Legend Management Bureau Chapter 474

[ … words ]

That being said, among the four of them, only Ootengu and Yamabiko could fly.

Jin Jianglang and Shuten could only run on foot, chasing after a single silhouette.

However, Tsuchimikado Juichiro proved to be exceptionally cunning. He was incredibly adept at escaping, his speed astonishingly fast.

After about fifteen minutes of chasing, the clones in front of Ootengu, Jin Jianglang, and Shuten vanished.

Only the clone fleeing from Yamabiko remained.

Channeling his speed, Yamabiko dove straight down.

Just as he was about to take the man’s life, he was suddenly blasted back by an overwhelming force.

“Fantastic!” Tsuchimikado Juichiro roared, sprinting toward the distance where another squad of the Tsuchimikado family stood waiting.

Yamabiko cautiously retracted his wings and landed on the ground.

That majestic burst of power had come from their leader.

Despite clearly being a man, the leader wore bright, vibrant lipstick, giving him an incredibly eerie appearance.

Yamabiko rapidly cycled through potential countermeasures. His companions were far behind, meaning he likely had no backup.

“Little demon, are you hunting down members of our Tsuchimikado family?” the lipstick-wearing man asked softly. “Who gave you such nerve?”

The aura radiating from him was bone-chillingly cold and dangerous; he was absolutely no ordinary Onmyoji.

Yamabiko shifted his gaze, lowered his head slightly, and replied, “My apologies, I was unaware he belonged to the Tsuchimikado family. This is all a misunderstanding. Your noble family wields immense power, so I will take my leave now.”

With that said, he immediately flapped his wings, leapt into the air, and used a Fleeing Spell to escape at breakneck speed.

“Don’t let him get away!” Tsuchimikado Juichiro shouted. “He attacked one of ours! Kill him quickly!”

However, scanning the entire squad, not a single person moved to obey his command.

The lipstick-wearing leader let out a sinister chuckle. “What is the point of killing him? I have a much more amusing game in mind.”

r> …

Yamabiko recounted what he had encountered to Jin Jianglang and the other two, their expressions turning rather solemn.

“That man… is he strong?” Ootengu asked slowly.

“Yes,” Yamabiko nodded. “It is completely impossible to kill Tsuchimikado Juichiro while he is under their protection. Especially that guy wearing lipstick… his aura is simply terrifying.”

“That is the young master of the Tsuchimikado family, Tsuchimikado Itsuki.” Jin Jianglang nodded. “If he steps in, things will indeed become very difficult.”

But why would he come here?

Doubts began to swirl in Jin Jianglang’s mind once more.

How would this situation unfold?

Was the Shiranui family truly going to wage war against the Tsuchimikado family for Enenra’s sake?

Regardless of the outcome, he had become the fuse that ignited all of this.

After finishing his care for Shiranui Asuka, Ootengu was pulling the sharp needles out of Enenra’s body.

These sharp needles had sealed nearly half of her power.

This meant that Enenra had managed to kill dozens of Onmyoji using only half of her strength.

“Brother,” Ootengu called out, “that title, the ‘Smoke King of Hell’, is real, isn’t it?”

Jin Jianglang paused, then slowly replied, “I don’t know either.”

“A single village being attacked by demons only once in twenty years—how likely do you think that is?”

Jin Jianglang seemed to realize something and could only answer, “The probability is unimaginably low.”

Thinking about it this way, mobilizing twenty-nine of them for a first-time assault on a human village made no sense either.

Demons possessed far tougher physical bodies than humans, and their killing methods were far superior. They could have easily launched a sneak attack at nightfall, murdered one or two people, and then escaped using a Fleeing Spell. Why did they insist on a massive invasion?

This indicated they knew a dangerous figure was residing there.

Or perhaps, they had targeted this dangerous figure from the very beginning.

For twenty years, this person had silently guaranteed the village’s safety from any incursions.

Those twenty-nine demons knew that as long as they killed her, they could earn a spot on the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll.

It was a pity they failed.

The one who ascended to the scroll was Enenra.

The demons hadn’t exaggerated her strength; they were merely telling the truth.

Enenra was indeed incredibly powerful.

If fighting dozens of Onmyoji with only half her strength didn’t push her to the brink of death, how could fighting just over twenty demons at full power leave her mortally wounded?

Perhaps it was because the villagers were nearby that she chose to hide her true power.

She had found a delicate balance in that battle—a way to repel the enemies while simultaneously forcing herself into a near-death state.

And leaving a single survivor had been a deliberate choice. As long as the reputation of the Smoke King of Hell spread, the village would never suffer another invasion.

By now, all the needles on Enenra’s body had been removed, and she regained consciousness.

She turned her head toward Asuka, listening closely to her breathing, before slowly letting out a sigh of relief. “Little Xiang is alright, isn’t she…”

None of them answered. Only Jin Jianglang slowly asked, “You knew you were a demon all along, didn’t you?”

Enenra froze for a moment before replying, “Senior, I’m not a demon. I was just born with pale white eyes. Besides, I was raised by human parents, so how could I…”

“Stop lying.” Jin Jianglang cut her off. “When will you finally tell the truth? You hid

your cultivation and came to this forest. What is your goal?”

Hearing Jin Jianglang’s aggressive questioning, a trace of sorrow crossed Enenra’s face.

“I am not a demon. I was just born…”

“Liar,” Jin Jianglang spat through gritted teeth. “You’ve been deceiving me this entire time. Your ultimate goal was to win my trust so you could infiltrate the Shiranui family, wasn’t it?”

“I…” Enenra’s pale eyes flickered repeatedly, but she couldn’t formulate a response.

“What exactly do you want?” Jin Jianglang demanded, his expression freezing over.

Furious resentment boiled in his heart. He had given Enenra all his goodwill and sincerity, yet in the end, it was met with nothing but deception.

The three demons remained silent, glaring at her coldly.

After a long silence, Enenra finally spoke, “I only wanted to survive.”

“What a joke!” Jin Jianglang snapped in fury. “Your Demonic Energy is so overwhelming! You could easily survive no matter what you do, couldn’t you?”

Enenra nodded, her face etched with loneliness. “Senior, if I had no attachments, I indeed could have lived on just fine. But I was raised by humans.”

“What do you mean?”

Enenra offered a bitter smile, her gaze resembling a fierce February wind—chilling, yet laced with profound sorrow.

“They were the ones lying to me all along. They told me I was human.” Enenra slowly sat up. “I couldn’t bear to shatter that well-intentioned lie, nor could I stand to watch them fall into danger.”

“So… you used a white lie to protect a white lie?” Jin Jianglang had never expected her to give such an answer.

“Exactly. They protected me, so I protected the village.” Enenra smiled. “I am a demon born from smoke, and the smoke in the village provided me with an endless supply of Demonic Energy. Over the past twenty years, I have slaughtered a total of one thousand, nine hundred and twenty-three demons around Hiezu Village.”