Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 13 - Takamagahara: Chapter 105 - Deception and Treachery

The Sanzu Demon Queen, relying on both her own status and that of Lord of Oblivion, had gathered nearly half of Yomi’s treasure-hunting forces under her banner.

Although relatively few ordinary Yomi experts managed to obtain Oborozuki Souls, sheer numbers made up for it. By now, the Sanzu Demon Queen’s faction had amassed over a hundred Oborozuki Souls.

“According to my estimates, the other major factions possess even more Oborozuki Souls than we do. The total number throughout the entire Celestial Demon Path should be in the thousands,” the Demon Queen calculated. “Hm?”

Once the number of Oborozuki Souls in her possession exceeded one hundred, her sensory ability had likewise become over a hundred times stronger than that of a single soul. Her perception now covered a radius of nearly 150,000 kilometers, enough to encompass nearly a third of the Celestial Demon Path. Under such circumstances, locating other holders of Oborozuki Souls became remarkably easy.

Within the range of her perception, there were three other superpowers possessing more than a hundred souls. They had to be three of the remaining major treasure-hunting factions. Two of them were quite distant, both situated toward the Takamagahara side, and were likely Takamagahara forces.

The remaining one, however, was moving at astonishing speed. It continuously absorbed the weaker Oborozuki Soul signatures within its detection range, while its own presence grew stronger and stronger.

“The other major factions command too many people to move this flexibly. It must be Kagami Lily. This signal is far stronger than the one from my own collection. Clearly, Lily possesses even more Oborozuki Souls than we do. Furthermore, her detection range exceeds ours. She only needs to sweep back and forth through half the Celestial Demon Path to discover the location of every Oborozuki Soul. Then she can defeat them one by one.”

Yet that presence suddenly stopped about roughly 500 kilometers from the Demon Queen’s forces, and made no attempt to approach further.

“So, they’re wary of us as well? Good. Kagami Lily, though we bear no grudges against one another, we’ve all come here to compete for Oborozuki Souls. There is no room for sentiment. The moment we stepped onto this battlefield, we accepted that we would become each other’s enemies.”

A strange, alluring light flickered within the Demon Queen’s eyes. “I shall personally meet this Kagami Lily.”

Five hundred kilometers away, Lily also sensed the Demon Queen’s faction. However, she could not immediately identify which force it belonged to. After several months of fighting throughout the Celestial Demon Path, she had naturally learned the intelligence of the region, including information about the six great treasure-hunting factions.

Suddenly, two presences rapidly approached, reaching a proximity where they could be clearly distinguished even through the interference of resentment energy.

At present, carrying over three hundred Oborozuki Souls, Lily would be noticed by any threatening expert wherever she went. As such, she constantly kept her divine probe expanded. This was to prevent enemies from locating her position and then sending experts carrying no Oborozuki Souls to launch surprise attacks.

However, due to the interference of the resentment energy, the truly effective range of divine probe was only several thousand kilometers.

Knowing they had already been discovered, the two newcomers showed no sign of nervousness. Two tall, handsome, domineering men flew toward Lily.

The moment they saw her, they employed the seductive voices and alluring gazes they were so proud of, attempting to charm her. Unfortunately for them, Lily remained completely unmoved.

The two overbearing pretty boys carried themselves with remarkable poise. They neither became embarrassed nor angered by her indifference, nor did they make any excessive advances. Instead, they respectfully bowed to her like attendants.

“Miss Lily, our Madam Sanzu invites you.”

Most women attracted to men would probably enjoy being served by such domineering men. Unfortunately, such tactics remained entirely ineffective against Lily.

“Oh? So you’re from the faction of the Sanzu Demon Queen and Lord of Oblivion?”

Lily’s eyes lit up. Although the invitation came from figures of Sanzu’s and Kawara’s standing, making some underhanded assassination attempt was beneath their status. That said, she was certain they had no good intentions.

“Of the six major factions, I’ll have to face them all eventually if I want to collect every Oborozuki Soul. Then lead the way,” Lily said.

One of the pretty boys moved closer to her, flicked his handsome hair, and spoke in a suggestive tone. “The terrain outside is so rough, and Miss Lily’s feet are so soft and delicate. It pains me to think of you walking on your own. How about I carry you instead?”

“Get lost. With your pathetic level of power, if you don’t want to throw away everything you’ve worked for, then do your job and lead the way. Don’t come any closer.” Lily’s voice turned icy as a killing intent radiated from her.

Before absolute power, the two pretty boys, who had only barely reached the Celestial Stage thanks to the Demon Queen’s favor, could no longer act domineering. They immediately shrank back and obediently led the way.

Truthfully, seeing their self-satisfied expressions and smug attempts at seduction made Lily want to draw her blade and cut them down. Did they really think that being tall and handsome entitled them to conquer every woman in the world?

Then again, this was a world where strength reigned supreme. Had these pretty boys possessed power on the level of Ame-no-Tajikarao, Lily might have shown them a bit more respect.

What kind of person was Lily? When she was in a good mood, she could be extraordinarily kind and tolerant. But if someone annoyed her, then even if their offense did not warrant death, what was wrong with cutting them down anyway?

Besides, offending a Supreme God was a capital crime.

Though Lily had not truly reached the Supreme God realm yet, the outside world already regarded her as one of the peak Supreme Gods.

When they arrived at the Demon Queen’s camp, they found rows upon rows of enchanted tents that could be erected or packed away in an instant. More than ten thousand Yomi experts had gathered there.

Countless evil spirits, demons, demonesses, and Yomi human wanderers filled the camp.

“K-Kagami Lily? It’s Kagami Lily!” When the Yomi forces saw Lily openly flying in, they were all struck with fear. Yet many either ground their teeth in hatred or stared at her from below with drool hanging from their mouths.

Today, Lily had specifically worn black pantyhose. Flying high in the sky made accidental exposure easy when viewed from below, and she had taken precautions. Unfortunately, the scorching environment here made pantyhose rather uncomfortable.

Behind her flew Nanako, holding a parasol. By now, Nanako had gathered seven portions of Solar Corona force. Her strength had already approached the Supreme God level. Against even the weakest Supreme God, she could now barely hold her own.

Although the Solar Corona force was scattered across vast distances, nobody else was competing for it. Ironically, that made it easier to collect. Once discovered, it could simply be taken.

Only once had there been an exception.

A slender swordsman wearing a dark green oni mask and a short, fat half-oni carrying the rare demon artifact Fire Dragon Slave had accidentally discovered a fragment of Solar Corona Power. However, they had no idea how to collect it and were unwilling to leave, so they guarded it for a long time.

Then they encountered Lily. In the end, not only did they fail to obtain the Solar Corona Power, but Lily also seized the two Oborozuki Souls they carried. Their fate had been utterly miserable.

Eventually, they arrived before a luxurious yet eerie dark-colored tent. The two pretty boys said, “Please rest inside for the moment, Miss Lily. The Demon Queen will arrive shortly.”

“Mm.” Lily frowned with displeasure. At this level, why not meet directly? Was all this posturing really necessary?

A short while later, the Demon Queen still had not arrived. Instead, a group of tall men with sinister eyes entered the tent. Officially, they were there to serve Lily tea and fruit. In reality, every one of them was trying to flirt with her through their gazes. Some even attempted to exploit the opportunity while serving tea, pretending to kneel so they could touch Lily’s feet.

“Nanako.” Lily frowned.

Thwack!

With a gust of wind, the Sakura Parasol smashed directly into the face of the pretty boy who had tried to touch Lily’s foot, knocking his face crooked and sending him flying straight out of the tent.

“My face! My face! Ahhh, my face!” he shrieked hysterically. “Without my handsome face, how am I supposed to remain favored by the Sanzu Demon Queen?!”

The others immediately realized that this young girl was just as fierce and difficult to provoke. They hastily retreated to the side.

“Don’t think my lady doesn’t know what you’re trying to do!” Nanako scolded. “Trying to seduce my lady? Let me tell you, she’s not interested in any of that. Now get lost! Or would you like to experience the power of this Sakura Parasol yourselves?”

The handsome men could only cry out indignantly as they hurriedly withdrew.

“The hell are you acting so high and mighty for?” one blond, exceptionally tall and handsome man shouted as he left, pointing toward Lily inside the tent. “Back in Heian-kyo, I’ve slept with more women than I can count! Every one of them threw themselves at me! Just because you’ve got a little strength, you forgot you’re still nothing more than a woman meant to be pinned beneath someone! No matter how strong you are, you’ll still be ridden and dominated by men! What’s all that power good for?”

Several crimson cherry blossom blades shot toward him.

Pssh!

The blades pierced through the exact same spot in his chest one after another, stopping mere fractions of an inch from his Spirit Sea.

Blood sprayed from his chest as his face turned deathly pale and he collapsed to the ground.

Lily’s voice echoed from within the tent. “During the battle at the Abyssal Wedding, the Sanzu Demon Queen and Lord of Oblivion never personally acted against me. For their sake, I won’t kill those favored by them. But for insulting me, I could erase your soul with a flick of my finger and condemn you to eternal oblivion. If that still isn’t enough for you, I can write a personal decree to the Land of Reincarnation in Yomi and have the judges reborn you as a pig in your next life.”

“Hieeeek!! Mercy! Mercy! Spare me!” The pretty boy scattered in terror.

“A man should stand tall beneath the heavens and across the Three Realms. Even if his strength is lacking, his backbone should never bend. Yet the likes of you survive in Yomi only by clinging to the favor of women, and you still dare look down on women? I’ve never seen people as shameless as you.”

“Hehehe…” After the men fled, a chorus of sweet feminine laughter drifted in from outside. A group of beautiful, sexy women dressed in revealing clothing entered the tent carrying exquisite fruits, pastries, and refreshments.

“Big Sister Lily, those men were rude and inattentive. Lord of Oblivion and the Demon Queen have sent us sisters to apologize to Miss Lily on their behalf.” As they spoke, they crowded around her.

Some poured wine for her, some leaned intimately against her side, some massaged her shoulders, while others reached for her feet.

“Big Sister Lily, please drink this cup. Consider it a token of forgiveness. Otherwise, if we fail to serve you properly, our lord will punish us.” One especially seductive woman dressed in translucent garments offered Lily a cup of divine nectar.

Although Lily felt no particular aversion to women throwing themselves at her in service, the moment she saw the drink, she recognized something hidden beneath its enticing appearance. It radiated a powerful fluctuation of the Charm Heavenly Path that was all too familiar to her.

‘Hmph. When men fail, they send women instead. Changing tactics, yet still trying to drug me? Are they really that eager to see what I’d become after being drugged?’ Lily thought coldly.

Whoosh!

With a wave of her hand, a powerful gust swept through the tent, sending the painted women tumbling to the floor. The drugged divine nectar spilled into the air. Yet with a thought, Lily used divine power to shatter the liquid into dozens of droplets, sending them directly into the mouths of every woman who had come to serve her.

“So this is the fine wine your masters prepared for me? Why don’t you taste it yourselves?”

They were nothing more than gaudily adorned common women. Lily did not dislike the company of women, but she was surrounded by truly exceptional beauties, women of unparalleled elegance and countless different charms. How could she possibly be interested in these women whom the Lord of Oblivion had trained into creatures devoid of dignity and individuality?

After drinking the drugged wine, the women collapsed one by one onto the floor. Moaning continuously, each looked more disgraceful than the last. Some even crawled toward Nanako and begged her to whip them.

“Eeeek! Stay away! Don’t come over here!” Nanako jumped back in fright. “What do you think I am? In this world, there’s only one woman I want to whip! And you lot think you’re worthy?”

“Uwah!” The moment the words left her mouth, Nanako seemed to realize she had revealed too much. She immediately covered her mouth in embarrassment, looking helpless and mortified.

As for Lily, she simply pretended she hadn’t heard a thing.

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