Volume 8 - Higanbana: Chapter 5 – Nine-Tailed Fox And The Blade Maiden (Part 1)
Volume 8 - Higanbana: Chapter 5 – Nine-Tailed Fox And The Blade Maiden (Part 1)
Its thousand-meter-long body was longer than the mountain range at the far distance. The massive nine-tailed fox demon stopped before the Army. On the massive patch of land around her, tens of thousands of soldiers seemed to have disappeared into thin air.
Looking at this unprecedented gigantic monster with immense killing intent, Rei and Lily who stood far away also held each other subconsciously.
Even Rei couldn’t help but tremble out of fear.
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The biggest monsters Lily ever saw in the Heian Dynasty were only tens of meters tall. Those ones were already considered to be horrifyingly massive demons. However, this nine-tailed fox was actually a kilometer long! The size of its body alone was beyond comprehension!
Only those ancient divine beasts that battled Celestial Maidens in those bygone days that she read could be this big!
However, the gods, demons, and Celestial Maidens had disappeared from this world for no reason. Hence, this demonic monster that was as big as a God and its incredibly powerful aura was enough to trample on anything in this world!
Even the half-million soldiers that seemed like an ocean was relatively small when compared to it!
Just by revealing its original form, the Fox demon had slaughtered tens of thousands of soldiers around it! Lily always expected that Tamamo had faced the enemy alone with the intent of sacrificing herself. But now, Lily realized that she thought wrong.
“This… This is the true form of the world’s greatest Archdemon…”
“Nine-tailed fox! She has revealed her original form!”
The half-million soldiers started churning and moving. As if the fox demon’s scorching breath was enough to make the Army shiver in fear!
“Cough, ah…” Kato’s armor was ruined. He climbed out from the dirt with blood all over. However, most of the blood on his body came from his demonic horse and surrounding soldiers. Aside from him and those above pinnacle Throned Monarch, the rest of his troops and warhorses were all turned into blood mist.
He raised his head, only to see that the fox demon’s massive eyes were staring at him. The moment he met eyes with this ancient beast, his body petrified.
“Formations!” After the shock, the Chief Commander at the rear regained his composure and ordered his army!
The black-armored soldiers, with ten thousand men as one unit, formed into various large formations!
Ten formations were formed in front, each shaped like a turtle shell. Spiritual energy melded into each other and created an incredibly strong golden barrier. A defensive measure!
Dozens of formations were formed at the rear, shaped like crane wings. The center of those wings were pointed towards the fox demon even as spiritual energy manifested and gathered at the center.
This was the black-armored soldiers’ strongest attack formation against individual beings: the Crane Wing Demon-Slaying Formation!
Tens of thousands of Onmyojis and Dharma Masters also utilized those tall platforms and created attack formations!
“Attack!” Ueotsune pulled out his long sword and pointed at the fox demon.
One by one, each Crane Wing Formation shot out a blinding golden beam of light. This light was the combination of ten-thousand black-armored demon soldier’s attacks, concentrated by the formation. Even a middle Throned Saint would be vaporized if they were struck by it!
Many golden beams manifested by spiritual energy shot towards the massive fox demon.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The golden beams of light exploded on its body. With such a massive size, it couldn’t dodge easily.
However… After the barrage of attacks and the smoke dissipated, not even a single mark was left on the nine-tailed fox’s fur.
Tamamo in her original form had tougher skin than grade-nine Tamahagane. It was also incredibly flexible and had incredible defensive capabilities. The attacks of those massive formations on it weren’t effective at all.
“What…” Everyone was completely shocked.
The massive nine-tailed fox suddenly pounced.
Bang!
The earth shook as the horrifying front claws of the demon flashed in a terrifying red light and slammed onto the turtle shell defensive formation. The golden barrier ruptured like a bubble, and the formation was splattered in blood. Several thousand soldiers were turned into meat paste, and thousands more were launched into the air, some already dismembered.
The fox demon opened its mouth, which was as big as a mountain valley, and countless streams of blood gathered and flowed into it. Far away, the regional soldiers who were joining the subjugation were utterly stunned. In their eyes, it was no longer a battle but a demon god that had fallen from the skies and was about to destroy the world.
The nobles’ troops were the first to crumble. The demonic beast that was as big as a mountain was out of their reach. The lords and nobles ran away, and the soldiers started fleeing indiscriminately, trampling on each other, and inflicting massive casualties.
The nine-tailed fox demon looked down and stared at everyone. The massive difference made those armies seem like tiny figurines.
The demon fox opened its mouth.
Whoom!
Incredibly hot winds were spewed out. The wind was so strong that it became visible, like swords made of blood. 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘰𝘳𝘨
That bloody gust of wind blew past the already destroyed turtle shell formation and impacted three Crane Wing Demon-Slaying Formation behind it. Those formations had no defensive abilities to begin with, and were crumpled by the strong winds. Tens of thousands of soldiers were all dismembered as they were caught in its tracks.
“This, what kind of monster is this…” The Dharma Master standing behind was completely stunned. He couldn’t help but crumple onto the floor.
In the blink of an eye, Tamamo had destroyed four grand formations and slaughtered at least thirty thousand demon soldiers.
“No! Our strongest defensive formations can’t stop this monster! This… This monster shouldn’t even exist in the current world! This is an existence from the ancient battlefields!” The Chief Commander with eyes that glittered like stars, Ueotsune of the Big Dipper Stage, stood up on top of his mount’s back.
“Looks like I’m the only one who can stop her! You lot will continue attacking!”
Ueotsune released a horrifying and immense aura. With a jump, he charged towards Tamamo while levitating in mid-air. Every step he took would leave a smoky footprint in the air, as if the air itself had been scorched.
Ueotsune was incredibly quick. He dashed over the formation, raised his long sword, and charged towards the thousand-meter-long monster!
“Nine-tailed fox demon! Don’t you dare! Watch me, Ueotsune Tane!”
Wham!
The fox demon’s claws were lightning fast, with sharp edges flashing in red as though they could tear space itself and cleave the sky. In an instant, they struck Ueotsune’s body.
The impact felt by Ueotsune was akin to being hit by an entire planet, causing excruciating pain throughout his entire body. However, it only lasted a split second, and after that, he was completely unresponsive.
Ueotsune Tane, the powerhouse of the Big Dipper Stage, was pulverized into meat paste by Tamamo-no-Mae’s claws, leaving him dead.
Despite not having participated in the ancient wars, Tamamo-no-Mae was already a renowned demon during the time when Celestial Maidens and demon gods roamed. In contrast, Racoon Mita was just a weak little raccoon at that time. Despite not being the strongest demon, Tamamo-no-Mae was an existence that no ordinary powerful individual would dare to provoke, especially in her original form. Tamamo-no-Mae was called the greatest Archdemon in the world for a reason. However, after millennia of inactivity, living beings in the Heian Dynasty had gradually forgotten that this was the ancient demon that had once wreaked havoc upon the world. If Racoon Mita was the only one who had witnessed the ancient wars in flesh, then Tamamo-no-Mae was a living relic of that era.
Ueotsune Tane, who was relatively new to the Big Dipper Stage and slightly weaker than Rokuhara himself, was still a formidable presence in the Heian Dynasty. Although he was only slightly stronger than the virtual projection created by the Great Rokuhara Army Formation, he was one level weaker than Rokuhara himself. Nonetheless, being on the Big Dipper Stage meant that he had the power to do as he pleased in the Heian Dynasty.
Despite receiving due respect and courtesy from Minamoto no Yoritomo and the Cloistered Emperor, who even kindly requested his help instead of ordering him, Ueotsune Tane, a Big Dipper who had lived for centuries, was killed in an instant with a single swipe of Tamamo’s claw.
What sort of being could claim the title of the world’s strongest?
Perhaps the strength of the second and third most powerful individuals could be measured in some way, but the first? No one knew the extent of their power!
Tamamo-no-Mae raised its claws, revealing Ueotsune Tane, who was now nothing more than meat paste, despite wearing grade-nine armor that was shattered upon impact. The ancient monster seemed to forget that it had just killed a powerhouse on the Big Dipper Stage, as it raised its head and fixed its gaze on another turtle shell formation. It appeared that this formation intrigued her even more, perhaps because it was still alive.
Kato couldn’t believe his eyes as he witnessed Ueotsune Tane, the supreme existence in his eyes, being swatted to death. “Lord Ueotsune!” he cried out, standing up briefly before falling back to his knees in shock.
“The Chief Commander…” The Archdemons were left speechless. If Ueotsune had been weaker than them, they wouldn’t have obeyed his commands in the first place.
Momiji murmured to herself, trembling, “That explains why Lord Shuten Doji didn’t try to stop or hinder Tamamo-no-Mae when she was gravely injured back then…”
As the fox demon advanced towards another grand formation, its massive tails swayed behind it. At its feet lay the destroyed corpse of Ueotsune Tane, whose green and shimmering Anima held tremendous power. Two tiny stars even orbited around this mighty Anima, a phenomenon unique to the soul of a Big Dipper.
The Anima trembled and attempted to break free, but a bone-chilling icy bolt pierced through it. Even though it was on the Big Dipper Stage, it was unable to resist the overwhelming suction force. Despite knowing that it was facing certain death, the temptation was too great, as if it could soothe the soul of a departed being in agony.
The Anima eventually gave in and its consciousness faded away. The radiant Big Dipper Stage was absorbed by a swaying Cursed Blade. A prismatic Soul Pattern illuminated Lily’s Yasutsuna.
“I’ve obtained a Big Dipper Anima!” Lily’s expression was grave.
Despite no longer being human due to his training in the art of the demon samurai, if the situation called for it, Lily would not hesitate to absorb Ueotsune’s soul even if he were still human.
Lily gazed fearfully at Tamamo, unable to shake the feeling of horror. “It’s… it’s too much. Is this what Lady Kimiko really looks like?”
The fox demon’s face tilted slightly as she directed a gaze filled with murderous intent towards Lily.
“Watch out!” Rei threw caution to the wind and lunged at Lily, tackling her to the ground several dozen meters away.
Boom! The ground shook as the fox demon’s massive tail slammed into the spot where Lily had been standing moments before. The impact was so great that it could have killed her instantly. Lily trembled with fear, feeling a chill run down her spine.