Chapter 18: Too Honest
[You have killed (Elite Creature) Fenrir.]
[Fenrir is an elite creature. Obtained World Source 2.6%. Total World Source obtained: 2.6%.]
[Your talent ‘Soul Devourer’ has activated. Permanently increased Mana Points by 15. Current Mana Points: 488.]
Fenrir died amidst its struggles. A blue treasure chest dropped to the ground. Su Xiao quickly stepped forward, collected the chest, and pulled out Dragon-Slaying Flash.
The ice layer on Esdeath gradually dissipated, blood dripping down her arms.
“A beautiful slash.”
Esdeath’s chest heaved violently. The battle with Fenrir had lasted less than five minutes, but it had been extremely perilous.
Esdeath’s silver-gray military dress was torn open in large gashes. Her attire was already quite seductive, and after such a brutal fight, it was severely revealing.
Esdeath, trembling, pulled at her clothes with her arm, covering the area that was already two-thirds exposed.
“What did you just see?”
“General, you’re exposed.”
Su Xiao’s bluntness made the veins on Esdeath’s forehead bulge. But recalling the training Su Xiao had received in the Dark Division, she sighed helplessly. As his commanding officer, of course, a Dark Division member like Su Xiao had to report what he witnessed, no matter what he saw.
“If you dare tell anyone, I’ll cut out your tongue.”
“I won’t tell outsiders. But General, you’re exposed again.”
“Shut up.”
Esdeath’s mouth twitched. If Su Xiao weren’t a cold, emotionless Dark Division member hardened by brutal training, Esdeath might have silenced him permanently.
“Give me your clothes.”
Su Xiao took off his coat and tossed it to Esdeath.
“Help me bandage the wounds. I’ve lost too much blood.”
Esdeath leaned weakly against the rock wall. Fenrir’s claws had injured her severely.
Su Xiao pulled bandages from his undergarments, surprising Esdeath.
“You carry these on you?”
Su Xiao walked over to Esdeath with the bandages.
“Yes. I once had a comrade bleed to death in front of me. I don’t want to die yet, so I carry hemostatic bandages.”
Su Xiao was just making things up. These bandages came from his storage space.
While treating Esdeath’s wounds, it was inevitable that more skin was exposed. Su Xiao saw everything he should and shouldn’t have seen. But Esdeath said nothing. She had lost too much blood; if the wounds weren’t treated quickly, she would die. She was a woman, yes, but she was also a warrior.
This was the weakness of Imperial Armament users. Though their abilities were powerful, their physical constitution wasn’t exceptional.
Of course, this was only relative. Based on Su Xiao’s guess, Esdeath’s attributes were likely not inferior to his, and might even be slightly higher.
Cleaning the wounds, suturing, and bandaging—Su Xiao’s movements were practiced. He was often injured himself.
“Thank you for that slash earlier. No… that was already your duty. You saved my life just now. From now on, replace Jerome as my vice officer. Jerome is too old for marching and warfare. The Imperial Logistics Department suits him well—a good place to retire.”
Although Esdeath was cruel to her enemies, she was generous and caring toward her subordinates.
As long as a subordinate was recognized by Esdeath, she would restrain her sadistic personality.
In the original story, Esdeath’s subordinate Will carelessly let the Night Raid members escape, but Esdeath only gave him a light punishment.
[Hunter has joined the Empire Faction. Current position: General’s Vice Officer.]
[Tip: As the first Hunter to join the Empire Faction, reward 1% World Source. Total World Source obtained: 3.6%.]
Su Xiao’s expression remained calm, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief.
Becoming Esdeath’s vice officer was a high position, but it didn’t mean Esdeath fully trusted him.
Su Xiao was a foreign Dark Division member who had been dropped in. Esdeath wanted to keep him close—both to utilize his abilities and to monitor him. If it were Su Xiao, he would do the same. This was only natural.
Trust wasn’t built overnight. It required a process.
After finishing the wound treatment, Esdeath draped Su Xiao’s coat over herself and leaned against the rock wall.
“I’ll sleep for a while. Wake me in three hours.”
With that, Esdeath closed her eyes, and her breathing gradually softened. In this freezing climate, only Esdeath could sleep.
Although Esdeath had sealed the cave entrance with an ice wall, the temperature inside wasn’t high. Su Xiao needed to find a way to maintain his body heat.
He walked over to Fenrir’s corpse and eyed the giant wolf’s pelt. This thing would definitely provide good insulation.
After skinning the wolf, Su Xiao approached the ice wall blocking the cave. He used Dragon-Slashing Flash to cut an opening in the ice wall and stepped outside with the wolf pelt.
Esdeath’s beautiful eyes slightly opened. Seeing Su Xiao leave, she said nothing and continued resting.
Outside the cave, in the snow and howling wind, Su Xiao cleaned the white wolf pelt with snow. He draped it over himself with the fur side inward, and the rate of heat loss noticeably slowed.
That wasn’t enough. Su Xiao began searching the vicinity.
Twenty minutes later, Su Xiao returned to the cave with snow covering his head. He was carrying a pile of wood. He had found a dead tree nearby, chopped it up, and obtained relatively dry firewood.
Within five minutes, a campfire was burning, and the temperature inside the cave gradually rose.
Two hours later, Esdeath slowly woke up. Her injuries had eased somewhat, but the massive blood loss still left her weak.
The cave had become warm, and the scent of meat wafted through the air. Esdeath sat up in confusion.
“Is that Fenrir’s meat?”
Su Xiao was roasting several pieces of meat over the fire.
“No. I tried Fenrir’s meat—it’s tough and contains trace toxins. This is rabbit meat.”
Su Xiao divided the roasted meat and handed it to Esdeath before eating in silence. He hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since entering the derivative world.
The roasted rabbit wasn’t tasty. The meat was tough and hard to chew.
After the meal, Esdeath tried to stand up. Feeling that her body was mostly fine, she left the cave with Su Xiao.
Outside, the wind still howled. Esdeath, covered in bandages, and Su Xiao, draped in wolf fur, made for an amusing sight.
Half an hour later, they returned to the Extreme North Fortress. This time, Su Xiao’s status was different.
Esdeath whispered a few words to her former vice officer. The man, over fifty years old, actually had red-rimmed eyes.
“General… I…”
The old vice officer wanted to say something, but Esdeath waved her hand.
“Retire peacefully in the Imperial Capital. No one in the Imperial Capital dares to mess with my subordinates.”
This wasn’t arrogance on Esdeath’s part—it was the truth.
The situation in the Imperial Capital was complicated. The young emperor in the palace held some real power, but he had lost both parents at a young age and was later raised by a minister trusted by the former king.
When the young emperor was very young, the minister began brainwashing him. Now, the young emperor obeyed the minister in everything. The minister was raising the young emperor as a puppet.
The one ruling the empire now wasn’t the young emperor, but that minister.
Although the minister wasn’t good-looking and was obese, he had a high IQ.
The young emperor’s parents had been poisoned by the minister. After more than a decade of scheming, the minister held a lot of real power. If not for the existence of the Supreme Imperial Armament, the young emperor would have been dealt with long ago.
The Supreme Imperial Armament could only be activated by royal bloodline; otherwise, it was just a pile of scrap metal.
If there was anyone in the Imperial Capital that the minister feared, it was Esdeath.