Engraved Spirit Spear

Fangshan Castle, inside the dungeon.

Morimura Saemon, hidden in the shadows, was currently forming hand seals and chanting the incantations taught to him by the Minamoto clan, urging more yokai climbing from the cliffs above into the dungeon.

For these yokai, most of what he could do was attract them rather than control them. What he hoped for now was to use more yokai to defeat Nura Rihyon and his companions, or... to lure out the guards watching Itsumaden.

"Tch... this is truly endless!" Nura Rihyon said, panting, after cutting down who knew how many yokai. Facing the continuous stream of yokai, his stamina was already starting to be over-expended.

"Nura Rihyon... this won't do." The tanuki on the other side, whose condition was no better than Nura Rihyon's, shifted his gaze to a distant passage. Several Taira samurai stood there, motionless since the beginning, only slaying yokai that approached the passage, and then silently watched him and Nura Rihyon deal with the horde of yokai alone.

"So... are you humans just freeloaders? Hurry up and help! Don't you know these guys have gone mad?" The tanuki shouted loudly at the group of samurai.

The Taira samurai were silent for a moment, then one of them said in a deep voice.

"We are ordered to guard this place without moving an inch, and must remain loyal to our duties..."

"Loyal to your duties, my ass! You've seen how many yokai there are here! If we're finished, you definitely won't hold out!" The tanuki swore, knocking off the head of a tree spirit.

Upon hearing the tanuki's words, the samurai couldn't help but feel a little angry. At this moment, Nura Rihyon also spoke.

"We appreciate your loyalty, but you have also seen the current situation. If we do not work together, we will surely not overcome this difficulty. If, in the end, we are all annihilated, there will be no one left to protect that precious item, and thus no one to fulfill their loyalty. Please consider this carefully!"

Compared to the tanuki's words, Nura Rihyon's were clearly much more agreeable. After exchanging glances, the samurai gripped their swords, ready to formally join the battle. Morimura Saemon, hidden in the shadows, finally seized his opportunity.

...

At Fangshan Castle, on the southern battle formation, Miketsu, riding Tsuruha, had transitioned from an onmyoji to a military general, charging into the ranks of yokai. In a short time, she had already helped reverse the tide of the human battle line.

Just as Miketsu was getting into the swing of battle, a huge roar echoed. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a massive bear, robust in build and adorned with skull patterns. Its fur was covered in blood, and several Taira samurai swords were stuck in its body. It was gnawing on a head and holding a severed leg, clearly having slaughtered many humans, including Taira samurai.

The giant bear spat out the head from its mouth, dropped the severed leg, and roared as it lunged at Miketsu. Tsuruha, beneath Miketsu, sidestepped swiftly, dodging the attack. Miketsu immediately grabbed her long spear and struck at the giant bear, but it only cut through its fur, not penetrating deeper.

The Jumonji Yari, which usually dealt with ordinary yokai as easily as slicing vegetables, could barely penetrate this bear's defenses! This was no ordinary minion!

"Be careful, Lady Uka, this is a Demon Bear. Its body is tough, and its strength is immense. Please handle it with caution!"

Seeing this, Tsuruha warned Miketsu, and at the same time quickly carried Miketsu back, increasing the distance from the Demon Bear.

"It's very tough... then it's perfect for testing the true power of this spear."

The wounded Demon Bear roared again, raising its sharp claws high and lunging at Miketsu once more. Tsuruha nimbly carried Miketsu, dodging the attack. Miketsu immediately seized this opportunity, thrusting her Jumonji Yari into the Demon Bear's body. As before, due to the Demon Bear's hard, thick skin, even Riyu, enhanced with spiritual power, did not directly pierce through it.

However, Miketsu's strike was not intended to pierce the opponent.

"Imprint - Spirit-Gathering Explosion Array."

Spiritual power flowed from the tip of the Jumonji Yari, transforming into shimmering incantations that spread out from the point of impact. Soon, a spell talisman was engraved on the Demon Bear's body – Miketsu's Spirit-Gathering Exploding Talisman!

Compared to the Demonic Blade's demonic energy deprivation, the spirit spear's ability was spell imprinting. It could instantly engrave any magical array or talisman Miketsu knew onto the surface of any object the spear tip touched, allowing it to take effect. So, rather than a spear, it was more like a pen!

And currently, Miketsu only mastered one spell talisman or array: the Spirit-Gathering Explosion Array!

Boom!

As Miketsu pulled out the Jumonji Yari, the Spirit-Gathering Exploding Talisman engraved on the Demon Bear's body detonated with a thunderous roar. A powerful explosion erupted on the Demon Bear's spiritual-power-permeated skin, directly blasting a large section of its body to pieces, spewing out vast amounts of blood mist. It howled and fell to the ground, turning into a motionless corpse.

It seemed this Demon Bear had considerable influence among the yokai. The moment it died, all the yokai controlled by dark magic instinctively retreated several steps. Some even had the red light in their eyes dim, wanting to flee, but were ultimately forced back into battle by the dark magic.

For a moment, the yokai, who had been fearless under the dark magic, were suddenly stunned. They remained motionless for several seconds, all keeping a distance from Miketsu, none daring to advance.

Seeing the ground littered with corpses slain by Miketsu and the temporarily subdued yokai, the humans, who had been struggling, suddenly felt their morale soar. Samurai, mystics, and ashigaru, without distinction, simultaneously raised their weapons and let out loud shouts. One ashigaru soldier even blew a horn, intensifying the atmosphere of the battlefield.

Amidst the soldiers' repeated cheers and the long, resonant horn blasts, Miketsu paused slightly, looking at the Demon Bear's remains on the ground. Infected by the atmosphere, she felt a stir within her, and riding on Tsuruha, she too raised her weapon along with the soldiers behind her.

Should I have shouted, "The enemy general has been defeated!" earlier?

The human forces roared with renewed vigor, temporarily overpowering the previously frenzied yokai. However, for the yokai completely tainted by dark magic, this was only temporary.

"Roar!!"

Who knows who started it, but the yokai also let out a unified roar. The deafening, terrifying howl instantly drowned out the human voices. The human side fell silent amidst the terrifying roars, their previously boosted morale once again suppressed.

With this unified roar, the humans finally understood that while they had powerful assistance, the overall situation had not been completely reversed. The yokai army was still numerous, and their side still ran the risk of being worn down to death by the enemy.

"Hmph... looks like it's still a bit troublesome..." Miketsu said with a wry smile, looking at the yokai army poised for its next attack. At the same time, she rubbed her somewhat sore arms.

Thanks to the enlarged slashes, killing yokai was effortless, but wielding this large Jumonji Yari still required stamina. Even though it was extremely light for Miketsu, the recent rampage had already consumed too much of her physical strength.

Her spiritual and demonic power were almost limitless, but her physical stamina was not. If these yokai managed to exhaust her strength, it would be troublesome.

Furthermore, there were also many yokai climbing up from the cliffs on the north side. After resolving the situation here, she would still need to conserve energy for the next location.

Therefore, Miketsu had to end the battle quickly; she couldn't drag it out.

She now needed to clear the area...