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“Criminal minister Fujiwara no Ayaka, do you still refuse to accept the edict?!”

Ayaka gently pushed Hoshi Murasaki away and knelt there with her head lowered. Her hair was drooping and her white clothes dragged on the cold, dark ground.

She picked up the edict, “Your Majesty, why did you…”
“Ayaka! You have verified the imperial edict yourself, right? Isn’t it real?” Minamoto no Hirohikari asked urgently.
“It is real.”
“Then why aren’t you obeying the edict? Do you want to disobey the edict? That’s considered treason!”

However, Ayaka’s hands holding the edict were trembling and she didn’t respond.

“Lady Rokuhara, capture Ayaka on the spot and escort her to the Bureau of Justice!” Minamoto no Hirohikari barked.
“As you command, Lord Minamoto no Hirohikari,” Shenzu unsheathed her sword and pointed it at Ayaka, “Take her down!”
“Don’t even think about it!” Hoshi Murasaki drew out the straight sword from her back and stood in front of Ayaka. The old man in black also stood up to protect her.

All the mikos raised their swords.

Who in this world truly listened to the emperor? The Genji warriors were loyal to the Genji Clan, and the soldiers and commanders of each house were obedient to their lords. Similarly, the battle mikos were only loyal to Ayaka.

“What? Do you really want to rebel? Do you really think our court’s tens of thousands of troops are pushovers?” Minamoto no Hirohikari scolded.
“Take down all of these rebels!” Shenzu ordered.

Hundreds of black-armored Rokuhara troops surrounded the gate with long spears and swords, closing in on the battle mikos.

“Who dares to make a move?!” Ayaka suddenly uttered in a low voice.

Boom! A strong wave of energy rushed in all directions, throwing the elite black-armored Rokuhara Army into chaos. Hundreds of people fell after getting blown away and many warhorses neighed in fright.

“Fujiwara no Ayaka, do you really intend to disobey the emperor? Do you really want to rebel?” Minamoto no Hirohikari sternly reprimanded while stepping back.

Ayaka remained kneeling on one knee, and the surrounding atmosphere gradually calmed down. However the army of black-armored soldiers did not dare to step forward for a while.

“I don’t dare.” Ayaka bowed her head and said.
“Then why are you resisting arrest?! This is an imperial edict! Disobeying the edict is tantamount to treason!”
“Middle Counselor, I have doubts about the imperial edict! Therefore, I cannot accept it.”
“Nonsense, didn’t you just admit it yourself that this imperial edict is real?”
“Yes, the imperial edict may be real, but the emperor is young. How can I be sure that he wasn’t forced by someone to write such an unusual edict? I want to meet the emperor in person.”

“You have been relegated to the status of a commoner. You are not qualified to meet the emperor. Former Lord Chief Advisor, I would like to apologize for our disrespectful actions on behalf of the imperial edict. Personally, I still respect you to some extent. Please, if you have anything to say, come with us to the Bureau of Justice to discuss it. The chief advisor’s manor will be sealed and everyone will be arrested.”
“If you won’t allow me to meet the emperor in person, I won’t believe the imperial edict!”

“You!!! Fujiwara no Ayaka, don’t be stubborn and add more to your crimes! Lady Rokuhara, do it! Take her down!” Minamoto no Hirohikari pointed at Ayaka and ordered fiercely, but he couldn’t help backing away.

Hundreds of black-armored soldiers once again surrounded them.

“Take down Fujiwara no Ayaka and kill anyone who dares to resist!” Shenzu ordered.

“Kill!!!”

In an instant, hundreds of black-armored soldiers released powerful spiritual energy fluctuations all over their bodies and converged on Ayaka’s location.

Ayaka finally raised her head and spread her long sleeves as she floated up abruptly.

“You are all soldiers of the court, so I don’t want to kill you!”

Ayaka waved her two long sleeves, and in an instant, several white pellets of light flew out from them.

Boom! Boom! Bam! A series of explosions rang out in front of the hundreds of black-armored troops, blasting trenches around the gate of the manor on Nijo Boulevard, which blocked the army’s path.

However, these black-armored troops were extremely fierce. Dozens of people behind them pulled up their longbows and shot dozens of arrows enchanted with arcane flames at Ayaka, the court’s chief advisor.

Several white silks danced around Ayaka’s body and repelled all the arrows, sending them flying away.

“Kill!” The black-armored army howled as they crossed the trench and rushed towards the chief advisor’s manor.

“Those of the chief advisor’s manor, heed my order. Everyone, retreat into the manor; no fighting!” Ayaka shouted.

However, this time, none of the mikos who were loyal only to Ayaka obeyed her order.

The fat old man in black erupted with strong spiritual energy, “I am deeply indebted to the young miss and have watched you grow up since you were young. Today, I won’t put anyone’s edict in my eyes! Anyone who dares to harm the young miss will have to face my full strength!”

Boom! Boom! The old man in black threw out two palm strikes one after another, releasing two silver rays of moonlight that blasted several black-armored soldiers away!

Hoshi Murasaki’s sword also flared with raging spiritual flames, and together with the battle mikos, she rushed towards the black-armored soldiers.

The battle was unavoidable!

The battle mikos were fairly powerful and they fought the black-armored soldiers with great intensity!

However, the onmyojis and archers kept shooting projectiles from the rear, causing the battle mikos to get hit and fall down, where they were killed by the black-armored army!

When Ayaka saw her own subordinates and those innocent battle mikos being killed, she made up her mind and revealed killing intent!

“In that case! I’ll slaughter my way into the palace and save the emperor!”

Ayaka sacrificed several spell talismans.

These spell talismans flew into the black-armored army and exploded, turning into huge silver phantom warriors and mikos.

These warriors were all dressed in ancient-looking clothes, similar to those worn by the Tenson Clan. They wielded ancient swords, lances, and ancestral swords that shimmered with silver light. The battle mikos also held transparent naginatas.

Every one of these warriors had power comparable to the Throned General Stage!

“These are guardian spirits!” Minamoto no Hirohikari was shocked, “You actually took things used to deal with demons to resist the imperial court. Fujiwara no Ayaka, it seems that you are determined to rebel!”

Although the black-armored Rokuhara Army were elite and fierce, they were no match for the guardian spirits. The guardian spirits scattered throughout the battlefield slaughtered and threw the black-armored army into chaos!

“Arrange the formation! The Rokuhara Anti-Demon Formation!” Shenzu shouted.

The black-armored soldiers gathered in units of a hundred and laid out a hexagonal formation. Each formation was connected by an onmyoji in the middle and a black-armored warrior above the Permanence in the lead.

These anti-demon formations came towards Ayaka and attacked her with all kinds of weapons wielded by golden slender arms!

Every attack was comparable to the power of a mid-stage Throned Sovereign!

Three white lotuses surrounded Ayaka and danced around her protectively. Whenever she encountered attacks from those golden arms wielding phantom weapons, they would bloom and absorb the impact, leaving only transparent ripples.

“How dare you use the anti-demon formation against me? Are you really looking for death?” Ayaka originally didn’t want to kill soldiers of the court since they were also human, but the other party even used the Rokuhara Anti-Demon Formation against her, obviously without regard for her death!

In addition, for them to use the anti-demon formation against her, the chief advisor who was loyal to the court and the heavenly way, was a great humiliation!

Ayaka was completely disheartened and her heart was filled with a sense of helplessness. A naginata with a long white handle that emitted a silver radiance and an incredible aura, Izumomaru, appeared in her hand.

Ayaka stepped on a stream of crystal clear water, held her naginata high, and swung down her blade at a group of soldiers.

Whoosh! A silvery-white, slender and radiant blade flew towards the great formation like scattered starlight.

“Defend!” The great formation stopped attacking and gathered spiritual energy to form a protective wall in defense.

Pfft! However, the slender, silvery-white blade light easily cut through the great formation like nothing, and a dozen black-armored soldiers were killed in one stroke, causing the formation to collapse immediately.

This was already the best Ayaka could do in order to break the formation with as little casualties as possible.

She could have used a more powerful, large-scale attack to directly kill the formation of a hundred people in one blow!

Ayaka’s hands were trembling because she couldn’t bear to kill the soldiers and horses of the court, “It’s useless even if you send tens of thousands more people. Do you still want to engage in this meaningless battle? You are all the people of the court, so I don’t want to kill you. Don’t follow these treacherous people to your deaths! Stand down!”

“Shut up! Fujiwara no Ayaka, you colluded with demons and framed my teacher, Lord Rokuhara! Today, we are going to avenge my teacher’s death! Kill!”

From afar, nearly ten thousand black-amored Rokuhara troops who were trained to the highest level of speed, assembled hundreds of Rokuhara great formations at the same time, converging their spiritual energy and shining golden lights onto Shenzu’s body. Her demon horse suddenly leapt into the air, its body radiating with golden light that coalesced into a phantom image of the six-armed Wrathful King who was riding a huge golden-armored unicorn, adorned with exotic gold armor and a golden mask. Shenzu, cloaked in the phantom image of the Wrathful King that rode on a golden horse, attacked Ayaka with overwhelming power comparable to the Big Dipper Stage!

The six swords of the golden-armored Wrathful King slashed at Ayaka.

A crystal diamond appeared in Ayaka’s hand, which immediately turned into a huge iceberg that smashed towards the Wrathful King.

The Wrathful King swung his six golden swords, sweeping a slender blade of light across the sky.

Crack! Clink! Clang!

The iceberg was cut into pieces and fell down, smashing onto the streets and surrounding houses below. Only deep pits were left where dozens of houses and trees once stood.

The Wrathful King continued to gallop his horse through the air, charging towards Ayaka.

Ayaka blocked it with the white lotuses and transformed two of them into hundreds of petal blades that shot towards the Wrathful King, but they bounced away one after another and couldn’t penetrate the golden armor of the phantom image.

The last white lotus floated in front of her as the Wrathful King’s six swords struck at the same time, surprisingly cutting the lotus into pieces!

“Lady Ayaka!” Hoshi Murasaki shrieked in anxiety, but was soon restrained by several black armored warriors who surrounded her.

The golden-armored Wrathful King spurred his horse and rushed towards Ayaka like a ray of golden light!

Ayaka’s gaze was steady and the stream of water under her feet suddenly flew out.

Boom! The water, which was also spiritual in nature, entangled itself around the legs of the incredibly fast and imposing golden-armored horse, causing it to trip and stumble as it rushed towards her!

Ayaka had the lotus under her feet and dodged to the side while brandishing Izumomaru.

Izumomaru released a bright and slender arc of light that lopped off the horse’s head with a ‘puff’!

Even so, the Wrathful King’s six long swords slashed and stabbed at Ayaka. She stepped on the lotus flower and her figure danced like a celestial maiden, surprisingly dodging the six swords one by one. She then waltzed over and swung out a slash with Izumomaru.

Pfft! She cut off the head of the Wrathful King.

“What??!!” Shenzu, who was inside the Wrathful King’s body, was greatly shocked.

Ayaka’s movements were fluid and graceful as she bent her body backward in a mid-air flip, unleashing a flurry of strikes with her naginata.

A silvery-white ray of moonlight flew out!

Crack! It split the entire body of the golden-armored Wrathful King, which crumbled into countless golden specks and scattered on the spot.

Although most of the blade light’s glow was neutralized, the remaining shockwave still sent Shenzu flying, smashing her heavily onto the other side of the street where she collapsed an entire hundred-meter wall!