CHAPTER 72 – THE UNDEFEATABLE THRONED MONARCH

Most of the smoke from the temple had dissipated by now.

Between the scorched mountain valleys, tens of thousands of demon corpses were left behind.

Actually, if the demons cooperated and used spiritual formations to defend each other, they would be able to at least resist Lily’s Domain.

However, Kamaki was killed with a single strike, and even Ibaraki Doji fled after being injured. Also, Lily massacred them at incredible speeds with her sharp weapons! Hence, the demons’ morale was completely shattered. They couldn’t even be bothered to form magical formations. Instead, they fled desperately and hence were slaughtered by her Domain!

Although more than half of those demons still escaped into the wilderness, their morale had been completely broken. They would most likely never group up and restore themselves into an army again.

Among the ruins, Lily glanced at this visage of hell, where mountains of corpses were scattered all around the place. She was also dazed after noticing her clothes were drenched by demon blood.

Lily raised her weapon and glanced at her hand and wielded the sword…

Power! Such unimaginable power, bristling with energy, was now circulating in her body. Nearly overflowing.

Lily felt her senses becoming more acute. Her body, which was already agile, became even lighter and faster.

Despite being unaccustomed to using Purple Lunar Force back then, Lily was already a late–stage Throned Sovereign.

Now, Lily’s physical strength has improved by leaps and bounds! From a mortal warrior into a Celestial Maiden! In other words, the raw strength of her body was now comparable to Kagura, the Shikigami, and those Celestial Battle Maidens who floated high in the air and fought endless battles.

The strength in her bloodline alone was already much greater than that of most demons, who seemed strong and powerful!

Virtually not a single human samurai would be as strong as Lily! Unless it was someone who was granted unprecedented luck and opportunities, which was incredibly rare.

At the same time, she had harnessed the second segment of the Tsukuyomi Swordstyle—the Celestial Maiden’s path. Only a Celestial Maiden’s body could truly unleash the true might of that skill. This was why Lily was unable to unleash it properly, no matter how hard she trained.

Someone without the body of a Celestial Maiden wouldn’t be able to unleash the second path of the Tsukuyomi Swordstyle. A mortal human’s path would end at the first segment.

When compared to the mortal path, the Celestial Maiden’s path increased one’s strength by twentyfold, instead of tenfold!

The substantial increase in her physical might, and the substantial increase of her strength multiplier only made her much stronger! Although she was still in the late Permanence Stage, her strength had already reached the level of a pinnacle Throned Monarch!

Also, if she added Purple Lunar Force into the equation, she would be considered an undefeatable existence among all Throned Monarchs!

Only someone as strong as a Throned Saint or above could suppress Lily using strength!

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Lily stood in front of the ruined Honganji Temple which was still shimmering with sparks. She glanced at Tanba’s shrouded mountain range as her long hair danced with the ashes floating in the air.

An existence stronger than a Throned Saint?

Within the Heian Dynasty, how many of them existed?

Furthermore, an individual on the Big Dipper Stage would only be rarer! All of them will be known to all adepts, as legendary and powerful figures!

At this moment, Lily could truly be considered as one of the most powerful beings in this world1!

Still, although Lily had gained an Anima on the Throned Sovereign Stage and nearly 10,000 ordinary Anima, she still had a long way to go before reaching the Permanence Stage. The amount of Anima she needed to reach that stage would be astronomical.

But if she had no access to a substantial amount of spiritual energy in her reserves, how could someone on the Permanence Stage sustain the amount of energy needed to rival a Throned Monarch?

“Is it over already…” Lily had tried her best to find any clues about Ashikaga Kiyoshi using her Domain, but she couldn’t even find a corpse.

Perhaps he was simply so weak that he completely vanished from existence after being devoured by countless strong demons. That was a possible answer.

“Lord Kiyoshi…” Lily couldn’t help but feel sadness.

There were also hundreds of Uesugi cavalrywomen and Tsunaga Sisters slain in this battle. Although Lily had rescued most of them, she still couldn’t resurrect these dead sisters, no matter how powerful she was.

“Sister Uesugi!”

Although Lily was victorious in this battle, Uesugi was still imprisoned in Mount Ooe. She had no time to rest!

Lily turned back and glanced at the Army camp.

Madam Makoto was probably the saddest she had ever been right now. Although she survived, her son… However, the reality couldn’t be changed. Lily also had no intention to deal with the Empire that had already betrayed her.

As for those people who had schemed against her behind her back, she’d naturally hunt them all down. But now wasn’t the time to do such a thing.

Although Madam Makoto was most likely stripped of her command, she was still an influential figure among various affluent clans. Those people would definitely be unwilling to hurt her and would have had no reason to do so. She was at least free from harm, so Lily wasn’t worried.

Lily glanced grimly at the Imperial warship and the bright campsite before turning around. She turned her back towards the direction where the Imperial Army was retreating and ventured into Tanba’s deep wilderness.

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No matter what, Lily would never serve the Empire ever again.

Although there was almost no enemy that was equal to her in Tanba, Lily still had no idea where Mount Ooe was.

Lily was left without a clue.

It seemed that she could only wait for those little raccoons to recover before using another detection formation to search for Mount Ooe.

She approached a pond under the foot of the mountain that housed Honganji Temple. After confirming that there were no demons nearby, she stripped off all her clothes and cleaned her body and long hair. She then wore a matching set of red short skirt and loose robes before venturing deeper into the depths of Tanba.

A warrior wearing tattered black armor was standing by a steep incline beside the mountain path.

“Lady Kagami?”

The tall black armored samurai shouted Lily’s name from afar. Lily naturally discovered him a long time ago. But she would only lift her head and look over now.

This samurai came down from the incline and approached Lily, he seemed to be injured also. He seemed to be a dashing and loyal person. Still, his face seemed a little ordinary. Based on his appearance alone, Lily would need to think for a while before identifying him.

“Lady Kagami! Awesome! Can’t believe I could see you here!”

“Lord Minamoto no Kenki?” Lily’s gaze remained emotionless as she spoke indifferently.

“Lady Kagami! I’m glad to see you! You must have brought the great Imperial Army along with you, right?” Kenki looked behind her. “How long before the Army arrives?”

“The Imperial Army has already retreated.”

“What? How could this be?” Kenki seemed to be very anxious. “What… What do we do now?”

“What is it? Lord Kenki?” Lily asked calmly.

“Sigh! I… Uesugi Rei and I, and several warriors came to Tanba to try our luck. We wanted to find Mount Ooe. But we didn’t expect… To be ambushed by those demons. Our brothers and sisters all died! Miss Uesugi was also captured by them. Only I alone… luckily escaped. What do we do now, Lady Kagami? What should we do now? I want to turn back and save Miss Uesugi… But… I… I’m not strong enough…”

Kenki looked at Lily. “Lady Kagami, I heard Miss Uesugi is your good friend, right? You… can you come with me and save Miss Uesugi? We probably won’t be able to defeat Shuten Doji and those demons, but if we cooperate to avoid those Archdemons and sneak in carefully, we might be able to rescue Miss Uesugi!”

Lily’s vacant gaze became slightly surprised. “Lord Kenki, do you know where Miss Uesugi is held?”

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“I do! Yes! To be honest, back then, we had already discovered Mount Ooe! Unfortunately, we were also discovered by demons from Mount Ooe at the same time… Lady Kagami, if the Imperial Army has really retreated, then everything is up to the both of us. Shuten Doji is extremely lustful and also incredibly cruel. If we don’t save her as soon as possible, nobody knows what will happen to Miss Uesugi!”

Lily nodded. “Understood, in that case, please lead the way, Lord Kenki.”

“Alright! Good! Come with me, Lady Kagami!” Kenki spoke as he turned around and marched into the deep forests. Meanwhile, Lily quietly followed from behind.

Just some time ago, Shuten Doji’s voice transmission with the Honganji Temple was cut off. Even Shuten himself didn’t know what had happened. He instantly contacted Kenki who was close to Kameyama Castle and told him to investigate. Since Kenki held the identity of a human warrior, his cover wouldn’t be blown even if the humans dispatched a powerhouse. He would be able to relay his findings anyway.

After all, Shuten assumed that everyone else in the group was dead aside from Kenki and Uesugi. Hence, it was unlikely for Kenki to be detected as a traitor. Moreover, even if he were, Shuten would only lose a minor pawn that was implanted among the humans. Once discovered, they would become worthless.

Hence, Kenki was dispatched to Honganji Temple to investigate. However, he didn’t expect to stumble into Lily along the way.

Kenki naturally knew that Lily was the reason why Shuten besieged Honganji Temple. The battle between Ibaraki and the powerhouses of the Empire had nothing to do with him since he was only a scout. What accomplishments would he attain?

Hence, if he could apprehend Lily and then deliver her to Shuten, he would earn a massive merit!

However, he was also aware of Lily’s powerful abilities—he knew he was no match for her. Hence, Kenki instantly devised a plan. By using his identity as a valued member of the Minamoto Clan, he would lead Lily to Mount Ooe. With that, he would achieve the greatest merit in this battle! After all, he was the main commander that led the war against the Hojo Clan when Lily was in the Kanto Region. And since Lily cared about Uesugi Rei deeply, she would most likely be tricked.

Meanwhile, Lily already learned of Kenki’s betrayal from Hatano a long time ago. Moreover, she knew about his true identity. The real Kenki Had already died in the Endless Demon Mountains a long time ago.

Hence, she was certain that Kenki showed up this time around to fool her. However, even if she knew that she was walking into a trap, she still had to follow! Tanba was vast. No matter how powerful she was, she wouldn’t be able to find Mount Ooe within a short while.

Not only that, Rei was in dire circumstances. Lily had zero time to waste. Kenki acted like he was loyal, worried, and anxious. Yet, in her eyes, he was nothing but a clown.

“You’re an absolute s̲c̲u̲m̲b̲a̲g who harmed Sister Uesugi. I’ll let you stay alive a little longer.” Lily glanced at Kenki’s back with a calm gaze, while being filled with resolve in her heart.

By now, at the entrance of the army camp by the river, Shiina Airi and Ijuin had returned with their cavalrywomen and the Tsunaga Sisters using the secret passage.

However, against their expectations, there were no personnel assigned to tend to their wounds the moment they entered the camp. Instead, a lot of samurai in dark armor that they had never seen before surrounded them and confined them in one place2.

References

Robinxen: Honestly it’s a stupid power jump given how much she was pushed around but power creep gotta power creep.Robinxen: Oh dear.