Chapter 93: Thunderstorm
"Boom—"
The sky darkened as a thick rumbling sound from the dense thunderclouds echoed like the heartbeat of some giant creature.
"Ugh, don't tell me it's going to rain." Women in Amigasa Village, busy with New Year's shopping, looked up at the sky in worry. The entire sky seemed to be shrouded in endless dark clouds. The thunderclouds near Mount Amigasa had even been tinged with a dark purple.
"So terrifying…"
From a distance, Mount Amigasa looked completely swallowed by the storm clouds. The shadow of the Daimyo's mansion on the mountaintop was no longer visible.
"Is the Daimyo's mansion alright?"
These people couldn't help but worry for their Daimyo. It would be a disaster if anything happened to such a good lord. The current Daimyo had no heir. If something were to happen to him, no one knew who would take his place.
The previous Shogun's initial lack of an heir had led to chaos as various provinces fought for the position. The Kurozumi clan had even rebelled directly. If not for the later birth of Kozuki Sukiyaki, this country might no longer belong to the Kozuki family.
Inside the Daimyo's mansion, evacuation preparations were already underway.
This massive thundercloud was not a natural phenomenon. It was the result of Ren's battle with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit within the consciousness space. The reason it could have such a wide-ranging effect was because he was just one step away from fully mastering it.
Six months had passed since he obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. During this time, Ren had focused his training entirely on this. However, reaching this level so quickly was still a bit unexpected for him.
"How is the situation, Lady Yukiko?" Yayoi and Ayame had just finished escorting the people from the mansion out and rushed back. Among those present, Yukiko was the strongest, followed by Yayoi, Ayame, and Matsuri.
However, Matsuri had to worry about the safety of Yuriko and the others.
"The air feels like it's full of needles," Ayame struggled to say. Even breathing felt like inhaling a spiky sea urchin. The three of them didn't look particularly elegant; their soft, long hair had become frizzy from the static electricity, looking as if it was about to explode at any moment.
Yukiko switched to a wooden hairpin to tie up her hair completely. Yayoi and Ayame did the same.
"What should we do now?" Yayoi asked with concern. In truth, she was the same age as Yukiko. In Ren's eyes, she was still just a child.
"There's nothing we can do but wait for Lord Ren himself," Yukiko said. She knew what was happening. This kind of situation had occurred during his training process before.
Once, when Ren was fighting the demonic soul of a great god, it caused a snowfall of time over Mount Amigasa.
However, the impact that time was limited to the Daimyo's mansion. Now, the thunderclouds completely enveloped Amigasa Village and were still spreading further. Even people in Bakura Town could see the darkened sky in the distance.
"Is it raining heavily over there?"
"Who knows. It's not unusual for Kuri to have heavy downpours. That's why we built the reservoirs, isn't it?"
"That's true, but what does the heavy rain in the northern regions have to do with our reservoirs in the south?"
"Rumble—"
"Crackle—"
After a moment of silence, a deafening crack of lightning followed. The sound was as if tearing the air apart on both sides of them. The bright purple lightning seemed to rip through the entire cloud layer in an instant!
The electricity in the air began to spread down the mountain. Yukiko and the other two had no choice but to retreat helplessly.
In Amigasa Village, the soldiers of the Tengen faction were running through the streets, shouting warnings.
"Residents of Amigasa Village! Cease all business activities immediately and return to your homes! Close your doors and windows! Stay away from metal objects and do not touch any water sources!"
"Amigasa Village…"
"This is so exaggerated, it's like the end of the world," Matsuri said, wearing rubber gloves. She gripped a metal steel bar and forcefully drove it into the ground at the edge of town.
Using metal to divert lightning was a method Ren had taught them. Now, many open spaces were already filled with metal rods.
"Matsuri, that's enough. If you continue, you might get struck by lightning," Yuriko said urgently. The thunderclouds had already spread; it was too dangerous to stay any longer.
The soldiers had already evacuated. The bustling Amigasa Village was suddenly empty.
"I know, Mother," Matsuri nodded quickly, scooping up Yuriko and leaving the area.
She had just left when several bolts of lightning struck down, connecting with the steel rods. The continuous discharge of electricity filled them with fear.
"That was too dangerous. We should have been better prepared," Yuriko said, clutching her chest.
Normally, someone her size would barely be able to feel her own heartbeat, but now it was racing.
"There wasn't enough time. If Lord Ren hadn't briefly woken up at the critical moment, the damage could have been much greater," Matsuri sighed. "Mother, let's go find Keiko-nee and regroup."
"Mm," Yuriko nodded.
At this moment, the entire town was dyed purple by the lightning, just like the sacred island of Raralei, which had been tainted by the power of thunder. The thunderstorm raging over the Daimyo's mansion was terrifying.
…
"What's going on?"
The assassins sent by the underworld leaders from Ringo and Shimotsuki were all stunned.
To be fully prepared for the New Year, they had been lurking in Amigasa Village for a long time, waiting for their chance. The planned day was almost here, yet the weather in Kuri had become so strange.
"Hey, am I dreaming?" Fukutaro opened the window a crack and looked outside. Then he froze. "Or is this just the climate in Kuri?"
He had followed Suzuki Kaizen in Ringo's Gyonan district for over a decade, but he had never seen anything like this.
"How could that be? I've been doing business in Kuri for a year, and this is the first time I've seen weather like this. Our plan must have been exposed and angered the Daimyo!" a merchant named Kayama said, trembling. "I shouldn't have agreed to do this for money. The Daimyo of Kuri is a god incarnate! We're all going to die horrible deaths!"
"Shut up!" several assassins shouted loudly. Fukutaro even used the pommel of his knife to jam into Kayama's mouth, knocking out several of his teeth.
Kayama clutched his mouth, his mouth full of blood.
"It's too late to regret this now. Besides, there's no such thing as a reincarnated god in this world, you idiot!"
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