You Sure You Call This Patriotism? (5.1K) (Continued)

Mahiro nodded, agreeing to Najenda's request. He then moved a large rock from nearby and sat down to let the woman speak slowly.

Najenda stubbed out her cigarette on the damp earth with a sizzling sound, and as she did so, she spoke:

"Minister Yotsuba Clan, what are your thoughts on the current state of the Empire?"

Since she had chosen to speak, Najenda saw no need to hide anything and asked directly.

"What could I possibly feel? Everything's fine. I don't know about other places, but at least in the Imperial Capital, the weather is good, and all those who should be arrested and sentenced have been dealt with. There's no case of favoritism or bending the law."

The security team hasn't received any complaints from the public either.

Yotsuba Mahiro looked puzzled.

Seeing that the other party was pretending to be confused, Najenda gritted her teeth, but she still held a sliver of hope.

Because she knew that Yotsuba Mahiro was different from others; he was not attached to the corrupt power of the empire, nor was he interested in money and wealth.

Even when working in the garrison, he upheld the law impartially and was loved by countless residents of the Imperial Capital.

She hoped that through her persuasion, the young man would come to his senses and unite to resist Minister Honest and his faction's encroachment on the empire!

Now that Minister Honest is powerful and General Budo is too blindly loyal, the only one who can stand against the minister is Yotsuba Mahiro, whose strength is comparable to Esdeath.

If we could recruit him into the Revolutionary Army...

"Minister Yotsuba Clan, now that the late Emperor has passed away, Minister Honest has seized power, and many Righteous Faction officials have been persecuted and poisoned. Although you are under General Budo, and Minister Honest cannot touch you, if he really wanted to deal with you, even with General Budo's protection, you would probably find it difficult to resist!"

"Oh... so you mean...?"

Yotsuba Mahiro looked at the woman in front of him with a "I'm doing this for your own good" expression and asked with a half-smile.

"I hope Minister Yotsuba Clan will come to his senses in time and join forces with the many patriots to oppose Minister Honest!"

Gritting her teeth, Najenda spoke frankly, her expression full of enthusiasm.

However, her words completely Yotsuba Mahiro. At first, he only smiled slightly, then slowly laughed out loud, and finally slapped his leg, laughing uncontrollably.

It was like hearing the funniest joke in the world.

Najenda, who was initially in a state of shock, gradually blushed. His piercing laughter seemed to be mocking her, which made her angrily question him.

"Why is Minister Yotsuba Clan laughing?!"

"Haha... hahaha... I'm laughing, I'm laughing at how funny you are, General Najenda."

Finally, having laughed enough, Yotsuba Mahiro returned to normal, her sharp gaze fixed on the female general before her, as if she wanted to pierce through her entire being.

"Don't tell me that the patriots you're talking about are those traitors who call themselves Revolutionary Army?"

"Is there a problem?" Najenda hadn't yet realized the seriousness of the situation.

"What's the problem? This is a huge problem!" Mahiro shouted, staring angrily at the woman before him.

"Stop pretending to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic, Najenda."

In my opinion, you weren't doing this for the Empire at all; it was just that Esdeath's brilliance overshadowed you, leaving you stuck in your current position with no hope of advancement for the rest of your life. That's why you turned to those rebels!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Najenda stood up angrily and retorted loudly, "I, Najenda, never chose to join the army out of greed for power, but for the many suffering people! The people on the border suffer from the invasion and oppression of foreign tribes every day, while the Imperial Capital is filled with singing and dancing."

Minister Yotsuba Clan, don't you feel any pain? Don't you feel pain for the current state of the Empire, for the people suffering persecution on the border?!

It seemed that Najenda's words had an effect; Mahiro suddenly calmed down and slightly pursed his lips, as if he were thinking.

Just when Najenda thought victory was in sight, her opponent said something she hadn't expected.

"What you said makes a lot of sense, but... what does that have to do with me?"

"... What did you say?!"

Najenda never expected that this young man would say such a thing; it was just like... just like that woman Esdeath!

Her mind immediately conjured up images of Esdeath's brutal suppression of the alien races during this campaign...

No, that wasn't suppression, it was outright massacre!

They burned down the village, allowing soldiers to abuse the invading tribes. As the blizzard descended, they impaled the people on poles and stuck them in the ground, letting their blood drip and stain the ground red.

That was hell!

However, Najenda wore all her emotions on her face, making them Mahiro to Mahiro.

But he was too lazy to complain, not even to say "adorably naive," and instead tilted his head and smiled slightly:

"Isn't that so? I'm not some savior, much less an emperor. Why should I be responsible for the entire empire's inhabitants? Doesn't General Najenda know the meaning of 'not being in a position of authority, but not interfering in its affairs'?"

And regarding your question about the rampant border conflicts, I would like to ask why those foreign tribes suddenly dared to offend the empire's borders?

Isn't it this group of patriots you mentioned who colluded with foreign tribes, instigating a massive attack on the empire, and then used this as a cover to prevent the empire from annihilating them for the time being?

And most importantly, do you know what price these patriots you speak of paid to persuade these foreign tribes to unite?

It was the price of an agreement with them that once the empire was overthrown, the territory would be divided among them.

Is this how those patriots you speak of show their patriotism? Is this how the Revolutionary Army saves the people from suffering?

A cold smile crept across Mahiro's lips as he questioned her.

Every word he spoke was like a question posed to the woman's soul, leaving Najenda speechless and only able to clench her fists.

Moreover, there are some things that Mahiro didn't actually say.

For example, if you were truly loyal to the monarch and patriotic, why didn't you secretly help rescue those conscientious and loyal officials when Minister Honest was persecuting them?

Or do something?

Just like in the original work.

A Righteous Faction minister who had dedicated himself to fighting against Honest's rival, chose to return to court for the sake of the people and the empire.

They were ambushed and killed halfway there.

The Revolutionary Army took no action in response.

Is it because they were unaware of this intelligence?

Don't be ridiculous. Wouldn't such a powerful force monitor the actions of these officials?

And how did they know the intelligence so quickly when they were setting a trap for Night Raid?

Ultimately, this Revolutionary Army wasn't patriotic; they were simply trying to become another Honest.

"Alright, General Najenda, let's end this small talk."

Mahiro had completely lost his patience. He slowly stood up from the rock and said coldly, "Hand over [Pumpkin Pumpkin], and you can get lost. For the sake of the Imperial Arm, I'll let you go today."

That's right, he came here specifically for the Imperial Arms.

The purpose was to give it to Mine as a gift; after all, how could Mine be considered complete without Pumpkin?

Besides, wasn't it a complete waste that he had Mine participate in Tina's special training before?

He didn't care whether Najenda lived or died, but if possible, he would certainly prefer her to live.

After all, he needed Night Raid's existence and intended to turn Night Raid into his pawns.

"Impossible!"

Najenda refused sharply, taking a half-step back, only to find her back pressed against the cold stone wall.

So she picked up the Imperial Arms and pointed the gun at Yotsuba Mahiro.

"If you want the Imperial Arms, you'll have to kill me."

The Revolutionary Army is currently lacking in combat power, and the support of the Imperial Arms will greatly alleviate their difficulties. Therefore, no matter what, [Pumpkin Pumpkin] should not be given to Yotsuba Mahiro!

"Tsk, what a hassle. I really didn't want to do it."

Makoto scratched his head in Mahiro, showing no sense of alertness even though he was being targeted; instead, he appeared quite lazy and troubled.

At the same time, with a slight shift in his footing, he suddenly vanished from his spot under Najenda's watchful gaze.

When she reappeared, she was already standing in front of Najenda!

And then he reached for the Imperial Arm and grabbed it!

"Give it to me!"

Najenda felt a sharp pain in her arm.

Her entire right arm, along with the Pumpkin, was taken by Yotsuba Mahiro!

"Ah--!!!"

Then, Najenda clutched her torn shoulder and let out a heart-wrenching wail.

Looking at the woman curled up on the ground in pain, Mahiro curled his lip and said, "This isn't my fault. You brought it on yourself. If you had just handed over the Imperial Arms obediently, none of this would have happened."

Did Najenda ultimately become a one-eyed, one-armed being?

Is this the immense power of world line convergence?

However, Mahiro didn't care about all that; as long as he got his hands on the Imperial Arm, that was enough.

Speaking of which, this [Pumpkin Pumpkin] is quite similar to the CAD he uses; both are weapons that convert mental energy (Psions waves), except that the CAD has more magical activation.

Pumpkin, on the other hand, only experience ordinary impacts.

But just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from afar.

Are they the Empire's pursuit force?

No, it was a group of cavalrymen dressed in all sorts of different clothes and carrying various weapons!

"General Najenda has been spotted!"

"Oh wow, look, your savior has arrived."

Mahiro down at the woman, while Najenda, despite her forehead being soaked with sweat, endured the excruciating pain and forced her eyes open, shouting towards the approaching cavalry:

"Get out of here! Get out of here quickly!!!"

"Report! General Najenda appears to be injured and being coerced!"

"Quickly save General Najenda!!!"

Those people completely ignored Najenda's warnings, grabbed their weapons, and charged towards them.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad, General Najenda. Now, let me show you the correct way to use an Imperial Arm."

"Don't want!"

Seeing him holding the Pumpkin in one hand and slowly raising his arm to point the gun at the direction from which the cavalry were attacking, Najenda immediately shouted.

But it was no use.

Under her gaze, Mahiro pulled the trigger.

Immediately afterwards, Najenda witnessed the most horrifying scene of her life.

A dazzling light shot out from the Pumpkin's muzzle, like an outpouring of emotion, or a surging torrent of light.

In just a moment, the torrent of light engulfed half of the thousands of cavalrymen. The other half, seeing such a terrifying attack, hurriedly shouted for retreat.

Unfortunately, by the time Mahiro was about to fire a second shot, the Pumpkin was already destroyed.

"Tsk, the power is decent, but the durability is too low. I'll have to modify it properly when I get back."

Ignoring Najenda's shock, he bent down, grabbed her by the collar, lifted her up, and threw her violently at the group of the Revolutionary Army cavalry.

"They're yours!"

The Najenda thrown at them hit several cavalrymen, but having received their target, they dared not linger and immediately retreated.

"Wow, that's really fast..."

Seeing the cavalry charge leaving everyone else in the dust, Mahiro couldn't help but smile.

And the damaged Imperial Arm in his hand was restored to its original state as if time had reversed.

"Heh, I didn't expect you to just let her get away like that."

Just then, a cool laugh came from not far away.

From the shadows of the ruins not far away, a graceful figure in icy blue slowly emerged and walked towards him step by step.

With her tall figure and the chilling aura emanating from her, she looked like a Snow Woman from a distance.