Chapter 78
The towering city walls stretch as far as the eye can see, reaching the summit of the imperial capital that soars into the clouds.
Although I had seen it in anime, witnessing it in person was still incredibly shocking! Even with her modern knowledge, she was still deeply moved.
After all, outside the capital, the atmosphere was still that of poverty in ancient times.
But the scene in the capital city has already been upgraded to a spectacle.
It's unimaginable how much manpower and resources it would take to build such a magnificent and vast imperial capital in a society with a backward industrial level, aside from the Imperial Arms and some mechanical and thermal weapons modifications.
They are currently only outside the outermost city gate of the capital; the buildings inside are even more dazzling and frighteningly large.
However, thinking back to the First Emperor of that empire a thousand years ago, in order to create Imperial Arms and ensure that his country would not be overthrown, he directly sacrificed a massive number of lives to create Super Danger Beast, using their body parts to forge Imperial Arms.
It can be said that this empire has always been like this in this respect, and has never cared about the lives of the common people.
Chapter 9 Being Watched
Entering the interior of the capital city.
"Um... Clara, I'm going to the recruitment area next. What about you here...?"
After entering the capital, Tatsumi immediately inquired about the Ministry of War's recruitment efforts, then turned and walked up to Clara, appearing somewhat hesitant.
After all, Clara clearly wouldn't join the army with him, and it seemed they would have to part ways.
"Go ahead, Clara can manage on her own here."
"We shall part ways here."
Hearing Tatsumi's words, Clara hesitated for a moment, unsure whether she should try to persuade him. The capital city was not really suitable for him, nor was it suitable for herself.
Neither politics nor military service is that simple.
Clara knew what was going to happen and understood that even if Tatsumi went, it wouldn't make any difference, but she knew that Tatsumi wouldn't listen to her now.
If he were more accommodating, he wouldn't have insisted on coming to the capital. So in the end, Clara remained silent...
"Okay, we'll meet again someday."
Tatsumi felt a little reluctant, but thinking that he had to make something of himself to save the village, he suppressed these thoughts and his gaze became firm.
Without dwelling on anything further, he said goodbye to Clara and headed straight for the place where the Empire was recruiting soldiers.
It's getting late, and if we go too late, we might have to wait until tomorrow.
Watching Tatsumi's departing figure, Clara didn't stay where she was, but turned around and walked in another direction.
Unlike other places, there are many people in the capital, and she is surrounded by many eyes that are looking at her with ill intentions.
This seemingly prosperous and glamorous capital city is actually the darkest place inside.
Beneath the glamorous exterior of many people lie monsters and demons, worse than animals, who devour people.
"Mr. Svarog, what should we do next?"
[Clearance conditions calculation, Option 1: Make contact with the Night Raid...]
Svarog did not show up. This was the densely populated capital city, and who knew what important figures might have spies here.
It can be said to be the most complex region, and also the most populous and most decadent place.
Although he did not appear in person, his voice could still be heard by Clara, and outsiders could only hear it if they were very close.
Then Svarog presented many options, the best of which, at least for Clara, was to make contact with Night Raid.
Compared to the complexity of the Imperial faction, unless one directly joins the army, and specifically an army outside the capital, such as Esdeath's army, it might be simpler.
Otherwise, in other places, people who lack shrewdness and cunning can easily be taken advantage of.
The same goes for the Rebel Army; few political figures are kind-hearted.
If we really have to say, Night Raid is better; it's simpler and less complicated.
After all, it was just a killer group.
Contacting Night Raid doesn't require you to become an assassin and personally engage in combat; you can choose to cooperate or serve as a support staff. Clara's mechanical repair skills and Svarog's combat abilities should be sufficient.
Of course, there is an even better option. There is an Imperial Arm that is more suitable for Clara in the Imperial Capital, and that is the God's Hand "Perfectman"!
It is a glove-shaped Imperial Arm that can induce precise finger movements hundreds of times more effectively, making it easy to create various sophisticated weapons and also to heal the human body.
With it, robots can be made even more efficiently.
In conclusion, considering the difficulty of the game's completion conditions, it's definitely better to engage in Night Raid and overthrow the Empire.
After all, participating in Night Raid doesn't mean joining the Rebel Army.
Simply making contact with the Night Raid would allow them to better determine the progress of overthrowing the Empire.
Another point is that when watching anime, the cute girls all seem to lack common sense. Now that she has come to this world, I hope she can change this ending.
I was depressed for a long time after watching it, and now this is healing that depression.
Clara quickly made up her mind: overthrowing the empire was the easiest thing to do; reform was out of the question.
According to Svarog's calculations, the probability of her succeeding in reforming the law was less than one percent.
Moreover, even if they succeed, it will be based on the deterrent effect of cheating.
If I were to disappear, the reforms would quickly fail.
Instead of this, it would be better to overthrow the existing empire and establish a new one.
Dynastic changes and periods of division and reunification are normal. At least for most newly established empires, the people's lives are relatively good for the first few decades.
As Clara walked along, lost in thought, she unknowingly found herself in what seemed to be the slums of the capital.
The capital city is vast, and not all areas are prosperous; there are also impoverished slums. In fact, due to security concerns, these areas can be even more chaotic.
All of this was normal, but at this moment Clara noticed that someone had been following her from behind, and that they had ill intentions.
And not just one.
After Clara looked over, they quickly hid again.
Clara was taken aback, not quite understanding who these people were and why they were following her, since she had only been in this world for a short time and had just arrived in the capital.
They shouldn't know them, and they haven't provoked anyone.
After thinking for a moment, Clara ran towards the alley ahead, and the people behind her stopped trying to hide it and chased after her.
"Chase."
"Don't let her get away..."
"Such top-quality goods can definitely satisfy that lord's requirements. We're going to be rich."
About seven or eight people carrying weapons chased after Clara.
They had their eyes on Clara the moment she appeared in the slums.
She was clearly a first-timer in the capital, an outsider with no bodyguards or guards, and yet so beautiful, showing her feet...
Isn't this prey delivered right to their doorstep?
Even if adults don't need such girls, they can fetch extremely high prices if sold to red-light districts or auctioned off underground.
As for whether this kind of thing is illegal?
In the capital, countless people die every day in secret, countless people are forcibly trafficked, and there are large-scale drug trafficking and forced sales. As long as the other party doesn't have a powerful background, it's not considered a big deal.
Behind these transactions are the middle and upper echelons of the capital city profiting from everything from prostitution, gambling, drugs, and arms dealing—anything with huge profits they engage in...
The minister who controls the government is the ultimate boss.
Even wealthy people, as long as they are not from the capital, are considered easy targets here.
Northern Myanmar is nothing compared to the darkness beneath the capital.
Chapter 10 Help me, Mr. Svarog!
Clara kept running into the alley, but after several twists and turns, she not only failed to shake off these people, but also ended up in a dead end.
A tall wall blocked their way.
Seeing that there was nowhere to run, Clara had no choice but to turn around, only to find that all those people had caught up with her, holding knives and even muskets.
"Little sister, you can run pretty fast!"
"Go ahead and run, let me see how you can run now."
Having completely cornered Clara, the group relaxed, realizing that letting such top-quality goods escape would be a huge loss.
Looking closely at the girl in front of him, he couldn't see her clearly from behind before, but now that he looked closely... he couldn't help but breathe heavily.
Suddenly, I felt a strong urge to stop selling her. Wouldn't it be incredibly satisfying to keep her all to myself?
The Clara before him was far superior to any of the top prey he had ever seen, even those of the most important figures.
But he wasn't alone here; it was impossible for him to possess it all by himself.
The sword can only be offered to that lord.
It's a bit of a shame that the adult played too hard; basically none of them could last a night. When they were thrown out the next day, they were completely unrecognizable.
So even adults wouldn't have the idea of taking a sip of soup, let alone adults.
It had completely turned into a lump of mud, and could no longer be called human...
"Who... who are you people? Why are you chasing me?!"
Clara timidly retreated to the wall, her large red eyes staring nervously at them. Their gazes were incredibly intense, as if they wanted to devour her whole.
Why should I pursue you?
Looking at the timid girl in front of them, the group's inner turmoil intensified. A moment of hesitation flashed through their minds again. Wouldn't it be a waste to give her to that lord and not even let her have a sip of soup?
I may not be so lucky to encounter such a gem again in the future.
But they quickly dismissed the idea; if that lord found out they had something good but weren't offering it to him, they would suffer a terrible fate.
So he had no choice but to suppress his restless heart and approach the girl in front of him step by step with his weapon in hand.
"Of course, I'll take you to meet some big shots, people of high status and influence that ordinary people can't even see."
"What important person? Clara doesn't know him and doesn't want to see him."
"You have no choice in this. Go and grab her."
After saying that, the group pounced on Clara at the same time, trying to subdue her.
"Help me, Mr. Svarog!"
Seeing the people rushing towards them, Clara quickly shouted.
"No one can save you..."
"What the hell?!"
Hearing Clara's cries for help, the group dismissed them, thinking that even the emperor wouldn't help at this point.
However, the next moment, a huge mechanical figure appeared in front of them and raised its massive iron fist.
Leave Clara!
In response to Clara, Svarog appeared and punched them, though he tried to hold back as much as possible to leave more survivors and gather information.
But those guys in front of him were turned into a pile of minced meat under his iron fist. Only the two guys behind him who didn't get close were completely terrified.
Feeling the blood and flesh covering their bodies and faces, and seeing their companions who were just moments before now turned into bloody sludge, with a pungent smell that made them nauseous, they realized what was happening and immediately turned around and ran for their lives.
Today I really hit a brick wall!
That makes sense. How could such a top-tier young woman appear alone in this place? It's definitely not as simple as I imagined.