As Haruki and the others drew closer to the army of ten thousand ahead, Tsukushi, Pony, and Meiki—being vampires—were the first to sense danger. Even the Danger Beasts they were riding let out uneasy growls.
Vampires and Danger Beasts had far sharper instincts for danger than ordinary humans.
"Brother, something's up ahead… I can feel danger," Tsukushi whispered, coming up beside Haruki. Since she wasn't as certain as Haruki, she kept her voice low, not wanting to disrupt the cheerful mood over a guess.
"You're right. Not only is there a sizable force ahead, but more troops are closing in from behind. In other words, we're surrounded."
Haruki replied casually, still focused on grilling meat.
"Huh? Should I go let the others know so they can get ready?" Tsukushi asked. Though she was surprised at first, she quickly regained her composure.
It wasn't the fact that they were surrounded that startled her, but how their movements had been exposed. Still, with Haruki present, she wasn't worried. Of all the girls around him, none knew how terrifying Haruki truly was better than Tsukushi and Pony.
The others only knew Haruki was one of the Empire's two founders a thousand years ago and possessed immense power, but they didn't have a clear grasp of his actual strength. Tsukushi and Pony, as first-generation blood kin, had inherited extensive knowledge of Haruki's power. They knew that sheer numbers would never be enough to threaten him—especially with the powerful treasures in his possession.
The "others" Tsukushi referred to were mainly Akame and Cornelia. While the rest might not know Haruki's true strength, they understood that the man who had built such a vast empire by force wasn't someone a mere tens of thousands of troops could take down. But Akame and Cornelia didn't have that understanding, and being surrounded by so many soldiers was bound to rattle them.
"No need. Just make sure to comfort them in a bit."
Haruki spoke as he turned the skewers in his hand.
And so, Haruki's group continued forward on the backs of the two Danger Beasts at a steady pace—until a dark wave of soldiers finally came into view.
"Lord Haruki, fall back! There's a massive enemy force ahead!"
Ten thousand troops might not sound like much, but when they're arrayed in formation and closing in, the pressure is immense.
Seeing the wall of soldiers moving in, Gozuki panicked and shouted toward Haruki. He tried to get the Danger Beast under him to turn around and retreat, but unfortunately, the creature only obeyed Haruki. Without a command, it wouldn't dare move.
To the Danger Beast, Haruki was far more terrifying than the ten thousand soldiers.
"Don't bother retreating. There are even more behind us—at least double. Don't worry. I'm here. Everything will be fine."
Seeing Gozuki still trying to look out for him at a time like this, Haruki was slightly touched. He took the time to explain and reassure him.
In contrast to Gozuki's tense group, the women around Haruki remained calm.
The moment the enemy showed up, Tsukushi and Pony had already moved to comfort the anxious Akame and Cornelia, assuring them that Haruki would handle it. Seeing everyone else so composed, the two gradually relaxed and turned their attention to watching how Haruki would deal with the army bearing down on them.
Haruki didn't retreat. He kept the Danger Beast moving forward at a steady pace, as if the army of ten thousand ahead of him were nothing more than bystanders unrelated to him.
Only when they were just a few dozen meters apart did both sides finally come to a halt.
During Haruki's slow approach, the twenty thousand soldiers who had been trailing them from behind also closed in. In no time, thirty thousand troops had formed a solid ring, completely encircling Haruki and his group.
Despite surrounding them, the army remained perfectly disciplined—no shouting, no disorder. Compared to the scattered coalition troops they'd encountered earlier in the village, these soldiers were the real elite.
Clearly, the coalition had pulled out all the stops to capture Haruki, even dispatching their best forces while the Imperial army was on the move.
To be fair, their actions weren't without reason. While most people didn't know Haruki and Esdeath were lovers, everyone in the capital was well aware of Haruki's position as Security Minister and Esdeath's identity as the last surviving member of her clan—the coalition was no exception. Their commander believed that capturing Haruki, regardless of which identity they used, would force Esdeath—commander of the Imperial army—to think twice before acting.
"Imperial Capital Security Minister, Haruki—I'm not mistaken, am I? And those with you must be the elite squad from the Empire's assassination unit, right? Looks like everyone's here. I let you slip away last time, but that won't happen again."
The man in the general's uniform across from Haruki spoke up.
"Oh? Judging by what you just said, I assume it was you who led the attack on the assassination unit's base last time. Care to explain yourself? What crime did those villagers commit? If I'm not mistaken, your Revolutionary Army loves to brand itself as righteous, always claiming to act for the good of the people. So tell me—why the massacre?"
Haruki didn't bother answering the general's question about his identity, which was admission enough. Instead, he fixated on the previous ambush on the assassination unit, clearly still bitter about it.
"To prevent greater casualties, it had to be done. For the sake of the people, I believe that sacrifice was justified. I'll always remember the villagers' noble contribution."
The general responded solemnly.
"Hmph! Shameless bastard. You sure make it sound noble, but it wasn't your life on the line—of course you don't care. Don't think I don't know what really happened. Maybe you could argue that firing arrows at the villagers early on was to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, but what about the slaughter afterward? That was just to bury the truth and keep up your pathetic, hypocritical act."
Haruki's voice sharpened with anger as he questioned the general directly.
"Enough talk. Words are useless. Minister of Security, surrender quietly. There's no way out this time."
Seeing that Haruki was about to respond again, the general hastily cut him off. He feared that if Haruki kept talking, he might expose more of the Revolutionary Army's darker truths hidden behind their façade of righteousness. That could spell disaster for the movement's future, especially since most of the soldiers present had joined believing in the noble ideals the Revolutionary Army preached.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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