Hearing Kanbe Hikaru's words, Kikyo stopped what she was doing—she had just finished preparing the last portion of medicinal herbs and turned her head to look at him.
"Intelligence?"
"Yes."
Kanbe Hikaru briefly recounted the information he had just obtained from Yura of the Hair.
The Kyoto faction, four high-level yokai, surrounding from four sides.
And that name—Kidomaru.
Kikyo's brows furrowed.
"Kidomaru..."
She repeated this name, her tone carrying a hint of gravity.
"You know him?"
"I've heard of him."
Kikyo stood up, wiped the blood from her hands, and said: "I just didn't expect that such an ancient existence was still alive."
Kanbe Hikaru nodded; this was about the same as what he knew.
"What are your thoughts on those four vanguard yokai leaders?"
He asked.
Kikyo was silent for a moment.
She looked around the village.
The Barrier had already shattered, with only residual spiritual power drifting in the air.
Some of the villagers were still treating the wounded, some were cleaning up the aftermath, and others were just sitting blankly on the ground, having not yet recovered from the scene before them.
"If the intelligence is true..."
Kikyo began: "Pure defense cannot hold for long."
"Tonight, these were just ordinary yokai; if those four vanguards take action personally..."
She did not continue.
Kanbe Hikaru understood her meaning.
Four high-level yokai—and they were high-level yokai by Yura of the Hair's description.
According to his classification, they were all at least at the Materialization level.
After all, Yura of the Hair herself was already a yokai that had completed Six Transformations; although her true form was an object and she was not considered strong among yokai of the same type and level, the yokai power scale of an existence she could call "high-level" would only be above her.
By comparison, although Kanbe Hikaru was now stronger than Yura of the Hair, he was only at the perfection of the Six Transformations and had not yet broken through to Materialization—even if he could compare to an average yokai of seven transformations, it was only a comparison, not a substantive step into that realm.
And although Kikyo was strong, with spiritual power bound to heaven and earth, almost seeing no end, her physical strength was limited.
After all, she was human.
As a priestess, the human body was always the greatest weakness. Once ambushed or besieged, it was very easy to have one's sore point grasped—the fault tolerance rate was extremely low.
If four Materialization-level yokai attacked simultaneously, they might be able to block them, and perhaps even repel them, but they might not be able to protect the village.
"So."
Kanbe Hikaru began; he had already thought about how to respond: "We should take the initiative to attack."
Kikyo looked at him.
"You mean..."
"Instead of waiting for them to come, we should go to them."
Kanbe Hikaru's voice was calm: "That so-called Kidomaru is trying to surround us from four directions, but thinking about it from another angle, aren't those yokai distributed in the four directions equivalent to being isolated?"
"Instead of waiting for them to come, we should strike first and take them out one by one."
"Defeat them one by one."
This was indeed Kanbe Hikaru's thought.
It was also his consistent style.
Not passive reception, but proactive attack!
Kikyo did not answer immediately; she was thinking about the feasibility of this proposal.
"The risk is great."
She said: "If we leave, what will happen to the village?"
"We don't both have to leave."
Kanbe Hikaru shook his head: "You stay, I'll go."
"What?"
"Your spiritual power is the village's greatest safeguard."
Kanbe Hikaru explained, "As long as you are here, those ordinary demons dare not attack easily."
"Besides, you are human after all. Even if you have mastered many spells, your mobility is ultimately not as good as mine, a demon... If I go out alone, my target is small, and it will be convenient to move."
"I will find the locations of those four vanguards and take them out one by one—you only need to help me with long-range suppression when necessary, Kikyo."
Kikyo frowned.
"You are going alone to deal with those demons you spoke of, the ones at the Materialization level that have completed at least seven mutations?"
"Not alone."
Kanbe Hikaru took the red comb from his bosom and smiled, "There is also this one—she has information, and that is enough."
"Who wants to help you!"
Yura of the Hair's voice came from the comb, "I never said I would go with you to die!"
Kanbe Hikaru ignored her protest.
"She should know the general whereabouts of those four vanguards."
He said to Kikyo, "With her leading the way, we can save a lot of time."
Kikyo looked at the comb, then looked at Kanbe Hikaru.
She was silent for a moment.
"Are you sure?"
"I am sure."
Kanbe Hikaru nodded.
"And…"
He paused, "Those four vanguards aren't necessarily all hiding in the mountains."
"What do you mean?"
"Yura of the Hair said that the Kyoto side wants to create resentment."
Kanbe Hikaru's eyes narrowed.
"Where does the resentment come from?"
"War, slaughter, and—fear within human cities."
Kikyo's expression changed.
She understood what Kanbe Hikaru meant.
Those four vanguards might not just be surrounding Kaede Village.
They might be doing other things as well.
For example—attacking human cities.
Creating more resentment.
"At this juncture where two countries are at war, this is indeed not impossible," Kikyo said, her brows furrowed in confirmation.
If that was the case, they would indeed need to take the initiative and could not delay.
Kanbe Hikaru spoke again.
"In any case, I will first go and scout the nearest direction."
He said, "If I find the trail of a vanguard, I will take care of it."
"If I don't find one... at least I can determine the situation."
Kikyo was silent for a moment.
Finally, she nodded.
"Be careful."
She only said these two words, along with a very sincere sentence: "I will wait for your return."
Kanbe Hikaru smiled; his expression was becoming more and more vivid, like a human.
"Rest assured."
"I will come back."
[ shikon no tama: naohi: Favorability + 1 ]
[ Current Favorability: 57 (Trust) ]
[ It conveyed a message to you: She is worried about you. ]
[ Please also come back safely. ]
Kanbe Hikaru glanced at the panel.
Then he turned and disappeared into the night.
...
Meanwhile.
West of Musashi Province, Suruga Province.
The territory of the Imagawa Clan.
The night sky should have been pitch black, but at this moment, it was torn apart by a dazzling light.
Lightning.
Rumble—
A huge thunderclap exploded in the sky.
Purple lightning struck down, hitting a large tree outside the city.
That ancient tree, which had survived for hundreds of years, instantly turned into charcoal, and flames soared into the sky.
"It's here again…"
On the city wall, the soldiers on night duty looked at each other.
This was already the third consecutive day.
Since three days ago, when the Band of Seven that broke into the battlefield had four members killed and three driven back, the Imagawa Clan had once again gained the upper hand in the war against the Hojo Clan, but frequent anomalies had appeared here at the headquarters.
Every night, lightning would fall from the sky.
Each time, it would bring significant losses.
The first day it was the shrine outside the city.
The second day it was the armory in the city.
The third day it was the corner of the main citadel, the main castle tower, the Tenshukaku.
After every lightning strike, people would go missing.
Sometimes one, sometimes two or three... but without exception, the missing people never returned.
"What on earth is this thing…"
A soldier's voice trembled, "Could it be… a demon?"
No one answered.
Because everyone knew in their hearts.
This was indeed not a normal atmospheric phenomenon.
The main castle, the top of the Tenshukaku.
Inside the main citadel palace.
Imagawa Yoshimoto sat up from the tatami.
Her face was a bit pale, and fine sweat beaded on her forehead.
"I had that dream again…"
She whispered.
In the dream, she saw a shadow.
A shadow standing in the lightning.
The shadow held a long sword, dancing in the lightning.
The sword light and lightning intertwined, as if it were cutting something.
She could not see the face of that shadow clearly.
She could only see—
Pale long hair, and a pair of crimson eyes.
"My Lord."
The maid's voice came from outside the door, "There is lightning again…"
Imagawa Yoshimoto rubbed her temples.
"I know."
She stood up and walked to the window.
Outside the window, another bolt of lightning struck down, illuminating the entire city.
Imagawa Yoshimoto held her breath, and then made a decision.
"Pass the order down."
She spoke.
"Right now, immediately summon all the mages—I want them to tell me their results immediately!"
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