Demon Sword MaidenDemon Sword Maiden
“Unleash the puppets!” Ijuin ordered, putting her foot on the wooden fence.
A unit of puppeteers dressed in priestess robes showed up consequently and summoned gynoid-like samurai puppets using their charms. These samurai puppets had spirit threads connecting them to their users, giving their user complete control over their robust, dauntless bodies. The threads also allowed the puppeteers to make the puppets walk down the steep cliff and kill the monsters trying to climb up.
Most of the red-skinned mountain imps got shot down by the gunmaidens, but the few surviving ones still tried to climb the cliff. However, all of them got slain by the puppets hanging down from the clifftop.
The sudden, successive ambushes left the central unit of the demon army flustered, leaving them trapped in the valley.
The few thousand monsters who had charged toward the riverbank in front of them got isolated because of this.
Inside the army headquarters at the riverbank.
“Dammit! Just what is Kagami Lily doing? How could she allow the monsters to pass through?” A general from one of the Genji’s cadet branches complained.
“Commander Ashikaga! Kagami Lily has violated the orders given to her. We must punish her for this!” Minamoto no Tsukawa shouted in the warship’s hold, which served as the army headquarters.
“You’re wrong!” Minamoto no Yoshitada interjected, “I’m afraid it’s all a part of Ms. Kagami’s strategy. She allowed the vanguard to pass through and attacked the middle section of the army to cut off the vanguard’s path of retreat, making them the perfect target for our attacks!”
Ashikaga Makoto stood up and said, “That’s right! Return to your camp and kill those monsters with your cavalry unit, Tsukawa!”
“Hah? You want me to face them?” Tsukawa did not seem that receptive to the idea.
Makoto countered icily, “You’ve done nothing but spew sarcasm ever since we set out into battle, Tsukawa. You didn’t join the army to just criticize Lily, right?”
Makoto held quite a grudge against these fellows for forcing her to order Lily to cover the retreat for the court’s army.
“Tch. All right. I’ll do it!”
Although Tsukawa hated Lily, he still followed the commander’s order and led his cavalry unit to attack the demon army’s vanguard. However, he just outflanked the monsters and lowered their numbers slowly to conserve his strength, making it clear that he had no will to battle.
Makoto revealed a disappointed look on her when she saw this and said, “Go deal with them, Hiromasa.”
“Yes, commander!”
Minamoto no Hiromasa led a 1000 strong elite Genji unit and charged into the demon army’s vanguard with a cycloid scale battle formation, giving rise to death cries among the monsters.
The Uesugi clan’s cavalrywomen on Honganji Temple attacked the rear of the demon army’s vanguard at this moment, resulting in their utter defeat.
Yoshitada looked at the distant temple from the warship’s deck and soliloquized, “It looks like Kagami Lily is really versed in the art of war. How unexpected1.”
…
…
The extended night still continued, and the curtain dropped on the first battle a few hours later. Only a few samurai women in Honganji Temple got injured from the demons’ javelins and magic. None of them had perished in this battle, while thousands of monsters had lost their lives.
The demon army was thus forced to retreat for the time being.
The outcome even made Airi look at Lily in a new light, “Have you really not learned the art of war, Lily?”
Lily answered helplessly, “I hope you both will correct me in case I make a wrong decision, Ms. Airi, Ms. Ijuin. I’m really unversed in the art of war and just strategize with reducing the casualties in mind.”
Lily was not being modest on purpose. Although there was a chance that she was really good at commanding an army, she still felt quite uneasy.
…
…
Ibaraki Doji and Kamaki faced each other on a rocky hill dozens of kilometers away from Honganji Temple.
“I never imagined the humans would order Kagami Lily to cover their retreat and defend Honganji Temple.” This was a surprise for even someone as clever as Ibaraki. He saw Lily as the main fighting force of the court’s army and believed that she was the most talented samurai woman in Heian, so he found it baffling that she had been assigned to such a throwaway position.
“Are humans really so foolish, Lord Ibaraki? They’ve literally exposed her for attacks,” Kamaki asked.
“They are foolish indeed!” Ibaraki Doji said, “I can’t believe they are scheming against each other in such dire circumstances.”
Ibaraki looked at Honganji Temple and said, “However, it won’t be easy to send troops past Honganji Temple with Kagami Lily guarding it. She’s a very shrewd, unpredictable woman. Even I can’t predict what she will do, and she’s strong on top of that. Even I will have difficulty breaking through her guard if she works with the human elites to restrain me with their demon slaying battle formation.”
“I have to report this to Lord Shuten.”
An eldritch voice transmission jade floated up on Ibaraki’s palm. This voice transmission orb had been modified to work in Tanba, which was Shuten Doji’s hideout, so it could be used freely within its lands, and was only possessed by the forces under him.
Ibaraki informed Shuten about Lily’s placement in Honganji Temple and explained the difficulties that came with it.
The devilishly charming Shuten Doji chuckled after hearing Ibaraki’s report. “Heh. It looks like the court’s army is already in shambles, Ibaraki. Even 20,000 of them are nothing comparable to Kagami Lily alone.”
“Just forget about decimating the court’s army. Lily’s a smart woman, so I bet that she will ambush you from behind the moment you break through, subjecting you to a pincer attack from front and behind. However, you can also use this chance to surround Honganji Temple. It doesn’t matter how many men you lose or how many humans you kill in this battle, Ibaraki. I will award you with one hundred years of merit as long as you can capture Kagami Lily for me!”
Ibaraki realized Shuten’s intention the moment he heard this.
“What if the court’s army comes to aid Honganji Temple after we surround it, though? That would make us a target for a pincer attack again and leave us in a disadvantageous position again.”
“Hahaha. The court’s army will not come to her rescue. I’m betting on it.”
“What?!” Shuten’s claim took Ibaraki aback.
“It’s not that hard to figure out, Ibaraki. Do you really believe the court’s army cares about Kagami Lily when they’re treating her like a throwaway piece?” Crimson eldritch flames lit up inside Shuten Doji’s pupils.
Ibaraki did not order the demon army to attack Honganji Temple immediately and laid down a spell formation to boost the strength of the voice transmission orb in a cave within the woods instead.
A slightly unstable, flickering image of a stunning woman who had her hair styled in a braided updo appeared inside the voice transmission orb.
“Oh, Lord Ibaraki. Weren’t you battling with the court? How come you’ve contacted me now? Don’t you know that I have no interest in handsome men?” The stunning woman blinked coquettishly as she greeted him.
“Haha. Just how deep into the mountains have you gone to train, Ms. Momiji? I had to spend one magatama and eight charms just to get in contact with you.”
“You should know better than to ask me that, Lord Ibaraki. I’m very busy right now.” Momiji exhaled seductively, making a layer of mist appear in front of her image.
Even Ibaraki felt helpless when he saw her attitude and said respectfully, “I’ve run into some trouble and hope that you can help me out, Ms. Momiji.”
“You want my help? Sure. Tell me what you want me to do.”
“Can you pass a message from me to a potential collaborator in the court’s army in Tanba?”
“How do you want me to do that without making it clear who it is, Lord Ibaraki?”
“I wouldn’t have asked for your help if I knew who it was, Ms. Momiji. I’m afraid you have a better understanding of the court’s circumstances and have wider channels than me. I hope you will do it, Ms. Momiji, since it relates to the safety of Mt. Ooe.”
“Stop pressuring me by making it sound so important now. I’ve been in a good mood recently, though, so I don’t mind helping you. Say it. I’ll pass the message to the right person after careful consideration.”
Ibaraki told Momiji about the current situation and Shuten Doji’s intentions.
“Hahaha. You’re so vicious, Lord Ibaraki. You’re literally offering an armistice to the court’s army by proposing that you’ll allow them to withdraw safely as long as they don’t aid Kagami Lily.” Momiji’s eyes flashed with a bewitching light.
“Haha. You’re really wise, Ms. Momiji. I’m afraid you are the only one who can help me do it!” Ibaraki beseeched with a smile on his face.
“I’m not that unreasonable, you know. However, you refused to give me two pots of draconic twilight bee honey for concocting something last time…”
“You’re asking for too much, Ms. Momiji… The draconic twilight bee honey in my possession is an ingredient for creating a low-grade elixir…”
“You refuse, then? Well, I just recalled something I need to do, see you la—”
“Please wait!” Cold sweat formed on Ibaraki’s forehead when he heard her response, but he continued in a calm tone, “It’s only right to send this honey to the most beautiful woman in this world. I will have my subordinate deliver it to you, Ms. Momiji.”
“Heh. You’ve got a glib tongue now, don’t you? It has improved my impression of handsome men. You better watch your back now,” Momiji chuckled.
“Ahem. Well, then. I’ll be waiting for good news, Ms. Momiji. I hope you will inform me about it immediately since I’m making Lord Shuten wait.”
“I know. Hehehe,” Momiji chuckled seductively and ended the transmission.
…
…
The extended night still continued as before, but bright fires illuminated Port Ayabe today.
The court’s fleet had already arrived at the port, so everyone was busy with work right now.
Although the court lacked warships, it was not that difficult for them to arrange some large cargo ships and passenger ships if carrying people was all that needed to be done.
Prince Narinaga looked at the ships dock at the shore from his palanquin under the protection of several samurai.
“Great. The army should be able to retreat once these ships reach the frontline in a few days.” Prince Narinaga’s pretty face lit up with joy. “Sister Lily should be able to return, then. I can’t wait to see her…”
Prince Narinaga blushed.
“Hmm?” He raised an eyebrow when he saw massive, armored ships with black sails move towards the port under the freezing light of the dark sky.
In a room within the provisional headquarters in Port Ayabe.
The formal-robed Minamoto no Hirohikari sat in seiza in front of a voice transmission orb alone here.
A psychedelic light illuminated the interior of the jade, hiding the face of the hatted man’s image inside it, but it still failed to contain the unfathomable aura oozing from him.
Hirohikari shuddered when he saw this man and bowed down reverently, “Your Excellency.”
“Both the court and Shuten Doji have achieved their objectives in this war, Hirohikari. Continuing to fight the demons is just a waste of military resources, so pull back the army as soon as possible.”
“The fleet you dispatched has already arrived, Your Excellency. I’ll make them speed up their pace.” A layer of cold sweat formed on Hirohikari’s forehead as he responded to the man.
“Shuten’s side has proposed an armistice, by the way.”
“An armistice?” Although Hirohikari felt shocked, he did not dare to question the man and continued listening silently.
…
…
“I find the condition for this armistice acceptable,” said the dark shadow2.