Female Swordsman Training Dojo

Even in this scene, the Yamata no Orochi still struggled to raise its head. Seven heads shimmered with multicolored light, spreading towards its dismembered corpse. Under Harunobu's curious gaze, the light converged, forming the shape of a man.

The Yamata no Orochi, standing on its own corpse, looked up at Hiraharu Nobu in the sky.

His eyes were calm, even slightly joyful, as if he had just encountered something good. And indeed, that was the case. Although he hadn't expected Ping Qingxin to cleave his true form in two with a single blow, it was a good thing, because now he wouldn't have to waste energy strengthening and maintaining his true form. He could use all that energy to fill the true magic array hidden beneath his corpse, to activate his true, and final, plan.

Before that, he needed to buy some more time, just one more hour.

He raised his hand, and one of the eight tails of his true form twitched and came to his hand, revealing the divine sword growing within it—the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.

At the same time, a wall of light connecting heaven and earth suddenly rose up around the area, blocking the Tongxin Society members who were trying to escape.

This was naturally Orochi's doing. He needed to buy time, so he couldn't let any force slip by. Even if Hiraharunobu only needed one strike to kill them, it would still buy him a moment, right? Of course, Orochi didn't place his hopes on his subordinates. The glowing barrier and the Kusanagi he acquired were his real smokescreen.

He flew into the sky, facing Harunobu, and raised his Ame no Kusanagi in a proper and standard stance, assuming a mid-level posture.

Harunobu's expression was strange: "You intend to have a swordsmanship contest with me?"

What's the difference between this and a mouse competing with a cat to catch mice?

The eight-headed serpent smiled slightly, as if it had everything under control. At the same time, hundreds of dazzling light bands lit up outside the newly risen light wall, one end connected to the light wall and the other end disappearing into the earth.

Without a doubt, this is the earth vein energy extracted by the magic array.

But why would Yamata no Orochi make them out in the open?

As Harunobu pondered, he suddenly heard the triumphant laughter of the Yamata no Orochi: "Hahaha! You finally fell for my trap, Taira no Harunobu!"

Harunobu tilted his head and calmly looked at the Yamata no Orochi.

The eight-headed serpent's laughter stopped abruptly, but then it spoke again as if it were unwilling to admit defeat: "I admit you are strong, and I am no match for you, but that is precisely why you are too arrogant! You think that by rushing over and killing me, you can stop my plan? No! This is just what I want you to do!"

"Even if I die, my plan will not end! My perfect rituals and magic arrays will continue to draw energy from the earth's veins until this incompetent, foolish, and barbaric nation is completely drained and turned into my food! And you, Taira no Shin, will be trapped in this barrier and watch helplessly as I become the master of this country!"

Amidst the monstrous laughter of the Yamata no Orochi, Harunobu calmly spoke: "So, you think I can't break this barrier?"

"Oh, why would I think that, Taira no Harunobu, the Sword Saint of Wind?" Orochi chuckled, his tone incredibly irritating, his expression utterly mocking. "But I advise you to let your women see the effects of this barrier before you make your move, lest you destroy it along with Japan with a single strike; after all, I still have to rule this country! Hahaha!"

Orochi wasn't lying; the barrier he had erected was indeed connected to Japan. This wasn't a smokescreen, but part of his true plan. Furthermore, he was certain that Taira no Harunobu wouldn't actually shatter the barrier, because his personality dictated that he wouldn't do something so extreme unless there was no other way, or his woman was threatened.

However, the Yamata no Orochi is clearly no threat to Harunobu's women now, and there are other ways to break this barrier. Even if Harunobu can't figure it out, Izanami, Amaterasu, and Amaterasu certainly can. He has clearly laid out the clues; these ancient goddesses couldn't possibly miss them!

As expected, to the great serpent's delight, Amaterasu no Mikoto flew to Harunobu's side and said to him, "Harunobu, we can disrupt the connection between this barrier and the Japanese land by severing the transmission of the earth's ley line energy. Those light bands have already revealed the location of the magic circle."

The Yamata no Orochi was overjoyed, but his face remained stiff as he glared resentfully at Amaterasu no Mikoto: "So what if you figured it out? You and Harunobu are both stuck in here! Do you think you can defeat my officers with those foolish mortals?!"

These were Orochi's true feelings, which explains why he was happy and excited when he saw Izanami and the others arrive. After all, if these ancient goddesses and powerful beings remained outside, they might just destroy all the magic arrays he had exposed, which would be a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.

But now, with the remaining mortals, even if the cadres he sent out still might not be able to win, they can definitely hold out for an hour! At most, some harmless magic arrays will be destroyed, which will actually appease Ping Qingxin and prevent him from going to extremes.

After an hour, he would no longer need those things.

His plan, his perfect plan, will finally succeed! The moment Ping Qingxin appeared here with his women, he was already invincible!

Of course, despite his excitement, Orochi didn't show it; he still needed to continue his performance. So he raised the Kusanagi Sword and launched an attack on Harunobu.

Chapter 610: Moving Mountains and Overturning Seas (3000 words)

Orochi's swordsmanship was decent; after all, he was an old man who had lived for hundreds of years and an expert in the study of human-demon transformation. However, compared to Harunobu, he was nothing more than a pile of dungeon stones.

Before the Kusanagi Sword and the Yama Sword could even clash, the Yamata no Orochi was slashed and sent flying by Harunobu's sword.

The Yamata no Orochi emerged unscathed from its true form, chuckling arrogantly: "I didn't expect you could see through me. But even if I send it flying, it will still affect Japan, hehehe!!"

Harunobu narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling a bit annoyed. He regretted not cutting down the Yamata no Orochi's true form; it looked much better before. But he decided against it. The Yamata no Orochi was quite strong before, but it wasn't much of a problem for Harunobu, and he could handle Izanami, Asuka, and Amaterasu. However, it was beyond the capabilities of Hirayukiko and the others.

If he were to accidentally injure them, Harunobu couldn't guarantee that he could still proceed according to plan. Although with the Womb Realm Mandala present, even if the Yamata no Orochi's attack hit them, it would only be transferred to Harunobu, it was still best not to gamble on whether the spell connecting to the origin of the world could break the initial release effect of the Womb Realm Mandala.

There's nothing I can do but bear with it.

Harunobu swung his sword, swatting away the eight-headed serpent that charged at him once again, as easily as swatting away a fly. At the same time, he thought of the long-absent Red Dragon Queen, his beloved Artoria.

Although he hadn't played for a long time, Al...

Chapter 662

Toria often shared intimate moments with Harunobu, given their ability to teleport at any time. At this moment, she cheerfully addressed Harunobu, "Shall we make our move now, darling~"

"No, wait a little longer," Harunobu reassured Her Majesty. "How is the situation on your end?"

Artoria looked back at the magic circle in front of her and nodded slightly: "Fortunately, as always, the magic circle is still restraining and protecting the ley lines, and there will be no larger earthquake."

"Then let's keep watching. I'm curious to see what kind of medicine the Yamata no Orochi is up to."

Harunobu spoke in his mind, simultaneously swatting away the charging Yamata no Orochi once more and casting a cold glance at it. Just as the Yamata no Orochi had hoped, it was unclear whether it would still be as arrogant and smug as it was now, knowing that Harunobu had long since taken control of all its magic arrays.

Long before the siege of Izanagi, Yakumo Kurenai and her group had discovered a problem with the Tongxinhui's magic array. At the time, Harunobu seemed to ignore it, focusing all his attention on the siege of Izanagi, but in reality, he dispatched Artoria, Lucifera, Ilias, Shiranui Ran, and their subordinates to investigate and control all of the Tongxinhui's magic arrays.

In other words, the Yamata no Orochi's act of extracting energy from the earth's veins was exposed to Harunobu from the very beginning, and he could have suppressed and destroyed it at any time. The reason he didn't do so was twofold: firstly, to put pressure on Izanagi and see if there was any hope left for him, and whether he could possibly take it for himself.

Another reason was to see what the Yamata no Orochi was planning after lying dormant for so long, even using Izanagi's scheme as a cover.

Harunobu highly values ​​Yamata no Orochi and the Doshin-kai. Although he's currently swatting Yamata no Orochi like a fly, and although he's slaughtered Doshin-kai members, leaving corpses strewn across the land, he still acknowledges the Doshin-kai's abilities. This is because the Doshin-kai was the first organization in Japan to proactively combine magic and technology, and Yamata no Orochi is both its leader and its foremost scientist.

Moreover, they are a group of inhuman and morally bankrupt mad scientists; it's common knowledge that such people often produce extraordinary feats beyond their capabilities. Therefore, given that he clearly possesses countermeasures, Harunobu wouldn't mind seeing what Orochi is up to and whether it can provide him with any good ideas.

He became even more curious about the Yamata no Orochi's thoughts and plans after discovering that while those magic arrays were drawing energy from the earth's veins, they were actually restraining the destruction of the Japanese land.

As for the Yamata no Orochi's earlier talk of ruling Japan and becoming a god, Harunobu immediately saw through his nonsense. Because he still displayed qualities like composure, excitement, and anticipation, he didn't deliberately display any arrogance or domineering attitude.

Oh, by the way, as Harunobu fully mastered his power, some of the system's abilities were also enhanced. For example, the ability to observe the state and talents of others, because Harunobu's proactive control allowed the system to connect to the world's origin better and more stably.

After considering all the above reasons, Harunobu simply told Artoria and the others to keep an eye on the magic circles and be prepared to interrupt and destroy them at any time. Then he silently watched Orochi's performance.

"They really put in a lot of effort, but their acting skills are a bit lacking," Amaterasu commented. She herself had killed an Yamata no Orochi back in the day, along with Susanoo and Tsukuyomi from her generation. The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is still in her possession. So she knew very well that while the Yamata no Orochi might be irritable, mindless, vicious, and greedy, it would never be so flamboyant and dissolute.

"Maybe it's her first time, just bear with it." Izanami moaned softly, her main focus already shifted to the petite Izanami, her words interspersed with irresistible cries.

Asuka shook her head helplessly, directing her thousands of skillful hands to strangle the mindless, stupid demons who had been incited by the Yamata no Orochi. Such demons do exist; those with tiny brains seem to be nonexistent, unable to remember anything from three minutes ago.

Harunobu helplessly used his mental powers to entangle the jealous Amaterasu no Mikoto, gently soothing her elegant and noble soul. Meanwhile, the "brainless" yokai Izanami accelerated her torment of Harunobu, passing the time in boredom.

As for the Yamata no Orochi?

"I will be back—"

In this tacit yet strange atmosphere, time slipped by slowly. Artoria and the others kept their eyes fixed on the magic circles, awaiting Seishin's reply. Meanwhile, the Yamata no Orochi grew increasingly excited, eventually becoming completely ecstatic!

Half an hour has passed!

An hour has passed!

His true magic array has been activated!

The dazzling light devoured the true form of the Yamata no Orochi, turning it into its last nourishment. The towering wall of light disappeared after a flash... no, it didn't disappear, it spread, spreading to the entire area surrounding the Japanese archipelago!

It completely surrounded and controlled the entire Japan, along with a portion of the surrounding sea area!

The Yamata no Orochi, which had just been swatted away, no longer concealed its laughter and burst into genuine merriment: "Taihara Harunobu! Repent for your arrogance!"

A dazzling light pierced the sky, the earth trembled, and it roared as if it were about to embark on its journey.

Artoria urgently called out to Harunobu: "Harunobu! The magic arrays have changed! They're rapidly absorbing the earth's ley line energy! If this continues, this country will become a dead land!"

"Destroy the magic array!" Qingxin gave the decisive order, but bad news followed: "It's no use! Those magic arrays seem to be connected to something. Even if we completely destroy its carrier, we can't stop its operation. It's as if it's engraved on space itself!"

The origin of the world.

Harunobu immediately realized this, and Yamata no Orochi, having finally finished gloating, issued its final victory declaration: "Taiba Harunobu! You are strong, but I hope you can stay this strong! After I... hehehe, send Japan to that neighboring continent, hahahaha!!"

"what?"

Harunobu was surprised for the first time.

Seeing Harunobu's appearance, Orochi was as happy as if he had eaten 888 virgins in one go, and his whole body trembled with excitement.

He couldn't help but shout, "It's just like you heard, Hirahara Harunobu! Aren't you a good person? Don't you prefer that neighboring country? Oh, next I'll send the whole of Japan to that country, completely and intact!"

"But after so much of the earth's energy has been extracted, can Japan still support so many people? Will the locals welcome you, this half-breed? And which side will you choose to stand on? Good guy?"

The Yamata no Orochi gritted its teeth and revealed its plan with immense pride: "When foreign nations invade that ancient land, and the ancient gods, demons, and spellcasters come to slay the demons and drive out the invaders, which side will you stand on? What choices will those pitiful, pathetic, and laughable mortals make when faced with this desolate land?"

"Oh, of course, I'm not some vicious monster. I've also prepared a foolproof strategy for you; all you have to do is get all the Japanese to accept my demonic transformation. They'll become able to survive even if they have to eat dirt, and no matter how painful it is, they'll be completely obedient to your orders, my orders, and be quiet, obedient babies."

"So, what are you planning to do?"

The eight-headed serpent roared excitedly, its voice even cracking: "Hira! Haru! Shin!"

Harunobu stood in mid-air, seemingly lost in thought. Izanami even stopped her oppression, releasing a wisp of black mist as if to comfort Harunobu's cheek, but just as the black mist began to spread, she resumed her normal behavior.

Although Harunobu was deep in thought, he wasn't contemplating the moral dilemma of the Yamata no Orochi, but rather thinking, "Damn, how come I didn't think of this solution?"

Harunobu initially planned to go out immediately to use

Chapter 663

The system's power assaulted the world's origin, forcibly destroying those magic arrays. However, after hearing Orochi's emotionally charged plan to wander across Japan, he was moved. He decided not to sabotage Orochi's plan; instead, he would wholeheartedly support it!

Flying to the neighboring country makes you a hero. If you're going to fly, you should fly straight to Europe, to my world's beacon, America! Not enough energy? No problem, I'll cover the extra time!

Overjoyed, Harunobu immediately gave the order, while the initially anxious Artoria and the others calmed down and revealed somewhat sinister smiles.

Japan falls from the sky, America dies suddenly.

Wow, that sounds really catchy.

So, did it backfire?

As if turning over.

The author says:

Author's note: Update progress 18/30.

The countdown to the end is on! -O-

Chapter 611: Wandering in Japan

The Yamata no Orochi sensed something was wrong.

Taira no Harunobu didn't fly into a rage and kill him with his sword, nor did he leave to try and stop the magic circle's progress. He didn't even react to his mockery or sarcasm, as if he no longer cared about the Yamata no Orochi at all.

He was furious and angry!

He so perfectly manipulated Hirahara Harunobu, forcing him into a moral dilemma, confronting the conflict between his inherent goodness and the sordid reality. Whether he chose to protect the Japanese people and attack a neighboring country, or remained restrained and allowed the Japanese people to struggle for survival in the barren, desolate land, both choices were forms of torture and interrogation for him!

And he, Yamata no Orochi! will gradually realize his ideals amidst this predicament. People who have no food don't distinguish between good and bad monsters; they only pursue and worship those who can prevent them from starving and the methods that can help them.

Even if the method results in them becoming neither human nor demon, even if this person makes them the lowest level among demons, it doesn't matter.

Moreover, Taira no Harunobu would be powerless; his Yamata no Orochi would be forever bound to Japanese soil by this ritual, like a bound spirit. Taira no Harunobu could kill him, but that would represent the complete collapse and disintegration of Japan, leaving all Japanese people as refugees and bandits, to seize land and establish their own kingdoms in neighboring countries.

He was destined to win—he should have won.

But what is this? What are these?!

Stop! Stop it right now!!!

The Yamata no Orochi, in its humanoid form, screamed as it lunged at the magic array he had personally inscribed—the true core and central hub of his meticulously planned, intricately linked, and far more complex and precise super-large-scale chain magic array than a Russian nesting doll. At this moment, an incomparably surging, immense amount of energy, far exceeding his expectations, was continuously pouring into it!

This exceeds the energy reserves of Japan's ley lines, and even surpasses the energy threshold originally set by the Yamata no Orochi. It only needed to traverse a mere 1000 kilometers to reach the coastal inland areas of a neighboring country. But the energy surging in now is more than ten or twenty times greater—impossible! Such a massive amount of energy couldn't be extracted even by draining Japan's ley lines!

"Hira Harunobu! What have you done?!"

Qingxin lazily reached out, smiling happily: "I think you're right, it's just that your perspective is limited and the target you chose is a bit problematic, so I've decided to help you; that neighboring country is too backward, let's go directly to the advanced and developed United States, where the technology is more advanced and it's more to your liking, isn't it?"

"Go to hell!" Orochi cursed. Did he think he didn't know that Taira no Harunobu had a grudge against the West? He wanted to put Taira no Harunobu in a moral dilemma, not help him take revenge or kill for pleasure!

Harunobu's smile faded slightly. He disliked the ungrateful behavior of Orochi, so he drew his sword and swung it at it.

Blood flames, black mist, blue wind, and azure dimensional rifts erupted simultaneously. The Yamata no Orochi had no time to dodge or parry, and half its body was instantly severed. Only because it was now a spirit and sustained by abundant ley line energy did it barely survive. But it would have been better if it were dead; that way, it could have comforted itself that Taira no Harunobu had ultimately fallen for its treacherous scheme and personally destroyed a nation.

But he was still alive, so he discovered that Japan had not made any changes in response to his serious injuries.

He was stunned, and it took him a while to realize why.

He was able to bind Japan because he presided over the ceremony and provided the most energy. But now, the one providing the most energy is no longer him, but Taira no Harunobu, and Taira no Harunobu's contribution is not just a little more, but ten times, twenty times, thirty times!!

It's even increasing!

This immense energy directly displaced and compressed the earth vein energies recorded under the name of Yamata no Orochi, turning them into a tiny, almost invisible patch on a percentage chart. The selfless and impartial ritual of the magic circle, inherently devoid of self-interest, naturally led Japan to regard Taira no Harunobu as the main entity.

Or you could say that Japan, which had gone to great lengths, exhausted its savings, and even resorted to theft and deception to satisfy its desires, was now being brutally and directly molded into a cream puff by Harunobu, and had already taken on his likeness.