Battle Rhythm

Thank you for your hard work... Though I only mentioned it in passing, I didn't expect the Western Pure Land to actually be willing to lend a hand. This was unexpected," Miketsu said calmly as she looked at Myoren, who responded respectfully.

"You are a deity of Shinto and a Buddha of the Buddhist path—the only celestial being who has truly achieved the syncretism of gods and Buddhas. To spread faith throughout this Eastern Land, the Western Pure Land is willing to provide assistance. Furthermore, the lunarians view all living beings as mere weeds, something the Buddhist path cannot tolerate."

The Western Pure Land's logic was simple: they wanted to win over Miketsu to further expand their faith in Japan. To this end, the Tathagata was willing to allow Dakini-ten to fully syncretize with Miketsu in a subordinate position, and now they were even directly intervening to help resist the Lunar Capital. Compared to Takamagahara, they seemed far more concerned with the faith of the mortal world.

Miketsu hadn't shared much information with the Western Pure Land, only stating that the descent of the lunarians might bring ruin to all living things. Yet, even so, the Western Pure Land decided to provide assistance on the level of an orthodox god. This made Miketsu wonder if the Tathagata also knew the truth about the ancient gods of the Lunar Capital.

Unlike her approach with the Western Pure Land, Miketsu had refrained from making any requests to Takamagahara out of wariness. However, this didn't mean she lacked the help of Yamato's orthodox gods; Kanako had been pulled into space by her while still in a state of complete confusion.

In a direct confrontation with the Lunar Capital, Miketsu had no intention of using low-level combatants as cannon fodder. She hadn't even planned to call upon the likes of Yokai Lords. Thus, the combatants she sought were at least of the God-rank or higher, and they weren't limited to just gods and Buddhas.

"Hmph, the lunarians of the Plain of Night? Compared to those fellows from Takamagahara... they are no less disgusting."

The speaker on the other side was a Nine-Tailed Great Yokai dressed in lavish robes and partially covered by a fox mask. As a top-tier Yokai, he had been invited by Miketsu using the favor he owed her from the incident on Nightless Island. Of course, this also revealed the fact that Owl was actually Miketsu.

"You seem to hold quite a grudge against Takamagahara, Tamamo-no-Mae. Do you have some history with them?" Miketsu asked. The other party turned his head coldly, glanced at her, and spoke.

"I do not like deities. If I didn't owe you a favor, I wouldn't want anything to do with any god..."

'It seems your history with Takamagahara is quite deep...' Miketsu couldn't help but comment inwardly, seeing how he detested all gods simply because of Takamagahara.

"Buddhas and Yokai... Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto's network is truly extensive; she seems to know everyone..." On the other side, Kanako couldn't help but remark as she watched this gathering of gods, Buddhas, and Yokai.

Just then, a faint static sound came from a small metal device in Miketsu's ear, followed by Eirin's voice.

"Everyone, the chatting should end now. The Lunar Capital's fleet is about to reach the estimated attack position. The first round of strikes is coming."

From the control hall inside the space station, Eirin issued a warning to everyone outside. Except for Miketsu, the others were momentarily surprised.

"Ah? It's already here? But I don't see anything?" Kanako asked in confusion, looking out at the vast, pitch-black universe. Meanwhile, Miketsu had already drawn her bow, condensing an arrow of light.

"Of course. In the vacuum of space, the engagement distance will naturally far exceed visual range..." As Miketsu spoke, the Threads of Causality in her eyes revealed the locations where all the attacks were about to land. Before the strikes arrived, her light arrow was fired and then split.

Suddenly, dozens of blue light beams lit up the void, firing directly at the space station from the distant, unobservable starry sky. Before they could hit, countless golden light arrows had already blocked the paths of the incoming beams. The beams struck the light arrows and were scattered and blocked; Miketsu had neutralized the enemy's initial strike.

"Two hundred thousand li! The first round of laser fire from the Purification Fleet has been successfully intercepted. The sensors have roughly detected all the vessels," Eirin said solemnly in the control hall, staring at the screen before her.

"Five hundred and forty-three small ships, eighty-four medium ships, and twelve large ships... Heh, Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto, they've brought quite a crowd."

"Why so many?" Miketsu responded in surprise. This number indeed exceeded her original expectations.

"Don't underestimate the industrial capacity of the Lunar Capital. Besides, even though there are many ships, I estimate that over seventy percent of them are unmanned. Given the population and reproductive rates of the lunarians, they can't afford to have too many crew members."

'Unmanned AI, huh...' Miketsu marveled inwardly at Eirin's words.

Meanwhile, in the distant darkness of space, inside a streamlined white warship hundreds of meters long that resembled a flying wing, a burly lunar sage with a short beard and white robes watched the images on the screen. Seeing the initial strike fail completely, his expression turned solemn. Then, he issued a brief command.

"Accelerate forward..."

At the Sage's command, the entire fleet began to pick up speed. As the distance between the ships closed, more and more weapons mounted on them would enter their effective range. Miketsu and the others would soon face an even more fierce onslaught.

Numerous ships of all sizes, arranged in neat formations, pushed forward. Countless weapon systems began to operate, all aimed at the same target point. Once they entered the designated zone, a second, even more powerful round of attacks would commence.

"It's coming again... and this time it seems even more troublesome..." Outside the space station, feeling the rhythm of causality, Miketsu spoke slowly. At that moment, Myoren spoke up.

"Leave the next part to this humble monk... In truth, I am merely providing a channel here. I shall use myself as a catalyst to create a divine territory, and the power of the Western Pure Land shall descend through it..." Looking at the universe ahead and the approaching crisis, Myoren pressed his hands together. His withered corpse began to chant Sanskrit verses, and illusory sutra scrolls rippled around him like waves.

Suddenly, with a burst of golden light, a tall, humanoid figure manifested above Myoren. As the golden light faded, a burly martial god in golden armor appeared.

He wore golden armor and a precious crown, with ribbons fluttering around him and a metal mask covering his face. In one hand, he held a long halberd, and in the other, he supported a precious pagoda.

"Bishamonten... manifested descent..."

Having just appeared in space, the Dharma Protector Heavenly King known as Bishamonten looked toward the vast universe ahead. He then raised his hand, and the pagoda flew into the air, rapidly expanding. It shifted from physical to illusory, eventually growing large enough to completely envelop the entire space station.

In an instant, the entire space station was placed within a pagoda-shaped shield just as the second round of attacks from the Purification Fleet came screaming in.