Surprise Attack

Nura Rihyon released Kyouka Suigetsu, and the large group of foxes inside the spell prison reappeared. Seeing the three humans dealt with by the tanuki, he let out a heavy sigh.

Making dozens of targets enter Kyouka Suigetsu simultaneously was still a bit strenuous for him. After all, he was still a young yokai, quite a distance from a hundred years old, and his demonic power was very limited.

"Well done, Tamamura..." Nura Rihyon praised directly, looking at his tanuki companion. The tanuki, not at all modest, clapped his hands and said, with hands on his hips.

"Of course... who do you think I am? Lord inugami Gyobu Tanuki! A mere few humans are no match for me!"

"inugami Gyobu Tanuki?"

"It's a title I came up with for myself. I'll just use it for now, and maybe one day it'll become famous," the tanuki said bluntly, then pushed open the already unlocked prison door and entered, under Nura Rihyon's speechless gaze.

"Don't just stand there, Nura Rihyon. Hurry and unlock these guys' shackles. It'll be too late once those humans react."

"Heh... coming, Tamamura." After a short rest, Nura Rihyon also entered the cage, using the scattered guard keys to unlock the foxes' shackles in the spell prison. With that, they had completed the first step of their operation.

Relying on the Kyouka Suigetsu ability, which could conceal their forms and demonic energy, Nura Rihyon, along with the tanuki and the guide fox they had previously rescued, directly infiltrated the encampment. After avoiding all guards along the way, they entered the spell prison cave at the deepest part of the Solitary Fox Mountain encampment. Without the guards noticing, they used the guide fox and the other foxes in the spell prison to communicate directly in fox language, instructing them to cooperate with Nura Rihyon's ability to hide. After enticing them to open the prison doors, the tanuki then decisively took action.

After a brief flurry of activity, all the foxes' shackles were finally opened. Just then, because the sorcerer had entered the cave and hadn't responded for a long time, a fox hunter came in to check. When he saw the wide-open prison door and his fallen comrades, he cried out in terror.

"A surprise attack! The foxes have been released!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a group of freed yokai foxes rushed forward, tackled him to the ground, and bit him to death on the spot. However, his voice had already reached outside, causing a commotion, and countless footsteps were now heading their way.

"Hey, Nura Rihyon, those guys seem to be here."

"Indeed... it's time for our side to stir things up. We are the first step of the plan." Stepping out of the prison cell, Nura Rihyon watched the approaching enemies in the passage, drew the sword from his waist, a smile playing on his lips, and unleashed his demonic power without restraint.

"I knew it, following Lady Owl always leads to chivalrous deeds like helping the weak and punishing the strong. Let's face the enemy together, Tamamura! And all you foxes..."

And so, the tanuki and Nura Rihyon, along with the freed foxes, first engaged the enemy inside Solitary Fox Mountain. All these events were within Miketsu's pre-arranged paper shikigami's vision.

...

"What!? The spell prison has been infiltrated? Those wild foxes have been released?"

On the mountainside of Solitary Fox Mountain, Ishikawa said in astonishment after just hearing his subordinate's report.

"Impossible? There's only one path there! How could anyone bypass the front defenses and directly infiltrate it?" Facing the newly received intelligence, Ishikawa's face was filled with disbelief. He had considered many initial invasion points for the enemy, but he never expected the most crucial spell prison to be compromised.

"Hmph... it's not just anyone who infiltrated, it's yokai... probably yokai with some special abilities. I can already sense their demonic energy; the fighting has already begun below," Minamoto no Yorimasa said, scoffing coldly, from beside Ishikawa.

"Don't panic yet. Them being isolated so deep in there will only lead to their defeat. Right now, we need to be wary of other yokai infiltrating. Immediately notify the mountain top to quickly activate the Demon Binding Array. That way, no matter how many yokai they've infiltrated, it will be meaningless; they will all be neutralized!"

Minamoto no Yorimasa calmly gave his orders. A subordinate nearby quickly ran up the mountain to follow his command, while Minamoto no Yorimasa himself prepared to depart.

"Lord Yorimasa, where are you going?" Ishikawa quickly called out to Minamoto no Yorimasa, his expression somewhat flustered.

"I'm going down to help quickly deal with those rats. You wait here for Owl... that is, Tsuruha, as you call her, to appear. Then, take these foxes and tie her down. Once I've finished things below, I'll come immediately to help you." Minamoto no Yorimasa finished speaking, then hurried away, leaving Ishikawa with a group of Inari foxes still standing there.

...

Solitary Fox Mountain was not high. Minamoto no Yorimasa's messenger quickly ran from the mountainside to the summit, conveying the order to the four onmyoji who had been on standby there. Seeing this, the four immediately formed a circle and began preparing to activate the magical array. Because this type of array consumed a considerable amount of spiritual power, it could not be kept open permanently; it was only activated during enemy attacks.

The summit of Solitary Fox Mountain, where these onmyoji were currently located, was the center of the entire mountain. Using it as the array's core, it could envelop the entire encampment while maximally covering the surrounding areas. To ensure the array's core was not subjected to a surprise attack, many fox hunters were stationed around it as guards, vigilant in all directions.

The four onmyoji began chanting incantations to activate the magical array. Countless spell characters began to emerge on the ground beneath them, and the surrounding samurai also began to seriously guard various defensive directions.

On a branch of a nearby bush, a small white paper shikigami watched everything...

"It has begun..."

In the distant dense forest, Miketsu slowly opened her eyes and said. Her mind focused, she selected one of the countless scattered paper shikigami to link with, then used it to transmit her voice.

"Act, Makoto."

...

High above Solitary Fox Mountain, at an altitude inaccessible to ordinary human sight, the humanoid Makoto soared. She had been waiting at this operational height for a long time.

Makoto spread her beautiful feathers, letting the cold evening wind buffet her. Her bird yokai vision, equipped with night vision, long-range sight, and super dynamic capture capabilities, had firmly locked onto the ground targets hundreds of meters below.

A small paper shikigami was affixed near Makoto's ear, from which Miketsu's voice emanated.

"Understood. Target locked... bombardment commencing."

The Golden Feathers on her wings began to emit a bright radiance. Makoto's entire body became enveloped in bright yellow demonic energy, and within a short time, she transformed into an illusory golden-yellow giant bird.

A sharp, prolonged cry pierced the night sky. Makoto, imbued with a large amount of demonic energy, suddenly dove downwards, plummeting at an extremely high speed from over five hundred meters. Her target was precisely the core of the Demon Binding Array on the summit of Solitary Fox Mountain!

Under the influence of gravity, Makoto's speed was instantly accelerated to an unimaginable degree. She was like a bright yellow meteor, crashing down upon the onmyoji's heads before they could even sense her demonic energy. Chanting to activate the magical array, they had no time to react.

"Thousand Feather Wind Dance!!"

A powerful force struck the ground, and violent demonic energy swept wildly. The kinetic energy accumulated from the rapid dive, along with the demonic energy, erupted. The fierce shockwave leveled the mountaintop, and the humans on it were utterly torn apart before they could even react. The entire Solitary Fox Mountain trembled from this single blow.

The Minamoto clan's Demon Binding Array was destroyed by a precise strike from high altitude before it could even be activated.

...

"Meteor! Meteor! It's a meteor~ It's the meteor Mr. Crane talked about!"

Within the dark, dense forest, seeing the bright yellow meteor fall onto the peak of Solitary Fox Mountain, Yamausagi, standing on her Mountain Frog, excitedly shouted, shaking her ears. Behind her was a group of yokai, long-awaiting and ready to strike.

"We've seen the meteor~ So now it's our turn, everyone get ready~" Yamausagi said, pointing her small finger towards the nearby Solitary Fox Mountain.

"Rabbit Rush, all troops advance~"