Onmyoji, a nobleman in Heian-kyo

Page 1447

That's it?

Kousaka Kyosuke was stunned. He knew there was a reason why Ara wasn't saying anything, but wasn't this going too far?

What was it called again? How tactless!

Is he just messing with everyone by stopping halfway through a story?

Knowing full well that Ara had been extremely rude this time, the Inari God hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"In short, the safest way to stop Orochi is for everyone to work together to interrupt his upcoming ritual. What he is doing now is nothing more than carrying out the judgment ritual of the past."

"There are essentially two ways to interrupt the ritual. One is to suppress the core of the ritual's formation and forcibly shut it down. The other is to defeat the one who initiated the ritual, namely Orochi. However, attacking the serpent god at this time is not a good strategy. It would be wiser to start by destroying the core of the formation. What do you all think?"

Seimei stated frankly, "The location of the formation's core has already been thoroughly investigated."

Yes, the Orochi had been plotting something all along, and no one would sit idly by. They investigated all the suspicious places, so they were able to know the location of the array's core immediately when something happened.

"Oh."

Huang responded with a sound.

Kousaka Kyosuke didn't know if he was trying to annoy people, but Ara was indeed like that—cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He didn't actively try to improve his social skills, probably because he still couldn't forget the trauma of being buried at sea by the villagers after doing a good deed many years ago.

"I want to work with you all to defeat Yamata no Orochi using multiple plans," Seimei added.

Inari God: "Multiple plans?"

Seimei: "There are six key points in the formation activated by Orochi, and each one may correspond to a Heavenly Feather Blade. Orochi must have made thorough preparations around these key points, waiting for us to arrive. When we do, we may only be able to weaken the power of the ritual after we break through the key points, but we may not be able to stop the ritual from starting."

"Therefore, I hope that Inari, Tamamo-no-Mae, Shuten-dōji, Suzuka Gozen, Indra, and Kuro Seimei will each lead a team to conquer the six key points of the formation. This is the first step of the plan, which is a smokescreen."

Suzuka Gozen looked surprised: "An illusion? You mean..."

Seimei nodded: "My real plan is to launch a surprise attack on Yamata no Orochi!"

Many people present felt it was somewhat absurd, yet suddenly realized that it was indeed the best solution.

"The power of the Yamata no Orochi is probably not something that can be dealt with so easily," Indra, who had a good impression of Seimei, advised softly.

“Of course, I’m not the only one. Kyosuke, who wields the divine weapon Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, is another one,” Seimei said, looking at Kousaka Kyosuke and then at Ara. “Lord Ara, I hope you can come along as well.”

This time, Huang didn't refuse: "Just the three of us?"

Kyosuke Kosaka bluntly stated, "Let's bring Kagura along. Her power has been restored, and she can give Orochi a good beating."

Seeing that Seimei seemed to linger on Kagura for a moment, he understood that Seimei had some suspicions.

That's right, Kagura's psychic powers aren't so easily transferred; they have recovered somewhat these past few days.

The shrine maiden Fuyuka, who also possesses spiritual powers and follows Seimei, is quite strong, but only at the level of an average excellent Onmyoji. If she were to join him, she would only be a burden.

In comparison, Kagura is the better choice.

"Lord Seimei!" Donghua said anxiously.

Seimei gently comforted her: "I'm sorry, Fuyuka, I don't want you to be in a life-or-death situation. For now, you and Shiro will follow my illusion to the core of the formation and create the illusion that we are attacking it with all our might."

Seeing that Seimei, this "central air conditioner," was starting to comfort people, Kousaka Kyosuke couldn't help but start taking action as well.

Hmm, his brother-in-law, Minamoto no Hiromasa, was looking at him very differently than usual.

"a……"

Minamoto no Hiromasa gritted his teeth, the sound coming out from between his teeth.

After thinking for a moment, Kousaka Kyosuke moved Kagura to his front.

“Brother Hiromasa, no one can stay out of this now.” Kagura looked at Minamoto no Hiromasa solemnly.

Minamoto no Hiromasa sighed softly: "Then at least let me come along."

While still comforting people, Seimei looked at Minamoto no Hiromasa: "Lord Ara's illusion projections, if involving more than four people, are easily detected by Orochi."

"That, that..."

"Brother Boya, Kyosuke is by my side, don't worry."

"Yes, if we're going to die, we'll die together."

"you--"

"I'm not kidding. If we fail this time, not only will I die, but everyone else probably won't survive either, right?"

Kousaka Kyosuke looked at Minamoto Boya with a smile.

There are no eggs under the covering nest.

If Yamata no Orochi has already judged and destroyed the world, which one will he have missed?

Of course, every single one of them!

“Mr. Hiromasa, Kyosuke is telling the truth,” Yaobikuni advised. “Only by fighting against everyone with all our might can we survive.”

Upon hearing this, Minamoto no Hiromasa lowered his head and sighed, unable to utter a word for a moment. Kagura went to comfort him.

When Kousaka Kyosuke looked around the field again, he saw that Shuten-dōji, Suzuka Gozen, Indra, and other great demons were chatting again, and Minamoto no Yorimitsu seemed to be giving some instructions to Minamoto no Yorihira.

The gathering was quite open; everyone chatted about their own things.

Pull, pull!

Kousaka Kyosuke looked at the rabbit-eared girl who suddenly tugged at his sleeve, and when he looked up, he met her big, ruby-like eyes.

"Mr. Kyosuke, please make sure you and Ms. Kagura return safely."

"Don't worry, I was just telling Boya about my courage."

Seeing Yamausagi suddenly become so pitiful, Kousaka Kyosuke's heart softened.

I've definitely been good at spoiling this rabbit all this time. *pats head*

"Lord Kyosuke..." Yingcao seemed to have something to say as well.

Compared to the composed and reserved Yoto Hime and Hakuro, Yamausagi and Yingcao are undoubtedly the shikigami whose emotions are most easily expressed.

Kyosuke Kosaka also patted Yingcao's head with his other hand.

"You will then act alongside my phantom. Don't think this will be an easy task; the danger will be just as great as what I, Kagura, and Seimei have done."

He was also very worried about Yingcao.

Yingcao is a shikigami who is very good at healing. With one injured person after another, if she were to heal all of them, no matter how much power she has, it would not be enough.

Therefore, Kyosuke Kosaka was thinking about how to make arrangements.

The current plan to attack the key point of the formation is only a temporary arrangement, and it is quite normal to change it later.

"In the current situation, no one can be a deserter. This is how it is on the surface, and it is necessary to do it for others to see. Making subtle adjustments behind the scenes is another matter."

Kousaka Kyosuke thought.

He still wanted to assign support characters like Yingcao and Shantu to the manor, as that would be safer.

As for Yoto Hime and Hakuro, Kousaka Kyosuke is more at ease with them.

Besides, with their formidable combat abilities, it would be incredibly tactless not to send them to the battlefield.

The main concern is that the two of them are not too worried about their own safety.

Two quarters of an hour passed.

Everyone has agreed on a time, and we'll get ready to set off tomorrow.

Although the situation is urgent, according to Huang's explanation, the ceremony cannot be carried out immediately, so it is better to be cautious and make more preparations.

Taking hasty action is ultimately a reckless act.

If possible, no one would want to be like this.

Then, Kyosuke Kousaka called out to Ara and Inari-gami just as they were about to leave.

The plan was to call out to Inari-shin Gokujin.

"Lord Inari, look at these crops. I'd like to ask if there's a way to make them grow faster?"

Kyosuke Kosaka took out his newly researched, top-quality potatoes and sweet potatoes from his spatial storage, hoping Inari would give him some feedback.

"Yes, I can transform them into superior varieties that mature in three days. Even if we continue to use them for propagation, it won't change. The only downside is that it will deplete the vitality of the land..."

The Inari deity hesitated for a second or two before finally speaking.

Kyosuke Kosaka asked, "Can life be restored?"

"It will probably take several years."

"That's good. Inari God is truly amazing."

While Kousaka Kyosuke was spouting nice words, his mind was already preoccupied with how to persuade Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

The vitality of the land—this is clearly depleting the very foundation of a nation.

The Inari Goddess who was talking to Kousaka Kyosuke vaguely understood some of his plans and was very happy. She hadn't expected that Kousaka Kyosuke had found a crop even better than corn, so that the refugees outside could at least temporarily solve their hunger problem.

"Kyosuke, continue to maintain this compassionate heart. Only in this way can you control everything."

He said something out of the blue.

Kyosuke Kosaka's lips twitched: "I feel like there's no one in the world more benevolent than me."