not yet been tempered by war, and her heart had not become so cold that she could forget her hatred.

"That's what I was thinking too."

Seeing Esdeath nod, Lilith could not help asking, "Do you know how to join the military?"

Normally, the military would not allow young girls like Esdeath and Lilith to enlist.

Could Esdeath have some special method?

"I don't know, but with our strength, wouldn't joining the military be easy? At worst, we can just fight one of the officers!"

Looking at Esdeath's matter-of-fact expression—

Lilith's mouth twitched. She should have known.

Still, it was indeed a method, provided one was strong enough. Otherwise, one could easily get beaten to death.

But then again, during the years after Esdeath enlisted and before Minister Honest invested in her, she had relied on her own strength to become a general.