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

Fortunately, in this crazy era, the most important key moments are still firmly controlled by Iori:

First, Esdeath successfully defeated the northern barbarians and ended the battle decisively, so it's estimated that there won't be any need to worry about the safety of the North for a long time.

Secondly, ministers issued orders to support the emperor, recruiting troops from outside the capital and urging officials from all over the country who were loyal to the empire, or rather, those who were loyal to him, to send troops to support the emperor.

Just as Iori had hoped, an "evil force" centered around Ernest and the puppet emperor has emerged, and the insects that were originally hidden throughout the empire have now revealed themselves and gathered together.

Of course, some of them infiltrated the revolutionary army or chose to cooperate with Anning Dao... But there are priorities, let's get rid of these people on the surface first!

This chaotic situation was originally expected to continue for some time, but the news of Esdeath's victory immediately stirred up all sides, becoming the fuse for the final battle:

Neither the Empire nor the Revolutionary Army wanted Esdeath's border troops to meet their end, and they were eager to end everything before the Northern Army entered the country!

The reason is quite simple: Esdeath is neither "one of their own" to either of them, and her stance is unclear, making her extremely dangerous.

The minister knew that Esdeath had broken with him, but he did not know exactly what had happened, nor could he guess Esdeath's thoughts. Therefore, he never dared to list the Northern Army as rebels. Instead, he nominally rewarded and appeased Esdeath.

The Revolutionary Army did know about Iori and Esdeath, but this only made them uneasy!

Because Esdeath made a direct alliance with Iori and had no connection whatsoever with their Revolutionary Army—as the saying goes, an ally of an ally is not an ally of mine.

The revolutionary army had tried to recruit Iori before, but had never succeeded. The relationship between the two sides was merely one of mutual benefit, and such a relationship was insignificant in the face of actual conflicts of interest.

While Iori may not have any other ideas yet, the Revolutionary Army's high command is quite wary of him.

In their minds, if the Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Army were locked in a stalemate, then Iori would very likely lead Esdeath's elite troops south to reap the benefits!

Najenda repeatedly explained to her colleagues that Iori wouldn't do such a thing—because it was unnecessary—but it was clear that the Revolutionary Army's high command didn't believe her.

In order to contain Esdeath's Northern Legion, they specifically contacted the alien races, urging them to launch an attack ahead of schedule.

That's right, the northern ethnic minorities and the revolutionary army are actually allies!

This war, originally intended to be waged against the empire, was launched for entirely different reasons.

If things proceed as normal, the empire will rapidly collapse internally, the Northern Legion's logistics will certainly be affected, and Esdeath will inevitably be embroiled in a bitter struggle, entangled with the foreign armies for a long time.

By the time she frees her hands, the Revolutionary Army and the Empire should have already decided the outcome, leaving her and Iori no chance to intervene.

—But Esdeath is just too fast!

No one expected that a war involving hundreds of thousands of troops would be over in less than a month!

If we take away the time for troop deployment and travel, the actual battle probably only lasted a few days... and hundreds of thousands of foreign troops were wiped out just like that!

Even with hundreds of thousands of pigs, it wouldn't be that easy to catch them!

This victory, so clean and decisive, stunned everyone. Even Iori, who knew the plot beforehand, was amazed by Esdeath's efficiency.

Everyone is afraid of her fate, so we must seize the central authority as soon as possible and use our power to confront Esdeath. If all else fails, we can promise her land and make her a queen!

Thus, a war on the distant frontier changed the entire situation. The revolutionary army amassed a large force to attack the capital, and Ernest appointed General Bud as marshal to lead the troops to suppress the rebellion.

Meanwhile, the military police force "Wild Hounds" is frantically arresting spies and undercover agents in the capital, while "Night Raids" is launching attacks everywhere to assassinate corrupt nobles of Ernest's faction.

It's like throwing a few ice cubes into boiling oil; the heat and oil instantly explode!

When Iori led his men all the way to the capital, the city was no longer as prosperous as it once was. The tall city walls were filled with ballistae and cannons, and defensive equipment such as rolling logs and stones were readily available. Well-equipped warriors moved through the passageways inside the city walls, transporting supplies in an orderly manner.

The millennium-old empire still has some foundation. Bud's guard is definitely an elite force. With the help of the city's fortifications, even ten times the number of troops would not be able to conquer it. The capital has become a huge armed fortress!

"Simply killing people won't work; we need Teigu users to create an opening in the defenses." Iori made this conclusion after only a glance from afar.

Siege warfare has always been a major challenge throughout history and across the world; the difficulty of conquering fortified cities is a nightmare for all commanders!

This has little to do with how strong your military strategy is. A fortress with ample supplies, strong defenses, and a high morale can hold out forever. No matter how high your command stat is, you'll have to honestly throw more lives into it, or simply take a detour.

It's not uncommon for renowned generals and commanders to suffer setbacks in siege battles... there's really nothing more to say.

However, there is another option in "Akatsuki no Akame ga Kill!": using the Imperial Arms user to open up the situation.

Armored Imperial Arms like [Demon Possessed], which balance mobility and defense, can be extremely valuable tactically in this situation!

Therefore, it's easy to guess what the Revolutionary Army will do next:

"It seems that the next target of [Night Raid] is General Bud."

Iori gazed at the walls of the imperial capital for a long time before muttering to himself, "So what should I do?"

Chapter 76: Marrying one is equivalent to marrying them all

What is Aizen-sama thinking about? — The black-haired youth Will stood five meters behind Iori, staring blankly at his back.

Since the minister officially turned against him, Iori revealed his real name to his subordinates and told them that they were free to come and go as they pleased. If they did not want to become traitors to the empire with him, they could simply take their travel expenses and leave.

The samurai naturally chose Iori, and the Rakshasa Twin Demons and the Imperial Arms users also chose to stay. Even the heroes from all over the country who came to admire him ignored the so-called imperial edict and wanted notice, and were single-mindedly determined to follow Iori.

Furthermore, although Iori's direct subordinates have only grown to three or four hundred people, that's because smaller units are easier to maneuver. If he wanted to rapidly expand his army, he could easily raise tens of thousands of troops, but since Iori already has Esdeath's legion under his command, there's no point in doing so.

Among his direct subordinates, some were indebted to him, some gained fame and fortune from him, some were driven by a worship of power, and some had a combination of these feelings...

Will and Mr. Fashion are the two most unique among them.

Having spent a long time with Iori, the fashionista knew how unfathomable this mysterious masked man was. He could also vaguely sense Iori's attitude towards him, so he was afraid that if he showed any signs of disobedience, Iori would kill him as a sacrifice... Therefore, he behaved very low-key and obediently.

Will is the only one among them who has no "handle" against him.

He was a passionate young man, a perfect bachelor, with little ambition or desire; he was just a simple and honest young man, and no one could control him.

And Iori's method of winning him over was the most traditional:

Nothing special, just letting things take their natural course.

These passionate young people, once you spend a lot of time with them and experience several intense battles together, can easily develop a sense of camaraderie and are quite easy to manipulate.

Moreover, following Iori as he traveled through various states and counties, Will's horizons were greatly broadened. He witnessed all sorts of tragedies and was moved time and time again, and had long harbored resentment towards the darkness of the Empire.

When Iori was wanted, he hesitated for a moment before decisively deciding to stick with Iori.

"I just want to follow you and make money, and see them (ordinary people) laugh."

—Welsh.

But putting aside his simple sense of justice, Will himself had little interest in politics and had not made any special effort to learn about it. He even thought that Iori was a revolutionary army cadre, so he was surprised that Iori did not join the main force.

This revolutionary army is quite large. If observed from above, one would see that the revolutionary army has set up camps in all directions, with camps of all sizes scattered around, completing the encirclement of the capital. It seems that this is to prevent the young emperor from escaping and to trap all the important figures here, solving the problem once and for all.

On a massive battlefield with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, Iori leading a few hundred people was hardly conspicuous.

However, when it comes to combat strength, Iori and his group are definitely the "strongest in the world"!

"Lord Aizen, the siege is a huge drain on both sides. The longer it drags on, the more unforeseen events will occur. Let's break through the gates of the capital as soon as possible and end this sooner."

Will declared confidently, "They weren't able to force a siege before, but now that we're here, it's time to launch a full-scale attack!"

"Wow, that's really enthusiastic this time!" Iori turned to look at Will after hearing this, somewhat surprised.

"You're not usually this belligerent, why are you acting differently today?"

"After all, once the capital is captured, the war will basically be over."

Will's expression was much more mature than when he first met Iori, clearly showing that he had grown considerably.

"A siege is a long and arduous ordeal. Nothing is more important to the people than peace. If there is a chance to completely overthrow the empire, we must try our best no matter what!"

My Noble Chariot is perfectly suited for siege warfare... Perhaps this is the destiny bestowed upon me by heaven!

You're right.

Iori patted the young man on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Don't worry, the war will end soon. I will not let the people suffer too much, and I will never let the culprits who caused all this go unpunished."

—This is my promise to you as your boss and friend, Will.

Moreover, if nothing unexpected happens, I think someone will soon come to me asking for help.

This needs no explanation. Just look at how many Imperial Arms users and Imperial Arms users are gathered here. The Revolutionary Army probably needs to gather all of Iori's strongest members except for the Night Raid to compete with Iori's team. How could they possibly ignore this elite force?

To storm the capital, they must break through the outer defenses, which requires facing General Budo, the "strongest in the empire." Only by eliminating this man can the Revolutionary Army's Teigu users have room to maneuver.

The Revolutionary Army's first choice is of course a night raid, but they won't forget Iori, their "ally." If they can take down Bud while weakening Iori's forces... it would be the best of both worlds!

However, they also had concerns, namely about the previous incident where they instructed foreign tribes to attack Esdeath... They didn't know the extent to which Iori knew about it.

If Iori was aware of the high command's schemes, then it would be understandable that he would break with the Revolutionary Army in a fit of rage.

Therefore, you need to first figure out his attitude problem, and then decide what price to pay to appease his dissatisfaction.

As expected, just as Iori had predicted, the Revolutionary Army soon sent a special envoy to contact him. After some probing, the envoy discovered that Iori had no intention of breaking the alliance and did not mention the war in the north. The envoy immediately became much more relaxed and directly stated his purpose.

Their request was simple; they mainly needed Iori's help with two things:

One plan was to send people to coordinate with the Night Raid to assassinate General Bud, while the other was to use the "Dimensional Array - Shangri-La" to transfer a revolutionary army suicide squad into the capital, opening a breach in the defenses from the inside.

These two tasks sound difficult, but for Iori, they were simple and could be accomplished with a wave of his hand. However, he did not agree immediately, but instead showed a troubled expression, which made the special envoy very anxious.

Finally, after repeated persuasion from the special envoy, Iori reluctantly agreed, but with one condition:

He was willing to help, but he couldn't fully trust the Revolutionary Army and worried that his subordinates would be used as cannon fodder. So he asked the Revolutionary Army to send a "hostage" as a sign of sincerity.

"That's fine." The envoy considered it a very reasonable request. "Who do you think would be suitable?"

“I don’t know many people in the Revolutionary Army… There’s one named Chelsea, send her here.”

"Chelsey?" The envoy hesitated for a moment. "This is a difficult situation. She is also a very important asset. Could we replace her with someone else?"

Chelsea herself has very low combat power, but her Imperial Arms is particularly suitable for assassination. She is an assassin on par with Akame. Naturally, the Revolutionary Army is reluctant to use her as a hostage—what if they throw good money after bad?

"Difficult to handle?" Iori nodded. "Then let's not do it!"

"what?"

"I don't think this plan has a high success rate. Let's wait for my subordinate Esdeath to arrive from the North before we have a final battle."

The envoy immediately broke out in a cold sweat: "What a coincidence! I just remembered, Chelsea doesn't have any missions recently, so she can be transferred here without any problem!"

"That's good. I have something I'd like her to help me with." Iori found the stark contrast in the man's behavior both before and after the interview amusing.

Are these guys really that afraid of Esdeath? They don't seem to be that afraid of me at all...

After thinking it over, Iori discovered the key to the problem:

The difference between him and Esdeath is that he has never demonstrated a wide-ranging, indiscriminate attack capability.

Teigu users like Esdeath and Bud can alter the weather and extend their abilities to the entire Imperial Capital, making them veritable mobile natural disasters on the battlefield, beyond human resistance.

Although Iori has clearly defeated Esdeath, based on various intelligence reports, she possesses unparalleled individual combat skills but lacks the ability to annihilate large-scale forces, thus posing less of a threat to large-scale armies.

Of course, what the Revolutionary Army thinks is none of Iori's business. He just needs to achieve his goal. Now that he has the Gaia Foundation, his plan has an extra layer of security, and... he might even be able to find some fun.

It's such a waste to use Imperial Arms, which can transform in countless ways, only for assassinations. We should explore more new uses for them!

There's a saying that goes: Mystique's husband is the happiest man in the world.

Chapter 77: Your Majesty, are you feeling the stirrings of first love? (Two chapters combined)

For Chelsea, being suddenly transferred to Iori's command as a "liaison officer" was a very unexpected personnel appointment, and she did not expect that when she met Iori again, Iori's identity would have changed so much.

The first collaboration between the two sides was when Iori, Chelsea, and others devised a plan to capture the minister's son and obtain the spatial Imperial Arm, "Shangri-La".

At the time, Iori was a bounty hunter, ranking high on the Empire's wanted list, and was known as an extremely mysterious lone wolf.

In less than a year, Iori has completed a three-level leap from bounty hunter to imperial general to masked grim reaper, transforming from a lone wolf into a rebel leader whose influence is no less than that of the revolutionary army.

Chelsea is a very shrewd woman. She knows that Iori and the Revolutionary Army are only nominal allies and actually have a deep rift. The fact that she was specially transferred to Iori's side must mean that the two sides have reached some kind of deal, and Chelsea is like an "insurance deposit".

To be honest, Chelsea had a lot of resentment about working diligently for the revolutionary army for so many years only to be used as a bargaining chip so easily.

However, that's just how realistic the world is. Chelsea, as an assassin who has seen the dark side of society, won't complain about this kind of thing, nor will she reject joining Iori's team.

She was originally an elite-educated civilian employee, but by chance she obtained the Imperial Arms and witnessed the darkness and cruelty of the Empire, which led her to join the Revolutionary Army.

Now that she's temporarily on loan to Iori's command, she can still contribute to overthrowing the empire. Moreover, in terms of public opinion, Iori has a very high and noble image among the people, so Chelsea has no reason to object.

However, she was also a little curious as to why Iori had specifically asked her to come. They had only met once before…

When she arrived to report for duty, Iori noticed her confusion and immediately led her out of the camp to a secluded and deserted place.

Then, Iori took out the [Shangri-La] and deployed a teleportation array to send the two directly to a [Night Raid] base, where they met Najenda and Akame who were waiting there. Then, she activated it again, teleporting thousands of miles in one go, directly to the Northern Territory!

Chelsea was full of doubts, and Akame and the other two were also somewhat confused. They had only received a message saying that Iori wanted to meet with them to talk about something, but they did not expect it to be so complicated.

And why was Chelsea added?

Najenda's defection to Iori is a secret even within Night Raid; currently, only Akame knows... Aren't they afraid of exposing Chelsea by bringing her in? She's someone from Revolutionary Army Headquarters!