Your Excellency Is Strong, but My Art Style Is Above Yours!

Choose, Nadjeta!

Honestly, whether it was overthrowing the Empire and becoming emperor himself, or replacing the entire system from the top down, both were easy things for Iori now. The history books had also given him more than enough models to reference.

If he wanted it fast, there was Yellow Robe Usurpation. If he wanted it slow, there was Sima of Cao Wei. If he wanted neither too fast nor too slow, there was Wang Mang Usurping Han. Of course, those were methods from the real world. With his overwhelming strength, Iori could pull off some less conventional plays.

Like Hell Politics or something... though that was kind of absurd~

But Iori knew very well that no perfect country existed in this world, nor was there any true utopia. A society maintained through force would most likely head toward extremes, while groups united by interests would fight one another for those interests. Even the most complete system would have loopholes, and over time, it would become a tumor.

This was a BUG rooted in the depths of human thought. Just look at the runaway AI supercomputers in countless science-fiction works. Even without any constraints, humanity could not imagine what a "perfect system" truly looked like.

So from the very beginning, Iori had never intended to build any Heaven on Earth. His goal was simple:

To end this chaotic era, establish achievements worthy of becoming legend, and turn all of Akame ga Kill! into a dungeon world where he could steadily farm Art Style Value.

And during that process, if he could give the people a relatively normal society, a country where they could live in peace... then while pursuing his own ambitions, he would also be fulfilling a great mission. That was something he could be proud of.

So when Nadjeta fantasized about the various factions negotiating peace and ending the war that way, Iori mercilessly shattered her beautiful vision.

"Honest is undoubtedly an atrocious prime minister. The Empire declining to this extent certainly has a lot to do with him stepping hard on the gas pedal—you don't need to understand what a 'gas pedal' is—but you absolutely cannot say that he alone is responsible for the country's collapse.

"Blame every misfortune on one person, kill him, and all problems will be solved? Then everyone can happily sit down together and create a wonderful future?

"That is the logic of religious scriptures and chivalric novels. Reality is far more complicated than that, and you should understand this as well.

"Nadjeta, even if I really did as you said and got rid of Honest, are you confident that the Revolutionary Army and the Empire could cast aside their past grievances and sit at the same table?"

A single sentence from Iori left Nadjeta speechless. After standing there stunned for a long while, regret and helplessness gradually appeared on her face.

She finally realized that she had been too agitated earlier, to the point of losing her reason and proposing something so unrealistic.

Leaving aside the fact that the Revolutionary Army could never trust the sincerity of the imperial court, just as the imperial court could never trust the Revolutionary Army.

Even if the two sides could establish a basic degree of mutual trust, they would still be at each other's throats at the negotiating table, tugging and fighting over every interest. They would also retain their original military strength, never reduce their armaments, and allow the people to recover.

Otherwise?

Put down their swords and hand over their territory? What a joke!

Even if Iori could serve as a mediator through sheer strength and forcibly make both sides negotiate, it would only be a temporary truce. They could never truly understand one another.

And there were far too many destabilizing factors involved. Take General Budo, for example. His family had received imperial favor for generations, and he was a die-hard Royalist. A single word from the Young Emperor would make him throw away his life without hesitation. So while the Young Emperor appeared to be a puppet, he actually possessed an immensely powerful potential force.

If a Puppet Monarchy was unreliable, then three-way rule was even more absurd...

And that was only the conflict at the top. In the provinces, among the people, and within the army, all kinds of unimaginable conflicts would emerge one after another. Even immortals could not save the situation then!

"So... in the end, can everything only be resolved through war?"

Nadjeta gripped the prosthetic on her right arm, her tone heavy. "I am a soldier, but I do not like war. No matter what the outcome of a war is, its cost will ultimately be passed on to the people.

"But if there is no other choice..."

"War comes in many forms. Perhaps all of them bring misfortune, but we can minimize the damage as much as possible."

"You mean..."

"I have an idea. If it goes smoothly, we should be able to end this war in the fastest and most efficient way possible, while definitively resolving the conflicts on every side.

"But I cannot accomplish this undertaking alone. Or rather, strength alone cannot accomplish it. I need capable people with ideals to help me—people like you, Nadjeta."

"Me?" Realization appeared in the eyes of the short-haired female general. "Are you trying to recruit me?"

"I would like to say a few nice things to fool you, but I know what kind of person you are, so I will tell you frankly: yes."

Iori said seriously, "I am recruiting you."

"...As an Imperial General?"

"Identity is not important. You are not someone who would cling to formalities, either. As long as it can reduce the suffering of the people, you will agree without hesitation, won't you?"

Iori gazed into her single eye. "Think it over carefully, Nadjeta."

"You want me... to betray the Revolutionary Army?" Nadjeta's expression was grave.

But Iori casually asked in return, "What drove you to abandon high rank and generous pay to join the Revolutionary Army? Better treatment? A higher position? Since you have always been loyal only to your own conscience, how could that be called betrayal?"

"You say you have a way to end this war, and even eliminate future troubles?"

Nadjeta stared intently at his mask. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because I could unite the world through force, yet I did not do so."

Iori asked earnestly, "A tiger is willing to sit down and negotiate with a rabbit. Isn't that sincere enough?"

"...I suppose it is." A sense of absurdity rose in Nadjeta's heart, but she had indeed dismissed much of her suspicion and begun to believe Iori's promise.

"Then what do you intend to do? This is no simple task. As you said before, both the Revolutionary Army and the Empire have many troublesome problems hidden within them."

"Yeah, just thinking about it gives me a headache."

Iori spread his hands. "I have no intention of resolving them one by one."

Nadjeta immediately grew anxious. "Then you—"

"But if we change our way of thinking, wouldn't there be no problem as long as we get rid of the people causing the problems?"

"...Huh?" Nadjeta froze.

"The situation looks complicated, but when all is said and done, it is just nobles, bureaucrats, powerful local clans, ambitious schemers, and people like them fighting over interests, right?"

"Yes... but you can't kill them all, can you?!" This preposterous possibility flashed through Nadjeta's mind, and she hurriedly tried to dissuade Iori. "If you sweep them all away, this country will definitely fall into enormous chaos!"

"Of course I would not kill everyone indiscriminately." Iori smiled.

Huang Chao's chrysanthemum poem sounded incredibly satisfying when recited, but doing that would harm more than just the powerful and wealthy, and things could easily spiral out of control.

Iori's idea was more practical, and better suited to a world of supernatural power.

"Nadjeta, you must first understand something:

"The overwhelming majority of the powerful and wealthy do not want to raise their own banner and go it alone. When faced with the tides of the times, their first reaction is to join a faction, or play both sides among multiple factions.

"What we need to do is continuously apply pressure to certain groups, forcing them to step forward on their own and join a faction, or support a particular big shot.

"Just like after I moved against the provincial governors, many regional officials with guilty consciences began sending letters to question Honest. Who was loyal and who was traitorous became obvious at a glance.

"Then, we can identify these people and sort them into categories selectively."

"This does not seem like a simple matter."

Nadjeta murmured, "You would need an enormously vast intelligence network..."

"The prime minister, the emperor, the Revolutionary Army leadership—they will collect it for me."

Iori gave a cold smile. "I have kept them alive precisely so they can become lamps, drawing out every ghost and demon hidden in this chaotic age!"

Nadjeta's entire body trembled. Iori was confident that he could obtain the confidential documents of all three parties at any time!

She had already tried to think highly of Iori, yet he continued to surprise her again and again...

"But I cannot do it alone. I need someone to help me."

Iori extended a hand toward Nadjeta. "What is your answer?"

Yes, He Really Was the Reaper

Honest did not receive the reinforcements he had been waiting for. After sending out the secret letter, it vanished without a trace. There had been no response from Esdeath's side, plunging him into extreme unease.

Were the northern tribes preparing for a massive invasion, leaving Esdeath too occupied to respond? Or had that woman changed her mind and no longer wished to cooperate with him?

But no matter what, not even sending a reply was simply too...

Calm down! Calm down, Honest!

You are the chief minister. Although the changing situation was unfavorable to you, as long as you still held the Young Emperor in your grasp, there was no need to fear a few waves.

—That being said, his son Syura had become someone else's puppet, the Rakshasa Four Ghosts had likely been eliminated, and now even Esdeath had abandoned him... The minister suddenly realized, upon looking back, that his wings had withered to such an extent!

The Young Emperor truly was a trump card. Strictly speaking, the Royal Teigu he had inherited, the Supreme Throne, possessed the mighty power to suppress all rebellions. And that Imperial Arms was effectively under the minister's indirect control.

But since it was called a trump card, it naturally could not be used casually. The Young Emperor himself was not mature enough, and activating the Imperial Arms consumed an enormous amount of energy. Using the Supreme Throne to suppress small-scale rebellions would be completely not worth the cost.

Remaining in the Imperial Capital and using a massive, wide-range destructive attack to wipe out the Revolutionary Army's elites at the most critical moment—that was the proper way to use the Royal Teigu.

That was the problem:

The hand Honest held was one joker accompanied by a pile of insignificant low cards. Compared to an enemy holding straights and bombs, he was truly stretched thin during the game...

He keenly realized that he was currently in an extremely dangerous position. Just as Nadjeta and Iori had analyzed, he had originally walked on three legs, but two had now been cut off. Only the Young Emperor remained, and he could be overturned at any moment.

However, a minister was still a minister. He had the ability to adapt. He decisively entered the palace and "reported" his own son Syura to the Young Emperor.

He claimed that during Syura's capture by the Revolutionary Army, the enemy had used cruel methods to brainwash and control him, then sent him back as a spy. He had secretly been working for the Revolutionary Army behind Honest's back all this time, while that "General Izou the Mask" was the Revolutionary Army's puppet master!

The Young Emperor was shocked and furious, but he believed Honest without hesitation. He issued a nationwide proclamation stripping Syura and Izou of all their positions, declaring them traitors, and calling on garrisons throughout the land to exterminate them!

In this way, the minister temporarily steadied the senior officials of his faction, making them believe that he had not ordered Syura to do those things. Rather, the Revolutionary Army had used his name to sow discord.

Though it would have a rather severe impact—there would definitely be people questioning his ability to control the situation—between losing face and losing his life, he decisively chose the former.

Then, in the emperor's name, he began a major recruitment drive among the populace. He selected elite warriors, searched for hidden Imperial Arms users, and tempted them with exceptionally generous treatment and promising futures, inviting them to the Imperial Capital to form a special police force directly under the emperor.

He also dispatched large quantities of wealth and supplies to the northern border as rewards for Esdeath and the border troops.

He did not dare directly ask Esdeath whether she harbored rebellious intentions. Instead, he selected a particularly clever confidant to serve as the official escorting the supplies, instructing him to assess the local situation and Esdeath's personal attitude.

Finally, he attempted to dispatch General Budo to suppress the Revolutionary Army's rebellion. But General Budo refused. Citing "duty," he insisted on protecting the palace and rejected the order—he did not trust the minister with the entire Imperial Capital.

Within only a few days, the minister issued a series of decrees. Though they did not reverse the situation, they at least pulled him back from the brink. From politics to military affairs, everything was properly arranged. The advantage of wielding the emperor's authority to command the lords revealed itself at this moment!

However, he was not the only one taking action.

Iori's reputation had now spread throughout the Empire. In a sense, the wanted order personally signed by the Young Emperor had further increased his fame, establishing an extremely vivid and concrete image of him in the minds of the people.

During this time, Iori continued methodically purging various regions. Especially after being branded a "traitor," he no longer bothered pretending. He swept away obstacles with overwhelming force, doing so even more thoroughly than before. Not only local governors and senior bureaucrats, but even powerful clans and landlords were included among his targets.

Of course, he did not indiscriminately lump everyone together. He only killed heinous villains with conclusive evidence of their crimes. Officials and local elites with good reputations in the past were shown mercy.

After all, while scum made up the majority of the powerful and wealthy in chaotic times, there were still comparatively "normal" people among them. Such people could be used to stabilize local areas and soothe the populace.

It was not as though no one tried to eliminate him, but facts proved that every military operation directed at Iori was futile. Anyone who dared stand against him had to be prepared to lose their head the next moment.

After witnessing the outrageous sight of him taking a commanding general's head from amid ten thousand troops, soldiers often lost the will to fight as well... Why would the weak fight?

Even though Iori had only a few hundred men under his command, he moved through the Empire with complete dominance, his marching routes unimpeded!

The only thing that gave the minister some small comfort was that Iori had not imitated the Revolutionary Army by dividing his forces to garrison and seize territory, nor had he recruited troops locally to expand his army. It was as though he was merely touring the provinces to show off his military power...

Unable to understand his motives, the minister could only assume that this was proof of Iori's lack of ambition and political wisdom.

The overwhelmed minister failed to notice certain inconspicuous reports. For example, wherever Iori passed, the local Anning Dao always gained many more followers, its overall scale growing considerably, and it even showed signs of cooperating with local powerful clans.

And without anyone noticing, people among the populace began connecting the image of a certain deity from Anning Dao scripture with the appearance Iori displayed before the public.

The priests of Anning Dao would specifically state, "Do not make random associations," yet they always looked as if they wanted to speak but hesitated, making people unable to stop all sorts of thoughts from arising... The more they denied it, the more people wanted to investigate.

He was the guardian of the world after death, the guide of souls, and the judge of all sin;

No one had ever seen his true face, because he always wore a dark mask symbolizing eternal sleep;

Legend said that he protected the peace of all the dead, but only pure souls could enter his realm. Those who committed great sins in life would be burned by his wrath and cast into a barren, boundless desert, where they would wander forever...

CG Updated

Imperial Star General - Masked Reaper

Art Style Value +6

When the Reaper Came Knocking

"Master, that lord's letter has been placed in your study."

"Good work. You may leave."

"Yes~"

The white-haired old butler respectfully withdrew. The burly man dressed in casual home clothes turned and headed toward his study.

This estate covered an enormous area, and the residence itself was quite magnificent, almost comparable to Minister Honest's home. Yet the styles of the two were entirely different.