The second night passed without incident.
"How many were there in total? Did anyone count?"
Exhausted, Saito Hajime leaned against the village wall to rest as he asked the people beside him.
The sun had already risen, and the Chang Ghosts had been wiped out.
Strangely enough, the instant they were exposed to sunlight, the remaining corpses and fragments of the Chang Ghosts vanished after they were killed. Even the sickening stench in the air disappeared, as if they had never existed at all.
"About the same as last night. Around three hundred, I'd say." Ryoma let out a heavy breath and stroked the head of Oryou-san, who had fallen asleep sprawled across his lap.
"Well, at least we should be grateful those things don't leave their disgusting corpses and smell behind."
Yamanami Keisuke gave a wry smile.
His strength was not particularly outstanding among the group, so fighting had taken quite a toll on him. Even without any intelligence and despite their sluggish movements, five-meter-tall Chang Ghosts were by no means easy opponents.
"...Everyone should go back and get some rest first. Takasugi will have to work a little harder, though. And also..."
"Let's hope there aren't even more tonight."
Sakumura looked even more exhausted than he had the previous night.
"When something appears to follow a pattern, don't doubt it. There is a pattern."
Leonardo da Vinci's voice carried unquestionable certainty.
"Don't doubt it. There will definitely be more Chang Ghosts tonight, and they may even be stronger. The data I've collected over these past two days shows that the Chang Ghosts appearing on each day had different levels of strength. The ones on the second day were clearly stronger than those on the first."
"You'd better ask whoever has always been in charge of the Mountain God