Infiltration

Using the information gathered by the paper shikigami, Miketsu's mind constantly replayed the details, and she continuously pondered strategies to deal with the trap before her.

The Onmyoji on the mountaintop had many guards, and there were also pre-arranged magical artifacts and drawn magical arrays. It looked like the site of some ritual, likely a barrier set up to counter yokai attacks.

Inside the cave, there were many imprisoned fox yokai, but no Inari foxes. The Inari foxes had been turned into shikigami and manipulated by a seemingly leading figure, remaining at the mountainside. Beside him was a strange Onmyoji, who appeared to be the leader of the Minamoto clan Onmyoji in these mountains. Fearing detection of spiritual power fluctuations, Miketsu did not allow the paper shikigami to approach for eavesdropping.

Facing such an obvious trap-like stronghold, Miketsu's best strategy would be to continuously use Explosive Current Wave from an ultra-long distance without approaching, leveling it to the ground—simple, crude, and directly effective.

However, the crucial point was that their mission this time was a rescue: to save the Inari foxes and the wild fox yokai. Such an overly aggressive rescue method would clearly result in the complete annihilation of both hostages and captors. Moreover, directly engaging in large-scale killing would cause her divine virtue to sharply resist.

In this situation, Mao-style thinking had limited use; Miketsu's action plan needed to be more nuanced.

Facing the current situation, Miketsu began to think thoroughly. After just a few minutes, she made up her mind.

Empowered with the Yaksha strength granted by Dakini-ten to enhance her body, Miketsu leaped down from a tall tree, landing steadily among the crowd of yokai on the ground. With her monstrous strength and enhanced physical prowess, she could now more successfully disguise herself as a yokai.

"Well then... let's assign tasks now..." Miketsu said calmly, surveying the surrounding yokai.

...

Deep within the caves of Solitary Fox Mountain, in a spacious cavern, torches embedded in the walls illuminated the dim environment. A wooden prison door was set into the cave wall, and within the space behind it, a large group of wild fox yokai were confined and had their demonic power restricted. They were all currently slumped on the ground, looking dispirited. This was Ishikawa's cave prison.

This prison door was specially made, inscribed with countless incantations. The entire cage possessed a powerful spell seal; it could not be opened with just a key, but required a specialized sorcerer to dispel the curse. Such a demon-binding prison was a unique Minamoto clan technique, which Ishikawa had acquired with a large sum of money.

There were not many guards watching this cave prison on site, only one or two. This was because there was only one passage leading here, and it was guarded all the way; no one could possibly sneak in. To attack this place, one would have to force their way through from the front. No matter what happened, this place should be the last to be affected.

Moreover, even if this place were captured, it would be meaningless, because this spell-bound cage could not be opened with just a key. The spells on it required a specialized curse-dispeller to open, and the curse-dispeller was not here.

For these and other reasons, this cage-cave, located deep within Solitary Fox Mountain and holding many fox yokai, had very few guards. Two fox hunter guards sat listlessly on the ground, facing the cave entrance and with their backs to the spell-bound cage, constantly yawning. They were completely unlike the fully alert external patrols, seeming as if they could fall asleep at any moment.

In the empty space, other than the constant echoing cries of the foxes, there was nothing else. If it weren't for the foxes seeming noisier than usual, the guards might have already fallen asleep by now.

Yes... tonight's foxes were inexplicably much louder than usual... making them incredibly agitated...

"Damn it! You beasts shut up! Do you want a beating!?"

One fox hunter guard could no longer tolerate the noisy cries of the foxes behind him. He grabbed a long stick nearby, used for beating foxes inside the cage, stood up, and turned around, intending to teach the noisy foxes a lesson.

However, once he turned and looked at the cage, the guard froze.

"Gone... gone? Gone!?"

The guard stood stunned, eyes wide, speaking with an incredulous tone.

"What's gone? Why are you so flustered...?"

The other guard, sitting not far from him, also stood up, turned his head, and then he too froze in place.

Before them, the cage that had once held numerous fox yokai was now completely empty. All the foxes inside had vanished, and the cage had become an empty prison!

"Where are the foxes? Where are all those little beasts!? They were just here! How could they just disappear?" the guard said incredulously. He had seen the foxes perfectly fine inside when he looked back earlier, and he could still hear their sounds afterward, so how could they suddenly be gone?

Moreover, the cage was perfectly intact, with no signs of having been opened. How did these foxes disappear? Did they secretly dig a tunnel and escape? That was impossible; the range of the spell's effect wasn't just the prison door; the cave walls should also have been imbued with spiritual power.

"What are you standing around for?! I'll watch here; you quickly go find someone to check on the spell problem!"

One guard said anxiously. His companion, realizing it was no time to daze, quickly ran out of the cave. A short while later, he brought back the sorcerer from among the fox hunters.

This sorcerer wore attire similar to the other fox hunters but of a higher grade. He was one of the few among the fox hunters who understood spells. He was originally a mountain mystic recruited by Ishikawa, whose duty was to help seal captured foxes or turn them into shikigami, and also to maintain barriers. His status among the fox hunters was very high.

"When... when did they escape!?" the sorcerer said, staring at the empty cage before him, after several seconds of stunned silence.

"I don't know... it happened in the blink of an eye, a whole bunch of foxes just suddenly vanished! Anyway, please quickly check this spell-bound prison." the guard said with a mournful face. The sorcerer glared at him fiercely, then approached the prison door and inspected it carefully, but after a long check, he couldn't find anything amiss. This spell-bound prison was actually completely intact!?

Where did the foxes inside go?

"It makes no sense... everything is intact..."

"Could there be something wrong with the spells on the walls, and these beasts dug their way out?" the guard tentatively asked, looking at the perplexed sorcerer. The sorcerer silently nodded, thinking the guard had a point.

"Let me open the cage first, then we'll go in and check together!"

As he spoke, the sorcerer placed his hand on the prison door and silently began to chant a spell. The incantations carved on the cage emitted a faint glow, and then the spiritual power attached to them dissipated.

"Open the door!" After lifting the spell-bound prison's restriction, the sorcerer commanded the guard. The guard dared not delay and quickly took out the key to open the prison door.

The moment the door opened, an anomaly occurred. A massive tanuki suddenly appeared out of thin air beside the fox hunters. With a sake flask, it smashed the leading sorcerer, leaving him with a bleeding head and collapsed on the ground. Then, with three punches and two kicks, it knocked down the remaining two guards before they could react, leaving their fate unknown.

At the same time, behind the tanuki, at the edge of the spell-bound prison, a white-haired yokai boy also appeared out of thin air. With him was the fox that had been used as a guide for the fox hunting team; it was now at Nura Rihyon's feet.

Inside the spell-bound prison, the group of foxes that had originally vanished reappeared. They were now huddled together, one against the other, forming a single mass, all concentrated at the position where the yokai boy Nura Rihyon stood. The fox closest to Nura Rihyon stretched its paw out of the cage, and Nura Rihyon grasped it.

These foxes had not vanished or escaped at all. They had been inside the spell-bound prison from the very beginning. They were merely affected by Nura Rihyon's ability, their bodies hidden from all human sight, all for the purpose of making the guards lift the restrictions themselves and open the prison door.