Haohmaru's face was flushed red from drinking. He clutched his sake gourd, sidled up to Cloud, and slurred, "Alliance Leader... hic... I'm completely convinced! From now on, you're my sworn brother! Come, drink!"
Genjuro, for once, wasn't picking a fight with Haohmaru. He sat alone in a corner, silently nursing his drink, his gaze occasionally drifting toward Cloud, filled with complicated emotions.
His expression seemed to say: Damn it, I can't beat him, but I really want to fight him again. What do I do? Asking for a friend, it's urgent.
Ukyo sat quietly near Nakoruru and Rimururu, sipping sake in small mouthfuls.
Now that his body had recovered, his alcohol tolerance had improved too. A healthy flush colored his once-pale cheeks, drawing frequent glances and whispered discussions from the izakaya's serving girls about this devastatingly handsome "melancholy pretty boy."
Cloud, meanwhile, was surrounded by a crowd, enjoying the treatment of a star being worshipped by all.
On one hand, he had to handle the endless toasts. On the other, he had to explain to Rimururu such profound mysteries as "why soda makes bubbles"—keeping himself quite busy.
The entire izakaya was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
However, just as everyone was basking in this hard-won victory, an extremely faint but bone-chillingly cold presence silently seeped in from outside.
Nakoruru, who had been pouring sake for Cloud, suddenly stopped, her brow furrowing tightly.
Ukyo's hand, holding his cup, went white at the knuckles.
The smile on Haohmaru's bragging face slowly froze.
These top-tier warriors all sensed something wrong at almost the same instant.
It was a feeling... as if something unseen was watching them from the shadows. The sensation was cold, viscous, filled with deathly stillness and despair—a hundred times more evil than Amakusa's magic had been!
"What's wrong, Sister?" Rimururu, still oblivious, looked curiously at the suddenly silent crowd.
"Shh." Nakoruru made a silencing gesture, her expression grave. "Something... is coming."
The moment her words fell—
Creeeak—
The izakaya's closed wooden door was slowly pushed open by an eerie wind.
Outside, the previously bustling street had become deathly silent. In the moonlight, several twisted, grotesque figures were walking in with stiff, jerky steps.
They were "people" wearing tattered samurai clothing.
Their faces were gaunt, their skin the grayish-blue of corpses. In their eye sockets burned two points of ghostly blue flame. From their bodies emanated the thick stench of death and resentment.
Even more terrifying—though the swords in their hands were spotted with rust, their sword-holding stances still retained their living memories, textbook-perfect in form.
"Spirits...?" one warrior said in surprise. "No! These ones... they're far stronger than Amakusa's spirits!"
The spirits Amakusa had created were mostly transformed from ordinary people or low-level monsters—slow-moving, lacking combat technique.
But these were clearly powerful deceased swordsmen, reawakened from the underworld by some even more evil power—Undead Swordsmen!
"Interesting." Cloud set down his sake cup, his eyes turning cold. "Looks like the after-party entertainment has arrived."
"Cheap tricks!" Haohmaru was the first to stand, having drunk quite a bit and feeling bold.
He drew Fugudoku and pointed it at the undead swordsmen, bellowing: "I don't care what you are! Interrupt my drinking and you'd better be ready to get chopped to pieces!"
He was about to charge forward.
"Wait!" Cloud stopped him. "Don't rush. Let's assess the situation first."
Just then, one of the undead swordsmen slowly raised his head. The ghost-fire burning in his eye sockets locked directly onto Yagyu Jubei.
"Yagyu... ryū..."
A raspy, dry voice, as if transmitted from the depths of hell, emerged from his long-rotted throat.
Jubei's single eye contracted sharply!
"That stance... it's Yagyu Shinkage-ryū! You... you're... Kimen Umanoske, who challenged me in Edo thirty years ago and died by my blade?!" He shouted out a name in shock.
The undead swordsman seemed to understand. He let out a soundless shriek, raised his sword, and charged at Jubei with a textbook Yagyu Shinkage-ryū opening stance!
Meanwhile, another undead swordsman wielding twin blades fixed his gaze on Ukyo. His sword style was unmistakably the long-lost "Niten Ichi-ryū"!
Yet another undead, wielding a massive nodachi, roared as it charged at Haohmaru!
These resurrected warriors were all historically famous swordsmen who had either crossed blades with those present or had connections to their schools!
This wasn't simple resurrection—it was a malicious, mocking "reunion"!
"Damn them! They dare... dare desecrate the souls of the dead!" Jubei roared with fury, drawing his twin blades to meet the attack.
"There's definitely someone pulling strings behind this!" Hanzo's figure appeared on the rafters, his voice grave.
Just as everyone was caught up in shock and anger, the system's warning alarm sounded again in Cloud's mind.
[Warning! High-concentration, high-purity Demon Realm energy reaction detected! Intensity far exceeds Amakusa Shiro Tokisada!]
[World anomaly information updating... Re-locking source... Lock successful!]
[Source coordinates: Mount Osore.]
[Anomaly core: Mizuki, the Demon God.]
[Character information: A powerful shrine maiden from ancient times who fell into the demonic path while pursuing ultimate dark power. Later sealed at Mount Osore. Amakusa Shiro Tokisada's resurrection was merely a chess piece she placed to break her own seal.]
[Main quest updated—Dimensional Correction: Samurai Shodown Arc: The Awakening of the Demon God!]
[Quest objective: Proceed to Mount Osore, completely eliminate Mizuki the Demon God, and prevent her plan to fully merge the mortal world with the Demon Realm.]
"I see." A flash of understanding appeared in Cloud's eyes.
"Beat the small fry and the big boss shows up. Amakusa was just an appetizer—the real hidden menu item is only being served now. This plot progression is so familiar."
He stood and spoke loudly to everyone struggling against the undead swordsmen:
"Everyone, stop wasting time with these puppets. I already know who's pulling the strings."
"Some old hag called Mizuki, the Demon God. Amakusa was just a power bank she used to resurrect herself."
"What?!"
"Amakusa was just a pawn?"
This news shocked everyone even more than the appearance of the undead swordsmen!
...
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