You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

Even though he has a bad side to his character and is suspected to be a lustful person, but...even if Iori and the Revolutionary Army stand on opposite sides one day, Akame will probably choose to support Iori.

Just like Nadezhda who swore allegiance to Iori that day!

As for lust and such... as long as it's not too excessive... and it's not unacceptable... just think of it as sacrificing yourself for the people!

Volume 75: White Moonlight of the Seireitei: Chapter : A sharp turn for the worse

Just like a spark falling in the autumn forest, the wildfire of rebellion instantly burned across the entire empire, and its rapid development even exceeded the expectations of all those who considered themselves "chess players", including Iori.

For some things, you can only decide how to start, but you can't choose how to end.

Iori did not do anything else but just carried out his plan step by step. He originally thought that it might take some time to brew, but in just one month, he witnessed how this huge country collapsed.

Once the people's anger was ignited, the revolutionary army, the ministers, and even An Ning Dao could only go with the flow and were unable to resist the wave that destroyed everything.

Iori originally wanted to guide and interfere in the process of dynastic change, to preserve as much vitality as possible for the country and to reduce the harm to the people.

But the fact proved that no matter how much he prepared, he could not control everything. The speed of the empire's collapse even exceeded the speed at which Iori and the Revolutionary Army fought for territory...

The flashy prosperity takes thousands of years to build, but it only takes one night to be destroyed.

Fortunately, in this crazy era, the most important key nodes are still firmly controlled by Iori, allowing his plan to get back on track:

First of all, Esdeath successfully defeated the northern barbarians and resolved the battle neatly. It is estimated that there will be no need to worry about the safety of the North for a long time.

Secondly, the ministers issued orders to recruit foreign troops to the capital, and asked officials from all over the country who were loyal to the empire, or loyal to him, to send troops to the defense of the king.

Just as Iori expected, an "evil force" centered around Ernest and the puppet emperor appeared. The insects that were originally hiding in various parts of the empire have now revealed their bodies and gathered together.

Of course, there are still some who have mixed into the revolutionary army, or chosen to cooperate with An Ning Dao... But there are priorities, so let's get rid of the things on the surface first!

Originally, this chaotic situation would continue for a while, but the news of Esdeath's victory immediately touched the nerves of all parties and became the fuse for the decisive battle:

Neither the Empire nor the Revolutionary Army wants Esdeath's border troops to perish at this moment, and they are eager to end everything before the Northern Army enters the pass!

The reason is very simple. It is that to both of them, Esdeath is not "one of them", and her position is unclear, which makes her very dangerous.

Among them, the minister knew that Esdeath had split with him, but he didn't know what had happened specifically, nor could he guess what Esdeath was thinking, so he never dared to label the Northern Army as rebels. Instead, he had to reward and appease Esdeath in name.

The Revolutionary Army knew about Iori and Esdeath, but this made them very uneasy!

Because Esdeath swore an alliance directly with Iori and had nothing to do with their Revolutionary Army - as the saying goes, an ally of an ally is not my ally.

The Revolutionary Army had wanted to recruit Iori before, but had never succeeded. The relationship between the two sides was just a mutually beneficial one, and this friendship was not worth mentioning in the face of actual conflicts of interest.

Although Iori had no other ideas, the top leaders of the Revolutionary Army were very wary of him.

In their opinion, if the Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Army are in a stalemate, then Iori will most likely lead Esdeath's elite troops south and reap the benefits!

Nadezhda repeatedly told her colleagues that Iori would not do this - because there was no need, but it was obvious that the top leaders of the Revolutionary Army did not believe her.

In order to contain Esdeath's Northern Legion, they specially contacted the foreign ethnic groups and asked them to attack in advance.

That’s right, the northern ethnic minorities and the revolutionary army are actually allies!

This war, originally intended to be against the Empire, was launched for completely different reasons.

If the situation develops normally, the empire will collapse rapidly, the logistical supply of the Northern Legion will definitely be affected, and Esdeath will definitely be caught in a tough battle and entangled with the alien army for a long time.

By the time she pulled her hand away, the Revolutionary Army and the Empire would have already decided the outcome, leaving her and Iori no chance to intervene.

——But Esdeath is too fast!

No one expected that a legion war involving hundreds of thousands of people would be over in less than a month!

If we exclude the time for mobilizing troops and traveling, the actual fighting would probably have only lasted a few days... Hundreds of thousands of troops of the foreign ethnic group were gone just like that!

Even if there are hundreds of thousands of pigs, it’s not that easy to catch them!

This overly clean and neat victory shocked everyone. Even Iori, who knew the plot in advance, was impressed by Esdeath's high efficiency.

Now everyone is afraid of her fate, so they must seize the center as soon as possible and use the grand momentum to fight against Esdeath. If it doesn't work, they can still promise to give her the land and make her king!

In this way, a war in a distant frontier changed the entire situation. The revolutionary army gathered a large army to attack the imperial capital. Ernest appointed General Budd as marshal to lead the troops to suppress the rebellion.

At the same time, the gendarmerie unit [Wild Hounds] frantically captured spies and undercover agents in the imperial capital, while [Night Raids] attacked everywhere to assassinate the corrupt nobles of Ernest's faction.

It's like throwing a few ice cubes into boiling oil, the heat and oil explode instantly~

But when Iori led his men all the way to the imperial capital, it was no longer as prosperous as before. The tall city walls were filled with crossbows and cannons, and all kinds of city defense equipment such as rolling logs and stones were available. Well-equipped soldiers traveled through the corridors inside the city walls to transport supplies, and everything seemed orderly.

The Millennium Empire still had some foundation. Bud's Guards were definitely elite soldiers. Relying on the city's defense fortifications, even ten times the number of troops would not be able to capture it. The imperial capital had become a huge armed fortress!

"It's useless to just pile up lives. We need an imperial weapon to open a gap in the defense line." Iori made the conclusion after just one look from a distance.

Siege warfare has always been a big problem in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad. It is the nightmare of all commanders to be unable to capture a fortified city!

This has little to do with the strength of your military strategy. A fortress with sufficient supplies, solid defenses, and a willing army can be defended forever. No matter how high your commander value is, you have to honestly fill it with lives, or simply take a detour~

It is not uncommon for famous generals and commanders to suffer defeat in siege battles... There is nothing much to say.

However, there is another option in "Zanaki", which is to use the imperial weapon user to open up the situation.

An armor-type imperial weapon that combines mobility and defense like [Devil's Haunting] can play a huge tactical value in this situation!

So it is easy to guess what the Revolutionary Army will do next:

"It seems that the next target of the [Night Raid] is General Budd."

Iori looked at the walls of the imperial capital for a long time, and then he said to himself, "So what should I do?"

Volume 76: The White Moonlight of the All-Seireitei: Chapter : Marrying One Is Equal to Marrying All

What on earth is Lord Aizen thinking about? The black-haired young man Will stood five meters behind Iori, staring at his back in a daze.

Ever since the minister officially fell out with him, Iori told his real name to all his subordinates and told them that they were free to come and go. If they didn't want to follow him and become rebels against the empire, they could just take their travel expenses and leave.

The samurai naturally set their sights on Iori, the two Rakshasa demons and the imperial tool users also chose to stay. Even the folk heroes who came from all over the place ignored the so-called emperor's edict and wanted order, and were determined to follow Iori.

And even though Iori's direct subordinates only have 300 to 400 people now, that's because small-scale troops are more convenient to move. If he wants to increase his troops, he can always raise a team of tens of thousands of people, but Iori already has Esdeath's army under his command, so there is no point in doing so.

Among his direct subordinates, some received his kindness, some gained fame and fortune from him, some worshipped his power, and some had a combination of several emotions...

Among them, Will and Mr. Fashion are the most special two.

Mr. Fashion has been with Iori for a long time, and he knows how unfathomable this mysterious masked man is. He can also vaguely feel Iori's attitude towards him, so he is afraid that if he shows any signs of disobedience, he will be killed by Iori...so he behaves very low-key and obedient.

Will is the only one among everyone who has no "handle".

He is a passionate young man and a bachelor. He has neither much ambition nor desire. He is just a simple and honest young man and no one can control him.

And Iori's method of conquering him is also the most traditional:

Nothing special, just let it happen naturally.

These passionate young people will easily develop a sense of companionship and be easily fooled as long as they spend a long time together and experience a few intense battles.

What's more, following Iori to various states and counties, Will greatly broadened his horizons, witnessed all kinds of tragedies, and was moved time and time again. He had long been dissatisfied with the darkness of the empire.

When Iori was wanted, he hesitated for a short while before deciding to stay with Iori.

“I just want to follow you and give out money, and see them (ordinary people) laugh.”

——Welsh.

But putting aside his simple sense of justice, Will himself had no interest in politics and had never tried to learn about it. He even thought that Iori was a cadre of the Revolutionary Army, so he was surprised that Iori did not join the main force.

This revolutionary army is quite large. If you observe it from the sky, you will find that the revolutionary army has set up camps in all directions, with large and small camps scattered around. They have completed the siege of the imperial capital. It seems that in order to prevent the little emperor from escaping, they want to block all the important figures here and solve the problem at one time.

On a huge battlefield with hundreds of thousands of people, Iori and his few hundred men were not very conspicuous.

However, if we compare their fighting power, Iori and others are definitely the "strongest in the world"!

"Lord Aizen, a siege is a huge drain on both sides. The longer it takes, the more things will go wrong. We should break through the gates of the imperial capital as soon as possible and put an end to all this."

Will said generously: "They didn't have the ability to forcefully attack the city before, but now we are here, it's time to launch a general attack!"

Really active this time - after hearing what was said, Iori turned around and looked at Will, a little surprised.

"You're not usually so belligerent. Why are you a little different today?"

"After all, as long as we capture the imperial capital, the war will basically be over."

Will looked much more mature than when he first met Iori, and he had obviously grown a lot.

"A siege is a long torture. Nothing is more important to the people than peace. If there is a chance to completely overthrow the empire, we must try our best no matter what!

My [Noble Chariot] is perfect for use in siege warfare... Perhaps this is the mission bestowed upon me by God!"

"You make a good point."

Iori patted the young man on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Don't worry, the war will end soon. I will not let the people suffer too much, and I will never let go of the culprits who caused all this.

——This is my promise to you as a boss and a friend, Will.

And, if nothing unexpected happens, I think someone will come to me and ask for help soon.”

This point needs no explanation. Just look at how many Imperial Tool Users and Minister Tool Users gathered here and you will understand. The Revolutionary Army may have to gather all the strong men except for the [Night Raid] together to compete with Iori's team. How could they ignore this elite force?

Now, in order to attack the imperial capital, they must break the outer defense line, and this requires facing General Budd, the "strongest in the empire". Only by getting rid of this man can the revolutionary army's imperial weapon users have room to play.

The Revolutionary Army's first choice is of course [Night Raid], but at the same time they will not forget their "ally" Iori. If they can kill Bud while consuming the power of Iori's men... it's simply the best of both worlds!

However, they also have concerns, that is, the previous incident of instigating foreign races to attack Esdeath... They don't know how much Iori knows about this.

If Iori had seen through the series of plans of the top leaders, it would be normal for him to break with the Revolutionary Army in anger.

Therefore, you must first figure out his attitude problem, and then decide what price you are willing to pay to appease his dissatisfaction.

As expected by Iori, the revolutionary army soon sent a special envoy to contact him. After some probing, they found that Iori had no intention of breaking the alliance and did not mention the war in the north. The special envoy immediately became much calmer and directly stated his purpose.

Their request was also simple. They mainly needed Iori's help with two things:

One is to send people to cooperate with [Night Raid] to assassinate General Budd, and the other is to use "Dimensional Phalanx Shangri-La" to transfer a death squad of the revolutionary army to the imperial capital and open a gap in the defense line from the inside.

These two things are difficult to say, but they are very simple for Iori, who can do it with a wave of his hand. However, he did not agree immediately, but remained silent for a long time, as if he was worried about something, which made the special envoy particularly anxious.

Finally, after repeated persuasion from the special envoy, Iori reluctantly agreed, but also put forward a condition:

He has no problem helping, but he cannot fully trust the Revolutionary Army. He is worried that his subordinates will be used as cannon fodder, so he asks the Revolutionary Army to send a "hostage" as a sign of sincerity.

"Okay." The envoy thought this was a reasonable request. "Who do you think is more suitable?"

"I don't know many people in the Revolutionary Army... There's a girl called Chelsi, send her over."

"Chelsea?" The envoy hesitated for a moment. "It's difficult. She is also a very important fighter. Can we replace her with someone else?"

Although Chelsea's own combat power is very low, her imperial weapon is particularly suitable for assassination. She is a killer on the same level as Akame. Naturally, the Revolutionary Army is reluctant to take her as a hostage - what if she ends up being used against a weak opponent?

"It's difficult?" Iori nodded, "Then don't do it!"

"what?"

"I don't think this plan has a high chance of success. Let's wait for my subordinate Esdeath to arrive from the North, and then have a decisive battle."

The envoy broke out in a cold sweat on the spot: "What a coincidence! I remembered that Chelsea has no mission recently, so she can be transferred over. It will be absolutely no problem!"

"That's good. I want her help with something else." Iori found it funny to see the huge contrast between this person's performance before and after.

Are these guys so afraid of Esdeath? But they don't seem to be that afraid of me...

After thinking about it, Iori found the key to the problem:

The difference between him and Esdeath is that he has never demonstrated the ability to attack over a large range and indiscriminately.

Imperial weapon users like Esdeath and Bud can change the weather and extend their abilities to cover the entire imperial capital. On the battlefield, they are like moving natural disasters that cannot be resisted by any human power.

Although Iori has clearly defeated Esdeath, according to various intelligence reports, his individual combat capabilities are extremely high, but he does not have the ability to annihilate over a large area, and his threat to large-scale armies is not that high.

Of course, what the Revolutionary Army thinks has nothing to do with Iori. He just needs to achieve his goal. Now that he has obtained the [Gaia Foundation], his plan has an extra guarantee, and... maybe he can even have some fun.

It would be a waste to only use the ever-changing imperial tool for assassination. We should develop more new uses for it.

Isn’t there a saying that goes: Mystique’s husband is the happiest man in the world.

Volume 77: The White Moonlight of the Seireitei: Chapter : Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Are You Feeling Aroused! (Two in One)

For Chelsea, being suddenly transferred to Iori's command as a "liaison officer" was a very unexpected personnel appointment, and she did not expect that when she and Iori met again, the other party's identity would have changed so much.

The first collaboration between the two parties was when Iori, Chelsea and others designed Sheila together. Not only did they capture the minister's son alive, but they also obtained the space imperial tool [Shangri-La].

At the time, Iori was still a bounty hunter, at the top of the Empire's wanted list, and he came across as an extremely mysterious lone wolf.

But in just less than a year, Iori has completed the triple jump from bounty hunter, imperial general, to masked death god, from a lone wolf to a rebel leader, and his influence is no less than that of the Revolutionary Army.

Chelsea is a very shrewd woman. She knows that Iori and the Revolutionary Army are only nominal allies and actually have a deep rift between them. She was transferred to Iori's side on purpose. It must be that the two sides reached some deal, and she is like an "insurance money".

To be honest, after working diligently for the revolutionary army for so many years, Chelsea was used as a bargaining chip. She had a lot of complaints in her heart.