I Am a Heroic Spirit

At a glance, Karasuma recognized the writhing shadow on the ground. It was the part of the being that had cooperated with the time machine to open the time tunnel from a thousand years into the Heian Period. He hurriedly and respectfully asked, "Sir, you have come here in person. What is your order?"

"Go to Himeji Castle, massacre the city, perform a blood sacrifice, and pollute that place..."

The shadow roared unpleasantly, a language incomprehensible to humans. However, before the shadow could finish his words, the shadow on the ground slowly vanished, and the terrifying aura that enveloped everyone dissipated with it.

Without the shadow brought by the shadow, the Fusangshen quickly got rid of the pressure that made it impossible for them to resist. They supported each other and stood up from the ground, looking at each other in surprise.

They all knew the shadow from before. Although they didn't know its identity, they didn't think such a being would have anything to do with a small Himeji Castle.

Xiao Wuhuan sat down in the back seat with a gloomy face, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Mikazuki Munechika and Daiten Mitsuyo's expressions were not very good either, not because of the previous pressure, but because of the owner of that pressure.

"Father, what should we do now?" After a long time, Kogumamaru asked Kougamaru.

"...What else can we do? The real owner has come to our door, and we have no other choice."

Xiao Wuhuan hesitated for a moment, and said something tiredly that seemed a little confusing to outsiders. Then he slumped down in the seat as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

Unlike most Tsukumogami, Kokarasumaru did not fall because of emotional hurt, and he was not just thinking about revenge on humans or changing history to prevent tragedy from happening.

As the father of all Japanese swords, he also has to consider the retreat, the retreat prepared for the swords. Unfortunately, if there was a retreat and a chance to choose a few minutes ago, now they can only go down this path to the end.

Although for most Tsukumogami, this is the result they want, but for Kokarasuma, this is not a good thing.

"You two should leave first. Mikazuki and Daidenta will stay." With a helpless sigh, Karasuma Koumaru ordered. Since there was no other choice, clarifying that being's purpose was paramount. It would be even better if they could discover its true identity.

That's right, even though he came to the Heian period under the power of that existence, he also received the power of that existence after his fall into darkness and had conversations with it more than once.

However, Kogumaru never knew the true identity of that existence, nor had he ever seen that existence in its true form. He only knew that that existence had a power that he could not resist, and was the mastermind behind the historical revisionists.

Even though he had guessed long ago that the existence was not only a historical revisionist force, but also that the Time Government had been infiltrated by it, and that even their downfall was likely part of that existence's plan, he was powerless to resist and could only obey the orders of that existence.

However, this does not mean that he should be moved around like a chess piece. At least he needs to find out the real purpose of that existence and his true identity.

After watching the group of Tsukumogami, who had fallen even further into darkness, leave the hall, Kokarasuma's expression grew serious. He asked Mikazuki Munechika and Daidenta Mitsuyo, "Your masters are all Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who once occupied Himeji Castle. So, do you know what the problem is with Himeji Castle?"

"I don't know. Himeji Castle is of great significance to humans, but for youkai, apart from the fact that there's a god named Keibu Myojin there to protect Himeji Castle, there's nothing else worth caring about." Mikazuki Munechika said with certainty, but after a pause, he added an uncertain tone, "At least that's the case after I arrived at Himeji Castle a few hundred years later. As for before that, I don't know, but I haven't heard of any special incidents happening in Himeji Castle. Even among youkai, there's only been one Keibu Myojin from ancient times to the present, and I've never heard of any other youkai causing trouble here."

"What Mikazuki said is what I want to say." Daiden Tai Mitsuyo immediately echoed.

"No, this is the most special part." Xiao Wuhuan's eyes lit up, and he slammed the table and said loudly.

Chapter 170 Battle

(The real Himeji Castle is located on Himeyama, and it is not a city or a castle. Some changes were made here for the plot.)

It seems that there is nothing to worry about what Mikazuki Munechika said, but in fact there is something very special about it. That is, there have always been few monsters causing trouble in Himeji Castle. The only one who stayed here for a long time was the former Princess Fuhime. Even she was only able to transform into a fox fairy to protect Himeji Castle after she was worshipped after her death. She can be said to be a native of Himeji Castle.

However, in ancient Japan, demons were rampant and there were monsters and ghosts causing trouble everywhere, even Heian-kyo was no exception. How could there be a place where there were no other monsters worth mentioning except the gods being worshipped? If there really were, it could only mean that there were monsters or gods, or some objects in this place that no demons dared to approach.

Xiao Wuhuan is not an Onmyoji, nor is he even a spiritual swordsman who knows about magic, so naturally he cannot see what exists in Himeji Castle. He can only explore after he arrives at Himeji Castle.

As evening approached, Zhang Luo and his companions arrived at an ordinary little village, a considerable distance from Himeji Castle. Even a modern car could cover the distance in an afternoon, and the distance they could cover would be no more than a few meters. After all, they were not ordinary people. Zhang Luo and Ashiya Doman were not to be mentioned. The envoy from Himeji Castle was a powerful samurai trusted by the Lord of Harima. While he couldn't compare to Miyamoto Musashi, he was considered above average for a human, and could even fight ordinary great monsters, though whether he could win was uncertain. After all, even the most ordinary great monsters had the conventional combat power of a second-rate Heroic Spirit. A third-rate Heroic Spirit without a powerful Noble Phantasm couldn't defeat him.

"It got dark so quickly today."

The group found the village chief and told him their identities. The chief received them happily. When entering the chief's house, Zhang Luo looked up at the sky. It was gloomy and full of dark clouds, which made the evening come early.

Ashiya Doman also looked up at the sky, his expression changed, and he felt a familiar breath.

Shuten-doji, who was walking at the back, suddenly had clear eyes from his drunken state, and he looked up at the sky with a complicated look.

"Shuten, what is that? Is it okay?" Ibaraki Douji seemed to have noticed something and asked Shuten Douji in a low voice with some concern.

"What could be the problem?" Shuten-doji asked back, then picked up the wine gourd and poured the wine into his mouth. He looked drunk again, as if he had said nothing.

Zhang Luo faintly heard two people talking in front of him. He turned his head and saw that Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji were still the same as usual. He thought he had misheard, turned his head and continued to follow the village chief into the inner room.

Ashiya Daoyi looked at Shuten-doji with deep interest, but said nothing.

While Zhang Luo, Ashiya Doman, Shuten Douji, Ibaraki Douji, Tamamono Neko, and the envoy from Himeji Castle settled down in the village, the Time Travel Army hidden in Himeyama also began to move.

At the gate of Himeji Castle, two soldiers guarding the gate were leaning lazily against the wall. Because transportation was not well developed in ancient Japan, few people traveled far, and the two soldiers in charge of guarding the gate had nothing to do, so they were much more relaxed than other soldiers.

"Eh? What's that over there?" The soldier on the left caught a glimpse of a blurry black shadow, stood up straight, and asked the soldier on the right.

"What?" The soldier on the right heard the shout of the soldier on the left, opened his half-closed eyes, glanced around casually, but saw nothing.

"Over there, over there at Jishan." The soldier on the left pointed at Jishan in the distance and said anxiously. He inexplicably had a bad premonition.

The soldier on the right was unable to rest because of the noise, so he stood up straight and looked carefully in the direction pointed by the soldier on the left.

He saw that in Jishan Mountain, about a mile away, the trees seemed to be shaking, as if something was pouring out of them, but the dim sky made it difficult for him to see clearly.

Probably a bat or something.

The soldier guessed so because he could see red dots emanating from bat eyes.

While guessing in his mind, the soldier walked forward a few meters, and then his face changed, and his face was distorted terribly with a terrified expression.

"Ghost!!!"

The soldier shouted loudly, turned around and ran towards the city gate, but he fell to the ground because his legs went weak after only two steps.

"What? The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons?" Another soldier also saw what the soldier saw. He was covered in bone armor, with many bone spurs sticking out of his skin, a bony tail at the back, and bat-like red eyes. Isn't that a ghost?

The dense influx of time-traveling troops made the soldier's legs go weak all of a sudden. Although he did not fall to the ground like the other soldier, he did not have the strength to run.

However, the two soldiers did not stay outside until they were killed by the Time Travel Army. The soldiers in the city heard their warning and quickly ran out to help the two soldiers into the city gate. Then they closed the city gate. The closing of the huge wooden door divided the inside and outside of the city into two worlds.

A banquet was being held in the lord's palace, and the protagonist of the banquet was Princess Keibu. Miyamoto Musashi and the lord of Harima sat on both sides of Princess Keibu as supporting roles. There were also ten officials, both large and small, sitting in the left and right rows as supporting roles. The table in front of each person was filled with fruits and desserts.

More than a dozen beautiful women in dance costumes performed graceful dances for the adults at the banquet, accompanied by three or five musicians holding various instruments.

The whole banquet was filled with a cheerful atmosphere, which was exactly the daily life of the upper class in that era. When people were starving to death every day, they were squandering the scarce resources.

Xingbu Ji responded to the compliments and toasts from officials of all ranks with a smile, maintaining a perfect princess demeanor from beginning to end, and her various etiquettes made it impossible for anyone to find any fault.

Miyamoto Musashi was far inferior to Princess Gyobu. After all, she was a samurai, not a real princess. After seeing her swordsmanship, no one would regard her as a princess. She could only eat at the banquet. After all, as a samurai, she had no chance of getting involved in the communication between Princess Gyobu and these officials.

"My Lord, something bad has happened! Something big has happened!" At this moment, a man dressed as a military general suddenly rushed in from outside, and his frightened voice broke the joyful atmosphere.

The singing stopped instantly, and the dancers also stopped moving and consciously retreated to the edge.

From the officials to the princess, everyone's eyes turned to the general. However, unlike the others who were confused, Princess Keibu and Miyamoto Musashi had been informed long ago, so they quickly connected the dots to what the general was talking about.

"A Hundred Demons Night Parade is coming! There are no less than ten thousand of them! They are just outside the city!" The general took a few heavy breaths and then dropped a bombshell.

"what?!"

The banquet suddenly became noisy. Apart from Princess Gyobu and Miyamoto Musashi, only the King of Harima managed to keep a calm expression, but he could hardly hide the panic in his heart.

"What are you panicking about!" Miyamoto Musashi's head hurt because of the noise. She slammed her white palm heavily on the table in front of her, making a loud noise and leaving an obvious palm print on the table.

The loud noise and Miyamoto Musashi's stern shout stunned all the officials present. For a moment, the banquet became silent, with only the sound of heavy breathing that continued.

"I'll go first. You stay here and be ready to release your treasure at any time. Do you understand?" Miyamoto Musashi looked around, fixed his eyes on Princess Geibu, and said sternly.

"I understand!" Xingbu Ji subconsciously sat up straight and answered loudly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Miyamoto Musashi set off and disappeared from the lord's palace in just a breath.

Afterwards, everyone at the banquet looked at Gyobu-hime with hope. After all, Gyobu-hime had the title of Harima Tomihime, the God of Gods, and she had the responsibility and ability to protect them.

"Lady Fuji, how do you think we should deal with the One Hundred Demons Night Parade attacking the city?" The King of Harima asked directly.

Xingbu Ji sat upright in her seat and said calmly, "Don't worry. Master Daoman has long since divined the current situation. The fifty-five elite Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family have already deployed themselves in Himeji Castle. There are also many soldiers in Himeji Castle. With the help of Miyamoto Musashi and I, we will definitely repel this monster attack..."

Everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief at the calm words of Princess Xingbu. They knew the abilities of the Hanakaiin clan, the disciples of Master Doman. In addition, with the assistance of nearly a thousand soldiers in the city and the help of Princess Fujime, even if the city was finally breached, the samurai and onmyoji loyal to them in their family could help them escape.

The next moment, the King of Harima's face turned ugly and he was even more angry.

Because Princess Gyobu had openly betrayed Ashiya Doman, and let the Lord of Harima know that all this was part of Ashiya Doman's plan, but he himself was in danger because of Ashiya Doman's deliberate concealment.

On the other side, Miyamoto Musashi had already reached the city wall. At this time, all the soldiers in the city were mobilized over, and the Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family also received the message and rushed over, standing on the city wall with several men who looked like generals.

Miyamoto Musashi leaped onto the city wall. The high-ranking officials and generals in the city all knew Miyamoto Musashi, so when several soldiers approached to question him, they were waved away by the generals.

After obtaining some information from the soldiers guarding the city, Miyamoto Musashi turned his head and looked outside the city.

Dozens of meters outside the city, tens of thousands of Time Travelers advanced towards the city gates, a dense mass that involuntarily created a sense of pressure. Their demonic appearance and sophisticated equipment made it difficult for ordinary soldiers to muster any resistance. Ordinary armies typically used long, wooden-handled spears, all made of wood except for the tips, lacking even armor.

The fine swords and armor were all equipped by the private troops of the noble officials. Although Himeji Castle had quite a few troops equipped with fine swords, and the number of the noble officials combined might be even more than that of ordinary soldiers, even Ashiya Doman did not have hope for them to go into battle.

In other words, only ordinary soldiers will be dispatched to resist the Time Travel Army. As long as the city is not broken and all the ordinary soldiers are not killed, those noble lords will not waste their own property.

"I'll go first, you guys act accordingly."

Miyamoto Musashi gave some instructions, stepped on the wall, jumped off the city wall, did a somersault in the air, and landed steadily under the wall.

"Everyone, pay attention and attack at any time." Hanakaiin Harima frowned and gave orders to Hanakaiin's Onmyoji.

Although I know that a strong warrior can easily defeat a hundred or even a thousand at once, it would be too careless to enter the battlefield in plain clothes.

Hanakaiin Harima slandered in his heart, but he did not dare to be careless on the surface. After all, Miyamoto Musashi was sent by Zhang Luo, who could communicate with his master on the same level. He could not watch her die no matter what.

"Archers, get ready," the general immediately gave the order, and one hundred archers lined up and prepared to attack.

Then, the general bowed to Hanakaiin Harima and said sincerely, "Onmyoji-sama, I am counting on you."

"Don't worry, activate the third level of the formation."

Chapter 171 Untitled

Miyamoto Musashi roamed freely among the Time Travelers' army. The two swords in her hands seemed to have life, constantly changing positions and drawing wild and strange arcs. Because of the extremely fast speed, the two swords of different lengths seemed like silver threads dancing in the sky. Ordinary people could only see thousands of silver threads falling in the air, like sharp weapons that could cut through iron like mud, splitting the bodies of the Time Travelers' army into pieces.

If you are a powerful warrior or Onmyoji, you will find that the floating catkins emitting a dangerous aura are not silk threads, but thousands of sharp swords dancing continuously.

The sword dance with its wild and gorgeous posture exudes a bewitching charm that makes people dizzy at the sight. However, the murderous intent contained in it is not hidden by the charm of the sword dance at all. It is like a soul-catcher from hell, and every move reveals a deadly threat.

"So strong! Can a samurai be this strong?"

Looking at the Time Traveler Army that fell in large numbers under Miyamoto Musashi's sword dance, the general on the city wall said in disbelief, his palms moved and he tightened his sword. He had never thought that he would see such swordsmanship.

"No, that's just an exception. At least I have never seen a samurai who can be compared with her." Hanakaiin Harima could no longer maintain the calmness he had always maintained on his face.

He was quite knowledgeable, but he had never seen a warrior so powerful that he could fight against thousands of enemies with just his swordsmanship.

You know, there are many powerful warriors, but there are no purely powerful warriors. Almost every warrior who can fight against a thousand enemies has mastered advanced magic. For example, the famous noble warrior Minamoto Boya has mastered an unparalleled barrier technique.

It can be said that a powerful warrior is also a powerful magician, because pure martial arts have no ability to restrain monsters. When dealing with powerful monsters, without the assistance of magic spells to restrain monsters, the warrior is no match for the monsters at all.

"An outsider has performed so well, we can't fall too far behind. Everyone, get ready!"

The general straightened his expression, drew his sword, raised it high, and shouted loudly.

A row of archers drew their bows and drew their arrows, their arrows pointed directly at the Time Travelers below. The archers in the row behind them also held their bows and arrows firmly, ready to take over at any time. Their movements were synchronized, and no one made a mistake.

"put!"

At the general's command, the first row of archers released their bowstrings, and the second row followed closely behind. Suddenly, a hail of arrows rained down from the sky. However, the arrows clearly avoided Miyamoto Musashi, who was not far from the city wall, and all fell on the Time Traveling Army, which was farther away.

The Onmyojis were not willing to be left behind, and with the help of the formations prepared earlier, various talismans and spells, they attacked those who had escaped the net.

In just less than a minute, hundreds of Time-Traveling Army were defeated. This number may seem small, but for these ordinary soldiers who can be said to be militia, it is already a good record.

Hundreds of meters behind, at the foot of Himeyama, a group of Fusangshen were still staying here. They did not go out, but just used the irrational time-traveling army to serve as cannon fodder to attack the city.

According to their thinking, the Time Travel Army is irrational, fearless, and well-equipped. They are the most perfect soldiers and the most suitable cannon fodder. They are perfect for consuming the troops of Himeji Castle. Once Himeji Castle is captured, it will be their turn to go out.

However, the situation did not develop as they imagined. Not to mention that Miyamoto Musashi alone caused over a thousand victories in just a few minutes, even the ordinary militia and Hanakaiin's Onmyoji achieved considerable results. If things continued to develop in this way, by the time the city gate was breached, there would not be many Time Travel Army left. After all, according to the ancient national conditions of Japan, the real elite troops were all kept by the nobles.

"Strange, who is that guy? Before the end of the Heian period, I haven't heard of any pure swordsmen." Mikazuki Munechika said with a frown. The famous samurai of this era were mostly demon-slaying samurai. They did not rely on swordsmanship to make their way in the world, but relied on magic spells that were not much worse than swordsmanship.

"It seems like this is another future figure that shouldn't exist. At least a purely powerful samurai wouldn't have lived to this age in the Heian period." Kogunimaru next to him concluded that it would have been impossible for a samurai of this era to survive the demons and monsters to this age relying solely on swordsmanship. Only after the Heian period, when demons and monsters withdrew from the stage of history, would pure samurai have the day to come to the fore.

"This kind of swordsmanship seems familiar," said Hosuka Kotetsu. He always felt that he should have heard of this kind of swordsmanship somewhere.

"Oh? Could it be a swordsman from the Edo period? Well, it's normal to think about it this way. The samurai of the Edo period were the most numerous and the strongest in all eras in Japan." Daiten Tai Mitsuyo touched his chin, nodded while thinking, and said that he also felt that the man's swordsmanship was somewhat familiar, and he should be a very famous swordsman.

"At this rate, I don't think we need to come to this era at all. History is about to collapse." The Lion King complained. Last time it was Chiko Muramasa, this time it was an Edo period swordsman, who would it be next time? In such a Heian period, is it really necessary for them to come here?

"What you said... seems to be true." Ichigo Ichijin recalled Ibaraki-douji, Shuten-douji, and Sengo Muramasa from Himeyama who should not have appeared before, as well as the Edo swordsman in front of him, and had to admit that what the Lion King said was right.

"Go Yoshihiro, what's wrong with you?"

At this time, Gokotai noticed that something was wrong with the wakizashi next to him, and asked with concern.

"What a familiar figure, but that person shouldn't be a woman!" The wakizashi tsukumogami known as Sato Yoshihiro pressed his head down a little crazily, his words full of disbelief and resentment.

"Do you know her? Or, was she your former master?" Xiao Wuhuan asked with interest.

"That guy has never taken me seriously. He got me from the hands of the gods, but he used me very few times. Later, he even abandoned me." Xiang Yoshihiro roared angrily, with resentment in his anger.

"I remember your master was Mitsuhide Akechi, right?"

I don’t know which Tsukumogami said such words in the crowd. Suddenly, the atmosphere froze and the faces of most of the Tsukumogami became extremely terrified.