The girl slashed the flank of the hideously ugly man with grotesquely distorted features.
Blood trickled from the exceedingly thin wound.
Although the girl's assassination attempt had caught Lin Feng off guard as well,
what Lin Feng felt at her slash was less surprise than confusion.
Why didn't she aim for a vital spot? With her speed, she should have been able to kill this man without the slightest effort...
A wound in a spot like that isn't enough to kill anyone.
But Lin Feng's confusion was soon resolved.
The ugly man, who had suffered only a single stab wound from the girl, actually began to fall apart, finally vanishing into nothingness amid flames and smoke!
Having eliminated the merchant, the girl flicked her blade backward-
The blood staining it splattered onto the floor with the momentum, giving off a faint bloody smell.
In the night light, the blade radiated a chilling menace that made one's heart tremble.
The girl had killed her enemy with just one wound. Lin Feng thought to himself that she must possess some special ability.
That was probably the effect of a "Teigu."
"That ability to kill with a single slash... heh, you're Akame of Night Raid, aren't you? I've heard so much about you."
Seeing the oil merchant Jamal's corpse, Captain Ogre struggled to suppress his fear and simply addressed Akame.
"Since everyone here has heard my name, I can't leave any survivors..."
"You need to understand that this is an Imperial police station! Do you know the consequences of breaking in?"
"I don't want to waste any more words on you..."
Hearing Captain Ogre's words, Lin Feng, who had turned into a shadow, finally understood.
So she's a member of Night Raid, the group the Imperial Guard keeps mentioning... she's truly skilled.
During their regular training, the Imperial Guard repeatedly emphasized that Night Raid, an emerging assassin organization, was highly active and currently the Imperial Guard's primary target.
They were civilian assassins for hire who would assassinate others as long as someone paid them, severely undermining public order, and had to be eradicated without fail.
Even so, Lin Feng had not paid them much mind.
Night Raid's assassination targets were all wealthy households living in luxury, either rich or powerful; no residents of the slums had ever fallen victim to Night Raid.
Having come from poverty himself, Lin Feng naturally sympathized more with the poor, so he had no interest in Night Raid's assassinations.
With a dark expression, Akame moved-she was truly as swift as a fleeing hare. The girl's running figure seemed like an entirely different person compared with her calm bearing when standing still.
With incomparably swift steps, Akame darted forward and slashed twice. In the space of a held breath, two more men fell into pools of blood, vanishing into nothingness with the ashes.
Seeing this, the oil merchant Jamal's two underlings responsible for opening the money chest fled as fast as they could, but Akame did not pursue them. Her eyes were fixed on Ogre before her.
Now Lin Feng sensed that his own situation was looking bad.
The reasoning was very simple: if Ogre was killed, Lin Feng would have been the only person in the Imperial Guard he had been in contact with before his death.
Ogre was still the captain of the Imperial Guard, and his death would certainly be marked with great ceremony, while Lin Feng, who had been pursuing fame and fortune lately and working hard to improve his performance, would be suspected of murdering his superior to usurp his position.
Even if he wasn't, he would certainly face criticism!
Lin Feng wanted Ogre dead, yet did not want him to die now.
He wanted Ogre to die despised by everyone, to die getting what he deserved-
More importantly, Lin Feng really did not want the news that "a Night Raid member killed Ogre" to spread.
Because if that happened, Seryu, that girl who upheld justice, would never be willing to believe the dark truth again. She would certainly form a mistaken understanding because of it, burdening herself with immense suffering.
At that thought, Lin Feng decided to give his superior Ogre a hand and prevent Night Raid's assassination plan from succeeding.
You recommended me to the Imperial Guard, so I do owe you a debt...
This time, I'll repay that debt.
Seeing that the oil merchant Jamal's underlings could not hold Akame back, Captain Ogre fled toward the office door in panic.
Unfortunately, Akame was more agile. With just a light leap through the air, she blocked the doorway.
Her straight, long blade pointed at Captain Ogre, about to pierce his throat-
[Skill points used. New skill acquired.]
Lin Feng focused his mind on the Template System.
"Familiar Summoning!"
In an instant, a cloud of black miasma enveloped the room.
From within that miasma, an enormous, bizarre four-legged creature resembling both a dog and a wolf appeared in front of Captain Ogre.
It caught the slash head-on with its sharp teeth.
With Akame's long blade clenched in its mouth, the strange creature suddenly exerted its strength. Even Akame struggled to resist and momentarily lost the contest of strength.
Looking at the creature, Akame found it utterly unbelievable.
Several pairs of terrifying red eyes covered its face. Its frame was enormous, its body broad, and muscles covered its limbs, while an aura of brutality radiated from its entire body.
It was nothing less than the "hellhound" from myths!
"How could this be... Najenda clearly said Ogre wasn't a Teigu user. Was the intelligence wrong? He actually had such a powerful biological Teigu in reserve..."
Captain Ogre also found it quite unbelievable that a hellhound had suddenly appeared before him to protect him.
However, he would not pass up this perfect chance to escape while Akame and that mad dog were locked in a stalemate. Turning and leaping through the shattered window, Captain Ogre disappeared into the night.
Akame had intended to let go of her long blade and pursue him, but the hellhound's bite was astonishingly powerful; even her hand had been jolted somewhat numb.
Seeing Ogre leave, Lin Feng finally relaxed.
Now we're even, aren't we?
A mass of shadows gathered together, taking Lin Feng's form.
A gleam flashed through Lin Feng's crimson eyes, and the hellhound stopped moving, soon dissipating into the air.
Akame stared at Lin Feng in surprise, her eyes filled with wariness.
Her first instinct as an assassin told her that Lin Feng was strong-extremely strong.
"Who are you, and what's your relationship with Ogre?"
"You're the intruder. By rights, shouldn't I be the one asking you?"
Lin Feng asked casually:
"What reason do you have that makes killing Ogre a must? Why not let me hear it?"
"I don't have time to explain things to you."
"Don't worry. If your reason is sound, I'll kill him myself."
"Are you telling the truth?"
"If I can stop you, I can stop him too."
Lin Feng's words were filled with the confidence of the strong.
And as Akame looked into Lin Feng's eyes, the blood-red color within them-
was no different from the eyes of that incomparably savage hellhound just now.