Anko Kanno's red-and-white miko robes stood out in the forest.
No beasts or monsters dared approach. Gone was the refined, slightly cunning shrine maiden. Her aura now radiated menace, like an oni's wrath.
It was the killing intent born of slaughter. Weak creatures quaked before it.
"Didn't even notice this canyon before," Anko muttered. Her swift pace brought her to Reisen Riou's flagged canyon by dawn the next day.
Nearing the canyon, she suppressed her aura. It could intimidate small monsters and animals, but for a horde? It'd be a taunt.
The canyon was hidden, its steep drops invisible unless you got close.
No villages nearby, no roads in sight. The monsters here had no chance to attack humans, leaving the Ley Line stagnation unnoticed.
Anko parted some leaves. Two Hilichurl watchtowers and a barricade came into view. Each tower held a Hilichurl Archer, with a Torch Hilichurl patrolling below.
They were clearly Sleepy Tribe—good news. Anko relaxed slightly.
Hilichurls split into two clans: Sleepy Tribe and Meaty Tribe.
Meaty Tribe was fiercer, battle-hardened, and hunted in packs—dangerous.
Sleepy Tribe leaned on farming and gathering, cozy with Slimes, using instinctive Slime tech for an easy life. But in combat? Far weaker.
Anko scaled the canyon's rim. The Sleepy Tribe had sentries, but they were dozing. She went unnoticed.
From above, she surveyed the camp.
Her face darkened.
This tribe was stronger than most with Mitachurl Thunderhelms. Ritou's weak Ley Lines had thankfully kept Thunderhelms from forming, or even the full Shogunate garrison might struggle to clear this lot.
Below were over twenty Wooden Shield Mitachurls, thirty-plus Electro Axe Mitachurls, and a dozen Fire Axe Mitachurls.
Tricky Shamans numbered eleven: two Anemo, two Dendro, two Geo, four Electro, and—luckily—only one Hydro, likely due to the canyon's low water elements.
Hilichurl Bruisers, Warriors, and Archers swarmed in the hundreds, totaling a thousand-strong camp.
Anko retreated. Strong as she was, she couldn't solo a thousand. Her job was scouting—done.
"No Mitachurl Thunderhelm, but the number of Mitachurls and Shamans is absurd," Anko reported back at the Ritou Shrine.
She directed Reisen Riou to recreate the canyon's layout with Electro light.
Barricades, huts, camps, large and small watchtowers, livestock pens, orchards—Mitachurl hotspots, Shaman posts.
"Really no Thunderhelm? With a tribe this size, two or three wouldn't surprise me," Reisen Riou pressed.
"None," Anko said. "A Thunderhelm's lightning would've been spotted miles away."
A junior miko announced the arrival of a Tenryou Commission Hatamoto.
The Hatamoto, surnamed Kujou—a branch member of the Tenryou Commission's Kujou Clan—didn't share his given name.
Reisen Riou sensed disdain from the man toward him, a youkai, and Anko, the Miko of Martial Rice. Typical. Inazuma's divine rule elevated mikos, but its military governance—evident in the Raiden Shogun's title as Shogun—meant samurai often saw themselves above others.
Inazuma needed martial rule to fend off the Dark Sea's threats. Without it, the Shogunate couldn't muster enough forces.
But this bred arrogance, like this Kujou Hatamoto's attitude.
Neither Reisen Riou nor Anko commented.
They briefed him on the situation, showed the Electro sand table, and rested.
Anko had just scouted; Reisen Riou wasn't needed on the front lines.
The Kujou Hatamoto rallied his men to confront the monsters head-on.
Post-clearance, he'd summon the shrine to mend the Ley Lines.
Standard protocol for mid-to-large monster camps usually included battle mikos, whose spells boosted soldiers against monsters.
Ritou lacked such mikos before, so the Hatamoto dismissed their value and marched off.
"Dark clouds loom, a fate of strife," Reisen Riou murmured. He sensed ill fortune for the Hatamoto, an instinctive glimpse of fate he couldn't explain.
His knowledge of the Kujou Clan stopped at Kujou Encampment, where Kujou samurai died every few years.
Mount Yougou, Narukami Island's main island, and Kujou Encampment formed the front line against the Dark Sea. Beyond gods, the Dark Sea birthed empowered monsters.
Kujou Encampment saw countless samurai deaths yearly. Likewise, tengu, oni, and other youkai perished on Mount Yougou and Araumi's front lines.
Top human Vision bearers often died of old age. Youkai, with long lives but slow reproduction, weren't so lucky. Most died in battle. Over millennia, save for the populous Hakushin and tanuki clans, youkai bloodlines dwindled.
Single-clan youkai, like Reisen Riou, often vanished entirely.
Yes, our hero, Reisen Riou, was one such lone youkai.
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