Chapter 169: Aoki vs. Esdeath
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Aoki smiled and said, "I explained it already. It was just a misunderstanding."
He had nothing to hide.
In this world, he had no real ties. The only person he had any sort of connection with was Kurome.
There was no fear in revealing his true identity.
Besides, once Honest was dead, the empire would inevitably plunge into chaos.
By then, Aoki doubted anyone would have the time or resources to deal with him.
Esdeath drew her sword, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Things like that don't matter at all!"
"Exactly."
Aoki stopped wasting words and in a flash appeared right in front of Honest.
"Even Esdeath can't protect you today!"
Honest's face remained calm but grim as he took a step back.
Boom!
A massive wall of ice erupted, instantly separating Aoki from Honest.
At the same time, countless ice spears hurtled toward Aoki from behind.
But eight bone whips, made of white skeletal material, shot out from Aoki's back, creating a storm of whip shadows that filled the air.
The ice walls and spears shattered in an instant, transforming into countless sparkling ice crystals that glittered dangerously in the dim light.
Honest's figure reappeared in Aoki's sight, and with a mere thought, the eight whips lashed out simultaneously.
Just as they did, Esdeath silently appeared behind Aoki.
Swish!
With a single strike, Esdeath severed the bone whips.
Yet Aoki had anticipated this. One of the bone whips suddenly shifted its angle and shot toward Esdeath's temple.
Aoki had kept the bone whip specifically to deal with her.
Ice formed into a shield.
But before the bone whip, it only held for a moment before shattering.
"You've gotten stronger. Good! That's good!" Esdeath's excitement only grew as her sword flashed, breaking the bone whip in an instant. At the same time, icy blades flew toward Aoki.
"Esdeath really is formidable," Aoki thought, his eyes slightly troubled.
In this world, Esdeath's strength was on another level.
Najenda had once said that it would take 50,000 elite soldiers, along with ten imperial weapon users—including Akame—to deal with Esdeath.
Her power wasn't just in controlling ice. Her physical abilities, skills, willpower, and mentality were all nearly perfect.
She was a hexagonal warrior—strong in every area.
What made things even more difficult was that some force within Esdeath disrupted the effect of Aoki's "Transparent World."
This wasn't the first time he'd faced such a situation.
When battling super-dangerous creatures, he'd noticed that he couldn't fully see through their bodies.
At the time, he had thought it was because the super-dangerous species were too large, or their body structures were simply too different from humans.
Now, he realized it was a matter of power suppression.
Super-dangerous creatures were classified as three-star beings, while Aoki, as the "King of the Demons," was only a two-and-a-half-star professional, and his "Demon" profession only reached two stars in quality.
He had long realized that the quality of one's profession affected more than just level caps and free attribute points; it also influenced the effectiveness of skills.
For example, his "Boiling Blood" skill from the "Hunter" profession had been immensely useful early on, significantly boosting his strength and saving his life on two occasions.
However, as his strength grew and his attributes increased, the effectiveness of "Boiling Blood" diminished.
Once his attributes exceeded 20, the skill could no longer provide him any substantial help.
The skills granted by a profession are merely abilities, not unchangeable laws, and their effects are influenced by external factors.
Today's experience proved this once again.
The effectiveness of a skill doesn't only depend on his own strength but is also affected by the enemy's power.
It was clear that not only the "Transparent World" but also the demon's regeneration ability and "Space Travel" might be affected in the future.
If Aoki wanted to ensure his safety on this never-ending journey and achieve his goals, his current strength was far from enough.
"That's why I need more, stronger extraordinary professions!" Aoki muttered to himself before vanishing and reappearing on the other side of the battlefield. Nine bone whips lashed out at Esdeath simultaneously.
Esdeath swung her sword in response, weaving a defensive web of steel. None of the whips could get close to her.
Ice attacks were hurled toward Aoki as if Esdeath had an endless supply.
Aoki countered with his bone whips, "Space Travel," and an incomplete "Transparent World."
Though he was at a disadvantage, his infinite regeneration ability kept him from showing any signs of defeat.
The battle between the two intensified.
Snap!
Esdeath snapped her fingers, and a massive ice mountain came crashing down.
But just as quickly, a whip flashed through, shattering the iceberg in an instant.
Aoki emerged unscathed.
"Good! Really good! You're stronger than Budo, the strongest opponent I've ever faced!" Esdeath's face lit up with excitement.
Meanwhile, Honest's expression grew more and more unpleasant.
Esdeath, with all her power, still couldn't defeat this assassin quickly.
Stronger than Budo? Honest despised that stubborn old man, but he certainly didn't want to hear Esdeath acknowledge Aoki's superiority.
"Come on, let's keep fighting!" Esdeath called out, her voice filled with exhilaration as she charged at Aoki again.
"That's enough for today!" Aoki's figure flashed, and he suddenly appeared next to Honest, whipping at him without hesitation.
He hadn't forgotten his primary goal—"asking for directions" from Honest—not battling Esdeath.
Although Aoki was strong enough to fight her, time wasn't on his side. The longer the battle dragged on, the more enemies would gather, and it would become increasingly difficult to eliminate Honest.
Due to Esdeath's large-scale iceberg attack, Honest had retreated several dozen meters away from the battlefield.
By the time Esdeath realized what was happening, it was too late.
Even as fast as she was, she couldn't outrun Aoki's whip, which was now only inches from Honest's head.
"What a pity, the timing was perfect," Esdeath said with a smile.
"Mahapadma!"
An invisible force swept through the air, freezing space and time in an instant. Everyone's movements came to a halt.
Aoki's whip, just centimeters from Honest's head, froze in place, unable to move any further.
Esdeath calmly walked toward Aoki and raised her sword.
"This is a move I created specifically to deal with those who excel at escaping!"
Swish!
Aoki's body was torn into pieces.
Time and space returned to normal.
Plop, plop...
Chunks of flesh hit the ground.
Honest stood still for a moment, stunned, before reacting and kicking one of the pieces.
"Hahaha! Trash like you thought you could kill me? General Esdeath, I owe you for this one, you—"
"Wait!" Esdeath's expression suddenly shifted.
Bone whips shot out from the pile of flesh, piercing Honest's heart, head, and limbs.
Honest's laughter died abruptly, replaced by an expression of utter disbelief.
No, no, no!
How could he die here? How could he die at the hands of such worthless trash?
He was the ruler of the empire! How could this happen?
But his thoughts faded quickly as the light in his eyes dimmed, leaving behind only a strong sense of unwillingness.
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And also:
Imperial weapon = Teigu
Teigu = Imperial weapon