novelraw Chapter 290-2: The Final Battle with the Great General (2)
Chapter 290-2: The Final Battle with the Great General (2)
Lin Xun took a deep breath, clenched his fist, and pressed the option to switch shells.
[You possessed the shell of the Fire-Worshipping Imperial Swordsmith.]
[The leaf-and-branch tattoo on your chest writhed madly, like several venomous snakes entwined and fighting for flesh to eat.]
[An icy chill suddenly surged from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head. Vaguely, an exceedingly evil intent seemed to lock on to you.]
[Your shell was locked by the malice of the Extreme Evil Great General. He is rushing to you at full speed.]
[…]
[Far at the edge of the sky, a pitch-black star rose. That malevolent star wreathed in black miasma climbed to the opposite end of the firmament, then suddenly dove toward you at extreme speed.]
[The black meteor tore open the heavens, charging straight at you with unstoppable momentum.]
[Its speed was so great it kicked up a blazing tail wake. When first you saw it, it was at the horizon. In the blink of an eye, it was already within arm’s reach.]
[A thunderous boom split the air.][The meteor crashed down before you. A violent force formed a rippling shockwave. You could even see the small mushroom cloud thrown up by the impact.]
[Like a hurricane striking your face, you involuntarily staggered back several steps.]
[When the dust drifted away, a terrifying figure loomed, burly as a small mountain, ferocious as a lion or tiger. From vague outline he gradually became clear.]
[Thick black aura coiled around its entire body. He slowly took one step after another toward you, each step seemingly treading upon your fragile heart.]
[You felt an immense pressure.]
[You discovered the Extreme Evil Great General.]
[The Great General looked around. He gazed upon the Snow Woman, Nurarihyon, Valkyrie, Shuten Doji, Otakemaru, the Nine-Tailed Fox, all ready for battle, as well as the many insubstantial God War Heroic Spirits.]
[The Great General could not help but laugh. The deep, resonant laughter gradually echoed across the entire ancient battlefield.]
[‘Rabble, nothing more.’]
[The Great General drew his blade and slashed. A jet-black arc of blade light flashed, filling the entire ancient battlefield.]
[Heaven and earth shattered like a mirror falling to the ground, spiderweb cracks spreading everywhere. The illusion was born and perished in an instant. In a daze, you were back in the desolate, deserted necropolis.]
[The Origin-Tracing Nurarihyon let out a muffled groan, clutched his head, and dropped to his knees. You clearly saw blood welling at his nostrils.]
[A biting blizzard arose out of thin air. The Snow Woman cast yokai arts. A storm of ice howled toward the enemy.]
[Otakemaru drew one of the blades from his back, shouted, and turned into a streak of blood light, hurling himself at the Great General.]
[The Nine-Tailed Fox pointed two fingers to the sky. Violet thunder surged down in torrents. Lightning blazed, dazzling the eyes.]
[A sky full of crimson firelotus and dazzling blazing sunlight together assailed the enemy, the Extreme Evil Great General.]
[…]
[The black blade light was tyrannical to the extreme. In a flicker he severed the raging blizzard, snuffed out the crimson firelotus and the blazing sunlight, and calmed the purple thunder.]
[The blood light returned to your side even faster than he had lunged. Otakemaru braced himself on a broken sword, barely keeping from collapsing.]
[With only that one slash, the Great General dispelled the full-force attacks of many powerful summons.]
“Damn it. This is what the Dance Goddess called ‘nothing remarkable’?”
Lin Xun could not help cursing. He hurriedly switched to his strongest shell, the Greedy Wolf Star Lord.
He could not rashly engage. If that one slash from the Great General were aimed at him, it would undoubtedly send him directly to heaven. All the time spent preparing, along with all his items, would go to waste.
He narrowed his eyes and used his trump-card weapon against the Great General, the Ushimitsu Mairi Straw Doll.
[Ushimitsu Mairi Straw Doll (Special Item): … When using this item, drive the final spike into the doll’s chest to inflict severe injuries and a powerful Weakened effect on the target.]
[You took out an inconspicuous, timeworn straw doll. Pasted upon it were blood-red characters. It bore the Great General’s name that had become taboo.]
[Among the straw were mixed several black hairs. Long spikes were already nailed into the doll’s limbs and head. Only the final spike at the heart remained to complete the ritual.]
[You thrust the last long spike viciously into the straw doll’s heart.]
[The Extreme Evil Great General suffered the negative effect of strong Weakened status.]
[In an instant, much of the black aura around the Great General dissipated. His burly body visibly shrank a little.]
[You could clearly feel that its unmatched ferocity also weakened considerably.]
[The Great General suddenly looked at you and said with a cold smile that this was your prepared trump card? ‘Heh. Paltry trick.’]
[He leapt forward. Before his body arrived, a domineering jet-black arc of blade light was already swelling in your eyes, gradually filling your entire vision.]
[The Nine-Tailed Fox’s white hair flew. Purple lightning blazed brilliantly around her. A soul force that seized and stole spirits burst forth and was projected upon the Great General.]
[The jet-black blade light only paused a fraction, then instantly recovered its awe-inspiring, peerless force.]
[But that brief pause was enough for Otakemaru to draw another blood-colored blade and thrust himself before you.]
[And it was precisely that brief instant that was enough for you to unleash the Northern Dipper Heaven’s Sword Technique.]
[You gave a long shout, formed a sword seal with your hand, and your true essence surged like a flood.]
[The great sun and the cosmos seemed to turn into a quiet night. A bright river of stars glittered in the night. Among them, seven stars named the Northern Dipper shone brightest.]
[Star radiance from the Big Dipper poured down and gathered upon the Dragon Sword Masamune in your hand.]
[You pointed with your sword seal. Sword gale raged in sweeping arcs, striking the Great General together with Otakemaru’s blood-colored sword light.]
[With a sky-shaking boom, your vision went black.]
[When you came to, you were lying in a huge crater. Agony wracked your entire body as if you had come apart at the joints, and the true essence within you had been completely drained.]
[You suffered an extremely serious injury.]
[Your true essence was exhausted. You felt deathly tired. Even the slightest step was a luxury.]
[Otakemaru stood beside you. Compared to the solidity of his spirit body at the moment of summoning, he was now hazy and blurred. If he took one more slash, perhaps even half a slash would make his spirit body vanish and his soul scatter.]
[Meanwhile, the Extreme Evil Great General still towered like an insurmountable mountain.]
[As your true essence ran dry, the effect of the Purple Mansion Subtle Starfall Heart Incantation activated.]
[Endless surges of true essence gushed forth from the shell’s Purple Mansion. In an instant you recovered all of your true essence. Exhaustion vanished.]
[You grabbed Otakemaru and leapt back. Seeing this, Shuten Doji hurriedly positioned himself between you and the Great General.]
Lin Xun took a deep breath. Battle intent burned hotter in his eyes.
The first time he faced the Great General using the Greedy Wolf Star Lord shell, even when he unleashed the legendary Northern Dipper Heaven’s Sword Technique, he had been killed in one slash.
Now that the Great General was afflicted by the strong Weakened effect, he and Otakemaru together could withstand a single slash from the Great General.
It looked as if Lin Xun’s side would not last long. A few more slashes from the Great General would annihilate them.
But the truth was otherwise.
As long as he was not killed in a single slash, he had a chance to win.
[You possessed the shell of the Fire-Worshipping Saio Chisoku-hime.]
[You raised the divine weapon in your hand, Amateru Sakiina’s Harvest Sickle.]
“I said it before. You will not die in vain. I will use your shell to defeat the Great General.”
[A voluptuous goddess’s phantom appeared behind you. The phantom of the Goddess of Harvest embraced you.]
[Shell skill, Prosperity Kagura Dance, activated.]
[Golden radiance symbolizing bountiful harvest shone in all directions. The Goddess of Harvest scattered golden light like grains of rice.]
[Your shikigami, the Origin-Tracing Nurarihyon, is fully healed.]
[Your special summon, the Origin-Tracing Otakemaru, is fully healed.]
[Your shell, the Desire-Bearing Greedy Wolf Star Lord, is fully healed.]
[The Great General finally halted and fixed a deep gaze upon you. Slowly, he said he would kill every living thing here and leave only your life.]
[He planned to cut off your four limbs and place you in the palace where the little emperor had died, letting you continue to use that body carrying imperial blood to subject the lingering pseudo gods to the True God’s Corrosion.]
[Outside the necropolis, countless noisy footfalls drew near.]
[The elite army garrisoned in Kyoto had discovered the earth-shaking battle inside the Ancient Fire Mound. A constant stream of ferocious samurai flooded into the necropolis and formed a massive battle formation brimming with killing intent.]
[With a single command from the Great General, those numberless samurai could drown you.]
Lin Xun narrowed his eyes and finally used the legion item he had cultivated for so long.
[You drew out a long black banner and silently recited the ancient seal script on its face: Swift as the wind, gentle as the forest, fierce as fire in assault, immovable as the mountain…]
[You spent 3 points of soul strength to use the Ogiwara Clan Command Banner.]
[Because you spent 3 points of soul strength, this summoning’s tier is the third tier.]
[The number of troops responding to your summons: 1,500. Morale: 95 (General bonus +20).]
[Thunderous war drums shook the necropolis. Blood-stirring roars echoed without end.]
[A crimson like blood spread across the necropolis.]
[Dense ranks of elite samurai answered the call. They wore scarlet armor, some mounted, some on foot, some with spears, some with swords.]
[At the very front of the formation stood fierce generals of all builds. There was a corpulent foot samurai dual-wielding great tachi, a long-armed bow and arbalest commander standing upon a war cart, and a cavalry general gripping a long spear for a mounted charge.]
[In the formation, cavalry samurai held the front. Foot samurai stood in the center. Archer samurai took the rear.]
[At the back of the formation were many fearsome siege engines, such as giant ballista carts, charging blade carts, and catapults.]
[The iron-blooded legion of over a thousand samurai was valiant and disciplined. Without your command, they stood straight as javelins, awaiting battle. Only the heavy breathing of warhorses could be heard, and only the almost tangible, solemn killing intent could be felt.]
[The Origin-Tracing Nurarihyon stood up, closed his eyes, and spread his arms.]
[The desolate, age-old divine battlefield once more covered the entire necropolis. Everywhere you looked was crimson as blood, not only land dyed by the blood of uncountable beings but also countless fearless Red Armor samurai.]
[A terrifying celestial demon sea monster descended at the very front of the formation. With a piercing screech, pillar-like tentacles slammed into the ground, kicking up clouds of blood-red dust.]
[All the soldiers and generals of the Red Armor army stood ready for battle. With a single order from you, they would fight for you to the death.]
“The true final battle… has only just begun!”
Lin Xun took a deep breath and issued the order to charge.