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OPI Chapter 233: In the Shadow of the Light Gate
🕑 Added 2024-09-14 16:18:30 +0000 UTCOutside the town of Partas.
Three figures walked silently in the wind and snow until the man in front stopped.
"Ladies, what do you think of this place?"
Uzui Tengen turned around and smiled brightly, as if he didn't notice the tense atmosphere around him.
"Sounds good to me." One of the women answered.
"Now you have two options: either you surrender without resistance, or we take you by force. If you're unlucky, you might not even get out of here alive." The other woman warned coldly, as she caressed an unusual gauntlet covering her right hand.
"I thought it would be those who were watching me who would come for me, but I didn't expect to meet two such spectacular beauties. I'm glad I didn't waste my time!" Uzui Tengen said, paying no attention to the women's hostility, as he watched them openly, though surprisingly not lasciviously.
"But first, may I know your names?"
"By the way, my name is Uzui Tengen, and I already have three wives, and a little kid is about to be born~"
Although Uzui Tengen said it in a happy tone, his words were not well received by Cornelia and Tsukushi. The former looked at him with an even more dangerous coldness, while the latter gave him a furious look.
"You don't deserve to know our names. If you're done talking, I'll take that as you've decided not to give up." Cornelia said, slowly advancing towards him.
Meanwhile, Tsukushi, stood behind, holding a strangely designed pistol, ready to fire.
"Wait a minute!" Uzui Tengen exclaimed, raising his hand. His reaction made Cornelia pause for a moment. He looked at her with a resigned smile and asked calmly: "Why do you want to catch me? I haven't done anything wrong, right? Who are you? And by what right do you come after me?"
"If you want to fight, at least give me a reason?"
Uzui Tengen was really intrigued, wondering how he had been discovered. Could it be that he was too attractive to go unnoticed?
Uzui Tengen's words stunned Cornelia and Tsukushi for a moment. Then, Cornelia quickly reacted and coldly replied: "You sneaked into the empire without permission through some kind of light gate with space ability. Don't tell me that you are here for tourism, so I have to take you back to find out!"
"Huh?"
Uzui Tengen was very surprised. He didn't expect the dimensional gate to be exposed so quickly. He slowly unsheathed the two black and gold swords he carried on his back, but still kept a kind smile on his face.
"I understand. If that's the case, I would like to invite you to my side for hot tea. What do you think?"
"Humph!" Cornelia didn't reply. With a loud stomp, she broke the frozen ground beneath her feet and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
In the next instant, her figure appeared in front of Uzui Tengen, her right fist covered by visible air pressure, heading straight towards him.
[Clang!]
"Not bad." Uzui Tengen commented with a smile, blocking the blow with the end of his sword hilt.
"No way!" Cornelia exclaimed, her eyes wide open, shocked that her Shingu Crushing King couldn't advance even an inch.
[Bang! Bang!]
At that moment, two bullets headed towards Uzui Tengen, but he easily dodged them by moving his head. However, a second later, his expression changed, and he disappeared from sight in an instant.
As Uzui Tengen disappeared, the two bullets flew back again, passing by the sides of Cornelia's head. The whole process happened too quickly.
"Damn it!" Cornelia screamed, looking for Uzui Tengen. Turning, she saw him appear behind Tsukushi, lightly striking her in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking her unconscious in the snow.
"Wow, you're an amazing shot. Those bullets almost hit me, though I feel like this is beyond ordinary skill with weapons." Uzui Tengen commented, relieved. If he hadn't sensed the danger thanks to his Kenbunshoku Haki, he might have been seriously injured.
Before he could relax, Cornelia appeared again, throwing a punch with such force that the air around her seemed to solidify.
"Although beautiful, you are too fierce~" Uzui Tengen commented as he quickly swung his sword towards Cornelia's attack.
"First Form: Roar!"
When the golden blade touched the Crushing King, an explosion erupted between the two, filling the air with flames and smoke.
After the flames and smoke dispersed, Uzui Tengen appeared standing next to Tsukushi.
On the other hand, Cornelia had moved away from them, but her winter clothes were tattered and burned, however at that moment she was only worried about Uzui Tengen's strength and how she could rescue Tsukushi.
"So, what is that glove you're wearing on your right hand? Also, what weapon is that she's holding in her hands? Lastly, what is your name and what is her name? What is your identity?"
Uzui Tengen maintained a charming smile as he pointed at Tsukushi with the hilt of his sword.
"If you answer my questions, I'll give it back to you, how about that?"
"Do you think I'm going to believe the lies of an enemy?" Cornelia replied, frowning.
Uzui Tengen shrugged, not caring too much, and said indifferently: "So you don't care about saving your partner?"
Cornelia fell silent, sighing to herself. In the end, she couldn't be as cruel as she wanted to appear.
"My name is Cornelia, and her name is Tsukushi. We are both members of the Imperial Secret Service. This glove is called Crushing King, it is a Shingu, and her weapon is also a Shingu, it is called
Prometheus."
As soon as she finished speaking, Cornelia cast a cold glance at Uzui Tengen.
"Wow, that's a pretty brief answer, you didn't reveal any deep information."
Uzui Tengen shook his head helplessly.
He placed his left sword in his right hand and, with a quick movement of his foot, threw the pistol called Prometheus into the air before putting it in his coat pocket. Then, he stepped back about eight meters, indicating to her that she could come and collect her companion.
Cornelia, surprised that he actually kept his word, walked cautiously towards Tsukushi and quickly woke her up with a nimble movement.
"Sister Cornelia?!"
"Well, you go back first, just leave this to me."
Cornelia replied, while keeping her attention fixed on Uzui Tengen and whispering into Tsukushi's ear.
"But... but..." Tsukushi wanted to protest, but when she noticed that Prometheus was no longer in her hands, she realized that staying would be a hindrance and not a help.
"Is it okay if you and I continue one on one?" Cornelia asked coldly as she stood up, shielding Tsukushi with her body.
Uzui Tengen raised an eyebrow, realizing that it would be difficult for him to take both of them at the same time. Besides, his identity had surely already been exposed, so he nodded.
"Do what you want. After all, I have no interest in killing such a beautiful woman."
"Thank you."
Cornelia looked at him with a complex expression before turning to Tsukushi and signaling for her to leave immediately. Reluctantly, Tsukushi bit her lip and began to run towards the distant city of Partas.
...
The sound of explosions and flashes of light continued as Cornelia and Tengen exchanged blows again and again, their swift and agile movements filling the frozen air of the snowy desert.
Meanwhile, in the nearby city, Tsukushi had managed to contact the intelligence unit and quickly sent a request for help towards the imperial capital.
She then asked the four intelligence agents to accompany her to rescue Cornelia.
However, after some hesitation, the officers agreed to accompany her, but clarified that they would decide whether to intervene in the fight depending on the situation.
Despite everything, Tsukushi was pleased with their response. The five of them quickly headed towards the outskirts of the city.
However, as they ran, they noticed that the sound of explosions, which could previously be heard in the distance, had ceased.
When they finally arrived at the site of the battle, they found only craters and cracks in the ground, but not a single trace of people.
"How is it possible..." Tsukushi fell to her knees in the snow, desperate.
...
In the imperial capital, over the past few days, both Najenda's intelligence units and Oarburgh's assassination squads had received numerous reports from the north.
"Minister, I have compiled some of the most relevant reports. Please take a look at them." Green said as he placed a document on Najenda's desk and waited patiently for her to read it.
"Attacks with visual effects of wind, fire, lightning, water, and snakes... Techniques related to some form of sword. They use black daggers and shuriken. Excellent physical condition, standing out in strength and endurance, as well as a quick ability to stop their own bleeding..." Najenda read quietly while frowning thoughtfully. Suddenly, a line caught her attention.
"There are two people who claim to be Chunin and Genin of Umigakure?"
"Yes."
Green nodded and said puzzledly: "I've never heard of such terms before. I checked the archives of the Alchemy Kingdom and the God Islands Kingdom, but I found nothing like it."
"Chunin, genin... they should be ranks. Logically speaking there is a higher rank, like jonin or something like that." Najenda said thoughtfully. "I will request an audience with the Emperor to use the Complete Book Of The World and gain information about Umigakure. That should clear everything up."
"Have they not found the light gate in the snowy mountains yet? According to reports, more and more people are crossing into our territory. If we don't manage to control that gate soon, they might invade us with a full army."
Najenda looked at Green with a serious expression, but Green also knew this truth, but the reality made him helpless.
"Unfortunately, we have not received any report on that yet. Captain Sabatini sent a brief report, saying that he had already arrived at White Horse Town."
Najenda nodded. She knew there wasn't much more they could do.
Furthermore, although Sabatini's Teigu had a great ability to track things, the area of the northern snow lands was very large. Finding the light gate without knowing its exact location was a difficult task.
"Okay, I'll go find His Majesty"
Just as Najenda rose from her chair to head to the palace, there was a knock at the door. Amuria quickly entered.
"Minister, Oarburgh has sent a message. An assassin named Cornelia has been captured by the enemy, and we are asked to use the Divination Teigu to locate her position. Here is the information about Cornelia."
Najenda took the documents. Her eyes sparkled and her normally serious expression softened into a smile.
"Perfect!"
"Her capture could not have been timelier. If we can locate her position, it is very likely that, with the vision range of Sabatini's Teigu, we will find the enemy's main base."
"Madam Merraid, here is a recent message from the Imperial Secret Service. It concerns the location of Cornelia."
Gozuki gently placed the envelope in his hand on the desk.
His demeanor was cold, as if the seductive woman in front of him, in her black dress that left her thighs and chest bare, did not interest him in the slightest. Despite her beauty, Merraid was a figure as dangerous as she was intriguing.
"Oh, as expected of Najenda-chan, what efficiency." Merraid murmured charmingly after reading the letter. "I haven't had fun with her in a while, when was our last passionate make-out session?"
Gozuki heard the comment, but he was already used to the peculiar orientation of his leader. Since she took command of Oarburgh, there were only two men left in the group; all the others were beautiful women, and none had escaped from her hands.
"Ahem, madam, can I take a look?"
"Yes~"
Merraid casually threw the letter over, and the speed was very fast. If an ordinary person could not catch it, he would be killed if he accidentally cut his neck.
Gozuki caught it with two fingers and began to read quickly.
According to the divination, Cornelia was only captured and not in danger of death, something Gozuki quickly overlooked, focusing more on the information about the light gate.
The letter went on to describe how a group of black-clad warriors riding strange mechanical vehicles continually emerged from a white building, while another team, possibly engineers, built camps and defenses in the snowy valley.
In addition, there were several potential Teigu users among them.
The letter included two maps made by Sabatini. One showed the location of the gate in the snowy lands of the north, and the other was a detailed plan of the valley with buildings, artillery and guard posts.
