I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 569 The Demon King's Feast
"Leopard cat clan, let's go!"

"Takeda Red Guard, depart!!"

"All birds, follow me—"

With Jiu Kong Yao Ai's return, a group of demiplane visitors who were obsessed with 'games', 'food', and 'bickering' sprang into action: warriors mounted warhorses with demon blood, fully armed, their hooves thundering; monsters either galloped out, turning into afterimages; or spread their wings and soared eastward from the sky.

Traveling from Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture to Heian-kyo (Kyoto)
It requires passing through Tottori Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture, and most of Kyoto Prefecture.

It takes a little over an hour by plane, and four hours by Shinkansen. If you walk, it will take seven or eight days!

But for superhumans, it's just a one or two-hour walk.

The world appears very small to the strong.

"Hmph, humans who can only run on the ground."

Princess Abhihime of the Fire Kingdom in the Warring States period, the ruler of the bird demon clan, stood atop a blazing cloud of flames, looking disdainfully at the army rushing along the 'road' below.

In terms of mobility, the 'avian' monsters she led were undoubtedly the fastest: even if the 'roads' of this world were wide and straight, they could not compare to them.

"Your Highness,"

A middle-aged female banshee with wings flew over and whispered her words.

"Before we came, the Iron Rooster King warned us not to be greedy for merit or act rashly; furthermore, that terrifying enemy of Nine Sky Shakes is probably very powerful."

It must have been absolutely terrifying!
At least for the monsters in the 'Warring States Period',

Even the legendary 'Fighting Fang King' is far less terrifying than that 'Nine Sky Shaking Love'.

Touga-o's strongest move is also 'Meido Zangetsuha'. Their bird clan's ruler, Abhi-hime's mother, 'Tetsuki', possesses blood that connects to the underworld. In that world, being able to utilize the power of the underworld is already proof of being a top-tier demon/demon king.

However, for that Nine Void Shaking Love, entering and leaving the underworld felt like coming home!

It can even bring them all to this world through the underworld; its power is simply beyond imagination.

In this situation, rushing to the front and running headlong into the forces of 'Abe no Seimei' would only turn you into cannon fodder on the spot.
"I know,"

The beautiful woman with long black hair, Abhihime, replied.
She has a volatile and impulsive personality, but she is not brainless; she naturally understands the principle of "the first bird to stick its head out gets shot."

Based on the information they gathered in this world, that 'Abe no Seimei' is not just strong, but is known as the 'strongest Onmyoji in history'! His strength is earth-shattering and awe-inspiring; he has never been defeated in a lifetime of battles, making him a symbol of 'invincibility'.

In this situation,
How could Abhihime not take it seriously?
"That's precisely why we must do the opposite!"

?

Abhihime's words startled the bird demon beside her;
"Let's rush over first, fight the enemy's vanguard, and then we can withdraw from the battle after being wounded."

The bird princess explained that in this way, by the time they faced Abe no Seimei's central army head-on, they would have already withdrawn from the battlefield, thus avoiding an insurmountable enemy.

? ?
"I see,"

The middle-aged bird demon nodded; that was indeed a method.

Just like conflicts between humans, there is usually someone who deliberately goes first and gets hit first, in order to gain the moral high ground.

To put it bluntly: it's a staged accident!

"Since the princess already has a plan, I have been overthinking it."

"Go down,"

With her black hair and red lips, Abhihime, a classic beauty, waved her hand.

There's actually one more thing she didn't mention:
While this approach avoids direct conflict, it also has the following drawbacks:
If you can't even hold off the opponent's striker, then faking an accident becomes suicide.

?

"coming!"

After flying for half an hour, as the land below receded into the distance, a black dot appeared in the sky ahead of the dense, rolling mountains.

"Men, charge!"

With a flick of his trident, the hordes of bird demons behind him swarmed forward like a dark cloud.

"By order of Lord Seimei, slay the invading enemy!"

Flying towards them were a large number of 'Crow Tengu', as well as flying shikigami such as Zashiki, Itsumade, Butterfly Spirit, Mushishi, Ubume, and Phoenix Fire; following the extraordinary tradition, the more gorgeous the appearance, the more powerful it is: after all, daring to dress differently on the battlefield is a 'magnet for arrows'.

His attire is so bizarre? Let's shoot him with an arrow first!
The two sides' minions drew closer, simultaneously brandishing their weapons: claws, beaks, feathers, and knives.
In the blink of an eye, the two flying armies collided with a deafening roar; various attacks were launched forward with all their might, like two rivers clashing head-on, stirring up huge waves.

However, these so-called 'waves'
But instead, there were countless broken spears, shattered swords, and scattered feathers!

These shattered weapons flew backward along with their owners, shields and armor shattered, falling together with bloodied bodies.

Once the war begins,
The two sides then engaged in a bloody battle!
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.

"Hello everyone."

"I am XXX, a reporter under KYG's command."

Below the battlefield where corpses were constantly falling, a 'reporter' in a suit and tie was crouching in a tree, aiming his equipment at the fierce battle in the sky.

"I will now bring you the latest update on the 'Feast of the Demon King.' This is near Mount Ono in Tottori Prefecture. The vanguard forces of both sides have encountered each other and the battle has already begun."

Because KYG himself is currently reporting on the 'Burning Legion' in America, the people broadcasting here are his superhumans: that's right, not just one or two people, but more than a dozen reporters scattered throughout Tottori Prefecture.

Tottori Prefecture has forests covering 80% of its land area, and as far as the eye can see, there are rows and rows of cedar, cypress and pine trees.

Especially after the resurgence of the superhumans, the area of ​​human activity has shrunk repeatedly due to the impact of the 'Rift of the Underworld'; now only a few bullet trains, highways, and vehicles used by superhumans are still in operation, while other places have been completely turned into no-man's land.

Now that it has become a battlefield for monsters to fight, it can be said that it has made the best use of its resources.
"Ok?"

brush----

A flash of light, and the tree where the reporter in the suit was standing was instantly split in two.

The one who attacked him was neither a bird demon belonging to Kukuya Aoi nor one of the 'Hyakki' under Abe no Seimei's command; but an evil spirit with a phantom body, tattered armor, and arrows stuck all over its body.

"The Evil Spirit Warrior?"

"That's the inconvenience of being in the wilderness of an island nation; evil spirits are everywhere. Please wait a moment."

The live stream screen shook for a moment, accompanied by a rattling sound, before finally returning to normal after about ten seconds.

"The clueless fellow has left; I'll continue explaining the battle in the sky. Please see, on the left side of the screen is..."

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.

"Ok?"

Galloping along the highway,
The young master of the Takeda family, Katsuchiyo, glanced at her.

"Eat, eat, eat."

With a rumbling sound, a 'centipede' burst out of the forest:
The warriors looked up and saw that what they saw was not a 'centipede' at all, but a monster formed by a bunch of people strung together.

Even the warriors who had fought their way through the bloodshed of the Warring States period couldn't help but frown when they saw something like this.

"Zhizhi, are all the things from your hometown this unique?"

"Cough cough, it's alright now~~"

Morikawa Tomoyuki, who was also riding a horse, coughed and clenched his fist.
How to describe their world? Not only does it completely surpass the 'Warring States Plane' in terms of productivity, but it also completely surpasses that demiplane in terms of supernatural disasters: large cities can still maintain peace, while the wilderness is filled with countless 'evil spirits'.

These are the lingering echoes of human souls, a mixture of existence.

Since they represent the 'distorted' side of humanity, the shapes they present are naturally more and more horrifying than the last.

"Forget it, let's take it down first!"

"Red Guards, draw your swords!"

As the young lord of the Takeda clan drew his weapon, all the samurai, including Morikawa Tomoyuki, drew their swords as well; then, pulling on the reins, they charged straight at the giant 'human centipede'. Swish, swish, swish, swish!

As a group of samurai wielding 'demon swords' charged past on horseback,

This powerful wolf-level evil spirit hadn't done anything yet when it was hacked to pieces and 'died' again.

"If the enemy consists of these things, then this battle would be too easy."

With a flick of her katana, she left the lingering 'aura' of the evil spirit behind her, and casually turned to talk to Morikawa Tomoyuki, who was riding behind her.

"These are just local specialties from the wild around here,"

Evil spirits kept emerging from the roads on both sides, and the more people there were, the more evil spirits they would attract.

If it were just one vehicle passing by, it would only result in sporadic attacks; but their large-scale march would naturally attract a large number of evil spirits: Morikawa Tomoyuki, as a 'local,' reminded them while slaying the evil spirits.

"Katsuchiyo, that army under Abe no Seimei, could not possibly be it?"

Clang, clang, clang!
The road beneath their feet stretched into the mountains ahead, then turned at their foot: as the warriors looked up, they heard a dense rustling of armor.

They were rows of identical suits of armor, traditionally made of bamboo strips, leather, hemp rope, and iron nails, typical of island nations; they wore helmets adorned with shovel-shaped crescent moons, woolen boots, and samurai swords at their waists, marching silently in formation.

The reason they are described as 'armor' rather than 'samurai' is because these armors appear to cover demon faces, but the empty eye sockets and the hollow sound of the armor clashing when walking prove that there is nothing inside them.

"Watch out, these are all 'terracotta warriors'!"

"Something like a puppet?"

Katsuchiyo, riding her horse, clicked her tongue.
The sorcerer behind this must have a lot of resources to use so many suits of armor as puppets.

"wind!"

Raise your knife and shout.

A gust of wind swept in, carrying the charging Takeda Red Cavalry as if they had wings, or were moving with the current, their speed and power reaching new heights!

Despite being a samurai from the Warring States period, he exuded the aura of an armored legion charging forward.

This is precisely the ability of Katsurachiyo, the young lord of the Takeda clan:

Wind, forest, fire and mountain!

It is as swift as the wind, as slow as the forest, as fierce as fire, and as immovable as a mountain.

With the added force of a raging wind, this army, composed entirely of warriors, crashed into the defensive line made up of a large number of 'terracotta warriors'.

Ground troops also entered into battle.

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.

"Cough cough~~ This cat actually~~ lost!"

In a forest where countless trees have been cut down, a half-human, half-cat girl lies on the ground, looking like she's in a 'defeat CG'.

This is a girl dressed in a short kimono, with furry cat paws on her hands, a pair of cat ears on her head, and two tails behind her. Calling her a monster is an understatement; she's more like a girl in 'sexy attire'.

"Hey, what abilities does your boss, Abe no Seimei, have?"

Surrounding this 'defeated' catwoman are the 'four leopard cat siblings' from the Warring States period.
Compared to the cute cat girls on the ground, they were all dressed in standard traditional attire.

"Tell me, and I'll spare your life for the sake of our shared kinship."

"Meow~~ Who's related to you?"

However, the cat girl on the ground, though defeated in words, stubbornly retorted:

"I'm a cat with nine lives!"

"Isn't that still a cat?"

Upon hearing the honest-looking man's question, the cat girl on the ground immediately bristled!
"A cat is a cat!"

"A nine-lives cat is a nine-lives cat!"

"If you're so capable, then fight me one-on-one! What kind of skill is it to have four against one?"

Don't let her current stubbornness fool you; if it weren't for the four leopard cat siblings working together, they really wouldn't have been able to take her down. This seemingly adorable and arrogant cat girl is actually a powerful being at the level of a weakling!
brush,

A sharp, icy blade was pressed against the neck of the girl who called herself 'Nine Lives Cat'.

As the eldest sister, 'Donglan' doesn't have much patience.

"explain,"

"Or die."

"Meow~~ A demon who's afraid of death isn't a good demon—"

Pfft

? X4
Blood splattered from her neck, and the catwoman collapsed on the spot after uttering those harsh words.

However, the killer was not 'Winter Breeze', but rather:

"suicide?"

"This guy is surprisingly fierce."

That's right, the catwoman on the ground ran right into 'Winter Breeze's' blade, slicing open her own throat.

brush----

Next second,
The catwoman, who was supposed to be 'dead,' suddenly sprang up from the ground and flew backward.

? ?
"Meow hahaha~~"

Having just 'committed suicide' and then 'faked death' on the spot, the nine-lived cat was in high spirits; it flew backwards while laughing wildly:
"I've already told you, I'm a 'nine-lives' cat, not an ordinary—cat!"

In the blink of an eye, the catwoman had already been sent flying thousands of meters away.

She dragged out her words in an eerie, drawn-out tone.

"This guy, it turns out he wasn't just being stubborn after all."

Xia Lan, dressed as a ninja girl, couldn't help but scratch her head. If the four of them weren't acting together, they would definitely lose if they faced each other alone.

"Be careful, everyone,"

The eldest sister, Donglan, reminded her younger siblings,

"This world is far more powerful than ours, with demon generals everywhere and many top-tier demons."

Even the Demon King is not a unique being.

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.

"They've started fighting, Yu-kun."

In the principal's office of the Magic Academy, Ichiyo, having set down her tea, stood gracefully behind Yu, looking at the image in the mirror.

Sora was learning "Saki no Saki" from Hongo Hime and didn't come to watch; Nao claimed that she couldn't watch these fighting scenes recently, so Nagisa Ichiyo was the only one who came here regularly.

"This is just a preliminary probe; the real battle is still a long way off."

The mirrors floating on the desk display images of the sky, the highway, and the battle in the mountains.

Don't be fooled by how exciting these battles are; they're just the first clashes between the two sides. The real masters haven't made a move yet: only when the Demon-level fighters join the fray can they truly sway the tide of battle.

As for the question of winning or losing: there's absolutely no need to consider it!

After all, it's impossible for Kukuryuu to beat Abe no Seimei.

(End of this chapter)