sinovels Chapter 109 The War Begins
Chapter 109 The War Begins
Chapter 109 The War Begins
Bixi (Wang Jianguo): "It's better to have what you have yourself than what your parents have! You can't always pin your hopes on ghosts and gods! It's ultimately unreliable!"
Ya Zi (Chen Yang): "Isn't there still me? Give me some time! When the time comes, I'll wield the Four Swords of Zhuxian in my left hand..."
"Right hand, Heaven-Turning Seal! Gods and Buddhas alike will be slain! Even Xia Jie cannot act recklessly in China!"
Chen Yang was lost in his fantasy again!
Su Fan also helped to corroborate Chen Yang's theory of the revival of the ancestral star's spiritual energy, making the inference seem more reliable.
Guiding people to develop a special sense of identity and mission towards their own civilization can not only enhance their enthusiasm and resilience in exploring the world of mountains and seas, but also provide an inner cohesion in the future when they may come into contact or conflict with other civilizations.
Moreover, the revival of spiritual energy isn't necessarily a bad thing, and Su Fan will inevitably cause trouble in the future anyway; the two are perfectly complementary. Su Fan can't possibly only cause trouble within the Confucian cultural sphere in reality.
A port at the northern tip of Shikoku Island —
A chilling aura filled the field, and ghostly figures loomed overhead. Tokugawa Koji had completed his final pre-battle mobilization and deployment. One hundred thousand ghostly soldiers stood in a solemn formation, their dark, cloud-like aura almost solidified, with five thousand servants following behind them.
Tokugawa Koji, holding a tiger tally and with a long sword at his waist, stood on a makeshift platform. He was practicing the barely mastered "Nine Netherworld Soul-Forging Technique" to resist the dense Yin energy around him, while simultaneously feeling a new, cold, and powerful aura within his body. His eyes were sharp as knives.
"Soldiers!" Tokugawa Koji's voice was slightly hoarse but full of fervor. "Our lord trusts us, entrusting us with the weighty responsibility of conquering Kyushu and proclaiming the might of the Xia Dynasty! This battle will vindicate us! It will expand the territory of the Xia Dynasty! Let those ants who dare to defy the might of Heaven with paper talismans understand, in their despair and wails, who is the true master of this land!"
"The land of Kyushu is rich, yet it is usurped by mediocre men! The Japanese king is corrupt and incompetent! The sorcerers are just playing tricks!"
Today, our mighty army will sweep away all obstacles and annihilate all our forces! Those who submit will be spared and enjoy the bounty of summer! Those who resist will have their entire families exterminated, their souls scattered, and never to be reincarnated!
"Now, follow me—across the sea! To conquer the barbarians!"
The ghostly soldiers were silent, but their murderous aura surged like a roar. The servants, on the other hand, erupted in shouts that were uneven but uttered with all their might.
Tokugawa Koji's actions here are huge, attracting worldwide attention! After all, Xia Jie wanted things to escalate as much as possible!
So Tokugawa Koji even had someone write a manifesto to denounce the traitors, openly telling everyone that they would destroy the Japanese puppet regime!
Nature has attracted the world's attention, with countless satellites in the sky watching the struggle between Japan and the West!
The impact of transmitting high-precision satellite images in real time to the screens of the world's top decision-makers is indescribable.
No longer a blurry battle video, but a clearly visible, massive supernatural army moving! The rolling black clouds, the ghostly figures that appeared and disappeared, and the chilling, deathly, and violent aura that seemed to be felt even through the screen sent shivers down the spines of all who witnessed it.
"Is this the army of the Xia Kingdom?"
"An army composed entirely of spirits, or rather, ghosts? Their numbers are enormous!"
"Based on previous data, conventional weapons are completely ineffective? Is there any hope for Japan?"
"Can the Shinto talismans that Japan has been tinkering with lately really stop it?"
Shock, fear, disbelief, and a touch of morbid curiosity permeated the global high command and intelligence community.
Countless analytical reports flooded in, attempting to assess the combat strength and weaknesses of this massive army of ghosts.
Speed of travel and potential damage.
The military's contingency plans were repeatedly rehearsed, and diplomats held urgent consultations on possible countermeasures and statements.
On Honshu Island, especially in Sakura City, the atmosphere was extremely tense. Despite the "golden shield" of the Onmyoji and the hope of a counterattack brought by Shinto talismans.
But seeing the dark, overwhelming army of demons rushing towards Kyushu Island from the satellite, a sense of despair still washed over many people like a cold tide.
Inside the Yin-Yang Shrine, Abe no Gen stood on the highest star-gazing platform, his silver hair and moon-white hunting robe fluttering slightly in the night breeze. His eyes held neither sorrow nor joy, only a profound indifference.
"My lord! Tokugawa Koji's demon army has set off! They are expected to arrive at the coast of Kagoshima, Kyushu, within a few hours!" The head of the Abe family rushed over, his voice filled with barely concealed anxiety. "The Kyushu garrison has sent an urgent request for reinforcements!"
"Understood," Abe Gen replied calmly, his gaze still fixed on the distance. "Order the Kyushu garrison to resist steadily, buy time, and wear down the enemy's morale and fighting spirit. Focus on defending key towns and transportation hubs to avoid being surrounded and annihilated by the enemy's superior forces in open battle. At the same time, take all the talismans that have been made to the Kyushu front to provide support."
"Yes! But my lord—" The head of the Abe family hesitated, "With just these, it's only a matter of time before Kyushu falls. Should you personally intervene? At least to intimidate the enemy forces in Japan?"
Abe no Gen remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Making a move now is exactly what Xia Jie wants. He'd love for me to leave Honshu and go to Kyushu to confront him head-on. Honshu is our foundation, the source of faith for hundreds of millions of people; it cannot be lost. Even if Kyushu falls, as long as Honshu remains, there is still hope!"
This request was naturally impossible to pass; according to the script, Kyushu Island was originally reserved for the Xia Kingdom!
Tokugawa Koji's army did not directly charge towards the heavily fortified port of Kagoshima.
Dozens of nautical miles from the coast, a swarm of ghostly soldiers, like black tentacles, suddenly split off and lunged at a relatively remote fishing port town with weak defenses on the coastline.
After all, with the intelligence provided by the Four Barbarians Bureau, Tokugawa Koji knew the true situation of Kyushu Island in Japan.
There was no artillery preparation, no landing ships. A thick, ghostly fog enveloped the town, and the battle, or rather the massacre, ended in a very short time. The town was swallowed by darkness, and the survivors, in extreme fear, knelt and surrendered, and were then guarded by the civilian troops who landed afterward.
Koji Tokugawa publicly announced the benevolence of "Aritsatsu": those who surrendered would be spared death, only needing to pay a life tax and submit to the new order.
The bloody initial battle, the brutal display, coupled with the earlier declaration of war against the rebels, saw Tokugawa Koji perfectly execute Xia Jie's instructions to create chaos and terror. The first signal of Kyushu's fall was detonated in the most despairing way.
News of the arrival of Xia Kingdom's ghost soldiers spread like wildfire across Kyushu, and panic began to spiral out of control. Meanwhile, the Onmyoji Abe no Genji of the Onmyo Shrine remained silent, and coupled with regional conflicts in Japan, some already wavering local forces began secretly contacting the envoys secretly dispatched by the Four Barbarian Hall—