Fierce Battle / Turning Point

He doesn't possess the Godhead of the earth element, but the return-to-base function he can use thanks to the Godhead of the Okuninushi can be considered a blessing.

After Shuya finished applying the buff, the Heavenly God stroked his beard and said:

"In the name of the God of Learning, I bestow upon you more comprehensive combat knowledge, and you will understand your opponent's weaknesses."

A white light shone upon the Monster and its retinue.

Nearly a million soldiers from both sides clashed, and the sounds of battle filled the air.

Section 317, Chapter 301: Fierce Battle

The Battle of Takamagahara was extremely fierce from the very beginning.

The moment the two sides made contact, countless Monster instantly returned to the city, and a large number of Heavenly Soldiers and their retinues died on the spot.

This was a battle of unparalleled ferocity since Shuya launched his campaign against the gods.

Previous battles were either surprise attacks or group assaults; no demons died, at most they were seriously injured. Victory was achieved quite easily.

But things are different now.

Shuya's side was outnumbered; even though they were more elite than the enemy, they couldn't overcome the enemy's superior numbers and experience.

If Amaterasu's side hadn't suffered heavy losses in the World War, Shuya's side might have been defeated outright.

Being a deity is a profession that requires accumulating wealth and experience.

The advantage of Monster lies in their faster reproduction and growth rates compared to gods. After Shuya and other powerful beings like the Heavenly God leveled out the high-level combat power, the two sides reached the current stalemate.

This war is beyond the scope of planning.

At the forefront of the conflict, neither side had time to use any fancy techniques; only the simplest and most effective moves remained.

The Strange Arts, Divine Arts, and Demonic Arts used later were all of the simplest kind.

There is only one objective: to kill the enemy.

"I haven't seen such a large battlefield in a long time."

On the blood-soaked battlefield, the Heavenly God suddenly spoke.

He gazed ahead and saw Shuten Gozaburo and Shuten Doji wielding spiked clubs, swinging them out with completely unskilled movements, splattering bursts of golden-red blood.

In the powerful Divine Domain of Takamagahara, even Heavenly Soldiers possess physical forms, and when injured, they too spit out blood.

To the left, where the Oni Clan is the main force, is the front of the Tengu.

On the battlefield where Strange Arts were flying everywhere, they dared not take to the air and could only fight on the ground.

Oniichi Tenba, wielding a katana, displayed simple yet highly lethal battlefield swordsmanship, each slash drawing forth blossoms of blood.

Those jet-black, steel-like wings could be used for both offense and defense; they were quite useful.

Meanwhile, on the right, Yamatano Aoyama transformed into a demonic form, but instead of growing larger, he shrank. The Yamata Snake Clan transformed into serpents as thick as an arm, stealthily traversing the battlefield to kill enemies with extremely high efficiency.

With a single twist and flick of its body, the snake could pierce through and take the lives of several enemies.

The Chubu of Otake-maru is also fighting bravely against the enemy.

Tamamo Ren, meanwhile, was busy directing the Demonic Arts from the rear, sometimes attacking and sometimes defending.

The Heavenly God's retinue was also incredibly fierce, their madness no less than that of Monster.

The Heavenly Soldiers on the other side were also fearless and their Heroic Spirits were extremely skilled in battle. Amaterasu's retinue was also very strong, and their counterattack was extremely fierce.

The Monster kept returning to the city, needing to rest for a while before coming back.

What was originally a straight line of battle lines gradually became a jumbled mess, with friend and foe indistinguishable...

Only flesh and blood are the main theme.

"It's tragic, but it also makes one's blood boil."

Shuya's fingers twitched slightly; he also wanted to join the fray and kill someone.

But that won't work.

The opposing general hasn't appeared yet, so we still need to be wary.

The Heavenly God was silent for a moment, then said, "No, Inoue- kun. I believe you won't like it. Even if you're temporarily captivated, you'll eventually understand its evil."

Shuya nodded, not dwelling on the topic, but instead said, "Speaking of which, why is there a moon in Amaterasu's blessing? Isn't that the power of Tsukuyomi? Was He also ambushed by Amaterasu?"

"He has never appeared, and I'm not quite sure either."

Surprisingly, even the Heavenly God didn't know.

He simply said, "Perhaps Tsukuyomi's power was stolen by Amaterasu."

After a brief exchange, Shuya surveyed the battlefield once more.

The battle lines retreated to their own side.

The Monster's combat experience was still inferior to Amaterasu's, and they were slightly outmatched.

Shuya thought for a moment, then passed on the order that the Monster should focus on defense, and that the Monster General and the clan head should not be at the forefront, but should take turns resting.

Soon, the Monster and the Heavenly God' retinue adjusted their formation, shrinking inwards to hold their ground in front of the teleportation array.

Shuya's idea was simple: Monster lacked experience, then they should be trained.

This is the best place to practice.

Under his orders, the Fox Clan and Tengu clans studied the situation further, carefully allocating the positions of each Monster, and trying to send as many Monster as possible into battle to gain experience while holding their ground.

The third day Takamagahara descended.

The first day of the Battle of Takamagahara.

Shuya's side is in a full-scale defensive phase.

On the first day, both sides tacitly refrained from deploying their top combat forces.

The Aoyama Sisters and the Yukinoshita Sisters also participated in the battle.

Tsuruko and Motoko fought a very dangerous battle, returning to the city several times before gradually getting used to it.

The Yukinoshita Sisters were in the rear, didn't return to the city, but they were exhausted.

As for Shizuka Hiratsuka... she has a special status and can be considered one of the strongest combatants, but she also goes into battle specifically to hunt down gods, and she's having a blast.

The Battle of Takamagahara never stopped once it started, with the number of participants decreasing only at the early morning hours.

Small-scale battles have been ongoing.

The Monster are mortal beings, and they get tired just like everyone else. Even gods aren't perpetual motion machines; they need rest too.

Even if the Heavenly Soldiers and Heroic Spirits have no worries about physical strength or energy, without the guidance of a god, charging forward would only be a waste of their Power of Faith.

Therefore, the fighting gradually subsided in the early hours of the morning.

And so, the fourth day of Takamagahara arrived.

The two sides started fighting very early that morning, before seven o'clock.

The Monster have made tremendous progress after yesterday's great battle.

They were no longer driven to irrationality by the atmosphere of the great battle; they learned to remain calm.

... At least most Monster are like that.

Shuya remained in the rear to oversee the situation; he absolutely could not leave.

Neither side has a way out.

Seven days.

Amaterasu can hold out for seven days, she will win.

Shuya will win Amaterasu within seven days.

But war cannot be rushed.

Shuya his strength, if you asked him to fight Amaterasu's side one-on-one, he would be beaten to death without even needing Takemikazuchi and Futsunushi to lift a finger.

Takemikazuchi and the others are the same.

Therefore, both leaders are waiting for an opportunity.

On the second day of the Battle of Takamagahara, apart from the two great gods, the other gods on Amaterasu's side joined the battle one after another.

The Monster were under a lot of pressure, but thanks to the efforts of Shizuka Hiratsuka and the Monster General, they were able to hold on.

Afternoon.

Suddenly, a powerful aura appeared, and a group of gods flew out from Takamagahara.

The leading deity was actually...

Hachiman!

Shuya and looked over, discovering that His aura was completely different from what he had sensed before.

It seems it was Age of Gods.

After the gods of the Hachiman lineage joined the battle, the battle lines retreated once again.

Hachiman also brought a new buff, making the warriors on His side more closely connected and automatically learning to form a battle formation.

Amidst the deafening shouts of battle, Shizuka Hiratsuka leaped back, casually wiping the blood from her face. "Hey," she said, "This is bad! How about this, you send someone to help me, and I'll go and take him down!"

"... Wait, let me think about it some more."

Shuya didn't want Shizuka Hiratsuka to venture deep into enemy territory and risk her life; she was an important fighting force, and returning to the city to recuperate would be a major loss.

As Shuya racked his brains, trying to find a solution, the battlefield suddenly changed...

Section 318, page 302: Turning Point

Hachiman personally led his retinue to attack the left flank of the battle line. With precise combat awareness, he broke into the battle formation and wreaked havoc, tearing open a gap in the formation, allowing the Heavenly Soldiers to surge in.

He fought for a while longer, then tried to turn back to his own lines.

An unexpected event occurred.

A short, dark figure appeared silently behind Hachiman, and blurry black lines flashed—the blade of a dagger that instantly materialized.

The retinue surrounding Hachiman unknowingly developed lines on their throats, and within seconds their bodies began to emit a foul stench and melt away.

Nurarihyon?

Shuya was slightly surprised; he hadn't known that Xiu had followed him.

There were too many Monsters; it's normal that he didn't notice them.

He stared intently as Nurarihyon, with his ruthless and murderous swordsmanship, fought closely, forcing Hachiman to stop. Hachiman dodged left and right, unable to fully wield his longsword.

Finally, He unleashed His Divine Power and pushed the Nurarihyon away.

With an unchanging expression, Nurarihyon his sleeve, and a dark shadow shot out.

A small snake with incomplete scales leaped nimbly across Hachiman's body, striking him with tremendous force time and again, causing him to stagger.

At that moment, a white-haired, red-skinned demon with only one eye suddenly appeared from the Sea of Monsters. He wielded a spiked club with some of its sharp horns broken off, and his ferocious club-wielding techniques were in sync with the snake demon's rhythm as he struck fiercely.

Hachiman roared, ignoring the small snake on his body, and could only raise his sword to parry.

After exchanging blows, Hachiman was forced to retreat repeatedly. The little snake took the opportunity to bite him a few times, and the poison invaded his body, slowing his movements.

He was driven deep into the demon's formation, and his retinue rushed over like madmen. But all they saw was a terrifying Fox Fire, and a fox with a broken ear slowly leaped out of the flames, unleashing various Demonic Arts upon Hachiman.

With his retinue missing its chance, the Monster seized the opportunity to complete their encirclement, surrounding Hachiman.

During this siege, another one-winged Tengu emerged from the Sea of Monsters. His swordsmanship was extremely ruthless, and he traded blows with Hachiman, each move vicious and deadly.

Amidst this precise combo and occasional Monster attacks from yokai, Hachiman cried out in pain and died from Nurarihyon's backstab.