Chapter 309

Chapter 309: Chapter 309

Shhk—!

Esdeath pulled her sword free and flicked the blood from the blade, looking faintly annoyed.

"I killed them too quickly. I should’ve played with them a little longer."

"You’ve got to be kidding me!"

Still on the ground, Syura stared at the scene and shouted in disbelief.

How long had it been since that blue-haired woman made her move?

Not even a full minute.

And what had happened?

Not only had Syura himself been beaten so badly that he couldn’t fight back, but aside from Izou, who was still holding on against Kiriya, every last one of his subordinates had been wiped out by that single blue-haired girl.

How could a monster like this possibly exist?

Someone this powerful shouldn’t have been completely unknown.

Truthfully, Syura was starting to regret his actions.

Not because he regretted being a sadistic womanizer who kidnapped beautiful girls whenever he pleased.

He regretted not doing his homework first.

If he had gathered intelligence on his targets before making a move, he never would have ended up in such a pathetic state.

"Who the hell are you?"

Syura staggered back to his feet and glared furiously at Esdeath.

"Did one of those old bastards hire you? Are you trying to strike at my old man through me?"

"Huh?"

Esdeath looked genuinely confused.

"What the hell are you muttering about?"

The guy had only taken one punch.

Had she somehow knocked his brain loose anyway?

She hadn’t even hit him in the head.

Yet under Esdeath’s gaze—the kind one might give someone mentally deficient—Syura paid no attention and continued following his own line of thought.

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

At this point, that had to be the explanation.

Prime Minister Honest had run roughshod over the Empire for years and made enemies everywhere.

The entrenched old political families in the court, in particular, hated him enough to want to tear him apart and eat his flesh.

But the Emperor trusted Honest completely, relying on him almost like a father, leaving those people with no way to move against him directly.

So targeting Honest’s son to collect a little interest made perfect sense. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

They knew Syura loved women.

So they hired several breathtaking beauties and planted them along a road he was likely to take, waiting for him to bite the bait...

"Hiss—!"

Syura sucked in a sharp breath.

’Whoever planned this is terrifyingly calculating.’

The more he imagined, the more frightened he became.

It suddenly felt as though he had stumbled into the center of some enormous conspiracy.

If he didn’t escape immediately, he might genuinely be crushed to pieces.

’I can’t die here!’

Syura clenched his teeth.

He still hadn’t surpassed his father.

There were still countless beauties throughout the Imperial Capital—and the entire world—waiting for him to enjoy.

There was still so much entertainment he hadn’t experienced.

How could everything end here?

"How much did whoever hired you pay?"

Syura clutched his agonizing abdomen.

"I’ll give you triple."

He hesitated, then immediately raised the offer.

"No. Five times as much!"

His voice hardened.

"My father is Prime Minister Honest. His wealth is beyond anything you can imagine."

The implied threat was obvious.

Kill him, and Prime Minister Honest would never let them go.

"Oh?"

Esdeath smiled mockingly.

"So now you’re suddenly proud to have that father?"

Wasn’t this the same man who had just murdered his own subordinate for daring to mention Honest?

Seeing Esdeath remain completely unmoved as she continued walking toward him, Syura instinctively retreated two steps.

Fear was finally beginning to show.

"Ten times!"

He shouted.

"Woman, don’t get too greedy!"

"Listen to yourself."

Esdeath chuckled.

"I never said I wanted your money."

"You’ve gone too far!"

Syura roared.

His legs suddenly exploded with force—and he sprinted sideways.

His target was Jeanne.

The pressure Esdeath gave him was simply too overwhelming.

Syura knew perfectly well that he couldn’t beat that woman.

Not even if he squeezed out every last bit of strength he had.

If he stayed here, the only possible outcome was death.

So he needed another way out.

And the blond girl with the long braid looked perfect.

She appeared gentle and delicate, with pure eyes that made her resemble some sheltered nun who had spent her entire life inside a church.

Someone like that had obviously been protected very well.

And people who were protected like that were usually weak.

If he could seize her as a hostage, then even that blue-haired monster would have to hesitate.

Once he escaped, he would return with the strongest forces he could gather and take revenge.

He would reduce every one of these women to the lowest kind of slaves and torment them until they died!

With that wonderful future already playing out in his mind, Syura shot toward Jeanne at lightning speed.

"Watch out!"

Lubbock and the others had been thoroughly enjoying the show from the sidelines, but the sudden change made all of them tense.

Seeing the quiet, gentle-looking blond girl about to be attacked made them instinctively shout a warning.

Najenda reacted even faster.

Her hand rose toward her Imperial Arms—Roman Artillery: Pumpkin.

A long-range sniping Imperial Arms that converted the user’s mental energy into firepower.

The greater the danger and the more tense the wielder became, the stronger its shots grew.

Bang—!

A condensed bolt of energy fired from the weapon.

Najenda was fast but Jeanne was even faster.

At some point, a battle standard had appeared in her previously empty hand.

She swung the shaft sideways in a sweeping strike.

Under Syura’s stunned gaze, it slammed into his abdomen and sent him flying.

Ryuu stopped him with one foot.

BANG!

Najenda’s shot struck the stone pavement instead, blasting a deep hole into the ground.

"Hm?"

Esdeath immediately turned toward the source.

"Another strong one?"

She was about to go take a look when Jeanne stopped her.

"It’s fine. She was trying to help me."

That was what Revelation had told her.

Esdeath shrugged and let the matter go, though she quietly remained on guard.

"Puh—!"

Syura lay on the ground, barely breathing, his expression completely blank.

What the hell was wrong with this world?

Why did every random young woman who appeared seem absurdly strong?

"Izou!"

Seeing Ryuu raise her sword with an icy expression, Syura finally panicked.

"You bastard! What the hell are you doing?! Come save me!"

At this point, all he could do was hope the swordsman could somehow create a miracle.

Unfortunately for him—Reality had no intention of cooperating.

Izou didn’t respond.

More accurately, he had no attention to spare.

Right now, Izou was like a tiny boat trapped in the center of a storm. One mistake, and he would be ripped apart.

And Kiriya was that storm.

’How can swordsmanship this powerful exist?!’

Izou was simultaneously exhilarated and terrified.

He was exhilarated because he was being allowed to glimpse an even higher realm of swordsmanship.

But he was terrified by the immeasurable gulf separating him from the opponent in front of him.

The fact that Izou had lasted this long might have made him appear incredibly powerful.

In reality, Kiriya had simply wanted to see the full extent of his swordsmanship.

That was why Kiriya hadn’t gone all out.

Instead, he had gradually increased the pressure, squeezing every last bit of potential from Izou.

The past minute had looked like an exciting duel from the outside.

For Izou, it had been nothing more than walking a tightrope over an abyss while dancing on the edge of a blade.

One slip would mean death.

And now—he had reached his limit.

"Is that all you’ve got?"

Kiriya’s faintly disappointed voice reached him.

Cold sweat instantly covered Izou’s body.

"Wait—"

He still wanted to say something.

But his entire field of vision was swallowed by a brilliant flash of sword light.

Then consciousness disappeared forever.

A renowned swordsman came to his end.

"Hey... hey, he’s dead?"

With his final hope extinguished, the last thread of rationality inside Syura’s mind nearly snapped.

"You filthy commoners! How dare you lay hands on someone as noble as me?!"

He began shouting hysterically.

"Do you even know who I am?! My father is Prime Minister Honest!"

"If anything happens to me, you’ll never escape the Imperial Capital!"

"No—the entire Empire will have nowhere for you to hide!"

His voice became increasingly frantic as Esdeath’s sword drew closer.

"Stop now and I can still spare your lives!"

"Use your damn brains and think carefully! Don’t ruin yourselves over this!"

Kiriya nearly laughed.

It was the first time he had ever heard someone beg for mercy like this.

Syura wanted them to spare him, yet he couldn’t let go of his pitiful pride for even a second.

He still had to insult them while begging.

Was he genuinely afraid he wasn’t going to die fast enough?

"Your father is the Prime Minister?"

Esdeath lowered her head with a sweet smile.

The words that followed, however, turned Syura’s entire body cold.

"I’ve decided you’re dying."

Her smile sharpened.

"Not even a god could save you now."

"And when I, Esdeath, decide something—"

"that’s the end of it."