Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 11 - Yamata no Orochi: Chapter 18 – Taishogun Lily

About half a month later, the anticipated secret edict indeed arrived. The imperial court couldn’t dispatch a high-ranking official, but to everyone’s surprise, a young, somewhat unrefined but handsome minister was chosen for the task.

In Lyn Hall, the sisters were arrayed on either side of the room, witnessing a ceremony none had experienced before. Lily, adorned in a pristine white court dress complemented by a black hat, exuded a mix of handsomeness and grace. Her hair neatly coiled up inside the hat, she balanced the poise of a public minister with the elegance of her own femininity.

“Wow… Sister Lily,” Shiu murmured, her cheeks flushing as she admired Lily.

Ijuin, typically unfazed by such displays, found herself unexpectedly stirred by Lily’s striking appearance in male attire.

The young minister, tasked with delivering the edict, felt a tad awkward as he faced Lily, who knelt before him in such regal attire. Remembering his duty, he unfolded the secret edict. “By imperial command, Kagami Lily is appointed Taishogun. She is charged with commanding the warriors of the world to crusade against Minamoto no Yoritomo and his forces, rescue the Emperor, and purge the realm of traitors!” he announced.

“I obey,” Lily responded with dignity, bowing solemnly in acceptance of her new role.

The minister, extending his hand towards Lily, added, “Lastly, as a gesture of loyalty, please consider me a stand-in for the Emperor and kiss the back of my hand.”

“Huh?” Lily and the sisters exchanged puzzled glances. None had heard of such a ritual in the sealing of a great general. Ayaka, too, seemed perplexed. Despite her extensive knowledge as Chief Advisor, this etiquette was unfamiliar.

Lily, visibly unsettled, hesitantly reached for the minister’s hand with her jade-like fingers. Suddenly, with an unexpected show of strength, she flung the young minister across the room.

The others watched in shock as they exclaimed. The official was sprawled on the floor, limbs akimbo, as a puff of white smoke enveloped him. As it cleared, a chubby, round raccoon lay in his place.

Standing in her elegant white dress, Lily placed one delicate foot on the raccoon’s belly

¹. “Yuuta! Trying to trick your sister, are you?” she chided. Applying pressure with her foot, Yuuta’s expression turned comically conflicted, “Aaahhh, mercy, sister, mercy!” he pleaded, torn between discomfort and a strange sense of enjoyment

².

The sedan chair, along with the statues, were Kimiko’s treasures, known as the Twelve Nioh King Sedan Chair. Each Nioh statue, standing eighteen meters tall, and the hundred-meter-long sedan chair, were a testament to majesty. While the statues possessed immense strength, they were not agile fighters. Their main attributes were defense and tirelessness, capable of carrying the sedan chair and resisting any expert below the Big Dipper realm.

The sedan’s

³ interior was a marvel of luxury, divided into various floors, rooms, lofts, and terraces, complete with a garden and hot springs. In this spacious setting, Lily and her sisters could relax and discuss strategies.

When they departed, Ayaka was still about ten days away from complete recovery. The journey to Heian-kyo was long, providing ample time for preparation. Ayaka had regained the power of a quintuple-soul Big Dipper, thanks to treasures lent by Kimiko. Though her formations and shikigami treasures were not as potent as before, her combat strength was formidable, slightly surpassing Lily’s.

Little Kimiko’s energy had reached a critical point, allowing her to assume her adult form in emergencies. Though not at her peak power, she wielded the strength of a sextuple-soul Big Dipper expert. Alongside them was Shizuka Gozen, another quintuple-soul Big Dipper expert with combat strength equal to Lily’s, and Shimizu, a triple-soul Big Dipper. Rei, leading fifty cavalry, added to their formidable strength. Kagura, carrying three blood spirit magatama, could strike with force enough to injure a quintuple-soul Big Dipper expert.

Lily’s group boasted an exceptional lineup of experts. With only Yoritomo and Daitengu, along with their original subordinates to contend with, Lily’s group stood a solid chance of victory. Engaging in such a high-stakes battle with peak experts was a new experience for Lily. But facing Yoritomo, there was no room for overconfidence. The tactics and allies he might deploy to defend the capital were unpredictable, and the strength of the forces from Yomi remained an enigma. Caution was paramount.

Perched atop the sedan chair, Lily sat higher than the surrounding forests, akin to being atop a colossal, mobile castle. Behind her, several sisters were deep in strategic discussion, while Rei, preferring her black warhorse Nioh, rode alongside. Interestingly, despite sharing the name ‘Nioh’, the horse and the sedan were unrelated.

In the distance, Lily spotted a group of horse riders approaching. The army, displaying the Takeda banner, snaked through the forests and mountains in a zigzagging formation, numbering several tens of thousands. Leading the vanguard was Itagaki Nobuyoshi, astride his white tiger. He had been tasked with leading the Takeda warriors as reinforcements. The sight of the massive sedan, borne by the imposing Nioh statues, left him visibly shaken.

“It’s astonishing,” Itagaki mused, his emotions stirred by the rapid changes unfolding around him. “In just two short years, that once ordinary female samurai has ascended to the rank of Taishogun. Lady Lynn’s methods are extraordinary… these Nioh statues alone are formidable enough to crush me flat.”

The world was changing swiftly, and even seasoned warriors like Itagaki Nobuyoshi could not help but feel the weight of these transformations.

Footnotes:

Robinxen: I think some people might consider this a reward.

Robinxen: As I thought.

Robinxen: My brain still just imagines a car.

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