IW: Chapter 228 - Esdeath Submits, The Whole World Goes Crazy, How Can We Even Play Anymore?
Bai Ye raised his hand to grab Esdeath's jaw, and with his right hand, he seized Esdeath's right hand, his immense strength rendering Esdeath completely unable to resist for a moment.
With her hand already seized by Bai Ye, she wouldn't just sit there and wait for death; her right foot directly kicked towards Bai Ye's most precious spot.
If she landed the kick, she felt the situation would instantly reverse.
"It's useless."
Bai Ye directly raised his foot and stepped on Esdeath's kick.
"You lost. You lost to me in Imperial Arms, and you lost to me in martial arts. Submit to me."
Esdeath lowered her head, listening to Bai Ye's words, no one could see her expression.
And after Bai Ye spoke these words, the atmosphere instantly became strange.
Liva, behind him, was now sweating profusely.
No one had ever dared to say such words to Esdeath, but when Bai Ye said them, he even thought it made a lot of sense.
She had indeed lost.
For someone who had lost, anything they said was just an excuse.
"I agree!"
Esdeath raised her head and looked at Bai Ye, her expression completely unlike before.
She agreed!?
Liva's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Esdeath.
No way?!
He had originally thought Esdeath would refuse.
No one had ever dared to speak to Esdeath like that.
"She just submitted like that? Will there be a problem?"
Enkidu, who was observing from the side, a strange glint flashed in his eyes.
He also felt a bit surprised by Esdeath's sudden agreement.
Would she agree so easily?
"Surprised?"
"Not surprised, because I knew you would submit to me!"
Bai Ye shook his head. Although Esdeath's decision was somewhat unexpected, it was still within his expectations.
It could be said that upon defeating Esdeath, she would indeed, to a certain extent, directly choose to submit.
Isn't that how her tribe had always been since she was young?
Obey the strong!
In fact, some clues could be seen from Esdeath's criteria for choosing a partner.
She wanted to train with an Admiral as her goal, though she still preferred to be able to control her opponent.
"I'll kill you at any time!"
Esdeath looked at Bai Ye very seriously and said.
Although, as a loser, saying such things at this moment might make her seem no different from a clown in Bai Ye's eyes.
But she also felt that it was better to just tell Bai Ye directly.
It seemed she really wanted to kill him, after all, he was someone worth killing.
"What good would killing me do you?"
Bai Ye rubbed his forehead, always feeling like everyone he met wanted to kill him.
Before ascending to the throne, all his brothers wanted to kill him.
Before Esdeath submitted, she also wanted to kill him.
Now that she had submitted, she still wanted to kill him.
Seriously, why couldn't they just talk nicely? Why did they have to keep shouting about killing all day long?
"You are an opponent worth killing. At least killing you can prove that I am stronger!"
Esdeath spoke her inner thoughts without any concealment.
In her eyes, Bai Ye was an opponent worth killing.
"Then if you kill me, will you still be able to find someone to fight with you in the future?"
"This…"
Esdeath was stunned for a moment; she hadn't expected Bai Ye to blurt out such a sentence.
What did he mean, if she killed him, would she still be able to find someone to fight her in the future?
"Haven't you been without an opponent for a long time? True strength and true enjoyment of battle come from having an opponent. If I die, will there still be anyone in this world who can fight you?"
Bai Ye shook his head, feeling that his being alive was better for Esdeath, wasn't it?
Why would she want to kill him?
And this made Esdeath freeze.
Oh, right...
If Bai Ye was alive, it seemed she would always have someone to fight with in the future.
Esdeath had originally gone to deal with the northern barbarians with great interest this time.
It was only after the battle that she realized how useless those guys truly were.
Especially the barbarian prince, which made Esdeath realize just how useless those guys were.
She even wondered why the Revolutionary Army would choose to cooperate with such trash.
She went north simply because the Revolutionary Army and the barbarians were cooperating, originally to put pressure on the Empire.
As long as the Empire was under pressure, then they might have an opportunity.
So, after receiving this intelligence, Esdeath took the initiative to volunteer to go.
"So, are you afraid I'll kill you?"
Esdeath felt that Bai Ye might be afraid she would grow stronger.
So he was afraid that she would kill him one day, which was why he said such a thing.
"Want to kill me? You can try."
"Tch!"
Although Esdeath was a bit annoyed, she couldn't find a reason to retort.
It seemed she really couldn't beat Bai Ye right now, so what good would saying more do?
"Don't worry, the future is yours."
Bai Ye patted Esdeath's shoulder, and just this sentence made Esdeath feel that Bai Ye was quite nice.
After all, she had already said she would kill Bai Ye.
But Bai Ye not only wasn't angry, he even told her that the future belonged to her.
"Is this really alright, Your Majesty?"
Watching Bai Ye put Esdeath down, and then Bai Ye directly turned and left.
Enkidu stepped forward and asked softly. He wasn't too sure if what Bai Ye was doing was a good thing.
After all, Esdeath should be considered a ticking time bomb.
Just like what she had just said, she could turn on Bai Ye at any time, perhaps even preparing to strike and kill Bai Ye the next second.
So, in Enkidu's opinion, he really didn't dare to leave such a ticking time bomb by Bai Ye's side.
But Bai Ye seemed to not care at all.
For a moment, he didn't know what happened, but judging from Bai Ye and Esdeath's conversation and expressions before, something seemed to have happened.
"People with strength are actually very similar. They are like a sharp knife; it can help you slay enemies, but it can also harm yourself. The key to this is how the wielder uses it."
Bai Ye didn't care if the knife would hurt himself; what he wanted was whether the knife was sharp.
And Esdeath clearly met his requirements.
"Your Majesty, what about her and those other people? How should they be handled?"
Although Esdeath's surrender seemed somewhat unexpected.
But how should she be accommodated now?
On the other side.
Liva looked at Esdeath, having some questions but not daring to ask.
"You want to know why I chose to surrender, right?"
Esdeath actually saw the confusion on the Three Beasts' faces.
Esdeath had actually thought about it before, but then she realized it was just following her own heart.
"That's right, Lady Esdeath, why just after one defeat…"
Niu looked at Esdeath somewhat excitedly.
He didn't understand why Esdeath chose to surrender after just one defeat.
This was not the Esdeath he knew.
"The Empire has already lost."
Esdeath looked at Niu seriously. If it were anyone else, she wouldn't even bother to explain, but the Three Beasts had been with her for some time.
So she patiently explained.
"The Empire is going to lose?"
Liva was stunned for a moment. Although he hadn't spoken before, he had been waiting for Esdeath's explanation.
But he didn't expect to finally get such an explanation.
Esdeath said the Empire was going to lose?
Although it sounded absurd, he also felt it was very reasonable.
"I can't beat him. His strength is stronger than Maine. Although Enkidu's strength is weaker than Maine, it's about the same as Budo. So, there's no way for the Empire to deal with them internally."
Esdeath had already foreseen the Empire's downfall.
She cooperated with Minister Honest, but that didn't mean she was a fool.
Esdeath had, of course, also seen what the Empire was like after Minister Honest had corrupted it.
The Revolutionary Army hadn't been dealt with domestically, and with Bai Ye and others being able to directly bypass the Empire's defenses and enter the Empire, there was no need to even think about what had happened to the Empire.
So, her loss actually meant the Empire's loss.
She also hoped to have an opponent, and Bai Ye was that opponent. It was just like in her tribe, where the strong were revered!
She didn't have much allegiance to the Empire to begin with; she had only joined the Empire to find an opponent.
Her relationship with Minister Honest was merely a partnership, so how could she be betraying anyone?
It was the Empire that wanted to keep her, not that she needed the Empire!
"I understand, apologies, Lady Esdeath!"
They had previously questioned why Esdeath would surrender.
Now they understood.
It was purely because she had already seen the disparity between the two sides.
"Unfreeze the soldiers behind me. They are with me!"
Esdeath looked at Bai Ye, then pointed to the ice sculptures behind her. These soldiers had followed her through thick and thin.
Naturally, Esdeath didn't want anything to happen to them.
Although she was cruel, she was absolutely a good Admiral.
What surprised her was that both had ice abilities, but she couldn't unfreeze Bai Ye's ability.
"Alright, when are you coming over to our side?"
Bai Ye unfroze the ability, then looked at Esdeath and asked.
The moment the soldiers were unfrozen, all of them immediately assumed a combat stance. Then, the next second, after Esdeath gestured for them to put down their weapons, they were somewhat puzzled.
Didn't they look like they were about to fight just now?
Why did she want them to stop?
"The war is over, so now it's time to choose!"
Esdeath looked at them, and now offered them two choices.
One was to leave with her and go to the Hairan Empire, and the other was to stay in the Empire. If they wanted to stay in the Empire, she wouldn't do anything and would let them leave.
And after hearing Esdeath's words, everyone present froze in place?!
What's going on?
Why did she surrender now?!
"Make your choice, don't be wishy-washy!"
Esdeath looked at the group of soldiers, now giving them a chance to choose.
Immediately, all the soldiers began to choose. Those with family basically all prepared to return to the Empire.
They were conflicted, but when they thought of their families in the imperial capital, if they left with Esdeath, their families would surely die, so they had no choice but to return.
And those without families naturally chose to leave with Esdeath.
[Ding! Changed Esdeath's fate, rewarded with one lottery chance.]
What about the others?
Bai Ye was a little surprised. Esdeath was connected to many people, so why wasn't he rewarded?
The Jaegers she formed later, and the people who died because of the Jaegers, and many members of Night Raid were also connected to Esdeath.
It seemed he needed to make contact with the Empire himself, meaning he needed to completely crush the Empire and the Revolutionary Army before all of this could end?
Anyway, he wasn't in much of a hurry right now.
"Then let's go."
He looked around. Besides the Three Beasts, there were about ten thousand more soldiers willing to leave with him.
Everyone else was preparing to return to the imperial capital.
Looking at the soldiers before her, a hint of disappointment flashed in Esdeath's eyes. She had thought they would all follow her, but it seemed these guys weren't completely loyal to her after all.
Although she felt a little disappointed, since they weren't willing to leave with her, then so be it. Esdeath didn't care anymore.
"What did you say?! Esdeath betrayed the Empire!!!"
Minister Honest, upon receiving this intelligence, instantly felt terrible.
This was truly the worst news he had heard since waking up today, or even in a long time!?
No way?!
Is Esdeath crazy?
According to the returning soldiers' reports, Minister Honest understood why Esdeath hadn't returned.
]
She was defeated by someone, which is why she chose not to return and instead submitted to the other party.
"That's right, Esdeath has already left with the Emperor of the Hairan Empire, and according to intelligence, it seems the Emperor of the Hairan Empire defeated her!"
His subordinate continued to report, according to the intelligence, that was the situation.
"So, the Emperor of the Hairan Empire has power that surpasses Esdeath's?"
He was truly fed up.
Why was this guy so strong?!
And what would Minister Honest do without Esdeath?
The Minister now had only one thought: quickly enter the palace and win over Budo, but Budo completely ignored him.
Then he could only start with the young Emperor.
He had to tie down the young Emperor!
"Right, have someone talk to the Emperor of the Hairan Empire. Whatever he wants, we can offer him conditions!"
Minister Honest had to admit that he had no way to deal with Bai Ye now!
He could only pray that Bai Ye would not launch a full-scale attack on the Empire, although he felt that this was basically impossible.
Anyway, for now, as long as he stabilized the situation, the Minister did not want everything he possessed to be gone just like that.
What he hated most now was Esdeath.
He had given Esdeath so many things, even her Imperial Arm was given by him, but Esdeath repaid him in such a way.
He had originally intended to wait for Esdeath to return and help him deal with Night Raid.
But in the end, she was intercepted on the way back?
"I understand!"
As he spoke, his subordinate was about to leave when the Minister waved his hand, stopping him again, and asked, "How did the other side get here?"
Their Empire's border defenses seemed to have not detected the Hairan Empire's people coming in at all.
But how exactly did Bai Ye get here?
"The border defense said they didn't see anything, but tens of thousands of people from the Hairan Empire came!"
According to the descriptions of the returning soldiers, there were tens of thousands of people on their side.
How could tens of thousands of people bypass so many outposts and directly enter the interior?
"Forget it, I'm going to the palace first. You guys keep an eye on Night Raid!"
Now that Esdeath wasn't coming back, he could only find Budo.
Arriving at the palace.
The Minister directly sought out the young Emperor.
At this moment, the young Emperor was also a little flustered.
"Minister Honest, is General Esdeath really not coming back?"
Even in the palace, the young Emperor had heard news about Esdeath.
She actually left just like that.
"Yes, Esdeath has betrayed the Empire," Minister Honest said, looking into the depths of the palace, and asked, "Isn't Admiral Budo coming out yet?"
The Empire was now in a precarious situation; without Budo, he truly dared not imagine.
"Heh heh, now you know to be anxious?"
Budo walked out of the Hokage's, looking at the Minister, a sneer flashing in his eyes.
If he couldn't interfere in other matters, he would have killed Minister Honest long ago.
This fellow had always been causing chaos in the Empire. The already precarious Empire, after being manipulated by the Minister, had now reached the brink of collapse.
He had originally thought that with Esdeath outside and himself inside, even with the Minister, they should still be able to suppress it.
But Esdeath's betrayal was something they hadn't expected, and at the same time, the rise of the Hairan Empire was also an issue that could not be ignored.
Initially, their idea was to deal with the foreign tribes. The foreign tribes had always cooperated with the Revolutionary Army. The Revolutionary Army offered various conditions for the foreign tribes to tie down the Empire, so Esdeath went.
And at that time, because the Hairan Empire was contending for the throne, it was impossible for them to directly interfere in the internal affairs of the Empire.
But who would have thought that such a pervert would emerge from the Hairan Empire?
Could it be... the Empire was really going to fall this time?
With incompetent allies internally and strong enemies surrounding them externally.
"Admiral Budo, now is not the time for sarcastic remarks. If this continues, I feel like everyone will be finished, won't they?"
The Minister at this point clearly had no intention of continuing to argue with Budo.
After all, if they kept talking, everyone would probably die.
"Speak, what do you want from me?"
Budo also understood the current situation and did not continue to argue with the Minister.
He wanted to see what Minister Honest's purpose was in finding him.
"To deal with the Revolutionary Army, we will first resolve the Revolutionary Army, and then I will negotiate with the Emperor of the Hairan Empire to see if we can offer him some conditions to prevent him from starting a war with us for now. We will deal with the Revolutionary Army internally first, and then consider the Hairan Empire's matters.
There's no need to worry about Esdeath. At that time, I can use an Imperial Arm to nullify her Imperial Arm, and we can also use this opportunity to eliminate Esdeath. Of course, we can also first see if we can persuade Esdeath to return.
But no matter what we do, the most urgent thing right now is to first resolve the Revolutionary Army!"
Although the Minister was usually muddled, when it came to solving problems, he could still offer suggestions.
"I cannot deal with the Revolutionary Army alone. I cannot leave here!"
Budo refused.
He knew this was the optimal solution, but at this moment, he couldn't leave either.
His responsibility was to protect the palace and the young Emperor.
"I know, but I hope Budo, you can form a team under your name, a small team composed of Imperial Arm users and various elites to deal with Night Raid. We still have elite soldiers to deal with the Revolutionary Army, but we have no one to deal with Night Raid!"
Although he was unwilling to admit it, this matter had become very difficult after Esdeath left.
So he could only let Budo form it. If he were to form it, no one would be willing to join.
The existence of Night Raid was no longer just about him; even many nobles were in a state of panic.
Originally, when Esdeath returned this time, Minister Honest had planned to have Esdeath form it.
After all, he was also afraid of being assassinated by Night Raid one day.
"This group of people will be directly commanded by me, and furthermore, I need to select them!"
If it was such an elite unit, then he naturally would not allow this elite unit to fall into the Minister's hands.
As for the request Budo made, the Minister nodded and directly agreed. He had no reason to refuse; he didn't want to in the first place.
Even if Budo gained this authority, he wouldn't do anything to him. He had acted so unscrupulously in the past, and Budo still did nothing, didn't that explain everything?
"Yes, I will send people to collect them for you."
"Good, if there's nothing else, let's go."
Budo nodded. Although Esdeath had betrayed them, the Empire would not collapse.
Just as the Minister said, he had an Imperial Arm that could nullify other Imperial Arms, and the young Emperor also had the Supreme Imperial Arm. It seemed that it was now necessary to arrange for the young Emperor to try and use the Supreme Imperial Arm.
With the existence of the Supreme Imperial Arm, other Imperial Arms simply could not compare to it.
"Then I'll leave the matter of forming the elite team to you. I will then collect information on the Revolutionary Army and Night Raid!"
Minister Honest didn't have much to say about Budo's attitude. Although he was a little displeased deep down, he also knew very well that he had no choice but to rely on the other party.
Then, for now, let's deal with Night Raid first!
On the other side.
The members of Night Raid were gathered at their headquarters. After learning of Esdeath's betrayal, they were all very surprised, completely unexpected that Esdeath would choose to leave the Empire.
"Leader, now that Esdeath isn't in the Imperial Capital, doesn't that mean we can act?"
Maine felt that all of this was beneficial to them.
Now that Esdeath was no longer in the Imperial Capital, there was no one left to stop them.
If they didn't act now, when would they?
"Esdeath actually betrayed us and went to the Hairan Empire..."
Compared to Maine, Najenda thought more deeply.
Mainly because she had gone to the Hairan Empire before and negotiated terms with Bai Ye.
It was just that everything that followed was not as satisfactory as she had hoped.
And now, Esdeath's departure seemed to be beneficial to their Revolutionary Army, but Najenda also knew that for them, it was a real problem.
"Esdeath went to the Hairan Empire. What if the Hairan Empire launches a full-scale attack here later?"
Bulat had also served in the Empire before, so he naturally knew the ins and outs.
The Emperor of the Hairan Empire personally led a large army to intercept Esdeath and took Esdeath away.
Someone who could make Esdeath submit must be much stronger than her.
The Hairan Empire's ambition was clearly revealed.
"I went to the Hairan Empire before and negotiated terms with them."
Najenda took a deep breath, then decided to confess everything.
About her going to the Hairan Empire before to negotiate terms with Bai Ye for the Revolutionary Army.
"Leader, you went?"
"Yes, just recently. Didn't headquarters call me back? It was to have me negotiate terms with the Hairan Empire. Our Revolutionary Army has actually always had their support!"
Najenda nodded and said, and after hearing her, Lubbock's face couldn't help but flash with joy as he asked, "Then doesn't that mean we're sure to win later?"
Good!
So they were allies!
Then there didn't seem to be much to worry about.
However, after he finished speaking, everyone else looked at him with strange expressions.
"What's wrong? Am I wrong?"
They even took Esdeath away, wasn't that creating an opportunity for the Revolutionary Army?
"No, actually, the other party has always had the ambition to unify the continent. Supporting us is merely to make us consume the Empire, thereby achieving the effect of the'snipe and clam fighting, the fisherman benefits'."
Najenda shook her head, a bitter smile flashing across her face.
Although she was somewhat unwilling to admit it, their effect was actually to consume the Empire.
And originally, she had also hesitated whether to agree to Bai Ye's request, just as she had said before, was Night Raid willing to bear this betrayal?
Willing?
Actually, no one would want to be betrayed, right?
But she also didn't want to agree to Bai Ye's request just like that, so after returning, Najenda had always kept the previous matters a secret.
"Boss, are you hiding something from us?"
Akame looked at Najenda. She understood Najenda.
Najenda's current state seemed to indicate that something had not been said.
"Akame, actually, he tried to recruit me... No... To be precise, he tried to recruit our Night Raid, wanting us to join them and overthrow the Empire together!"
Najenda hesitated for a moment, finally sighing. She decided to tell them everything.
Perhaps the choice should not be in her hands, but rather given to them.
Perhaps they did not want their future fate to be arranged by herself or by the Revolutionary Army.
"Recruit our Night Raid?!"
Maine was stunned. So, that meant the Hairan Empire also had ambitions to annex them?
"Then Boss, you didn't agree, did you?"
Lubbock's face flashed with an unnatural smile.
Their Night Raid was the pillar of the Revolutionary Army; they wouldn't really agree to betray them, would they?
"I didn't agree."
After hearing Najenda's words, everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then what do we do now? The other party wants to provide us with resources, but if they have ambitions..."
Leone frowned. She had never thought before that their resources had always been provided by the Hairan Empire.
If that was the case, once they disagreed or if the other party prepared to attack the Empire, then the other party would definitely not provide supplies.
Then, their outcome at that time would probably not be too good, right?
"No, before that, I have a question I want to ask you all!"
Najenda did not directly answer Leone's question, but instead looked at them seriously. What she was about to say would be a question that would determine everyone's fate.
This was also her first step in deciding not to be so selfish and to hand over their respective fates to them.
She wanted to see how the members of Night Raid would ultimately choose!
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