Underground, inside a temporary base.
Lubbock's expression changed slightly as he said in surprise,
"Bulat, it looks like the tunnel you used to enter underground was discovered."
Bulat frowned.
Even with his invisibility as a trump card for stealth, he had never let his guard down.
Under normal circumstances, the chances of being discovered should have been practically zero.
"Really? I killed all those enhanced soldiers with sharp senses."
"If they still managed to track me here, could it be Observer?"
Lubbock stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"That's definitely possible."
"Poor Susanoo. He dug out such a complicated tunnel system in just a few days."
He spread his hands helplessly.
"If that's the case, these tunnels probably won't be very useful."
Bulat secretly felt relieved that he had not acted rashly.
With Observer in play, his invisibility would not be nearly as effective.
If he got tied down, he would absolutely die.
At that moment, Mine and Akame also returned to the temporary base.
Mine looked rather dusty, her pink dress stained with plenty of soot and dirt.
Crawling through tunnels was not exactly a pleasant experience.
Crossing her arms, she complained,
"Seriously, when did I become a rat?"
Akame carefully examined Bulat.
After confirming that he was unharmed, she quietly let out a sigh of relief.
"Akame, was everything alright on your end?"
Akame nodded.
"What about your side, Bulat?"
Bulat scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I saw your little sister. She really does look just like you."
Akame's expression became complicated.
"Kurome..."
Lubbock rubbed his chin, grinning like a complete pervert.
"If she looks like Akame-chan, then she must be a beauty too."
Akame instantly seemed to flip a switch.
She raised her head proudly and declared,
"Of course. Kurome is the cutest girl in the world!"
Mine wiped the grime off her face with a towel.
Looking at Akame's dramatic change in demeanor, she could not help feeling that something was seriously off.
Bulat crossed his arms and smiled.
"There's no need to rush now. Najenda's side should already be making their move."
"Whether the Jaegers split up or not doesn't matter anymore."
"All we need to do is stall them as much as possible and focus on avoiding direct confrontation."
....
Wild Hunt Headquarters
Izou, dressed in a kimono, sat cross-legged on a tatami mat.
As he carefully polished his blade, he said apologetically,
"Kousetsu, it's been a while since I let you drink blood. My apologies."
Enshin, with his distinctive M-shaped bangs, lounged on a sofa nearby, surrounded by three or four scantily clad women.
He frowned, clearly dissatisfied.
"Honestly, coming back to the Imperial Capital has been less fun than before."
"When can we finally go out and have some real fun?"
The blonde woman beside him wore an expression of pain, her petite body trembling involuntarily.
Champ, dressed like a clown, nodded enthusiastically and chuckled.
"Exactly."
"The toys the Minister sent over aren't nearly enough."
"Besides, nothing beats personally hunting your prey."
Cosmina, dressed in a bunny girl outfit, casually twirled the microphone in her hand.
"By the way, where exactly did Master Syura get hurt? Dorothea-chan seems awfully busy lately."
Izou placed a heart-shaped blade of grass between his lips and sheathed Kousetsu.
"I don't know. Not that it really matters."
"Whoever managed to injure Master Syura must be quite impressive."
A cold light flashed through Izou's eyes as he murmured,
"I wonder if his blood could satisfy Kousetsu..."
Enshin gave the woman in his grasp a rough squeeze.
Satisfied by her fragile reaction, he stood up from the sofa.
Stretching lazily, he picked up his sword, Moonlight Beauty.
"How about we go out and have some fun? I heard the Jaegers aren't in the Imperial Capital right now."
Izou shook his head.
"You all go ahead. I'll stay with Master Syura."
His only hobby was killing.
Lots and lots of killing.
Although neither the Minister nor Syura restricted their activities, causing large-scale massacres was still off-limits.
"Fine. Give Master Syura our regards."
Enshin strapped Moonlight Beauty to his waist and led Champ and Cosmina out.
....
Back at the battlefield, four mangled corpses lay strewn across the ground.
Stylish sighed.
All of the dead were his enhanced soldiers.
It was not that he felt any emotional attachment to them.
It was simply painful to see his personal property destroyed.
He had taken a huge loss this time.
He gained nothing and had nearly been killed.
Esdeath had failed to catch Mine and quickly returned.
She carefully examined the traces left behind on the battlefield, along with the four modified corpses.
"These marks. Was it the one who killed the Three Beasts?"
Bulat's speed and strength were immense, and his fighting style was brutally direct.
He fought like a soldier, bold and straightforward, literally cleaving Jasan in half.
That style was easy to recognize.
Esdeath's expression darkened.
She still had unfinished business with Night Raid.
After gRancing over the remaining Jaegers, she frowned.
"Where is Uesugi Ryu?"
Seryu immediately answered loudly,
"Captain, Mr. Uesugi went after the enemy!"
"Alone?"
A trace of concern flashed across Esdeath's face.
An opponent that four Jaegers could not subdue was not someone Uesugi Ryu should pursue recklessly by himself.
If it was a trap, things could become troublesome.
"Which direction did he go?"
Everyone exchanged gRances.
Then all eyes turned toward Ran.
After all, he was the reconnaissance specialist.
Faced with everyone's gaze, Ran smiled helplessly.
Just as he was about to answer.
Esdeath's expression sharpened as she drew her sword and pointed it toward the forest behind them.
"It's me."
Uesugi Ryu stepped out from the bushes and casually gestured behind him.
"I found something. Come take a look."
Esdeath sheathed her sword.
Then she followed Uesugi Ryu deeper into the forest.
Looking down at the tunnel, Esdeath showed a hint of surprise.
She turned toward Uesugi Ryu and asked,
"Oh? How did you find this?"
Uesugi Ryu crouched down and pretended to inspect the tunnel's construction.
There was no way he could admit it was because of his Teigu.
After a moment's thought, he tapped his temple with one finger.
"If I had to say, intuition."
"Intuition?"
Esdeath raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.
Seryu said admiringly,
"Mr. Uesugi is amazing!"
Then she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
"Those criminals really are cunning. They're just like sewer rats!"
Stylish peered inside thoughtfully.
"A tunnel. If they didn't build proper ventilation, we could try pumping poison gas into it."
"It should work quite well in an enclosed space."
Wave looked at Stylish in surprise.
Then, remembering that Stylish was a scientist, it suddenly made perfect sense.
Scratching his head, Wave said with some frustration,
"Still, this section of the tunnel seems to have already collapsed."
"Finding them won't be easy."
Esdeath said nothing.
There was no point wasting any more time here.
Since the enemy had prepared escape routes in advance, their goal had clearly been to buy time.
"We're returning for now."