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“Kagami Lily! It’s that woman again!” Fujiwara no Renbo’s face started twitching.

“Lord, are you sure this incident is the result of that Kagami Lily?”

The Imperial Chancellor immediately sent Arima back to the Izumo shrine, the magatama cost was not something they cared about now.

Within half a day, Arima returned.

He had confirmed that Kagami Lily had indeed arrived at the shrine a few days ago as a miko administrator. Some people witnessed a huge cherry blossom tree during the night of the battle and her whereabouts are unknown now.

“Looks like it really was that Kagami Lily. That Sakura Blizzard is her domain!” Fujiwara no Yoshio concluded.

“Yes, our retainers investigated the grounds. The blade marks left are very similar to the ones Kagami Lily left on the competition field, only stronger.” Arima added.

“Kagami Lily…as expected, it was you, you death deserving b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲. You’ve gone against me so many times, injured my eldest son on the tournament stage, and now you’ve killed my second son and my uncle! Hateful! My son! You died so miserably…aghhhh!” Renbo sorrowfully cried.

He wiped his tears and vowed, “Kagami Lily, I will tear you to pieces!!!”

“Kagami Lily is one of Ayaka’s close confidants in the imperial court. Since she arrived in Heian-kyo she’s done much, she conveyed the Heavenly Oracle, solved Fayumi no Yoruko’s murder case, and even won the championship of the Yoshitsune Memorial martial competition. She is a very prominent military official now!” Arima said.

“Lord! Previously, Ayaka suffered many roadblocks before, though she had the skill, but was often restrained. But after Kagami Lily arrived, what issue has Ayaka accomplished that was not related to Kagami Lily?”

The group sat shocked, that seemed to be true!

“Only, Kagami Lily could be considered one of the top geniuses in the world, but how is it possible for her to defeat one of the Yamato’s Eight Legions, Lord Yaiba?” A samurai asked.

Ibaraki Doji snorted, “Do not judge that woman with regular logic. Even my arm was slashed off by that woman, and she had not yet attained peak permanence strength back then.”

Ibaraki Doji did not know, in fact Lily had only been an adept at the spirit jade level.

“Yes, when that woman acts she does so unscrupulously! Our honorable, elegant warriors¹ have repeatedly lost to her!”

“That’s right, Ayaka might be powerful, but as the Chief Advisor she is constrained by her identity! In the past, she lacked such a capable subordinate!”

“Ever since Kagami Lily appeared, Ayaka was like a tiger gaining wings, all obstacles being swept aside! Although that woman’s power is not among the peak of Heian-kyo, she has no scruples, no restraints, and is very loyal to Ayaka! Her appearance has destroyed the long standing balance of this dynasty²!”

The Fujiwara clan members started discussing the issue.

Fujiwara no Arima stroked his beard, saying “As it is, if we don’t eliminate Ayaka’s right-hand woman, it will be difficult to shake her!”

“Right, as long as that woman is there, even if we can restrain Ayaka, who knows what crazy thing she will do to sabotage us!” Fujiwara no Yoshio nodded.

The Imperial Chancellor gritted his teeth in hatred, “This hatred for my son’s murderer, we cannot live under the same sky! We must eradicate that woman or we will not be able to focus on Ayaka! Though Ayaka is strong, she is in the light, Kagami Lily does not conform to logic and acts in the shadows! It’s hard to take precautions against her! Kagami Lily must be eliminated first!”

“Eliminate Kagami Lily!” The group seemed to have reached a consensus.

“Lords, that Kagami Lily sliced off my arm, if we speak of hatred, then my hatred should be greater than most of yours. I feel that this Kagami Lily must be dealt with, but there’s no need to kill her. That country toppling beauty, as long as she can be captured, not only can the lords take your anger out on her, she can be used to blackmail Ayaka! Will it not be two birds with one arrow?” Ibaraki Doji proposed, a vicious look on his face.

“Yes!³” The Imperial Chancellor immediately applauded, “Even if we need to kill her, she cannot be allowed to die so easily! I will carve my hate and revenge into her bit by bit! I will let her know what the taste of despair is!”

“But…” Yoshio protested, “If she really killed Lord Yaiba and Lord Hiroto, how can she be easy to capture? Besides, her whereabouts are unknown!”

Ibaraki Doji proposed, “Lords, you do not need to worry. The situation has already reached this point, she cannot be allowed to return to Heian-kyo. If she testifies to the Chief Advisor⁴, then I’m afraid none of the lords here will be safe, we are all already on the same boat. Allow me to contact Lord Shuten, we of Mount Ooe will definitely put forth our all, but we request that the lords also completely cooperate. Let us capture Kagami Lily and subdue Ayaka!”

Overjoyed, the Imperial Chancellor laughed, “If Shuten Doji can take action against that little woman, then she will definitely die, ahahahahaha!”

“The lords should also think up of methods, I will go make a report.” Ibaraki Doji got up and returned to the dark hut he was hiding in, he naturally had a voice transmission orb.

……
……

Tanba Province, Mount Ooe’s Demon Cave.

Shuten Doji took a big gulp of wine while enjoying the service of several women.

A huge orb next to his throne lit up, sending a stream of spirit energy in, Shuten saw Ibaraki’s face appear within the orb.

“Your highness.”
“Ibaraki, how is it? Have you grasped Ayaka’s weakness?”
“Your highness, the Fujiwaras was about to succeed, but their plans were destroyed by a woman.”
“Woman? Who? Did Ayaka discover the plot?”
“No, it’s a woman called Kagami Lily.”

“Kagami Lily? Where have I heard that name before… Yes, that’s the name of the woman who chopped off your arm. It’s said that she’s a country toppling beauty, is that true?”

“Your highness, in my eyes, though she chopped off my arm, I still must say, in the hundreds of years I’ve followed your highness, and the countless women I’ve seen, all those women added together are not as good as one of Kagami Lily’s smiles.”

“What?” Shuten Doji’s eyes lit up, among the Three Great Arch-Demons, he was the most lustful. In the past, Lily was too weak to draw his attention, “So, she is more beautiful than Ayaka and that swordswoman invading my Tanba province?”

“Your highness, how should I say this…Kagami Lily is different from women like Ayaka. Women like Ayaka are naturally beautiful, though their dominant personalities make them look gorgeous, it takes away from their femininity. Kagami Lily though? Not only does she have such a feminine bearing, she also processes world leading martial talent. Such a woman will not appear again in a thousand years.”

“Such a woman exists in the world? You said, she was the one who ruined our plan?”

“That’s right…” Ibaraki told Shuten about how Lily had killed Yaiba of the Yamato’s Eight Legions and taken the scroll, as well as other various deeds she had done in the few short months since arriving in Heian-kyo.

“Ibaraki, are you telling me that while Ayaka guards her seat of power in Heian-kyo, she has Kagami Lily act out as her hands and feet, and that it will be difficult to deal with Ayaka without eliminating Kagami Lily?”

“Indeed, your highness.”

“Hmm, wouldn’t it be a pity to kill such a fascinating woman? If she can be captured, not only will such a fascinating one-of-a-kind beauty be mine, she can also be used to blackmail Ayaka⁵!” Shuten smiled.

“That’s right, your highness is brilliant! Your thoughts are exactly what I wanted to say!” Ibaraki praised.

“Ahahahahahaha!” Shuten roared with laughter, “Interesting, interesting! To think our battle with Ayaka has just started and such an incredible woman has appeared! Good! Ibaraki, if this woman is as strong as you have said, then you and those Fujiwara geezers will find it hard to capture her, I will send someone to help out!”

“Thank you, your highness!”

“Remember, you must capture this Kagami Lily alive! Capture her, and a thousand benefits will land in our hands, if she dies, then Ayaka will crazily fight us, even if we win, our losses will be severe.”

Indeed, to deal with a peak powerhouse like Ayaka, it was very difficult to kill at once, she would need to be slowly constrained, weakened and trapped…if they were unprepared and Ayaka killed her way to Mount Ooe and used everything against Shuten, even if Shuten had the home advantage, the result would be difficult to say!

“Attendants!” Shuten roared.
“Your highness.” A blue demon walked.
“Go and summon the Lord of Mount Hiei!

……
……

Lily had already been riding for a day, at dusk she could already see those sky stretching mountains surrounded by celestial aura. Each mountain was like a pillar stretching from the earth to the heavens. In contrast, the surrounding mountains could only be called hills.

Lily instinctively knew that this was Mount Izumo⁶.

Riding on her Demon Hound, she rode toward the mountain.

Though she could see the towering mountain in the clouds from the cliffs, it still took her an entire night to reach the foot of the mountain. Fortunately, demon hound’s body was made of resentment and knew no exhaustion, all it needed was a bit of resentment from Lily.

A blade maiden’s spirit aura needed to be absorbed, but resentment could be generated and what a blade maiden did not lack the most, was resentment. When she arrived at the foot of the mountain, it was already in the small hours and could no longer see the mountain, only endless forests covering the moon.

Within the forest, there was a small path, on that path was an ancient red wooden lantern post, on that white lantern box was writing the word “Izumo”. It looked very simple, but when compared to that giant celestial mountain, it formed a very sharp contrast.

After returning the demon hound to her mirror, Lily took her first step onto the long mountain path with no end in sight.

1. Yuki: Is this guy being sarcastic? Or did they not notice their actions were very much illegal and not honorable.
2. Robinxen: Good! Nothing is better than shattering false peace.
3. Yuki: What was it that you said about being ‘honorable and elegant?’ Please repeat it to me again?
   Silva: Yes, it’s a vey honorable and elegant act to kidnap someone and use them as blackmail.

   There, I said it.

4. Robinxen: Luckily for us Lily isn’t the one who needs to testify.
5. Robinxen: SO ORIGINAL!
6. Robinxen: Let’s see how this unfolds.