"You wish!"
Kenshō shoved the two bushi behind him forward, forcing them to stand between him and Biba.
"My lord, please go first. Leave this to us!" One of the bushi roared as he charged, trying to hold Biba back.
Biba answered with a contemptuous smile and met them head-on.
The two bushi weren't even close to his match — he cut them down in just a few strikes.
"Lord Yomogawa, it seems you're not a clever one." Biba advanced toward Kenshō with a bloodstained katana, cold light flashing in his eyes.
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
Ryuji walked down a smoke-filled street, feeling a little helpless.
He'd planned to follow the Shadowkhan's sensing and see who the compatible ones were, but not long after entering the residential district, the Kabane attacked.
Turning onto a side street, he spotted several Kabane hemming in a mother and daughter and rushed over at once.
"D-don't be afraid. Mom will be with you." The mature woman held her daughter tight, fingers digging into the canvas of a suicide bag — ready to blow them both up before the Kabane could close in.
Bang! Bang-bang-bang!
The gunfire was followed by the heavy thuds of bodies hitting the ground.
The woman looked up.
A youth stood between them and the Kabane. Corpses lay scattered, their cage hearts shattered.
Buzz — Buzz!
At that moment, an armored train blared its horn as it pulled out of Iwato Station.
"Isn't that the Kōtetsujō…?" Ryuji frowned.
The Master Key to start the Kōtetsujō should've been in Kenshō's possession.
Realization struck.
He pivoted toward the lord's manor.
Boom!!
Raging flames roared up, swallowing the entire compound.
"Tch…" Ryuji clicked his tongue.
Clearly, his "father-in-law" was either dead… or had already been captured by Biba.
"Um… sir, thank you for saving us." The mother and daughter stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"Do you know where the armored train at Iwato Station is?"
"Huh?" The question startled her, but she quickly nodded, "I-I know!"
"Good. Take your daughter to the Kokujō. I'll come later." Ryuji pointed to a shadowy figure that rose soundlessly beside them, "She'll protect you."
"Ah!" ×2
Ryuji ignored their shock at the sudden apparition and sprinted away, following the retainer's sensing.
When he found Mumei and the others, Ayame was kneeling at the manor gates while Mumei and the rest fumbled awkwardly, trying to comfort her.
"What happened?" Ryuji rushed over and pulled Ayame into his arms.
"Waaah… Father… Father is still in the manor…" Through tears, Ayame pointed at the estate engulfed in flames.
Ryuji didn't know what to say.
The manor was already a blazing ruin — no one inside could survive.
All he could do was hold her tighter and let her cry against him.
Just then, a monster over thirty meters tall smashed Iwato Station's west gate into splinters.
More Kabane flooded into Iwato. The bushi who'd been fighting desperately began to retreat.
Boom! Boom!
As the Fused Colony stepped into Iwato, explosions rang out from several other gates, and an even greater wave of Kabane poured in.
"Biba… what a scheme."
Ryuji hadn't expected that bastard to spring the trap here — he'd thought Biba would stay in Kongōkaku.
"Alright, Ayame. Pull yourself together." Ryuji lifted Ayame's tear-streaked face and kissed her lips, "If you want revenge for your father, then go kill Biba."
"Biba…" Ayame choked out the name, hatred flickering behind her tears.
When Ryuji led the women to the armored train's location at Iwato, they found more than a dozen women already waiting there.
After scanning them, Ryuji confirmed they were all compatible and ordered them aboard the Kokujō.
"An armored train! It's an armored train!"
"Hurry! Hurry, I want to get on!"
A crowd came running. The moment they saw the locomotive, they surged toward it.
But as they closed in, they found a youth blocking the way.
"Brat, who are you? Get lost — don't block us from boarding!" A middle-aged man shouted, raising a gun at Ryuji.
"Tch. As expected…" Ryuji's eyes went cold, "The train only needs my women — and the compatible ones. Everyone else…"
He lunged.
"You damn brat — don't look down on me!"
Bang!
Ryuji caught the bullet in one hand and flicked it back.
Pfft!
A young man next to the shooter — who'd been about to raise his own gun — took a neat hole through the forehead and collapsed as the others stared in shock.
"M-monster! Everyone, shoot!"
Bang! Bang-bang-bang!
Ryuji advanced, drawing the Shadowless Sword, chopping each bullet out of the air.
Pfft!
Like a lion charging into a flock, he cleaved anyone who resisted clean in half.
The unarmed civilians stared at the "warriors" on the ground — many reduced to struggling torsos — and went deathly pale.
"The Kokujō is mine. Anyone else who tries to board will end up like them." Ryuji's voice was ice, "Women and little girls may board — but you must work. I won't feed useless mouths."
In the end, the men backed away. Only a dozen or so women and several little girls remained.
Ryuji let them board and assigned them to cooking, laundry, and cleaning — treating them as the lowest labor.
As for taking them in… if their looks weren't good enough and their figures were average, they naturally wouldn't enter the harem. Later, after reaching someplace safe, Ryuji would send them away.
"How is it, Yukina — can you drive it alone?" Ryuji went to the front car and asked Yukina, who sat at the driver's console.
"Yes. I can." After testing a few controls, Yukina nodded, "The Kokujō's design is quite advanced — nearly every function can be operated from the console. Now all that's left is the Master Key."
"Then you drive." Ryuji stepped to the keyhole.
"Ryuji, you have the key?" Mumei stared at his empty hands, puzzled.
"No — but I have this."
Blue lightning crackled across Ryuji's palm as he pressed it to the keyhole.
Humm!
The Kokujō started successfully.
"Wow… what kind of ability is that? You can start an armored train without a key?"
Mumei grabbed his hand and turned it over and over, unable to find anything special — except that this was the hand that often left her thirsty and drained at night.
Remembering that, her cheeks reddened.
"Mm. It's one of my abilities." Ryuji pulled his hand back and pinched her cheek.
"Ahm…" Mumei bit down on his offered fingers, glaring in displeasure.
"Hiss! Hozumi, let go!" Even as he scolded her, Ryuji's fingers teased her slick little tongue.
"Mmmph!"
Mumei tried to look fierce and refused to release, yet the deepening blush proved how thoroughly his fingers were kneading her tongue.
Seeing the two fool around, the other women couldn't help laughing; even Ayame, still grieving, managed a faint smile.
"Fused Colony ahead!" Yukina called from the driver's seat.
At the same time, the Reincarnation Space — which had been offline for several chapters — finally issued a mission.
⤚———————————————————⤙
〖Ding! Hidden Mission triggered!〗
⤚———⤙
〖Hidden Mission: Eliminate the Fused Colony "Nue"! Reward: 4,000 Reincarnation Points, Kabane Treasure Chest ×1〗
⤚———————————————————⤙
Ryuji looked through the windshield. A few hundred meters ahead, by the tracks, the massive Fused Colony stared at them.
"You stay here and make sure the Kabane don't get in. I'll deal with it."
With that, he pulled his hand back — still slick with Mumei's scent — and, right in front of her, licked it, "Fragrant and sweet… hahaha…"
Mumei flushed with shame and fury as Ryuji climbed onto the roof.
"Hmph!" Her face was red as blood. She stomped and snorted.
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
"Whew… looks like I'll be in for another rough spell afterward."
On the roof, Ryuji watched the Fused Colony a few hundred meters away and the growing tide of Kabane, feeling resigned.
He didn't want to burn too much mana at once again. That sensation was truly miserable.
⤚———————————————————⤙
[ Mutated Fused Colony ] [ Nue ]
[ Strength: G+ ]
[ Intelligence: H- ]
[ Constitution: G+ ]
[ Spirit: H- ]
[ Power Assessment: G+ ]
[ Bloodline: Kabane Bloodline ]
[ Skill: Slap, Charge… ]
⤚———————————————————⤙
This Fused Colony was clearly stronger than the previous one. Defeating it would consume even more mana, which made Ryuji even more exasperated.
{T/N: The only change from Black Smoke to this one was the Constitution, which increased from G to G+.}
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want 20 chapters ahead of this novel for just $1, as well as smut chapters ($2) or spicy images ($5) or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations (free or starting at $1.5): MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)