I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 179 Is it possible that it's not an Imperial Arms? (Part 2)

That evening.

Many residents living in the western suburbs of the capital witnessed this extraordinary scene—

A girl with black hair and red eyes swept across the gray night sky as if riding a sword, followed by a sky full of swords, like stars surrounding the moon. Although the legend of "sword immortals" was not popular in the empire, everyone who witnessed this scene was still deeply shocked.

Ok……

The bunny-eared songstress being carried by the black-haired girl seemed a bit out of place.

"...What is that thing?"

"Did someone just fly by in the sky?"

Several passersby stopped to watch.

At the entrance of a bookstore in the capital city.

Lubbock, disguised as a bookstore owner, opened his mouth, looking at the distant sky in astonishment: "That person... is that Ms. Hikari?"

The purple-haired, bespectacled girl next to her nodded: "It seems so."

"The boss said that the person who executed Sheila in the central part of the Empire a few days ago might have been Ms. Hikari. If that's the case, she should have already obtained Sheila's Imperial Arm 'Shangri-La,' so it's not surprising that she's here... However, I don't know how she got this ability to control swords. Mr. Brand didn't mention it."

"...This Miss Hikari's methods are truly inexplicably powerful."

Lubbock remarked with a sigh, then his expression turned serious: "Is she flying in the direction of Minister Ernest?"

Ernest is the ultimate assassination target of "Night Raid".

Although the latter was difficult to assassinate, preventing "Night Raid" from finding an opportunity to strike, Lubbock and his men were still very clear about his residence.

only……

The minister's residence was heavily guarded, and the imperial palace was not far away. If it attracted the attention of the palace guards, things would probably not end so easily...

"Hill, I'll go check it out. You quickly find a way to contact the boss and Brand!"

Lubbock glanced at the bespectacled woman beside him and said rapidly, "Something big might happen in the capital tonight!"

"it is good."

present.

Lubbock closed the bookstore and then went their separate ways with Hill.

Similar scenes were unfolding simultaneously in several other locations in the capital.

—The Revolutionary Army had spies planted in the capital not only at the "Night Raid" location. Nor was it just the Revolutionary Army alone.

The Imperial Capital Garrison, the Imperial Fist Temple, the guards at the ministers' residences... even the sentries patrolling above the palace walls all noticed the figure that swept across the sky.

Uchiha Hikaru, of course, also saw the various figures at his feet.

But she didn't care.

Following the map's directions, and with Kosmia's help in identifying the location, they found Ernest's mansion among a cluster of noble residences.

At this moment, a large number of guards had appeared in the courtyard.

"...Who dares to wreak havoc in the skies above the capital?!"

"Get down here now, or you'll be killed on sight!"

"Loose the arrows! Shoot her down!!"

These soldiers were clearly better equipped and more well-trained than the garrison troops, and soon a large number of arrows were fired from the courtyard.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!

A dense barrage of arrows pierced the air, striking the direction where Uchiha Hikaru was located with a sharp whooshing sound!

It was as if a torrential downpour had struck!

Faced with this overwhelming killing intent.

With a simple wave of her hand, Uchiha Hikari conjured a blood jade barrier in the air, blocking all the arrows at a distance of thirty to forty meters. As the arrows fell toward the ground with a ping-pong sound, another domain of incantation unfolded at the opportune moment, like a thin veil covering an area of ​​a hundred meters in radius.

—Words of Power: Heaven and Earth as a Furnace!

As the incantation was released, the steel arrows rapidly fused together in mid-air, reforming into metal fragments that resembled swords, spears, and halberds. Then, under the influence of "Sword Control," they quickly converged around Uchiha Hikari, forming a layered sword array behind and to her sides.

It was as if a throne forged of steel was slowly unfolding behind her.

"Your arrows are good."

"Now……"

"Here you go."

As Uchiha Hikaru spoke in a cold voice, a massive magnetic field began to operate, and all the swords shot out simultaneously, creating a storm even more violent than before!

Just after a single round of sword rain.

These soldiers suffered heavy casualties.

However, there were quite a few skilled individuals among them who, wielding swords and spears, shattered the rain of swords falling from the sky. They then directed others to pull out ballistae, guns, and other such items from the storeroom, loading huge arrows and cannonballs several meters long into the ballistae and vigorously turning the wheels.

These things are much more lethal than ordinary bows and arrows.

But the result was the same.

The Blood Jade Barrier, with a range of twenty meters, is even stronger than the Four Purple Flame Array. It can even block Tailed Beast Balls, let alone these conventional guns and cannons.

Instead, the metal parts of the crossbow bolts and cannonballs were rapidly melted down by the "furnace of heaven and earth," transforming into more swords that formed in mid-air and then repeatedly struck the mansion below, crushing the defenses of the guards.

in the crowd.

A tall, slender man stood out. He held a pale silver spear and used his superb spear skills to shatter all the swords and blades that came near him. Then he raised the spear high and slammed it to the ground!

"...Teigu?"

Uchiha Hikaru narrowed his eyes slightly as this thought popped into his mind.

It seemed to be to confirm her guess.

The next moment, a burst of intense silver-white light erupted from the spear shaft, and the floor beneath the spear handle cracked open with a deafening roar!

"Judgment Spear - Corona, Unleash!"

With the man's low shout, an invisible domain unfolded, transforming into gravity dozens of times stronger, spreading out like a tide and enveloping an area within a hundred meters.

First, the guards in the minister's residence couldn't withstand the onslaught and immediately dropped their weapons and knelt down.

Then, Uchiha Hikaru, who was in mid-air, also felt the intense pressure coming from the sky. After supporting it for a few seconds, the broadsword under his feet broke apart under the pressure and shattered into fragments that scattered everywhere.

Under this level of gravitational field, Uchiha Hikaru could still use the Flying Technique to float in the air, but that would greatly increase the burden on his body.

So as the broadsword shattered, she landed on the ground, releasing some of the pressure as her feet touched the ground, while simultaneously mobilizing her chakra and qi to resist the slightly heavy pressure on her shoulders.

As for Kosmia...

The witch songstress was lying on the ground, unable to even get up.

"A Teigu that can manipulate gravity...?"

"That's interesting."

want to!

the other side.

The man smiled.

"Hmph, the power of the Spear of Judgment is not something you lowly scoundrels can withstand."

As he spoke, the man took a breath, maintaining his stance with the gun, and then used his free hand to pull a pistol from his pocket: "Since you intend to harm Lord Ernest, you should be prepared to bear the consequences. This ends here..."

Before the guy could finish speaking...

Uchiha Hikaru casually raised his head and met his gaze.

"Tsukuyomi!"

One glance was enough to leave the guy in a daze. Although he remained in the same position, the omnipresent sense of oppression around him had quietly disappeared.

then……

"Amaterasu!"

As Uchiha Hikaru looked over a second time, black flames immediately erupted from the man's body, and he collapsed in terror, turning into a charred corpse in an instant.

Clang—

The Imperial Arms known as "The Spear of Judgment" lay on the ground and was picked up by Uchiha Hikaru.

That last Tsukuyomi allowed her to access the memories of this man named Vitra.

"A gun-shaped Imperial Arm made using the Super Dangerous Onix...?"

As Uchiha Hikaru just saw, the "Judgment Spear" is used to manipulate gravity, theoretically amplifying it by hundreds of times. However, the cost is a huge amount of stamina, and one cannot move freely while maintaining the gravity field. That's why the man tried to finish her off by throwing another short gun.

"It's alright. Much better than 'Moonlight Dance'."

Uchiha Hikaru gave his evaluation.

after all……

Of the forty-eight Imperial Arms, probably no more than a third could actually be of any use to her. The performance of this "Spear of Judgment" should be considered among the better Imperial Arms, no less than the ones wielded by "Night Raid".

present.

Uchiha Hikaru placed the "Judgment Spear" into the sealing scroll. After thinking for a moment, he also took off the "Shangri-La" and "Moonlight Dance" from his wrist and put them in the scroll, listing them in the chat group's shop. Only then did he lift his foot again and head deeper into the mansion.

The man named "Vitra" was Ernest's confidant.

From his memory, Uchiha Hikari clearly saw the scene of him talking with the minister a dozen minutes earlier, so she didn't even need to spend any effort to find it and easily arrived at the small building where Ernest lived, and pushed open the door to enter.

The room was dimly lit.

Uchiha Hikaru activated his Sharingan, walked deeper down the corridor, passed through the living room, and arrived at the door of a room that resembled an izakaya (Japanese pub).

There was a coffee table in the room, on which sat a flickering oil lamp illuminating two opened bottles of red wine and a glass half-filled with wine, seemingly left behind by a drinker.

"Did they escape?"

Uchiha Hikaru narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced around discreetly, and then stepped into the room.

The rustling footsteps moved forward.

As she walked up to the coffee table, a faint breathing sound suddenly appeared.

The next moment, a short figure leaped out from the liquor cabinet diagonally opposite, charging towards Uchiha Hikari with lightning speed. At the same moment, the wall to her right suddenly opened, and a fat, pig-like figure sprang out, yet possessed the agility of a monkey, throwing a punch straight at her!

The former was Dortya, an alchemist who had fled back from a small town in the middle of the country, while the latter was Ernest himself.

In this process.

A faint cracking sound followed.

"Gemstone Headdress - Ereston"

Then, the ceiling above Uchiha's head and the floor beneath his feet cracked open at the same time, shooting out a row of crossbow bolts several meters long. Below, a bottomless hole was revealed. Through the dark hole above, one could see a series of chilling lights flashing at the bottom, hundreds of meters deep, seemingly a meticulously crafted trap. There was also the rustling sound of a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

Five layers of insurance!

This is a meticulously designed dead end.

Ernest himself is one of the Empire's top boxing masters, almost comparable to Brand and Akame. Dortya is also an alchemist who has undergone body modification. When the two of them attack together, they can almost instantly kill anyone in "Night Raid".

Even if Bulang and Akame, or Bulang General, were to be ambushed unscathed if their Imperial Arms were destroyed, it would be impossible for them to escape unscathed.

If you are held back for even a second, you will be pierced through the heart by the crossbow bolts overhead and fall into the pit below, where you will be devoured by the traps and venomous snakes. The pit is nearly a hundred meters deep, and the walls are polished iron. Once you fall in, there is basically no chance of climbing back up.

It's safe to say that, aside from someone like Esdeath who is one with the Imperial Arms and whose strength is already formidable, there is probably no one else in the entire Empire who could escape unscathed from this ambush.

but……

"Word of Power: A Dustless Land"

With his arms crossed over his chest and his feet firmly planted in the air, Hikaru Uchiha used a powerful repulsive field to separate Ernest and Dortya. Then, with lightning speed, he raised his right hand, his fingers slightly spread, and firmly grasped Ernest's outstretched fist, before twisting it forcefully!

click-

At that moment, Ernest's entire wrist twisted up like a pretzel, the bones and flesh inside contorting and deforming in an instant, causing him to let out a pig-like scream.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

Before Ernest could react, Uchiha Hikaru kicked out again with lightning speed, shattering Ernest's left kneecap with his toe. Then, he followed up with a twisting flying kick, sending Ernest flying and crashing heavily into the wall behind him, shattering the wall!

After doing all this.

Uchiha Hikaru soared into the sky, dark red flames condensing around him, transforming into the second form of Susanoo.

The Blood Jade Barrier also opened at the same time.

A black sun wheel emerged from behind, bringing a glimmer of light and dispelling the surrounding darkness—Word of Power: Black Sun!

Finally, the Dragon Bone Blade takes the form of a three-meter-long giant sword.

After demonstrating all his techniques, Uchiha Hikaru tilted his head and calmly looked at Ernest, who was struggling to get up: "Surprised?"

"?"

Ernest was dumbfounded.

Neither Susanoo, the Blood Orb Barrier, nor the Word of Power: Black Sun were mentioned in the information provided by Dortya. To be precise, there was also the Flying Technique. Uchiha Hikaru didn't use a single one of these abilities when dealing with Sheila!

As for the dragon bone knife...

"...This is impossible! Why hasn't your Imperial Arm been destroyed yet?!"

"Oh."

Uchiha Hikaru's lips curled slightly, her eyes blazing with fiery brilliance: "Is it possible that it's not an Imperial Arms at all?"

(End of this chapter)