Battle of Yamatai (6)

Centered on Buggy, deep, bottomless cracks appeared on the yellow earth, like dozens of giant pythons crawling rapidly in all directions, covering almost a third of the entire battlefield!

The soldiers, unsteady on their feet and swaying precariously, watched in terror as the crack beneath their feet widened into a chasm, screaming in utter horror.

"What on earth is going on?!"

"That man is truly terrifying..."

In an instant, not only did the Genji army fall into chaos with stampedes occurring frequently, but even Kozuki Oden's army, under the command of its commander, retreated in fear, no longer daring to engage the enemy in close combat at this time.

Shuten's expression was one of shock. "It's Yamata no Orochi... How can he possess the power of Yamata no Orochi!"

Above the tales of a hundred demons in Wano Country, there is an ultimate legend— the Yamata no Orochi.

This is a legendary ultimate monster sealed inside the island of Wano Country. Although it is sealed, it sheds its skin every once in a while, and each time it sheds its skin, it causes an earthquake powerful enough to destroy everything!

If the Red Nose man used some strange method before, this time... a simple trick couldn't possibly have achieved this level of power... How could he possess the power of the Yamata no Orochi...?

Shuten simply couldn't imagine what would happen next, and a fear he had never felt before welled up inside him.

However, Weevil, who had closed in, did not stop attacking at all. Instead, his attacks became increasingly fierce. Shuten terrified and was in grave danger as he tried to defend himself. He had fallen into an irrecoverable disadvantage.

"Your death is imminent."

At that moment, Hawkins seized the opportunity to stop the somewhat dazed Daimyo Asakura. The battle, which might have been deadlocked for some time, came to an end in an instant with the thrust of Hawkins' short sword.

"The enemy general has been defeated!"

Then, Hawkins' voice came from all directions.

When everyone looked again, they saw Daimyo Asakura lying on the ground, with a pool of blood beneath him.

Blood trickled from the mouths of the five daimyo who had been blasted away by Buggy. They glanced at Asakura's corpse out of the corner of their eyes, their hearts sinking. "Asakura's been killed..."

The sons of the Daimyo Asakura were filled with rage, their eyes bloodshot, and they roared in anguish, "Father!!"

Thump--thump--

The rousing sound of drums echoed across the battlefield, where a fierce wind swept through, leaving only devastation.

"Ya ya ya!"

Amidst the thunderous drumming, a roar erupted, Weevil swiftly brought his sword down, sending a severed arm wielding a katana flying through the air before crashing to the ground.

"Ahhh--"

Shuten's face contorted with pain as he dragged his mutilated body and ran with all his might, disappearing into the Genji army in the blink of an eye.

Watching from afar, Genji gripped his katana tightly at his waist, almost gritting his teeth. "Shuten... has also lost..."

His brow twitched suddenly, and when he glanced ahead again, he saw Buggy send hundreds of soldiers flying with just a few punches, charging straight toward him. The smile on Bucky's lips sent chills down his spine, like needles pricking his back!

"Retreat! We're retreating!!"

Genji dared not hesitate for a moment and retreated hastily.

As the retreat signal sounded, the remaining daimyo and their soldiers lost all will to fight and fled.

Inuarashi showed no mercy, cutting down Shiranui and Mountain Mist in the "Wind Will-o'-the-Wisp, Mountain, Wind, Fire, Mountain, Forest Four Generals" formation. The other two had no time to attend to their companions, while Nekomamushi also wounded Shimazu Nobui and Shimazu Nobui, two of the Four Guardians, and killed Shimazu Nobukuma, adding to the victory and weakening the enemy's strength.

"All troops, charge!!"

Seeing the Genji Army's crushing defeat, Kozuki Oden's brows furrowed with murderous intent. Without hesitation, he raised his sword and charged forward, with thousands of soldiers following closely behind!

The thunderous drumbeats and shouts of battle echoed across the sky, the clouds in the heavens already dyed fiery red by the setting sun, contrasting sharply with the blood splattered on the yellow earth.

"Did they get away...?"

Buggy stopped in his tracks, ceasing his pursuit of Genji had vanished from sight.

As Kozuki Oden charged forward, he turned back and nodded to Buggy, then, along with countless soldiers, passed by the latter and pursued the defeated army with overwhelming momentum.

The two armies pursued and fled, raising large amounts of dust, and gradually disappeared into Yamatai, the battlefield.

Hawkins walked over to Buggy, who was looking straight ahead, and calmly said, "We won."

"With that, I've fulfilled my promise. Now I just need to wait for news."

Buggy glanced at Weevil humming a lousy tune, walked around the mutilated corpse and severed limbs, and slowly walked away. "Time to go, Weevil."

The blood-red setting sun sank behind the western mountains, casting a black curtain over the sky. There were no stars, and the moonlight was dim.

Ten miles north of Yamatai lies a dense forest called "Hu," covering an area of tens of kilometers. In the past, this forest would become quiet at night, but now countless birds have taken flight, and it seems that one can hear their rapid breathing everywhere.

The Gen army chose this location from several escape routes, intending to use the complex terrain of this forest to shake off the pursuit of the Kozuki Army. After Kozuki Oden led his army to arrive, they became cautious in the face of this forest. After a quick thought, they issued an order to lead half of their army into the forest while the other half remained outside to provide support, in order to prevent a counterattack by the Gen army.

So, torches were lit to illuminate the view ahead, Kozuki Oden led his army into the forest.

They hadn't walked for long when someone in the scouts ahead suddenly shouted in fear, followed by silence.

"What happened?!"

Kozuki Oden frowned, gestured for his subordinates to stop, and then held his breath, listening intently to the sounds around him.

Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw strange lights emanating from the bushes between the trees—red, yellow, green, and blue. Immediately, rapid breathing and eerie laughter rose and fell, and a dark atmosphere instantly enveloped everyone's hearts.

A beam of blue light suddenly shot out, and Kin'emon, who was right next to Kozuki Oden, jumped up and swung his sword, deflecting the blue light onto the ground beside him.

Looking at the bluish light on the ground, it turned out to be a hidden weapon shaped like a hanging lantern. Although it was only the size of a ping-pong ball, it was very finely crafted.

The blue lantern-shaped hidden weapon, which had been stuck into the ground, trembled and suddenly flew back!

Everyone looked back warily, only to see the blue lantern fly back to a woman's side. Not only that, but several blue hanging lanterns were also floating around the woman, and no one knew how they had done it.

"It's Blue Lantern!" someone exclaimed.

Then, on the trunk of the large tree on the left, the lush green leaves suddenly turned into an eerie red, revealing a woman sitting cross-legged on the trunk, playing with a few maple leaves in her hand.

"It's Maple Hunt!" someone shouted.

Another woman emerged from the bushes on the right, holding an umbrella, her face sorrowful, tears streaming down her face.

"It's the Rain Woman ..." Kozuki Oden already understood; these people were all Onmyoji from the Izumo Society.

At the same time, various demonic lights emerged one after another: red light was Red Tongue, green light was Kappa, blue light was Blue Monk, yellow light was White Dog God, and there was also Demon Fox holding a folding fan, Bone Woman wielding a human bone sword, White Wolf with gloves and claws sharper than needles, an ugly Sea Monk, Ten-Thousand-Year Bamboo with a bamboo stalk hanging from its waist, and a dwarf-like Pipe Fox. All sorts of demons and monsters, big and small, that had been hiding on both sides of the forest surged out one after another, and in an instant, they surrounded Kozuki Oden's troops!

Kaguya, a girl dressed in a white shrine maiden robe, slowly appeared amidst a multitude of demons and monsters. She took a step forward, her lowered eyelids gradually lifting as she looked at Kozuki Oden, letting out a silvery laugh that echoed throughout the entire forest.

"At the time of demons, a hundred demons roam the night."