A thunderous roar rang out, the sound coming from the direction of the arena.
Honest instantly changed direction and rushed back toward the palace.
"The arena's having problems too, damn it!"
"We should take the secret passage and escape first. Once Esdeath returns, it'll be your deaths!"
The little Emperor looked at Honest's constantly shifting expression in confusion and asked,
"Minister, what exactly happened?"
Honest and Budo had tacitly agreed not to tell the little Emperor about the Imperial Capital about to be besieged.
So from the little Emperor's perspective, they had clearly still been in an overwhelming advantage, so why were they suddenly fleeing in such a miserable state?
Honest suppressed the impatience in his heart and explained,
"Your Majesty doesn't need to worry, there are just some minor problems."
"We'll leave the Imperial Capital first. Once General Esdeath returns, it'll be the rebels' deaths!"
The little Emperor's expression became somewhat ugly after hearing that.
How could the Empire, which had been passed down for a thousand years, be destroyed in his hands?
Even if they managed to retake it later, it would still be an unbearable humiliation.
"What about that Supreme Teigu? If we use it, then we can definitely..."
As he spoke, Honest's figure suddenly stopped in place.
The little Emperor thought Honest had agreed with his idea, but before he could feel happy.
A teasing voice rang out.
"Long time no see, Minister Honest~"
Looking at the ill-intentioned expression on Uesugi Ryu's face, Honest instantly panicked.
Uesugi Ryu, who had supposedly disappeared together with Esdeath, had suddenly appeared here. There was definitely something wrong.
Anything was possible, except for him coming to protect the Emperor.
The little Emperor also had some impression of that name and spoke,
"Minister..."
Before the little Emperor could finish speaking, Honest's eyes rolled.
In the next second, the muscles on both his arms bulged violently.
Then he unhesitatingly threw the little Emperor tucked under his arm toward Uesugi Ryu.
The remaining half of the little Emperor's sentence died in his throat.
A violent sense of weightlessness struck him and he instinctively screamed.
Honest turned and ran.
Uesugi Ryu merely watched the scene quietly.
He reached out and caught the rapidly flying little Emperor.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
The little Emperor was completely dumbfounded at this moment, his face filled with disbelief.
The Minister he had always trusted and relied upon had abandoned him without the slightest hesitation.
Uesugi Ryu gently set the little Emperor down and said nothing more.
With a light tap of his foot against the ground, his figure instantly disappeared.
Honest had not even run dozens of meters before Uesugi Ryu's figure appeared before him.
Honest was so frightened that he took a step backward and shouted in panic,
"What? What do you want? I can give you anything!"
"Money, power, Teigu, beautiful women. As long as you let me go, I'll give you all of it!"
Uesugi Ryu sneered.
"You're trying to bribe me with things that already belong to me? Are you a stupid pig?"
Before his words even finished, he suddenly threw a punch at Honest.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Uesugi Ryu, Honest decisively activated his Teigu ability.
The ring-shaped Teigu on his head emitted a burst of light, but since it found no corresponding target, it quickly dimmed again.
Uesugi Ryu knew the ability of this Teigu, so he hadn't brought any Teigu on his body.
Honest simultaneously raised his arm and threw a punch.
The two fists collided with a dull sound.
The crisp sound of bones shattering rang out. The larger Honest was directly blasted backward.
Uesugi Ryu quickly turned around and delivered a spinning kick heavily into Honest's abdomen.
Honest's stomach rippled violently from the force.
He spat out a mouthful of bright red blood, then fell straight backward.
With a bang, Honest's massive body smashed heavily into the ground.
Honest let out a miserable scream as spiderweb-like cracks spread beneath him.
One meter behind Honest, the little Emperor stood there blankly watching everything.
Uesugi Ryu slowly walked to Honest's side.
Honest was still conscious enough at this moment. Noticing the little Emperor's figure.
He struggled to move his body slightly and immediately begged,
"Your Majesty, save me! I was only momentarily confu..."
Uesugi Ryu picked up the Teigu Erastone that had fallen into the pit, then stepped heavily on Honest's huge belly.
"How ugly, Honest."
Uesugi Ryu bent down and looked into Honest's eyes as he coldly said,
"Tell the truth behind the late Emperor's early death and I'll give you a quick death."
Honest looked at Uesugi Ryu uncertainly after hearing that.
That had all happened more than ten years ago, so how did Uesugi Ryu know about it?
After hearing that, some life finally returned to the little Emperor's dead eyes.
"The truth... behind Father Emperor's death?"
The expression on Honest's face was extremely complicated at this moment. He also realized what Uesugi Ryu's purpose was.
He could have killed him directly, but he had dragged things out because he had been waiting for this.
Seeing Honest playing dead here, Uesugi Ryu started losing patience.
Black Marlin appeared on his finger out of thin air as Uesugi Ryu calmly said,
"I don't like torture, but it can't be helped."
"Since you're father and son, you can experience the same pain Syura went through."
The ring lit up.
As the saying goes, tissue fluid is still fluid~ Of course Black Marlin could control it just like blood.
The liquids inside Honest's body were instantly brought under control.
It was as if countless wild bulls were rampaging crazily through Honest's body.
Excruciating pain deep within his bones surged through his entire body. Honest's eyeballs nearly bulged out.
A shrill scream like a pig being slaughtered instantly rang out.
Unable to endure the horrifying pain, Honest rolled his eyes and was about to faint.
Uesugi Ryu scratched his head somewhat helplessly. He suddenly remembered the teachings of a certain enthusiastic instructor.
Slowing down his control over the liquids inside Honest's body a little, the corners of Uesugi Ryu's mouth rose uncontrollably.
"What is 1000 minus 7?"
Hearing Uesugi Ryu's inexplicable question, Honest didn't know whether he should answer or not for a moment.
The pain inside his body intensified once again and Honest immediately stammered,
"Ah! Ah! 9...9...3!"
"What is 993 minus 7?"
Tears and snot were streaming down Honest's face. What kind of bullshit was this? No martial virtue at all.
He hurriedly answered,
"I'll talk, I'll talk, stop it!"
After hearing that, Uesugi Ryu jumped off Honest and made a gesture toward the little Emperor as if inviting him forward.
The little Emperor walked in front of Honest with a numb expression, his eyes fixed firmly on him.
"I put... chronic poison... into the late Emperor's meals. He was poisoned to death!"
Honest took several huge breaths before continuing,
"Hah... hah... after the late Emperor died, I also forced the Empress to death, disguising it... as her following him in death."
The little Emperor's pupils shook violently. He clutched his head, completely unable to accept this reality.
After the deaths of Father Emperor and Mother Empress, the Minister he had always trusted and depended on was actually the murderer who killed both his parents.
The little Emperor looked at Honest with a face full of hope.
"Minister, this is fake, this is all made up by you, right?"
Honest suddenly hesitated after seeing that. He still wanted to struggle a bit. Maybe he could survive.
Uesugi Ryu raised a finger slightly.
The pain deep within his bones instantly shattered any thoughts Honest had of making excuses.
Only wanting a quick death to avoid further torture, he immediately confessed an entire string of details.
Under the stimulation of pain, Honest even remembered what underwear he had been wearing while committing those acts.
Results could be lied about, but details weren't something that could be fabricated in a short time.
Hearing details so specific they couldn't possibly be more specific, the little Emperor had already accepted the truth.
His legs went weak and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
Uesugi Ryu extended his right hand and caught the little Emperor. He conjured a handgun out of thin air.
Then he gently handed it to the little Emperor.
Uesugi Ryu straightened the little Emperor up before crouching down.
The shadow cast by his body completely enveloped the little Emperor as Uesugi Ryu gently placed both hands on the little Emperor's shoulders.
He whispered softly into the little Emperor's ear,
"Your Majesty, please do as you wish."
Crystal-clear tears slid down the young boy's immature face.
He laboriously raised the heavy handgun, countless emotions hidden within his emerald-green eyes.
The little Emperor's hand trembled slightly.
After thinking for a moment, Uesugi Ryu grasped the little Emperor's hand holding the gun and helped him stabilize it.
The little Emperor's finger painfully squeezed the cold trigger as he softly said,
"Go die, Honest."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!