Starting with Fireflies, Speedrun the World

Having regained some of his senses, Brand was about to get up when he saw the missile launcher in front of him and stopped.

Although he wasn't sure what it was, he felt a sense of impending death.

It's not that he's afraid of death; for his beliefs, Brand is willing to pay the price with his life without hesitation.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have become a member of Night Raid...

The main reason he stopped fighting back was that the mechanical creation in front of him didn't seem to have any intention to kill him; instead, it seemed to want to talk to him.

Without having to fight to the death, and considering the safety of Leone and Akame, he naturally wouldn't act impulsively. He wasn't one of those young lads.

"I've lost. What was that power? It was incredibly strong!"

Brand admitted defeat, and he did not lose unjustly. The mechanical creation before him was too powerful. Perhaps only the great general of the empire and Esdeath could compare to it.

Brand's heart sank at the thought of those two generals.

Could these mechanical creations before us also be weapons of the Empire? If so, then the Night Raid and the Rebel Alliance are in even greater danger.

At this moment, Brand already regarded the Swallow in front of him as a Teigu.

Ordinary mechanical creations don't possess such power; only Imperial Arms could possibly match it. As for the fact that Imperial Arms is in the form of a robot, that's perfectly normal.

In addition to various weapons and everyday items, Imperial Arms also exist for animals, humanoid creatures, and mechanical creations.

There's nothing that Imperial Arms doesn't exist, only things you can't imagine...

Currently, they know of fewer than twenty Imperial Arms, but the Empire once possessed a total of 48 Imperial Arms, half of which have been lost.

Those lucky ones might actually obtain those missing Imperial Arms.

That is the power of preservation, originating from the destiny of the Amber King...

Schwarz answered truthfully.

"Preservation? Amber King?"

What is that? A legendary dangerous species?

Just as Brand was about to continue asking questions, Clara walked over.

Looking at the barefoot girl with white hair and red eyes, Brand finally noticed that there was such a girl here.

He had been focusing all his attention on Schwarz.

What's going on with this girl?

However, before he could think too much about it, he quickly figured it out.

“Mr. Schwarz…”

The girl walked to Swallow's side, looking at Brand in front of her, then at Akame and Leone beside him. She hadn't expected to subdue these three so easily!

At this point, we had a general understanding of the strength of the Imperial Arms users.

Although there are no weak Imperial Arms, only weak Imperial Arm users, the power of an Imperial Arm often depends on the user's talent.

For example, if a demon is possessed by Tatsumi, it can evolve a second or third time, relying on his will.

However, Akame and the other two also represent the power of Teigu users under normal circumstances, even if they haven't used their Teigu's trump cards or secret techniques...

In short, it seems that apart from those few Imperial Arms with bizarre abilities, there's nothing to worry about for the other Imperial Arms users.

Even those strange Imperial Arms will be fine as long as they are protected by the Guardian.

Clara.

Upon seeing Clara approach, Swallow immediately displayed a side that shouldn't be seen in mechanical beings.

The appearance of an old father...

"..."

Brand was surprised by Schwarz's reaction. Could this mechanical creation called Schwarz be the Teigu of this seemingly weak little girl in front of him?

I was actually defeated by the Imperial Arms of such a little girl...

“Mr. Brand, I have something I want to say to you…”

Clara held Schwarz's hand with one hand, then looked at Brand with her crimson eyes.

"..."

Chapter 26 Cooperation with Night Raid

"So you're saying you're not part of the Empire, and that you were the ones who eliminated this noble family, and that everything before was just a misunderstanding?"

As Brand listened to the soft, frail little girl explaining everything to him, he felt a little incredulous, yet also hoped that it was true!

Otherwise, the Empire already had a lot of headaches with Esdeath alone, and having another opponent like Schwarz would undoubtedly make things even more troublesome.

To make matters worse!

Besides, they are still in Schwarzschild's hands, so killing them now seems like there's nothing wrong with it.

"Yes, it is like that."

"Moreover, Mr. Schwarz and I have only just arrived in the capital, and then Arya brought us here. If it weren't for Mr. Schwarz, Clara might have become like those people."

Clara recounted what had happened to Brand, but whether he believed her or not was beyond her control.

Anyway, she told the whole truth...

It would be best to cooperate with Night Raid; if that's not possible, then we'll choose other options.

Of course, Clara wouldn't want any more of her favorite characters to die if she could. Otherwise, her existence in this world would lose much of its meaning.

In addition, the aim is to use night raids to eliminate those pests, and also to collect Imperial Arms while gaining points.

Another method was to use night raids to force the resistance to prepare enough mechanical materials for her to create mechanical artifacts.

Once the resistance sees the value in mechanical creations, they will definitely agree. However, they will naturally retain some control...

According to Mr. Schwarz's final plan, a decisive battle between the rebels and the Empire would be waged, and she would prepare more mechanical forces.

If the rebels win but are unable to truly reform, then let Mr. Schwarz take his place, and finally use the mechanical database or the power of creation to create a perfect leader.

This is much simpler than going it alone.

As for why she didn't consider cooperating with the Empire, it was because the young girl didn't want to be complicit; the country was beyond saving.

“I see. These nobles are indeed arrogant. Many outsiders who are unlucky when they first arrive in the capital end up like Miss Clara. However, they don’t have an Imperial Arm like Mr. Swallow’s, unlike you, Miss.”

"If you learn more about the situation in the capital, you will find that there are countless noble officials like Arya's family. Our night raid is precisely to eliminate these scourges."

Brand naturally wouldn't believe Clara just because of her words, although... having such powerful combat strength join Night Raid would definitely be a great thing.

However, a thorough investigation is still needed before proceeding.

Suppressing the urge to invite the other party to join Night Raid, Brand deliberately brought up some matters concerning noble officials in the capital and explained the Night Raid's methods.

Seeing that Clara and Swallow didn't react in any other way, but rather seemed to agree, his doubts lessened.

Some people are already believing Clara's story.

If they were truly imperial personnel, they should be killed now. There's no need to kill nobles just to gain trust.

But as I said before, we need to investigate first...

Clara then told him about cooperating with Night Raid, including dealing with some of the ministers' henchmen, as well as providing support in terms of intelligence and mechanical artifacts.

Brand was quite tempted by the offer, but he didn't make a decision. He simply said that he couldn't make the decision himself and needed to consult the boss.

Clara didn't insist and turned to look at Schwarz.

“Mr. Schwarz… now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, let them all go.”

【Can. 】

Upon hearing Clara's words, Swallow did not immediately release the control. Instead, he stood in front of Clara before releasing Akame and Leone from their control.

Leone and Akame were freed and were about to make another move, but hesitated for a moment and then retreated to Brand's side.

They overheard Clara and Brand's conversation. Although they were unable to move and were in great discomfort inside that ball, they were still able to hear sounds.

The opponent's strength is undeniable. If they can really join Night Raid, having another partner would certainly be a good thing.

The previous misunderstanding is no big deal.

"Thank you so much."

Brand breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Schwarz had actually released his two companions.

His doubts had almost completely vanished; her sincerity was more than enough—she was definitely not an enemy. However, he still needed to go back and discuss the specifics with the boss and everyone else; he couldn't make a decision immediately.

They chatted for a while longer, but this was not a place to stay for long. They agreed to meet again in a few days and set a location before parting ways.

"..."

"Mr. Schwarz, let's leave too."

Watching the night raiders leave, Clara once again memorized the agreed time and place for their next meeting, then turned to Schwarz and spoke.

Although the garrison was inefficient when dealing with commoners, it was quite effective when dealing with nobles and officials.

With such a commotion, it's time to leave.

Clara then found Sayo and the other girl, and together they left the mansion. Before leaving, they even set it on fire to destroy all traces.

The meeting with Night Raid was not quite what I had imagined; I wasn't taken directly to the Night Raid base like Tatsumi did in the story.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Under normal circumstances, who would bring someone they've just met and don't know anything about to their base?

Tatsumi's situation was due to his chance encounter with Leone.

However, it's no longer appropriate for her to stay in the capital or with Tatsumi. I wonder if he's entered the Ministry of War yet.

If not, ask if they want to cooperate with you.

As for Sayo and Ieyasu, let's see what they think after they meet Tatsumi: whether they want to go back to the village, stay in the capital and work with Tatsumi, or join him.

Creating mechanical constructs and automated soldiers is quite troublesome for Clara alone; having a helper would be ideal.