Chapter 82
According to legend in the Higashi, Kojiro was able to cut down swallows in the sky with his sword, hence his sword was named "Swallow Return".
If it were just an ordinary swallow, any swordsman could easily kill it, but Kojiro was able to achieve the status of a sword saint by doing so, so the "swallow" he killed must have been extraordinary.
—What exactly was the swallow he killed?
This question had been asked by the swordsmen not long ago, and at that time, Kojiro briefly revealed some details about his past.
"That swallow flew towards me from the past, present, and future all at the same time." Kojiro gestured with his hands to show the swallow's flight path. "I think it was probably a trace left by someone in history. So I killed it 'like this'."
"What do you mean by 'like this' and it's been annihilated?" Ito Ittosai his head in his hands. "'Like this'? What do you mean?"
"I'm not entirely sure either," Kojiro said with an apologetic smile. "Anyway, after that, I mastered the essence of swordsmanship."
Miyamoto Musashi was also listening at the time, so she knew very well that if Sasaki Kojiro's sword could touch the "swallow flying from the past, present and future", then his swordsmanship would surely reach the level of touching the "past, present and future" at the same time, or even be higher than that level.
Because Miyamoto Musashi knew that it would be very difficult to hit Feiyan with a single sword strike; it would probably take several more strikes.
At roughly the same moment, Sasaki Kojiro unleashed countless sword strikes.
Now, Sasaki Kojiro's swordsmanship is revealing its profound secrets to Miyamoto Musashi.
Its sword light changed from one to two, from two to three, and from three to infinity.
Its name is Sword Intent – [Boundless and Limitless].
Following the honorific title of ancient swordsmanship, it is called "Infinite Sword".
The infinite sword is the perfect weapon against things that are neither alive nor dead.
That was not killing, but trapping and killing.
"Musashi, join me in this attack!" Kojiro whispered.
As soon as he finished speaking, another towering sword light burst forth from Musashi's palm, slashing towards the general's shadow.
Miyamoto Musashi's life story wasn't particularly legendary; she simply traveled around, taking on challenges and getting free meals.
But her swordsmanship is better than anyone else's.
Whether it was the swordsmen who had fought against her or the teachers who had once guided her, they all had to admit that even the "Gate of the Sword Saint" could not hinder her.
Miyamoto Musashi was not without defeats, but those defeats quickly became resources for her, enabling her to rise to new heights at an incredible speed.
Those defeats and those wounds did not leave the slightest trace in her heart.
In other words, this is the manifestation of "emptiness".
If Sasaki Kojiro's sword is an infinite sword, then Miyamoto Musashi's sword is Zeroing Sword.
However, compared to Kojiro, whose mindset and technique had reached perfection, Miyamoto Musashi's swordsmanship had not yet been honed to its peak.
Miyamoto Musashi came to the Ritual of the Full Moon for this very reason, hoping to hone his swordsmanship. Now that the Ritual of the Full Moon has been abruptly halted by Hebe, Miyamoto Musashi doesn't see it as a bad thing, because her purpose has already been achieved.
Because what she said to Hebe was not a lie.
She did indeed devise a sword technique to counter the "One-Thought-Not-Thought Sword," and at this moment, Miyamoto Musashi's last weakness had been overcome.
Musashi's sword is the Zeroing Sword. For things that are neither born nor die, the so-called zero and nothingness are actually their final destination. Only zero and nothingness can bury these things that should not exist in the world.
This includes the general's shadow, the mind infected by Eris, and naturally, the pent-up sword energy that Hebe used to immobilize Miyamoto Musashi... especially the latter, which prompted Miyamoto Musashi's swordsmanship to undergo a transformation.
When he drew his sword, Miyamoto Musashi felt an indescribable gratitude deep within his heart.
Compared to Kojiro's sword, which progresses from simplicity to infinity, Musashi's sword transitions from ornate to simple.
The sword light is as heavy as the earth; the sword light is as smooth as water; the sword light is as intense as flames; the sword light is as graceful as a gentle breeze... The sword light is just the sword light. As Musashi draws his sword, all the colors that interpret the nature of things are stripped away, leaving only a pure white.
The sword light was as clear and pure as the sky.
Its name is Sword Intent - [Six Paths and Five Wheels - Free and Vacuum].
Following the honorific title of ancient swordsmanship, it is called "Vacuum Sword".
At that moment, the general's shadow just raised her hand; she didn't even raise the hand that held the katana, but the empty hand.
Then, the General's Shadow grasped the sword light that Kojiro had unleashed and tore it off as easily as a child tearing apart the wings of a moth, seemingly no more difficult than tearing a piece of paper.
The sword light, seemingly endless, disintegrated between the general's fingers, appearing like a molten, dreamlike rain of light. Kojiro's face showed no sign of despair, yet a tremendous pressure suddenly arose in his heart.
Fortunately, he felt no confusion at that moment, so his swordsmanship remained steady.
At the same time, Musashi's sword light pierced through the head of the General's Shadow.
The general's shadow's raised hand froze instantly—or rather, the shadow's entire body stopped moving.
Along the sword marks left by Musashi, the shadow of the shogun began to fold, collapse, and shatter... before being completely erased.
Kojiro caught his breath. If Musashi's sword intent was deletion, then his was continuous copying and pasting. If it weren't for this Ritual of the Full Moon, he would inevitably have fought this female sword saint to the death.
It has nothing to do with love or hate, nor with morality; it is the opposition of desires, and also the conflict on the path of seeking the way of the sword.
The two sword saints exchanged a glance and walked past the ashes that had once been the "Shadow of the General".
They both saw the hidden worries in each other's eyes—for the Sword Saint, sword intent was not something that could be used without a price. While it could certainly inflict damage on beings of the Twilight Rank, every swing of the sword was a clash of wills.
How many more swords can they wield? And how many shadows of the past did the general slay in the Flower Palace?
As if in response to their questions, lightning once again struck down from the clouds.
The shadows of generals wielding katanas blocked their path once again... and there were two of them.
126 It's more like a dance than a martial art.
Hebe has been pondering this since long ago.
If you encounter someone with the ability to alter history in the simulation, how should you deal with it?
—This possibility is unlikely, but not zero. Because she is someone who has a forward-thinking mindset.
It's always better to plan ahead than to panic at the last minute.
In Albion, her schemes proved useless, but in Egyptian lands, though such an existence did not appear, Hebe still gave the Red King a real hard time.
Now, in the Higashi.
Ashiya Dōman reveals his identity, stating that [Eris] also possesses the ability to alter history.
Hebe continued walking forward.
In the past, half of her preparations have continued; in the future, her preparations have not yet been undermined.
"What else did Ashiya Dōman say to Miss A-Long?" Hebe asked, holding the Tsuchinoko Snake.
"The monk told A-Long that Fox wasn't actually asleep, but dead. The person who killed Fox was in Kyoto, and A-Long would see him if he went there," Miss A-Long answered without hesitation. "The monk also said that as long as A-Long went to Kyoto, Fox would come back to life."
"... You actually believed him?" Hebe shook her head.
Miss A-Long has never been very bright, but as long as I'm by her side, that's not a problem.
The Flower Palace is located in the center of the inner city. Its exterior is a vermilion castle tower with funnel-shaped clouds swirling above it.
Thunderbolts descended from the clouds, randomly striking the streets and buildings of the inner city.
The road leading to the Flower Palace was eerily quiet, with few disciples infected by Eris and even a few bolts of lightning striking down.
If I had to describe it, it's like a silent road leading to the Sanzu River... terrifying!
However, Hebe did not intend to storm the Flower Palace immediately. Before that, she wanted to help Miss A-Long find the Dragon Horn and the Dragon Pearl.
If the Dragon Horn and the Dragon Pearl are retrieved, Miss A-Long can leap from the Daytime rank of "Tsuchinoko Snake" back to the Twilight rank, becoming a great beast comparable to the Shogun, the Dragon of Takachiho.
Of course, this is on the premise that the influence of the environment and the times is not taken into account.
Just as in the Egyptian lands, Bestet and Sekhmet were reduced from gods to beasts after their rule began; now it is no longer a barbaric age, but a time when humanity has built cities and states on the earth and seized mountains, rivers Water and Soil from nature.
It can be said that the further the times advance, the more the power of civilization will prevail over barbaric violence. As both are of the Twilight rank, the General, standing on the side of civilization, order, and society, naturally holds a greater advantage.
Takachiho is Miss A-Long's territory, where civilized order has not prevailed. If a war were to break out here, even the Shogun might not have the upper hand. Yet, at the instigation of Eris's avatar, Miss A-Long marches straight towards Kyoto, the most prosperous city in the Higashi.
—Under these circumstances, the images that were originally meant to bless Miss A-Long ended up benefiting the General instead.
In her extreme anger, Miss A-Long failed to make a successful sliding tackle, which only widened the gap between her and the general's rank.
Of course, if Hebe had been there, the situation would have been different—she had the power and means to reverse the perceptions of both sides.
"Isn't Fox going to that big house?" Miss A-Long asked.
"What would I be doing at the Flower Palace?" Hebe asked her in return.
"Fight!" Miss A-Long wagged her tail. "But A-Long has become so small that he can't help Fox fight."
"So now I'm going to help Miss A-Long find her Dragon Horn and Dragon Pearl —instead of me having to put in the effort to search, why don't you, Miss A-Long, sense where your Dragon Horn and Dragon Pearl are?"
Hebe patted the back of the Tsuchinoko Snake.
The Tsuchinoko Snake is a monster that does not truly exist in the wild; it exists somewhere between a beast and a mountain spirit.
Its shape resembles a snake, with a short, thick body like a hammer. It is also known as the "Child of Earth" or the "Phantom Serpent," symbolizing the mystery of nature.
Miss A-Long appeared in the form of Tsuchinoko Snake, thanks to this legend.
Putting aside the current situation, it's still quite fun to play with Tsuchinoko Snake.
"To the east!" Miss A-Long waved her short tail and pointed in a direction.
"That's in the northwest," Hebe said in a deep voice.
She discovered that since Miss A-Long appeared in her Tsuchinoko Snake form, her already low intelligence had plummeted.
Near the Flower Palace.
This is the only place where neither the infected nor the Shadow of the General has ever approached.
Tsukahara Bokuden held a wooden sword in his hand, his expression blank, with a carefree smile on his face. It was less like he was wielding a sword and more like he was weeding or wielding a hoe to plant crops.
Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, had a solemn expression. The long sword in his hand always appeared at an unexpected angle. His movements were not like slashing at a target, but rather like a blacksmith hammering an anvil or a locksmith opening a door with a key.
It's more like a dance than a martial art.
These two sword saints seemed to be fighting, yet they also seemed to be practicing swordsmanship in their own independent worlds. Their swords drew aimless trajectories in the air, not belonging to any particular school of swordsmanship.
Every ten seconds or so, their swords would clash once.
The instant their swords clashed, the clouds in the sky were torn apart. The chaotic sword energy, as if alive, burst forth in all directions, mercilessly destroying everything it touched.
Tsukahara Bokuden and Kamiizumi Nobutsuna were unaware of Eris or Ashiya Dōman's specific role in the matter, but their sense of crisis did not diminish when they saw the horrifying sight of the inner city.
Therefore, they immediately made the most correct choice— to Power Struggle.
The Power Struggle is a state, a way of locking both sides like yin and yang on the engine of struggle. The two sword saints imitated the struggle between rulers, turning the three feet around them into a sacred dueling arena. Any third party that tries to interfere will only be blasted to death by the two sword saints.
Eris's form of existence would probably seem meaningless to everyone.
In that situation, people would easily identify with Eris's identity, and the moment they felt a sense of belonging, they would become Eris.
However, the two sword saints' answer was: fight.
If everything else is rendered meaningless and irredeemable, then battle becomes the only meaning. Even in the endless abyss of despair, as long as we fight, fight, and fight, new meaning can be forged.
Their battles aligned with the two leaders' philosophies—that combat is the smallest unit of war. It is never the world that gives meaning to war, but rather war that gives meaning to the world.
Using this method, Tsukahara Bokuden and Kamiizumi Nobutsuna managed to fight their way from the outer castle all the way to the vicinity of the Flower Palace.
Unfortunately, this move was useless against the general, because the general was engaged in the same battle—the two sword saints could only approach the Flower Palace at most, but could not enter it.
For both sides in the Power Struggle, time has lost its significance. Like a cat locked in a Schrödinger's box, only someone can witness the competition and declare the final winner.
Who can easily break through the sword encirclement of the two sword saints, and who has enough status to witness the final victor?
Ashiya Dōman of high enough rank, but he was not a sword saint and did not possess the key to open the box.
The general met all the above requirements, but she had no time to spare.
At this time and place, only Hebe meets the requirements.
127 The Death of the Sword Saint