People in Xumi: I am really not the Dragon King

Chapter 509 Dain: Such a strong abyssal aura. Hmm? Have other people from Kanria been here?
"Roar--!"

"Ah! Run! Even the island collapse cannon's attack is ineffective! What kind of monster is this?!"

On the northernmost side of Narukami Island, in the desolate sea, at the site of the abyss rift.

Numerous dark demons, drawing form from the earth's veins, appeared on the battlefield. Beast-like hounds, having devoured the remnants of demon gods and grown stronger, howled towards the sky, frequently flashing through the ranks of the Shogunate army.
Lacking superior martial prowess and with scarce military equipment, their formations lacked a core immortal array plate or powerful magical artifact.

Facing a group of abyssal monsters whose bodies were covered by a shield of ethereal power, the battle between the two sides was a one-sided massacre, with each engagement ending in the defeat of the latter.

"."

They have not yet shown any desire to advance outwards, and the number of soldiers they have directly killed is not large.
It was as if they were deliberately slowing down, waiting for reinforcements to arrive for these soldiers.
The golden beast within the massive rift above the desolate sea merely maintained the passage, while simultaneously exerting an extremely powerful sense of oppression on the soldiers below.

But no matter how favorable the situation was or how big the enemy's weaknesses were, it simply watched quietly and never took action itself.

The Tenryo monastic order is carried out by the Kujō family.

The soldier responsible for delivering the order stood tremblingly before an old man, his head bowed. Sensing the undisguised anger of the head of the Kujo family, all those who came to deliver the battle report remained silent in tacit agreement.

"."

"Failed again. Didn't even achieve the slightest result."

"—This is how we dealt with the suppression of the rebels, and it's the same when facing monsters!"

Completely devoid of the reserve expected of noble families, Kujo Takayuki's face was now terrifyingly grim.
The situation in Inazuma, which was originally under control, suddenly turned upside down. Both the resistance forces and the abyss monsters seemed to become difficult to manage in a single day.

They had already sought help from their partners, but after losing several teams, they stopped responding to their calls.

In the first place, one would have simply prayed for divine intervention. However, in the beginning, in order to legitimately acquire resources from the national treasury, he took the initiative to accept the responsibility of eliminating demons in front of the general. Even due to the enemy's initial weakness, the battle reports showed a series of great victories.
"Has the largest monster still not made a move? Has it shown any signs of wanting to break through the desolate sea region?"

"."

Still no action. Is that so?

"Then we'll do everything in our power to slow those guys down and keep them confined to the desolate sea area."

"It is the honor of every soldier to fight bravely before the gods intervene. Let the newly recruited soldiers fill the gaps in our forces. In just two more days, I will request reinforcements from the General."

Currently, the Heavenly Territory Enforcer is in a disadvantageous situation of fighting on two fronts. With the rebels becoming increasingly restless, no personnel can be withdrawn, and the situation in the Desolate Sea region has deteriorated rapidly in the last two days.

Before the enormous monster arrived, the soldiers suffered some casualties, but they were still able to drive the monsters back to where they should have lived, and the losses were generally acceptable.

But after the arrival of that monster with the head of a giant wolf and its body covered in purple patterns, the attacks of these monsters became stronger with each wave.
"Once these soldiers suffer enough casualties, we can use the excuse that the monsters are far stronger than the army expected, not that their combat capabilities are lacking, and then we can replace them with some elite troops."

It was clear that the general was easily fooled in many ways, but his skill level was the only thing that could be discerned at a glance.
Sending the enemy into the main battlefield is extremely risky. If problems with training and equipment are exposed, the consequences will be far more serious than falsifying battle reports with a couple of fabricated reasons.

"But those new recruits haven't received enough training at all. If we send them..."

"Hmph, there aren't many opportunities to be loyal to the Great Lord, and the chance to make a name for oneself only comes when it's like this."

"Hold them a little while! The general and Kujo Jinya's elite troops will be there to support us soon!"

A short period of time is needed to handle preparations before the general enters the front lines. If these issues are not handled properly, the consequences will be far more serious than the loss of some new recruits.
There was no time to condemn those fools for their treachery, so Kujo Takayuki decided to wait until things calmed down before dealing with them.

Meanwhile, northwest of Narukami Island, lies an island.

As a diplomatic port not too far from the desolate sea area, the island is separated from that wasteland by only a stretch of sea.

Although ordinary people cannot see the rift in the distant sky that is overflowing with the abyss's aura, and are completely unaware of what is happening there,
But for the "Sword of the End" who had been hunting the Abyss Order for hundreds of years, the moment he set foot on this island, his intuition unconsciously drew his gaze to the northeastern sky.

"The aura of the abyss is so strong, it even makes me suspect that those guys have appeared in person."

"What exactly is the Order doing? With a suitable alternative, he should have abandoned that unrealistic resurrection plan."

Even if he still harbors the illusion that he can achieve his plan on his own, this all-or-nothing approach doesn't align with his usual cautious nature.

The abyss in the distance exuded an overwhelming aura, as if announcing its arrival to the world, hanging high in the sky.

No matter how you look at it, this high-profile declaration of one's own combat plan could not have originated from the hand of that traveler from five hundred years ago.

However, the Abyss Order is not currently under his direct command, so if such actions are not something he intended to do...
"—Please step back! Loitering on the edge of the island is prohibited! Passage is only permitted without a pass issued by the Heavenly Commander."

Upon noticing a strangely dressed man in black approaching, the guards, as usual, stepped forward to stop him.
But before he could finish speaking, the surrounding guards froze, like sluggish machines.

After Dain passed by in front of them, the soldiers exchanged bewildered glances, as if they had never seen any strange man in black, and then returned to their usual conversation.

"."

"Strange. Their reaction is not right. Has someone used a similar method on them recently?"

"Kanria has long been destroyed, and there aren't many people who know how to use this."

He was using a secret technique he'd found in the library of Kanria when he was young, a technique that could prevent those weaker than himself from remembering what he had done.
However, generally speaking, using this power will not cause the recipient to become sluggish unless it is used repeatedly in a short period of time, causing a slight void in the recipient's consciousness.
He lowered his head, gazing thoughtfully at the desolate wilderness ahead and the distant abyss fissure.

Realizing that Inazuma's strange behavior had attracted more than just him, Daines Reeb shook his head and decided to go find his old friend who was invading a country to demand an explanation.

The following day, at Nashiina, the front line of battle between the Shogunate army and the rebel army. After a brief period of peace, both sides regrouped.

Both the rebel army and the shogunate army sent an unprecedented number of soldiers. Clearly, for some unknown reason, both sides hoped to break the current stalemate through this battle.

"."

"Chiyo, are you ready?"

"We're the villains this time, and after the battle, neither side will likely have a good impression of us."

On a cliff at the edge of the sand dunes, Hana Sanri, wearing a fox mask, was communicating with Chiyo beside her about the indiscriminate destruction that was about to take place.

The current situation in Inazuma is riddled with hidden dangers beneath the surface of calm. As long as these subtle obstacles persist, it will eventually escalate into the chaotic situation we see today.
However, underwater turbulence is extremely dangerous, but it is usually difficult for people on the surface to perceive it. Only when they are personally caught in it do they realize that it is too late.

Both women knew that what they were about to do was like playing the role of a giant whale stirring up the water, showing Aying on the boat things that would normally be overlooked.

"Once I've made a decision, I won't regret it, not to mention there's nothing to back down from right now."

"Five hundred years has allowed a once prestigious family to fall to this state. I will show A-Ying the incompetence of these officials."

Commanders who have never been to the front lines often give orders that seem foolish, as do rulers who have never seen the people firsthand.

After this, Aying will likely take over command of the army herself and face Inazuma's current situation with an unprecedented sense of loss.

Only when Ah Ying, as the ruler, personally experienced how bad the current situation was, could her stubborn nature be persuaded and she would begin to reflect on why things had turned out this way.

"Heh, then I'm relieved. It's just a little pitiful for that little tengu."

"Everyone around her thought differently from her, to the point that she became an outcast. Over the years, she probably couldn't help but doubt herself."

With the head of the Kujo family himself serving as the starting point for his downfall, from top to bottom, there are probably very few trustworthy people left in the entire Tenryo Magistrate's office.

But in such terrible circumstances, it is nothing short of a miracle that such a loyal and righteous general could emerge.

"Perhaps it's because monsters' minds are always simpler, except for you foxes, of course."

"It's not a good thing that once a monster sets its mind on something, it's hard for it to change its mind. Even though they have an appearance similar to humans, monsters often still seem out of place among humans."

Her race is the Red Oni, and she is the purest bloodline among all Oni, possessing extremely strong combat power. The slightly reddish skin on her hands and feet is an external manifestation of her high-purity bloodline, which is rarely seen in Oni who frequently interbreed with humans these days.

However, unlike the current situation where intermarriage between different races is commonplace, the Oni clan made considerable sacrifices long ago so that they, the Red Oni, could be accepted by humans.
"Phew, I've become sentimental too. Now is not the time to think about these things."

"Get ready. Notify our colleagues to start the operation. Since we've decided to inflict a crushing defeat on both sides, we can't afford to do it poorly."

He withdrew his gaze from the current general of the shogunate army and drew the long sword that his "lord" had given him.

Convinced that entering the fray at the most intense moment of the battle would yield the best results, Chiyo, unwilling to show any mercy, decided to make the current army experience the pressure they faced five hundred years ago.

"—The rebel leader has been stopped by Lord Kujo; the rest are nothing but a bunch of worthless bastards. Attack with all your might!"

"—The monsters over there at Musou-no-Kama have disappeared. If we win this battle, the Shogunate can advance unimpeded to Umi-no-Shima!"

The location of the Shogunate army is on the east side of Nashiina Beach.

Secret agents had already been dispatched to confirm the situation on Bayun Island. They discovered that neither the evil spirits' contamination nor the wolf-like monsters had vanished without a trace, and even the weather had improved considerably.
Having confirmed that all obstacles to their advance had disappeared, the Shogunate army attempted to secure a decisive victory by virtue of its overwhelming numerical superiority.

Given the current disparity in troop strength, the reason the enemy is still able to survive is...
A large part of it is due to those Eye of God holders who come from nowhere and frequently cause trouble behind their backs.
"—Report: Those troublemakers in the rear have been driven back by a large number of troops, and sufficient forces have been left to defend the camp."

"Alright, all-out attack!"

"Our forces far outnumber theirs. Without these annoying fleas, taking down the resistance will be a piece of cake."

？ ！！

"Ah! What's that?!"

"—A trap? A monster? How could it suddenly appear here?!"

Sounds of fear and panic came from the army formation ahead.
After a brief period of chaos, both armies, which had been engaged in fierce combat, temporarily ceased their actions due to this sudden change.

"."

A deep rift, as if space itself had shattered, opened up in the sky directly in the center of both armies' formations.

One after another, eerie figures, too difficult to look at directly, fell from the sky and lined up in the middle of the beach, which had been quietly cleared out at some unknown time.

"...What is that? The enemy's reinforcements? They dare to land in front of our army with such a small number?"

Having painstakingly completed all the preliminary preparations for the attack, and successfully dragged the battle into the kind of direct confrontation that the shogunate army preferred,
But just as the officials of the shogunate at the rear were already imagining how much reward they would receive upon their return,
Looking at the group of bizarre monsters and the huge mechanical puppet that suddenly appeared in the center of the battlefield,

Although the enemy's numbers were negligible compared to the army's, for some reason, the commanders suddenly had a bad feeling.

(End of this chapter)