Mountain Imp, most of them were classified as an Inferior Low Ranked monster and the stronger ones were rated as Normal Low Ranked at most. Those in this rank were about as strong as a Mid-tier samurai.
The samurai had swords and other equipment, but the Mountain Imps had nothing, no magic nor any special ability they could rely on. A Mountain Imp was in fact, weaker than a samurai of equal rank.
However, the truly terrifying part of the Mountain Imp was their colony. A colony made up of a dozen, or even up to a hundred Mountain Imps was so terrifying that even if a High-tier samurai had nine lives, it wouldn’t be enough.
The sky was already dark and no sunlight shone upon the path leading to Mount Ise.
“Pow—!” Suddenly came the sound of a heavy blow!
Daidouji Akira had just turned a Mountain Imp into a meat paste with a spiked club that weighted 72 kilograms!
“Hmph! I only came here to search for that Lily. I didn’t expect there to be so many Mountain Imps around here! It has only been a few years since I last frequented this area!” said Daidouji Akira with impatience.
Akira was a High-tier Martial Monk, which was of equal rank as a High-tier Samurai. However, his raw power was clearly one level above samurais of the same rank!
As a matter of course, he was able to rise to the second seat elder in Hojo Clan mainly not due to his raw power, but rather his status in the temple. He traded freely with famous clans of every region and included among those were illegal dealings that a Buddhist shouldn’t ever dip their fingers on.
The financial resources of the Daidouji Clan were what held the Hojo Clan together. Many core members of the Hojo Clan had tied the knot with the women of Daidouji Clan. Needless to say, the Daidouji lineage all had a stout and tall build, ugly appearance, and physically strong. The women were no exception…… The ambition of the Hojo Clan was as clear as day. In order to rise in power, they were impartial towards the outer appearance of the women.
“Father!” said Takano, “Although Mount Ise is considered one of the smaller mountain area in the Kanagawa prefecture, it is still a vast mountain range with close to fifty kilometers of open space, how are we supposed to find a single girl.”
Akira and Takano brought along a few Mid-tier Martial Monks. They even went as far as to hire an aged onmyoji with a high price to provide assistance. They were a force to be reckoned with.
“That Lily is not familiar with the surrounding areas, this is the only path she will take. Moreover, this is the only path back to Takeshita so we just need to follow this path. Even if we can’t catch up to her, we can still set up an ambush on her way back!” said Akira full of confidence.
“That’s great!” said Takano with incomparable joy. He was equipped with a daishowakizashi being worn together with the katana was the official sign that the wearer was a samurai or swordsman. When worn together the pair of swords were called daishō, which translates literally as “big-little”.”>1. Even though he was born in a line of Martial Monk, he wholeheartedly pursued the path of samurais, that’s why he was keen on using katanas. As a matter of fact, this wasn’t the best weapon for him.
However, at this very moment, an enormous shadow walked past the pine trees not far away.
“Father, take a look…” Takano pointed at the shadow in the fog.
That was the shadow of a giant monk with ragged clothing. However, that monk was not taking the animal trails but absent-mindedly pushing his way through the bushes. A heavy and rusty machete was in his hands.
Akira and the others also turned their attention towards the monk.
Suddenly, Akira’s eyes turned bloodshot and flared up with anger.
“T-That’s…” he managed to choke out in obvious shock and outrage.
The monk showed up here purely by chance, but he was discovered by Akira’s gang.
“Noboru!!!” Akira shouted furiously.
“What?! That is Noboru?!” Takano and the other Martial Monks also recognized the giant monk who was one head taller than Akira.
Noboru, seemingly a monk but actually a monster. They said that twenty odd years ago, he killed the chief of the Daidouji Clan and escaped with their family heirloom. After that, the Daidouji Clan went after him with all their might and gravely injured him, but they never managed to capture him. All news regarding Noboru was lost thereafter.
A few years ago, that Noboru made an appearance, but he had already become a monster specialized in hunting the Daidouji Clan and their merchandise. He had once engaged in a battle with Akira, but they were never able to decide the outcome.
“Hahaha! Today is such a lucky day! We have Master Kyuso, who is specialized in restraining a monster like you, with us today. Let’s see how you get out of this! You killed my grandfather and stole my family’s heirloom, curse your rotten luck for running into me today! Kill!” Akira had run into his lifetime nemesis, why would he even care about what little desire for revenge he had for a little girl now? His body burst out with raw power as he charged towards Noboru like a fierce bull. He didn’t forget to call out the aged onmyoji, “Master Kyuso, please!”
“Dad… about Lily…” asked Takano in doubt. He didn’t personally bear witness to the events regarding Noboru, so he didn’t possess a hatred as deep as Akira.
“Who cares about that whatever Lily! Our first priority is to kill this traitor who has stolen our family heirloom! Even if you are already dead, I will send you back to the netherworld!” Akira was completely outraged and neglected everything else.
Everyone had no choice but to follow Akira’s order and launched an attack on Noboru.2
A few miles away from the mountain road where Akira and co engaged Noboru, Lily was following the trail of several Mountain Imps.
Ever since she had a surprise encounter with that Mountain Imp, Lily became more cautious than ever. She even released spiritual waves to scout her surroundings and discovered those Mountain Imps.
“There are four of them in total! One is stealthily approaching me from the back and the others are pursuing me from above the trees,” Lily calculated in her head.
But she still feigned ignorance and proceeded nonchalantly.
When facing a samurai, the Mountain Imp would rather launch a surprise attack from the back or attack from all sides with all their numbers than to attack the samurai with a frontal attack.
The Mountain Imp sneaking up on her was getting closer with each passing second. It had a thick and broad pair of dirty legs, but surprisingly, no footsteps could be heard.
“Pat!” The Mountain Imp placed its hairy hand on Lily’s shoulder again.
Lily didn’t turn around this time as she was already prepared for this. She immediately grabbed the hairy hand and performed a shoulder throw!
The Mountain Imp was slammed on the ground with a “Pow!” It tried to launch a surprise attack on Lily but had been countered instead. The unprepared Mountain Imp was left in confusion from the shoulder throw.
This move couldn’t be performed by just anyone. Although Lily was a girl and not the power-type samurai, her body still contained explosive power with the strengthening effect of Spirit Power.
Lily stretched out her long leg and stepped on the Mountain Imp’s chest with her wooden sandal like a queen.3 The air was drawn out from the Mountain Imp’s lung as it looked upon the sensational leg of Lily from a low viewpoint with terrified glare. That would become the last sight of this Mountain Imp.
Lily unsheathed the katana with ease and thrust it downward at the Mountain Imp’s throat. The incomparably sharp Seiwa Tamashi pierced the Mountain Imp’s throat without any resistance.
The other Mountain Imps noticed the irregularity and launched an attack immediately.
Lily ran at high speed with the katana in hands and the Mountain Imps were chasing after her by hopping from branches to branches!
One of the Mountain Imps jumped down from above and threw itself at Lily from the high ground.
Lily’s footwork suddenly became graceful and unpredictable. That was the footwork she unconsciously learned during the night parade of a hundred ghosts. She skipped to the side and avoided the Mountain Imp’s pounce attack. Taking advantage of the sluggish movements in the air, she turned her body sideways and performed an uppercut slash.
“Pfff—!” The scarlet blood sprayed out from the open wound at the Mountain Imp’s back!
