"Esdeath defected with the Jaegers, and every member of the Wild Hunt was captured...?"
Reading the report from his informant, Honest felt a surge of blood pressure he hadn't experienced in a long time come crashing down on him all at once.
As for Syura, well, he didn't really care. He could have plenty more sons if he wanted.
Losing Syura did sting, of course, but what truly pained him more was losing all those Teigus that had been captured along with the Wild Hunt.
If that incident gave him heartache, then the next piece of news was what truly unsettled him.
Not only was Esdeath alive, but she had joined forces with that Dragoness?
That was the real reason the Minister's blood pressure skyrocketed. His tacit approval of Esdeath heading to Lavis had been driven by greedy reluctance to see Lavis fall.
What if Esdeath managed to eliminate the Dragoness there?
Wouldn't that nip a major future threat in the bud, all without sacrificing his painstakingly cultivated money-making haven?
To further stack the odds in Esdeath's favor, he'd even sent the Wild Hunt along, determined to take down that Dragoness once and for all.
Now, looking back, it seemed like a complete blunder. Somewhere along the line, he'd lost his former decisiveness.
He knew full well that trying to have it all often led to losing more, even ending up with nothing, yet the numbness of being in power for so long had robbed him of the resolve to cut his losses.
It hurt. It hurt so much!
The original match-up was supposed to be: Ultimate Teigu + Budo + Esdeath VS Eblana. But somehow, he'd managed to bungle it into: Ultimate Teigu + Budo VS Esdeath + Eblana.
Even though the sheer power of the Ultimate Teigu still gave Honest confidence in an ultimate victory, the risks had undeniably grown much larger.
This served as a stark warning. He absolutely could not afford to repeat this kind of mistake in the future.
If the Minister's side could be described as 'steady as an old hound, albeit with a touch of panic and lingering fear,' then the Revolutionary Army's camp was practically 'waving flags and shouting with a mix of fervor and tension.'
Esdeath—she was the sharpest blade hanging over the Revolutionaries' heads, the greatest obstacle on their path.
Yet now, this blade, this obstacle, was no longer pointed at them, but at the Empire itself.
This forced them to reassess Eblana's power on a whole new level, while also making them a bit nervous.
After all, while the Revolutionary Army currently seemed to be on the same rope as Eblana, both sides knew that wasn't quite true.
The Revolutionaries were now desperately rushing to catch Eblana's rising wind. Before Esdeath's defeat, they could maintain some semblance of restraint, but now...
The sheer disparity in strength meant that Eblana, who had emerged less than half a year ago, had already transformed into the second, if not the strongest, power on the continent.
Just as she had declared, anything standing in her way had become mere kindling for her indigo flames, serving only to illuminate her path forward and nothing else.
As she swept across the Empire's territories with her seemingly invincible might, that aura of devouring mountains and rivers forced the Revolutionary Army to declare their stance immediately.
And honestly, there wasn't much to agonize over.
They had always planned to follow Eblana's lead anyway.
The only difference was whether they rushed to join her or groveled at her feet. In the end, it was all the same.
--+--
Lavis City Lord's Manor.
Eblana had been here for a week now.
Truth be told, even though she knew the place was a mess, the actual state of the city upon arrival was still enough to dirty her eyes.
Esdeath, prepared for this, immediately rounded up the leaders of several criminal gangs.
Partly to indulge her penchant for interrogation and partly to help Eblana extract information, she cracked down on multiple criminal operations until the city finally quieted down.
During this time, all Teigus from the Wild Hunt had been confiscated.
Eblana had little interest in the Teigus herself, so she simply handed them over to Najenda for management.
Now that they were flush with spoils, the first step was internal distribution.
Tatsumi hadn't participated in the last war, partly because his strength wasn't up to par, and partly because Chelsea, an outsider, was still in Eblana's territory.
Tatsumi stayed behind partly to keep an eye on her.
Now that the war was over, Tatsumi and Chelsea were naturally brought over.
Upon their arrival, Najenda immediately had Tatsumi try to see if he could use any of the captured Teigus, but all met with rejection.
Five Teigus, and not a single one resonated with Tatsumi.
While this outcome was disappointing, it wasn't unacceptable.
With no other choice, Najenda could only store the Teigus for now, to later award them to soldiers who could match with them and had outstanding combat records.
As for the Wild Hunt members, after their Teigus were seized, they were bound hand and foot and left in a cold, dank cell, given just enough food every three days to keep them clinging to life.
Dying easy was out of the question, and living freely was equally impossible.
They were kept in a half-alive, barely-dead state, to be handed over to Esdeath once she grew tired of tormenting the ordinary criminals from the gangs.
After all, their only remaining purpose was to serve as fodder for Esdeath's twisted amusement.
In contrast, the Jaegers were faring much better.
Initially, they too were locked up as cellmates with Wild Hunt. But after Esdeath took the initiative, offering to personally oversee them for Eblana, they were promptly released.
Now, though still without their Teigus, they were practically half-free.
Eblana hadn't intended to make things too difficult for them anyway. Since Esdeath had her own intentions of recruiting them, Eblana was naturally agreeable.
Esdeath actually had quite a favorable impression of these subordinates she hadn't known for long.
Even Seryu, who chose to self-destruct and was dealt with by Esdeath's own hand, earned her great admiration.
After all, they all shared similar convictions, and their strength was more than passable. Esdeath always had an eye for such capable individuals.
That was why she was willing to plead their case with Eblana, while she couldn't be bothered with the Wild Hunt.
In Esdeath's eyes, Night Raid and the Jaegers, aside from their differing stances, belonged to the same category of people. Wild Hunt did not.
The released Jaegers were all somewhat at a loss.
Seryu's self-destruction left Wave feeling downcast.
He had rarely experienced the death of a comrade. Back in his days as a navy soldier by the Empire's shores, he'd single-handedly dealt with any dangerous beasts or enemies.
Losing two comrades in quick succession left Wave with a deeply complicated mix of emotions.
Until one day, he saw Kurome in the garden, being fed by Akame with an expression of genuine, profound calm—a look he had almost never seen on her face before.
The usual blankness on Kurome's face wasn't calmness; it was indifference, filled with wariness and vigilance.
The sight felt alien to him. His missions with Esdeath, hunting down and arresting criminal organizations, also made him increasingly aware of the Empire's darkness.
What he believed in was justice. What he wanted was for ordinary people to live safe, happy lives. Yet, from the looks of it now, it wasn't the Empire carrying out this work, but Eblana.
It left him with a sense of his beliefs shattering.
'Was everything I did before truly just?'
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.