Chapter 110: Estelle: I Want to Fall in Love — Beheading Zank
“Very convenient. From now on, you’ll serve as a reconnaissance messenger. Leave that one to me, the genius marksman, Mine.” Mine took the high ground, with Hill standing guard beside her.
“There’s an enemy right behind you!”
“Haha, got one.” Sure enough, a lean man suddenly leapt out from the woods behind Mine, raising a large saber high.
*Snap!* The lean man, still in midair, was sliced in two by a massive pair of scissors. “Sorry,” Mine apologized softly to the fallen body.
“I deliberately chose this spot to lure him into an ambush. The danger level is just right. Pumpkin, take the shot.” Setting up her divine instrument, Mine locked onto the target and gently pressed the trigger.
“Haha, as long as we relay the location of the night raid base to the imperial capital’s higher-ups, we’ll make a fortune. Only fools would fight them head-on. That terrifying monkey-faced youth is beyond our reach.”
The man muttered to himself with an excited smile, unaware that a bright beam streaked across the sky, accurately striking him from behind and engulfing him completely.
“Tch, everyone’s taken care of their opponents already. Even Tazmi killed one. It’s really frustrating,” Qi grumbled into the group’s ears.
“I managed to take down a young girl, quite heartbreaking,” Labok lamented.
“Everyone’s back safely, well done.” Najehitan briefly smiled before her expression darkened. “Feige just received the worst news.”
“What news?” everyone asked.
“Esdeath... has returned to the imperial capital.”
“What?”
“How is that possible? Didn’t she start a war and then come back directly?” Leonay frowned.
“No, on the contrary, she did wage war, but in just one day, she annihilated the entire force of the minority tribe heroes we had our eyes on,” Najehitan sighed heavily.
“Defeating the enemy in a single day? She’s far stronger than we predicted,” Leonay said.
“Should we lay low for a while then?” Brand asked.
“Yes. Her hurried return is definitely because of Qi’s business. With her personality, she’s probably treating our night raid as prey already. We must be cautious from now on.”
...
“Your Majesty.” Esdeath entered an unfamiliar room, knelt on one knee, and greeted the young emperor seated above.
“Please rise, General Esdeath. Thank you for your hard work suppressing the north. As a reward, we’ve prepared ten thousand taels of gold for you,” the young emperor waved his hand.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. I will distribute it to the soldiers stationed in the north to lift their spirits. The reason I hurried back is to capture those disturbing Your Majesty—the night raiders—in one net,” Esdeath stated bluntly.
“Thank you for your efforts. There’s no news of them yet. Besides the gold, I want to grant you some other reward. Do you have any wishes?”
“Let me think... If I must say, apart from strong enemies, lately... I’d like to experience love!” Esdeath declared.
Her words shocked everyone. The cold-blooded, ruthless Esdeath, who once buried four hundred thousand of the ‘barbarian’ tribes, now wanted to fall in love.
“Is that so? The general is in her prime yet still single! Shall I introduce you to some promising young men? Ministers, any suggestions?” The young emperor’s expression was odd.
“What type do you like, General?” a minister asked while chewing on raw meat.
“My type? That’s a long story. I’ve yet to find anyone who catches my eye. I haven’t decided yet. I’ll write a formal document for Your Majesty another day.” Esdeath smiled faintly.
...
“It’s strange; I actually have interest in things beyond war and killing,” Esdeath walked along the palace corridor.
“You mean love?” the minister asked.
“I’m puzzled myself. I don’t understand why I feel this way.”
“It’s normal for living beings to have such desires.”
“I see. So it’s instinctual animal nature? Never mind. For now, I’ll focus on the thrill of hunting night raiders. Minister, you really have no clues about their whereabouts?”
“They’re cautious. I haven’t received any intel.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll have to find them myself.”
...
During dinner,
“Latest information: this time the target is a serial killer in the imperial capital, also a divine instrument user. He appears at night unpredictably, randomly beheading innocent poor citizens,” Najehitan said, puffing on a cigarette.
“No doubt, that’s the ‘Beheader Zank’,” Labok said.
“Who’s that?” Qi and Tazmi asked simultaneously.
“You don’t know? Obviously, you’re country bumpkins from some backwater. You have a lot to learn,” Mine quipped sharply.
“Sorry, I really don’t,” Hill smiled and raised his hand.
“Hill just forgot,” Mine said with exasperation.
“I heard he originally worked as an executioner in the empire’s largest prison. So many prisoners were beheaded on orders from ministers that he became accustomed to it. After years of this, beheading became a habit.”
“Then the occasional executions in prison weren’t enough. He started killing on the streets. Anyone who sees him at night gets their head chopped off. He’s extremely dangerous,” Mine said solemnly.
“Tonight, we all go out in pairs. Akato and Qi search the west district, Mine and Hill the south district, Brand and Tazmi the east district, Leonay and Labok the north district.”
“Everyone be careful. If you encounter Esdeath, don’t fight—escape immediately. Qi, same for you. The time for the decisive battle hasn’t come yet. Qi, watch over your companions from the sky and minimize casualties. Everyone must return safely.”
“Yes.”
...
“It’s all your fault for wandering outside so late. Didn’t your mother tell you terrifying monsters come out at night?” A tall, burly man grabbed a woman by the neck, lifting her off the ground.
The man wore a strange device on his forehead resembling an eye, now wide open, his face twisted into a mad grin.
“Please, just let me go. I’ll do anything,” the woman’s eyes filled with fear and despair.
(Lunch today only one chapter; will update two more tonight. Yesterday, despite a headache, I forced out a chapter but couldn’t hold on any longer.)