“Go find the hidden samurai!”
Within the forest, a demon over two meters tall with a single eye on its forehead roared, opening its blood-dripping mouth, from which floated clusters of ghostly blue flames spreading outward in all directions.
Pu!
Suddenly, a blue flame collided with empty space and abruptly extinguished.
“Here!”
The demon shrieked loudly. Numerous ghostly flames gathered instantly, transforming into a rain-like barrage striking against the invisible barrier materializing in midair.
A small campsite faintly emerged within the vision of the hundred demons.
“Kill them all! Leave no one alive!”
From the void and the forest surged forth a massive number of monsters, even spirits in the form of serpentine figures, like a tidal wave rushing toward the barrier.
Zhi la!
Instantly, branches on the ground ignited, destroying the sacred three-leaf branch representing the barrier. A powerful force tore through the barrier in an instant.
“Hehe… Hehehe…”
A demon rushed into the camp first, lifting the tent, only to freeze in shock: “No samurai…”
Boom!
Suddenly, a brilliant flame erupted from the fake camp, accompanied by the demon’s roar.
“Excellent! The prey has fallen into the trap!”
Watching the thinning black mist, Wu Ming patted Eto Kagehide on the shoulder: “I’ll leave cleaning up the battlefield to you…”
“I will do my best!”
Instantly, a barrier of fire expanded. Eto Kagehide looked at the escaping wisps of black mist, a bitter smile on his face: “This time, I really must give it my all!”
Yet he said nothing more, knowing Wu Ming had a more arduous task ahead.
…
“Shuten-doji?”
Wu Ming strolled into a clearing within the forest, guided by his divine sight.
On a rock ahead stood a monk with a refined appearance, wearing monastic robes and holding prayer beads.
“Powerful warrior… will you oppose me too?”
Shuten-doji softly spoke, dark tendrils of demonic energy spreading around him, exuding terrifying spiritual pressure.
Yet Wu Ming’s expression suddenly relaxed.
Although the opponent’s demonic power was formidable, worthy of the King of Spirits, under his divine sight, the truth was exposed.
“Internal cultivation of white and red, second-level peak. It seems that in your prime, you truly were a third-level demon!”
Wu Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, drawing his katana to immediately declare his stance.
“If that’s the case…”
Shuten-doji sighed, suddenly transforming into a whirlwind, rushing forward violently.
Bang!
A massive ghostly claw slammed onto the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
“Is this your true form?”
Wu Ming stood aside, watching Shuten-doji’s transformation with an expressionless face.
Now, Shuten-doji transformed from the refined monk into a towering demon over three meters tall—broad-shouldered and bear-bodied, with a blue face, tusks, flaming red hair, and two horns atop his head. He wore a beast hide around his waist, exuding terrifying demonic energy.
“Pity… Your essence of power is limited. Whether you transform or not makes no difference!”
Wu Ming shook his head. If he had encountered Shuten-doji before his own breakthrough, there might have been some trouble. But now, as a true cultivator, he felt no fear.
Strands of wind and thunder gathered into his sword, Fengmo Qie. In an instant, he leaped, bringing the katana down fiercely.
“Thunder Slash!”
A flash of lightning accompanied Shuten-doji’s roar.
Bang!
A massive demon arm fell to the ground, the severed end strangely devoid of blood.
“Hehe… Your master’s lady is still in my grasp… A yin-yang master who commands thunder… Could it be you don’t want to rescue your lady?”
Seeing the thunder on Wu Ming’s sword, Shuten-doji’s ghostly eyes revealed a trace of caution, yet he laughed maniacally, grabbing the fallen arm and pressing it back onto the stump.
Black light flashed, and the severed limb immediately restored as if nothing happened.
“Fool!”
Wu Ming’s eyes narrowed slightly.
What relation did the daughter of the Yamada family have to him? Naturally, it would be best to rescue her, but if ultimately impossible, so be it?
In battle, the worst thing was to have hesitation, which would surely lead to defeat.
“It seems… I must deal with you quickly…”
Wu Ming glanced toward Eto Kagehide’s direction, seeing the flames gradually dying down, faint sounds of samurai’s roars still audible. He murmured softly.
“Deal with me quickly?”
Shuten-doji furiously removed the gourd at his waist and took a huge swig.
“Today, I will show you the power of my ‘Murderous Wine’!”
Boom!
Terrifying demonic energy surged again, instantly increasing his size into a six-meter-tall giant demon, with storm clouds swirling behind him, raising the spiritual pressure to an extreme level.
“Using human blood and resentment to brew wine that enhances demonic power?”
Wu Ming smiled slightly, releasing Fengmo Qie: “You’re very fortunate… You are the first to witness my true form and experience my Earth Thunder Technique!”
Boom!
Destructive lightning instantly blazed from his hand, even causing a flicker of horror in Shuten-doji’s eyes.
…
Bang! Bang!
Eto Kagehide’s face turned pale as he stared at the fire barrier now compressed to its limit, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
As a thirty-year-old yin-yang officer, his talent was even praised by his master.
The foundation of a yin-yang master lies in spiritual power!
Yet now, he felt his spiritual energy nearly depleted after the relentless assault from numerous demons.
Once the barrier was breached, he would only face one fate—being devoured by the demons.
“I really don’t know how that lord possesses such terrifying spiritual power…”
His vision darkened, and his last thought was about this.
Boom!
Suddenly, a tremendous noise erupted. The remaining demons cried uneasily, greatly reducing the pressure on him: “What… what is happening?”
“Imperial Edict! Thunder Magic Summoning!”
Then, a mighty voice accompanied by terrifying lightning swept across instantly.
The remaining black mist demons didn’t even have time to scream before turning into ashes within the white light.
“Ghost… One Lord!”
Eto Kagehide’s face showed relief before he completely fainted.
“Hmm… it seems quite intense…”
Wu Ming returned, seeing several people including Toda Mitsuhide, the ground littered with demon corpses, and Eto Kagehide unconscious. He couldn’t help asking: “What’s the casualty report?”
“Eto fainted, Shota and Kenichi are fine, but Akayama Kanbee… fell in battle!”
Toda Mitsuhide wiped his eyes, slightly red, speaking heavily.
“This is the honor of a samurai! I believe Lord Numata will grant him a proper reward!”
Wu Ming said solemnly.
“Yes! Lord Kagehide… Your timely arrival was incredible!”
Toda Mitsuhide wiped his tears, suddenly jumping in surprise: “You… you were supposed to go fight Shuten-doji. Could it be…”
“Correct!”
Wu Ming nodded: “Shuten-doji has been defeated by me. If we seize the stronghold now, our mission will be complete!”
“Excellent!”
Seeing Toda Mitsuhide’s excited, nearly jubilant expression, Wu Ming smiled.
Regardless of other gains, this feat of defeating a hundred enemies and slaying Shuten-doji alone would surely spread his name throughout the Izumo Province.
With the era’s demand for heroes, a large number of followers wouldn’t be far behind.
Of course, accompanying this would be dangers, such as the possibility of being discovered by powerful enemies.
However, times had changed. Previously, Wu Ming, as merely a mage, naturally sought to hide and protect himself. Now, having advanced to a true cultivator, reaching the peak of a certain stage, he wanted to test his opponents, seeking weaknesses.
At this point, releasing a bit of information might even attract them, which would be a good strategy.
After all, at worst, he could prepare a decoy samurai. With his divine sight, and the opponent being a reincarnator with concealed true name, it would be impossible for them to escape his vision.
“Moreover, there’s a great possibility the enemy isn’t even in Izumo… Considering the vastness of the Japanese world and the slow transmission of information, it might really take a long time to determine the winner!”
Such an achievement might be significant in Izumo, but on the entire Japanese continent… Wu Ming shook his head.
“Oh… I should break through the defenses now to rescue the young lady!”
As if remembering something, Toda Mitsuhide suddenly jumped up.
This indeed posed a problem. Otherwise, due to the chaos from losing their leader, the surviving young lady might perish amidst the turmoil, which would be quite regrettable.
“Yes, now that the news hasn’t spread yet, it’s indeed a great opportunity!”
Wu Ming nodded, kicking the trembling, nearly paralyzed Shota and Kenichi: “Hurry up and help Eto up?”
These two former bandits had been quite lucky this time, as their lack of bravery caused both sides to forget about them, allowing them to survive.
Besides being slightly disheveled, they surprisingly sustained no injuries, which even made Wu Ming marvel slightly.
As these three scrambled to prepare a stretcher and collect spoils of war, Wu Ming leisurely walked a few steps into the dense forest.
“Come out!”
His voice was low, yet the surroundings gave no response.
“If you still don’t come out, I will consider it an insult, and I won’t hesitate to kill you!”
His sharp gaze locked onto a spot.
The bark rustled, and a shadow could no longer maintain concealment, stepping out:
“Lower ninja Kurami Zansan, greeting the lord!”
“You’re called Zansan, a ninja?”
Wu Ming looked at the figure in tight black clothing and half-covered face, fitting his expectations.
“Were you sent by Lord Numata?”
He had already sensed the figure bore no malice, or else he would have killed him at the start.
“My lord ordered me to gather intelligence!”
Facing Wu Ming’s cold killing intent, the ninja hesitated not at all, immediately revealing the truth.
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