Onmyoji, a nobleman in Heian-kyo

Page 847

If everyone else is ganging up on you and you don't use some sneaky tactics, you're doomed!

"Kill, kill, kill!"

"Fight with all our might! Protect our Arakawa!"

The shouts of killing continued!

Deep within the water, in the distance, the sounds of fierce violence still reverberated.

From afar, Kyosuke Kosaka could see blood continuously spreading and erupting...

The water demon and the sea demon were locked in a fierce battle.

At a higher position, a monster with strange weapons and horns was fighting a monster clad in armor and wielding a giant, golden blade.

It goes without saying that the former is Ōtakemaru, the leader of the Sea Kingdom, and the latter is the lord of Arakawa.

"Big dummy..."

Princess Goldfish looked very sad.

Kyosuke Kosaka considered the possibility of joining the battle.

"My combat effectiveness in water has been somewhat weakened, mainly because the sea monsters and water monsters have racial bonuses... Seimei, Hiromasa, and others have also been affected to some extent, but they are actually better at fighting against some generals."

"Forcing them to join might cause Ōtakemaru to shift his focus, and that wouldn't be good."

"Let's help fight the siren first. If the Lord of Arakawa needs help, then we can help him later."

Kosaka Kyosuke was the first to propose.

Minamoto no Hiromasa said with a helpless expression, "Although I am very unwilling, I have found that archery and swordsmanship in the water have been greatly affected."

Only then did he realize the seriousness of the problem.

That is—even if you can use magic to avoid water, your movements will still be different from those on land due to the nature of being in water.

"Hey...you guys need to help fight the siren!!"

The conch monster, who had brought a group of people, hurriedly shouted.

He joined the battle immediately after bringing everyone over.

"let's start."

Kousaka Kyosuke glanced at Seimei.

Seeing that Seimei did not object to his suggestion, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Ootakemaru, who possessed the sacred artifact Yasakani no Magatama, was not so easily defeated. Arakawa no Nushi managed to maintain the stalemate only by relying on his understanding of Ootakemaru and by risking his life.

But a stalemate is a stalemate, and once it is broken, defeat will follow.

However, they wouldn't be able to offer much help if they went there.

The fact that Ōtakemaru was willing to fight Arakawa no Nushi in a one-on-one duel reflects their past friendship.

Otherwise, if he had just led his men and rushed in from the start, Arakawa no Nu would probably not have been able to hold out for long.

Let's have a one-on-one fight if we can.

Joining in during a group fight is a bad idea...

"Kill some of the brave and skilled ones first," Su Chang muttered.

Having said that, her exquisite body leaped to another spot and slapped the head off a sea monster with a single palm strike.

Kyosuke Kosaka also raised his hand, gathering his spiritual energy.

They blew the heads off those sirens who were the most ruthless...

Kagura was behind Kousaka Kyosuke, and she used her umbrella to summon the spirits of the dead to swiftly attack the sirens one by one.

Seimei, Minamoto no Hiromasa, Yaobikuni, Shiro, Fuyuka... each fought using their own methods.

"Humans! Humans have joined the battle!"

The sirens weren't stupid; they immediately began relaying the information.

In no time at all, countless sea monsters had turned their attention to them.

"We're about to be surrounded."

Kagura said.

Minamoto no Hiromasa hurriedly said, "Let's retreat a bit, we can't let them surround us!"

"I come—the soldiers, warriors, warriors, all are arrayed before me! So be it!"

Seimei raised his right hand and quickly formed a hand seal to cast a spell. A powerful spiritual energy barrier rapidly spread outwards from Seimei, blowing away a group of sea monsters.

The barriers passed right through the water demons, and thus none of them were affected.

"Get out!"

Yaobikuni suddenly said.

Kyosuke Kosaka's pupils contracted slightly, his eyes reflecting at least a hundred sirens rushing towards them in a frenzy. Without thinking, he pulled Kagura and the exhausted Goldfish Princess behind him and walked behind the battle line.

Needless to say, Seimei, Minamoto no Hiromasa, Shiro, and others.

Donghua was slow, so Sushang quickly carried her on her back and ran.

"Big dummy..."

"Let's retreat now. Dealing with too many sirens at once will quickly exhaust everyone."

Kousaka Kyosuke ran while quickly comforting Princess Goldfish.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "The Lord of Arakawa can still escape if he wants to, but I think it would be more in line with his wishes to rescue as many aquatic creatures as possible..."

"……Well."

Princess Goldfish is also very sensible.

She was well aware of the danger of being besieged.

One by one, my familiar friends were killed in the ensuing attack...

"The battle line has retreated again," one of the water spirits said.

The water sprites who retreated with Kousaka Kyosuke and the others became much more depressed.

Kousaka Kyosuke pondered.

"If we keep retreating along the Arakawa River, we'll reach a dead end. Many water spirits need water to survive. If we retreat to the mainland, it's hard to say they won't die of thirst, and our fighting strength will be weakened, not to mention the difficulty of resupply..."

Upon careful consideration of the problems he was facing, Kyosuke Kosaka realized that dealing with war was a completely different matter from simply talking about it on paper.

The boastful talk of the past is still far from sufficient when actually facing the situation.

Even if Kyosuke Kousaka knows that all he needs to do is protect his manor and the surrounding land and prevent the siren from invading, can he not think about other potential problems?

Besides, Kyosuke Kousaka had promised Princess Goldfish that he would help.

If he can't help the Lord of Arakawa, can't he help the other water spirits?

Anyway, I have to do my best!

"How about we relocate the elderly, weak, women, and children who are unable to fight to other places? We need to consider everything."

Kyosuke Kousaka asked the conch shell monster that was still alive.

The conch shell monster asked solemnly, "Lord Kyosuke, would you be willing to help with this?"

"Of course I'm willing. I live not far away, so this is a way of helping each other out."

"Then it's up to you."

"...Who should I bring?"

"Princess Goldfish, quickly take Lord Kyosuke and the others there."

"But……"

"Let's go over there first." Kousaka Kyosuke patted Goldfish Princess's head. "The matter with the Lord of Arakawa is difficult to resolve. Let's take care of his worries first."

He knew very well that in the later stages of the battle, the Lord of Arakawa would be the one to hold back the entire Sea Kingdom and protect all the people of Arakawa.

Now that we've gained the water spirits' trust, we should try our best to do these things well.

"...Okay, I understand!"

“The escort mission is too complicated, so I’ll stay here and hold the line with everyone!” said Minamoto no Hiromasa.

Kyosuke Kosaka looked at Seimei and Yaobikuni.

Seimei said, "I will also hold the line with Hiromasa. If the Lord of Arakawa encounters any problems, I will go and help him."

Yaobikuni laughed and said, "Don't forget about me too."

"Lord Seimei! I will definitely protect you!" Shiro wagged its tail.

As always, Fuyuka remained quiet, standing firmly behind Seimei.

“Then I will go with Kagura and Susou. The three of us are enough. You should try your best to protect yourselves. Only in that way can you do more and save more people.”

Although Kyosuke Kosaka was worried, he didn't try to persuade him.