The Collection of The End

Imperial capital, bustling streets.

“That store is next!”

"Wait for me! Miss!"

A young girl in pink clothes and pink hair walked briskly on the street, while a young man in a guard uniform behind him was carrying a lot of bags.

Hmm, this situation seems to have happened once, even the hairstyle is similar...

Tazmi, who was pretending to be a guard, followed Ma Yin with a bag and looked around.

Although it had not been long since he last came to the emperor, his state of mind was completely different. Last time he was a country boy trying to make a name for himself here, but now he is a follower who goes shopping with the eldest lady.

……wrong!

He is an assassin who investigates the imperial capital with his companions!

Although almost all of the members of Night Raid were on wanted notices, no one would be able to identify who they were as long as they didn't take out their weapons and start fighting based on the hand-drawn stuff with rough lines and composition.

"Haha - mission accomplished." Ma Yin sat down after ordering at a drink shop and stretched herself greatly.

"No... I'm completely investigating. You're just doing some exaggerated shopping." Tazmi looked at her sideways.

"Hmph, if you don't have me as the 'eldest lady' to shop, do you think the clerks will pay attention to you?" Ma Yin glanced at him sideways.

While that was true, you really didn't do anything... Tazmi blinked and decided not to argue the topic.

There are three targets in the imperial capital for investigation this time, namely the market peace officer, the record officer and the powerful.

In the market area of ​​the imperial capital, a businessman reported to the record officer that powerful people were conducting illegal transactions. The record officer asked the sheriff to investigate, and the result of the investigation was that the spoils were unevenly distributed. The powerful person paid a fine and settled the matter, while the businessman who reported the matter He was sentenced to death row for several crimes.

After previous conversations in various stores, I can confirm that this is basically true.

In Tazmi's view, there are three ways to resolve this matter. One is to find evidence of the collusion between the Sheriff, the Recorder, and powerful people, and hand it over to more senior officials, but the senior officials who get the evidence will uphold justice. The probability... The second is to rob prison, but the businessman will not be able to return to normal life after that. As for the third, that is to kill all the sheriffs, recorders and powerful people, and others want to attack and take their places. Businessmen imprisoned unjustly are the best weapons.

Judging from the current corrupt and chaotic situation in the empire, the third option is the most feasible. It is probably because of this that Night Raid accepted this commission... How did the businessman's wife find Night Raid?

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

Tazmi was thinking when she suddenly heard the sound of carriages passing by on the road. Judging from the feedback from the road, they were all pulling heavy things.

When I looked up, I saw that dozens of large carriages were driving from the outside of the city to the palace in the center of the imperial capital, escorted by a large number of imperial soldiers. Several carriages in front carried huge cages, which contained many dejected people wearing strange uniforms. There were people, and there was a truck behind them, pulling some weapons and equipment that seemed to have been damaged and were similar in style to the clothes of the people in front.

"That is?" Tazmi asked, tilting her head.

"They are rebels captured by the empire, at least according to the propaganda." Ma Yin responded quietly.

"Propaganda..." Tazmi narrowed his eyes and looked at the prisoners carefully, and found that they looked more like ordinary farmers than soldiers.

"The rebels will not attack the imperial capital until they control all other provinces," Ma Yin responded: "But news of them will always come. In order to maintain control of the imperial capital, the minister will send troops to fight against the rebels and publicize it from time to time. A wave of his 'victories'."

"But 'just' propaganda?" Tazmi thought she understood.

"The minister did send troops to attack at the beginning, but as long as it takes a little longer, those imperial soldiers will definitely rebel," Ma Yin curled her lips: "Now I can only rely on my own false propaganda to tell the residents of the imperial capital that the rebels are all murderers. The blinking devil, the residents of the areas controlled by the rebels are living in dire straits, and just saying without evidence is not enough, so they go to arrest the people in the areas controlled by the rebels, and wear the military uniforms of the rebels casually and weapons, pretending to be victorious."

"Well..." Tazmi listened for a moment to the words of the soldiers escorting the carriage who were shouting something near the carriage, and vaguely heard the words "I have the advantage", "Victory", "Escape", "Pursue the victory", "Everything possible" "Prisoners" and other words: "Does everyone believe it?"

"Believe it, why don't you believe it? Either you are stupid enough to really believe it, or you are smart enough to pretend to believe it. Just say these arrested people. If someone loudly says: You are killing good people and taking credit for your merits. In fact, you didn't go back after a big defeat, or something like that. The rebel army far away can't save him." Ma Yin shook her head and drank up her drink. "Okay, the reconnaissance mission is completed, let's go back."

"..." Tazmi no longer wanted to refute this sentence and picked up other shopping bags resignedly.

Speaking of which, will the money spent on buying these things be included in the operational expenses?

"Next, investigating the daily movements of these three people and their home defense capabilities cannot be done by just wandering outside." Ma Yin lowered her voice: "Next, we will use members who are better at sneaking and disguise to confirm. This matter will then be taken action - the action process is basically like this."

Familiarize the newcomers with the process. Understand, Tazmi nodded, maybe Ma Yin's task today also includes her own evaluation.

"And there's—"

Buzz…

Death, death, torture, torture, detention and interrogation——

At this moment, a feeling that was already very familiar even if I didn't want to be familiar, but still completely unaccustomed to, reappeared.

Tazmi pressed her forehead and looked up at the sky with difficulty.

As expected, the black thread containing countless negative emotions fell from the sky.

Since it was daytime this time, he could clearly see that those black threads did not really come from the sky, but merely appeared from the void less than ten meters above the convoy.

These things, which look like seaweed and hair, have been extending towards their respective targets below with clear purpose since they appeared, and penetrated into the bodies of each prisoner.

Because the distance was too far, and the red eyes that seemed to be able to fight it were absent, Tazmi could only watch and try to observe what would happen if she was affected by this thing.

Although several of the guards at Aria's house were also affected, their attitudes just became strange, so it shouldn't be...

call--

A gust of wind blew by, and Tazmi blinked subconsciously, but in this literal "blink of an eye", all the cages on the carriage had disappeared, and instead, they were tied to the torture stakes one by one, covered in blood. Blood stains, tortured people, people who don’t know whether they are alive or dead.

"...You must not become like that." The second half of Ma Yin's words came belatedly.