Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 238 Unification of the Nine Islands, Overlord of the Western Sea Route!
The next thing is simple.

News of Ōtomo Yoshishige's death and the near-total annihilation of his army quickly reached Buzen Province, the Ōtomo clan's homeland.

The retainers who remained behind hastily put Ōtomo Yoshishige's son, Ōtomo Yoshitomo, on the throne as the twenty-second head of the household in an attempt to stabilize the people's hearts.

But this kid is only three years old, even younger than Sebastian I, the new king of Severnion, who is only seven years old. What use is he in a crisis?

Even if there really was a great demon of the third rank who happened to be reincarnated and awakened his innate wisdom during a great upheaval, he would still die!
Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Donghai, led by several retainers of the Ōtomo family, advanced relentlessly by both land and sea.

The army swept through all the major cities along the way, and the rest were pacified by issuing proclamations. The navy, on the other hand, took the sea route directly into the Kanmon Strait and headed straight for the Otomo family's stronghold—the Buzen National Palace.

Along the way, they also seized Tochizen Moji Castle, which controlled the Kanmon Strait, a vital sea and land route, as well as Hakata Port in the Kitakyushu Domain, which served as a port, logistics base, and troop assembly point.

These were all strategically vital locations that had to be occupied, a stark contrast to the fact that Minzhou, the homeland of the Great Zhao, was a place that was not contested by military strategists.

Boom——!
When the East Sea Kingdom's large fleet arrived at the sea outside the palace, a loud bang suddenly rang out in the clear sky.

Two enormous, illusory doors, made of the power of human wishes, crashed down in front of them.

Its shape resembles a majestic archway. When the two doors are joined together, they form a ferocious blue-faced demon face. No matter which direction or angle you look from, you are facing the main gate directly.

The officers in the fleet could clearly feel that every wisp of air, every wave, and even every leaf behind the door was resisting their entry.

“Young Master, the Otomo family still holds the position of ‘Kyuhan Tandai’ granted by the Ashikaga family of the Muromachi Shogunate. They can mobilize the dragon energy of the nine islands to enforce the isolationist policy.”

Grandpa Longwei hopped and skipped around as he explained the origin of the closed door to Wang Cheng.

The Seclusion Order, like the Mountain and Sea Curse, belongs to the category of curse techniques. It can be used on a grand scale, such as sealing off the East China Sea like the Divine Land, or on a medium scale, such as closing off a country to foreign trade, or on a small scale, such as sealing off an island or a city.

This can be considered a more advanced application of the rules and regulations established by the King's Seal.

In this situation, even if the borders are forcibly broken down, if the hearts of the people are not won over, the negative effects must be endured indefinitely.

“In the past, when we conquered other domains, the daimyo were just the domain's protectors, so the situation was better.”

The old ship owner used his second-rank power to forcefully subdue them, and then spent several years suppressing and assimilating them. He won over the hearts of the people by reducing taxes and levies on commoners, and thus managed to barely subdue the seven kingdoms.

This time it might take many more years to subdue them.

The disadvantages of not having a destiny and not being recognized by the dragon's energy don't stop there; a long period of setbacks and growing pains await them.

The dragon's energy, which has never fully submitted, will randomly descend upon a certain Japanese person, giving birth to a serpentous creature in a very short time, causing them all sorts of trouble.

Although they possessed Onimaru Kunitsuna, one of the Five Great Swords of the land, the samurai family's destiny was incomplete without its scabbard.

Moreover, Wang Cheng had no intention of using it to break through the barrier, to have the dragon qi accept him as a subject, and to become an ordinary daimyo on the four islands of Yingzhou.

Instead, they unleashed their ultimate weapon against the colonies—the giant cannons and black ships.

"You want me to submit? No way! Open the door and call me daddy!"

After the massive gate closed, countless people nervously gazed at the large fleet on the sea.

Buzen Province's capital was the main base of the Ōtomo clan. Ōtomo Yoshishige had long resided there, handling state affairs, foreign relations, religious policies, and receiving baptism from the Church of the Holy Cross.

This place also houses the core retainers of the Ōtomo family, financial institutions, and religious facilities such as churches and temples; the essence of the Ōtomo clan is contained here.

All the senior executives gathered at the castle tower.

Three-year-old Yoshitomo Ōtomo, the 22nd head of the household, sat in the main seat, his face blank, completely unaware that his fate was about to be completely rewritten.

The retainers below were filled with anxiety and argued amongst themselves, unable to make up their minds for a long time.

Boom——!
There was a loud bang.

The sickening slamming sound of the door slamming shut echoed in the ears of everyone in the mansion. When they looked up, they found that the last barrier of Buzen Province had melted away in the air.

【Giant Cannon Black Ship】: "Special attack on national borders. This cannon can break through various Taoist temples and the gates of a country. When combined with other cannons, the more cannons there are, the stronger the concentrated fire will be."

It only took one fleet salvo to break through the gates of Buzen Province!
The retainers and soldiers in the city all knew that the situation was hopeless. Apart from a few loyal ones who were still resisting, most of them instantly lost the will to resist.

"My lord, my apologies."

The strongest retainer among them, the leader of the Steel Rock Ninja, and the only fifth-rank Jonin, Steel Rock Yoshiyuki, stepped forward, grabbed Ōtomo Yoshitomo, and rushed out. Preserving the direct bloodline of the Ōtomo family was the last thing he could do for Ōtomo Yoshishige. As long as he was sent to the main island, a daimyo would surely be willing to use the Ōtomo family's name to reclaim the nine domains!
But he had only rushed out of the castle tower a short distance before trying to jump over the wall and sneak away.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
A sharp, piercing sound suddenly came from behind.

He did three backflips in a row to dodge more than a dozen gleaming four-cornered darts.

But then he saw Gangyan Zhixiu, a sixth-rank ninja who had been secretly recruited by Wang Cheng, leading a squad of Gangyan ninja under his command, blocking his way.

Holding a Fuma Shuriken in his hand, he looked at his former leader and sneered:
"Lord Buzen, and the eldest brother of the main family who never goes to the front lines and always enjoys the benefits from the rear, where are you two headed?"

When Koiwa Yoshiyu saw his younger brother, who had split off from the family, turn grim, he knew perfectly well that the younger brother had betrayed him.

"Go away!"

Just as he was about to retreat in another direction, he was horrified to find another very familiar petite figure blocking his way.

"It's you, Tachibana Yukichiyo?!"

This only daughter of the Tachibana family was known to everyone in the Otomo clan.

Everyone who has seen her face says that this woman has fair skin, like delicate white porcelain, and can be called "the most beautiful woman in Kowloon Island"!
He possesses exceptional strength, having mastered both Shadow Warrior and Steel Rock Ninja techniques. He inherited the legendary sword Raikiri, forged from the bones of the Tachibana family's ancestor, the Great Thunder Demon, making him far more powerful than an ordinary sixth-rank ninja.

Wang Cheng is not a devil after all.

He mercifully allowed Tachibana Dōsetsu not to personally purge his former employer, but Tachibana Yūchiyo could not.

If the Tachibana family fails to achieve any merit, he will not hesitate to confiscate their territory.

Yukichiyo spoke coldly:
"His Highness has ordered that all bloodlines of the Otomo family, regardless of whether they are main or branch branches, must be completely eradicated!"

Half a day later.

When Wang Cheng, clad in heavy silver armor, led the Imperial Guards into the castle tower of the Ōtomo family, which had been passed down for twenty-two generations, and took the seat of honor with great fanfare.

Tachibana Dōsetsu, Tachibana Yukichiyo, Hideaki Tomohide, and all the ninja who had joined their ranks, along with all the surviving retainers and officials of various ranks within the Ōtomo clan's territory, all trembled and bowed deeply to him.

"Greetings to the Nine Domains Guardian Hall!"

The aura of the overlord of Saikaido solidified completely here, transforming into a giant azure dragon above his head, frantically devouring the dragon energy gathered from the 150 million Japanese people of the nine islands.

All the cities on Jiufan Island were also connected at this moment and brought under the rule of the laws and regulations established by the [Treasure of the King of Jinghai].

Of course, seizing power over Kowloon was not the end, but only the beginning.

The nine islands belong to the Saikaido in the administrative divisions of Japan, which are followed by the Goki and Shichido.

From south to north, they are: Saikaido, Nankaido, Sanyodo, San'indo, Tokaido, Hokurikudo, and Tosando.

And the five provinces under the imperial court system within the capital region: Yamashiro, Nari, Kawachi, Izumi, and Settsu.

The Eastern Sea Kingdom has a long way to go and a heavy responsibility.

Soon after the Ōtomo courtiers dispersed, only the core group remained.

Tachibana Michiyuki stepped forward and admonished:
"My lord, if you want to unify Yingzhou and realize your hegemony, the Donghai Kingdom must launch a northern expedition."

First, we need to conquer the Sanyo and San'in regions, then the Kinki region, and then the Chubu, Kanto, and Hokuriku regions. The difficulty is exceptionally high.

In addition, the Jiufan region has always been excluded from the main island. Although it is rich in mineral resources, the utilization rate is generally not very high, and the mobilization capacity of the entire region is far lower than that of mature areas such as the main island.

It can be said that Kinki and Kanto were the golden corners of the kingdom's rise, while Kansai and the nine domains were the next best silver borders, and the remaining four islands and the Tohoku region were the worst due to their geographical location.

We need to plan ahead.

Wang Cheng waved his hand casually:
"The strength of each daimyo is still too great, so we are not in a hurry to expand our territory."

"Lord Tachibana, do you know that besides *The Influence of Sea Power on the Sea*, I possess another discipline whose usefulness is no less than itss, called *The Offshore Balancing Hand*!"

He silently added the second half of the sentence in his mind: "You are lucky to have me in 'Yingzhou Troublemaker'."

(End of this chapter)