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“Sis, what do we do now?” Shiu asked.

As Lily and Shiu had claimed they were wandering samurai sisters when entering the city, they had to act accordingly while they moved within the city.

“We can’t keep walking on the street like this as it’ll draw too much attention. It’s best to wait till dawn and then inquire about the situation of the city,” Lily stated.

“But what if there’s monsters in the other lodges as well? As it’s a curfew night, it’s possible that most of the open lodges are all traps.”

“That’s true. The reason the killings of over a hundred customers in this lodge weren’t discovered may not be because it’s secluded deeply. It’s possible we might even discover that the strange occurrences in the city have already reached an uncontainable degree if we wander the city aimlessly,” Lily continued, “Since a lot of city residents have fled the city, it would be better for us to find an empty house to live in. I can employ a small-scale spirit probe that won’t catch the attention of Lord Takeda residing within the castle tower, and even if he isn’t inside the tower, it’s highly unlikely he would be in this commoners’ district.”

Lily and Shiu departed from that blood-soaked land and discovered a relatively clean middle-class family’s house hidden among the trees in a deserted spot of the hillside. They could observe a good half of the city from this place, so once Lily determined that there weren’t any monsters hidden inside the house using a spirit probe, she and Shiu entered inside to reside in it for the time being.

“I wonder when the day will arrive today,” Lily looked at the night skies outside the window.

“Are there really no monsters here?” No one had lived in this house in a long time, so it gave off a gloomy vibe, which in turn caused Shiu to look around worriedly.

“I’ve already checked our surroundings with a spirit probe,” Lily stated, “Relax. We can rest at ease in this place for a while.”

“All right,” Shiu naturally believed Lily.

…

The night stretched endlessly today.

At this moment, a group of about one hundred people were marching through the mountainous path of Kai Province towards Tsutsujigasaki Castle.

A troop of tall and strong, black-armored samurai wearing helmets with a golden crescent horn on it rode at the forefront of the group, each possessing a valiant and stalwart appearance.

Their leader was a gallant, black-armored samurai who was over 3m tall¹ and rode a huge dark red horse that was comparable to a Nioh. The samurai’s black armor had a few cyan and dark gold armor pieces mixed in and his helmet was crowned with a pair of huge black antlers that looked similar to the horns of an ancient demon god, making him look very terrifying.

The samurai had a squared face with thick brows and sharp eyes paired with a tall nose bridge. The manliness oozing from him made him appear quite gallant yet he hadn’t lost the handsomeness that fascinated women.

The samurai urged his giant steed to stop after seeing the dimly lit Tsutsujigasaki Castle within the distant darkness. He then turned around and waited as a majestic middle-aged man riding a large pitch-black bull with a pair of blood-red eyes and curved horns advanced forward to survey the castle city ahead of them.

The gallant samurai was much taller than that majestic man, but the former was still very loyal and deferential towards the latter.

The samurai lowered his head and said, “Lord Tokugawa. That’s Tsutsujigasaki Castle, the residence of the Takeda.”

Tokugawa Shigemori looked at the distant gloomy castle and said, “Honda Yahatarou. We’ve come deep into the mountains this time, yet we weren’t disturbed by monsters even once. It’s all thanks to your prowess. Hahaha.”

“My lord, I am a mere martial artist, and the fact that no monsters disturbed us really left me disappointed. If a large number of monsters had attacked us, I would’ve hunted them gladly and procured their anima!”

Honda Yahatarou wielded a nearly impossible 5m long luminescent steel spear in his hand that looked much more terrifying and longer than a tachi and had a three-pronged spearhead with an extremely realistic and huge malevolent dragonfly head made of copper at the bottom end.

“Hahahahahaha! My dear Honda, you are really brave and loyal. However, we’re going to Brother Takeda’s castle this time. Although we’re paying him a visit, it isn’t the time for you to reveal your prowess!”

“Understood! That’s truly some heartening news! However, even if it’s the Takeda clan, as long you give the word, my lord, I shall slay whoever comes our way!” Honda bowed gleefully.

“Honda. Brother Takeda possesses unfathomable strength and if it weren’t for you accompanying me, I really wouldn’t have dared to visit the acclaimed Tiger of Kai personally. However, the enemy might not necessarily be people from the Takeda clan.”

Honda didn’t understand Shigemori’s words well and merely bowed, “Hmph! Besides you, my lord, the other three of the Furinkazan are nothing in my eyes!”

“Hehehehehehe,” Shigemori looked at the tall and gallant yet treasured handsome general beside him and soliloquized internally, “Lord Kamakura oh Lord Kamakura, you probably never expected that I would find such an eccentric in Mikawa who’s known to be just under the Furinkazan. In terms of battle prowess alone, even the Tiger of Kai and Dragon of Echigo might not be his match! On top of that, my dear Honda is gallant, handsome, loyal, and unequaled. It would’ve been better if he were just a tad bit smarter, but that’s fine too as it’s inconsequential… It just makes it easier for me to control him and earn his loyalty. It would’ve been difficult to control him if he were any smarter. Hehehehe.”

An elegant-looking carriage followed at the rear of the group and seated within it were Tokugawa Shigemori’s wife, Yukiko, and the kunoichi, Mayumi.

“Forgive me, Yumi. You were forced to tag along and listen to Shigemori’s orders because of me,” Yukiko stated gently.

“It has nothing to do with you. My original mission was to approach Shigemori and strengthen the connection between him and the Hundred Demons. Although I resisted on the surface, even if he hadn’t used you to threaten me, I would still have fulfilled his request,” Mayumi sat perfectly straight in a seiza within the carriage with a straight sword equipped on her back.

“However, Sister Yukiko, do you really have no plans to escape? If you really eloped with that tea master because of love back then, have you never thought about avenging him?” Mayumi questioned.

“Yumi, you’re still too young. Are you perhaps still a virgin?”

“Eh?” Mayumi was taken aback and her face flushed up instantly, “Sis, why are you asking such a question suddenly?!”

“Women seek love when they are young, but once they grow up, what they actually need is someone to rely on, especially so for women living in these chaotic times. That tea master was unable to protect me and I was snatched by Shigemori as a result, so it’s natural for me to rely on Shigemori. Women just need a way to live through these dark times via their own means, that’s all,” Yukiko stated calmly with a sigh.

Mayumi looked at her sister and her heart ached after seeing her reduced to such a cowardly wife. However, she had begun to have some doubts after accompanying her sister for the past few days. Thus, she lowered her head and asked, “Is that really the truth?”

“Sigh. What else could it be then?” Yukiko replied with a clear gaze, “I’m ordained to have such a fate. Whether be it sincerity or weakness, it really isn’t something that we women can decide. The way for a woman to live successfully in these chaotic times is to turn what we consider as fake and hate the most into reality and affection. Otherwise, we won’t be able to change anything and would only end up feeling sad and empty.”

“Hmph! That’s a really good reasoning, but…”

Mayumi’s eyes brightened suddenly and she used her transcendent speed to draw her sword towards Yukiko who was sitting in front of her.

“Whoosh!”

The resulting wind caused Yukiko’s long hair to float up, and the silver edge of the sword stopped just a hairsbreadth away from Yukiko’s forehead.

Yukiko’s gaze remained as calm as ever and she didn’t even move an inch, showing no reaction at all.

However, Mayumi arrived at the realization the moment she saw the tranquil and unchanging look in Yukiko’s eyes.

“Hmph!” Mayumi snorted coldly and the two remained silent for a long time.

The once dazzling genius of the Midō clan, the sister who Mayumi could never defeat, seemed to have returned in that instant.

Mayumi felt quite astonished internally, “This definitely isn’t an ordinary wife eking out a living in these chaotic times. An ordinary woman’s eyes would react when facing such a swift sword strike! On the other hand, showing no reaction is the most fearsome reaction. Sister Yukiko saw through my strike before I even initiated it! Just what exactly are you planning under the cover of a meek wife’s disguise, Sister Yukiko?”

…

At this moment, Lily and Shiu had already fallen asleep under the protection of an alarm spell.

In the past, Lily was able to maintain her vigilance even when she was asleep, but on this night, the mirror snuggled against her underbody radiated an unprecedented and bizarre amethyst glow. However, this misty amethyst glow didn’t drag Lily into the mirror space and instead brought her into quite an immersive dreamland.

“Where… am I?”

The dreamland was filled with pitch-black darkness everywhere.

Why did I wake up in this darkness?

“Wasn’t I in a house in Tsutsujigasaki Castle? Is this perhaps a dream?”
“No. If it’s a dream, why do I know it’s a dream?”
“But it doesn’t seem like I’d be able to wake up by myself.”

Lily walked within this endless black mist and ran into a giant white dog.

The giant dog looked very familiar to her.

But before Lily could question it, the giant dog turned around and fled after spotting Lily. Although Lily chased after it, all that remained in front of her was the endless black mist, so she failed to find it.

The mist ahead of her turned turbulent suddenly and a procession of tall and majestic, pitch-black demons walked out from within. This frightened Lily as she only dressed in a flimsy yukata and had no weapon and also had no place to hide. However, those demons acted like they couldn’t see her and walked over towards her, even passing through her body directly.

“What? I am nonexistent? This place isn’t the real world, but what exactly is it?”

Although Lily felt afraid, she knew that this strange secret might provide a lead regarding his senior sister. As the demons weren’t able to discover her, she decided to turn around and follow them.

The demons appeared to be gathering at a region that was surrounded by a lot of demons, so Lily stepped forward and passed through these giant demons and arrived at the front. There, she saw a beautiful and mature woman shrouded in a silver halo floating in the air at the center of the demons’ encirclement.

This woman wore little to no flimsy undergarments that consisted of a short thin-strapped triangular garment for the crotch while her chest was bound by a small cloth strip that barely managed to keep her magnificent mounds from popping out of the cloth binding that seemed like it would slip at any moment.

The woman possessed a mature and calming beauty with black hair that had slightly longer locks of pretty blue hair mixed in. A white headband adorned her forehead, and her hair was split evenly to two sides, cascading down her shoulders on either side of her temples gracefully.

The woman had an aloof expression, but her cheeks were also tinged with a slight impressionable blush. Her slender and charming figure was covered in a layer of translucent sweet-smelling sweat and she had no flab at all. Furthermore, even though she possessed the mature charm of a woman in her thirties, her skin was as smooth and taut as a young girl’s.

And such a woman, who was dressed in thin and revealing semitransparent undergarments, was performing a charming and rigorous dance while holding a gohei², a ceremonial Shinto wand, in the middle of the gluttonous, salivating demons.

The dance movements were dignified and solemn, bereft of even an iota of enticement, but the performance of the nearly buck-naked mature women with perfect beauty oozed indescribable licentiousness.

“W-Who is this big sister? And why is she performing such a noble and resolute dance in front of the demons while wearing such immodest garments?”

Lily felt like she had seen this woman somewhere, but she couldn’t remember where.

“Aaahh!”

Lily woke up with a startled cry at this moment.

She saw that she was drenched in sweat all-over and that even the floor was moist with sweat, which made her wonder if it was really just sweat.

However, Lily had no time to ponder about such trivialities and recalled the bizarre yet shameful dream that was still fresh in her memories.

“So, it was actually a dream… but why was it different from my usual dreams and why do I remember its contents so clearly? Also, why did I realize the possibility that I might’ve been dreaming?”

The exceptionally intelligent Lily arrived at the truth immediately.

“Yes! It was a dream!”
“But it wasn’t my dream.”
“It was that… big sister’s dream!”

1. Silva: Is everyone here either a dwarf or giant?
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gohei