Chapter 408 - Wood: Wanna Spar?

"So General Esdeath is coming back? Big deal! What does 'a few days' even mean? Five days? Ten days? The minister's just stalling! Night Raid has gone completely mad, and who knows if tonight I'll be assassinated in my own mansion.

He's fine, hiding away in the palace, fooling around with the former emperor's women, and being protected by the royal guards, just like the young emperor. Of course, he doesn't have to worry about Night Raid coming into the palace to kill him."

The person speaking was the unfortunate soul whose head had been slammed into the table by the minister. This guy was lucky: Minister Honest, while huge, wasn't exactly a powerhouse. Though he was left with a cracked skull, head bleeding profusely, at least he was still alive.

The blow seemed to have awakened some clarity in him. He left the palace holding his injured head, leaving the others looking at each other, unsure what to do.

Everyone understood the truth, but what could they do? They joined the minister's faction because of his influence, and they had been eating well ever since. Now, to betray the minister? None of them had the guts.

Their only hope now was for Night Raid not to target them, and for Esdeath to return as soon as possible to bring the situation under control.

"Are you saying that Esdeath is returning to the capital soon?"

At Night Raid's headquarters, Najenda summoned the group, sharing this shocking news.

"Yes, the source is reliable. It was provided by a high-ranking member of the minister's faction who leaked it to me."

Najenda took a drag of her cigarette, her expression becoming serious. She knew better than anyone what it meant if Esdeath were to return to the capital.

"Someone from the minister's faction? Is that kind of guy really trustworthy?" Mine scoffed. "And is Esdeath really as strong as the rumors say? Even if she's powerful, she's just one person..."

"Never underestimate Esdeath," Najenda interrupted Mine's skepticism. "Her power goes far beyond your imagination. And don't think numbers will matter to her—she once single-handedly annihilated over ten thousand elite troops of the southwestern tribes."

Everyone, except for Wood and Lubbock, hadn't seen Esdeath in action. Even Akame and Bulat, who had previously served in the Empire, had only heard about her strength.

"Annihilated ten thousand elite troops of the southwestern tribes... all by herself? Is she even human?" Mine murmured, shaken.

Mine belonged to a weaker tribal minority that was often oppressed. The southwestern tribes, however, were known for their fierce warriors, frequently clashing with the Empire's border forces. For someone to instantly slaughter over ten thousand of these warriors—this wasn't just power. It was monstrous.

"The source of this information should be trustworthy," Najenda continued. "The member of the minister's faction who leaked this has willingly given up most of his wealth and agreed to become a spy for the Revolutionary Army, just to save his own skin and avoid becoming a target."

For nobles who valued wealth above all else, surrendering their riches was a sign of utter desperation. Plus, by leaking such sensitive information, he had likely closed off any possibility of being accepted back by the minister's side.

"As for the exact date of her return, we don't know. But for now, we should lay low and avoid any operations in the capital. With her personality, Esdeath won't stay in the capital for long. Once she leaves, we can resume our activities."

Najenda wasn't being cowardly; her wariness came from the deep impression Esdeath had left on her. Simply put, if Night Raid continued their usual two-person missions and ran into Esdeath, it was likely only Wood would make it back alive.

Akame's imperial weapon was powerful, but it was more of a final trump card. Even with her strongest moves, Najenda doubted she could take Esdeath head-on. The timing simply wasn't right; she didn't want to face Esdeath prematurely.

Once Najenda dismissed everyone, the members of Night Raid stayed back, chatting among themselves. Naturally, most of the discussion revolved around Esdeath, who even Najenda feared.

"Hey, Bulat. Is this General Esdeath really as powerful as the Boss says?" Tatsumi had been with Night Raid for a little over a month now. He had grown significantly stronger, having killed the prime minister's relative and the assassin Zanku, who wielded an imperial weapon. All this success had inflated his confidence somewhat.

To him, Esdeath was still just an imperial weapon user. Everyone in Night Raid except for him had an imperial weapon, and he had seen firsthand the strength of people like Bulat and Wood. Akame was also exceptionally strong. With such a powerful team, why fear a single imperial general?

It wasn't just Tatsumi who felt this way. Leone, too, was eager to fight, cracking her knuckles and looking like she wanted a piece of Esdeath.

"The Boss isn't exaggerating," Lubbock suddenly spoke up from where he leaned against the wall. "Esdeath is insanely strong. When Najenda, Wood, and I defected from the Empire, she's the one they sent after us. Najenda and I could hardly put up a fight. It was Wood who stayed behind to buy us time to escape. After that battle, Wood barely made it back and ended up collapsing from exhaustion for a day and a night. Frankly, a hundred of you wouldn't stand a chance against her."

Tatsumi's eyes widened in shock. "A hundred of me…" He pointed at himself in disbelief, unable to fathom being reduced to a mere measuring unit.

"If you all are so curious about Esdeath's power, and since we have some free time, why not spar a little?" Wood said, seeing the expressions of Tatsumi and Leone. Leone, especially, looked skeptical despite Najenda's warning.

To prevent Leone's stubbornness from getting her killed someday—like challenging Esdeath solo, only for the rest of them to have to recover her body—Wood decided it was better to show his teammates the gap between them.

"That's a great idea!" Leone grinned. "I've been wanting to fight you for a while now."

"Count me in as well!" Bulat added, cracking his neck. "Consider it part of today's training."

As soon as Wood spoke, Leone and Bulat were already raring to go. They were both visibly excited—this was a chance they'd been waiting for.

Everyone in Night Raid knew that Wood was powerful, but he rarely showed his true abilities. The missions they had undertaken had not involved any real threats, and opportunities to challenge Wood had always been dismissed with various excuses. So the prospect of sparring with Wood was thrilling.

"Are you sure about this?" Tatsumi asked hesitantly, recalling what he had been told about imperial weapons: that when two wielders fought, one would inevitably die.

"Not if it's just a sparring session without killing intent," Akame clarified, stepping forward to join. Clearly, she intended to participate as well.

Mine and Sheele were initially uninterested, but seeing everyone else join in made them reconsider. They were also curious to see for themselves just how strong Esdeath must be if Najenda feared her so much.

Lubbock, however, simply leaned against the wall, raising his hands in surrender. "Count me out. I already know how powerful Esdeath is. I don't need to be reminded of it."

Lubbock knew Wood too well—while everyone else had only vague notions of his strength, Lubbock knew for certain how monstrous Wood was. His bruises from Leone beating him for spying had only just healed, and he didn't want to end up hurt again.

"Bulat, do you want to go first, or should I?" Leone asked, her eyes locked on Wood. She was eager to test herself but thought letting Bulat gauge Wood's strength first wouldn't be a bad idea.

"No need to complicate things," Wood smiled. "You can come at me together if you like. And if you use your imperial weapons, I will use mine as well to avoid getting beaten to death by you all."

The rest of Night Raid scowled at Wood's words. They all knew he was strong, but challenging all of them at once seemed overconfident—even arrogant.

"Are you kidding—" Leone began, but before she could finish her sentence, Wood vanished from her sight. Her beast instincts triggered an alarm, and before she could react, Wood had already appeared behind her. She barely had time to turn when his fist aimed at her face.

With no other option, Leone crossed her arms in front of her to shield herself.

"Boom!"

Wood's punch collided with Leone's arms, creating a shockwave that rippled outward. Though she managed to block it, Leone was far from okay. The next instant, her body was flung backward like a missile, smashing through a nearby wall.

"Now, do you understand?" Wood said, his voice calm. "I'm not being arrogant by suggesting you come at me all at once. Based on my own abilities, I doubt any of you would last more than a few exchanges in a one-on-one battle with me."

Seeing Leone taken out in a flash, the rest of Night Raid was left speechless. Excluding Bulat and Akame, Leone was probably the best at close-quarters combat among them. Yet she had been completely overwhelmed by Wood in an instant.

If Wood had attacked Sheele, Mine, or Tatsumi instead, there was no doubt they would have been incapacitated already. They simply didn't have Leone's beast-like reflexes.

Just moments after Leone was sent flying, another figure darted toward Wood. Bulat drew his sword, bringing it down powerfully at Wood.

"Clang!"

Their weapons collided, metal clashing and sparks flying.

"Using weapons is fine," Bulat grinned, holding his imperial weapon, Incursio, against Wood's own blade. "I prefer it over bare-knuckle fighting."

"No problem," Wood smiled back. "I also prefer using a sword over hand-to-hand combat. Our weapons are similar types, too. And if I recall correctly, Bulat, your favorite weapon is actually a spear, right?"

Incursio, Bulat's imperial weapon, was an armor-type weapon similar to Wood's. Forged from the materials of the fearsome dragon-type Danger Beast "Tyrant," Incursio boasted incredible defensive power. However, its great strength came with a heavy burden, one that only those with a strong body could bear.