It was the fifth day since Lily entered Mt. Amegyo, more than a week since the start of the Extended Night which still showed no signs of ending. During this week, even without any accurate numbers, she could roughly surmise that her base powerâs penetration force had already surpassed 500 kwan! In essence, she was already at the same level as a High-tire Samurai with her base, and if she used the near doubling effect of her Demon Sword Maiden Spirit Power, her penetration force would be more than 1000 kwan! On top of that, with the second level of the Genji Sword-style in use, it would jump all the way to 2000 kwan, the doorstep of a Mid-tier Kengo! That power was what enabled her to kill the Mid-rank Green Demon with a single slash.
The Demon Maiden attribute was every bit as abnormal as could be. It didnât have any attribute weakness, nor was it strong against other attributes, and yet it bestowed two times Spirit Power amplification to the users. On that point alone, it was already stronger than the other attributes. However, Lilyâs creative concept was still at a low level, and she didnât have an ultimate move to call her own. Even more importantly, she also didnât have a real Phantom Sword in the truest sense. Otherwise, she could grow much stronger still.
At this moment, Lily had just finished bathing in the mountain spring and was washing her clothes beside it.1 After all, it was necessary to personally wash oneâs clothes and underwear if one stayed for a long time in the mountains. The weather wasnât too cold anyway. If winter had come, then she might need to find a hot spring to bathe in instead.
Once she finished washing the clothes, Lily hung them to dry in the air near the entrance of the secret cave she had found, she had already been staying there for three days.
If the sun still didnât rise by tomorrow, Lily planned to go deeper into the mountain. The reason being that aside from the Green Demon she encountered on the first day, she hadnât encountered another Mid-Rank monster. To date, she had collected a total of 12 Low-Rank Animas and 3 Superior-Low Rank Animas.2 If converted to money, those would be more or less 100 kwan. Although it was an extremely generous income by any measurement, it was still far from her goal. Moreover, after taking the stock of the tamahagane, other high-grade materials, and the service fees for the foreman into consideration, earning just 1000 kwan wouldnât be enough. She needed at least 1500 kwan as a guarantee.
These past few days, Lily had been sleeping with her sword clamped between her legs. The main reason was to prevent her sword from being taken away by monsters or people while she was asleep and being assaulted afterwards. Although she did set up a Spirit Sensor to stay on alert even while sleeping, it was still better to be careful. Besides, she was alone and the sword was her only means of protection: It gave her a sense of security.
This night, however, only after taking a short nap, the Spirit Sensor she set up in the surroundings was broken through repeatedly.
âHm?â Lily suddenly woke up, âWho or what has entered my detection range?â
The sound of footsteps could be heard coming from outside. Along with it, the sound of men talking.
âWe have been tasked to find a place for the troops to spend the night. This place doesnât look half bad, you, go call the others.â
âYes! This cave looks more solid than the one we stayed in before.â
Then, from further away, the sound of someone shouting loudly could be heard, âOooooi! Over here! Thereâs a cave hereâ!â
âEh? Look over there, my lord. Why are there womanâs clothing here?â
âAnd it seems like thereâs some light coming from the cave? Is someone here?â
And they spoke, the two walked into the cave. The flickering light of the torch came from the cave entrance. Lily -wearing a red kimono- got up immediately and placed her hand on the sword hilt.
âHow terrible, this cave only has one entrance, I canât avoid them!â
The two samurai âone with a torch, another with an unsheathed katanaâ had finally entered the cave.
âWho is it?â Lily was surprised when she saw the two people in question. One was illuminating the area with a torch, the other pointing at her with the sword. Lily also had a small oil lamp on her side, though dim, it was just enough for her to see. Also, by borrowing the light from the other side, she was able to make out the familiar figure of the two samurai.
âM- Master Matsuda?!â Lily had never been so surprised before. Thatâs right, these two were Matsuda Nagahide and his vassal, Kimura, the ones who taught her swordsmanship and archery respectively.
âM- Miss Kagami?! Is it Miss Kagami?â Old man Matsuda hadnât spoken a word, yet Kimura already let out a shout. Joy was apparently from his expression.
Even Matsuda Nagahide was greatly surprised, âMiss Kagami? Is that really you? Why are you here?â
Lily was stunned for a moment, she never thought sheâd run into old friends in this wild area. Matsuda Nagahide was her first teacher in this world. When she was having difficulties, he provided shelter for her, taught her swordsmanship, and even shielded her to a certain extent from Hojo Motoshige and the Daidoujis. He was a good and sincere man! Kimura and Kanzaki were also honest and considerate men. They were one of the very few virtuous samurai in this dark time.
âAh⌠thatâs um⌠Master Matsuda, after I received the title of samurai, I came here to train,â Lily stuttered a little. She couldnât tell her the real reason she came to Suruga was because she killed Hojo Motoshige and Akira in order to save Nanako.
âSpeaking of which, why are you here, Master Matsuda?â Lily was just as puzzled.
âWe are conscripted and are acting under ordersâŚâ Nagahideâs firm expression wavered as he looked at Lily. As though he just thought of something, he stopped momentarily before continuing, âMiss Kagami, this place is extremely dangerous. It really is not a place for a Low-Tier Samurai like yourself, Miss Kagami. You should leave quickly, this isnât a good place to talk. If you still want to have a chat, please come and visit my Matsuda clan someday in the future. Please, leave quickly!â
The last few words were clearly harsher than usual. Nagahide looked hasty, it was as though he was deliberately urging Lily to leave as quickly as possible.
âMr. MatsudaâŚâŚ?â At first, Lily was happy to have encountered an old friend, but looking at the grim expression on Nagahideâs face, she guessed it must be something he couldnât talk about. In this otherworld, at least she knew Matsuda didnât harbor any evil intention towards her. If he did, he would have done something to her already. Although Lily was still completely puzzled, she suppressed her curiosity and took Nagahideâs advice to heart. Just when she picked up the Sakura Parasol and about to take her leaveâŚ
The voice of another samurai she knew well3 came from the cave entrance, âLord Dijon, look, thatâs the cave.â