Onmyoji, a nobleman in Heian-kyo

Page 843

210. The Invasion of Arakawa by the Sea Kingdom / The Matter of the Divine Treasure / Supporting Arakawa

Without any delay, the group set off.

Those who went included Seimei, Minamoto no Hiromasa, Yaobikuni, Fuyuka, and Shiro.

The guides were naturally Kyosuke Kousaka and Kagura.

The two lived next to the Arakawa River, so they were very familiar with the surroundings.

“I know a water spirit and I have her keepsake, so I should be able to try to contact other members of her kind.”

As they approached Arakawa, Kyosuke Kousaka spoke up.

He was holding a childish, funny face mask.

It was a prize specially made for Princess Goldfish at a party, similar to the mask on her head, more like a decoration.

"Her."

Minamoto no Hiromasa said something meaningful.

Kyosuke Kosaka remained silent: "He's a child, and also Kagura's friend."

What are you thinking about?

“Brother Hiromasa.” Kagura looked at Minamoto no Hiromasa expressionlessly.

Minamoto no Hiromasa turned his head away awkwardly.

Yaobikuni covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

Shiro wagged its tail and said, "Lord Boya is being too harsh on Lord Kyosuke."

Minamoto no Hiromasa immediately rolled his eyes.

He just wanted to remind Kousaka Kyosuke not to be too promiscuous, and that since he had so many wives and concubines, he should live a good life.

Kyosuke Kousaka didn't care what Hiromasa Minamoto thought.

If Kagura is nearby, Minamoto no Hiromasa will be glared at if he is even slightly impolite.

This is a special operations character.

He's not afraid of anyone.

When I was expending too much power, it was Kagura who protected me.

She's just as sweet and considerate as a little cotton-padded jacket.

We arrived at the Arakawa area.

Kyosuke Kousaka saw some more aquatic monsters come ashore.

The aquatic monsters also noticed them.

"Master Harumi!"

"It's Seimei-sama!"

Several monsters cried out in surprise.

Kousaka Kyosuke remained silent. Well, as expected, he wasn't needed.

Seimei had more face.

I also got to know more monsters.

"Kappa, carp spirit, Jiao Tu, what's going on here?" Seimei, who had been summoned, calmly stepped forward and asked in a low voice what was happening.

The kappa hurriedly said, "The monsters from Suzuka Mountain in the Sea Kingdom are coming! There are so many of them! The leader is a great monster with strange weapons and horns..."

"A great demon?" Minamoto no Hiromasa's expression hardened.

Yokai have much sharper eyesight than many humans, and can easily distinguish the power of other yokai of the same kind.

Sitting inside the seashell was a girl with a human body and a fish tail named Jiao Tu, who quietly added to the conversation after the Kappa finished speaking.

"I heard from others that the great demon was wielding the legendary divine weapon, the 'Yasakani no Magatama'."

Divine artifact, Yasakani no Magatama.

As Jiao Tu spoke, there was a moment of silence around them.

Kousaka Kyosuke understands so well.

This artifact is truly a bug-level cheat.

The added power is so great that no one can resist it.

A powerful demon with a divine weapon is roughly equivalent to a terrorist who can easily wield a Gatling gun.

If they really play guerrilla warfare without restraint, Kyoto would probably be gone in a few days.

"The legendary Yasakani no Magatama actually chose a sea monster as its master. I wonder what kind of power it possesses?"

The nun murmured in a cryptic tone.

It is indeed a renowned artifact, and thus legends about it still exist.

It's perfectly normal for the nun Yaobikuni, who has lived for hundreds of years, to know this.

The little white dog barked, seemingly frightened: "This is terrifying! A powerful demon wielding a divine artifact, leading a group of sea monsters!"

Meanwhile, Shiro's master, Seimei, remained calm and inquired about the possibility of traveling to Arakawa.

As a result, the answer was that outside visitors are not welcome at the moment.

Everyone looked at each other.

Finally, Kyosuke Kosaka arranged for Seimei, Minamoto no Hiromasa, and others to arrive at his manor first.

A group of people sat down and began to discuss.

“After defeating Arakawa, Kyoto will definitely be next.” Minamoto no Hiromasa frowned.

Kyosuke Kosaka said, "If news of the siren army attacking Arakawa gets out, it will likely cause a great upheaval. Even if it doesn't directly affect Kyoto in the short term, the indirect impacts on various aspects will be inevitable..."

Yaobikuni asked in surprise, "What are you referring to, Mr. Kyosuke?"

"It's about spring planting, and the prices of grain and salt... In short, there's instability in all aspects. Before the monsters even arrive, a group of people will die first."

"Kyosuke, I'll have to ask you for help with this."

"Uh... I'm also making efforts, at most it will just reduce the number of deaths."

Seeing Seimei looking at him earnestly, Kousaka Kyosuke felt a little guilty and decided to tell the truth.

Seimei smiled and said, "Doing your best is enough."

Kyosuke Kosaka felt a little relieved, smiled in response, and asked, "So what should we do next?"

"Now that we know the siren leader's divine weapon is the Yasakani no Magatama, we must obtain a divine weapon that can counter it..."

"Huh? Seimei, don't you have the Cloud Mirror?"

"I apologize, I may not have made myself clear before. The Cloud Mirror I possess is only half a piece, and the power I can use is limited. It is impossible to compare it with the complete Yasakani no Magatama."

“Oh dear, Mr. Hiromasa, Mr. Seimei mentioned this before, but you didn’t listen carefully at all.”

"...In short, we need to find the other half of the Cloud Mirror as soon as possible, right?"

"I've already asked others to inquire about this."

"Besides waiting for news from the other half of the Cloud Mirror, shouldn't we continue to go to Arakawa to gather information? We can't afford to lose our position suddenly, otherwise the situation will be very difficult to change."

Minamoto no Hiromasa then offered another suggestion.

He knew all too well just how bad things would get if Arakawa really fell.

"Let's wait a bit longer. This period of chaos won't be of much help. If the situation becomes truly urgent, the master of Arakawa will surely come for assistance."

Qingming replied.

Minamoto no Hiromasa asked curiously, "You also know the legendary Lord of Arakawa?"

"I've never met him, but I know he's the guardian of Arakawa. In an emergency, he'll prioritize protecting the people of Arakawa and will contact us then."

Seimei explained.

Kyosuke Kosaka rubbed his face: "If that's really the case, it means there's a good chance Arakawa will fall. I'll lead the people from the village to guard this place."

Although Ōtakemaru eventually retreated in the story.

But that's just part of the story.

It may not actually happen in reality.

In fact, in the original story of Onmyoji, it was Arakawa no Nushi who sacrificed himself to activate the sword formation to block it—that formation was still in operation even during the final battle in Kyoto!

To be honest, Kyosuke Kousaka needs it so badly!

Without this formation, it's likely that his wives' families will be the next to die.

Kyosuke Kosaka truly didn't want all of his Qin clan members, who had come here to retire, to die.

If that were the case, he would practically be the culprit who wiped out the Qin clan.