Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

"Are they from some village?"

After observing for several days, Riva made this judgment about Emiya's origins.

As the most powerful nation on the entire continent, the Empire is known to almost everyone, even in towns and cities of other countries.

Perhaps only villages deep in the mountains and forests, with almost no contact with the outside world, would be completely unaware of the empire.

Even powerful empires have not been able to explore every location on the entire continent.

After all, there are many extremely powerful and dangerous species in the world.

The two are far apart, and the empire is unwilling to expend a large amount of military force to provoke them.

Just like the empire facing the northern barbarians.

The empire was on the verge of collapse; if it weren't for the support of the Imperial Arms, it would have crumbled long ago.

He had no energy to wage war and seize new territories. If it weren't for their invasion of the Empire, the Empire might not have sent Esdeath to fight them.

"I'll meet up with my two other teammates, and then head towards the capital."

Riva answered Emiya's question in a calm voice. He was able to give Emiya Shirou an answer to such a question, but the deeper reasons could only be covered up with lies.

The army's marching speed is very slow, and if they wait until Esdeath returns to the Empire to react to the Night Raid members, they will be at a great disadvantage.

Esdeath was unwilling to passively wait for Night Raid to make a decision about her.

Although she didn't think the night raid could cause her any harm, this stemmed from her absolute confidence in her own abilities.

Therefore, Esdeath decided to first send her three Beast Warriors to the Empire to work with Minister Honest to kill those ministers who opposed her, and then shift the blame to the Night Raid organization.

Esdeath had also considered bringing Shirou Emiya along.

Let Riva tell Emiya Shirou that those people are the rotten teeth of the Empire, who have killed countless people and abducted women, and that everyone should be punished.

He would act alongside the Three Beasts. Even though Emiya didn't kill them himself, his failure to stop their actions already made him an accomplice.

Because he had the ability to stop it, yet he witnessed those people being executed.

Esdeath eagerly awaits the moment when Emiya learns that those who were killed were loyal and kind people—what will his expression be like?

Thinking this, Esdeath picked up a piece of apple that the guard had just brought out—appeared to be chopped up and seemingly prepared in some way.

She took a small bite, and a sweet yet not smooth juice burst from her mouth.

“It tastes really good!”

Esdeath rarely expressed her praise for a dish; even in the Empire, she had never tasted such a delightful and unforgettable flavor.

"Which chef in the army made it?"

Esdeath decides to make him her personal chef.

"This was made by the boy named Emiya who works with Riva. Lord Riva thought this food tasted very good, so he asked me to bring it here for you to try."

The guards knelt before Esdeath and answered her questions respectfully.

"Is that so? It seems we'll have to move up the timeline for taking him on as a subordinate."

Esdeath habitually licked her lips, savoring the taste of the apples.

——————I am the dividing line——————

"Oh! General Liva is bringing a child along now."

Sitting in the carriage, a person with short blond hair, two devilish horns on his head, and an extremely cute face greeted Rival and Emiya Shirou as they approached.

He was holding a flute-like object in his hand.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Niu!"

Liva didn't care about his provocation at all. In fact, he didn't mean to provoke Liva at all. It's just that he has always been so sarcastic and mean-spirited.

Meanwhile, before Shirou Emiya could catch up with Riva, an extremely burly man holding a giant axe stood in front of him.

"So you're the brat who fought Lady Esdeath?"

He glared fiercely at Shirou Emiya, as if he were about to tear him apart at any moment.

"Don't scare the child. He might not even have killed anyone."

Niu, sitting beside the car, was twirling her flute in her hand, her face full of amusement.

Apart from Rival, the other two had never witnessed Shirou Emiya fighting Esdeath head-on, and they didn't believe that someone without an Imperial Arms could fight such a terrifying woman to a standstill.

Even so, Shirou Emiya was ultimately defeated by Esdeath in an instant.

They didn't even have the courage to fight Esdeath, and they simply couldn't believe that anyone who had been defeated by Esdeath would still have the courage to face her.

Liva stood in front of the carriage without offering any advice or dissuasion.

He stood there quietly, without saying a word.

"Yes, is there something you need?"

Emiya's tone turned cold; he knew what was about to happen.

"You will become my experience points!"

He roared excitedly, swinging his giant axe mercilessly toward Emiya's neck.

With one strike, he intended to kill Emiya.

Daidas, one of Esdeath's three beast warriors, is a complete battle maniac who prefers to fight strong opponents to increase his experience points.

only----

"clang----!"

A tremendously loud voice rang out from in front of Daidas.

He only had time to catch a glimpse of a silver blade. Emiya's entire body seemed to have remained motionless, except for his right hand, which held a weapon resembling a samurai sword that appeared out of nowhere, pressed against Daidas's neck, from which trickles of blood oozed.

"boom----!"

A few seconds later, a loud noise drew everyone's attention.

A massive axe blade descended from the sky and slammed heavily onto the ground, creating a vast shockwave.

In a mere instant, Emiya knocked the axe blade from Daidas's hand and placed his own sword against Daidas's neck.

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Final Empire

The four people silently sat down in the carriage, but it shouldn't be called a carriage; it should be called a dangerous vehicle.

In order to reach the Empire in a very short time, Esdeath deliberately captured a dangerous creature and used extremely violent methods to make it obey him, destroying all of its offensive and feeding organs.

Its powerful survival instinct told it that if it obeyed the woman in front of it, it might live a little longer; if it didn't, it would die on the spot.

Because in front of it were countless dead compatriots.

The driver seemed very skilled, like a veteran who had driven on Mount Akina. Even though the creature in front of him had changed from a horse to a dangerous species, he drove his vehicle very steadily.

If there were a cup of water on a dangerous vehicle, it would be perfectly stable and not a single drop would spill.

Perhaps this driver used to deliver tofu to his father.

However, even the best driving skills cannot calm the mood of some people sitting in the carriage.

Especially Daidas, who was defeated in one blow.

Several times he wanted to rush forward and use his powerful physique to smash Shirou Emiya into mincemeat.

But the blood seeping from his neck reminded him that if he dared to take another step forward, he would be the one to lose his head.

He wasn't confident he could outrun Emiya's speed.

It's important to know that he didn't even have time to react during the entire attack; he didn't even realize that his weapon had been knocked away at some point.

If Emiya were truly an enemy, he might not even have the ability to react, and his head would simply fly into the air.

He was probably still thinking that he had already cut off Emiya's head.

His biological instincts made him lower his head and adopt the posture of a loser.

Do people who are thin all possess such great strength?

Whether it's Riva, Esdeath, or the red-haired boy in front of her, they all possess unparalleled power.

He couldn't win. How could he possibly win? Even with the Imperial Arms, he still couldn't win. This plunged Daidas into deep self-doubt.

Then he looked up and saw Niu beside him.

As expected, the world isn't so absurd. At least I can easily crush this pervert in front of me who likes to collect women's faces.

"What are you looking at?"

Niu kicked Daidas, her eyes expressing her displeasure.

Emiya Shirou sat facing the two of them.

Whether it was their first meeting or the bloody smell emanating from them, Emiya felt a sense of unease.

Emiya planned to follow them to that so-called empire first, and then leave.

Traveling with them would only make Emiya feel uncomfortable.

Emiya did not investigate the bloodstains on the two people in front of him; even he himself carried the bloodstains that he could never wash off.

On the battlefield, one is not in control of one's own destiny.

Even Riva, who had spent several days with Emiya, still carried a slight smell of blood.

Compared to the two people in front of him, he was slightly less intense, but not by much.

Those who became Esdeath's subordinates and major combatants on the battlefield had countless lives on their hands.

However, Riva has his own principles. Unless it is a direct order from Esdeath, Riva generally will not lay a hand on innocent people, nor does he have any special fetishes.

If Esdeath ordered him to go on a killing spree, even something as simple as massacring an entire city, Riva was capable of doing it.

He is now completely loyal to Esdeath, and Rival will accept any order, no matter how heinous.

"Don't even think about leaving for now. Lady Esdeath instructed me to keep an eye on you."