Chapter 449: Barbarity
"Curse Art Ninety-Two — Spirit Descent!" To further bolster his offensive output, Yamamoto retrieved a yellow talisman paper from the inner lining of his samurai attire.
This talisman paper, crafted by Kuchiki, Yamato's strongest Onmyoji, was one of the parting gifts he bequeathed to the nation. As the leader of the compromise faction, Kuchiki had abandoned everything and departed Yamato long before the war began.
The talisman paper ignited without flame, instantly dissolving into a wisp of smoke, while the blood-red runes inscribed upon it transformed into a spark, merging into Yamamoto's body.
Soon, the Flame Spirits released by Yamamoto shed their former mechanical emptiness, becoming as agile and lively as if imbued with life.
The Flame Spirits no longer fought as isolated individuals, mindlessly pursuing targets; instead, they formed numerous small battle groups, encircling the enemy with greater efficiency.
Following closely behind the Flame Spirits were Yamato's samurai corps.
Reinforced by the Onmyoji at their rear, they brandished long katanas capable of effortlessly cleaving through tanks, hurtling through the low sky like humanoid mechs.
These Third-Tier samurai, bolstered by various Curse Arts, could temporarily elevate their combat power to the Fourth-Tier, barely qualifying to participate in this battle as cannon fodder. The power of the Curse Arts covering their bodies, inside and out, could at least protect them from being instantly killed by stray attacks, but facing Fifth-Tier main forces head-on, they still wouldn't last more than a few moves.
They simply relied on their vast numerical superiority, sacrificing their lives to bridge the combat power gap between Yamato and the invading forces.
In its eyes, these pitiful ants, throwing themselves forward with all their might and disregarding their lives, could at best inflict a scratch that barely stung.
The wounds they inflicted would, on the formidable bodies of the Four Holy Beasts, fully heal in a matter of seconds.
From a combat perspective, their sacrifices were utterly meaningless.
"This is our nation! How could you beasts, devoid of even civilization, possibly understand!" A few samurai closest to Bahamut, their eyes bloodshot, shrieked answers to its question with voices nearly shredded.
"Oh." It swatted a few individuals into a mist of blood with a single paw, seemingly annoyed by their noise. "Can't you speak properly? Why must you howl like lunatics?"
"Civilization, you say? Did you ever consider such a thing back then?" Bahamut scoffed at the words of these petty individuals, its expression dripping with disdain.
When they were being slaughtered indiscriminately as 'spirit materials' in the Secret Realm Forest, no one ever spoke a word on their behalf, even though many people were well aware that mutated creatures possessed high intelligence and could, in fact, communicate.
Everyone simply feigned ignorance, unwilling to take a step that would jeopardize the interests of countless individuals, using the pretext of defending human interests to continue the slaughter of mutated creatures instead of initiating communication.
It wasn't until the Land of White burst forth that everything changed.
And now, when it was their turn to counterattack humanity, these fellows dared to discuss issues of civilization and barbarity with it? It chuckled disdainfully, then used the laser from its tail to instantly vaporize those annoying blood mists.
"Ignorant little bugs, it's better for you to turn to ashes."
"..."
"Kill the invaders!"
"Defend our homeland!"
"We have no retreat, for behind us lies Tokyo!"
Although the dying accusations of the samurai had no impact whatsoever on the vastly different mindset of Bahamut, they greatly invigorated the morale of Yamato's resistance forces.
The sight of their comrades nobly sacrificing themselves undoubtedly caused everyone else's rage levels to instantly surge.
Samurai, clutching their katanas, desperately squeezed every ounce of strength from their bodies, tearing through the enemies before them.
With terrifying speed and uncanny footwork, they weaved through the scorching inferno of plasma cannons, lasers, and gunpowder generated by both warring sides, protecting their own ranged attackers and annihilating the encroaching foes.
Their life-bound katanas, alongside the Life Fields covering their bodies, collectively formed a light protective shield, guarding them as they navigated through the storm of bullets and lasers.
The fervent battlefield atmosphere even spread to the hot weapon users on the rear lines, even though the operation of modern weaponry didn't truly rely much on a soldier's morale, but rather on a calm mind.
Yet, it gave the illusion that after this wave of fanaticism, both the weapons' firing frequency and their inherent destructive power seemed to have grown stronger.
"Let Xu enter the battle. The unlock code is..." Three hours later, Yamamoto finally decided to play his pre-prepared trump card, believing that if he didn't use it now, he wouldn't get another chance, as the tide of battle was inevitably turning towards their collapse.
This time, the invading forces from the Land of White comprised over eighty percent of the world's high-tier mutated creatures, and they weren't fighting purely unequipped; they were also armed to the teeth with modern weaponry.
Both in quantity and quality, they vastly outmatched Yamato's native resistance forces; for his troops to have held out until now, fueled by a burst of morale, could already be considered a miracle.
"Hiss..."
"Hiss..." When someone heard this sound emerge on the battlefield, countless bodies, instantly frozen, appeared before their eyes at the same moment.
"What is that?!"
"Why did so many people suddenly collapse!"
Wherever Xu passed, regardless of friend or foe, any living organism obstructing its path was instantly frozen solid.
Because its speed was simply too immense; its body, composed of liquid light, granted it unparalleled velocity, nearly two-thirds the speed of light. Even its controller couldn't fully command such insane power.
All the controller could do, in truth, was set a destination, then allow this unparalleled flying object to annihilate all obstacles in its path and reach its target in a straight line, even before the controller could react.
The ultralow temperature of one hundred-thousandth of a Kelvin on its superfluid surface was sufficient to eliminate most troublesome obstructions.
"Clang! Clang!"
The tumultuous battlefield suddenly fell silent, leaving only the sound of shattering ice sculptures.
The colorless grim reaper continuously swung its scythe, relentlessly harvesting lives on the battlefield.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"What in the world is that?!" Fleistain stared at its pierced claw, its eyes filled with confusion.
Xu's speed was simply too great, to the point where they couldn't perceive it at all. Although the damage from a single attack wasn't severe, and the wounds would heal within half a minute, this elusive power, appearing and disappearing without a trace, genuinely caused Bahamut and the others some concern..
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