You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

“How can we let her be defeated in front of her own army?” Iori said solemnly. “In the eyes of the soldiers, she is a war goddess who will never shed blood. If this prestige is destroyed, it will be a huge blow to the morale of the army, and it is hard to guarantee that it will not shake the situation in the North.”

“…I hadn’t considered that.” Najenda suddenly realized.

The northern barbarians could launch a full-scale attack on the Empire at any time, and it is entirely Esdeath and her elite force that are keeping the hundreds of thousands of enemy troops in check. If anything goes wrong, it could have unimaginable consequences.

"You've thought this through very deeply..." The short-haired female general couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Iori, on the other hand, seemed quite indifferent:

He was neither an imperial citizen nor a foreigner. As an outsider, he maintained a neutral stance on the struggle between the two ethnic groups. However, considering that his "base" would mainly consist of the imperial people in the future, he naturally had to guard against foreigners.

Iori wouldn't project her feelings for her former homeland onto the empire just because it had a "unified emperor," nor would she regard the surrounding ethnic groups as sworn enemies like the Xiongnu.

He was simply making the most advantageous choice from his own perspective.

"I always choose to stand with the people, because in this chaotic world, the strong act with impunity, while the weak have no one to rely on."

When facing Najenda, Iori changed her tune: "Although I am not an omnipotent god, as a mortal, I am willing to do my best to help those weak people who cannot see hope."

Every tragedy we prevent makes the world a little better, doesn't it? Najenda.

"...Yes," the short-haired female general said absentmindedly, "It seems I still don't know you well enough..."

Not far away, Lubbock, the Teigu user of [Night Raid], looked over with a jealous expression, grinding his teeth as he said, "What? That man and Miss Najenda seem to be getting along really well... Damn it!"

Lubbock, who had been secretly in love with Najenda for a long time, was quite jealous. However, he could also tell that the two were just having a good time discussing some things and there was nothing else special between them.

But after he calmed down, he suddenly felt a chill and subconsciously turned his head, only to see his companion Akame maintaining her demonic sword that could kill with a single blow.

“Killing intent?” Lubbock blinked.

Why is there such a strong killing intent? The enemy hasn't even arrived yet, and Akame is looking in the direction...

"Akame seems to have been watching you the whole time, Iori."

"I already knew it."

Iori and Najenda, who were talking, naturally sensed the obvious murderous intent, but they remained calm and composed.

The short-haired female general frowned slightly: "I've never seen Akame care so much about a man before. It's clear you hold a special place in her heart... Shouldn't we be mindful of our distance?"

"No, this is just right."

Iori revealed a rather amused smile beneath her mask: "How else can I make this oblivious guy realize how much he cares about me?"

"..."

This man is amazing in every sense of the word!

Najenda suddenly started to worry about her best friend and subordinate. Akame, that emotionally naive little rabbit, meeting this big bad wolf... ugh!

"I hope you won't hurt Akame in the future."

“After all, she has a knife,” Iori said nonchalantly. “I’ll be careful to dodge.”

"It's already assumed it will be canceled," Najenda said, both amused and exasperated.

"Even so, I still think it would be too reckless to face Esdeath alone."

Getting back to the main point, Najenda said in a serious tone, "Even with your strength, challenging Esdeath is far too much of a stretch."

"With my strength? A challenge?"

As Iori pondered these words, a surge of madness gradually rose within her.

Najenda continued, "Furthermore, she will likely pass through this area in a tamed flying-type dangerous creature. To accurately intercept her, we'll need to send a large number of people to scout and set up defenses. You were in need of our assistance anyway."

"It doesn't matter!"

Iori stood up and stepped out of the tent where she was hiding: "As long as she comes to me on her own initiative, that's enough!"

"Don't act rashly!" Najenda caught up with him.

"Ha! You talk as if you know me very well."

"I--"

hum!

The overwhelming sense of gravity left Najenda speechless. An invisible aura instantly enveloped the entire camp. From Imperial Arms users to ordinary soldiers, the stronger the person, the more clearly they could feel this strange pressure descending from the sky.

Even experts like Brad and Akame had extremely serious expressions on their faces. Even though it was their first time encountering this inexplicable pressure, it did not prevent them from realizing the power of its source, and they all looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy!

Iori glanced indifferently at Najenda, whose face had turned pale: "Have you seen my true strength?"

"Roar--!"

A faint but clear roar came from the distant sky. As the sun moved westward, a three-headed, sub-dragon-type dangerous creature flew out from the twilight clouds. As it drew closer, a tall woman with long, ice-blue hair appeared on its back!

Chapter 63: When I saw you, I was disappointed.

What Iori saw was a female general in a white military uniform, with long, ice-blue hair that reached her ankles, making it hard to look away.

Unlike Najenda, who has a dignified appearance and a composed demeanor, Esdeath has an aggressively beautiful face and a wild, wolf-like gaze. Her already tall and graceful figure appears even more haughty under the tall military boots, and her condescending gaze is full of domineering intent.

She makes no attempt to hide anything about herself; it's a composure that comes from a certain level of self-confidence.

This often leads people to focus only on her identity as the "strongest Teigu user," ignoring the fact that she is only twenty years old this year and is still a young girl.

Iori and she exchanged a glance from a distance. At this distance, it was almost impossible to see each other's faces clearly, but the hunter still showed a pleasant smile.

She clearly noticed there was a camp here, which seemed to be something else entirely, but she still piloted the Dangerous creature over, seemingly unconcerned about any ambush.

"Although she is the 'Queen of Ice', she looks as aggressive as fire."

Iori sighed for a moment, and as the other person drew closer and their figure became clearer, his gaze fell on her chest.

Don't misunderstand, it wasn't a sudden surge of lust, but rather the dark mark on that fair skin—that was the mark of the elemental manipulation Imperial Arms [Demon Manifestation].

It is said to be forged from the blood of a super dangerous species that lives in the far north. Anyone who drinks it will be driven mad by the bloodlust hidden within, without exception.

But Esdeath defied common sense, drinking the entire blood that she should have only sipped, and then suppressing the remaining spirit of the super dangerous species with her powerful will... or rather, Esdeath's bloodlust was even stronger, forcibly taming it!

Before that, Esdeath was already a rising star of the empire. After completely mastering the [Demon God Manifestation], she was able to freely control the power of ice and snow, from single-target offense and defense to manipulating celestial phenomena. It can be said that she has completely sublimated to another level.

In the world of "Akatsuki no Akame," perhaps only the first emperor from a thousand years ago was stronger. There is probably no one in the contemporary era who can compare to him. In the original work, Akame was attacked in a continuous gauntlet after exhausting a lot of physical strength, and was only defeated by Akame's power-up at the end, which feels a bit like a plot-driven death.

Iori was quite looking forward to fighting such an opponent.

Yes, anticipation, the complete opposite of Najenda's inner unease.

In fact, Esdeath did not come alone. On the broad back of that dangerous beast were three other men dressed in black military uniforms, Esdeath's "Three Beast Warriors," a combat team composed of pure Imperial Arms users, just like [Night Raid].

Oh right, Iori's two great axes were originally assigned to an Imperial officer, but he didn't live to see Esdeath recruit him. He was killed by Iori while she was working as a bounty hunter. It seems that the "Three Beast Warriors" in this timeline have a different member.

However, these are minor issues; at this moment, they have no place in Iori's eyes.

Later, let the old man from the Three Beasts go catch up with Brad and have some fun. The others can handle the other two henchmen.

"Roar!"

The dangerous, dragon-type creature had already flown over the camp, emitting a defiant roar that made everyone's eardrums tighten.

Annoyed by the noise, Iori drew her longsword from its sheath with her right hand. The beautiful blade, as clear as autumn water and jade, emitted a faint but clear sound in the cold wind, like the roar of a dragon cutting through the air.

Amidst the roar of the sub-dragons, the divine sword seemed dissatisfied. A faint white light shone from within the precious jade, and a thin stream slowly swirled around the blade, as elegant and majestic as a swimming dragon.

"Roar--"

The boy, sword in hand, glanced indifferently at the dangerous creature. The roar abruptly ceased, and the deformed monster flapped its wings uneasily. Its three heads suddenly began to struggle and quarrel, seemingly due to a disagreement, causing its body to sway, which surprised Esdeath, who was standing on it.

Snapped!

She tightened the iron chain around the dangerous creature's neck, and the whip lashed its body mercilessly. The soft whip, made of a special material, carried a powerful force, and the pain penetrated through the thick, tough hide, causing the ferocious creature to let out a pitiful cry for mercy.

Even so, it still hesitated and refused to land. Esdeath thumped it three times in a row, and the dragon grew increasingly agitated.

Stab it!

A cold glint appeared, followed by scalding blood splattering across the sky like a red drizzle, and then a dark figure descended from the heavens.

Bang!

First came the enormous body, then three huge heads, which crashed to the ground, kicking up dust mixed with blood—a truly bizarre scene.

A white ribbon stretched across the sky, a delicate bridge of ice that, illuminated by the twilight, resembled a procession of gods. The queen slid down the ice, her long hair billowing in the cold wind, followed closely by her three subordinates—a truly spirited sight!

Najenda instinctively clenched her fists: "It's finally starting!"

Iori looked up at the scene and said calmly, "That's really impressive."

But I won't allow someone this awesome to exist!

"Fall down!"

With a gentle swing of the Heavenly Cloud Sword, the precious jade at the end of the hilt flashed with light. As its aura flowed, a pure white arc of light flew out, roaring in the air and transforming into the shape of a blue dragon. It crashed head-on into the ice bridge, severing it inch by inch with a series of cracking sounds, its momentum unstoppable!

"Humph!"

Esdeath drew her double-edged sword, the chilling white air freezing wherever the tip of the blade passed, forming a solid wall of ice to block the sword. Then, she swung her long whip with her left hand, lifting up three of her subordinates before tumbling down the broken bridge.

call--

About ten meters above the ground, a cold wind surged, and the four people's descent suddenly slowed down. They finally landed steadily on the ground, completely unharmed.

Esdeath's move revealed an extremely high level of control, which was no longer limited to controlling ice and snow, but rather developed various derivative abilities like the three states of water.

Although she wasn't injured, Esdeath felt that her appearance was a show of force and was quite displeased. She flicked her whip, threw the three beastmen aside, and said indifferently, "Take care of yourselves."

"Yes, Master Esdeath."

The three beastmen acted as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, with the leader, the Teigu user Vali, bowing elegantly like an old butler.

"Our duty as the three Beast Warriors is to protect Lady Esdeath and ensure that you are not disturbed while enjoying the battle, so please rest assured."

Esdeath did not respond, her icy blue eyes fixed on Iori, scrutinizing her for a moment before looking at Najenda beside her, and then at Bright, Akame, Leone, and the others who appeared around them.

Furthermore, her keen intuition told her that there were definitely more Imperial Arms users lurking in the shadows. She never expected to encounter so many powerful individuals in such a desolate place; this was truly—

This is exciting!

Even when she was surrounded and attacked, Esdeath was not worried, since she had entered the trap willingly.

The Ice Queen had absolute confidence in herself. Even if she was exhausted from the endless battle, no one could stop her if she wanted to leave.

"It's been a long time, Najenda."

Esdeath greeted her old friend, "The last time was when you defected, right? I heard you went to the Revolutionary Army. I didn't expect you to be so highly valued, able to gather so many Imperial Arms users."

"What, you think you can keep me here with just these people? While you always like to compensate for a lack of combat strength with strategy, this plan... is a bit naive, Najenda."

"Then you're wrong."

Facing Esdeath, Najenda, though nervous, remained composed and showed no fear, calmly turning to Iori: "This operation wasn't planned by me, and everyone, including myself, was just an 'spectator.' The real protagonist is this—"

He's your real rival!

"really!"

Esdeath was not surprised; Iori's image was reflected in her slightly narrowed eyes.

She was a war fanatic, but also an excellent hunter with a sharp mind and calm judgment; she was not merely a military commander. Otherwise, she could not have trained and commanded such an elite army and kept them so loyal.

She had only set off for the mainland because of the minister's superstitious advice, in order to resolve the minister's troubles as soon as possible during the window of opportunity before the northern barbarians launched their attack, and then continue to command the battle from the northern border.

So she quickly connected Iori's highly recognizable appearance with the target mentioned in the minister's letter, and her smile became increasingly joyful and dangerous.

"You became my hunting target but didn't run away; instead, you took the initiative to ambush and kill me? You have guts!"

Esdeath swung her longsword, and the fierce wind pressure swept away the surrounding dust, causing the already rather cold air temperature to drop sharply.

"It's been a long time since I've encountered such an arrogant opponent; he's worth crushing!"

call--

A cold wind ruffled Iori's cloak, revealing a pair of clear and calm eyes beneath his mask. He hadn't uttered a word since Esdeath landed, merely scrutinizing his next enemy, and then suddenly sighed for some reason.

"Ok?"

Esdeath quickly noticed Iori's change in mood, and Akame and the others looked at him strangely.