In the dark Mount Tama, many big trees surrounded the vacant land in front of the cave, their branches spread out like the claws of countless demons. A dim bonfire was lit where a dozen or so samurais and martial monks were standing, all cautiously watching the parasol girl walking toward them.
The red glow on Lily’s blade reflected on her cold but beautiful face.
Nanako was tied on the other side of the open space. Two beefy swordsmen wearing bamboo hats were surrounding her in an attempt to ⓡⓐⓟⓔ her.1
Right beside the bonfire stood Akira and Hojo Motoshige, who appeared more malicious with the contrast from the dim light. The others were scattered around.
“Daidouji Akira!”
The burning spirit fire on her Seiwa Tamashi represented the swelling anger in Lily’s heart! She couldn’t believe that the bad guys who had captured Nanako, and were trying to ⓡⓐⓟⓔ her, were Akira’s team!
At this time, the two samurai closest to Lily drew their sword and yelled hoarsely, “You, are you a human or a demon?”2
Indeed, a lady wearing white clothes and holding a red parasol in the woods wasn’t a common spectacle.
Lily folded the parasol, and it flew to her back by itself. This scene stunned everyone here. Who was that woman?
“Kagami Lily!” Akira recognized her immediately.
“What?” Hojo Motoshige naturally remembered the beautiful girl he used to bully at the Matsuda Clan, though he hadn’t crossed the line. He didn’t quite understand the situation, but seeing the scarlet flame on Lily’s sword caused him to be astonished and cautious. ‘Huh? That woman’s aura seems completely different compared to last month.’
Akira held a hefty golden club and took his stance, “Your Highness, that woman is the ⓑⓘⓣⓒⓗ that attacked my son and stole our family’s heirloom!”
Even if Akira said nothing, Motoshige also had no intention to let such a beauty go. Moreover, she was Akira’s enemy!
Motoshige pointed at Lily, “Capture her!”
The samurais around received the order. He said capture, not kill. Apparently, he wanted to capture her alive because she was pretty. The three martial monks Akira had brought along took the initiative to attack and rushed toward Lily from three different directions!
These three martial monks had the power equivalent to Mid-Tier samurais.
The first martial monk ran to Lily’s side, aiming his club at the back of her head. His force was neither strong nor weak as he just wanted to knock Lily unconscious.
Lily coldly glanced at him with a crimson glow in her eyes. It momentarily caused the martial monk to shiver and his action to become hesitant.
“Hah——!” As Lily drew the sword, scarlet light streaked across the night!
The moment both weapons collided, the martial monk felt an unimaginably heavy force. It felt like a six hundred kilograms boulder was attached to Lily’s sword.
The club was easily severed by the long blade and cut into the martial monk’s body.
“Pfft—!!!” The martial monk halted right where he stood. His upper body twitched as blood spurted out.
“What!?” Akira and Motoshige were shocked!
Right at this instance, the other two martial monks swung their clubs at Lily from the side and the front.
Lily flipped her wrist and held the sword with both hands. With an abrupt kick, her speed suddenly accelerated!
At the same time she dodged the two martial monk’s attack– “Swish! Swish!”
She executed a double slash!3 And two fountains of blood followed soon after!
The two martial monks helplessly collapsed backward. The only one remaining standing was Lily with her blood stained sword. Her eyes were glowing with terrifyingly crimson color.4
Those three were experienced, mid-tier martial monks! They were powerful warriors who had been following Akira to do evil for many years, and yet they were killed without even a fighting chance?!
Akira and Hojo both started to panic.
“Kill! Kill her!” Hojo Motoshige didn’t want to think anymore. He immediately ordered for the woman to be killed as he drew the katana himself.
Several samurais lifted their swords and dashed toward Lily from different directions, fully intending to cut her down.
The scarlet Blade Maiden Spirit Power gathered on Lily’s sword. The intensity of the force caused the blade to vibrate.
“Clang!”
The sword swing created a red arc similar to a several-meter-long crescent moon!
“Pff——!” The five samurais around Lily were simultaneously cut in half before they even get close. Their upper bodies separated from their lower halves while still holding the swords over their heads!
This time, Akira and Hojo Motoshige were baffled, “How… What just happened?! I- is she really Kagami Lily? Or some demoness in disguise?”
Only now did the bodies of the five samurai fell helplessly on the ground.
Without waiting for Motoshige’s order, the two hotshots wearing flat bamboo hats nodded to each other and decided. They let go of Nanako for the time being and took action!
The two Arakawa Brothers had been together since the day they held a sword. Thus, they could cooperate well and support each other. The two flitted across Akira and Motoshige, running swiftly towards Lily to attack her!
Nanako, who was tied at the open space with her collar yanked and torn, was also looking at the long-haired woman in the distance with bewilderment. A whimper left her mouth, “Sis… Sister? Is that really you, sister? So powerful…”
The Arakawa Brothers wore the same clothing and had the same appearance. It was really hard to tell who was the younger brother or the older brother. However, one of them was holding the sword in his right hand while the other used his left hand. With this kind of combination, their attack patterns became much more flexible and unpredictable.
“Haaaaaaah——!”
“Kill——!”
The Arakawa Brothers let out a rough and powerful roar to boost their strength. The moment they were several meters away from Lily, one of them suddenly jumped high and hacked at Lily.
The other one lowered his center of gravity. And with smooth execution, his sword made a beeline for Lily’s heart.
The two had great teamwork, they attacked almost at the same time with simple yet effective techniques. When they attacked with full power, their penetration force reached the astounding number of eight hundred kwans!
Their sword techniques were also fast and agile. Even with great power behind their attacks, their move still possessed the surprise factor!
“Sister! Be careful– they are very strong!” Nanako was most afraid of anything happening to her sister. That was why she screamed recklessly to remind Lily.
It was complicated to describe but it actually happened in the blink of an eye. The Arakawa Brothers’ attacks were about to hit Lily!
Lily only had one katana. It would be difficult for her to dodge or block the attacks at the same time. Even if Lily’s penetration force was stronger, defending an attack with 800 kwans of force with purely Spirit Power would be suicide! However, in this perilous moment, Lily was strangely calm. All of a sudden, a scarlet light sparkled in her eyes.
Lily lowered her body slightly. With a quick exhale, she jumped lithely into the air and raised high the katana diagonally behind her.
“Pow!” She stepped on the back of Arakawa’s sword with her wooden shoe and pushed it into the ground.
At the same time her body leaned to the side, she swung the Seiwa Tamashi in her hands to meet the slashing attack coming from above.
“Pfft——!”
By a hair’s breadth, the slash attack cut off several strands of Lily’s hair and almost cut her arm. On the other hand, Lily had a clean hit on Arakawa’s body!
The Arakawa brother that attacked from above landed on the ground. The sword in his hands maintained the slashing posture for a while before his body suddenly tilted to one side and fell.
The Arakawa5 who attacked from below saw his brother fell and became enraged. He shouted hoarsely and forcefully drew back the sword Lily had stepped on. The moment he took back his sword, he attempted to stab Lily again!
However, when he lifted his head to look at the target, all he saw was the cold and murderous eyes. Before he had a chance to thrust his sword, the girl in white gently flung her long sleeves. And the next thing he knew, a dazzling red light flashed across his eyes.
“Pfft——!”
Arakawa had been beheaded by Lily. The bamboo hat flew up into the sky and fell somewhere far away.
Daidouji Akira and Hojo Motoshige were petrified! For the time being, they could only open their mouths and gasp. They were covered in cold sweat and unable to utter a single word.
Hojo Motoshige had lived a rich and leisure life. He behaved arrogantly by flaunting the names of his family. He was always the one cornering the others and not the other way round!
However, for the first time ever, Hojo Motoshige felt that he was backed into the corner…6
