Raven-kun and I continued to pummel the Ghouls into the ground.
None of their bodies were disintegrating yet. As I suspected, these were fresh specimens.
Capture them!
Hah-hah-hah!
“My Lord! Please focus on commanding!” Raven-kun scolded me.
Oh, come on, Raven-kun wants to get his hands dirty too, doesn't he? Yes, the beauty of manual labor is truly wonderful.
“Raven-kun! Finish them off!”
I smashed through a wall with that Wooden Sword (though I never actually claimed it was made of wood). I yanked the cables out from inside the structure and used them to wrap the enemies up like cocoons. Then, I handed the remaining cables to the Knights guarding me and had them bind the rest.
“As expected of my Lord! That was beyond human capabilities!”
I couldn't tell if that was a compliment or a jab, but I decided to take it as the former.
I took a breather while waiting for the reinforcements to arrive. Since my Combat Suit was getting incredibly stuffy, I tapped the controls to vent the air and exhaust the moisture.
“Phew... I’m back among the living.”
...I was starving.
What should I eat when I get back? I needed protein.
That steamed chicken I used to eat at the Chinese Dining Hall in the academy colony was so good. It wasn't quite Khao Man Gai or Bang Bang Chicken. It was that one dish topped with an oily salt sauce.
Maybe I should try making it? I didn't know the name of the dish or the recipe, though. Kevin or Nina-san would probably know. Maybe.
Ah, I wanted gyoza, too. Should I make gyoza? Yeah, gyoza. (My thoughts were becoming increasingly incoherent.)
While I was spacing out, I spotted Raven-kun’s Combat Suit. He came crashing through a wall, clearly having been sent flying by an attack.
I identified the culprit immediately. It was an Intelligence Agent who had smashed through the wall right behind him, delivering a flying kick.
“Lo—Lord! Please be careful!!!”
Raven-kun slammed into the floor. I immediately forced my brain into Combat Mode.
Gyoza! No! Not that!
Meat!
Argh! It wouldn't leave the corner of my mind!
“You’re Leo Kamishiro, aren't you?!”
The man was wearing what appeared to be a Combat Suit, but perhaps because we were inside a ship, he wasn't wearing a helmet. He had short hair and a face like a slab of rock. One look told me he was a professional martial artist.
Even our Raven-kun was Ace Class. To take him down with a kick powerful enough to demolish a wall... there was no way he hadn't modified his body with technology. In other words, he didn't look like a fresh patient.
I ignored the man and barked out orders.
“Prioritize Raven-kun’s treatment. I’ll deal with this one.”
The moment I spoke, the man charged at me with everything he had. He gripped a Greatsword—commonly known as a Blue Dragon Sword—and slashed at me without mercy.
But I lived for this kind of thing.
I fought back with my Wooden Sword.
Right, left, right.
I swatted every strike away. I didn't even bother to parry. Because...
“Hiyahhhhhhhhh!!!”
A sidekick came flying. I knew that was coming.
I dodged the kick and went for a leg sweep. However, the opponent anticipated it, jumping back to create distance.
“Leo Kamishiro! We will not let you take over our Mainland!”
“Ah... right. So the Mainland really is the Taikyoku Nation Home Planet.”
There was no reply. I must have hit the bullseye.
Hmm, he didn't seem like an idiot. What was this feeling? It was as if the management of individual terminals wasn't quite thorough. In Zork's case, it was a Central Dictatorship governed by an absolute being called Mother, but I felt like the Ghouls' central control was a bit more lax.
No, wait. Was that right?
“Is it possible the Ghouls are actually a single existence?”
The enemy fell silent. Maybe they were clones that shared knowledge? And they used the patients' brains for auxiliary processing. That would explain why they turned into idiots as soon as the symptoms progressed and the body began to fail. This man’s symptoms were likely advanced as well. He might even be dead already, just under the illusion that he was still alive.
“No matter what you do, you can't win. I already know your plan, and once I rescue Prince Min, I'll go public with the truth. You don't have many options left.”
“What kind of options?”
What a moron. Letting him hear this was the plan all along. He was falling right into my trap.
“You should just kill Prince Min before I can save him. If I fail to rescue him, the Empire’s claims won't have any credibility.”
“...I just have to kill Min.”
“You think we're not watching? If you do, I'll provide proof that you murdered him. On the other hand, killing me would be a great move. The Empire would withdraw from this sector immediately. My inner circle would collapse, and there probably wouldn't be an imperial invasion for another hundred years. Latarnia and the Ogre God Nation would be crippled by economic damage for a while, too. How about it? Why don't you take the 'Kill Me' challenge?”
The moment the suggestion left my lips, the look in the man's eyes shifted. He lunged, aiming a lethal slash at my throat.
It was exactly as I had predicted. And even though I moved second, I was faster.
“Hmph!”
I charged. I drove a thrust directly into his throat, using the momentum to blast him backward. It was the same kind of 'unreasonable attack' Katori-sensei used to subject me to constantly.
He couldn't even manage a scream. The man flew backward in a straight line and became embedded in the ship's wall.
Weak, weak, weak!
“Well, that’s assuming you can actually finish me off. Tie him up.”
I gave the command to my vassals, and that was that. Idiot! You should have realized that killing me is an Impossible Game!
Then, I delivered the finishing blow.
“Fairy, were you recording that?”
“Perfectly, sir!”
The evidence was steadily piling up. This was material I could use for political maneuvering even if the rescue mission failed. I fully intended to save Prince Min, but even if I didn't, I would make sure the Taikyoku Nation paid dearly!
It would be much better to have Prince Min become the Emperor and build a friendly relationship with the Empire, though. But in this business, it's vital to always assume the worst.
By the way...
“Why are you all looking at me like you just saw your favorite Sports Club Senior pull off a Super Play?”
The Retainers were staring at me with such intense, passionate gazes. It was stifling!
“Because it was the heroic display of our respected Lord!”
Ah, right... Even though I purposely tried to act like a loser around them, it clearly wasn't working. Well, whatever. I decided to stop thinking about it.
Alright, back to the Prince Min Rescue Operation.
You can win as long as you kill me.
I had successfully implanted that idea into the Ghouls' heads. This was the Art of Target Dispersion. With this, the time limit on Prince Min's life had been extended. Now, as long as I kept rampaging and bleeding the resources of the Ghouls and the Taikyoku Nation, the chances of the prince being caught would keep dropping.
Fuhahaha!
Taste the ruthlessness of the Empire! We’re experts at brawling with non-human freaks like you!