Yama Rising

The eight teleportation arrays trembled incessantly as bursts of dense Yin energy erupted throughout Hasami. Futakuchi-onna, Yuki-onna, Aobōzu... One mythical Nipponese yokai after another had arrived in Nagasaki as reinforcements on Izanami's orders.

Tens of thousands of yokai had gathered above Nagasaki, and each of them was here with their entourage, which consisted of wandering spirits that couldn't even be classified as yokai. Each entourage was comprised of somewhere between three to eight spirits, and together, they formed a boundless sea of wraiths and apparitions.

However, none of the yokai said anything. Instead, all of them turned toward the center with respectful expressions.

What are they waiting for?

Ashikaga Yoshiaki's brows furrowed slightly as he proceeded to make his way forward, but he had only walked a couple of steps before a burst of Prefect-level Yin energy abruptly descended.

Circles of Yin energy abruptly exploded, sweeping over the earth like shockwaves. All of the surrounding trees were pressed against the ground, and bursts of Yin energy formed vast pillars that erupted straight into the heavens. Within the Yin energy, the outline of an enormous creature could be seen, and in the next instant, 16 eyes sprang open in unison within the darkness.

"Looks like everyone's here." A thunderous voice erupted through the sky, and the Yin energy slowly faded to reveal a massive creature that was over 100 meters tall on the ground.

It was Yamata no Orochi, a yokao of Kyushu and a nascent Abyssal Prefect!

Its entire body was of a pure white color, and it was over 200 meters in length. Its eight heads were like eight giant mountains, and it took a deep breath before letting loose a deafening roar.

The soundwaves swept over Hasami like virtually substantial shockwaves, causing the flags behind Ashikaga Yoshiaki to flap audibly. Immediately thereafter, Yamata no Orochi roared, "All troops, heed my call!"

All of the yokai bowed in unison around Yamata no Orochi, forming a massive circle that presented a breathtaking sight to behold.

Yamata no Orochi's 16 golden eyes swept over the entire scene as it instructed, "Defend Hasami with your lives and make sure to keep the Cathayan Underworld's army out of Chugoku!"

"Yes!!"

If Nagasaki were to be conquered, then Kyushu would be as good as exposed, and Kyushu was certainly not far away from Chugoku.

Yamata no Orochi gritted its teeth with a hateful look in its eyes, cursing the Cathayan Underworld internally as it did so. Kyushu was its territory, so if it were to fall, then it would become the first great yokai in Nipponese history without any territory to its name!

That would be humiliation of the highest order!

I didn't dare to face you at Sasebo, but Hasami and Sechibaru are my territory! Let me see if you can break through these inter-realm mirrors or not. All we need is a single victory to shatter the aura of invincibility around the Cathayan Underworld!

"Everyone!" It swept its gaze across all of the evil ghosts present as it declared, "The Cathayan Underworld will be sure to launch an all-out attack in the next hour. They're not going to give our Nipponese Underworld any time to react. I only have two things to say: all deserters will be executed, and no one is to retreat until I do!"

"Yes!" Countless voices rang out in response across the entire town.

All of the voices were filled with unprecedented determination, and they were willing to lay down their lives to protect their nation, even if it meant opposing the Cathayan Underworld!

“Good.” Yamata no Orochi exhaled before finally turning to Ashikaga Yoshiaki. "Organize your troops, General Ashikaga."

Time slowly passed by.

It was as if the very air had congealed, and even through the inter-realm mirror, they could still sense the killing intent coming from the other side. Whenever they thought of the fact that on the other side was the Cathayan Underworld, which had once withstood an invasion from seven nations, they would be struck by a sense of fear, yet also a hint of excitement.

They were both fearful of the enemies, but also relishing the opportunity to face such a formidable foe.

All of the evil ghosts were staring intently at the inter-realm mirrors in front of them, and their claws and fangs had all been bared as they readied themselves to tear apart any enemies that stepped through the mirrors.

40 minutes passed by, then 50. Even after an hour, none of the Yin spirits had relaxed in the slightest. As time passed, they only became more and more wary. Everyone knew that the longer the enemy took, the more ferocious their attack was going to be. During the past hour, several more groups of yokai reinforcements had arrived on the scene.

At the moment, it was 1 AM.

The forces at Hasami were led by Yamata no Orochi and Ashikaga Yoshiaki, with 970,000 Kunitsukami among their ranks, including Futakuchi-onna, Akaname, Inugami, Yamawaro, and Yamabiko, and they were responsible for guarding the inter-realm mirrors.

Meanwhile, the forces at Sechibaru were led by Ibaraki-dōji, with 860,000 Kunitsukami among their ranks, including Aosaginohi, Shiranui, and Mikoshi-nyūdō. All of the evil ghosts were enveloped in a sea of Yin energy, and they were prepared to guard the route to Shikoku with their lives.

At 1:30 AM, cracks suddenly appeared on the inter-realm mirrors in Hasami and Sechibaru.

The cracking sound wasn't very loud, but it instantly drew the attention of all of the yokai.

They're coming! The army of the Cathayan Underworld is finally coming!

Yamata no Orochi gritted its teeth tightly as it stared intently at the inter-realm mirrors, while Ashikaga Yoshiaki gulped nervously as he held onto his hand-fan with a white-knuckled grip.

The most powerful army in Asia was about to pass through the inter-realm mirrors, and it was as if a nightmare were about to descend upon Nagasaki.

More and more cracks appeared on all of the inter-realm mirrors, spreading like cobwebs over their surfaces. As the cracks grew larger and larger, the evil ghosts became more and more tensed up. Futakuchi-onna was already crouched down like a leopard about to pounce, while all of the fur on Inugami's body was standing up on end as it grabbed onto the hilt of its katana.

Meanwhile, all of the other evil ghosts were also making preparatory gestures, whether conscious or not, and they were all waiting for the moment that the enemy forces emerged through the inter-realm mirrors.

A loud crack rang out as all of the inter-realm mirrors up ahead shattered in unison, and at the same time, Ashikaga Yoshiaki drew his katana as he roared with all his might, "Defend our soil!"

"Charge!" Yamata no Orochi also roared with all eight of its giant heads, and in the next instant, the entire earth trembled violently as all of the yokai charged toward the inter-realm mirrors with unstoppable might, vowing to overwhelm the army of the Cathayan Underworld.

However, no troops of the Cathayan Underworld emerged to meet them.

The dreaded cavalry units of the Cathayan Underworld failed to show up. Instead, what had appeared was a series of mechanical oxen.

The army of mechanical beasts wasn't just limited to oxen, it encompassed all of the 12 zodiacs!

Beneath the hooves of the oxen were countless mice that were rapidly scurrying toward the army of yokai, and they were followed by dragons, horses, goats... All of a sudden, an enormous army of mechanical beasts had emerged.

What the hell is this?!

Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Yamata no Orochi were both staring at the mechanical beasts with perplexed expressions, and out of caution, all of the yokai ceased in their advance before the entire army retreated. There were even several yokai that tried attacking the mechanical beasts with arts, but they were unable to gather any information aside from the fact that the mechanical beasts had extremely resolute exteriors.

Thus, their raging battle intent subsided, and Yamata no Orochi looked on at the mechanical beasts with a wary expression before commanding, "Get back!"

As soon as its voice trailed off, bursts of piercing red light began to radiate out of the connective sections of all of the mechanical beasts.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki drew a sharp breath as a name instantly flashed through his mind, following which he frantically waved his hand fan as he yelled, "Retreat! Retreat! Get away from there!"

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to him, and his voice abruptly trailed off.

He had thought of the countless mice that had rushed into their army, and his hands were trembling at the thought.

The mice had a very pleasant name, which was Lotus Forest.

However, despite their beautiful name, they were actually moving Yin energy bombs!

They were always deployed in large numbers, and when they exploded, they resembled blooming scarlet lotus flowers, hence the name of Lotus Forest. These were A-grade weapons of war that hadn't been seen in centuries!

Was the Cathayan Underworld really planning to destroy the Nipponese Underworld?!

In this perilous situation, there was no time to think about such things. As his order was issued, all of the Yin soldiers were already quickly beginning to retreat, but the backbone of the Nipponese Underworld's forces wasn't its Yin soldiers. Instead, it was the Kunitsukami.

The Kunitsukami mostly resided in the mortal realm, so they hadn't undergone much centralized military training. In fact, they were unable to even comprehend many of the flag signals. Thus, once the flag signals for retreat were raised, the retreating Yin soldiers immediately clashed with the Kunitsukami, who had no idea what to do, and the formation of the entire army was quickly plunged into complete chaos.

In the next instant, a string of earth-shattering explosions erupted.

Powerful shockwaves swept through the entire town of Hasami, and countless scarlet lotus flowers bloomed on the ground, instantly inundating the army of yokai.

Taking advantage of the chaos and panic, the larger mechanical beasts abruptly accelerated and charged directly toward the areas where the most yokai and enemy Yin soldiers were gathered.

Yamata no Orochi's mouths sprang wide open as if it wanted to say something, but was unable to utter even a single word.

Who could've anticipated that the leading force of the Cathayan Underworld would consist of machines of war? Without having to expend a single soldier, they had already plunged the entire army of Kunitsukami into complete disarray!

More and more mechanical beasts rushed into the Nipponese Underworld's army, followed by more devastating explosions.

One scarlet lotus flower bloomed after another, some of which were over 10 meters tall, while others only reached around a meter in height. It was a breathtakingly beautiful sight to behold, yet Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Yamata no Orochi felt as if their hearts had been plunged into glacial pits.

Countless specks of netherfire rose up into the heavens in the wake of the explosions, and all Yamata no Orochi could do was helplessly yell for their troops to hold their formation.

The more powerful yokai were able to survive the explosions, but most of the wandering spirits and weaker yokai had already been erased from existence by the wave of devastating explosions.

All of a sudden, the sound of a long horn rang out from the other side of the inter-realm mirrors.

"Fire!" An emotionless command was issued, and a series of black spots rapidly drew closer and closer within the frames of the mirrors. Soon, they were presented clearly before all of the yokai, revealing them to be countless black spears.

The spears looked as if they had been fired from arcuballistas, and they were traveling at an alarming speed, sweeping up gusts of fierce wind behind them. Their tailends were golden in color, while their tips opened up layer upon layer to form golden lotus flowers, at the center of each of which was a speck of golden netherfire.

These were A-grade weapons of war, Godslayer Spears!

Bursts of dazzling golden light erupted throughout the entirety of Hasami!