There was no answer, only a wave of Yin energy that surged through the air, following which countless heavy cavalry units emerged behind Oda Nobunaga.
In contrast with the cavaliers from before, these cavaliers were armored to the teeth, as were their skeletal warhorses. Even among the renowned heavy cavalry units, they were considered to be the cream of the crop!
All of the horses were connected by metal chains, and the chains were riddled with sharp spikes. It was clear to Yamata no Orochi just from a single glance that the Cathayan Underworld really was planning to overwhelm Hasami's defenses.
Will we be able to stop them?
It turned around and looked back with a bitter expression. Just four waves of heavy cavalry units had opened up several dozen meters of space, and the elite heavy cavalry units behind Oda Nobunaga were only going to be more formidable than their predecessors.
No, I have to do something! It gritted its teeth as it turned around, but in the instant that it turned away, a burst of fearsome killing intent locked onto its body.
In the face of this frosty killing intent, Yamata no Orochi was forced to turn back around, only to discover that Qin Changxin had produced a bright katana, on the hilt of which was engraved the design of a chrysanthemum flower that was giving off bright blue light.
At the same time, hundreds of cavaliers rushed past Yamata no Orochi, followed by one more wave, then another!
The tsunami had risen.
One wave was crashing down after another, and they weren't going to rest until they crashed through the dam that was Hasami!
However, Yamata no Orochi didn't move. Its gaze clashed with the figure within the Yin cloud, and a tense confrontation ensued.
"I'm sure you recognize it," Qin Changxin said. "This is Kikuichimonji."
As he was speaking, Oda Nobunaga's skin slowly split open, and bursts of crimson karmic fire emerged from within the cracks. At the same time, his skin also became charred black, and after a span of no more than several seconds, he had already transformed into an evil ghost that was burning with karmic fire, and his Kikuichimonji was pointed directly at Yamata no Orochi.
Damn it!
Golden light began to glow from Yamata no Orochi's 16 eyes as it asked, "What are you trying to show me with that sword?"
Qin Changxin's finger resembled a pillar of magma as it gently stroked the blade of Kikuichimonji. "I'm showing you that I'm going to be the new ruler of the Nipponese Underworld!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, he rose up into the heavens before crashing down like a shooting star. His katana was like a bolt of lightning that pierced through the night, and it came crashing down directly toward Yamata no Orochi's giant serpentine heads.
Even before the katana had arrived, Yamata no Orochi was struck by a fierce burst of pressure that was threatening to crush its body. Countless cracks ran through the ground beneath it, and all of its scales stood up on end from the sense of overwhelming peril that had welled up in its heart.
It raised its head with an indignant expression as it roared, "You traitorous dog!"
It could clearly sense that they were about equal in power, but all of Oda Nobunaga's equipment had been refined by the Cathayan Underworld. Essentially, they were at the same level, but Oda Nobunaga was equipped with legendary gear, while it was still wearing the default armor provided to the newbies of the game.
"Die!" it roared with all its might, and its eight heads were like enraged giant dragons as they pounced toward Qin Changxin.
An earth-shattering boom rang out as the two Abyssal Prefects clashed, and shockwaves that were visible even to the naked eye surged through the entire town of Hasami. The clash between the two was so powerful that it swept up gusts of fierce wind, causing even the armor of the heavy cavalry units to clatter incessantly.
At this point, thousands of Cathayan cavaliers had already emerged and were surging over the landscape like a formidable black wave.
The sound of long horns rang out from within the mirror frames, and at the forefront of the next wave of heavy cavalry units, Wang Meng gritted his teeth as he put on his metal visor. He knew that his peers were also with him. The 12 envoys had already been promoted to become important commanders of the military, and they were going to charge with him together onto this foreign land that they had never conquered before.
The sound of thundering horse hooves rang out like the prelude to a storm, and in the span of no more than 10 seconds, the entire earth was quaking violently under the hooves of all of the galloping warhorses.
Close to 2,000 heavy cavalry units were charging together, and it was truly a magnificent sight to behold. Behind them were even more heavy cavalry units that were rapidly assembling, as were the footsoldiers who were being protected by the heavy cavalry units.
Their objective was to conquer Hasami before the Kunitsukami could muster up any meaningful resistance, and speed was of the essence if they wanted to achieve that goal.
With his ice-cold visor pressed tightly against the skin of his face, Wang Meng let loose a loud roar as he raised his longsword. "Follow me! Let's take down Nagasaki!"
Waves upon waves of cavaliers began a ferocious assault, and for the first time, they finally encountered some tenacious resistance.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki was already slumped back in his commander's chair with cold sweat pouring down his face. In the instant that Yamata no Orochi was stopped by Qin Changxin, he had even thought that Hasami was already doomed. Close to 2,000 heavy cavalry units had already stormed through the inter-realm mirrors, and if they were allowed to build up sufficient momentum, there would be no way for the foot soldiers to stop them. Thankfully, the Kunitsukami were not complete pushovers.
They had been completely disoriented by the two waves of siege weaponry and the subsequent assault from heavy cavalry units, but they were still powerful yokai that were the backbone of the Nipponese Underworld's military.
Thus, the 2,000 heavy cavalry units clashed with the Kunitsukami, of which there were close to a million.
Both sides had fierce gusts of Yin wind swirling around them, and they were charging toward one another with vicious looks on their faces.
In the instant that the two armies clashed, hundreds of specks of netherfire rose up into the sky, and in the blink of an eye, the battle had already reached white-hot intensity.
A cavalier was charging ahead with all his might. He was the leader of this wave, and the heavy cavalry units behind him had already formed a triangle that was destroying everything in its path.
Thanks to the enhancements they received from the Wumu military formation, the evil ghosts around them were completely unable to break through their defenses. Just as he was wreaking havoc to his heart's content, a gust of Yin wind suddenly arrived before him, and a string of loud cracks rang out as the three cavaliers at the forefront of the group were slain on the spot.
The gust of Yin wind then converged to form a humanoid dog who was wearing a samurai's robe, and the humanoid creature was glowering directly at the oncoming cavaliers with bloodshot eyes.
Inugami had entered the fray.
These legendary Nipponese yokai were by no means a negligible force. There were several dozen Infernal Judges and hundreds of Anitya Hellguards among them, and individual cavaliers were no match.
On the other side, Aosaginohi let loose a sharp screech as it soared up into the heavens, and balls of scorching fire were raining down from above, transforming an enormous area into a fiery hell. Within the sea of fire, one tongue after another extended out of Futakuchi-onna's two mouths, and each of them pierced through the chest of a cavalier with unerring accuracy.
Meanwhile, Shiranui had swelled to over 100 meters in stature, and all of the Yin soldiers in its wake, regardless of whether they were from the Nipponese Underworld or the Cathayan Underworld, were crushed into mincemeat.
At the same time, Yuki-onna raised her sleeves, and the air behind her trembled violently, following which countless sharp arrows of ice shot out of thin air, piercing through all of the Yin spirits in their path.
In the face of the Cathayan Underworld's assault, the Nipponese Underworld was also resisting with everything they had, doing everything in their power to stop the Cathayan Underworld's forces at Hasami.
In an instant, the battle reached white-hot intensity, and the momentum of the heavy cavalry units was finally stopped. Both sides were fighting on instinct and adrenaline, and on the chaotic battlefield, everyone failed to notice that no more heavy cavalry units were entering through the mirror frames. Instead, there was some enormous creature that was being kept out by the inter-realm mirrors, but it was currently in the process of undoing the restriction.
Without reinforcements, the cavaliers charging ahead were struggling to hold their own, and the balance slowly began to tilt in the Nipponese Underworld's favor.
This was an incredible turn of events in the eyes of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and all of the Kunitsukami.
They're being forced back?! We've managed to hold our ground?!
"Charge!" Never had Inugami felt so exhilarated before. This was an invasion from the Cathayan Underworld, one of the four pillars, yet they were being forced back! This was the most monumental victory in the history of the Nipponese Underworld!
We'll storm back and recover both Sasebo and Tsushima Island! We'll show the Cathayan Underworld that we're not to be messed with!
"Charge!" The state of the battlefield was greatly encouraging for all of the Nipponese Underworld's forces, and they were all charging toward the inter-realm mirrors with renewed vigor. Once they reached the inter-realm mirrors, their victory would be sealed!
"Charge!"
"Force them back! It's time for us to retaliate!"
"Long live the Nipponese Underworld! Long live Amano-Iwato!"
"This is supposed to be one of the four pillars? Ha, how pathetic!"
However, right as the Nipponese Underworld's troops reached within 500 meters of the inter-realm mirrors, a faint sigh suddenly rang out. "Phew, I finally made it through. I must admit, that array was a little troublesome to deal with."
The voice was very faint, but it was like rumbling thunder in the ears of all of the Yin spirits on the battlefield. The Cathayan cavaliers that had retreated to the inter-realm mirrors parted immediately parted to reveal a beautiful woman in a palatial dress, holding a soft cushion, atop which was a bleary-eyed pekingese dog that seemed to have only just woken up from a nap.
Everyone's attention was immediately focused on the dog. It looked no different from any other dog, but for some reason, just the mere sight of it was enough to send chills running down everyone's spine.
That was no dog, it was a hellish vortex filled with the purest Yin energy!
All of the underworld emissaries present were struck by a sense of awe and veneration, while the yokai below the Infernal Judge level had already collapsed onto the ground on all-fours in reverence.
In the sky above, Yamata no Orochi was locked in a fierce battle against Qin Changxin, and it looked down with an incredulous expression as all of the scales on its body rustled audibly.
The Harken had arrived! A Yama-King had descended upon this battlefield!
In that instant, it felt as if it had lost the ability to breathe. All of its pupils contracted violently in horror, and it immediately turned around to flee the scene.
However, before it had the chance to leave, a massive hole appeared in the clouds, immediately following a paw formed by lightning came crashing down onto Yamata no Orochi, sending its scales flying in all directions.
Violent tremors ran through the entire town of Hasami as if it had just experienced a massive earthquake, and powerful shockwaves sent dust flying up into the sky by over a kilometer before raining back down from above.
After that, Yamata no Orochi was completely silent.
It had been slain by a single strike!
Inugami's blade clattered onto the ground as it stared blankly at the tiny figure. It was such a small and harmless-looking dog, yet its power was second to none on this battlefield! In this instant, a hint of powerlessness welled up in the hearts of all of the emissaries of the Nipponese Underworld.
"We surrender..." they murmured in a slack-jawed manner.
That same phrase swept through the entire army like a contagious virus, and in the blink of an eye, all of the Nipponese Underworld's troops had laid down their weapons in surrender.
Only now did they realize just how na?ve they had been in thinking that they were forcing back the Cathayan Underworld's forces.
They had thought that the mechanical weapons and the heavy cavalry units would be the worst that they had to face, but there had been something far more terrifying waiting for them all along.
This was one of the Yama-Kings of the 10 Palaces, a being that had reigned supreme in Asia for several thousand years, and they couldn't even muster up any urge to resist it.
"You surrender?" A faint smile appeared on the Harken's face, following which a hint of killing intent flashed through its eyes. "I'm sorry, but we don't accept prisoners."
In the next instant, boundless Yin energy surged into its mouth in a frenzy, forming a terrifying black hole that was around 10 meters in size before it.
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