Otsuki Shrine is located in the man-made landscape near the Imperial Palace. Because it is a place to worship the main god and the ancestors of the imperial family, it is large in scale and protected by garrison.
The garrison here is called the Moon Guard, and they are nominally the most elite warriors directly subordinate to the emperor. Only those with the most powerful martial arts can join. But in fact, major Chinese groups will always use their hands and feet in the selection - if the opponent is a child of a local small Chinese family, they will throw an invitation from the power center group to them and win them over as one of their own; and if If the opponent is an unknown country fighter, he can usually be directly bribed with money to make him stop match-fixing or even accept him as his disciple.
So much so that the children of the Chinese race who seek the glory of the Moon God Guard, known as the Forbidden Army, usually only have other children of the Chinese race who really need to compete.
Even though these children who have been raised and cared for in the palm of their hands have superior equipment and excellent mentors, most of them lack practical experience and bravery.
The army that was supposed to include all the strongest elite warriors from north to south in the entire Dayue Kingdom, as the symbol of the highest honor for martial arts masters in the entire New Moon Continent, has long become a taboo for the Chinese people, and is also full of cliques and antagonisms within it.
The vast majority of local samurai who knew about this privately despised the fact that the most watched final of a national competition in Xinjing was actually the least valuable - "The outcome of a second-rate swordsman's pretense has long been doomed." Performance"
But let’s get back to where we started.
wind.
The candle flames in the stone lampposts lit on both sides of the stone bridge in the center of the man-made lake, where there were originally lotus leaves and koi fish, are now covered with a layer of ash, swaying wildly.
The flickering firelight shines on the polished blades of the Jujimon spear and the sickle spear in the hands of the Moon God Guards - this is a Crescent Continent's halberd, which not only has the piercing ability of a spear, but also has the ability to peck. With its stab-cutting capabilities, similar to its Rigal counterparts, it is also used against anti-armor and cavalry units.
The samurai troops stationed outside the Otsuki Shrine, which is the headquarters of the miko troops, are not only outside their jurisdiction but are also equipped with such weapons. The purpose is naturally to prevent these miko and ghosts who have the most practical combat experience in the Otsuki Kingdom from attacking Xinjing. This heartland rebels.
This four-thousand-year-old empire has used all its strength to restrain those who have armed forces. At its most perfect, there are checks and balances between the various forces but they also support each other, so it can maintain the stability of the country as a whole. Move forward.
But when did it start to go wrong?
Did it start from the fact that the responsibilities that should have been shouldered by the standing samurai ashigaru troops were too much assigned to the Shinkyo Swords, which had high combat capabilities and therefore should "do more work to those who can do it"?
Did it start when the samurai gave up their duties and did not have to worry about the life and death of the peasants as long as they could enjoy themselves?
It is meaningless to dwell on all these intertwined sources of evil.
The long period of inaction, shirking of responsibilities, obsession with power infighting and turning a blind eye to the common people in the world have already exhausted the stability of this country to the extreme.
And before she really died, the most powerful people were already bargaining in their mansions about how to divide the body.
The witch's arrows should be arrows that destroy evil.
They're not supposed to be fired at people.
But somehow no one thought there was anything wrong with doing so.
The dark volcanic ash provided an excellent cover for missing arrows. With the volley of large bows trained for many years and the wind boost from Magister Dru Yin, the first round of arrow rain fell directly on the well-formed formation, but he thought it was light. Relying on his bright and brave image, he can scare away the opponent's Moon Guards.
The crescent-shaped brass front was torn to pieces by the heavy arrows of the big bow, and then the armor-piercing cone-shaped arrow was inserted into the luxurious retro star pocket with a multi-petal structure. It was different from the one-piece iron pocket of the northern lord's troops, and was more retro. The fragile joint gap of the helmet with a riveted combination structure is distorted and deformed to guide the heavy arrows to penetrate into it. The thin cloth lining provided better than no resistance, and then the arrow cut open the warrior's bare skin on his head and caused severe damage to his skull.
Severe pain and a biting cold feeling came with the impact. The Luna Guard who was hit in the head by a heavy arrow fell unconscious on the spot, while more of his companions were hit in the torso and other parts and did not directly lose consciousness. .
"Have you betrayed Xinjing!"
"To fight without declaring a war, you have the reserve of the Wu family!"
The curses and denunciations were replaced by another silent wave of arrows. After encountering two consecutive volleys, the formation of these warriors became loose and panicked. Most of them are the youngest sons of the Dahua family who grew up in the palm of their hands. They have no right to inherit the family business or even the eldest brother Zuo Zuo. Therefore, they only have the pursuit of glory in their lives, but their parents hope that they will. Able to 'pursue glory in a safe place'.
Their morale was not high, and they were able to withstand two waves of arrows without being defeated. This was just because their armors were of high quality, and even bows and heavy arrows with the blessing of magic could hardly cause fatal damage.
But this is naturally not the only method the group has.
The big bow was put away, and the magister once again sang the ancient chant whose meaning was unknown but very beautiful, and re-attached magical vision to all friendly forces present.
The Moon Guards could only rely on the flickering candlelight in the strong wind to see clearly that the visitor was dressed as a witch, but everyone in their group could see everything clearly.
The magic cast by Magister Miu Miu was not an attack magic, but it was enough to change the balance of power between the two sides in the battle.
In this special field of vision that uses magic as the lighting medium, there is a volcano erupting in the distance.
The beautiful aurora lit up.
If they could fly into the sky, they might be able to see that this aurora complemented the fairy trees on the ground.
The witches retreated further back, and under the guidance of the silver-haired lady, who was clearly meeting them for the first time but seemed to know everything about them, they drew their bows again according to a very specific angle.
The Qingtian family and his party led the Moonwater warriors who chose to follow the great witch during the battle to the front. After hearing the reason, there were only a hundred or so warriors who were willing to fight for this land, but they were alone. All of them are strong men who pursue martial arts to the extreme.
They were troubled by the fact that the finals of the competition were controlled by the Chinese, and their martial prowess was nowhere to be used. And he admires the witches' bravery in being women but not afraid of fighting. Now, this is an opportunity to compete with the Moon God Guards to see who is the strongest warrior in the Crescent Continent.
Even if it is scolded as rebellion, it is a unique, only opportunity in this life to prove the honor of the martial arts family.
A chance to make a name for themselves by beating up those guys who had long been displeased with them and taking up the highest honors through the back door.
This is a fatal temptation for a true martial artist.
The armor and weapons were inferior to those of the Moon Guards. They were rusty and slightly damaged in previous battles. The scabbard was full of bumps, and the paint shaft of the big gun was full of scratches.
But only the blade and the tip of the spear were as shiny as new, with a bone-piercing edge.
They were running all the way, exhausted, but their eyes were shining and their formation was neat.
The third round of arrows fell.
Immediately after being rescued from the prison, the panting Teruyuki and the ancient warrior who was much taller than her led the other three remaining ghost warriors in Xinjing side by side.
Launched the last charge in this life.
The Moon God Guards only saw a few huge black shadows rushing out from the opposite side, and the movement they caused even dimmed the light of the candles on the stone bridge.
They hurriedly tried to block the exit of the stone bridge. The artificial lake was more than ten meters wide at its widest point and was also seven or eight meters deep. As long as they held on to the stone bridge, they would have a terrain advantage.
But when they could clearly see the face of the huge figure in the front through the candlelight that was lit again, almost all the Moon Guards in the van felt like their limbs were filled with lead.
How can a person muster up the courage to fight an opponent with a weapon in his hand that is larger than your entire body?
The young sons of the top nobles who lacked actual combat experience were stunned.
But Wannalan, Teruyue and his party did not.
The ghost gold rods and dragon-man battle sticks weighing dozens of kilograms were thrown towards both sides. Then the ghost clan behind them jumped up using the backs of the two leaders in front as pedals, and landed directly behind the Moon God Guards.
"Ahhhhhh!!" The screams were the only sound these luxuriously dressed warriors could make. There were astonishing attacks from the front and back. They instinctively pushed and spread towards both sides. . The defense at the bridge collapsed instantly, but Wannalan and others did not stop but quickly moved forward and continued to advance.
"preparation!"
"For the glory of the big moon, this is the motherland that we dedicate to giving birth to our motherland."
"The Last Elegy."
"Kill the evil and keep the fire!" The morale-boosting slogan that was thought up after consulting the sages before the war came from the mouth of the now well-dressed young master of the Qingtian family.
He no longer had any confusion or hesitation in his heart. He turned his head and looked at the Chinese children who were so similar to his past self - a small part of him still had regrets, thinking that many of them might never be I will never get another chance to be reborn like myself.
But this small part of his thoughts did not haunt him, nor did it slow down his sword swing.
Today is his adult day.
The long knife in his hand is the last work of Fuso's Supreme Smelting Furnace.
It is a unique sword made from the remnants of the dagger in Mira's hand and the forging of her great sword, using fuso jade steel and the steel clamping method.
The girl from Luo'an was taken from the noisy cicada that sounded prematurely when the sword was forged.
Kazuto calls the showers that last for a while "Shigure".
And the name of this sword is taboo.
It is taken from the description of the sound of cicadas chirping like rain showers.
Cicada time rain.
Kazuto nobles would give up their nicknames and call themselves by their official names during the coming-of-age ceremony. With a new sword and a new name, the young master of the Aoda family, who felt that he had been reborn, led the samurai of the Moon Water Force to collect his family records. Hesitantly, he charged towards the Moon God Guards.
The breach that was torn apart by ghosts, gods and dragons was immediately re-expanded after the samurai rushed in and were not blocked. Narumi and Ogami led 50 people, while young master and Lao Qiao led another 50 people. After the people broke through the bridge entrance, they immediately divided their troops to both sides according to the plan and beat the Luna Guards defenders steadily with alarming momentum.
The witch troop once again fired a round of volley under the command of Erica, and immediately followed the troops composed of Henry and his party and quickly crossed the stone bridge through the pushed opening.
——Their goal is to get to the main shrine, and now they have to race against time.
There are 350 members of the Luna Guard troops guarding Otsuki Shrine, and there are only 137 of them including the shrine maidens.
There are about 200 Luna Guards who are fighting at the bridgehead between the Qingtian family and Yueshui troops, and the remaining 150 people are restrained by Wannalan and the ghost troops who have extremely high single combat capabilities.
They don't have much advantage. Although their morale is low and they lack actual combat experience, these are still strong and pampered warrior nobles and have the best equipment.
The collision between the Moon Water Troops and the Luna Guards, both of which are heavily armored units, is difficult to unilaterally eliminate the opponent quickly, because most normal attacks such as slashing and stabbing are ineffective against armor. They had to rely more on grappling skills to try to find the weaknesses in the opponent's armor, and the Moon Water troops who were rushing all the way faced the Moon Guards who were waiting on the spot, and fell into this kind of close-range grabbing fight despite their physical disadvantages. , is actually at a disadvantage.
Only their high morale and abundant experience made up for this, and the long-range shooting and charge at the beginning caught the Luna Guards off guard, and they were able to gain the upper hand for a while.
However, the Moon God Guards had nearly twice the numerical advantage. Once those who were not engaged in the rear reacted and began to launch an organized counterattack, the Qingtian family and the Moon Water Warriors would inevitably become more and more strenuous.
The situation faced by the Ghost Tribe and Wannalan is not easy at all. Although the hymns always claim that the Ghost Tribe can fight one against a hundred, they are still fighting against the demoralized Ashigaru in a formation and with full support from friendly forces. fighting.
Now there is no friendly infantry support. Five people face 150 of the most elite Luna Guard warriors, and because the purpose is to contain them, they cannot form a group. A single individual may have to face twenty, thirty or even thirty-four people in heavy armor at the same time. Warriors holding halberds, even their existence is risky and stressful.
Coupled with the impact of the previous madness incident, Teruyuki and the other four people who were restrained almost all suffered from a certain degree of pain and loss of physical strength. And the whispers from the other side are still torturing their minds until now. Even if the magician urgently rewrites the runes and herbal controls on their bodies, it is still difficult to suppress the nameless rage and desire to kill.
All of this is just to allow Henry and his party, the Grand Miko, and Erica to reach the main hall of Otsuki Shrine.
"Don't die." The Luoan girl said this to the young master of the Qingtian family as she rode Mediya through quickly.
"Both each other." The young man who had now caught up with her replied, holding a long sword high and riding a horse towards the Moon Guard again.
The air became solemn as they approached the majestic main shrine. The shrine maidens who heard the sounds of fighting at the door held up torches, naginata and large bows in preparation for what they thought was a mob rushing in. However, they immediately put down their weapons after seeing the leader. And lowered his posture.
"Sir, how come there are still exiled old Moon Guards? Who are these people?" The obviously strange faces among the witches attracted the questioning of the stationed witches, and most of them were elderly. They kept glancing at the silver-haired woman holding a silver gun in her hand.
"Zizi——Peng——" Miu Miu raised the staff high, and the gathered magic power overloaded the protective barrier outside the main hall of the shrine.
"The inscription rope is on fire!" Several witches shouted loudly: "Go and find water!"
"Sir, the stone platform used to charge the talisman! There is a crack!" They were panicked, but the great witch calmly told her subordinates not to worry.
The door was opened by the slightly hesitant witches on command, and the wind blowing in made the candles sway.
In the center of the main hall, filled with orange firelight, is a huge stone platform with an oblique angle. It is about ten meters long and more than three meters wide. There is a gilt crescent-shaped statue on it. There are more than a dozen cushions for kneeling and sitting below. The divine thunder talismans in the hands of the witches are placed at the bottom of the stone platform. Only by obtaining divine power from the stone platform can they borrow the radiance of the Great Moon God.
At this moment, the cracked stone platform began to flash with blue light.
Mira frowned, and she whispered:
"Why does this altar look so similar?"
"Extra large coffin."
Erica raised the spear in her hand, and the electric light attached to the moon spear with the name of the god, turning into the shape of lightning itself.
The dazzling light makes it difficult for everyone to look directly.
The witches were stunned, and the big witch directed them to turn around and set up their defenses. The same is true for Henry and the others. The field of vision Miu Miu has exerted on them has made it impossible for the swift black shadows in the distance to bypass the fighting human troops.
They are not happy to see this.
Is it her will, or is it just the instinct of fear of her old enemy?
"This is really a coffin." Erica said again in a cold voice.
She responded to Mira's murmur.
"My coffin."
"Peng——!!!" The spear thrown with all his strength shattered the stone platform, and the object that had been charging the spell rolled out with a ball of long silver hair.
With her eyes closed tightly, her face with long silvery eyelashes was as bright as jade. Even though her size was staggering, she could still be called a beautiful woman.
But the most shocking thing was the physical resemblance between her and the person standing in front of her.
"Ah - hiss -" All the witches could only gape at such an astonishing fact. They took a deep breath, not knowing how to react.
"Our shrine maiden named Moon Goddess actually stole the power of God and served her with her own body so that she would not resent her."
"Now God has returned."
"Will it bring us destruction or salvation?"
Her muttering was interrupted by Miu Miu, and the Magister said in his usual slightly mocking tone: "Stop being sentimental. Fusion takes time, and those things are coming."
"Be ready for battle."
