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CHAPTER 89 – TENSION
The beautiful young man appeared out of nowhere to defend Lily. He was followed by a dozen samurai in white robes wielding menacing weapons.
A majority of the spectating samurai remained silent, but most of them had difficulty accepting the Maro Dojo’s actions in their hearts.
Tamuramura frowned when he saw the young samurai and his entourage step forward. He masked a bit of threat behind his polite tone, “You are Young Master Kazama of the Whirling Dojo, correct? What do you mean by loser? Kagami Lily, a mere s̲l̲u̲t̲ from Eastern land, killed the heir of our dojo. We aren’t seeking revenge; all we ask is for her to clear things up back at our dojo. Is there anything wrong with that?”
“Hahahahaha!” Before the young man could reply, the leader of the dojo samurai dressed in navy blue robes, Makoto Oniwa, cackled with laughter, “Are you really carrying this young lady all the way to your Maro Dojo in the remote Sinless Domain just to have a cordial chat? Lord Tamuramura of the Maro Dojo, do you treat us as fools?”
“Whether you believe it or not, that is your business. If you are dissatisfied with our Maro Dojo, you can challenge us at any time. Today, we are going to take away this woman!” Tamuramura glowered, “My nephew and the heir to our dojo, Tamurakonoe, died here. Whoever dares to stop us, don’t blame me for being impolite!”
Although he didn’t emit any spiritual energy, the innate aura of a formidable expert pressured the air on the island.
“Lord Tamuramura, aren’t you acting too overbearing?! You can disregard our Whirling Dojo as well as Senior Makoto’s dojo, but will you openly provoke the way of the samurai?” The young samurai looked at the minister who stood beside Tamuramura, “Lord Fujiwara no Kazuo, you are the witness to this duel. Shouldn’t you lean on the side of fairness?”
“Uh, this…” Since Fujiwara no Kazuo was invited by Tamuramura, he naturally held an unusual relationship with the Moro Dojo. He didn’t want to get involved, but the question cornered him in front of the crowd.
“Lord Fujiwara,” Lily turned to face the minister and took a few steps forward. The samurai barring her path could only move aside, allowing her to address Fujiwara no Kazuo, “In Kanto, Lily has a close relationship with the Saionji Household. The head of the house, Saionji Kotoka, has said good things about Lady Fujiwara no Ayaka many times. Lily came here to Heian-kyō to visit Lady Ayaka about certain matters, so I really don’t have time to go to the Maro Dojo. Today’s duel was hosted by the Lord and the results are clear to see. Lily doesn’t understand what else needs to be clarified. Isn’t it because you want to take the opportunity to harm Lily?”
“What? Visit Lord Fujiwara no Ayaka?” The crowd of samurai became shocked. Truly, what were the origins of this woman? Since she also brought Lady Ayaka’s dog, did they possess a special relationship?
“How brazen, Eastern woman!” Fujiwara no Kazuo fumed when he heard Ayaka’s name, “Lord Chief Advisor is one of the most honored individuals under the emperor and the leader of the world’s onmyoji. How could a nobody like you from Eastern land have any connections with her? As for this Saionji House, I have never heard of it! You cunning woman, don’t come up with these names to excuse your crimes!”
Lily’s heart sank after listening to the minister’s tirade. It seemed that even if she arrived in Heian-kyō, it wouldn’t be easy to meet Lady Ayaka. In addition, Fujiwara no Kazuo belonged to the clan she sought after, but was obviously in cahoots with the Maro Dojo. The situation within the Fujiwara Clan was complicated, just like the generational struggle of the Genji.
What about the Fujiwara Clan? What about the minister of the imperial court? Lily’s heart bubbled with anger nonetheless. If she was pressed into a tight spot, it wouldn’t be a big deal to kill one more!
“Lord Fujiwara, what are Lily’s crimes? You said it yourself that no side should pursue any enmity after the duel. Then, what crime did Lily commit?” Lily asked coldly.
“Shut up! You b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ dare to question Lord Fujiwara! Take her down!” Tamuramura grabbed this chance to order his men.
Seven or eight samurai from the Maro Dojo unsheathed their swords and pointed them towards Lily’s neck and body.
“Drop your sword!” The opposing samurai yelled at her.
“Lord Tamuramura, isn’t this too shameful? Do your men have to swarm a lone woman for revenge after losing a one-on-one duel?” The beautiful boy shouted angrily.
“Kazama Mayuzumi, you sissy piece of s̲h̲i̲t̲, it’s not your turn to speak here!” A random samurai behind Tamuramura blurted out.
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“What?!” The young samurai’s turquoise green eyes glinted with a cold light, “You people from the Maro Dojo dare to insult me?”
Bam! Tamuramura punched the offending samurai in the gut, causing him to bury his head in the sand.
“You madman, do you know who you are talking to?!” Tamuramura scolded before turning to Kazama Mayuzumi, “Young Master Kazama, I have already punished this rude subordinate of mine on your behalf. Please do not take it personally. I will definitely come to your door and apologize to Elder Kazama some other time. However, today’s matter concerns the reputation of our Maro Dojo and the death of Young Master Tamurakonoe; please do not interfere. If you stand in our way, don’t blame us for acting rashly!”
Tamuramura’s firm attitude reinforced his stance on the matter. Even if he had to resort to treachery, he would apprehend Lily regardless. Whoever dared to stop him would become the dojo’s enemy and face their wrath.
Kazama Mayuzumi faltered for a moment and couldn’t help taking a step back.
“Kagami Lily dared to be rude to Lord Fujiwara. Tie her up first!” Tamuramura shouted.
Several tall samurai behind Lily immediately raised their hands and bashed towards the back of her head with their sword hilts.
Lily ducked her head to dodge the blows and kicked backward at the same time.
Bang—!
Lily’s powerful kick sent the three attacking samurai flying for several tens of meters before they crashed into a wooden boat anchored in the distance, punching a hole straight through its hull.
Once that happened, the samurai in front quickly attacked her without holding back.
Clang—! There was a flash of spiritual energy and an invisible force unexpectedly blocked the oncoming swords, directly shattering them into several pieces.
“What?!” The surrounding samurai were shocked. It was common knowledge that female samurai usually had weak defenses1. Who could have guessed that impacting the spiritual defense of the thinly dressed Lily would break the swords of these sixth and seventh stage Awakened?
Tamuramura was also astonished, inwardly thinking, “This woman has a treasure!”
“It’s that celestial battle undergarment!” Kuichidera said to Tamuramura from the side, “Kagami Lily obtained a defensive treasure from Lake Biwa.”
The man furrowed his brows. He deduced that this woman would prove more difficult to deal with than he originally thought.
“Mirror Girl, return the life of my Big Brother Tamurakonoe!” Ui couldn’t bear to watch anymore, suddenly rushing out. She desperately leaped towards Lily and swung the kendama in her hand. In a blink, a net of silver threads spiraled in her direction.
The naive yet cruel girl seemed to harbor deep feelings for Tamurakonoe.
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Lily couldn’t afford to hold back anymore. She didn’t want to kill the people of the Maro Dojo, but her tolerance had long devolved into anger.
Swish! Four dojo samurai got lacerated by her sword, causing blood to splatter about.
The six jade balls smashed at Lily, but she didn’t bother to avoid them at all. She forcefully resisted the violent impact and swept a scarlet blade of light towards the girl in the air.
Ui hurriedly used her kendama to block.
BANG!!! The scarlet spiritual energy ran rampant, generating an explosive gust of wind that flung Ui into the depths of the pine forest.
“Kagami Lily, you dare to kill the people of my dojo!” Tamuramura completely lost control of his fury. His spiritual energy erupted and the upper half of his clothing was torn by the immense force, revealing his scarred, battle-hardened body rippling with well-developed muscles.
“Lord Tamuramura!” Kuichidera suddenly spoke, “The real identity of this woman is the Mirror Girl. She is the one that all the samurai in the world want to kill! She must have used a demonic trick just now to kill Lord Tamurakonoe which goes against the way of the samurai!”
Sakanoue no Tamurakonoe’s body still lay silently on the shore of the lake, his blood gradually soaking the sand underneath him. However, no one really cared at the moment.
“What?! That woman is the Mirror Girl?” Tamuramura was stunned, “Is she the one that man wanted to prevent from going to the west?!”
“Exactly!” Kiuchidera said.
“B̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲, why didn’t you say so earlier!” Tamuramura’s anger surged and he shouted to the crowd, “As you all saw, Tamurakonoe’s strength was clearly stronger than hers, but he still lost in some bizarre way. That woman is not some genius samurai of Eastern land, she is the Mirror Girl— a being who brings disaster to the world! She must have used some kind of magic or curse to aid her victory! Killing the Mirror Girl has been the duty of we Kansai samurai since ancient times, and today, I will be the first to take action! Who dares to stand in my way?!”
“Wait!” The beautiful boy yelled anxiously, “Even if she is the Mirror Girl, the new emperor who ascended the throne last year, Emperor Go-Toba, has promised Lord Chief Advisor, Fujiwara no Ayaka, to cease the hunt of the persecuted mirror girls. Could Lord Tamuramura have lived in Nara for so long that you are unaware of the emperor’s edict?”
“What?!” Tamuramura looked unsure and turned to Fujiwara no Kazuo, “Lord Fujiwara, is there such a thing?”
“Uh, this…” Fujiwara hesitated. Fujiwara no Ayaka was the current leader of the Fujiwara Clan after all. No matter how close he was to the Maro Dojo, he couldn’t tear down his own leader, “It is true; there is such a thing, but the current emperor is young and the edict was only issued in the area of Heian-kyō. The imperial court and His Majesty haven’t pushed for this news to be spread to the world…so…”
“Even if the sacred edict has not yet been announced to the world, are you going to disobey it in front of the emperor’s doorstep?” Kazama Mayuzumi asked, “Fujiwara no Kazuo, this is an important new policy implemented by Lady Ayaka since her appointment as chief advisor. Do you oppose this decree made by Lady Ayaka?
“Ah no, this…”
For a time, the two groups of dojo samurai surrounding Lily remained in a silent deadlock. Tamuramura’s majestic aura billowed as he waited for Fujiwara no Kazuo to say his piece before making a move!
Lily’s long hair swayed and Yasutsuna glowed with a faint sheen in her hand, reflecting her killing intent. Several bodies of Maro Dojo samurai were scattered by her feet.
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No one expected this one-on-one legendary duel to develop into a battle involving hundreds of powerful warriors and ronin after the outcome was decided.