How did I, an Onmyoji, become the Lord of Yokai?

"I'm glad Miss Tamura doesn't mind. So, Miss Tamura, have I passed my test?" The boy dispersed the ice blade and asked softly.

"If Mr. Shimizu is not qualified, then there is no one qualified here."

Ms. Tamura extended her slightly red, fair hand. "Welcome to our team, sir. I look forward to working with you from now on."

"Yes, please take care of me, Ms. Tamura."

Shimizu Asahi also smiled and extended his palm.

Two hands, one large and one small, clasped together, and a faint sense of lightness emanated from them. After this exchange, the distance between the two had narrowed considerably.

"Alright, now that Mr. Shimizu has joined us, let me arrange accommodations for him."

After shaking hands, Tamura Yoko prepared to arrange a place for him to stay. Upon hearing this, Shimizu Asahi paused for a moment, looking at the girl with some surprise, "Is accommodation included here?"

"Yes, that's for sure. Once you join the Tamura family, you're practically family, so of course we'll arrange accommodations for you."

"Moreover, only by living together can we train our soldiers."

Tamura Yoko offered an explanation, but after glancing at Shimizu Asahi, she seemed to remember something and continued, "Of course, if you don't want to stay here, that's fine too. After all, you are an Onmyoji, and we don't know how to train Onmyoji, so you can stay at your own home."

"However, since you are a soldier, you have to come to the camp every day. Even if you don't participate in training, at least let us know your abilities so that we can assign you tasks."

"What do you think, sir?"

"Hmm... I'll be fine staying here." Shimizu Asahi rubbed his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "Actually, I came to participate in the extermination to earn some money... If Ms. Tamura doesn't take me in, I might have to sleep on the streets."

"Then I will arrange accommodations for you, sir. Please follow me."

Seeing the boy's embarrassed expression, Tamura Yoko's smile deepened. This seemingly mature boy also had such an adorable side.

Led by Tamura Yoko, Shimizu Asahi stepped off the ring and quickly left the arena.

However, as soon as they stepped off the battlefield, they were stopped by a middle-aged man dressed in a long, luxurious robe, with a resolute face and an aura of steel.

Upon seeing the middle-aged man, a hint of unexpected joy appeared in Tamura Yoko's eyes. She approached him and said, "Father? What brings you here today?"

"The ships and supplies are almost ready, so I've come to see how the soldiers' training is going."

Looking at his daughter, General Tamura of Yamashiro Province patted her shoulder happily and said proudly, "And I have a pretty good understanding of the situation."

"Hehe, my decision was not wrong. You are already a qualified general, Ye Zi. You are indeed my child."

"Father, you flatter me. It is Yezi's duty to share your burdens." The girl, who had just acted so spiritedly in front of Shimizu Asahi, was now smiling happily like a little girl.

It seems that no matter how capable a child is, they will become like a child in front of their parents.

"Hehe, I'm naturally happy that you have such a kind heart. However, you should also pay more attention to rest. With the departure date approaching, you can't afford to overwork yourself at this time."

After expressing concern for his daughter, Tamura Samurai's gaze fell on Shimizu Asahi.

"General Tamura."

Noticing Tamura's gaze, Shimizu Asahi immediately addressed him respectfully as "General."

"By the way, Father, let me introduce you. This is Shimizu Asahi, a new Onmyoji who just joined us. He is very strong; even I am no match for him."

At this moment, Tamura Yoko also smiled and introduced Tamura Samurai.

“This father already knows. I saw the battle just now very clearly.”

Tamura looked at Shimizu Asahi with deep admiration and satisfaction in his eyes. As an Onmyoji, he defeated his daughter without using Onmyoji techniques. This young man had been hiding a great deal of strength.

Moreover, despite it being our first meeting, he gave off a very comfortable feeling, making people want to trust him.

His battle-hardened instincts told Tamura that this was someone worth befriending.

Then, Tamura continued, "Mr. Shimizu, with you joining us this time, our chances of winning the punitive expedition are much greater."

"Our Tamura family and those soldiers are really lucky."

"Not at all, General, you flatter me. I am just an ordinary soldier and do not deserve such praise," Shimizu Asahi immediately added modestly.

"Sir, humility is a good thing, but excessive humility is not necessarily a good thing. Young people should be more arrogant when they are young."

After saying this to Shimizu Asahi, Tamura Shiro didn't give him a chance to speak and continued, "Alright, I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving now. Yoko, I'll leave the master to you."

"I understand, Father."

After watching her father leave, Tamura Yoko brought Shimizu Asahi to a house belonging to the Tamura family.

After getting familiar with the surroundings, Shimizu Asahi asked with some concern when they would be going to hunt down the sea monster. Tamura Yoko didn't hide anything and told him directly that they would have to set off in seven days at most.

Because the daimyo gave them a month to prepare, and now more than three weeks have passed, the one-month deadline is almost up, so they have at most seven days left to prepare.

It was precisely because time was running out that Tamura Samurai stopped recruiting samurai.

If there were still time, the Tamura family would not mind training an army of four or five thousand men.

P.S.: In ancient Japan, wars were fought in units of thousands, right? Right? Right?

Chapter 261, Section 264: This island looks somewhat familiar.

In the following days, Shimizu Asahi focused on doing what he was supposed to do.

During the day, he stayed in the military camp, cooperating with Tamura Yoko in personnel arrangements and conducting tacit training with the soldiers.

Because of his abilities and Tamura's high regard for him, Tamura, who had originally said he didn't need training, called him up to take command of a 500-man unit.

Although he tried very hard to refuse, he couldn't resist their enthusiasm and, after some lighthearted conversation, he had no choice but to agree.

Outside of the daytime, he would go to the port to secretly investigate the siren's rampage.

Sometimes it happens at dusk, sometimes at dawn; in short, he appears during any time the siren might be.

He understood the principle of knowing yourself and your enemy, and that you will never be defeated. Moreover, there were prerequisites for Shimizu Asahi to exterminate the monsters.

He had to confirm whether these monsters were truly harming the people.

Whether by luck or not, he never encountered any troublesome sea monsters on his trips to the port; all he ever got were the people's curses and insults directed at the sea monsters.

For example, when they steal the fresh fish that the fishermen have worked so hard to catch, or when they kill a few fishermen, and so on.

Their hatred for sirens seemed innate.

Although Shimizu Asahi found something slightly strange about the fishermen's story, he temporarily believed them and regarded the sea monsters he was about to defeat as enemies.

And just like that, seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time to set off.

On the day of departure, Shimizu Asahi got up early, ate a simple breakfast, and then went to the battlefield to meet up with Tamura Yoko and the soldiers.

Because the departure time had been set in advance, when he arrived at the battlefield, the other soldiers were already fully prepared and ready to go.

After counting the number of people, Yoko Tamura led them to the port.

Three hundred years ago, the Mountain City Kingdom had not yet experienced the vicissitudes of time and the changes in the land. The port was not far from the capital, so the two thousand troops arrived at the port in no time.

When they arrived at the port, Tamura Samurai, who was already prepared, stood up.

Looking at the soldiers before him, fully equipped and ready to go, he spoke a series of inspiring words. As a general, Tamura knew how to ignite their fighting spirit, and with just a few words, he made them roar with joy.

Once morale was high, Tamura Samurai waved his hand again, allowing everyone to board the ship.

Because shipbuilding was not very advanced three hundred years ago, the two thousand soldiers used a total of twenty-five warships. After the soldiers boarded the ships, the twenty-five warships set sail for the sea in great fanfare.

Among them, Shimizu Asahi followed Tamura Samurai and Tamura Yoko onto the largest ship. Once aboard, the soldiers put down their weapons and began to adjust their state.

With war looming, the soldiers must be in top condition at all times. However, the island is three hours away, and they cannot remain vigilant indefinitely. Therefore, before entering combat readiness, the soldiers can temporarily adjust themselves.

Meanwhile, Shimizu Asahi, who was standing at the bow of the ship, looked at the resting soldiers, thought for a moment, and then took out twenty-five talismans.

After silently reciting "Hurry, hurry, as the law commands," the talismans transformed into lightning and instantly arrived on the ship.

Although the siren's lair is three hours away, so there's no need to be too nervous for now, the entire mountain city knows about the Tamura family's campaign against the siren, and these siren who are ravaging the people may also know about it. Therefore, they are very likely to launch a surprise attack on us en route.

Even if you don't have it, it's better to be prepared.

However, just as he finished doing all this, Tamura Yoko suddenly walked up to him and said, "Mr. Shimizu, there's no need to be so nervous. According to the information we've received, it will take us three hours to reach the island. You can rest well before then."

"It's okay, I'm just being a little cautious. It's always good to be prepared, right?"

Shimizu Asahi turned to look at the black-haired girl and said with a light laugh.

"Well... that's true... but..." Ye Zi blinked, as if she wanted to say something, but then she thought about it and felt that these reasons were not enough, so she swallowed her words and agreed with Shimizu Asahi's words.

In fact, after receiving the order, Tamura Shi stayed at the port. He not only handled the ships and supplies, but also tried his best to protect the fishermen and investigate the siren.

During his investigation, he learned about the basic habits of the sirens. They seemed to look down on humans and had no intention of communicating with them properly. Therefore, Tamura Samurai believed that the sirens on the island were completely unaware that they were about to attack.

The saying "better safe than sorry" is indeed true, so Tamura Yoko didn't say anything more.

Of course, she still added with concern, "But sir, with war imminent, you must also adjust your condition. If you collapse from exhaustion before arriving, it will be a loss."

"Hehe... Don't worry, I'm fine with this distance for now. In fact, it can be used as a warm-up before the war."

"Yes, I'll have to trouble you, sir."

After saying that, Yoko Tamura left the bow of the boat; she also needed to adjust her state of mind.

Time slipped by quietly, and soon, two hours had passed without a sound.

During those two hours, the soldiers prepared quietly without making a sound, and Shimizu Asahi did not notice anything unusual.

In this light, Tamura's conclusion was quite accurate; the sirens still don't know they're going to attack the island.

Slightly relieved, Shimizu Asahi felt somewhat fortunate.

The sirens' fighting power can only be fully demonstrated in the sea. As long as they avoid the sea, their strength will be reduced by at least 20%. With the opponent's strength reduced by 20%, their chances of winning increase by 20%. These are all key factors in winning the war.

However, just as he was feeling relieved, layer upon layer of dark clouds began to spread over him without him even realizing it.

A somber and oppressive atmosphere quietly spread.

Is it going to rain?

The boy gently raised his head. Having experienced storms, he knew how terrifying it was to encounter a storm at sea. Even if he tried his best, he could not protect twenty-five warships.

However, he did not panic, because in his perception, it was just an ordinary heavy rain, not a storm, so there was no need to be too nervous.

Moreover, the storm seemed to be on their side... the wind was blowing fiercely from behind, and the warships were moving forward at a noticeably faster speed.

"It seems we'll be able to reach the island ahead of schedule."

After uttering these words softly, the resting soldiers also gripped their weapons, seemingly sensing the imminent threat of war.

At the same time, Yoko Tamura walked up to him once again.