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The two bull demons persisted in their efforts, pulling on the spirit artifact chains. Lily sheathed Dojigiri-Yasutsuna, forcefully pressed her hand against the ground, and propelled herself upward. She cleverly harnessed the bull demons’ pulling force to vault over them.

Oborozuki Muramasa delivered a swift and unexpected blow, severing half the head of a quintuple-soul bull demon. Lily utilized her momentum to wrap the chains around her legs, ensnaring another bull demon’s neck¹. Upon touching down, she forcefully yanked the chain, unbalancing him. Then, kneeling on one knee, she executed a backward stab.

The icy edge of her blade penetrated his origin soul, marking the end for the quintuple-soul bull demon and granting Lily a hard-earned victory.

Enraged by his grievous wound, the half-beheaded quintuple-soul bull demon used his horn to tighten the chain, hoisting Lily off the ground. She responded with a swift strike of her sword, severing the spirit artifact chain.

Then, the septuple-soul bull demon took to the air, aiming his giant axe at Lily’s back. Lacking in profound comprehension of celestial laws, he nonetheless possessed formidable strength and mastery over the golden flame, a natural demonic prowess of his lineage.

The axe, alight with golden flames that merged the essence of fire and molten gold, radiated intense heat and formidable energy.

In a midair twist, Lily countered, aiming not for a direct clash with the axe itself but for its handle.

With one precise strike, she unexpectedly cleaved the axe in two.

“What is this sword?!” Despite the demon’s strength, his weapon paled in comparison to Yoritomo’s. The unparalleled sharpness of Oborozuki Muramasa, combined with Lily’s meticulous application of force, split the axe head from its handle. The septuple-soul bull demon’s armament was evidently inferior, much like those wielded by his lesser counterparts.

Seizing the moment, Lily unleashed another blow, marking the septuple-soul bull demon’s face with a scar across one eye.

To Lily’s astonishment, golden flames surged from the bull demon’s eye, swiftly mending the injury.

Abandoning his axe, the demon brandished a machete and lunged at Lily. Taken by surprise, she instinctively stepped back.

From the shadows, cold arrows, each laced with a potent tranquilizing agent, flew towards her.

Ordinary arrows would pose no threat, but the potential impact of these tranquilizing arrows on Lily could be catastrophic.

Enraged, Lily tapped into her soul world to locate the source of the arrows, uncovering three Throne Stage demon archers garbed in ragged onmyoji garb, each bearing a vulture-like visage.

Wielding her sword, Lily unleashed a blade of hazy lunar light.

In a flash, the three demons were vanquished.

The septuple-soul bull demon, along with two six-eyed counterparts, advanced on Lily. Judging the sextuple-soul demon too formidable to confront directly, she pivoted to engage a previously wounded quintuple-soul adversary.

The sight of Lily charging left the bull demon stunned and desperate to flee, yet she rapidly closed the gap. A trio of swift maneuvers later, his torso was severed from his lower body.

Despite the bull demon’s remarkable healing prowess, reconstitution from such a bifurcation proved impossible.

The edge of Lily’s blade was unmatchably keen.

Bereft of her formidable arms, Oborozuki Muramasa, Lily would have found it challenging to contend with the ensemble of bull demons.

The exertion required to dispatch merely two quintuple-soul demons was immense.

“The notion of eliminating the septuple-soul bull demon to deter the rest now seems unattainable. There’s a real risk of capture if I’m not vigilant.”

Forced to adapt, Lily dodged a bull demon’s attack, vaulted over it, and sprinted off in an arbitrary direction.

Numerous demons then unleashed their demonic arts to hinder Lily’s escape, which she deftly evaded. The bystanders, reluctant to confront her head-on, opted to indirectly hamper her, seeking to decelerate her departure.

The bull demons pursued relentlessly.

With determination, Lily tapped into her soul world, conjuring cherry blossom blades aimed at dispatching the lesser demons of the Throne Stage and single-soul Big Dipper Stage employing demonic arts against her.

Yet, the demonic crowd encircling her didn’t dwindle; it swelled as more joined the fray.

Abruptly, a deeply alarming noise erupted from afar.

“What?!” Lily exclaimed in shock, facing an aura unlike any she’d encountered. Unable to gauge the newcomer’s strength, she sensed they were significantly mightier than the septuple-soul bull demon.

Lily’s worst fears materialized swiftly; an entity far surpassing her in might had made its presence known.

Her only recourse was to hasten her flight, fervently deploying her soul world’s power to thwart her adversary.

In a turn of events, the foe unleashed a formidable surge of soul world power, nullifying Lily’s hazy moon world completely.

The hostile aura gained on her swiftly. Faced with myriad hindrances and assaults from every direction, Lily found escape impossible as the gap between them steadily closed.

It wasn’t long before the menacing presence loomed directly behind Lily.

“This is bad!”

Left with no alternative, Lily chose to confront her pursuer. Whirling around, she lunged with her sword, hoping Oborozuki Muramasa would deliver a decisive, unforeseen blow.

The collision reverberated through the air as Lily’s Oborozuki Muramasa met the fractured blade of a wild, white-bearded elder, whose forehead was vastly enlarged. Despite new notches adorning the blade, it withstood the clash.

Conversely, Lily felt her very being disassemble at the impact’s force, propelling her backward.

Yet, her adversary’s swiftness was unparalleled, materializing above her instantly. Towering at five or six meters, the old man’s velocity in flight surpassed Lily’s. Without wings or domain power, he maneuvered through the air on sheer will and vitality.

Such feats were beyond the reach of a Big Dipper Stage expert lacking feathered garments.

This indicated a higher echelon of power!

Lily’s eyes widened in unparalleled alarm.

The shadowy figure soared over Lily, opting not to wield his sword but to deliver a hefty kick to her abdomen, resonating a thunderous sound.

Lily plummeted from a great height, her descent culminating in a forceful impact with the earth.

“Ah…” The kick wielded devastating force.

The kick’s ferocity nearly drove Lily to the brink of unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, two bull demons advanced, chains and shackles in hand, aiming to bind Lily.

“Begone!” The towering elder descended swiftly, dismissing the two quintuple-soul bull demons with a mere flourish of his sleeves.

“What?” Lily remained grounded, momentarily incapacitated. Astonishment took hold of her. A simple gesture from him had repelled two formidable quintuple-soul bull demons?

What magnitude of strength was this? “I… I can’t best him!”

Overwhelmed with anxiety, Lily knew even deploying her full arsenal wouldn’t secure her victory.

Confronted with the old man bearing down on her, Lily unleashed her star ribbons. “Thousand Sakura Linger!”

The star ribbon surged forth, ensnaring the elder.

Lily gasped for air, her breathing harsh and feverish. She tumbled from the crater she had formed, staggered to her feet, and sprinted away.

The elder shattered the Thousand Sakura Linger’s hold with ease and plunged his sword into the earth.

Without warning, three tendrils of stone and earth rose beneath Lily, wrapping around her legs and toppling her.

Relative to his might, the elder’s spell was modest. Lily harnessed her soul world’s energy and her sword to dismantle much of the enchantment. Yet, as the elder neared, she halted her efforts to counter with a reverse slash.

Familiar with Lily’s combat style, the elder parried with a downward sword thrust and delivered a fierce kick to her shoulder, disrupting the earthen bind and propelling her into the distance. Her attire suffered, leaving her stockings torn and her legs marred by crimson abrasions.

“This ancient fiend hasn’t even exerted his full strength yet!” A tumult of fear and fury seized Lily. Executing a midair somersault, she wielded her sword inversely, casting a nebulous lunar slash at the elder.

The elder’s muscles swelled as he clapped his hands together, astonishingly shattering Lily’s blade aura with mere flesh.

The elder’s prowess vastly surpassed Lily’s.

Lily plummeted to the ground.

As Lily attempted to rise, her eyes widened in shock. A hefty, black hoof of a bull demon pinned her sleeve to the ground.

Enveloped in minute golden flames capable of melting ninth-grade Tamahagane, her sleeve began to singe.

Compelled to look upward, she beheld an eight-meter-tall figure radiating wild, inscrutable might. His ferocity felt even more relentless than the elder’s.

This presence emanated from a colossal, dark bull demon adorned with intricate gold and fire motifs. With three heads, six arms, and seven eyes, he made the formidable septuple-soul bull demon seem like a mere underling.

“Hehehe, Mirror Girl Lily? You might not be the strongest, but your beauty surpasses description! You’re far more captivating in person than any wanted poster or vile spirit’s words could convey!” proclaimed the formidable bull demon, his tone both ancient and authoritative.

“Unhand me!” Lily felt not only humiliated under their lascivious and malevolent gazes but indignant as her prowess was under scrutiny. Fury swelled within her. She ripped her sleeve, sprang up, and ferociously assailed the three-headed, six-armed bull demon with Oborozuki Muramasa.

The bull demon, armed with six limbs, parried Lily’s attack with a large axe, its shaft black and blade golden. His other hands brandished various dark-hued weapons.

One arm, clutching a finely crafted short black iron rod, struck Lily squarely in the waist. Her form briefly faltered, then crumpled to the earth.

“Cough…” Lily remained grounded momentarily. Unwilling to kneel before the bull demon, she defiantly rose to one knee. The bull demon reached out swiftly to seize her, yet she abruptly retaliated with her sword.

Her blade made contact, slicing the bull demon’s hand and causing dark red blood to erupt, yet it wasn’t sufficient to sever his robust arm.

“Feisty one, aren’t you? I relish the challenge!” the bull demon taunted, reaching out again to grasp Lily’s hair in an attempt to hoist her up.

He was compelled to retract his hand once more as a sonorous clash resounded, sending devastating shockwaves in every direction. Lesser demons of the Throne Stage perished under the force of the collision.

Both the elder with an oversized forehead and the tri-headed, hexa-limbed bull demon, recoiled from the impact.

“Dark Gold Inferno King Mauro Kidou! You must not assail this woman!” the elder boomed, his voice laden with deep sword intent.

“Tsukou! What’s this, you old lecher? Fancy her for yourself?” taunted Mauro Kidou, with a mocking roar.

“Hahahaha! Mauro, you only have half the story. My life is dedicated to the sword, not to fleeting pleasures. His Highness Wakarai has charged me with this mission! It is he who seeks this woman’s hand,” Tsukou retorted².

“Should Wakarai of the Eight Thunder Gods personally appear, I’d relent. But to extract her from my domain? Provide 10,000 Blood Spirit Magatama and bide for three days; only then will I consent to her departure.”

1. Robinxen: If this was an anime this would be shown as fanservice somehow.
2. Robinxen: Oh, well now they’re fighting over her…