Sagami Province, Hojo Clan's main castle.
Odawara Castle.
This is the most solid castle in the Kanto region, without exception.
Since the first generation, Hojo Soun, the Hojo Clan had spent three generations managing and building this castle, which relied on the mountains and the sea, into an impregnable fortress.
The tall stone walls were layered, the heavy castle gate was three feet thick, and the dense arrow towers could make any invading enemy pay a heavy price.
Back then—or perhaps in later generations—Uesugi Kenshin, who ruled the land of Echigo, led an army of one hundred thousand to attack, but could only sigh in helplessness at the foot of the castle.
The title of the number one fortress in Kanto was by no means an empty reputation.
Compared to the Imagawa Clan's main town, this place was undoubtedly much more solid.
However, at this moment.
Kanbe Hikaru stood on the hillside outside the castle, overlooking this legendary fortress; under the moonlight, the outline of the castle was clearly visible.
But he only felt that everything was complete, and everything was very quiet.
It was too quiet.
There were no patrolling soldiers, no burning torches, and no signs of any human activity.
The vast Odawara Castle was like a giant tomb.
"The Demonic Qi here is very thick, even thicker than over at the Imagawa Clan's."
"Even, it is not just Demonic Qi."
Kanbe Hikaru's eyes narrowed.
He could see.
The entire city was shrouded in a layer of faint golden mist, which shimmered with tiny light spots under the moonlight, like countless fireflies dancing.
But those were not fireflies.
They were scales.
Gakimaru's scales.
"It has already made its move."
Yura of the Hair's voice came out.
"Made its move?"
Kanbe Hikaru also understood in an instant: "You mean... the people in the entire city?"
"They are all dreaming."
Yura of the Hair said in a muffled voice, seemingly appearing very wary: "All of them have been hit by its scales."
Thousands of people had all fallen into a deep sleep.
Their breathing was steady, their heartbeats were normal, but their consciousness had been trapped in another world.
Gakimaru's illusion.
"This guy is indeed more troublesome than the Thunder Beast."
Kanbe Hikaru frowned.
Yura of the Hair was right.
Although the Thunder Beast was strong, it was a direct-attack type demon, hiding underground to release lightning; as long as it was forced out, it could be solved.
But Gakimaru was different.
It was a mental-attack type existence.
The Thunder Beast was a manifestation of thunder, fierce and fast, but ultimately traceable.
Although Gakimaru could also be classified as an elemental manifestation, it was more ethereal than thunder, belonging to mental manifestations.
Its scales could invade human dreams and create fear in the dreams.
Kanbe Hikaru stepped toward the castle gate; the heavy wooden gate was wide open, with no guards.
He just walked straight in.
What met his eyes was a wide street, with neat houses and shops on both sides.
As the stronghold of the Hojo Clan, the castle town of Odawara Castle should have been extremely bustling on any other day, with merchants gathering and crowds flowing like a river.
But now, all the doors were shut.
All the windows were dark.
Occasionally, one or two people could be seen lying on the ground, remaining motionless in the position they had fallen.
Kanbe Hikaru crouched down to examine one of them.
It was a middle-aged man dressed in merchant's attire, with an expression of fear on his face.
His eyes were closed, but his eyeballs were rolling frantically beneath his eyelids.
He was dreaming.
And it was a nightmare.
Wounds were even spreading and appearing on his body.
It seemed that the nightmare he was experiencing was being reflected in reality.
"The situation here is indeed much more severe than on the Imagawa side."
Kanbe Hikaru stood up.
The Imagawa Clan had only been harassed by the thunder beast for three days, with only a few dozen casualties.
There was more panic than actual casualties.
But here, with the Hojo Clan, the entire city had fallen into an illusion.
If they were not saved in time, these people would die one by one in their nightmares.
The resentment brought by death would accumulate more and more.
Gakimaru would become stronger and stronger.
A vicious cycle.
He continued walking forward, his blood mist spreading out to perceive the entire city.
Where was Gakimaru?
He did not know.
That damned moth was hiding too deeply.
It must have already sensed the death of the thunder beast—the Thunder Horn was still on his back, and that object emitted a rich aura of lightning that any yokai with a 'connection' to the thunder beast could detect.
So, it had hidden itself.
It was highly likely that it was hiding within this illusion made of scale powder, not showing its face, not appearing.
Yura of the Hair's voice was not at all surprised; she had already said as much.
She also added: "It has hidden itself in the illusion of scale powder. That is the reason why it is hard to find."
Kanbe Hikaru frowned.
This was troublesome.
Unlike the thunder beast, which had a fixed nest, Gakimaru was an existence that had merged with the illusion.
As long as the illusion remained, it was omnipresent, yet left no trace.
However...
"It is not that there is absolutely no way."
Kanbe Hikaru looked up at the golden mist permeating the air.
Yura of the Hair was stunned.
"The entire city and everyone's nightmares are its domain. Trying to find its true form within it is like trying to find a needle in the ocean."
"Can you really find it?"
To this, Kanbe Hikaru did not answer immediately.
He stopped and stood in front of a tall building.
It was the main citadel of Odawara Castle, the Tenshukaku.
The residence of the successive heads of the Hojo Clan.
"Naturally, it cannot be found head-on..."
He raised his hand, and more blood mist seeped out from under his skin, beginning to spread in all directions.
"I need to change my approach."
Yura of the Hair was startled: "What are you going to do?"
"I am going to enter the dreams."
Kanbe Hikaru's voice was very calm.
"Are you crazy?"
Yura of the Hair said in disbelief: "You can enter dreams? Furthermore, that is Gakimaru's illusion. If you enter voluntarily, you are courting death!"
"Who said I was going to enter its illusion?"
Kanbe Hikaru smiled.
That smile appeared somewhat eerie under the moonlight.
"What I am going to enter... are the dreams of every person in this city."
The blood mist began to spread at an accelerated rate.
Starting from the main citadel, it spread outward, covering the streets, covering the houses, and covering every sleeping person.
Those blood mists seeped into their skin, merged with their auras, and established a connection with their dreams.
Gakimaru's scale powder was a large net, trapping everyone in nightmares.
And Kanbe Hikaru's blood mist was another net.
A net that eroded the first net.
Resonance through blood.
His blood mist was also his 'eye'.
Ultimately, so-called dreams were essentially nothing more than the neural connection activities of the brain; they were the conduction and transmission of electrical signals.
Although this was a worldview filled with monsters and demons, just like the existence of elemental counters, some principles remained universal.
Therefore, as long as he invaded with blood and touched those'signals'.
Kanbe Hikaru was truly capable of doing this, and thereby, entering the dreams.
To'see', to 'feel'.
The compulsory education Kanbe Hikaru had received in his 'previous life' had not been in vain!
"You..."
Yura of the Hair's voice was trembling: "You intend to use this blood mist of yours to enter the dreams?"
"Something like that."
Kanbe Hikaru closed his eyes.
His consciousness began to disperse.
One part remained in reality.
The greater part, however, followed the blood mist and entered the dreams of countless people.
And then, he truly succeeded and saw it.
Nightmares.
Countless nightmares.
Some were being engulfed by flames, some were being chased by monsters, and some were watching their own loved ones die one by one.
Every dream was filled with fear.
Every fear was being harvested by Gakimaru and converted into resentment.
"What a huge appetite."
Kanbe Hikaru muttered.
"The people of an entire city, all having nightmares at the same time... does this guy want to get fat in one bite?"
His consciousness wove through countless dreams, searching for a specific existence.
Not Gakimaru.
It was the master of this city.
The head of the Hojo Clan.
If he wanted to do something within the dreams...
Starting from scratch was too slow.
It was better to find the most core person directly.
And then—give everyone in this city a reason to 'wake up'.
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