The Empire Reborn (9K) (Continued)

Not to mention that now the young emperor himself has torn off this fig leaf, completely exposing the Revolutionary Army's greed.

Of everyone, only Chelsea and Taeko didn't seem to feel much.

As for Taeko, her mind was already strange, not to mention that she no longer belonged to the Revolutionary Army.

Chelsea, on the other hand, believes in upholding her own principles and refusing to take sides.

If the Empire is at fault, she will assassinate its officials; but if the Revolutionary Army is at fault, she will not let them off the hook.

"However, rest assured, I understand your feelings. Since you've brought up Minister Honest's matter, let me state my position here: unless I die a violent death, I will absolutely not compromise with Minister Honest!"

Because she really had no reason to compromise with Honest.

Over the years, she had witnessed everything this minister had done, and she remembered every single one of it. What's more, this minister had even murdered her father and mother!

If one were to bow down and compromise with such a powerful minister, then one would indeed deserve to be sent to the guillotine!

As a burial offering for this empire that stood for a thousand years!

"His Majesty..."

Her sudden statement deeply shocked Najenda.

Her gaze darted back and forth between Yotsuba Mahiro and the young emperor, as she pondered whether she had truly made a mistake, and...

Is there a possibility that Yotsuba Mahiro could become the next Honest?

But these things... don't seem to matter anymore.

Because of their Night Raid, they were all arrested and imprisoned once again deep within the Yotsuba Estate, still guarded by Taeko.

As for whether to release or not, it's meaningless now.

In a more fantastical sense, aside from the naturally naive Sheele, Lubbock who was simply following Najenda, and the impulsive young Tatsumi who was full of enthusiasm, the others in Night Raid had basically lost their moral compass.

Akame, naturally, completed her mission and returned to the Elite Group.

Reunited with her younger sister, Kurome, the two embraced and wept with joy, expressing their longing for each other.

As for the assassinations within the Imperial Capital, Mahiro showed no sign of stopping, or rather, he directly laid his cards on the table.

Since that day, a subtle change has occurred between him and the young emperor, and the two have begun to take action without tacit agreement.

With the young emperor's covert support, his assassination squads continued to operate under the name of Night Raid, purging Honest's faction, and filling the vacant positions with the capable ministers he had rescued.

Even the old minister Jolly returned to the court.

Far from ceasing operations or crumbling, it seems to have been given a second spring, its life force rekindled.

Everything is developing in a thriving direction.

But Honest grew increasingly panicked, as if his death was drawing ever closer.

They became more disciplined in the imperial court and dared not overstep their bounds in any way. However, the young emperor knew very well that it was absolutely necessary to completely suppress this fat pig!

I just don't know why, Yotsuba Clan never seems to lay a hand on that fat pig.

It wasn't until the Revolutionary Army stormed into the Imperial Capital that the young emperor finally understood why he had to do this.

"Waaah... Minister Yotsuba Clan, Minister Honest, General Budo, what do we do now?"

The young emperor sat on his throne, trembling all over, and spoke.

In stark contrast to her previous innocence and arrogance, she revealed her most vulnerable and fragile side.

There was no other reason than that the Revolutionary Army had unknowingly stormed into the Imperial Capital, and all four gates—east, west, south, and north—had been captured.

The guards and assassination squads collapsed on the spot, and the people of the Imperial Capital fled the Imperial Capital to save their lives.

Hundreds of thousands of troops poured directly into the city.

"Your Majesty, please do not worry. As long as General Esdeath is dispatched, I believe the rebellion will be suppressed soon," Minister Honest said in a deep voice.

Honest had known about the relationship between Esdeath and Yotsuba Mahiro for a long time, but he didn't believe that Esdeath would submit to Yotsuba Mahiro so readily, so he always regarded Esdeath as his trump card.

Not to mention, this is a critical moment, not an opportunity for internal strife. He believed that even for his own sake, Yotsuba Mahiro would send Esdeath out...

"I apologize, Your Majesty. Some time ago, Minister Yotsuba Clan and I were seriously injured while hunting a legendary super-dangerous species together, and we have not yet recovered. At present... I am unable to participate in the battle."

"What?!"

Compared to the young emperor, Minister Honest's voice was louder.

"General Esdeath, do you know what you're saying?! This is an extremely urgent situation!"

However, Esdeath completely ignored Minister Honest, instead a strange smile playing on her lips, as if she were looking at a clown.

"General Budo! The empire is in grave danger; it's time to act!"

Minister Honest had already figured it out, and immediately turned his gaze to Budo, who had remained silent.

However, at this moment, Budo frowned and looked at the young emperor, as if asking a question.

But the young emperor shook his head frantically.

"No, no, General Budo, you must stay by my side. If you leave, who will guarantee my safety? Besides, there are only 10,000 guards around the palace. How could they possibly be a match for hundreds of thousands of men? Absolutely not!"

So Budo gave Honest a helpless look.

"Ah...!"

Honest frantically tore at his hair, his brain racing, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Your Majesty, this old minister has another plan. We still have our last trump card. As long as we activate the legendary Supreme Imperial Arm, no matter how many rebels come..."

"Your Highness, I have a plan. I wonder if you would be interested?"

Yotsuba Mahiro suddenly interrupted Honest, stepped onto the imperial steps, and offered his advice to the young emperor.

"... Minister Yotsuba Clan has a solution? Tell me quickly, I'm very interested."

"Actually, dealing with those who want to defect is quite simple. Most of the defectors are people who left the Empire because of Honest's oppression, so all we need to do is hand over this fat pig."

"What did you say?! You want to fight amongst yourselves at a time like this?! Are you really crazy?! Don't you want to live anymore?!"

However, Yotsuba Mahiro ignored Honest's roar and instead asked the young emperor, "What does Your Majesty think?"

"Good, good idea! You fat... oh no, Minister Honest, I hope you will sacrifice yourself to save the Empire! Afterwards, I will give you a grand burial, and your family and descendants will be given the highest level of care, enjoying wealth and honor for generations to come!"

The young emperor spoke to Honest in a very sincere tone.

"You're all insane... you're all insane!"

Now, Honest has no descendants or relatives left; they've all been wiped out in the infighting!

Moreover, he wasn't stupid; how could he not see that these people clearly wanted him dead!

The young emperor eventually slipped completely out of his control.

The culprit behind all this was that damned brat—

"Yotsuba Mahiro!!! I'm going to kill you!!!"

Honest could no longer care about anything else. With bloodshot eyes, he lunged at Yotsuba Mahiro, his fat hand curling into a claw as he lunged at Yotsuba Mahiro's chest.

"Idiot."

Mahiro simply sneered and waved his hand casually.

Snap!

Honest's several-hundred-pound obese body was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground and sliding nearly twenty meters away, almost sliding out of the palace gate.

His fat face was swollen very high.

Even so, when he looked up at Yotsuba Mahiro, his eyes were still filled with ferocity.

"Yotsuba Mahiro, even as a ghost, I will not let you go!!!"

"Is that so? Then you should first be qualified to become a ghost."

Mahiro grabbed Honest by the collar and strode towards the palace gates, the hundreds of pounds of weight seeming weightless to him.

Outside the palace gates, beneath the long, Sky Ladder -like staircase, countless troops had gathered, a dense mass of heads stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Gentlemen, victory is within reach! Follow me and charge in to rebuild our empire!"

Such shouts rang out from the Revolutionary Army, but just as everyone was about to launch an attack, they saw figures on the steps.

"It's actually Minister Yotsuba Clan?!" someone exclaimed in surprise.

Everyone immediately stopped in their tracks.

These people were well aware of Yotsuba Mahiro's reputation, and if a new empire needed to be established, then Yotsuba Mahiro would definitely be indispensable.

Amid the commotion, dozens of well-dressed figures, resembling leaders, stepped forward.

Even from a distance of several dozen meters, Yotsuba Mahiro could recognize that these were all officials who had defected from the empire, including many prefects and civil officials!

"Minister Yotsuba Clan, the empire is now merely a shell of its former self and is not worth your protection. I believe you will understand the situation; isn't surrender a better way out? The establishment of a new nation will also need your help."

"Interesting."

Mahiro smiled slightly at the people who were trying to persuade him, but only stared at them for a moment before raising his gaze to look at the Revolutionary Army crowd.

"Gentlemen, may I have a word to say?"

Mahiro shouted at the top of his lungs.

As his voice gradually spread, the noisy crowd immediately quieted down.

"I know very well that many of you resent the corruption of the imperial nobility, and I also know that many were forced to rebel against the empire. Now, the corrupt bureaucracy has been almost entirely eliminated, and the root of this corruption—"

Minister Honest is right here! Kill him, and no noble will ever bully you again in the empire!

"Kill Honest! Kill Honest! Kill Honest!"

The Revolutionary Army's voices were deafening, and as the root of all corruption, who among the inhabitants of the empire didn't grit their teeth at Honest?

Honest, now in his grasp, finally snapped out of his rage, and fear gripped his heart.

The way those people looked at him was as if they wanted to devour him alive!

If I fall into their hands, my fate is predictable!

"Please spare me... please spare me, Minister Yotsuba Clan! I'm willing to do anything, I'll be your slave, just please don't hand me over to those people!"

"Heh, I don't farm, what would I need oxen and horses for?"

Mahiro, unusually, swore and then threw Honest into the crowd.

"Since you want it, then you can have it!"

Honest's obese body crashed into the crowd like a cannonball.

Everyone swarmed forward, wanting to kill this guy, but Honest was no ordinary person. He had studied at the Imperial Fist Temple and his strength was not much worse than that of the Four Rakshasa Demons.

He immediately shook off those around him and fought back fiercely in the crowd.

"Get out of my way, all of you get out of my way! You are not qualified to kill me!!! I am a minister!!!"

Honest killed many people in the crowd, but for every one who fell, two or even three would take their place, as if there was no end to the killing.

Despite his exceptional strength, he was unable to single-handedly command an army and was quickly pinned to the ground.

"Let me go... you... you!!! Ah!!!!"

Honest's agonizing roar echoed from the crowd, but silence quickly followed. Honest had been brutally torn to pieces by the Revolutionary Army.

Scattered everywhere were beings named Honest, and blood stained the Revolutionary Army's uniforms.

Even though Honest possessed the legendary Teigu [Ireistone], which was said to counter Teigu, it was useless, since all those who killed him were ordinary people, not a single Teigu user.

The scene was so horrific that even the leading officials couldn't bear to look at it.

"Alright everyone, now that the ringleader has been brought to justice, let's all disperse."

"Impossible!"

Before he could finish speaking, someone suddenly shouted in rebuttal, "Minister Honest is only one of the culprits; the root of all evil is the young emperor! Yotsuba Clan, please step aside and hand over the young emperor!"

"Yes, that's right, hand over the little emperor!"

"Hand over the little emperor! Hand over the little emperor! Hand over the little emperor!"

Just like the herd mentality, once a leader appears, countless people blindly follow suit.

Hearing the commotion echoing around him, Mahiro shook his head and scoffed, "You bunch of guys, you really are asking for trouble..."