“Hmm… Anyway, Yamada Toramori is ultimately a daimyo. If he truly entrusted everything to me without any reservations, that would indeed be very strange…”
Wu Ming looked at the intimidated ninja: “What level are you?”
“I’m ashamed to admit, I’m merely a Genin…”
Among ninjas, there seemed to be upper, middle, and lower ranks. The Jounin were capable of leading a ninja army and even establishing villages.
However, Yamada Toramori was only a daimyo of ten thousand koku, so having a Genin in his service was already quite good.
“If that’s the case… Lady Hime is also your lord, correct?”
Wu Ming’s eyes were sharp: “Right now, I’m ordering you to immediately infiltrate the Tsuchigumo hideout and ensure Lady Hime’s safety before we arrive!”
It would be difficult for this Genin to lead people out, even if there wasn’t an Oni no Oni to guard, it would probably require a Chunin’s capability.
But sneaking in to provide protection was barely manageable.
“If you can’t even do this, you should commit seppuku voluntarily, otherwise I will surely kill you!”
The terrifying threat immediately weighed heavily on the ninja’s heart.
“Yes, sir!”
Indeed, carrying the momentum of having slain Oni no Oni, even a half-commanding tone was enough to make the ninja accept unwillingly.
“How terrifying… Even my former master, who trained me, probably didn’t have such an imposing presence… Just now, his sword aura sealed me so completely that I couldn’t even use a single ninja technique…”
Only after Wu Ming left did the ninja recover, still shaken, patted his chest, and vanished into the night.
But he didn’t notice a faintly glowing magical symbol flickering briefly on his shoulder before quickly disappearing.
…
Despite Toda Mitsuhide’s insistence on quickly eliminating the enemy and rescuing Lady Hime, the entire night’s activities and Ito Kagehide’s weakened condition delayed their progress, so they only reached the Tsuchigumo stronghold as dawn was breaking.
“Ah… This is practically a small castle!”
Toda Mitsuhide opened his mouth wide, speaking in a disbelieving tone.
“…”
Wu Ming was speechless. Obviously, Oni no Oni had great ambition; even the fortress he built was constructed to the specifications of a castle.
Of course, in his opinion, it was still just a large bandit stronghold.
“However… There are even cultivated fields around here?”
Wu Ming saw the surrounding fields and was quite surprised: “This should be hundreds of acres already. If it were expanded to a thousand acres, it would truly be a fine foundation!”
Still, for bandits, this was already quite rare.
“Light!”
Wu Ming nodded in approval.
Toda Mitsuhide solemnly stepped forward below the stronghold and shouted: “I am Toda Mitsuhide, a retainer of Lord Yamada Toramori of Numata Castle! Listen up inside! Our leader has already been defeated by our captain! Surrender immediately! I guarantee your safety on my honor as a samurai!”
At this, a commotion arose from within.
Wu Ming was well aware that at this point, not many would be needed. Even just a hundred Ashigaru would be sufficient for the stronghold to surrender unconditionally.
After all, with Oni no Oni and many demon officers defeated, who among the remaining humans could command the others?
Of course, the presence of just the four of them wasn’t enough to force the remaining bandits to make a decision.
Although he was stronger than a hundred Ashigaru combined, he lacked the imposing presence of a large army arrayed in formation.
“Therefore, intimidation is still necessary!”
Wu Ming stepped forward a few paces. Because he had other intentions in mind, he didn’t use the most destructive divine fire spell. With a wave of his hand, several golden blades emerged and fiercely slashed at the stronghold’s gate.
Bang!
The golden blade spell left deep marks on the wooden fence. The entire gate shook, and the Tsuchigumo members on top stared in shock.
Of course, they had seen supernatural powers before. After all, their leader was a powerful demon who often used demonic powers to rule his subordinates with terror and awe.
But such power coming from a purely human being was enough to shock them.
Perhaps the news that their leader had been defeated was actually true?
“Heya!”
But Wu Ming’s performance wasn’t over yet.
He rushed forward swiftly, his five-colored ceremonial robe flashing with light, seemingly transforming into a radiant armor that blocked all incoming arrows, spears, and other attacks, arriving beneath the city gate.
Then, several talismans glowed, and his hands, surrounded by flames, struck the gate like massive hammers.
Boom!
With a loud crash, the gate, already damaged, finally could no longer hold and collapsed with a bang.
Wu Ming leaped onto the city wall, and several Tsuchigumo who couldn’t escape in time were instantly struck down, their blood staining the sky: “Surrender immediately, or else… die!!!”
The terrifying voice even transformed into ripples of sound waves, echoing continuously over the stronghold.
The Tsuchigumo below were stunned. It was unknown how long passed before one of them dropped his bamboo spear with a clang.
“One man and one sword, capturing a city!”
Not only the Tsuchigumo, but even Toda Mitsuhide was stunned. Beside him, Shota and Kenichi gazed at Wu Ming’s back with expressions full of fervor.
…
Inside the hall of the stronghold.
Wu Ming sat cross-legged on the tatami mats, listening to Toda Mitsuhide’s report: “Lady Hime has been found, hidden in the secret room at the back, guarded by your lord’s ninja!”
“And what about other gains?”
Wu Ming waved his hand, inquiring about other matters.
“A lot!”
Toda Mitsuhide’s eyes sparkled with excitement: “Out of awe for your power and without any organized resistance, most of the people in the stronghold surrendered. We captured twenty-seven men, fifty-six women, and more than ten children…”
In fact, there should have been more adult males.
However, Wu Ming had too few people to guard so many prisoners, so many of the strong and healthy ones escaped.
“Okay! Other places don’t need attention, but have Shota and Kenichi select a few people to guard the treasury and granary! Anyone attempting to take anything without my written order should be killed immediately!”
Though not yet officially recognized, Wu Ming had already treated these as his own possessions: “What about the other supplies? Has the inventory been completed?”
“The total supplies amount to three hundred koku of grain, twenty high-quality samurai swords, five sets of light armor, bamboo spears, longbows, and so on, as well as one thousand kan of gold and silver coins, and countless copper coins…”
To be honest, this wealth would make even Yamada Toramori’s mouth water, and Toda Mitsuhide swallowed hard.
Wu Ming, however, remained indifferent.
For ordinary bandits, even with hundreds of members, this was still overly rich.
However, Oni no Oni, as a powerful demon who enjoyed robbing human wealthy households, having such accumulations was quite normal.
“There’s still a lot of demonic aura hidden within this stronghold… It seems another major cleanup is needed! And… Oni no Oni’s true treasure must be more than just this, probably hiding some secret vault or something?”
Wu Ming mused silently, then said to Toda Mitsuhide: “Go and fetch four hundred kan of gold coins. Two hundred for Ito Kagehide, fifty each for you and that Genin, and one hundred kan should be sent to the family of Akiyama Kanbee!”
“Also, since Lady Hime has been rescued, you should escort her back!”
“Yes…”
Toda Mitsuhide habitually agreed, then suddenly looked up: “Eh?”
“Didn’t Lord Yamada promise that once Lady Hime was rescued, he would grant me an Andokujou and three hundred koku of territory?”
Wu Ming’s face carried a smile: “I think this place is quite good. You can go back and tell him!”
Actually, at the same time he made this decision in his heart, he had already automatically regarded this place as his own territory.
However, if Yamada Toramori agreed, this would become a hereditary fief for the samurai. If not, it would remain a bandit stronghold, differing only in name.
Oh, no, originally, the fief should have been carved out from his own territory, but now it could be allocated directly, so the other party should still be gaining an advantage.
If even this wasn’t accepted, then he would just kill him!
…
In the end, Toda Mitsuhide and Ito Kagehide left with heavy hearts.
Together with them, naturally, was the ninja and Lady Hime of the Yamada family.
It could be considered fortunate; although she had been captured here, due to Oni no Oni’s previous abundant reserves, she had been kept as a food source and hadn’t encountered any terrible fate, though she had been terrified.
Wu Ming had specially gone to take a look. She was just a little girl, nothing particularly special.
After this group left, what remained was now his own.
Wu Ming immediately gathered everyone on the flat ground within the stronghold, looking down from above, his sharp gaze instantly covering the entire crowd.
“I am the head of the Oniichi family, Oniichi Hōgan! This place is now my fief!”
He loudly declared thus, though it carried no legal weight, his martial prowess itself was the best guarantee!
“I don’t care what you did before; from now on, you are all my subjects. Unlike the previous Oni no Oni, as long as you work peacefully here, you can all live safely!”
Wu Ming made this promise, and immediately noticed the dull eyes below flicker with a little life.
“Shota! Kenichi!”
Two bandits immediately stepped forward, kneeling and bowing.
“Hmm… I will accept you two as my retainers of the Oniichi family, granting you the surname Matsushita, along with fifty acres of land outside! When you achieve merits in the future, another fifty acres will be awarded, and you will be officially promoted to samurai!”
“Thank you, my lord!”
Matsushita Shota and Matsushita Kenichi were instantly moved to tears, after all, this was a true hereditary fief!
Not only did it offer the possibility of being promoted to samurai in the future, but right now, they had their own surname and were no longer the lowest of the low.
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