Chapter 34: Countermeasures
"I've said my part."
Leone leaned back in her chair, turning her head to look at Akame, who had also fought against Su Xiao.
"Then let me share my view. That enemy named Bai Ye has superior swordsmanship to mine—stronger than me."
Akame's words startled the few people present.
"Stronger swordsmanship than yours?"
Najenda found it hard to believe. After a moment of thought, she took out a notebook and began scribbling in it.
"Yes, stronger than me. And just like Leone said, after being tracked, I fled toward crowded areas. I crossed roughly half the imperial capital, taking two secret passages along the way, before shaking off that man.
The most important point is that when I fought him, I had a strange feeling—as if he wasn't going all out, as if he was hiding something. I doubt what the boss said earlier about his loyalty to Esdeath. That guy doesn't seem like someone who would be loyal to any individual. He might have another agenda."
Akame stopped speaking and looked at Mine.
Mine shrugged.
"I was at a distance the whole time and didn't sense much. But one thing is certain: that man's perception is extremely sharp. I didn't land a single shot on him. Of course, that might be because my sense of danger wasn't strong at the time—the power of my Pumpkin was only at medium output."
After hearing the three accounts, Najenda had a better understanding of Su Xiao. She put down her pen; the notebook already listed information about him.
Najenda spoke up:
"Based on my summary, the enemy's abilities include the following points:
First, swordsmanship superior to Akame's—this is the hardest to deal with.
Second, his blade carries an 'electric poison' that can invade the body and cause immense pain.
Third, his tracking ability is very strong.
Fourth, his perception is very sharp.
Fifth, he is ruthless in combat and highly experienced.
Sixth, he has an unknown objective.
That's all the information. Does anyone have anything to add?"
Najenda looked at the other six, all of whom shook their heads.
"Damn it. Based on the strength he's shown, this guy is a second Esdeath. While he might not be as terrifying as Esdeath in large-scale warfare, he surpasses her in certain areas. Esdeath doesn't have the ability to track enemies for over a hundred kilometers."
Najenda felt a headache and exhaustion. The Revolutionary Army was on the verge of victory, yet this ruthless figure had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"From now on, if fewer than four people encounter this man named Bai Ye, retreat immediately. I'll devise a strategy to deal with him later. I need to leave for a few days soon—our current strength is no longer enough to oppose the Imperial Dark Division. It's time to seek help."
The meeting ended, and Najenda left that very night.
"Why do we always run into enemies so strong they make you despair? Such misfortune~."
Mine let out a groan and got up to leave. The others sat in silence. Akame stared blankly at the Murasame in her hand.
"Next time we meet, I'll use that technique. The backlash doesn't matter."
Akame picked up Murasame and left. The next encounter would mean death for one of them—either Akame or Su Xiao. A mortal enmity had been forged, and both sides would do everything in their power to kill the other.
...
The next morning, Su Xiao woke up early.
As usual, he sat cross-legged on the bed to meditate. This had become a habit.
But today, Su Xiao vaguely felt something different. He entered a meditative state in less than a minute.
After an hour of meditation, Su Xiao was surprised to find a notification from Reincarnation Paradise waiting for him to read.
Raising an eyebrow, Su Xiao realized he had comprehended a skill on his own. It seemed that persisting in daily meditation was the right choice, and now it had paid off.
Opening the skill list, a brand-new skill appeared before him.
Heart Meditation: Level 1 (Passive)
Skill Effect: Slightly enhances perception and willpower, calms the mind, and improves understanding of nature, etc.
This ability can only be improved through personal effort.
...
This matched the nature of meditation. The reason this skill had appeared was that after prolonged meditation, this ability had reached a level recognized by Reincarnation Paradise—that is, Level 1.
Su Xiao didn't actually care how strong the meditation ability was. His main purpose was to use meditation to cleanse the killing intent from his body, allowing him to handle matters calmly without being misled by bloodlust.
Su Xiao had killed many people, but he had never suffered from mental confusion. Instead, he remained very composed, entering each derivative world and acting according to plan.
He could kill, but he must never be seduced by killing intent and become a murderous maniac. He killed to achieve his goals, acting according to his own will, not for the sake of killing itself.
Though neither was particularly noble, there was an essential difference between the two.
Stretching lazily, Su Xiao sensed whether anyone was within a hundred meters. There were few people in the early morning. He got up, locked the door, and closed the window tightly.
Yesterday, he had obtained three Imperial Arms, but due to the many eyes and ears last night, he hadn't had a chance to examine them. Now was a good opportunity.
Placing the three Imperial Arms in front of him, Su Xiao found that none of them could be used, but they still held considerable value.
Water Dragon's Reliance: Black Marin
Category: Ring-type Imperial Arm
Usage Requirement: Incompatible affinity; forced use will result in backlash.
Effect: Can control any liquid after contact.
Price: 2% World Source.
...
Twin Axes: Bellwark
Category: Axe-type Imperial Arm
Usage Requirement: Incompatible affinity; forced use will result in backlash.
Effect: Extremely high attack power; when thrown, can track enemies within line of sight.
Price: 6% World Source.
...
Military Music Dream: Shriek
Category: Flute-type Imperial Arm
Usage Requirement: Incompatible affinity; forced use will result in backlash.
Effect: Playing different tunes can manipulate the emotions and physical state of enemies or allies.
Price: 8% World Source.
...
All three Imperial Arms were unusable due to incompatible affinity. Imperial Arms also choose their masters.
Su Xiao had other plans for these Imperial Arms. He was gathering the necessary materials.
He already had the main material—the essence. He also had three item-type Imperial Arms.
Now, he only needed one creature-type Imperial Arm and four more item-type Imperial Arms.
In truth, the secondary materials only required five Imperial Arms, but Su Xiao had seen the sensitive word "success rate" on the design blueprint. If he dared to synthesize with only five item-type Imperial Arms, the blueprint would dare to fail on him.
If it failed, the loss couldn't be described as mere pain.
Putting away the three Imperial Arms, Su Xiao put on his black trench coat and left the room.
Last night, Esdeath had said to meet at a conference room in the palace this morning for important discussions.
Su Xiao could roughly guess what it was about. The Three Beasts were dead, and Esdeath's Dark Division had become an empty shell, with only Su Xiao left. Under these circumstances, it was natural to recruit new members.
Given Esdeath's status in the imperial capital, the new members of the Dark Division would naturally be Imperial Arm users.
Taking a carriage to the palace, Su Xiao found that since it was Esdeath's carriage, it passed through the palace without obstruction.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao arrived at the conference room agreed upon last night.
As a meeting room in the palace, the space was naturally large, lavishly decorated, and about several hundred square meters in size.
But in this vast room, only a small rectangular meeting table was placed in the center, with six chairs around it.
Su Xiao casually picked a chair and sat down, placing the Dragon-Slaying Flash on the table before him.
He was thinking about where to get more Imperial Arms. He had an idea of a possible location. If he could get in there, he would surely gather all the Imperial Arms needed for the blueprint.
Click. Someone opened the door and entered the conference room.