Through Gozuki's account, Haruki and the others got a clear sense of what had happened that day.
As expected, the truth wasn't far from what Haruki had already guessed.
It had occurred about a week ago. The day itself had started out like any other.
Around dusk, Gozuki had returned from training in the forest with Akame, Cornelia, Najasho, Green, and Guy. Staying overnight in the forest was extremely dangerous—powerful Danger Beasts were known to roam freely after dark.
After a full day of grueling training, everyone was mentally and physically drained. It was around dinnertime, the most relaxed part of the day for the group.
And that's when it happened.
The attack came suddenly and with terrifying precision—whoever the enemy was, they knew the unit's routine inside and out.
Just as they were about to start a fire to cook, a storm of flaming arrows came raining down on the village, catching both Gozuki's group and the villagers completely off guard.
Although Gozuki's team were all elite, battle-hardened assassins, the ambush was too abrupt. In the chaos, everyone except Gozuki sustained varying degrees of injury. While none were fatal, the wounds seriously impacted their ability to fight.
If trained assassins were caught off guard, it wasn't hard to imagine what happened to the unarmed villagers. Most were either shot dead on the spot or burned alive when their homes went up in flames. Only a small number managed to escape, and even those were mostly injured.
But the nightmare didn't end there.
Right after the arrow barrage, Gozuki and the remaining survivors saw a massive army closing in on them.
Faced with this, Gozuki—once one of the Four Rakshasa Demons and a long-time instructor of the Assassination Unit—reacted immediately. He ordered everyone to split up and try to break through the encirclement. At the same time, to protect the most elite members of the unit—Akame and the others—he commanded the rest of the stationed assassins to stay behind and hold off the enemy.
In the end, Gozuki's team managed to escape, but the Assassination Unit was virtually wiped out. During the retreat, Cornelia had suffered fatal injuries while covering Akame's escape. If Haruki hadn't shown up in time, she would've died for sure.
As for the villagers, they weren't so fortunate. After barely surviving the flaming arrows, they were immediately surrounded by the allied forces of the foreign tribes and the Revolutionary Army.
And those troops had come with no intention of leaving survivors. From the start, they aimed to eliminate every witness and cover up the fact that they had targeted innocent civilians.
It's important to understand—the Revolutionary Army had grown so rapidly because of the banner they flew: for the people, for justice.
With the Prime Minister now controlling the Empire and the young Emperor acting as a puppet, honest officials were either suppressed or eliminated. Corruption had become the norm. In fact, it had gotten to the point where not being corrupt meant being ostracized or persecuted. Imperial officials, from the capital to the provinces, were squeezing the common people dry—through brutal taxes, forced labor, and military drafts. In some regions, it had gotten so bad that there were even reports of people resorting to cannibalism just to survive. Every year, countless citizens starved to death.
In such a bleak reality, the Revolutionary Army emerged. They claimed to fight for the people, to bring down the corrupt Empire, and restore peace. They called themselves the embodiment of justice. And with the population suffering, many clung to that hope. They joined the Revolutionary Army, believing they were fighting for a noble cause.
But what those people didn't realize was this—there's no such thing as noble politics. The leadership of the Revolutionary Army was nothing more than a pack of ruthless schemers, willing to sacrifice anyone for their own ambitions.
They knew well—ordinary people were the easiest to deceive. As long as you fed them and put on a show of "serving the people," they'd follow you without question, even lay down their lives.
But that day, in their bid to completely wipe out the Assassination Unit, the Revolutionary Army showed no mercy. They turned their blades on innocent villagers. And afterward, to keep their crimes hidden, they slaughtered every last civilian in the village—leaving no survivors.
The village where the unit was stationed was large, home to at least a thousand people. Yet not a single soul was spared by the foreign tribes and the so-called righteous Revolutionary Army. Not even the elderly or the children were shown mercy. To erase all evidence, those monsters even set fire to the place, burning the entire village to the ground.
What happened after that was exactly what Haruki and the others had seen for themselves.
After hearing Gozuki's account, Haruki and the women around him looked grim.
"Brother, those Revolutionary Army bastards... they're awful. Those villagers were all good people."
Nina stood beside Haruki, her voice filled with anger. The others nodded in agreement, faces tight with fury.
"Yeah. Don't worry. I'll make sure those villagers are avenged. As for those self-righteous liars—I'll make them pay."
As he gently patted Nina's head, Haruki spoke to the group in a calm, comforting tone. His voice carried a quiet strength that settled their hearts.
But none of them noticed the sharp, cold light flickering in Haruki's eyes.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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