Onmyoji, a nobleman in Heian-kyo

Page 887

He stayed quietly by Hachiman's side, as if nothing could move him.

"kill!"

"A man bound by anger is full of flaws."

"what--"

Onikiri's eyes turned red, and he roared, his body surrounded by flashing sword light!

Sizzle~

The sound of fabric being torn could be heard in the air.

Immediately following was another deafening thud as heavy objects collided.

"Alright, that's enough, everyone!"

Shuten-dōji appeared at the center of the battle between Onikiri and Minamoto no Yorimitsu without anyone noticing.

Then, the two of them swiftly sheathed their swords.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu was certainly very interested in the head of Shuten-dōji, the demon king.

But not now.

This is a very urgent moment.

He wouldn't act on his emotions.

"The Demon Plains, Arakawa, Seven-Cornered Mountain, and Black Night Mountain have all suffered massacres at the hands of the sea monsters. Next up is Mount Ooe. Every second we linger here will give those sea monsters an advantage. This pointless battle should end here."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu said with a smile.

Shuten-dōji glanced at Minamoto no Yorimitsu, his face showing a lazy and unruly expression.

"That's true. We have a blood feud between us, but with a formidable enemy at hand, I don't have time to kill you. Besides, you know that a stalemate isn't in our best interest, right?"

"Oh? Does the Ghost King want to make a deal with me?"

"This wasn't your plan? Whatever, arguing is pointless. Let's talk about cooperation next."

"Heh... no wonder he's the 'Former Demon King'."

The former Ghost King?

Hikigaya sensed a subtle meaning in the words and his heart stirred slightly.

He suddenly remembered the story of Shuten-dōji being killed and then resurrected...

Minamoto no Yorimitsu was saying that Shuten-dōji was gradually returning to his former form.

He secretly glanced at Ibaraki-dōji.

Just then, I saw Ibaraki-dōji with an excited expression.

"Hehehe... Yes, that's it, Shuten-dōji, regain your former power and reign supreme among the demons once more! Then defeat me... and I'll let you control this body of mine... Hehehe..."

"—?!"

Hikigaya's pupils contracted sharply. What the hell was he talking about?

Where did this pervert come from?!

Hannya, who was standing next to Hikigaya, found it interesting and began to observe Ibaraki-dōji closely.

Ayanokoji, Horikita Manabu, and Shijo Tei tacitly avoided going to see Ibaraki-dōji.

From the very first encounter, the group knew that this monster was a strange being.

It's best to ignore it.

Day 331 of crossing

"A large number of troops from the Hai Kingdom have landed on the front line of Mount Daeje from the north..."

"The 'Demon Soldier Division' is ready to go!"

"Pass down the order! Seal off all the passes from Mount Oe to Kyoto, and don't let the Sea Kingdom set foot in the city!"

"Yes!"

One by one, the Onmyoji and samurai acted according to the orders.

The rising sun cast its brilliant rays as thousands of steel giants set off from their assembly point.

The armor, forged from fine steel, reflected the gleaming sunlight.

The procession stretched out like a long sword reflecting the sun, pointing straight towards the heart of Mount Ooe.

The army is approaching, and its troops are at the foot of Mount Dajiang.

Northeast side of Mount Oe.

Ootakemaru, who was leading a large group of sea monsters to Mount Ooe, was exchanging ideas with his teacher, Kaimei, who was accompanying him.

"The Genji's mysterious weapons are worth noting, but they have a grudge against Mount Oe, so they are not a threat."

“Young Master, Mount Oe is ultimately a place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. As long as the Kyoto Genji clan assists us in the battle and hinders us, we will ultimately be unable to complete the blood sacrifice. Let me use the Illusion of the Heart Demon to deal with these stubborn ones…”

"Then you must be careful, teacher."

"Hmm... Young Master, please conserve your energy and save your fighting strength for the very last moment."

With a somber demeanor, Haiming solemnly bowed to Ōtakemaru.

Despite the fact that the Illusion of the Inner Demons was extremely taxing on his power and carried a great risk of backlash, he still decided to do it!

The Onmyoji in Kyoto are indeed very powerful, and their willpower is in no way inferior to that of their Suzuka clan.

If everyone were as desperate and ruthless as that Onmyoji from Arakawa... that would indeed be very troublesome.

At the foot of Mount Oe.

Kousaka Kyosuke and Kagura had just arrived and used their official credentials to prove their identities before searching for Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

When they arrived at the location, they found that Seimei, Minamoto no Hiromasa, Yaobikuni, Shiro, and others had also arrived.

The shrine maiden Fuyuka was not present, probably because her combat strength was somewhat lacking.

"Everyone's here?" Kousaka Kyosuke looked surprised.

Minamoto no Hiromasa rubbed his temples: "Aren't you the guardian of Arakawa?"

Kyosuke Kosaka said, "There's someone over there who's just as good as me and is also very skilled at reconnaissance, helping to keep watch."

"That's it..."

Minamoto no Hiromasa suppressed the urge to sigh.

His sister came over too, and he was really worried.

"That's perfect, it adds another layer of strength in the fight against those sea monsters." Minamoto no Yorimitsu smiled, indicating his welcome.

Kyosuke Kosaka smirked: "Don't ask me to risk my life."

Yaobikuni chuckled.

"Mr. Kyosuke is still the same as ever."

Seimei smiled, while Shiro complained, "Yes, Lord Kyosuke still likes to conserve his power."

Kyosuke Kosaka nodded in agreement with Shiro's words, "That's right, it's about conserving strength! Just lie low for the rest of your life!"

219. Capture the leader first? / Battle of Mount Oe begins / Tsunami, Rescue

After sitting down with Kagura and having a sip of tea, Kousaka Kyosuke listened to Minamoto no Yorimitsu talk about other things.

"According to the information provided by the Ghost King, there is an old man named Haiming in Suzuka Mountain of the Sea Kingdom. He is as knowledgeable as the ancient ocean, knowing everything and nothing, and is known as the 'Brain of Suzuka Mountain'..."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu was the first to mention the people who needed to be careful.

Kousaka Kyosuke immediately understood that Minamoto no Yorimitsu had the idea of ​​"capturing the king first to catch the thief".

That's right too.

Rather than facing countless and fierce sea monsters, it would be better to capture their leader.

Will the problem of being leaderless be resolved soon?

The main drawback is that it won't consume too much manpower or material resources.

Ultimately, war means death.

Whether it's an Onmyoji or a samurai, the death of one is a huge loss.

Because it takes many years to train them.

Kousaka Kyosuke firmly believed that Minamoto no Yorimitsu, as the head of the Minamoto clan, did not want the battle to continue indefinitely.

"The main target this time is still Ōtakemaru and the divine artifact he wields. Their blood sacrifice array leaves no trace, so it's possible that, as you said before, Kyōsuke, the Yasakani no Magatama is a spatial artifact."

After Minamoto no Yorimitsu finished speaking, Seimei also recounted the clues he had found over the past few days.

He had carefully examined the battlefield of Arakawa.

He even participated in the Battle of Black Night Mountain, which took place not long ago.