Boom—!
A beam of light blasted from the Imperial Arm in her hands. Najenda quickly adjusted her line of attack and pulled the trigger once more.
The powerful beam directly crushed all the Soldiers around her attempting a sneak attack, forcing them to realize that the enemy before them was no simple matter.
"That... is that an Imperial Arm?"
Although the Northern Soldiers were mostly Outlanders with little worldly experience, there were many among them with keen eyes who could recognize that the powerful weapon in Najenda's hands was a "Teigu" from the Southern Empire.
If it were just an ordinary firearm, these common Soldiers might still have a chance to fight, but against an Imperial Arm, they had absolutely no possibility of victory.
When ordinary Soldiers face an Imperial Arms User, the Teigu User wins 99.9% of the time; the remaining 0.1% is purely due to luck.
Which is to say... they were finished!
"Damn it! Why would The Empire dispatch an Army at a time like this? Or have they been planning this all along?"
As the Noble of this territory, the man had known about Prince Numa Seika's movements for several days. He had been on guard for a long time, waiting for the other party to take the bait.
But what he never expected was that the person attacking him wasn't one of Numa Seika's men at all, but the Imperial Army wielding an Imperial Arm!
This rendered everything he had done completely useless. Ordinary Soldiers were simply no match for an Imperial Arms User!
While the man was in a panic, Najenda, holding her Teigu, seemed to notice the movement over there. She slowly aimed the Imperial Arm at him. Powerful energy gathered within the Teigu at that moment, looking as if it would explode the next second.
"Roman Artillery: Pumpkin," referred to simply as Pumpkin.
It can convert Spiritual Energy into a Shockwave. It possesses terrifying destructive power and can even increase its output through specific means. It is a highly versatile and powerful Imperial Arm.
"Is that the Northern Noble of this territory? I absolutely cannot let her leave! If he goes to tip off Numa Seika, our surprise attack will be for nothing!"
Although Najenda had absolute confidence in her own strength, she did not possess an oblivious arrogance; on the contrary, she treated her enemies with the utmost caution.
To ensure her Army could minimize casualties while dealing a fatal blow to the enemy, Najenda had deliberately adjusted her marching route, intending to execute a Decapitation Strike.
As long as she could capture Numa Seika alive and eliminate that woman named Cerydra, Najenda's reputation within The Empire would spread further, helping her ascend to the rank of Great General.
And within the Northern Country's territory, the only route that satisfied the requirements for a surprise attack required passing through only one Noble's territory—the very one before her!
Therefore, Najenda chose to directly employ her Imperial Arm. As long as she could eliminate the target, no news would be leaked, and her surprise attack would still be effective.
However, what Najenda didn't expect was that the Noble... actually jumped over ten meters high? This was clearly not something a Noble should be able to do. It seemed the man's family had some background that allowed him to learn special techniques...
But I won't let you dodge like that!
After weighing the pros and cons, Najenda unhesitatingly adjusted the angle of Pumpkin and fired a beam of light straight into the sky.
"With this, the Noble here is dealt with. All that remains is the Prince!"
During the previous battle, Najenda had been careful not to point Pumpkin's muzzle toward the sky, precisely because she didn't want the surrounding enemies to notice.
But now, she was only a step away from the enemy's main camp, so there was no need to worry about such things anymore!
Consider this shot a declaration of my arrival.
And the second shot will take Numa Seika's life!
—By The Empire's number one female sharpshooter, Najenda.
A minute passed by. Just as Najenda was preparing to mobilize her Army to launch the final assault on the Prince's territory, a sudden sound of breaking wind disrupted everything she was about to do.
"Pumpkin, Blade!"
In an instant, Najenda made a judgment, causing the Roman Artillery: Pumpkin in her hands to shift into a bladed form. Without hesitation, she swung it toward the source of that sudden movement.
Cling—!
A crisp sound accompanied by a massive Shockwave spread out with Najenda at the center, knocking away the entire ring of Soldiers surrounding her.
"As I thought, an assailant!"
"An interesting character has arrived!"
At this moment, the white-haired woman with cold eyes and the blue-haired girl with a wild smile met in their fated encounter.
Boom—!
The previously silent "Pumpkin" suddenly erupted with a thin beam of light, transforming the entire Imperial Arm into a so-called "lightsaber." The target of this blade was naturally the blue-haired girl who had descended from the sky, aiming straight for Najenda.
On the other side, it was impossible for Esdeath not to notice the change in the opponent's Imperial Arm. After all, since becoming a Chrysos Heir, her senses had become over ten times sharper!
Since the opponent wanted to meet force with force, she wasn't unwilling to accept!
Esdeath had not yet fought an Imperial Arms User, so she didn't fully understand how strong they were. She only knew that every Imperial Arm possessed a special Divine Power.
Some Imperial Arms possessed powerful offensive capabilities and could destroy a city in an instant, while others had no destructive power at all, relying instead on unique functions to assist in combat.
But this woman before her... her Imperial Arm was clearly the first type—the kind possessing great power!
"Then I won't be polite!"
As if about to sit down and taste a dessert, Esdeath's face revealed an indescribable excitement. Her other free hand was immediately wreathed in cold air, transforming into a sharp Ice Blade that stabbed toward the opponent's brow.
If this strike landed, killing the opponent was a certainty!
However...
"Fool."
The expression on Najenda's face remained flat, and a slight smile even played at the corners of her mouth.
After the battle just now, Najenda's Spiritual Energy had already been somewhat depleted, so she had to husband her strength, considering she still had to fight the Prince's side later.
But she never expected this blue-haired girl to deliver herself right to her door.
The Imperial Arm "Pumpkin" possessed a specific trait: when the user is in a dire situation, its power increases dramatically!
And the more dangerous the user is, the greater the increase in Pumpkin's attack power!
While it appeared that Esdeath was about to launch a fatal attack, in reality, it was I, Najenda, who was dealing the killing blow!
Rumble—!
An unimaginable beam of light shot out from Pumpkin. Its power was so great that even Najenda was shocked; she had never seen Pumpkin emit such formidable power...
This enemy, just who is she?
★ ★ ★