novelraw Chapter 290-1: The Final Battle with the Great General (1)
Chapter 290-1: The Final Battle with the Great General (1)
[The old woman, incarnation of Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, seemed to notice your disappointment. She smiled and shook her head, indicating that it was clearly you who proactively called for her to come, even going so far as to threaten her with the evil god’s corrosion. Now that she had appeared before you, why did you look so sullen?]
[You suddenly did not know how to answer.]
[The old woman pretended to have an epiphany and continued speaking. Perhaps you think her strength is too weak to help you face the enemy, is that it? Young devotee, Enma’s Proxy, do you know why she played deaf and refused to respond to your call?]
[In your heart you knew Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto was clinging to life and feared death, unwilling to risk herself for Enma, but of course you could not say such words to her face.]
[The old woman wanted to say something, but in the end she only shook her head and said nothing. She changed the subject, claiming she already knew your plan to eliminate the ruler of Sakura Falls.]
[As for your worries… you are underestimating the power of the gods. Even the weakest god dwells at a height unattainable by mortals.]
[The ruler of Sakura Falls himself has not yet reached the level of overlooking all living beings. In the Vermilion Empire there exist beings known as immortals at the demigod level who could suppress him.]
[In the eyes of a god, the so-called Great General of the human world is nothing remarkable. If not for the malice aura bestowed by an evil god…]
[The old woman let out a long sigh and continued. Sending down an incarnation to the human realm already carried tremendous risk, and she could not remain here for long.]
[When you and the ruler of Sakura Falls reach the most critical moment of your battle, remember, it must be the most critical moment.][At that time, call her name within your heart and she will aid you in destroying the enemy.]
[With that, the old woman did not wait for your reply. Her body turned into countless motes of light and hurriedly dissipated from sight.]
“Wait… you’re just leaving like that?”
Lin Xun’s mouth twitched.
According to what Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto said, the Great General who roamed the world invincible was, in the eyes of a god, nothing special. Even the weakest Dance Goddess could defeat the Great General.
Judging by the old woman’s calm confidence, it did not look like bragging.
He only worried that this Dance Goddess was giving an empty promise. When the real final battle came, she might stand him up.
On second thought, the Great General’s Omamori was still in his pocket. If the Dance Goddess really dared to stand him up, then he could go for mutual destruction. Everyone could go down together.
The only thing he could not figure out was what ‘the most critical moment’ meant.
Lin Xun frowned and pondered for a long time, feeling that the true body of the Dance Goddess was probably under severe restrictions. Perhaps the descent time would be extremely short, so it had to be a one-hit kill.
But according to the Dance Goddess, the Great General’s strength was ‘nothing remarkable.’ For a deity, a one-hit kill, if not trivial, should at least be almost certain.
“Damn it. Speaking in riddles is infuriating.”
“Whatever. Next up is… the endgame.”
[…]
[You left the Tenshukaku and headed for Kyoto once again.]
[…]
[The scene inside the Ancient Fire Mound remained the same. Among the densely packed tombstones stretching beyond sight, only a single lonely, elderly figure quietly waited for you.]
[With your nod of assent, the Fire-Worshipping Ancient Fire Mound Gravekeeper understood. The moment to decide the fate of all living beings under heaven… was today.]
[He devoutly lit the incense, bowing and calling out before one tombstone after another.]
[Soon, across the vast necropolis, numerous God War Heroic Spirits from antiquity appeared.]
[The heroic spirits held weapons of every kind, raised their heads, and let out a voiceless roar to the heavens. Immediately, an immense power filled the entire necropolis.]
[You received the blessing of Enma’s Divine Domain.]
[Within the divine domain, you and your summons, along with all believers of Enma, would see a massive increase in power.]
[Since the Chaotic Origin Dragon and the Ancient Heavenly Enma were allied oath factions, in this place all believers of the Dragon God would receive the same power increase.]
[You rattled the Refined Copper Sand Maraca. The Battle Angel – Valkyrie, walked out of the void. She carried a massive golden longbow the length of a human shell’s body on her back. A pair of enormous metal wings beat continuously, keeping her floating in the air.]
[You possessed the shell of the Fire-Worshipping Palace Master of Iya Palace.]
[You waved the purification wand in your hand, summoning the shikigami and yokai who would swear to serve you to the death.]
[The temperature of the necropolis suddenly plummeted. Snowflakes fell from the sky. Amid a blizzard there appeared a graceful figure. The spirit of ice and snow, the Origin-Tracing Snow Woman of the Mountain, responded to your summons.]
[The vast necropolis underwent an earth-shaking change. Tombstones vanished one after another, replaced by crimson earth soaked in blood.]
[Under the setting sun, a desolate ancient battlefield stretched to the horizon. It was a divine battleground that had buried countless lives. From the distant sky echoed the unyielding cries of myriad beings.]
[A thin, youthful figure appeared at your side. The Origin-Tracing Nurarihyon responded to your summons.]
[The sky had somehow grown overcast. A howling gale raged. Deep violet lightning flashed.]
[Like the first thunder of creation, a bolt crashed to the ground. The instant blaze of light blinded you to everything.]
[When the lightning eased and your vision returned, a peerless beauty stepped across the sky, coarse, serpent-thick purple lightning coursing over her body. She was the sky fox who ruled thunder in this world, the great yokai who enchanted all beings, the Origin-Tracing Nine-Tailed Fox who responded to your summons.]
[You took out the Dragon Marsh Temple Yokai Spirit Tablet and called upon the temple master yokai spirit who had received incense offerings for a thousand years.]
[You currently possessed 8,000 points of Incense Power. For every additional 1,000 points of Incense Power consumed, the responding temple master yokai would be stronger.]
[You spent 8,000 points of Incense Power and awakened the first-generation temple master who had slept for a thousand years.]
[Black clouds pressed low. A violent storm descended in an instant. Amid the wind and rain, a burly humanoid silhouette emerged.]
[Horns rose from its head. Its whole body was covered in sturdy armor. Three blades wreathed in blood qi were borne upon its back.]
[The first-generation temple master yokai spirit of Dragon Marsh Temple, an ancient great yokai long thought extinct, a demon king of gods and ghosts known as the King of the Evil Path, the Origin-Tracing Otakemaru, responded to your call.]
[You took out a delicate, petite celadon wine vessel and threw it.]
[Before the fragile celadon could hit the ground, a sky full of fiery red lotus had already bloomed.]
[The ancient battlefield became scorched earth. Uncountable crimson embers rose and flickered in the wind and rain, as cruel as purgatory and as poignantly beautiful as a fairyland.]
[A youth with long, loose red hair revealed his figure, catching the celadon cup just before it struck the ground. The bamboo basket on his back suddenly transformed into a giant wine gourd.]
[The wine gourd opened by itself. Liquor surged forth as a rushing stream into the celadon cup.]
[The Origin-Tracing Shuten Doji laughed heartily and drained it in one gulp.]
[You took out three sheets of bright yellow talisman paper. As you chanted, the talismans ignited by themselves. Tadpole-script runes formed from pitch-black Karmic Fire surged toward the three shikigami.]
[Your Onmyo Talisman, United Resolve, received the blessing of sixteen layers of Calamitous Fallen Karmic Fire. The skill’s effect increased dramatically.]
[Your shikigami, the Origin-Tracing Snow Woman of the Mountain, the Origin-Tracing Nurarihyon, and the Origin-Tracing Nine-Tailed Fox, received a certain increase in power.]
Whether it was United Resolve, which slightly increased a shikigami’s strength, or Filth Purification Rebirth, the Demon Body Dissolution Technique that required death as the price, both could only affect his own shikigami.
Valkyrie was a proper summon rather than a shikigami, and Shuten Doji and Otakemaru were special summons, also not shikigami, so the two skills could not enhance them.
This was also why Lin Xun had made sure to claim the Nine-Tailed Fox as a shikigami beforehand. Of course, there was another, even more important reason.
[Countless heroic spirits fixed their gazes upon you. The eyes of your many summons all converged on you.]