The next morning, when Kaede proposed that she would complete that mission alone, no one was surprised.
Because for these people in the Elite Group, they already understood Kaede's personality. She would never choose to let Kurome participate in such a mission, which could be called a suicide mission.
What surprised Kaede the most was that Kurome actually didn't object.
Kurome hugged Kaede and murmured in her arms, "Sister, you must come back. I also believe that Sister will definitely be able to come back."
"..." Unknowingly, the corners of Kaede's mouth curled up, and a confident light appeared in her eyes. "Of course, I am your sister, right~ How could I ever leave you?"
"Mmm."
But Nahash, standing to the side, was not so optimistic. He sat there, supporting his chin with both hands, and said, "If your mission fails, I will take on the first mission for Kurome. That way, at least Kurome will be able to survive, and perhaps Akame won't be in trouble either..."
"Mmm, that works..." Kaede understood what Nahash meant. Looking at Nahash, she realized for the first time that this ice-faced guy also had an unknown side. "Thank you, Captain."
Nahash was stunned; this was the first time Kaede had called him that. Then, his expression softened, and he narrowed his eyes. "Of course, I am your captain, after all~"
"Of course, haha, our captain!" Poney patted Nahash on the shoulder from the side and laughed out loud.
Nahash, being patted, showed helplessness in his eyes, along with a trace of doting.
"Hey, Green, do you feel..." Chikushi looked at Green at this moment.
"What?" Question marks appeared on Green's forehead; having been distracted the whole time, he hadn't seen anything.
"Nothing, you're hopeless!" Chikushi puffed up her cheeks in anger and turned her head away, refusing to speak anymore, leaving a baffled Green behind.
"Hehe..." Kaede watched this scene from the side and suddenly realized that the atmosphere among the Elite Group had become so obvious. Was it because she had been too much of a loner before? She had never noticed this point.
Actually, one couldn't blame Kaede; after all, Kaede and the others in the Elite Group were rarely together, so it was normal that she didn't know them well enough.
"Well then, I'll be going." Kaede didn't say anything more.
"...Are you leaving already?" The group of people who were playing around quieted down at this moment. Although they hadn't spent much time with Kaede, they had already acknowledged her as one of their own.
"Mmm, I have to go sooner or later." Kaede understood that they were not optimistic about her mission this time, so even their playfulness was just a forced smile.
"Then, I wish you good luck in battle." After a long while, Nahash finally sighed and said.
"Thank you." Kaede nodded, then turned around and walked out of the base, her movements still as graceful and free-spirited as ever, without a hint of hesitation.
"Sigh!" The expressions of the group were not very good, especially Kurome, whose eyes were already brimming with tears.
Chikushi walked over and hugged Kurome, "If you want to cry, then cry~"
"Mmph, am I doing okay? Older sister shouldn't be worried about me, right?" Kurome had been holding back, just because she was afraid Kaede would worry about her.
"Kaede will definitely understand your efforts," Chikushi said.
Beside them, Nahash's heart suddenly turned cold. One by one, his companions were leaving him; perhaps one day, he or she would also leave...
Slowly, Nahash closed his eyes. After a long while, when he opened them again, Nahash looked at Poney, who also had a somewhat dejected expression beside him, and made his final decision in his heart.
...
This time, there were actually some other people who knew about Kaede's mission.
For instance, Esdeath. She also knew about this mission of Kaede's, but she was still very supportive of it. After all, in Esdeath's eyes, Kaede could be considered a strong person.
Since she was a strong person, it was impossible for her to die here. If she were to die unfortunately, then it would only prove that she had misjudged her; the dead were nothing more than the weak.
As for the Imperial General Budo, perhaps it was he who had issued this mission, and he also believed that Kaede could complete it. However, while he was the one who issued it, the content might have been changed significantly by the Minister's side during the process, but it didn't matter.
Budo was thinking about another matter.
And Kaede, who was valued by the two Imperial Generals, had now arrived at the mission location. An entire tribe was her target.
Then, after waiting for the sky to darken, Kaede launched her operation. First, she had to investigate what the environment of this tribe's location was like, as well as the layout of the houses, the location of high-ranking officials, and so on.
However, just as she was investigating within the tribe, the entire tribe suddenly became brightly lit.
Had Kaede been exposed?
But looking at the mocking smile on Kaede's face, it was clear that this was not the case. Kaede knew that she had definitely not been discovered by anyone, yet the surroundings were brightly lit, so there was only one possibility.
That was that the Empire simply wanted her to die—no, it should be said that some people wanted her to die and had already told the mission target about her mission in advance.
So, this scene had occurred. However, they had underestimated Kaede too much. Even so, if Kaede wanted to avoid being discovered by them, she could still manage to do so.
But if that were the case, wouldn't it be too boring? Since they had so meticulously set up such a trap for her, how could she justify their painstaking efforts if she didn't walk right into it and then destroy it?
So, Kaede took a step and walked alone into the crowd that had already donned their armor and armed themselves with weapons.
"You must be that assassin, right? To think you'd try to assassinate me, the Chief, all by yourself!" A middle-aged man with a big beard stared at Kaede as she walked out alone, roaring in anger.
However, there was also surprise in his eyes. To think she would dare to walk out like this alone, and the fact that the Empire had said an assassin would attack tonight was actually true! Since when had the Empire been so kind?
"It was the Empire that told you, wasn't it?" Although Kaede was almost certain, she still asked.
"Hmph!" The Chief did not answer and directly issued his own order, "Men, seize this villain for me."
"Yes!" Immediately, a Soldier holding a long spear rushed out from the side. A sharp glint appeared in this Soldier's eyes, "This achievement will be mine!"
However, the next moment, he found that he seemed unable to control his own body. Why?
Huh? Why were the people around looking at him like that? Why were their eyes filled with horror? Then he could no longer see anything, because his head had already fallen to the ground. From beginning to end, he hadn't even seen Kaede move a muscle.
Even the people beside him hadn't seen it clearly; only a few people had seen a shadow flash by.
The Chief's eyes widened. He suddenly realized what kind of existence they had welcomed. He had just wanted to turn around when he saw that Kaede was already standing in front of him.
"Now, you don't need to answer." Kaede said expressionlessly as she swung her slaughter blade down.
"The Chief... is dead?" No one could have imagined that it would evolve to this point. They had clearly surrounded Kaede, but why did it turn out like this?
"Kill! Avenge the Chief!" Finally, a voice came from the crowd.
"I originally thought that as an assassin, it would be impossible for me to use this move, but now it seems, an assassin? One must also fight head-on!!"
Kaede's eyes widened as she roared this sentence out, and the pent-up anger in her heart descended at this moment.
Then, a dragon's roar suddenly echoed over the tribe's area.
"Roar!!!"
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