Chapter 33: The War Council to Eliminate Su Xiao
Su Xiao put away the [Holy Spirit Chest]. He finally knew what quality was above Blue quality.
Seeing the astonishingly high upper limit of the rating, Su Xiao found it hard to calm down for a moment.
The rating of [Holy Spirit Chest] was 89. How powerful would equipment with a rating of over a hundred be? It was temporarily impossible to estimate; he would need to obtain the actual item to judge.
The pale green poisonous gas gradually spread. Su Xiao quickly retreated outside the metal door. After traveling through the tunnel for half an hour, he returned to the fork in the road.
After hesitating for a moment, Su Xiao chose to return the way he came.
Catching up to Akame was already impossible. Moreover, due to the erosion of the poisonous gas, his current condition was not very good. If there was an ambush at the end of the tunnel, it would be troublesome.
If it were Su Xiao, after leaving the tunnel, he would definitely destroy the tunnel's exit to prevent continued pursuit by the enemy.
Not long after, Su Xiao returned to the room beneath the Flower Street. Before he even surfaced, he heard the clatter of footsteps above.
"Hurry, surround this place immediately."
"Sir, all nearby routes have been sealed off."
Ignoring the commotion above, Su Xiao walked out from the tunnel.
Su Xiao's sudden appearance startled the soldiers in the room. They all raised their weapons. These were not the Imperial Guards of the capital but an elite unit.
"Lord Bai Ye, are you alright?"
A squad leader stepped forward. Su Xiao recognized the man's face and nodded. The room was filled with Esdeath's troops.
"General Esdeath will arrive shortly. I wonder about the Night Raid scoundrels..."
"They escaped. This tunnel has a fork."
A large wave of footsteps sounded from outside the room. Esdeath led a group of soldiers into the room.
"How many did you kill?"
Esdeath had already roughly understood the situation.
"Killed one, severely wounded three."
Su Xiao returned to his aloof and expressionless demeanor.
"Oh? The other scoundrels all escaped? Did Night Raid send their entire force?"
"Not sure. A total of six people came out."
Esdeath understood. Engaging six enemies, killing one and severely wounding three was already a very good result.
"Good work. I'll handle the follow-up matters. Was the Teigu successfully recovered?"
"It was taken by a Night Raid member named Akame."
Of course, this dirty water had to be thrown onto the Night Raid. They had no possibility of reconciliation with Esdeath, so it wouldn't expose them.
Even if there were negotiations, whether Esdeath would believe the Night Raid or Su Xiao was obvious. This was the advantage of infiltrating the enemy camp.
Today, the Imperial Capital was in complete chaos. Su Xiao returned to a luxurious mansion that Esdeath had arranged for him.
This was a reward from the young emperor to Esdeath. The environment was excellent, but Esdeath usually lived in the military camp and rarely came here.
There were many maids in the mansion. As soon as Su Xiao walked in, two young maids greeted him.
Su Xiao first had a luxurious midnight snack. Bathwater, new clothes, and other necessities were all prepared.
As a member of the assassination unit, he naturally wouldn't wear the Imperial military uniform. That iron-gray military uniform didn't suit his aesthetic either.
The Third Dark Division had its own uniform, a set of black long trench coats.
After washing up, Su Xiao lay down on a large bed that could fit at least five people.
He hesitated for a moment in bed but chose not to open Brand's treasure chest. Before the cooldown of [Goddess of Fortune's Blessing] ended, he wouldn't open any treasure chests above Blue quality, including Blue quality.
He had matters to attend to early tomorrow morning, so Su Xiao went to sleep very early.
...
At two in the morning, in a meeting room at the Night Raid headquarters on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.
There were seven people in the meeting room, all core members of the Night Raid.
They were:
Night Raid leader: Najenda.
Newcomer: Tatsumi.
User of Murasame: Akame.
User of Pumpkin: Mine.
User of Lionelle: Leone.
User of Cross Tail: Lubbock.
Finally, the somewhat ditsy Sheele.
Sheele was an airheaded glasses girl with long purple hair. Her Teigu was "Extase: Soul Annihilation," a scissor-type Teigu.
This large Teigu scissors was at least a meter long and exceptionally sharp. Just by the name, one could tell how sharp it was.
In the original story at this point in time, Sheele had already died, but under the influence of the contractors, this airheaded glasses girl hadn't died.
There were seven people in the meeting room, three of whom were severely wounded. Another important combatant had died in battle. The Night Raid's losses were exceptionally heavy.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was very oppressive. All seven were silent with their heads down. Tears were streaming down Tatsumi's face. Brand had always taken good care of Tatsumi. In Tatsumi's heart, Brand was as important a bond as a biological brother.
"Tatsumi, I understand your feelings, but this is our fate. We are the Dark Division. Death accompanies us at all times."
Leone, her face pale, softly comforted Tatsumi.
"Mm, I know."
Tatsumi pressed one hand to his face and sniffled.
"I must avenge Big Brother."
Tatsumi's fists clenched with a cracking sound. At this moment, he deeply hated his own powerlessness. When that man charged forward with his blade, he was scared stiff by the astonishing killing intent. If Brand hadn't pushed him, he would already be a corpse.
"Phew~."
Najenda exhaled a puff of smoke. She needed to summarize today's battle situation.
"Thump, thump, thump."
Najenda lightly tapped the conference table, drawing everyone's attention.
"Let me first summarize today's events. According to intelligence from the Revolutionary Army's informants, the man you encountered today is named Bai Ye. He is a member of the Third Dark Division, Esdeath's trusted subordinate, and a dark division member from another country that Esdeath took in during her recent northern expedition.
Although he hasn't followed Esdeath for long, he has earned Esdeath's deep trust through his formidable strength and loyal character. He is almost inseparable from Esdeath and serves as her personal bodyguard.
While it's somewhat laughable that Esdeath needs a bodyguard, Bai Ye's strength makes it not an exaggeration for him to serve as her guard.
Next, let's talk about the intelligence you gathered from personal contact. First, Leone."
Najenda flicked the ash from her cigarette after speaking. Although the Night Raid had suffered heavy casualties, this woman remained very calm.
Leone took a deep breath.
"I fought that man for about five minutes. During that time, I was hit by over a hundred slashes. Every single cut went straight to the bone. If it weren't for Lionelle's strong regenerative ability, I would have died long ago. A normal person absolutely couldn't withstand three cuts. Absolutely!
Also, a very important point: if you are exposed in that man's line of sight and he starts tracking you, never flee towards sparsely populated areas. Never. If you're targeted by that man in the wilderness, you're finished. No matter how you run, you can't shake him off. The feeling of being tracked is utterly hopeless."
Leone spoke with lingering fear, feeling the wounds on her body that hadn't yet healed.
"Also, that man's blade might be poisoned. A kind of poison similar to electricity, somewhat like the curse poison on Akame's Murasame, both can invade the human body.
If Murasame's curse poison brings death, then the 'electric poison' on that blade brings pain—a pain so intense you'd rather end your own life."
The usually bold and fearless Leone stopped there. Her pupils were trembling.