After Gozuki finished looking over Sabatini's report, Merraid stood up and stretched, not caring that her spring light was suddenly exposed in front of a man.
"And what do you plan to do now, madam?" Gozuki asked, putting down the report and staring straight ahead.
"Well~~" Merraid smiled slightly. "I haven't managed to correct Cornelia's orientation yet, so I'll go get her back."
"Are you going to act personally?" Gozuki asked, surprised.
Merraid nodded, smiling mischievously. "Since this is an infiltration mission, there is no one more suitable than me. Besides, I am curious about those people and that portal of light."
"According to the letter, they seem to be from a place called the Umigakure, but not even The Complete Book Of The World can trace their origin. Also, Captain Sabatini mentioned that he didn't see Cornelia in the camp, so it's likely that she was taken to the other side of the light gate."
Gozuki pondered for a moment and then asked: "Will you go alone or bring someone else?"
"Well, the journey is still quite long, I will take the housekeeper and two maids~"
"I understand, I will go to ask His Majesty for instructions!"
Gozuki acted decisively, turning around and leaving the office immediately.
Merraid, for his part, had disappeared without a trace.
...
The northernmost part of the Empire Continent.
This is the vast snowy territory where the Northern Tribes live.
Because of their strong physique and cold-resistant constitution, they can easily adapt to the extremely low temperature climate environment, so their national pride is very strong, and they have a firm will that is obviously stronger than other nations.
It was only after they were completely defeated by the Empire a hundred years ago that they became the most important source of soldiers for the Empire.
At first, things didn't go so badly for them.
But now, the situation has become untenable. The Empire has powerful enemies in both the east and the west and can barely defend its borders.
As a result, the Northern Tribes have begun to feel growing resistance and hatred towards the Empire's forced recruitment, as very few of those who leave for those two fronts return alive.
Seika City is the seat of the northern autonomous government. It is a robust city, with buildings, roads and walls built entirely of stone.
In the center of the city, a huge dark castle stands, like a silent giant watching over the vast snowy plain.
Inside the castle, Numa Seika listened attentively to the report on the situation on the eastern front. The more he listened, the more his brow furrowed, and his expression became grave.
"Have almost ten thousand people died or been injured in just a few days?"
"My lord, if it weren't for the assistance of several Danger Beasts on the ice field, and General Kiba adjusting his fighting style in time and stopping hand-to-hand combat with the opponent, our defense line would have collapsed long ago!" The messenger knight said, terror on his face.
"Calm down first."
Seeing him like this, Numa immediately stood up and walked towards him with hot tea, indicating for him to take a few sips to warm himself up.
Once the knight regained his composure, Numa asked him to detail the situation more precisely.
"Although they don't seem like many, there are only two to three hundred soldiers in each unit. In total, they don't even reach three thousand, but they are incredibly strong. Each one of them is terrifyingly powerful!"
"The sword styles they employ not only generate visual and sound effects of wind, fire, lightning, and water, but their power is impressive!"
"Our close combat troops are no match. A single enemy can wipe out dozens of soldiers armed with swords or spears. And when two or three of them fight together, they can turn an area of hundreds of meters into a veritable slaughterhouse."
Hearing this, Numa could imagine the terrifying scene and realized that they were probably facing an elite comparable to those of the Imperial Fist Temple.
"Thank you for your hard work. Go down and have a good rest first." Numa said after a long silence, sighing deeply. Then he returned to his desk to write a letter of help addressed to the imperial capital.
Ten minutes later, a white-feathered falcon flew out of the dark castle, carrying a small bag with an envelope, heading towards the imperial capital in the midst of the blizzard.
The next day, Numa mobilized more troops to reinforce General Kiba in the east, transmitting orders to hold out until the arrival of Imperial reinforcements.
Over the next few days, unrest in the north of the Empire intensified. Not only were tens of thousands of soldiers mobilized from various camps, but spies, assassins, and Cipher Pol members also began clashing in the most remote corners, in the cities, and even in the snowy mountains.
Poison, bombs, traps and all kinds of vile tactics were used, transforming large numbers of people into corpses with the most varied and grotesque deaths, which were then buried by the cold wind and snow.
At this time, Merraid along with her butler and two personal maids, arrived at the northern city of White Horse.
The famous imperial assassin, known as Madam Mera, stood by the window of a small three-story building, looking out at the snow-capped mountains in the distance with a seductive smile.
"Although I don't know who you are, it's best not to hurt my Cornelia-chan, otherwise I'll be really angry~~"
...
Inside the black castle known as the Seika Fortress.
Numa Seika was sitting in his office, reviewing reports and documents.
"Hmm?!"
Suddenly a feeling of danger invaded him.
Without hesitation, he lunged to the side.
Still, it was a little too late. A bloody hole appeared on his left shoulder, while a blackened crater formed on his desk.
Numa wasted no time in examining the wound. He quickly rolled over onto the carpet to avoid further attacks and hid behind a stone wall.
Looking up, he was surprised to see that there was no hole in the wall behind his desk. How had that attack gotten to him?
Regardless of how it happened, the important thing was that he was being attacked.
The priority now was to equip himself with his armor and his Teigu.
He moved quickly and lunged towards the wall where a large spear hung.
[Swish!]
The next second, the familiar sound of breaking through the air was heard, followed by a painful groan, and Numa, whose left calf was pierced, fell to the ground in embarrassment, blood staining the white carpet.
"How is it possible?"
He couldn't believe it. That projectile seemed to have anticipated his movement and speed.
Finally, Numa discovered how the projectile had arrived. It was like a specter, passing unhindered through the castle walls before materializing.
The other party was a Teigu user!
With that thought, he gritted his teeth and, despite the pain in his shoulder and leg, he lunged forward, managing to reach his great spear.
With a quick flash, the spear blade sliced a bullet through the air, splitting it into two.
Numa felt a slight sense of security as he held his Teigu.
"Ahh!"
"What is that?"
At that moment, the screams and wails of the guards echoed from the hallway.
[Boom!]
Shortly after, the office door was knocked down by a mysterious force. A white smoke with a faint purple hue began to fill the room, enveloping it in a dense fog.
"Wow, looks like Yasopp isn't done with you yet." A soft, elegant voice sounded near Numa, and he watched as a cloud of purple smoke swirled in front of him, taking the form of a man with long, pink hair, dressed in black.
"Who are you?!" Numa asked with narrowed eyes, pointing his spear at the man.
The man remained silent for a few seconds before replying: "We are members of Cipher Pol-9, sent by the World Government to eliminate you."
Before the man could finish his sentence, Numa had already launched his spear towards his throat.
But Numa turned pale as he realized that he had felt nothing as he passed through the man.
There was no blood, no wound, and the man's smile remained intact.
"Are you surprised?"
The other party looked at Numa and smiled calmly. "I understand your current mood very well. To you, I am no different from the gods in mythology."
"What a joke!" Numa shouted. "You're just another Teigu user. Do you think you can fool me?"
With a swift movement, Numa launched a flurry of blows with his spear, covering every possible angle.
[Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!]
Everything in the room was destroyed.
But when he finished his attack, he had left only his office in ruins, with the cold wind coming through the holes in the walls.
The man, and the smoke surrounding him, remained intact.
This made Numa's face look extremely ugly.
At that moment, the assassin, who had remained motionless all this time, finally moved.
"An impressive technique." The man said with a smile. "But you've done all you can. It's time for you to take your leave."
"Oh, by the way, my name is Amatori Biba."
...
The next day.
In the plaza in front of Seika Castle, a bright flash of purple light suddenly appeared, followed by the projection of a shadow forming a diagram of the four trigrams of Taichi on the ground.
When the glow reached its brightest, it exploded and dissipated in an instant, revealing a perfectly aligned formation of soldiers. At the front of the group stood a robust man of imposing stature.
He was Sten, one of the Four Rakshasa Demons of the Imperial Fist, sent from the capital of the empire.
But for some reason, the snowflakes falling from the sky would automatically melt when they were less than half a meter away from him.
The square formation behind him was naturally the five hundred Imperial Fist disciples.
A moment later.
Sten came across the corpse of Numa Seika, lying in an ice coffin.
The skin of the deceased had a strange pinkish hue, especially on the lips. Apart from some wounds on the shoulders and legs, no obvious fatal injuries were visible.
In reality, even someone like Sten, who had killed so many in his life, couldn't discern the exact cause of death. He could only speculate that he had been poisoned with some kind of strange toxin.
After Sten patiently listened to the introduction of a local official with a fearful tone, he roughly understood what happened.
Then he glared at him with displeasure and shouted: "Hundreds of guards and the governor himself died, but you said you didn't see the assassin at all?"
"Ah, I... I...!" The official, terrified by Sten's imposing figure, began to tremble visibly and replied in a trembling voice: "Lord Rakshasa, I am innocent! All the reports from the guards who witnessed the scene agree that they only saw a cloud of purple and white gas invade the castle. Afterwards, all those affected were... were left in the same state as the governor."
Sten frowned deeper, once again staring at the pink skin of the deceased Numa Seika.
He thought to himself: 'It seems the killer is a Teigu user, probably with the ability to manipulate poison gas. If so, he poses no real threat to me.'
Although it is said that the First Emperor created only 48 Teigu a thousand years ago, both the Alchemy Kingdom and the God Islands Kingdom possess the ability to make these weapons.
Therefore, the actual number of Teigu is incalculable.
"Send a report immediately to the Empire and the nearby cities and military camps. It's impossible for this assassin to attack just once." Sten ordered in a firm voice.
"Yes, sir!" The official did not dare to object and quickly set about carrying out the orders, wishing to get away as soon as possible from Sten's presence, whose intimidating aura made him feel as if he were facing a humanoid Danger Beasts.
"You!"
Sten pointed to another group of officials standing nearby, not bothering to ask their ranks or positions. He gave them direct orders.
"You, take care of preparing enough food for us. You, get winter clothes and horses for everyone. And you, bring me several maps of this region."
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