Time ticked away...
Ono Shimura stood surrounded by enemies, holding his samurai sword upright. Bright red blood flowed continuously down the blade, dripping onto the sand.
"Time is almost up. Put down the sword," Akahi, the Demon of the Ghost Trident, sneered, twirling a pocket watch in his hand.
The Wurai brothers should have already killed those two little brats by now...
"The time is not yet up!" Shimura replied, his expression unchanging.
Even while telling such a blatant lie, he stood tall and straight, looking as dignified and righteous as the most noble gentleman in the world.
As expected...
Anyone who holds a position of power has a skin as thick and tough as diamond.
Akahi was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected that the Daimyo of a nation would be so utterly shameless...
But it didn't matter. If Shimura was shameless, was Akahi himself any better?
Ugh...
Suddenly, Shimura's vision blurred, and the strength drained rapidly from his body.
Realizing what was happening, he tried to drive the blade into his own throat — but his hands were already too weak to even grip the hilt.
"Poison! You are despicable!" Shimura's eyes bulged as he collapsed limply to the ground.
Seeing this, Akahi laughed heartily. "Shimura, using poison is standard practice for shinobi! How can you call that despicable?"
"With this, the Land of Ono is entirely mine!"
The handsome young man shook his reins excitedly and threw his head back, shouting toward the sky.
"Hahaha! At this rate, one day I will raise the Land of Birds to become the Sixth Great Nation!"
Just as the young lord was reveling in his triumph, a faint, amused chuckle drifted over.
"Hmph. You're someone who nearly lost his own country just a few decades later... and you dare dream of becoming a Great Nation?"
"Who?! Who said that?!"
The young lord's eyes snapped wide open, scanning his ranks. His gaze, sharp as a hawk's, burned with ferocious, murderous intent.
How dare someone mock me at the peak of my glory? No matter who it was, I — Sagi, Daimyo of the Land of Birds — will kill them without fail!
For a moment, the soldiers looked at one another, their eyes filled with suspicion.
"Enough searching. It was me."
Aoi walked slowly toward them from a distance. Dust swirled around him against the backdrop of the yellow dunes, giving him the imposing aura of a true hero.
"A shinobi? Who are you?" Sagi quickly and cautiously retreated deeper into the crowd. Knowing how to stay alive is a fine virtue for a ruler.
"We meet for the first time. My name is Aoi."
Aoi smiled, then bowed slightly toward the fallen Shimura. "Your son and daughter asked me to come and rescue you..."
Shimura's eyes widened. Two streams of grateful tears rolled down his cheeks. We only met once, yet he risks his life to save me? Young people with such virtue are rare these days...
Seeing how deeply moved Shimura was, Aoi almost felt bad about not telling him: Your son sold your country to me. Truly a filial son.
Meanwhile, Akahi had finally processed the situation. He gritted his teeth and sneered, "Kid, so you are the helper those brats found?"
Aoi shrugged casually. "Listen here, old man with the pitchforks... no need to test me. Those two useless subordinates of yours? I killed them."
"So they are dead..."
Akahi froze. Veins bulged on his forehead. He ground his teeth furiously. "Old man with the pitchforks?! You little brat... do you even understand what you are saying?"
"Aren't those things you're holding just pitchforks?" Aoi replied with a look of pure disdain.
For a moment, even Akahi found himself looking at his legendary Ghost Tridents with a strange sense of doubt.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
Blinded by rage, Akahi leaped down from his horse. He waved his two red tridents and pounced at Aoi like a gaunt, shrieking bat...
__________________
For more advance chapters visit patreon.com/bars45.
For 10$- All advance chapters.
"Schedule"
Monday - Friday - Update 3 Chapters a Day
Saturday - Sunday - Off