"No, although the fight wasn't long, I feel like this guy isn't the Wood we know at all!"
After hearing Bulat's remark, Akame, who had been silent until now, climbed out from the rubble of shattered stones and spoke.
Akame, like Bulat, was a battle-hardened warrior. However, compared to Bulat, she shared a closer similarity with Wood in terms of being an exceptional swordsman, allowing her to perceive things more acutely.
In her past encounters with Wood, she not only felt his overwhelming oppressive strength but also the sharp and intimidating presence of his swordsmanship. Yet, when facing this "Wood," she felt none of that.
True, the opponent's speed and strength were exceptional, and even their technique bore a striking resemblance to Wood's.
But resemblance is all it was—imitation can never reach the original's heights.
Moreover, Wood's terrifying sword energy was beyond compare. Why had this opponent not used it even once so far?
It might have been a coincidence for one person to notice, but with both Akame and Bulat—battle-hardened experts—asserting that this wasn't the real Wood, Tatsumi and Lubbock started to believe it too.
"Tch, so you figured it out, huh? I suppose that's to be expected from comrades who once fought side by side with him."
Dr. Stylish smirked arrogantly as he introduced his masterpiece. "But so what? While this isn't your comrade Wood, I've already integrated his combat data into this creation."
"Now, he possesses the same combat skills as your Wood, and he even wields the Imperial Arm Winter Knight. This is a being that can fight General Esdeath head-on and remain evenly matched. What makes you think you lot can defeat him?"
As Dr. Stylish described his modified version of Wood, his face brimmed with pride. In his view, his creation had already surpassed the original Wood. The others were merely ignorant, incapable of appreciating the brilliance of his work.
Humans have emotions, fears of death, and a sense of pain, whereas modified humans do not. Compared to fragile human bodies, the physique of a modified human was far superior, unaffected by injuries or weakening in combat.
Stylish believed his creation, equipped with Wood's skills and the Winter Knight Imperial Arm, coupled with the innate advantages of being a modified human, was undoubtedly stronger than the original Wood.
However, as Dr. Stylish basked in the satisfaction of his ultimate creation, Bulat, Akame, and the others' reactions left him annoyed.
Upon learning that the young man in front of them was merely a modified human and not the real Wood, Bulat and the others visibly relaxed.
Part of the relief stemmed from the possibility that Wood might still be alive. Another reason was that, knowing this was a mere counterfeit, its threat level was significantly reduced.
"A hollow imitation, strong in appearance but weak in essence. Don't underestimate true warriors! Something soulless like this could never be our match."
Bulat's words instantly raised Dr. Stylish's anger to its peak, as the evaluation mirrored Esdeath's prior critique.
Stylish couldn't understand what they meant by a "true warrior," but he dismissed them as nothing more than muscle-brained fools who relied on brute strength in combat.
"Kill them all! Wipe them out!"
Initially intending to capture Tatsumi and the others alive for further experiments, Stylish changed his mind. He wanted to show them the true power of his greatest creation.
The modified Wood charged forward and slashed at Tatsumi. But now that Tatsumi knew the figure before him was just an ordinary modified human and not the real Wood, he became much calmer. Instead of dodging, he met the attack head-on.
In the ensuing exchange of blows, Tatsumi was quickly overwhelmed. However, Bulat and Akame immediately intervened to cover him.
Faced with two of Night Raid's strongest fighters, the modified Wood, armed with Wood's combat skills, still held his ground. Yet, he failed to notice someone had been concealing their presence since the beginning.
As Akame and Bulat engaged the modified Wood, their movements subtly guided him towards a particular spot. Meanwhile, Tatsumi turned his attention to Dr. Stylish, engaging him in a fierce fight to prevent any interference.
"This is nothing but an empty shell with strength and skills. Without self-awareness or the ability to adapt its tactics, it can only rigidly follow a preset sequence of moves. Why should we fear such an enemy?"
Akame and Bulat coordinated their attacks seamlessly. Since the modified Wood's combat style followed predictable patterns with no variation, the two quickly adapted to his routine.
One of them would feint an attack, forcing the modified Wood into a predictable defensive maneuver, while the other exploited the opening to land a strike.
Normally, an opponent would adjust their fighting style after suffering from such predictable tactics. Unfortunately, the modified Wood lacked the logical thinking to adapt and could only battle according to its programming.
For every type of attack, it relied on a specific counter programmed into its database. This rigid, mechanical style of fighting quickly turned it into a plaything for Akame and Bulat.
"To be fair, Wood's combat skills are truly formidable, even if this is just a hollow imitation. Despite what I said earlier, I don't think I could defeat this thing one-on-one," Bulat admitted with a wry smile.
His remark reflected the reality of the situation. Even as he and Akame attacked in tandem—one feinting and the other striking—they managed to land successful hits on the modified Wood only about 30% of the time.
Wood's reaction speed and combat prowess were so exceptional that even when his body was momentarily stiff from blocking one attack, he could still fend off the follow-up strike.
Combined with the Winter Knight's formidable defense and the modified human's tireless endurance, Bulat and Akame acknowledged that facing this opponent alone would have been nearly impossible.
Even as the two pressed their advantage, the battle remained a grueling stalemate. Akame's Murasame was a reliable weapon, but Bulat's Lionel Spear was a self-damaging weapon that drained his stamina the longer the fight dragged on.
After an intense struggle, they finally succeeded in driving the modified Wood into a trap Lubbock had prepared earlier.
Sensing the danger, the modified Wood attempted to use Winter Knight to create ice barriers to shield itself from Lubbock's Cross Tail steel threads. However, Bulat was already prepared. With his high-frequency vibrating spear, he shattered the newly-formed ice wall in one blow.
"You fight like a machine, but we're not like you. Don't think the same trick will work twice!"
Crack!
The vibrating spear smashed through the ice, sending shards scattering through the air. Without the barrier, Cross Tail's threads quickly ensnared the modified Wood, suspending it in midair.
A flash of cold light sliced through the air. Akame leapt down, blade gleaming, and struck. Blood sprayed as the modified Wood's head was severed, and the Winter Knight reverted to its original longsword form. Akame retrieved it, intending to return it to its rightful owner—Wood.
Meanwhile, Tatsumi and Leone, along with the others, concluded their battle. With the help of Sheele, they located and destroyed the core of the bio-type Imperial Arm Hundred-Armed Giant, ending their fight in a decisive victory.
Tatsumi's fight against the drug-enhanced Dr. Stylish was initially even. However, after witnessing his ultimate masterpiece being slain by Akame and the others, Dr. Stylish fell into despair. In that moment of vulnerability, Tatsumi seized the opportunity and pierced his heart with a single strike, ending his life.
With this, three members of the Jaegers had been lost: Seryu and Dr. Stylish on one side, and Bols, who had been assassinated by Wood and his group, on the other.
"Boom!"
The news of Bols, Seryu, and Dr. Stylish's deaths sent Esdeath into a fury.
While Bols death could be understood—given the circumstances, any member would likely have suffered the same fate if ambushed—she found Seryu and Dr. Stylish's deaths utterly foolish.
Esdeath was particularly enraged because they had known about the remaining Night Raid members' movements in advance but chose to keep it to themselves. Their arrogance and desire to capture the enemy in one fell swoop ultimately led to their deaths.
If Dr. Stylish had simply reported the situation in time, none of the Night Raid members would have escaped in the absence of Susanoo and Wood. But Stylish, overconfident in his creations, had made a fatal mistake, leading to such a disastrous outcome.
The Night Raid hideout had already been destroyed, and finding them again within the empire would not be an easy task. Esdeath had already defeated and incapacitated Najenda, and their base had been obliterated, yet she felt no sense of victory. Instead, she felt frustrated, as though she was being countered at every turn. This infuriated her to no end.
"The key to bols's Iron Bind is missing, and Dr. Stylish's Winter Knight has been reclaimed. This means that person has fully recovered to their peak strength."
"For now, the three of you will act together. This way, even if you encounter him, you won't be completely powerless to fight back."
"As for me, it's time to get serious about hunting. Assassination isn't exclusive to Night Raid. If they won't come out of hiding, I'll use other methods to force them into the open!"
Esdeath's anger had reached a boiling point due to Night Raid's strategy of systematically assassinating isolated members of the Jaegers. Determined to turn the tables, she decided to abandon everything else and personally take up the hunt.
While the Jaegers were superior in raw power, Night Raid's advantage lay in their ability to hide, operating like executioners under the cover of darkness. Finding the scattered members of Night Raid wouldn't be easy, but forcing them to reveal themselves wasn't impossible.
Esdeath first made a trip to the royal palace. When she emerged, she was holding a list in her hands—a compilation of names and information on several high-ranking leaders of the Revolutionary Army, obtained from the Prime Minister.
Despite the empire's corruption, it had stood for over a thousand years and still retained a strong foundation. The intelligence division, though tainted by the regime's rot, was still formidable.
While the empire had long possessed this list of Revolutionary Army leaders, these individuals were heavily protected. Assassination attempts were regularly made but always ended in failure.
The most successful assassin in recent memory was Akame, one of the empire's elite Seven Killers. However, even she had failed to assassinate Najenda and was successfully turned to the Revolutionary Army's side.
After Akame's defection, the empire lacked a skilled assassin capable of carrying out such missions. As a result, the list had been left unused.
When Esdeath approached the Prime Minister for this information, he was initially stunned but soon beamed with joy.
He had once considered sending Esdeath to eliminate these Revolutionary Army leaders but had refrained due to her unwillingness to be commanded and her disdain for weaker opponents. Her sudden interest, however, was a delightful surprise for the Prime Minister.
For all the hatred he bore for Night Raid, their actions had unexpectedly helped him by forcing Esdeath into this position. She was now prepared to take matters into her own hands.
The Prime Minister, though outwardly greedy and corrupt, was no fool. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become the true power behind the empire.
To him, Night Raid had never been a significant concern. Crushing them was merely a way to appease the noble factions within his circle.
The Revolutionary Army, however, was the real threat—a thorn in his side. If Esdeath could eliminate their leadership, the remaining forces would crumble into disarray, and the empire could easily crush them.
Without the Revolutionary Army as a backbone, Night Raid would be nothing more than a joke. How could a handful of assassins hope to shake the thousand-year-old empire?