Taking control of the Empire

As he watched Esdeath walk away, Lind extended his senses.

"So this is the army of the foreign tribes. Their strength is decent enough."

After sensing them briefly, Lind rubbed his chin and began to think.

Their strength.

Although they fell short of his standards.

They were all far stronger than ordinary people.

"In theory, they should be able to give me some experience."

Lind dressed, and his body rose into the air.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The two armies faced off. Though the battle had yet to begin, their killing intent already soared into the sky.

War was cruel to everyone.

At a time like this, anyone who dared step between them would surely be courting death.

But.

To Lind, it felt just like coming home.

He floated over the heads of countless soldiers of the Empire, yet they all acted as though they had not seen him.

What a joke.

He was General Esdeath's man.

Would anyone have to be out of their mind to object?

Seated on her warhorse, Esdeath looked slightly puzzled when she saw Lind arrive.

"What, am I not welcome?"

"No, I just thought you wouldn't be interested in a war on this scale, Master."

Esdeath dismounted, intending to offer her warhorse to Lind.

"No need."

Lind waved a hand. "I'm just here to crush a few ants."

As he spoke, Lind landed on the ground and simply walked toward the foreign tribes' army.

Seeing this!

Esdeath waved her hand, signaling the entire army to hold its position.

As his Familiar.

She carried out her master's every command without hesitation.

On the other side.

At the front of the foreign army.

"What is the Empire's army trying to do?"

The speaker was a valiant-looking man clad in a full suit of armor.

The hero of the north, Prince Numa Seka.

He was the pillar of the foreign tribes.

It was his presence that gave the Northern Tribes the courage to invade the Empire's territory.

"What, has the Empire run out of men? They actually sent you here alone to die?"

Numa spurred his horse forward and rode up to Lind.

As the foreign tribes' greatest warrior.

He dared to face any enemy alone.

That was the source of his confidence.

"I'm not from the Empire."

Lind shook his head gently.

"Hm?"

Numa frowned, not quite catching his words, and instinctively asked, "What did you say?"

"Nothing. I'm just here for a few little rolls."

Lind's eyes were utterly calm and indifferent.

"What are you talking about?"

A vicious gleam flashed through Numa's eyes. "Forget it. I don't care who you are."

"If you show up here, you're my enemy. Die..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lind had already made his move.

Under everyone's gaze, Lind pressed his index and middle fingers together and pointed from a distance.

"Absolute Zero."

The instant his words fell.

A wisp of unimaginably cold air spread out in an instant, freezing Numa's body solid inside a block of ice.

Then!

The icy chill continued to spread.

Starting from Lind, the battlefield ahead became eerie, as though filled with the stillness of death.

For a moment.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the foreign tribes all wore expressions of terror.

Cold!

Utterly, impossibly cold.

It felt as though not only their bodies.

But even their souls would freeze in that chill.

They did not even have time to move.

In a single instant.

Every last one of them had become an ice sculpture.

At that moment.

The entire battlefield fell deathly silent.

The minds of countless soldiers of the Empire had gone completely blank.

As though they, too, had been frozen in place like the foreign army.

Esdeath's pupils contracted as well, and she gained an even deeper understanding of her skill's power.

Absolute Zero in Lind's hands.

Was no longer merely a physical chill. It had even reached into the realm of the soul.

In fact.

Low temperature was no longer enough to describe this skill.

It was a devastating skill that utterly froze all things.

Those soldiers had died before they were even frozen.

[Experience +1]

[Experience +3]

[Experience +10]

Text continued to appear before his eyes, and Lind felt his strength rising steadily.

[Lind Lucifer]

[Race: Progenitor devil]

[Level: L56]

[Authority: Progenitor Devil Transformation]

[Familiars: Grayfia, Shiho Miyano, Akemi Miyano, Esdeath]

[Skills: Devil Contract, Demon Summoning, Infinite Magic Power, Magic Heart, Magic Gunner, Devil's Gun, Demon Mask, Absolute Zero]

"Two levels. Not bad."

Lind looked at the panel and nodded in satisfaction.

Chapter 23: Taking control of the Empire

Several days later.

The Imperial Capital.

"Master, you want to conquer the world?"

Esdeath blinked.

Thanks to Lind.

The Northern Tribes had been swiftly subdued.

Lind and Esdeath then came to the Imperial Capital.

Their arrival immediately caused a commotion.

"Look! Isn't that General Esdeath?"

"Who's that beside her? He's so handsome."

"Could he be her lover?"

To countless commoners, Esdeath was unquestionably a famous figure.

Even compared with the corrupt nobles and officials in the Imperial Capital.

Esdeath, who had no interest in bullying the weak, was even more beloved by the common people.

Not to mention.

Having just subdued the Northern Tribes.

For a time.

Their arrival caused an enormous stir.

But as for that.

Neither Lind nor Esdeath cared.

Esdeath asked, "Then, Master, what do you plan to do?"

Lind replied casually, "Let's get the Empire under our control first. That'll make things easier."

"True. Although this world has many foreign tribes, the Empire is the strongest."

Esdeath nodded, but asked in confusion, "Master, since you want to rebel, wouldn't it have been better to raise an army right at the border?"

"There's an old saying in my homeland: control the emperor to command the lords."

Lind explained, "Smashing the entire Empire to pieces would be far too much trouble."

"We might as well control the emperor directly and take control of the Empire."