NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13: Departure
There was silence. The silence on this battlefield deep in the mountains was truly unbelievable.
Night Raid, the assassination organization with a great reputation in the imperial capital, possessed strength that could not be underestimated by the entire empire. Among the 48 Imperial Arms in the empire, five were in the hands of Night Raid. And what about its members?
Najenda, the former Imperial General and leader of Night Raid.
Bulat, the former Imperial soldier with the title of 100 Man-Slayer, considered the strongest in the empire by the Three Beasts under Esdeath.
Akame, the former elite assassin of the empire.
Aside from these, the three members alone were enough to make the nobles in the imperial capital tremble incessantly, not to mention the other members who were no pushovers either.
However, such a renowned assassination organization in the imperial capital was defeated by a single person, and now they didn't even dare to move. It might make people sneer when saying it, but this scene was truly happening on this battlefield.
"So, everyone, what do you want to do now?" Shirou looked at the Night Raid members who didn't dare to move, his expression playful.
Najenda's face turned extremely ugly. She truly hadn't expected that the previous attack was just a prelude, and the real killing move lay in these swords. Such power was like a giant net firmly trapping everyone within it, leaving no room for escape.
"Alright, you win. Tell us what you want to do." Najenda took a deep breath and said this.
It had to be said that she was very unwilling now. They had been so thoroughly defeated this time that not only was their base location exposed, but they themselves were trapped by the swords. Now, as long as Shirou was willing to act, he could likely annihilate the entire Night Raid.
After all, the power of the Broken Noble Phantasm was there. As long as Shirou had the intent to kill and detonated all the swords at once, the only ones who could maintain their combat effectiveness would be Bulat and Akame. Leone might rely on her extraordinary self-healing ability to survive, but during that time, with Shirou's strength, it would be enough to kill all the other Night Raid members. Even if Akame and Bulat could still move, it would be impossible for them to remain in good condition after such a massive explosion, and they would inevitably suffer at Shirou's hands.
In short, Najenda had no choice but to negotiate.
"I really don't want to make things too awkward with all of you. It's of no use to me." Shirou nodded, then looked around at the Night Raid members who didn't dare to act rashly.
"What do you mean by not making things too awkward? If you didn't want things to be awkward, why did you barge into our base and fight us?" Mine couldn't help but shout. After all, she was only a 15-year-old girl.
"I already said I came here to find something. If you don't believe me, what can I do?" Shirou waved his hand with a calm expression on his face, which only made Mine angrier.
"You—"
"Alright, Mine, stop for now."
"But—"
"No buts." Najenda interrupted Mine's words. Faced with her leader, Mine had to suppress her displeasure.
Najenda looked at Shirou.
"So, what are you looking for?"
"How about that thing..." Shirou drew out his words and suddenly turned to look at Akame beside him.
"Akame, can you give me your tie?"
"Huh?" Akame, who had been on guard against Shirou, was stunned when she heard this.
Her expression even looked a bit silly. No wonder she was like this. The enemy she had just fought actually wanted her tie. But Akame also reacted quickly, "You mean, your target is my tie?"
"Exactly." Shirou admitted it very straightforwardly.
'What are you doing? Fighting to the death, and after all this commotion, all you want is a tie?'
Najenda and the others beside her felt a headache after hearing this, especially Najenda. In her opinion, Shirou's target was most likely the Imperial Arms in Night Raid's possession. After all, five of the forty-eight Imperial Arms were here, and each one of them possessed power that ordinary people couldn't resist, but the other party only wanted Akame's tie.
What did that mean?
For a moment, a thought flashed through Najenda's mind: "Could this person be interested in Akame?"
But in an instant, she dismissed that unreliable idea from her mind.
At this moment, Akame turned her head slightly and looked at her boss.
Najenda saw Akame's gaze and nodded.
Akame immediately took off her tie and threw it to Shirou without hesitation.
"You're very straightforward. Aren't you afraid I'm just teasing you?" Shirou caught the tie, but he still teased the Night Raid members, "If an assassin trusts their enemy, they'll die quickly."
"Stop talking nonsense. I've already given you the item. Now you can release my comrades." Akame still wore an indifferent expression.
"Don't worry, just wait a moment." Shirou replied, raising his left hand and speaking to the skull ring on his finger, "Zaruba, it's up to you now."
"Got it. Leave it to me." Zaruba answered, then opened his mouth, and a strange wave emanated from Zaruba's mouth. Soon after, a glimmer of silver light shone from Akame's tie.
The reason Shirou had been able to attract the light source earlier was because the light source in his body had expended its limited energy to make it appear. But now, with Zaruba's help, it didn't require much effort. Zaruba could emit a strange wave that attracted the light source to appear.
In less than three seconds, a crystal-like ball of light emerged from Akame's tie and entered Zaruba's mouth as if drawn by something.
"Alright, it's done." After swallowing the light source in one gulp, Zaruba said to Shirou.
Shirou nodded and tossed the tie back to Akame. Ignoring the shocked expressions of the Night Raid members, he turned and walked toward Keith, who had woken up and was struggling, seemingly ready to leave.
"Wait, who are you? What was that light just now?"
The words that reached his ears made Shirou stop and turn toward the owner of the voice, Akame.
"None of your business. It has nothing to do with you. Don't think too much about it."
Shirou still had that indifferent tone, as if he didn't care about Akame at all. For him, the goal this time had been achieved, and he had also experienced a great battle. Now he didn't want to cause any more trouble; he just wanted to leave quickly. After all, if the memories of the soul fragment were followed, if he pushed too hard, there was a high possibility that these five Imperial Arms would explode. Aside from that, if Mine risked her life, the attack from the Imperial Arms that shot into the sky in the original work would be difficult for even Shirou to withstand.
"What do you mean? That thing just came out of Akame's tie, right? How can you say it has nothing to do with her?" Mine couldn't help but speak up again. It seemed Shirou had left a very bad impression on this 15-year-old.
Shirou ignored the two of them and walked toward the bound Keith. He extended his right hand and began projection magic again, but this time it wasn't the familiar Kanshou and Bakuya, but a noble Western sword.
Durandal!
One of the three holy swords of Europe, symbolizing purity and justice. The sword of the paladin Roland, the protagonist of the famous poem "The Song of Roland." This sword is also known as the "Sword of Angels." Its wielder is protected by God and angels. Durandal means eternity, as it is said to have cut through nearly 3 kilometers of marble. It is also known as the Sword of Immortality, meaning the sword cannot be destroyed.
Since the threads binding Keith were Cross Tail, Kanshou and Bakuya weren't sharp enough to cut them easily, but Durandal was different. It was sharp enough to slice through the threads effortlessly.
Just like that, under Lubbock's dull gaze, Shirou easily cut the threads binding Keith, mounted Keith, and left, leaving only one sentence for the remaining Night Raid members.
"By the way, I have a piece of news to tell you. As compensation to you, the war in the north has ended. I'm afraid Esdeath will be returning soon."