I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 436 The Power of Faith

May the Inari God protect you!

"Anything that hinders the steps of the bountiful gods will be destroyed!"

An army, with its banners waving and slogans booming, is surging forward on the battlefield, shouting for divine protection.

To be honest, this 'army' really didn't look like an army at all: the lines were crooked and the weapons were a mess; apart from the front row, which was uniformly issued with six-meter-long spears and carried by two people, advancing slowly like 'dragon spearmen', the rest could only be described as a 'rabble'.

Behind the spearmen were a group of hunters who had been promoted to archers.
While their individual shooting skills were impressive, coordinating with unleashing a hail of arrows was a bit too much for them.

In the center of the military formation was an even more bizarre sight: a group of people were beating drums and gongs, carrying a huge platform. On the platform stood a priest in a wide-sleeved robe and a tall hat, holding a coin and waving it lightly. It was more like he was there to perform a shamanic ritual than to fight a war.

Yet this seemingly unprofessional army managed to dominate its opponent.

On the one hand, this army was full of the air of a 'rabble', but its morale was exceptionally high. Even though it suffered casualties, it showed no signs of collapse.

On the other hand, several tall 'tree men' stood at the front of the line, serving as the main force for the breakthrough, and drove the enemy's foot soldiers into a retreat.

These 'tree people' are generally five or six meters tall, and they are not ordinary tall and slender trees, but rather resemble banyan trees:
Its sturdy body required several people to encircle, and its roots, forming 'feet,' slammed down, causing the earth to rumble!

The arm formed from the tree trunk swept across, and several foot soldiers were immediately sent flying with screams.

If it were just these 'tree people', it wouldn't be impossible to solve them: entangle them with nets and fire, chop them with knives and axes.

But the 'Dragon Spearmen' following behind the Tree Man were not dead. Their six-meter-long spears thrust forward, and even if they were just sharpened wooden spears, they could still kill people.

"Damn it, where did they get so many 'Wood Spirits'?!"

"It's the sorcerer on the high platform."

Fighting this strange force was a standard army from the Warring States period.

In front were foot soldiers holding long spears in formation, and behind them were archers constantly hurling arrows. In the center sat 'samurai' riding low horses, wearing armor, with flags on their backs, and holding long spears and short swords.

Wood spirits, also known as tree spirits, refer to trees that are believed to have spirits residing within them.

It looks much like an ordinary tree, but it is said that if someone tries to knock it down or damage it, that person and the entire village will suffer a great disaster.

Normal 'Wood Spirits' don't move easily, and they don't coordinate attacks with each other!
"Bring me my bow!"

The leading warrior could no longer sit still. With a roar, the attendant beside him immediately stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and raised the huge bow high.

This is a 'Japanese bow', with an astonishing length of 2.2 meters. The part held by the warrior is located on the lower arc of the bow, and its length is one-third of the entire bow. The bowstring is made of fish-demon whiskers, and the bow is engraved with family crests. It is clearly not an ordinary item.

As the general lowered his waist, mounted his horse, and drew his bow, a chilling clattering sound immediately rang out.

"meeting!"

With a furious shout, the general released the bowstring.

collapse---

A streak of light swept across the battlefield, flying straight towards the enemy ranks hundreds of meters away, its target being:
The 'evil sorcerer' on the high platform!
Pfft

The heavy arrow pierced through the priest's robe, which offered no protection whatsoever, and the immense impact sent him flying.

"The enemy general has been defeated!"

As the samurai who fired the arrow shouted, his foot soldiers and archers looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the figure on the enemy's high platform had fallen.

"Victory!"

"Our army has won!!"

The foot soldiers immediately cheered, believing that their opponent would collapse instantly, followed by a delightful chase.

This is only natural. If the commander is killed, why should the rest of us fight to the death?

Ultimately, it doesn't matter who you fight for.

Apart from the 'samurai', whether they were foot soldiers or archers, they were almost all half-soldier and half-farmer: if they won, they could certainly plunder some spoils of war, but the other side was also half-soldier and half-farmer, so how much could they get out of it? If they lost, their wives and children would belong to someone else.

? !
However, the strange army opposite them...

They continued to charge forward, chanting the slogan of "Inari God," showing absolutely no sign of their "commander" being shot down.

"That is."

"Damn sorcerer!"

The foot soldiers, locked in fierce fighting at the front, had no time to think or observe; but the samurai in the central army saw it very clearly:
The white-robed man who had been 'shot' actually stood up again, and then pulled the arrow that had pierced his body out—leaving aside whether this action would worsen the wound, the fact that he could move freely with such injuries suggests only one possibility:
"The other party is not human!"

"Could this be the 'Inari God' that these rioters are talking about?"

Some samurai offered their opinion that there are 'gods' in this world; however, as samurai, they all knew very well that most of the so-called 'gods' were just 'monsters'.

They occupy a village or town, enjoying the offerings from the village women and farmers, and occasionally eating a few young boys or girls.
Now he's actually gathering a crowd to attack cities and seize territory, who does he think he is?

Is that Touga-oh?!
This world is not without cities ruled by monsters.

The former "Dog General" Toga-o subdued an entire era with his strength, but in the end, he still died at the hands of a human samurai.

Now this sorcerer, who calls himself the 'Inari God,' also wants to conquer the world.
Ridiculous!
"Gentlemen, follow me to slay the demon!"

The leading samurai's eyes hardened, and he drew his katana from his waist.

"How dare you disobey your orders!"

The other warriors responded with a roar, drew their weapons, and followed the lead warrior as he rode off.

A short-legged horse with both legs dragging on the ground is hardly majestic.

Fortunately, horses were just a means of transportation. Once they reached the front lines, the warriors abandoned their horses. With nimble, short but powerful arms, they wielded their weapons with a whooshing sound, tearing apart the front-line 'Dragon Spear Soldiers' with their spears and swords.

"Stop them—"

"Don't even think about it!"

Along the way, enemy soldiers disguised as ordinary people tried to intercept them, but how could they possibly be a match for these samurai?

Soon, several warriors fought their way through and headed straight for the high platform.

After observing for so long, the leading samurai had a clear understanding:
This 'army' is almost entirely composed of ordinary people, and they will immediately scatter as soon as the 'evil sorcerer' is killed.

As for those slow-moving 'wood spirits', there are ways to slowly and deliberately destroy them.

however--

Pfft

The spear in his hand pierced through a farmer, who did not panic or scream in despair, but instead grabbed the shaft of the spear.

"I've caught his weapon!"

?

If it weren't for the fact that the other person's face was full of wrinkles...

His hands were covered in calluses, and the samurai almost thought he had encountered a 'death warrior'.

Snapped,
The next second, my calf tightened.

A woman who had been slashed to the ground ignored everything and clung tightly to his leg.

With a slight delay, more people rushed in from all directions. They didn't even carry weapons; they simply spread their arms: some grabbed the legs, some grabbed the hands, and some wrapped their arms around the waist. They managed to drag the few warriors to the spot just by sheer numbers.

This is not normal!

The leading samurai was both shocked and furious.
The more manipulative the evil magic, the more rigid and inflexible it becomes.

But these villagers moved freely and did not seem to be controlled at all.

But if he wasn't controlled by evil magic, how could he be so fearless?! *Pfft*

The long sword in his hand plunged into the chest of an old man, but the old man ignored him and pounced on him, opening his mouth with only a few rotten teeth left, and biting the samurai's shoulder.

"Believe in Inari God, and you'll have meat to eat."

?

"Are you crazy?!"

Covered in 'people', even a powerful warrior couldn't break free for a while.

May the Inari God protect you!

"The high priest promised that everyone would have enough to eat!"

"As long as you believe in Inari, you will never go hungry again, and the elderly and children will no longer need to 'disappear into the spirit world'."

Despite the warriors' struggles, these ordinary people relentlessly charged forward, completely disregarding any strategy, and quickly overwhelmed the warriors.

The term "divine disappearance" means "hidden away by gods or monsters," disappearing from human society and going nowhere.

However, everyone knows perfectly well that this world is 'hidden'.

Elderly people have too many children.

Just quietly take it and throw it away—

Ultimately, the problem was a lack of food, hence the saying "divine disappearance"—it's that simple.

Of course, in this world, this behavior will give rise to monsters such as 'Grandma Fire' and 'Spirit Cricket'.

It's a vicious cycle.

"If you believe in Inari, you will have food."

For the first time, the samurai felt a chill run through his body as he faced these ordinary people who were pressing him down.

Crazy, all crazy!

"quick!"

"Stretcher, stretcher! Two people come and help me—"

"Treat the wounded! Send all those who are still alive to the 'Doctor'!"

The battle ended, and the victors began cleaning up the battlefield.

What makes this 'army' so fearless is not only the seeds brought by the priests, the promised future where everyone will have enough to eat, but also the post-war medical care:

In fact, in the era of cold weapons, not many people died on the spot in battle.

Unless they are hit in a vital area, wounded soldiers will struggle for a while: under normal circumstances, these wounded soldiers can only ask for a 'quit'.

But in the eyes of this army, or rather, in the eyes of the student codenamed 'Priest', they were all veterans who had gained 'experience points', so how could they be easily lost?

"This wound needs to be stitched up,"

"Where's the 'holy water' for disinfection? Give me a bottle!"

"We don't have enough bandages."

A group of 'doctors' who had been trained for just a few days were beginning to perform 'surgery' in a medical tent that had been set up: the scene was enough to give any medical student a heart attack on the spot, but for the people of this world, it was a top-level medical treatment they had never experienced before.

"Tsk, I didn't come to this other world just to do an early internship."

The young attending physician couldn't help but mutter to himself. It was obvious that he was the student who had traveled from another time, and the others were his 'apprentices'.

"Consider it doing me a favor,"

A 'priest' dressed in a white robe and black hat walked in and waved to those who were about to bow, telling them to continue with their business.

"I have a big gift for you when we get back."

"That won't be necessary—"

The doctor, who had been deftly manipulating scalpels between his fingers, shook his head.

The doctor was quite satisfied with his "teammate": the other party was a legitimate priest of Inari, possessing the abilities of "immortality" and "summoning tree people"; while he was merely a weak-level medical student whose scalpel, though capable of killing, was clearly not as useful as saving lives.

"But you really are willing to spend money."

Besides the young man who was a medical student, there was also a little girl moving around in the large medical tent.

She was holding a water bottle, and seeing that the wounded man was about to die, she gave him a small sip of water.

The wounded soldier immediately perked up and was able to hold on for a while longer.

"Thank you, thank you, Lord Xiaochun!"

The wounded struggled to express their gratitude. This little girl, "Xiaochun," was once the granddaughter of the village shaman; later, she became a disciple of the "Priest" and was said to have even gone to the "upper realm," which was the envy of many.

"Such precious 'medicinal medicine' is being used on these 'natives'."

"They are all devout believers of my God, how can I easily abandon them?"

The student, codenamed 'Priest,' first offered some superstitious advice, then abruptly changed the subject:
"At the same time, it is also the cornerstone of our development in this world."

Due to the nature of this world, ordinary people who survive fierce battles have a chance to awaken 'spiritual power' and become extraordinary beings: that is, warriors.

That's why the student codenamed 'Priest' used the precious healing potions he brought on them.

Regardless of their personal motives, from the perspective of their subordinates:

He commands monsters, is immortal, invincible, never lacks food or clothing, he heals the wounded and saves lives, and has a compassionate heart. He is simply the perfect ruler!
The greatest wish of ordinary people is to encounter a wise and powerful ruler: if the ruler wants them to worship 'Inari God', then they will worship Inari God.

The prayers of countless ordinary people flowed into the body of the man codenamed "Priest," continuously enhancing his strength—this was also why he needed "doctors" to treat the wounded; these were his "sources of power."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Tokyo, Jujutsu High School.

In the principal's office, You touched her chin.

"Ha, could this be considered a path to 'becoming a god through faith'?"

This 'priest' was one of Yu's test subjects, used to experiment with the feasibility of 'chakra transfer and attachment'.

As we all know, chakra is formed by the fusion of spiritual and physical power; however, spiritual energy alone can also be a form of chakra: in the Naruto world, the resentment and despair of countless people formed 'dark chakra' which condensed into the 'Zero-Tail' tailed beast.

Yu had previously tested this in England, where, in a life-or-death situation, he had gathered the 'prayer' of tens of millions of English people into a single force.

Now, this 'priest' student is constantly gaining 'faith' from ordinary people in this world; this spiritual energy is gathering within him, allowing his strength to steadily increase.

He can be considered the number one player to upgrade.
She is even comparable to Kagome, who gained 'spiritual power' for free, and Yukino Satsuki, who wields extraordinary weapons.

However, this power also has a flaw: once these believers are gone, it will immediately revert to its original form, which is very similar to 'becoming a god through faith'.

"In any case, it's a decent way to gain power."

It's very convenient to upgrade, isn't it?

As for how far this 'priest' can go, that depends on his efforts.

You just needs to sit back and reap the rewards of experience and data.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: My editor contacted me, thinking chapter 354 was inappropriate; so I deleted it, and it doesn't affect readability. I'm getting back to writing!
(End of this chapter)