Those low-level demons that had already died stood up once more under the power of the Nekomata Claws.
There was no light in their eyes, only emptiness.
But their bodies were moving.
Charging towards Kidomaru.
"Necromancy?"
Kidomaru once again showed a look of surprise: "You've even obtained the power of the Nekomata?"
Kanbe Hikaru didn't answer.
He simply swung the Thunder Horn, Reverse Scale, and Nekomata Claws all at once.
Three powers erupted simultaneously.
Purple lightning fell from the sky.
Dark purple toxic mist filled the surroundings.
Dozens of undead corpses pounced from every direction.
A three-pronged attack.
This was the trump card he had accumulated by sustaining battle through battle along the way.
He obtained the power of lightning from the Thunder Beast.
He obtained the power of deadly poison from the Venomous Flood Dragon.
He obtained the power to control the dead from the Nekomata.
Although each was only a superficial application, and each relied on external objects rather than being internalized... the three powers combined were enough to deal with most high-level demon leaders of the Materialization.
Only—
"To deal with me, just this is not enough, brat."
Kidomaru's voice came from all directions at once.
Kanbe Hikaru only saw an afterimage.
Then, the lightning was shattered.
The toxic mist was dispersed.
The undead corpses were slashed into pieces.
Everything happened in an instant.
So fast that Kanbe Hikaru didn't even have time to react.
"I will say it again, you are indeed not bad."
Kidomaru appeared before him once more, the tip of his blade pressed against his chest: "Even though your Demonic Qi is still weak and your transformations are only skin-deep, you are already stronger than most demons."
"However—"
A bone-chilling coldness surfaced in his eyes:
"Before me, you are still too weak."
Kanbe Hikaru felt a stinging pain in his chest.
That deep blue long blade had already pierced his skin, and blood flowed down the blade.
Kidomaru's voice sounded like a pronouncement: "No matter how many abilities you possess, it's just an accumulation of quantity."
"And I—"
"Have long since completed the Materialization."
His speed was too fast.
So fast that Kanbe Hikaru's Bone Spikes didn't have time to grow, so fast that Kikyo's arrow didn't have time to aim.
So fast that—
All resistance seemed to become meaningless.
"It's over."
Kidomaru's blade began to press down.
In the distance, Kikyo's bowstring was pulled to its limit.
She knew she wouldn't hit; at this distance, in the face of Kidomaru's speed, her arrow would only be a joke.
However, the opponent would never dare to take her arrow head-on.
All Kikyo wanted was to force Kidomaru back, and that would be enough.
She was confident that as long as she and Kanbe Hikaru joined forces, even a Great Yokai could never look down on them.
Just then.
Kanbe Hikaru suddenly spoke; with his demonic vitality and his unique strength of the Six Transformations that rivaled the Seventh Transformation, he was not yet at the point of being instantly killed by Kidomaru.
Ultimately, Kidomaru was very fast, rivaling or even surpassing an ordinary Great Yokai.
But he did not have a real physical body.
His attacks weren't strong—though they weren't weak either—but if he didn't stack his slashes, they weren't enough to instantly kill Kanbe Hikaru, who was at the Six Transformations but comparable to a Seventh Transformation demon.
This was the price of sacrificing everything, even his physical body, in exchange for absolute speed—and it was also why Kanbe Hikaru could still speak.
He said:
"You're right."
"In terms of pure strength, I am indeed no match for you."
"But—"
His gaze fell upon the land beneath his feet.
"You forgot one thing."
Kidomaru's movements paused: "What?"
"This land."
Kanbe Hikaru said: "In these two days and nights, I have walked through the territory of the Imagawa Clan and slain the Thunder Beast."
I have walked through the cities of the Hojo Clan and slain Gakimaru."
I have walked through the northern mountains and forests and slain the Venomous Flood Dragon."
I have walked through the eastern villages and slain the Nekomata."
His voice grew lower but clearer.
"The demons of the four directions were cleared by me one by one."
"The turbid air and demonic atmosphere that occupied this land were purified by me one by one."
"Who do you think—"
He looked up, his crimson eyes staring directly at Kidomaru.
"This land will side with?"
The land?
Kidomaru was slightly stunned, but in the next second, his pupils suddenly contracted.
He had wanted to respond to such absurd words, to reply to the other's nonsense—how could the land, the unconscious earth, side with anyone?
However.
Such words were stuck in his throat, hard to utter.
Because.
He felt it.
The land beneath his feet was trembling.
[Kanto Region: Favorability +1]
[Current Favorability: 1 (Recognition)]
[Evaluation: This land has felt your act of purification. It has begun to recognize your existence.]
Kanbe Hikaru looked at the prompt on the panel.
This was his true trump card.
Not the Thunder Horn, not the Reverse Scale, not the Nekomata Claws.
But—this Kanto Region that he had personally purified!
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