The Collection of The End

Imperial City, Arena Lounge.

Amidst the somewhat noisy conversation, Kiriko pulled Tatsu aside to criticize.

"Didn't we agree to go out in the first round of the finals? What do you want to do by winning first place? Now we can't leave even if we want to."

"Are you embarrassed to talk about me? Who is ranked fourth?"

"Who knew the opponent would be so weak!"

"..."

"..."

Tazmi and Kiriko looked at each other for a moment, then turned their heads.

Really, Lubbock was enjoying himself and didn't even consider how troublesome he was.

How could he stay when there was a girl who was going to kill someone if he disagreed with her and muttering something like, "Whoever can beat Tazmi should be qualified to be adopted as the 'eighth room'"? hand?

Tazmi very much doubted that if he stopped in the top eight, Black Eyes would be able to kill all the top eight... Although he was not sure if the others had any means of saving their lives, he didn't dare to bet.

The identity of a "slightly more powerful country bumpkin" is usually not taken seriously. It doesn't matter if you enter the finals and don't accept the empire's recruitment, but if you are regarded as a companion of a "murderous Emperor's Arms user", you may be transferred to another country. There will be a wanted notice on your head.

"Ha... are you worried that your boyfriend will be attracted by the prosperity of the imperial capital and change his mind in the end?" Not far away, a gentle male voice sounded: "Don't worry, I think Tazmi is a good and responsible man."

"He/She is not my boyfriend/girlfriend!" Tongzi and Tazmi turned around to retort in unison.

"That's right." The owner of the gentle male voice responded with a smile.

"..." Tongzi glared at Tazmi and turned away.

He acted really well...

"Well, Mr. Lanrun," Tazmi scratched her head: "Is it dangerous to try the Teigu? I think she is worried about this."

This is a gentle young man with a thin body, wearing a light blue traditional Northeastern ethnic costume, with long light blond hair tied into thick braids, with soft facial features, green eyes, and a bookish air about him.

Although he doesn't seem to have much force value, when fighting against others, he is like a willow leaf in the wind, and his figure is erratic. Often, before the opponent can find the person, Lan has already put a short knife on his neck, and he has to Throw in the towel.

According to gossip from other contestants, he seemed to be the fiancé of a female eunuch from a certain province in the Northeast. He planned to bring a Teigu back during this trip so that she would no longer worry about the province's lack of high-end combat power.

Being praised as a "good man" by such an outstanding man, Tazmi even felt a little ashamed of herself.

"Normally not, unless when you see the Teigu, your first impression of it is 'ugly' or 'useless' or something like that. In that case, it's best not to try it, otherwise it will probably give you a taste of it." Lan Answer Tazmi's question gently.

"There are no useless Teigu, only incompetent Teigu users." Tazmi responded without hesitation.

The originally noisy lounge suddenly became quiet.

The people staying in this lounge at this time were naturally the winners of the competition who were invited to join the "Hunters" and were about to try out the Teigu. Although Tazmi won first place, that was just the result of Black Eye's deliberate failure. He had never crossed paths with half the people in this room.

At this time, Zheng Heitong, with an indifferent expression, was leaning against the corner holding her sword. A black-haired boy named Will Wave, wearing a brown leather suit, was talking to a shirtless and masked strong man named Bolus. Seryu, whom he had met once, was talking with a middle-aged man wearing glasses and a white coat, who seemed to be called "Doctor Dr", with admiration on his face.

After Tazmi said these words, they all looked this way in unison.

"What...what's wrong?" Tazmi secretly thought to herself that she shouldn't have said this while pretending to be stupid: "The empire has only produced a total of forty-eight pieces of imperial equipment. Each piece must have its own application, or in other words, it is irreplaceable. How much arrogance does it take for someone to think they are smarter than the designers and craftsmen who made them?"

"That's right, Tazmi. If you have this idea, I don't think any Teigu will reject you, but this is useless to us." Lan responded with a smile.

"So, is it possible that the Teigu for us to try out is nearby? The Empire wants us to be judged by the Teigu first?" Will touched his chin and looked around.

This boy... Tazmi inexplicably felt that he was quite similar to Brand. Maybe it was his conversation, or maybe his temperament, but upon closer inspection, he couldn't tell. The only thing that was definitely similar was that the two of them fought in the same way. It's hand-to-hand combat.

"That shouldn't be the case, right?" Sai Liu fed the little fat dog at his feet with snacks on the table. "Since there are only forty-eight pieces of Teigu in total, they must be kept very seriously."

Ghost Oka's little follower... Although we had a chance encounter at the beginning, she probably didn't see her face clearly in the dark, otherwise she would have come over with a knife to kill her. Perhaps she was stimulated by Oka's incident. Now, she She is a staunch defender of the laws of the empire. She had accidentally heard before that she was participating in this tournament not because she wanted the Teigu, but because she hoped to use it to hone herself so that she could be able to punish all lawbreakers.

But she obviously doesn't understand that laws are always made by people. If the rebel army succeeds in the end, only half of the empire's existing laws will have to be revised. Where will she go then?

"Hope, there is, mask type, hiss...]" Porus said with heavy breathing.

"Then are you willing to change your mask in public?" Hei Tong looked up at him.

"Ah...this...]" Porus shook his body and twisted.

Porus... was a very tall, muscular man, dressed in short clothes. The giant bull-head mask on his face was the largest piece of clothing on his body. He was skilled in close combat and various locking techniques.

Because he was wearing a mask, he always breathed loudly when he spoke, which made it difficult to hear clearly. He had to speak word by word. However, there was one sentence he said very smoothly and easily: "Ou warriors come from Don’t take off his mask!”

At first, Tazmi even suspected that he might be a southern barbarian who really had a bull's head and was just pretending to be wearing a mask - until the mask was taken off during the battle with Heitong.

Under the bull-head mask, there was a... particularly delicate baby face. The combination with the tall and thick figure could give everyone who saw it a huge mental impact. Fortunately, it was only a rematch at the time, and not many people saw it in the melee.

"Well, this is troublesome. In fact, I would like to dismantle one or two pieces of Teigu to see how they work." The doctor adjusted his glasses.

This "Doctor" was the person Tazmi was secretly most wary of, because he never made a move during the entire process. No matter it was the preliminary round, semi-finals, or finals, his opponents all fell down and coughed up blood inexplicably and were judged to have failed. It wasn't until he met Heitong who held the sword directly to his neck that he raised his hands to express surrender.

He is likely to control some invisible things like the original Lubbock, but it takes time for them to take effect. Therefore, if you want to face him, it is correct to control him as quickly as possible. way of doing.

No... wait, among all the winners, why am I the only one who is hostile to him, and even considers how to deal with it if the two sides are hostile?

A warning from the Teigu Omnipotent Five Sights? But not when facing other people...

call--

The door of the lounge was pushed open, and a graceful female figure appeared there with Feng Xue.

At the same time, Tazmi's eyes turned cold, and "Future Vision" began to warn frantically, but it failed to "predict" any danger.

"To all the winners of the competitive competition," the woman said in a voice like the ice on the snow-capped mountains that has not melted for thousands of years: "Congratulations on gaining the qualifications to join the 'Hunters' and try out the imperial gear. In addition, the participants of this competition are The first place will also receive a mysterious prize provided by me personally.”

"Ai, Ai, General Esdeath?" Tongzi beside Tazmi whispered to him, her teeth chattering.

Don't be nervous, doesn't this make it more suspicious? Even if she is an imperial general, she doesn't know our identities.

Although I really want to say this, I should leave this kind of self-inflicted problem to others.

Tazmi just bumped Kiriko lightly, whispered "be polite", and then looked up at the woman who appeared at the door.

Is she the Imperial General? It doesn't look like...well...

It was a beautiful woman with blue hair and blue eyes, with sharp eyes and cold features. Even if she didn't show any condescending expression, she looked like a king patrolling her territory.

But that didn't matter. What really made Tazmi speechless was what she was wearing: wearing a green wreath and a pure white veil on her head, wearing a white off-shoulder top with black edges and trousers of the same style, holding a cup in her hand. A bouquet of flowers, a long white gauze hem hanging behind her - this looks like a wedding dress, right? Do imperial generals usually wear this?

Tazmi quickly glanced at the other people in the room and found that they basically had "I have never seen this before" expressions.

After recovering from the shock or amazement for a moment, Tazmi discovered that General Esdeath was walking towards her, with a look in his cold and sharp eyes that was...well...complex to the point of being completely incomprehensible.

"Future Vision" frantically warned again, but still failed to "show" anything.

Combined with the black pupil incident, this means that if I act rashly, there will be an incalculable way to die, right?

When this mission is over, you must apply for work-related injury compensation from Chitong!

"Are you Tazmi's girlfriend?" Esdeath came to Tazmi, but did not speak to him first, but looked at Tongzi standing next to him.

"..." Tongzi waved her hands repeatedly and quickly retreated. She even grabbed Porus' thick arm to express her closeness.

"You, Huchi, are too thin for my liking.]" Porus looked down at "her".

"...!" Tongzi glared at Porus for two seconds, didn't let go, and started to pinch him.

"Pfft." Black Eyes, who was leaning on the wall, laughed.

…I could laugh at this Lubbock joke for a year.

When Tazmi withdrew her gaze angrily and amusedly, she happened to meet the eyes of Esdeath, who also withdrew his gaze and had a faint smile on his face.

He actually smiles and looks a little cute...

"Do you have a brother?" Esdeath asked.

"No, I am an only child." Tazmi replied doubtfully.

"Really, this is fate," Esdeath waved her hand and threw away the bouquet, revealing what she originally held: "As the first place in the competition, you are qualified to be my husband, proudly Put it on."

"..." Tazmi's face turned green after seeing the thing clearly.

It was a golden lock the size of an ordinary person's fist, with a finger-thick silver iron chain attached to the handle. The other end of the iron chain was connected to Esdeath's wrist. Although it was made very delicately, overall It looks like the bell used to tie up the cattle.

He now really wanted to beat himself to death for thinking she was a little cute just now.

"This is the Teigu held by the empire. It gives stars to the sky, flowers to the earth, and love to people. Except for being used as a 'wedding dress of the highest standard,' no one has ever been able to exert its power," Dr. He opened his mouth and said: "Young man, didn't you just say, 'There are no useless Teigu, only incompetent Teigu users'? Why not try to use its power."

"..." Esdeath rolled her eyes and glanced at the doctor, making him silent for a moment, then turned back to look at Tazmi and continued to wait for a response.

Calm down, calm down, Tazmi thought quickly under the life-threatening warning of "Future Vision": Although this Teigu seems to be intended to allow the bride to put a lock on the groom's neck to show sovereignty, according to her own proposal The theory that "the Empire will not make useless Teigu" must not be used in this way - although this theory has not been confirmed yet.

Since it is a wedding dress, it must be for married women. The imperial gear is given and distributed by the emperor. Therefore, in addition to the married princess, the only person who will be given the wedding dress by the emperor is the queen.

If we further rule it out, the princess may have lost the imperial gear, which is unlikely. So, under what circumstances does the queen need the imperial gear?

Of course it was when the emperor had to go out to fight.

Then the correct way to activate this Teigu may be...

Tazmi took a closer look at Esdeath's strange wedding dress, and quickly found a pale gold necklace and a small lock on her neck.

This is an imperial general, a strong man who can kill himself a dozen times with just a raise of his hand...

However, rather than being chained, it is better to give it a try.

Because the function of this Teigu is likely to be——

Click.

Tazmi hung the golden lock around Esdeath's neck with her backhand.

Perhaps because he didn't expect it, or because he was confident in his own strength, Esdeath did not stop Tazmi's movements, but murderous intent began to condense in his slender and sharp blue eyes.

"I have the obligation to rule the world and start a new era, but when I met you, I almost forgot about this obligation."

Before she did anything, Tazmi spoke in a low and hoarse voice:

"Oh, what a terrible woman. It turns out that your position in my heart is as big as the world."

Esdeath was stunned.

At this moment, the images of the two people in each other's eyes were all changing rapidly. The young boy from the country and the imperial general, the mysterious traveler and the stubborn girl on the border, the desperate mandarin ducks who were frozen together and finally disappeared, died in battle and The eternal separation between life and death turned into an inhuman thing...

The final image was the handsome young man in armor with a long ponytail and the noble girl in blue skirt playing the Qiang flute by the water.

——As if I were here in person].