Fourth Update! Salvation Army! (Bonus Chapter for Those Years of Favor)

Ten minutes earlier, inside the main hall of the Kongokaku Council, the atmosphere had become unusually serious as soldiers pointed their Steam Gun at Biba Amatori.

This greatly surprised the Ayame Yomogawa.

It seemed like even with Biba Amatori's arms 'bound' and her kneeling completely on the ground, did she really need to be so careful?

"Stop acting."

The high and Keisuke Amatori looked down at his excessively outstanding eldest son, with a stern face, whom he had severed ties with.

"I know you must have some ulterior motive."

He glanced at Ayame Yomogawa, completely disbelieving that such a little girl could capture Biba Amatori, and thought to himself, "Son, son, your biggest miscalculation was choosing her."

"Bring it up."

Keisuke Amatori gave an order to two Samurai not far away, who immediately responded and then respectfully presented a short sword with a red sheath and white handle from a mahogany box.

"I found something nostalgic in your possessions."

The Shogunate took the short sword and held it in his hand, then walked to Biba Amatori, who was standing below the stage.

The latter slightly raised his head to look at it, and said in a complicated voice, "This is the only gift you ever gave me, and I want to return it to you as a final gift."

"Father, if you have any pity for me, please at least kill me with your own hands in the end." After saying this, Biba Amatori closed her eyes with a submissive look, as if she were being slaughtered.

"All right."

Keisuke Amatori agreed expressionlessly, gripping the scabbard with his left hand and the hilt with his right. But as soon as he drew half of the blade, he felt a sharp pain in his palm.

"Um?"

When he opened his right palm and looked at it, he was surprised to find a spot of blood on his palm, and more blood beads were constantly seeping out from it.

"Father."

At that moment, Biba Amatori raised her head, looked up at her father, and smiled, "Before I die, there is something I want to tell you."

"Why was I able to survive the battle with the Kabane?"

"The threat of the Kabane lies in its ability to infiltrate crowds. Even now, their numbers are constantly increasing, and I know how to identify them, which is why I've survived until now."

Just as he was drawing everyone's attention with his words, no one noticed that their general's right hand was turning black and purple from the palm, with the veins rapidly emitting a flame-like sheen.

"You're talking about the bite marks from the Kabane, right? That's why we need to examine them."

The Samurai Superintendent shouted, but Biba Amatori shook her head and laughed, "You can't find all the Kabane just by inspecting them. The evidence is that there are Kabane right here!"

"What?!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the Samurai and soldiers in the hall looked at each other in fear. The fear that the Kabane had instilled in them had been so long and was deeply ingrained in their hearts.

"Look carefully, everyone!"

Biba Amatori slowly stood up, his hands bound behind his back, but he looked spirited and shouted, "Once you find out, you must act before you get killed, or you'll be the next Kabane!"

Every word he spoke was so clear and distinct, yet it pierced everyone's heart like a fine needle, instilling a sense of fear in them.

Even the Ayame Yomogawa subconsciously tensed up.

"Snort--"

At that moment, the armed soldiers standing guard nearby suddenly noticed that the charred color on General Amatori's right hand was spreading to his arm at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The glowing veins, in particular, caused his pupils to shrink abruptly, and a tremendous sense of terror erupted within him, prompting him to quickly raise his Steam Gun and aim it.

"Ah!"

"How dare you point a gun at me?"

Keisuke Amatori glared angrily at the young soldier, but his words drew the attention of more Samurai and soldiers. Everyone then noticed that the general had developed symptoms of Kabane on his neck.

"Look, it's the light emanating from the Kabane!"

Biba Amatori straightened up and shouted excitedly. The next second, the young soldier, spurred by his voice, pulled the trigger hard, instantly shooting Keisuke Amatori through the chest, causing him to scream and fall to the ground.

"Keep firing!"

"Don't ever think that one shot can pierce the Kabane's heart!"

Biba Amatori, the dutiful son, continued to fan the flames from the sidelines, which only caused more gunshots to ring out as his father was hit, accompanied by spurts of steaming blood.

At the same time.

He easily snapped the thick rope around his wrist with a powerful pull of his hands—a task far too easy for a Kabaneri —and then pulled out the gift his father had given him as a child.

But they discovered that a layer of Kabane's Heart Membrane had already adhered to the blade, and it was now emitting streaks of red light from the blood vessels.

"Meima----"

Biba Amatori watched expressionlessly as her father unleashed a Wrath roar at her.

"Remember this, it wasn't me who killed you, but fear, Father."

The words had barely left his lips when the black and red blade pierced the latter's glowing heart, and then he simply watched as the man, bleeding profusely, fell down the steps.

"General"

The officials stared in disbelief at the Kabane corpse that had fallen before them.

[Bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang]

Just then, a burst of gunfire rang out again, but this time it didn't come from the soldiers inside the hall, but from outside!

"Report!"

"The soldiers of 'Iron Fortress' are rebelling, Okudo Samurai has been killed in action!"

A low-ranking Samurai rushed in and shouted, but he was immediately stunned by the scene inside the hall.

"Mima! It really is!"

The Samurai Superintendent named Kota Nii drew Samurai katana and was about to say something to Biba Amatori on the stage when the latter loudly interrupted him.

"It's not over yet!"

"Since even the general is Kabane, there must be other Kabane mixed in with us in the city!"

This time Biba Amatori actually picked up the loudspeaker that broadcast the news throughout the city, causing his voice to resound throughout the entire Kongokaku, accompanied by the chaotic gunfire from the direction of the city gate.

"."

The entire city's population and soldiers were stunned. He... there were already Kabane among them?!

To be honest.

Normally, these people would just laugh it off. Where are we? This is the capital of the Shogunate! How could this be?

The problem was that the gunshots and explosions coming from afar clearly indicated a large-scale Kabane siege, which panicked everyone.

"Give me this right now!"

Suddenly, a man's gaze fell on a soldier standing guard nearby, or rather, on the Steam Gun in his hand. Driven by fear, he completely lost his mind and rushed forward to try and snatch the gun.

[Bang!]

With a muffled gunshot piercing an innocent person on the other side, chaos began to spread under the manipulation of great fear.

Soon, the gunfire was not only coming from the city gate, but also from every corner of Kongokaku!

They were killing each other, accusing each other of being Kabane; everyone had lost their composure, fighting only for a sliver of hope for their own survival.

Some people are fleeing, some are protecting their families, and some are choosing to riot; they want weapons!

"Ha ha ha ha--"

Crocodile, who had transformed into a cloud of sand high in the sky, looked down at the delightful commotion and let out the most joyful laughter.

"Yes, yes, this is exactly what I wanted to see!"

"That brat Biba Amatori, has an amazing understanding of human nature and a knack for controlling fear. It's just a pity we can't destroy this place."

He felt that if there were a super-powerful bomb that could be dropped when everyone was exhausted from the fighting, that would be the perfect ending.

"Next, it's our Army's turn to be the savior."

Crocodile's gaze fell upon the black train that had already stormed through the city gates, inside which sat fully armed Army soldiers.