“Trade?”
Najenda savored the word, her eyes questioning Akame.
Akame nodded. “Yes, I made a deal with Ling Qing, and he will help us rescue Mine.”
“……”
Everyone had assumed they were friends or something.
They hadn’t expected it to be a simple transaction.
Najenda was very curious about the terms of the deal.
But asking Ling Qing directly in front of everyone seemed unwise.
After a moment of thought, she said, “Could you perhaps introduce yourself, your powers, or your Imperial Arms, Mr. Ling Qing?”
“That way we can better formulate our battle strategy.”
Najenda wanted to know what kind of Imperial Arms, Subordinate Arms, or martial prowess these people possessed to be so confident.
“Battle strategy?”
Ling Qing shook his finger.
“No need, let’s head to the Empire.”
“No battle strategy? How can that be?!”
Even Leone, who always hated strategy, found this unreliable.
Lubbock’s face was grim.
“You’re going to get us killed if you don’t even have a battle strategy.”
Akame said at that moment, “Trust him.”
“This…”
Hill and the others were unsure.
Finally, Najenda asked Akame seriously.
“Akame, are you sure we can trust them?”
Akame confirmed, “Yes, because it’s a transaction.”
Ling Qing looked strange.
He hadn’t expected Akame to take the transaction so seriously.
But it didn’t matter to him whether these people believed or not.
He could save Mine even if he were alone.
For him, all that mattered was completing the transaction.
“……”
A long silence ensued.
Najenda made her decision.
“Alright, Akame, I trust you. We’re going to the capital now.”
Their leader had spoken.
Even if others had objections, they had to obey.
…
Along the way.
The carriage rattled along.
Everyone chatted sporadically.
Najenda was mainly trying to extract information about the group.
But unfortunately, the three girls in black couldn’t reveal any information about the chat group to others.
They kept their mouths shut on any matters relating to the world, and they followed Ling Qing’s lead.
If Ling Qing didn’t speak?
They wouldn’t say anything.
However.
Night Raid shared some grim details about the Empire.
Burning, looting, raping women, and trading people.
These were considered minor offenses.
Some perverted nobles would even torture and eat people.
Even Saeko couldn’t help but frown after hearing this.
Shōbu spoke her mind.
“An Empire that doesn’t care for its people is destined to be destroyed.”
This drew friendly glances from Night Raid.
If it weren’t inappropriate, they would have tried to recruit Shōbu.
Mai snuggled into Ling Qing’s arms.
She was shivering a little.
She had never experienced such things as a normal person.
“We’re here.”
Lubbock, who was driving the carriage, stopped.
The capital, protected by walls, was not far off.
Although it was late at night.
The next day was the execution of a notorious member of Night Raid.
There were many soldiers on guard tonight.
You could see the fires and torches on the walls from a distance.
“Should we just charge in?”
Leone was eager to get into the action.
“That would be dangerous.”
Hill suggested, “It might be better if we infiltrated.”
“Let me sneak in and investigate Mine’s whereabouts. With Cursed Armor, I can become invisible and shouldn’t be detected.”
Brand spoke for the first time.
Cursed Armor was his Imperial Arm.
It was a suit of armor made from the ferocious Dragon-type Danger Beast “Tyrant.”
When summoned, the sturdy armor would automatically fly out and enhance the wearer’s abilities.
It was an Imperial Arm boasting ironclad defense.
It came with the auxiliary weapon, “Red-backed Shrike.”
The key was that after activating the biological characteristics of the material used, it could turn transparent for a short time.
As long as the user was skilled.
They could also hide their aura.
It sounded very useful.
But in reality, it wouldn’t guarantee that you wouldn’t be discovered.
“Infiltration is definitely necessary, but there are many Imperial Arm users in the capital. We must be careful.”
Najenda mused.
Suddenly, Lubbock’s eyes narrowed.
He shouted in alarm, “Hey, what are you doing?!”
Everyone followed his gaze.
Ling Qing had already walked out of the woods and was heading toward the front gate of the capital.
He turned, grinned, and said, “What else? I’m going in.”
Behind him, flames surged.
A pair of enormous crimson lotus dragon wings unfurled from the flames.
The wings beat.
A strong wind whipped up.
Ling Qing was already flying high and heading towards the center of the capital.
“What is he doing?!”
Lubbock was furious.
Wasn’t this going to expose them?
But Najenda’s expression became serious.
“Is that an Imperial Arm?”
The number of Imperial Arms was fixed.
Najenda was certain this was not one of any known Imperial Arms.
She felt that the dragon wings were the Dragon-type Danger Beast itself, their aura was terrifying.
“Najenda, what should we do?”
Leone asked anxiously.
She didn’t want anything to go wrong with the rescue plan.
Before Najenda could respond.
Akame said first, “Ling Qing said we should just watch.”
“???”
Ling Qing had indeed sent a message in the chat group.
Ling Qing: “Akame, and Mai, you guys just wait for me over there.”
Sakurajima Mai: “Okay.”
Akame: “I understand. The chat group asked me if I wanted to start a live stream. What should I do?”
Stella: “Of course you should! I want to watch.”
Furillen: “Eating melon. JPG.”
Akame: “Okay.”
【Ding! Akame has started a live stream!】
【Ding! Stella has entered the live stream!】
…
PS: The picture is of Hill!