With Tsuchigumo pinned down by Mokou and the others, it had no leisure to continue spawning its swarms of spider thralls. Once the existing ones were eradicated by Miketsu’s Hundred Demons and the Onmyoji of the Onmyoryo, the group immediately pushed deep into the forest toward Tsuchigumo’s location. They were now heading straight for the battlefield where the titan raged.
"Are you really going to that battlefield? You should be able to feel it just from the way the earth is shaking. A yokai like Tsuchigumo is no joke. With your human frames, you'll probably struggle just to stay upright," Nura Rihyon said with a playful tone as he sprinted through the trees. He looked up at the Onmyoji riding a Yosuzume shikigami. Although he didn't know the man's name, he had seen him commanding the others and was certain he was a leader among them.
"We understand the threat of Tsuchigumo better than you do. But this is Heian-kyo... the most vital part of the human realm in this country. We won't simply rely on a group of yokai to defend it!" Yasunori’s expression was grim as he spoke.
"Yasunori is right. Protecting the human realm is our sacred duty as Onmyoji. We cannot shift that responsibility entirely onto your shoulders." It was Seimei who spoke. He was running alongside Nura Rihyon, not flying on a shikigami, but using a trace of demonic blood power to keep pace.
"Heh... you've got spirit. I like that. So, how do you plan to deal with that thing? Our flying friends already tried. Aside from our Menreiki and that fire-wielding Onmyoji of yours, no one else seems capable of leaving so much as a scratch on Tsuchigumo. And it's so massive that ordinary spells won't have any effect. If you go in like this, a single stray shockwave from Tsuchigumo will likely cause massive casualties..." Nura Rihyon continued, his voice carrying a note of warning. The destruction Tsuchigumo wrought was immense; getting close meant a high probability of being crushed by flying debris or falling trees. A yokai’s body might be tough enough to endure, but a human would be finished in an instant.
The level of devastation in this battle was far beyond what these Onmyoji could withstand. Merely approaching the site was perilous, let alone fighting.
"Don't worry. We aren't foolish enough to just charge in and attack Tsuchigumo directly. Onmyoji have their own methods of combat," Seimei replied with a faint smile. Nura Rihyon paused for a moment.
"An Onmyoji’s method... You mean... a magical array?"
"Exactly. The combined power of ten Onmyoji is more than thirty times that of one, thanks to the application of arrays. Although the Senior Assistants—our highest combat strength—cannot join the fray for various reasons, we still have a vast number of Onmyoji at our disposal." As Seimei spoke, he looked at his fellow Onmyoji. They were moving in organized squads toward various positions, rather than all rushing straight at Tsuchigumo.
"The Senior Assistants have already issued orders through their shikigami for the Onmyoji to head to specific points around Tsuchigumo to set up array nodes. We are preparing a grand array to suppress it. Once the array is complete, Tsuchigumo’s movements will be severely restricted," Yasunori added. Though the three Senior Assistants could not fight directly, they were still commanding their subordinates. Yasunori and Seimei were the ones responsible for executing those orders on the ground.
"You Onmyoji aren't half bad..." Nura Rihyon remarked playfully. Just then, a sudden disturbance erupted in the trees ahead. A massive ape, three or four meters tall, burst from the canopy with a roar, lunging at Seimei and the others.
"A Mountain Ape!"
Nura Rihyon’s expression sharpened. He leaped forward, his blade flashing. He carved a deep gash across the ape's chest, sending it spiraling through the air. It slammed into a nearby tree, blood soaking the ground.
The Mountain Ape was cut down, but its ambush was only the beginning. Sudden movements erupted throughout the forest. Countless yokai pounced from every direction, attacking the Onmyoji as they moved to set the array. Demon Bears, Great-Tusked Mountain Boars, Mountain Apes, Demon Wolves... the sudden appearance of these formidable creatures caught the Onmyoji off guard, leading to significant casualties. They had assumed the threat was over once the spider thralls were gone, but they hadn't expected this.
"Where did all these crazed yokai come from?! Shouldn't they have all been killed back in the city?!" Nura Rihyon growled, parrying and slashing at the new arrivals. His own group of yokai had stayed together, unlike the scattered Onmyoji, so they hadn't suffered much in the ambush. Now, they were all throwing themselves back into the fight.
"These ones are different from the ones in the capital. They aren't completely maddened; they’re attacking us with purpose. And this feeling... they’re shikigami! They are Minamoto shikigami stolen by the traitors we encountered earlier!" Seimei judged while fighting with his talismans.
"What? It's that guy again!" Hearing Seimei's words, the loathsome image of Minamoto no Yorimasa immediately sprang to Nura Rihyon's mind.
...
On a small hillside not far from the Tsuchigumo battlefield, Minamoto no Yorimasa held three or four demon control tokens. He used them as mediums to control the distant shikigami. Behind him, several men in black were also focused, using their own tokens to command the creatures.
"Hmph. Trying to form an array? It won't be that easy. You can all die here..." As the head of the Minamoto shadow guards, Yorimasa understood the Onmyoryo's tactics perfectly. He had deployed the shikigami taken from the Minamoto dungeons to interfere directly with the array-setting process. Unlike the cannon fodder in Heian-kyo, these shikigami were powerful and extremely difficult to deal with.
Just as a smirk began to curl Yorimasa's lips at the success of his interference, a voice he knew all too well echoed through the air.
"Heh... I've finally found your hiding spot, Yorimasa."
Yorimasa’s eyes widened as he whipped his head toward the source of the voice. There, emerging from the dense forest, was a white-haired Minamoto Onmyoji, walking toward them with a calm, unhurried smile.
"Minamoto... no... Yorimitsu! Why are you here?!" Yorimasa practically roared the name upon seeing him.
"The Minamoto have their own ways of finding what they have lost..." Yorimitsu said, his eyes falling on the demon control tokens in Yorimasa's hand.
"I have come to purge the clan on behalf of my father. After everything you've done tonight, I trust you’ve already prepared yourself, Yorimasa..."
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