Chapter 243: The Empire's Last Hope
[Boom!]
Onigumo looked at the flames rising in the distance, and finally became interested in the cyborg's actual combat performance. He turned his head and looked at Vinsmoke Judge.
"Was that Soru?"
"That's right." Judge replied with a confident smile. "Because he's a cyborg. If we train him to master Rokushiki before subjecting him to the modification operation, his intelligent system can decide when and how to use those techniques in the midst of combat."
"From the current performance, the headquarters' combat power below the rank of lieutenant general is unlikely to deal with this cyborg, but it is much more useful than those tanks."
Onigumo looked at the continuous explosions and fireballs in the distance and smiled with satisfaction. His Kenbunshoku Haki could clearly sense that large areas of breath were disappearing.
"How many of these have you made?"
"For now, there are only two prototypes. This is the most recent model. Your mission is to recover it if it is defeated." Judge replied, not losing his smile as he watched the carnage the cyborg unleashed on the screens.
Judge was especially proud because he had not only cloned Avalo Pizarro's body but had also contributed significantly to the installation of the shape memory alloy skeleton inside it.
Working with Vegapunk again had been a pleasant experience for Judge. In the process, he felt his own technological skills were rapidly improving.
Therefore, although his goal was still to restore the glory of the Germa Kingdom, his passion as a scientist was also undeniable.
"When can it be mass-produced?" Onigumo asked again.
Judge answered him in a rough tone: "After collecting the data of this battle, we will go back and make some adjustments to finalize the mass production. This time will not be long."
"Can it catch up with the conquest of this world?"
"I can't give a conclusion on this."
Onigumo nodded calmly and stopped talking. He put his eyes on the cyborg in the distance again. When he saw that he had broken into the fortress, he immediately walked out of the spacious military tent.
"Pass the order down, launch a general attack immediately, and we will spend the night in that city today!"
"Yes!"
...
Northern Snowy Region.
Outside the base of the Dimensional Gate in the valley.
A figure wrapped in a loose black robe slowly walked towards the entrance, which was heavily guarded by army soldiers.
"Stop!" One of the soldiers shouted. "Who are you?"
Around twenty soldiers quickly unsheathed the long swords they were carrying and, with agile movements, surrounded the person in the black robe.
"If these are just the rank and file soldiers of the army, how does the Empire expect to win? Ah…" The person lifted the hood, revealing a charming and seductive face. It was none other than Merraid.
With a flirtatious smile on her face, without wasting any time, she ordered the soldiers: "I am someone of high rank in the Empire. Take me to your commander, I want to surrender!"
Just at that moment, two whistles cut the air.
Within seconds, two people dressed in black suits appeared in front of and behind Merraid. The first one looked her up and down before speaking: "We are from the Cipher Pol agency of the World Government. From now on, we will be in charge of interrogating and investigating you. We hope that you do not resist."
"Of course! I come with sincere intentions to join you. I just hope you'll be nice when you ask me, okay?"
Merraid twisted her waist and asked the other party coquettishly.
"You're lucky, we don't need to resort to torture for interrogation anymore. So, in that sense, don't worry."
The agent responded coldly, showing no emotion. He pulled out a pair of black handcuffs from his pocket and walked towards her.
"Before that, you need to wear it first."
"Ah?"
Merraid immediately covered her lips, pretending to be surprised and unhappy, and said: "Is it necessary? I won't do anything strange!"
"Stretch out your hand."
"Okay."
Merraid reluctantly put on the handcuffs obediently. Anyway, this thing is of no use to her, but it will make her wrist uncomfortable.
"Where are we going now?"
"Interrogation room."
...
At the same time, in the Empire.
Akame and Mine, who were sent to bring Sabatini back, had already successfully escorted him back. They then immediately went to report to the new leader of Oarburgh, Gozuki.
Akame reported that during one of the battles to rescue Sabatini they were almost wiped out, but at the last moment she managed to imitate the method of using the enemy's aura, allowing her to wipe out the other side.
Gozuki's first reaction was, without a doubt, one of astonishment.
The idea of concentrating one's aura into an invisible armor with real defensive effects was hard to believe.
In any case, Gozuki could not report directly to the emperor based on Akame's empty words. Therefore, he decided to face her in a test match.
And so, in this confrontation Gozuki was able to experience firsthand the power of Busoshoku Haki and Kenbunshoku Haki.
However, there was something that disappointed him.
Akame had said that she had learned to use Haki in the midst of a life-or-death battle, imitating and mastering it naturally. But after fighting her for nearly two hours, he still didn't understand how to activate it.
So he could only accept the gap in talent helplessly.
At this point, Gozuki confirmed it.
He immediately took Akame on a flying ship and they headed towards the imperial capital at full speed.
After passing through the Hachimon no Nirvana, they finally arrived at the Imperial Palace, located in an alternate space, where they informed the emperor about Haki.
The Emperor already had some knowledge about aura management, as he had practiced in the Imperial Fist.
So he did not hesitate and immediately summoned Budo and Najenda.
"So this is Haki?" Najenda looked at Akame intently.
"According to the information we obtained from the prisoners, the ability to transform one's aura into invisible armor is called Busoshoku Haki, while the ability to perceive and predict the opponent's movements is Kenbunshoku Haki."
"Also, there seems to be a third type called Haoshoku Haki, but we haven't gotten detailed information, only that it is an innate ability."
At that moment, Budo spoke after some thought.
"Your Majesty, the matter of Haki should be reported to the Imperial Fist Temple as soon as possible, so that they can send someone with rich experience in physical skills to participate in the research. Also, I'd like to fight Akame!"
"What?"
Everyone was surprised, but quickly understood his intentions.
"Since Akame said that she mastered Haki in a desperate situation, then I hope you can use the Teigu Murasame and go all out!" Budo declared, looking at Akame seriously.
"This is inappropriate!"
The emperor immediately stood up to stop him, and angrily said: "General Budo, we are facing invaders from another world like never before. If something happens to you, what will we do?"
"Your Majesty, do you remember the elemental power users that Minister Najenda mentioned in her intelligence reports?"
Budo knelt in front of the emperor, his head lowered, speaking calmly.
"According to the information we have, these people, who can transform their bodies into elements of nature, do not fear any attack that is not imbued with Busoshoku Haki. If I do not learn to master Haki, it will be difficult for me to defeat them in the future."
Everyone in the room fell silent.
Budo was willing to die if he failed to master Haki. After all, if they couldn't deal with elemental power users, the Empire would surely be destroyed. As a general of the Empire, he couldn't afford to survive in a ruined world.
So in the end the result would be the same.
The only ray of hope was that by facing Akame in mortal combat, he could awaken the power of Haki.
"Lastly, I suggest that we also order Esdeath to return to the imperial capital as soon as possible, just like Bulat. Although her strength surpasses mine, she also needs to master Haki."
"But you three are the pillars of the Empire!" The emperor hesitated.
"If something unexpected really happens at that time, I hope you can surrender to that world government to preserve the bloodline of the royal family!"
After saying that, Budo looked up at the emperor with a confident and determined look.
"However, I don't think the three of us will die here!"
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