Chapter 53: The Great Battle
Come to think of it, the second reason was simply to avoid exposing the existence of the yokai.
Both Hagoromo Gitsune and Nurarihyon were top-tier, great yokai, and they commanded a massive number of subordinates under them. If this battle were to rage without any restrictions, the entirety of Kyoto would be transformed into a warzone.
When that happened, the presence of yokai would be exposed before all of Kyoto.
Because of this, Yumesaki had requested Serie and Medea to cast a Bounded Field to envelop the entirety of Nijo Castle. It was not just to prevent Hagoromo Gitsune's faction from escaping, but also to confine the battlefield strictly within Nijo Castle itself.
With this in place, even if the battle inside turned the heavens and the earth upside down, the people outside wouldn't notice a thing.
It really was flawless.
Just as Yumesaki was praising his own plan, the figure of Nurarihyon appeared in the sky above Nijo Castle.
The battle between him and Hagoromo Gitsune exploded in an instant.
At this exact moment, Nurarihyon's body miraculously regained its youth, shifting back into his younger form as a volatile, wild Yoki erupted from his frame.
Right now, driven by his yokai energy, he had returned to the form of his golden age.
Without a doubt, this state could not be maintained for long, but fighting Hagoromo Gitsune one more time was not a problem at all.
He could be seen holding Nenekirimaru in his hand, the blade reflecting the moonlight and shedding a cold, shimmering gleam.
Then, he unleashed a slash.
There was no extravagant name for the technique; it was just a single downward strike.
The path of Nenekirimaru's slash turned into a flash like a silver waterfall, pouring down from the air and splitting the curtain of the night in two.
Wherever the blade light passed, the space itself let out a groan from being unable to bear the weight, the air getting sucked into a vacuum before being filled in the next second by an even wilder yokai energy.
The Karamon of Nijo Castle, a magnificent structure that stood as a witness to the three-hundred-year glory of the Tokugawa Shogunate—the exact second the blade light touched it, its golden ornaments melted, its wood evaporated, and its roof tiles shattered.
The entire gatehouse split in half right down the center, the surface of the cut as smooth as a mirror, before collapsing inward amidst a massive rumbling sound.
However, Hagoromo Gitsune had already left that spot from the very beginning.
Nine pitch-black fox tails spread out like a shield behind her body, her form flickering three times in a row through the air, leaving a fading black afterimage behind each time.
The blade light of Nenekirimaru shot past the side of her body, severing a few strands of flying black hair, which were instantly pulverized into dust in midair by the sword energy.
Old man, Hagoromo Gitsune's voice echoed from all directions at the same time, It has been several hundred years, and you still haven't made the slightest bit of progress.
The nine tails behind her body opened up, and each tail held a weapon.
The Second Tail, Nibi no Tessen.
The Third Tail, Sanbi no Tachi.
The Fourth Tail, Yonbi no Yari: Tora Taiji.
Attacking toward Nurarihyon while filling the sky, the tracks of the tails lingered for a long time in the air, weaving into a net of death that blanketed the heavens.
Nurarihyon snorted coldly, having absolutely no intention of dodging, swinging the weapon in his hand and slashing toward them without hesitation.
Boom!
The shockwave of wind generated when Nurarihyon's blade clashed with Hagoromo Gitsune's tails swept across the surroundings like a tsunami.
The Otemon on the eastern side of Nijo Castle was instantly blown away by the blast of wind, its gateposts snapping into several pieces, spinning through the air before crashing into the castle moat, kicking up splashes of water several zhang high.
In the courtyard between the Ninomaru and Honmaru, a black pine tree that was hundreds of years old was uprooted completely, stone fragments and broken branches dancing wildly in the fierce gale.
The two of them were thrown backward respectively.
Nurarihyon glided back for dozens of zhang, his feet stepping on empty air and creating a series of ripples resembling waves on water before he could stabilize his form with great difficulty.
The webbing between the thumb and index finger of his right hand seeped beads of blood, dripping down the hilt of Nenekirimaru, emitting an unnaturally deep red color in the darkness of the night.
Meanwhile, Hagoromo Gitsune crashed heavily onto the roof of the Ninomaru Palace, causing a large portion of the roof to collapse under her footing.
The sound of shattering roof tiles rang out in dense successions, like a heavy downpour pelting dried lotus leaves.
Her nine fox tails lashed behind her body, each trembling faintly.
The two old enemies looked at each other from a distance, both seeing a hint of surprise in the opponent's gaze. Hundreds of years had passed, and both of these yokai had made rapid progress; to think they still couldn't suppress the other side.
This was truly vexing.
While Hagoromo Gitsune and Nurarihyon were engaged in their fight, their subordinates also clashed one after another, forming a chaotic brawl.
In an instant, the entirety of Nijo Castle turned into complete chaos, with every corner transforming into a battlefield.
Kubinashi faced off against Gashadokuro, Gyuki faced Hakuzozu, Yuki-Onna faced Kyokotsu...
Even Nyanko-sensei had reverted to his true form, rampaging without restraint among the groups of yokai, tearing straight through the path, knocking down countless yokai, and charging toward Hagoromo Gitsune.
He was preparing to corner Hagoromo Gitsune together with Nurarihyon.
Don't even think about it!
Hagoromo Gitsune's loyal subordinate, Shōkera, tried to hold back Nyanko-sensei, refusing to let him go disrupt the battle between Hagoromo Gitsune and Nurarihyon.
The two of them immediately clashed into a chaotic fight.
This really is incredibly lively.
At the same time, Cu Chulainn from Yumesaki's side witnessed this chaotic scene, instantly feeling his blood boil. He loved this kind of situation, as if he had returned to the past, back to the days when he dominated the battlefield.
I'm heading out first.
Cu Chulainn left those words behind, leapt forward, and flew toward the battlefield.
At this second, he was like a flash of deep red light splitting the curtain of the night, drawing a trailing afterimage that stung the eyes like fresh blood.
Falling toward the battlefield.
Boom!
A heavy, muffled thud echoed, and the ground shook suddenly. A shockwave spread outward with the point of light as its center, causing all the floor stones in the courtyard of Nijo Castle to lift, and stone fragments splattered in all directions like cannonballs.
Amidst the smoke and dust, Cu Chulainn stood up slowly, drawing the gaze of a massive number of yokai.
He wore a tight blue outfit that accentuated his muscular build. Over his shoulders was draped a dark blue pauldron, a metallic silver sheen rippling across it under the moonlight.
Within his grip, he held a long spear as red as blood, which was none other than the Cursed Lance, Gáe Bolg!
Cu Chulainn spun the long spear a single turn in his hand, the spear tip slicing through the air to produce a sharp whistling sound, the corners of his mouth curving up to reveal a row of sharp fangs.
Let me join in on the fun too.
As he spoke, his gaze had already locked onto Hagoromo Gitsune's subordinate yokai emerging from the ruins ahead of him.
In the next second, Cu Chulainn disappeared from his original spot, appearing in front of an Ōnyūdō as if he had performed a Teleportation.
An Ōnyūdō was a type of yokai that possessed a gigantic physique; even a small Ōnyūdō stood two meters tall, while a giant-sized Ōnyūdō could even wrap its arms around a castle tower.
The Ōnyūdō in front of Cu Chulainn was a massive one whose height exceeded ten meters.
Not only did it have a gigantic body, but it also possessed immense strength.
Yet, when facing Cu Chulainn, this Ōnyūdō didn't even have time to raise its weapon before the deep red long spear pierced through its chest.
Immediately after, Cu Chulainn's wrist flipped, the long spear swung upward, and the massive body of the Ōnyūdō was lifted completely, then slammed violently back into the group of yokai, knocking down seven or eight smaller yokai.
But this was only the beginning. After Cu Chulainn knocked down the Ōnyūdō, he tore into the ranks of Hagoromo Gitsune's subordinates, carrying out a massive slaughter.
The long spear in his hand was used to thrust, sweep, slash, or smash, and every movement looked incredibly wild. Behind his body, he drew a deep red afterimage, and wherever he passed, the yokai collapsed one after another.
A Nure-Onna took advantage of his distraction and pounced from the side, all of her snake hair opening their large mouths at the same time, intending to bite his neck.
But Cu Chulainn didn't even turn his head; the long spear spun, and the shaft of the spear swept outward horizontally.
Crack!
The Nure-Onna's head exploded into a mist of blood under the strike.
However, the deaths of these yokai did not terrify Hagoromo Gitsune's subordinates; even more yokai flocked over like a tidal wave, trying to bury Cu Chulainn completely.
The tactical advantage of overwhelming numbers over raw power was put on full display by the onslaught of Hagoromo Gitsune's subordinates.
Boom!
Right at this moment, another sound of a heavy object crashing to the ground rang out.
This sound, compared to when Cu Chulainn landed, seemed heavier, more muffled, and carried much more weight.
The wall of the Honmaru castle looked as though it had been struck by an invisible giant hammer, exploding outward from the center. Amidst the horizontally flying stone fragments, a black shadow so massive it induced suffocation stood up slowly.
His height exceeded two zhang five chi, standing there like a small mountain.
His entire frame was thick with muscle, each block of muscle looking as though it were woven from steel cables, his skin a deep brown color, and its surface covered in scars left behind from surviving countless battles.
He was bare-chested, wearing only a single piece of battle skirt on the lower half of his body, and within his grip, he held a stone axe-sword of absurd proportions, a dull red light flowing across the blade.
He didn't utter a single word, but merely stood there, exhaling a heavy breath resembling the scraping of stone slabs.
The god of strength in Greek mythology, Heracles, had appeared.
After Heracles appeared, upon facing the subordinates of Hagoromo Gitsune, he raised the axe-sword in his hand.
Confronting this group of weaklings, Heracles required no technique whatsoever, needed no strategy at all, and each of his attacks was devastatingly simple.
A horizontal sweep.
The stone axe was swung in his hand as if it possessed no weight, casually delivering a single horizontal slash; a slash energy extending several zhang cleaved everything before him into two halves.
Retaining walls, trees, yokai trying to resist—everything under that terrifying, immense strength shattered into dust.
Those subordinates of Hagoromo Gitsune looked as fragile as rotten wood before Heracles, getting struck by his slashes one by one until they broke into pieces.
The attacks of the yokai landed on his body, unable to leave even a single white mark.
Whether it was sharp claws or fangs, acidic fluids or curses, they could only strike a few sparks against his skin, which had been baptized by God Hand, before vanishing reluctantly.
Heracles swung down a few axe slashes, instantly running over all the enemies before him into debris.
Facing Heracles and Cu Chulainn, who were breaking through without restraint, the yokai finally felt fear; they felt horror.
These yokai, who had ruled over Kyoto for hundreds of years and committed every foul deed imaginable, were currently like masterless dogs fleeing to the rear with all their might.
They had never faced an enemy this powerful, looking completely impossible to defeat.
Previously, it was always humans who feared them; to think that today, it was actually their turn to fear humans.
It completely upended the natural order.
Yet this thing called fear was like a rising tide, continuing to spread without end, and it simply could not be stopped.
Average, far too average.
Cu Chulainn laughed loudly while killing the yokai blocking the path before him one after another, Is there no powerful yokai to fight me even once? Didn't you all want to wipe out humanity? I am right here, hurry up and come kill me, hurry up and come kill me.
But facing Cu Chulainn, who displayed such immense, wild arrogance, the yokai only retreated, retreated, and retreated again.
Not a single one dared to step forward; Cu Chulainn right now was truly far too terrifying, more sinister and frightening than a yokai.
What was called 'one man guarding the pass means ten thousand cannot breach.'
This was exactly it.
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