69novels Chapter 293 Under the Moon, the Demon King and the Courtesan
Chapter 293 Under the Moon, the Demon King and the Courtesan
Chapter 293 Under the Moon, the Demon King and the Courtesan
Upon hearing this name, everyone fell silent.
I've never heard of it.
Nobunaga patted the sword at his waist.
"So, can you tell me where this is? It looks a bit like Japan, but also a bit different—"
'
"And what's with you weird-looking creatures? A new kind of monster?"
Hiyori struggled to her feet, weak but with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
"Lord Nobunaga—this is Wano Country, a country ruled by tyrants and pirates. My name is Hiyori Kozuki, and I am the daughter of the rightful heir to this country."
She took a deep breath.
"As the Master of the Holy Grail War, I beg you to help me take revenge and restore my kingdom!"
Nobunaga stroked his chin, looked Hiyori up and down a few times, and then glanced at the dilapidated alleys and the tributaries with their ferocious faces.
"Wano Country? Never heard of it. But—" he grinned, "revenge and restoration? Sounds interesting."
"And you, young lady, have a good eye; you have the kind of ruthlessness I like."
He turned to the crow-man and the others, his hand resting on the hilt of his knife.
"So, these are your enemies?"
"Yes," Hiyori said through gritted teeth.
"Very good." Nobunaga smiled, a smile that looked down on everything.
"Well then, let me show you—"
Twin swords, drawn from their sheaths.
One blade was long, the other short; their surfaces reflected a cold light under the moonlight.
"What does it mean to unify the world by force?!"
The next second, Nobunaga's figure disappeared.
No, it didn't disappear, it was just too fast, so fast that the gifted ones present only saw a red afterimage weaving through the crowd!
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
Five soft sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
A fine line of blood appeared on the necks of all five givers.
They didn't even realize what had happened before their eyes widened and they collapsed to the ground.
The male crow was terrified and retreated, flapping its wings frantically, trying to fly into the sky.
"Trying to run away?"
Nobunaga had appeared before him without him noticing, casually swinging his short sword.
Click.
Black wings, broken off at the root.
The crow-man screamed and fell to the ground. Before he could get up, Nobunaga's long sword was already pressed against his throat.
"Hey, you with the bird beak," Nobunaga said, looking down at him with a casual smile. "Go back and tell your master."
His voice suddenly turned cold.
"This country, this woman, I, Oda Nobunaga, will protect them."
"If you want to touch them, ask my knife first."
After saying that, he kicked the crow man away, sending him crashing into a wall and leaving him in a state of disarray.
Seeing that things were not going well, the remaining gift-givers turned and fled, disappearing into the depths of the alley in an instant.
Nobunaga sheathed his sword, clapped his hands, as if he had just finished a trivial task.
He walked back to Hiyori's side and looked down at her.
"So, Master, where are you going next? Do you have any plans?"
Hiyori looked at the man who called himself the Sixth Heaven Demon King, then at the unconscious Gifters on the ground, and at the figures of Semimaru and the ninjas in the distance. She took a deep breath and suppressed the shock and complex emotions in her heart.
"Yes, my teachers—I need to bury them, but it can't be done in the city anymore, I have to go there—please come with me."
Nobunaga shook his head: "Ah, please accept my condolences."
"To die for one's master is the honor of a ninja; this is the result they desire."
Hiyori looked at Oda Nobunaga, and his father, who had died 18 years ago, reappeared in his mind.
Before Nobunaga could finish speaking, Hiyori forced herself to walk to her teacher's side despite her pain.
Her petite frame was so small that she couldn't even drag the teacher's body.
Just when she had tried her best but was powerless, he suddenly felt a lightness in his hand.
Nobunaga had already hoisted his teacher and all the ninjas onto his shoulders, piling them up to a great height.
"This should be okay, right?
Hiyori nodded like a chick pecking at rice, then turned and headed towards the direction of Linghou outside the city.
Nobunaga followed behind Hiyori, looking around curiously as he walked, muttering to himself.
"This place is really strange—it's supposed to be Japan, but the architectural style is a bit different."
"Now that I think about it, I must have come from another world, and there must have been a message that was supposed to tell me..."
"But I found all the chatter too annoying, so I cleared my mind, so I don't know."
Nobunaga spoke earnestly, completely unaware that there was any problem.
"If you say he's a foreigner, then why does he look like a Japanese person—well—well, he doesn't really look like one. Oh well, whatever."
"Having such a beautiful girl as my Master, this is definitely worth it!"
Nobunaga tried to change the somber atmosphere, but Hiyori continued walking in silence.
Nobunaga did not give up; his voice echoed in the silent night, intertwining with the faint sirens blaring from the distant capital of flowers.
Higher in the sky, Cú Chulainn hovered, his red eyes fixed on the two figures disappearing below, a grin spreading across his face.
"Oda Nobunaga—the Sixth Demon King?"
He licked his lips.
"This time—we've really struck gold!"
Instead of giving chase immediately, he turned and flew towards Ghost Island.
There are some things I need to tell Kaido first.
But some battles—are not urgent.
After all, good prey needs to be played with slowly.
Leaving the territory of the Flower Capital, we traversed the moonlit wilderness and crossed the dilapidated suspension bridge spanning a deep valley.
Kozuki Hiyori and Oda Nobunaga finally arrived at the territory of Suzugo with the wounded.
Unlike the artificial prosperity deliberately created in the Flower Capital, Linghou is covered in snow all year round, with the earth blanketed in pure white.
Abandoned villages, collapsed shrines, and withered ancient trees stand silently in the snow, just like the land itself.
Forgotten, abandoned, only the silence of death remains.
"Ugh—it's so cold!" Nobunaga rubbed his hands together, exhaling a puff of white breath, his red battle feathers fluttering in the cold wind.
"What kind of place is this? It's colder than winter in Gifu!"
Hiyori did not reply.
She wrapped her black cloak tightly around herself and trudged through the knee-deep snow.
My body is cold, but my heart is even colder.
The image of Ms. Chanmaru falling, and the young ninja's silent lip movements at the end, pierced her soul like an ice pick.
But she can't stop.
She had to get to that shrine.
The two traveled for about an hour in the snowy night, and finally, on a hillside surrounded by snow-covered pine forests, they saw the outline of the abandoned shrine.
The red paint on the torii gate had long since peeled off, revealing the rotten wood underneath.
The stone steps were mostly buried by snow, and the stone lanterns on both sides were leaning to one side and the other side.
A large hole appeared in the roof of the main hall, through which moonlight streamed in, illuminating the dusty and cobweb-covered inner chamber.
"Is this the place?" Nobunaga raised an eyebrow and strode up the stone steps, completely ignoring the snow.
"It's pretty run-down, but—the atmosphere is nice."
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"The scent of blood and fire, though faint—still lingers. Many have died here, and died unwillingly."
Hiyori followed him up the stone steps and said softly, "This was one of the places where my father practiced as a monk when he was young."
""
"18 years ago, Kaido and Orochi launched a rebellion, and Ringo was one of the first areas to be suppressed."
"
"The shrine's priest and believers—all were executed, and their bodies were piled up in front of the hall."
Nobunaga opened his eyes and glanced back at Hiyori.
What kind of person was your father?
After a moment of silence, Hiyori walked to the corridor in front of the main hall and brushed the snow off a stone tablet.
The inscription on the stone tablet, though weathered by wind and snow, is still legible: "Fight the strong, befriend the weak, rejoice with the people, and live with the nation—Kozuki Oden."
"This is my father." Hiyori stroked the carvings on the stone tablet, her voice trembling with suppressed emotion.
"A man who always has a silly smile, acts impulsively, but loves this country more than anyone else and is stronger than anyone else."
Nobunaga leaned closer to examine the inscription, stroking his chin: "To fight the strong, to befriend the weak, and to share joy?"
"Hmm, that sounds nice. But—tsk, that's too naive."
He turned and walked into the main hall, looking around.
The hall was empty, with only a broken statue lying in a corner.
The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, but upon closer inspection, some unnatural marks could be seen on the dust.
Someone came here recently and made some arrangements.
Nobunaga walked to the center of the hall, squatted down, and brushed away the dust with his hand.
A complex magic circle pattern was exposed to the moonlight.
The lines of the formation were drawn with a dark red pigment. Even when covered in dust, the metallic powder mixed in with the pigment was still visible, shimmering faintly in the moonlight.
The outer edge of the formation is a seven-pointed star, the inner circle is a mixture of complex runes and ancient script from Wano Country, and a blank area the size of a palm is left in the center.
"Is this the summoning circle you prepared?" Nobunaga asked.
"Yes." Hiyori walked in, knelt in front of the array, and took out the wooden carving of Kozuki Oden from her bosom.
"According to the intelligence I've gathered, summoning for the Holy Grail War requires arrays, incantations, a catalyst, and—"
A strong desire.
"I originally planned to hold the full ceremony here, but—"
She smiled bitterly.
"The qualification arrived ahead of schedule, and the enemy also came ahead of schedule. The summoning in the Flower Capital just now—was not actually complete. I can feel that the contract is very fragile."
Nobunaga sat cross-legged on the floor opposite her and said casually.
"Vulnerable? I don't really feel that way."
Hiyori raised her left hand, and the three Command Seals on her wrist glowed a dark red in the moonlight.
"My strength is almost exhausted. The forced summoning just now, and maintaining your presence—my body has reached its limit."
Nobunaga stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned.
"Hey, little girl, aren't you mistaken about something?"
"What?"
"Me? I am Oda Nobunaga." Nobunaga pointed to himself, his smile filled with an arrogant sense of entitlement.
"The Sixth Demon King, the man who burned Mount Hiei, overturned the old order, and almost unified the island nation."
"Do you think I'll disappear just because the contract is weak? Or become immobilized because my Master's magical energy is insufficient?"
He stood up, walked to the dilapidated palace gate, and looked out at the snow-covered night.
"Heroic Spirits, to put it simply, are the embodiment of legends. The stronger the legend, the more stable its existence. And me—"
He turned around, his red eyes burning like embers in the darkness.
"But he was a demon king who was feared, hated, and worshipped by countless people, leaving a deep mark on history."
"Even without a Master, I can still roam this world for quite a while. Besides—"
He walked back to Hiyori, squatted down, and looked Hiyori, who was kneeling, into his eyes.
"Don't you still have a wish? A strong wish, a wish you'd be willing to bite your tongue and bleed to fulfill. That kind of thing is the best fuel for me."
Hiyori stared at him blankly.
This rugged, casual, and outspoken man had eyes that were sharp as knives, as if he could see through all her pretense and vulnerability.
"Tell me, Kozuki Hiyori," Nobunaga asked in a low voice, his tone no longer frivolous.
"What is your wish, really? Is it just revenge? Is it just to restore your kingdom?"
Hiyori lowered her head, her hands tightly gripping the cuffs of her kimono.
After a long while, she spoke softly, her voice echoing in the empty main hall.
"I want to end this era of isolation."
"Wano Country has been closed off for too long. My father once wanted to open the country's doors and welcome the world, but he was killed by Orochi and Kaido in the name of protecting tradition."
"But now I understand that isolationism never protected tradition, but rather the power of the rulers."
She raised her head, her purple eyes shimmering with tears, but even more so with fire.
"Kaido and Orochi turned Wano Country into a prison, the people into slaves, and history into lies."
"I want to break all of this, not just for revenge, not just to reclaim the Kozuki family's position."
"I want this country to truly come alive. I want its people to be able to laugh freely, cry freely, and choose their own future freely. I want Wano Country to no longer be shrouded in fear, no longer filled with lies."
"I want—a new era that my father once dreamed of but was never able to realize."
After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent.
Only the wind and snow blew in through the hole in the roof, stirring up fine dust.
Nobunaga looked at her silently, the cynical smile on his face vanishing, replaced by a complex expression.
There is appreciation, there are memories, and there is also a trace of—an indescribable resonance.
"A new era—?" he repeated softly, then suddenly burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! Good! That's a good wish!"
He slapped his thigh hard.
"You know what? When I was alive, what I hated most were those fools who clung to old rules, old traditions, and old order."
"The monks in the temple, the nobles in the court, and those self-righteous warriors—they are all maggots, sucking blood from the rotting corpses of the old era."
"So I burned down Mount Hiei and killed those monks."
"Therefore I disregarded the official positions of the court and appointed myself to official positions. Therefore, I promoted the music market and music seats to break the monopoly of merchants."
"So I used arquebuses, new tactics, and everything new available to smash that damned old world."
He stood up, walked to the center of the hall, and looked up at the snow-covered sky outside the hole.
"To unify the world through force, to pave a new path with military might. That's my approach—simple, brutal, but effective."
He turned around and looked at Hiyori.
"Your father wanted to open the country's doors gently, but he died. What about you?"
"What do you plan to do? Assassination? Rebellion? Or—"
His gaze fell on the Command Seals on Hiyori's wrist.
"Use my power to forcibly tear open the cage that holds this country in place?"
Hiyori slowly stood up, walked to Nobunaga's side, and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, gazing up at the night sky.
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I'm not as strong as my father, nor do I have your courage."
"I only have the identity of a courtesan, some old ministers with whom I secretly maintain contact, and—"
She raised her left hand.
"And you, Lord Nobunaga."
Nobunaga grinned and vigorously ruffled Hiyori's hair, ruining her carefully styled hair.
"That's enough! Ambitious, determined, and with a Heroic Spirit as powerful as me."
"Even though I'm an Archer, I'm fine with swords! The rest is just figuring out how to keep this charade going!"
His expression suddenly turned cunning.
"But before that—we need to deal with the immediate problem first."
Hiyori was taken aback: "The current trouble?"
Nobunaga did not answer, but turned to face the entrance of the main hall, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
"Come out, you bugs who've been following me all this way. The footprints are so obvious in the snow, your tracking skills are terrible."