Chapter 1 The Tide Turns

Mōri Terumoto immediately prepared for battle. Ulsan Castle was tall and impregnable, needing only to be held for a day or two to notify other regions and summon a large number of reinforcements!

"But it's too early to say such things now. First, we must find out how many soldiers the Ming army actually has!"

The details of this army were unknown. The Ming banners did not display the surnames of any generals, only the character for "Ming." It was impossible to determine which general had led the army to attack Ulsan. But in any case, being able to break through the multiple blockades before Daegu and arrive here like a phantom meant that the military strength could not be too great!

If it were an operation involving tens of thousands of people, such a large scale, with soldiers covering the mountains and plains, how could our side, with so many eyes and ears on the front lines, not have known about their movements? Therefore, since ancient times, all surprise attacks, all risky maneuvers, have been carried out by a small group of elites, intending to catch the enemy off guard and achieve a quick victory.

And once these surprise troops are kept outside the gates, their morale will plummet, and their combat power will decline in just a day or two. If their objective is not achieved, they can easily be surrounded by the enemy and devoured!

Mōri Terumoto could only hope his guess was correct!

There were 100,000 troops inside Ulsan Castle. Could the Ming army be relying on the advantage of cannons to launch a fierce attack on the city with only a few thousand soldiers?

Not necessarily!

"But if they are not relying on cannons, then there must be high-level cultivators."

Mōri Terumoto made arrangements. He donned his armor and personally went to the top of the city wall. Facing the fierce suppression of cannon fire and arrows, he organized the soldiers to fight back without showing weakness! Although they did not have cannons on their side, they had a large number of firearms, and as the defending side, they had an overwhelming advantage in terms of numbers and equipment. There was absolutely no way the Ming army could capture this great city!

In the distance, siege ladders and battering rams had already been set up, and it looked like they were about to attack.

In the sky, the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty and Japan clashed, the level of morale determining the strength of the national prestige. A dragon and a snake roared at each other, forming a grand scene of a dragon-snake war.

"Each general must guard their position well and block the Ming army outside the city!"

At the same time, a group of soldiers had already rushed out from behind Ulsan Castle. The cavalry detoured to investigate the first point where the Ming army launched their attack!

Once the enemy's combat power was ascertained, if there were really only a few thousand of them, this group of cavalry would immediately launch a suicide charge to disrupt the Ming army's rear formation. And once the cannons stopped firing, Ulsan Castle could organize a strong and effective counterattack!

Mōri Terumoto was confident of victory. Kuroda Nagamasa also braved the arrows and stones to participate in the battle, while Tōdō Takatora withdrew from Ulsan and sent his navy to notify the armies in Sacheon and other places to come to their aid by sea.

Tokugawa Ieyasu sat in the castle. Because of the unease and suspicion in his heart, he began to cast a spell, and divine light emerged from his body, gradually spreading out from the highest阁楼 (gé lóu, pavilion), blessing Ulsan Castle.

"It's just a siege."

"Perhaps the Kagemusha (shadow warrior) had a problem in some环节 (huánjié, link/stage), failing to fully investigate the military strength distribution and deployment of the Ming Dynasty, resulting in this oversight."

"But to think of capturing this indestructible Ulsan Castle with just a few cannons is simply wishful thinking."

"This battle is a siege, but also an annihilation! Annihilate this group of people, all of them, without leaving a single one, completely destroy them here! Since this group of people has come, don't even think about leaving. How can I easily let you go after losing so much face? I will definitely kill you all and hang your heads for public display!"

Tokugawa Ieyasu felt that he had lost a lot of face this time. He had been strategizing and winning from afar, comparing himself to Zhuge Liang, but in the blink of an eye, he was charged at the high ground tower, and he didn't even know which side the enemy had come from. It was truly like being slapped hard in the face, and it still stung!

What is humiliation? This is humiliation!

"That Ming immortal has disappeared, and I haven't sensed his presence."

"It seems that the ancient immortal sent by His Majesty the Emperor is really strong, just like in the legends. Right now, the reason why that Ming immortal has not appeared on the battlefield is because she is holding him back."

"At least this point is the same as my guess. As long as this point is not a problem, then all other problems are minor and not worth mentioning."

Yao Bikuni, can be described as a figure in ancient legends. Of course, the prefix of Yao Bikuni was added to her in the current era, because she said she would pass away in this era, and then she would no longer live.

In the past, she was also called 500 Bikuni, 600 Bikuni, etc. The preceding hundreds number referred to the years she had lived.

It is said that she was a figure who appeared at the beginning of the Heian period, which is now more than 800 years ago.

And on this long road of Buddhism, only two people in the entire Japan can be compared with her.

She is one of the three living Buddhas, and she is immortal and indestructible. No spells or moves can harm her. She is truly immune to swords and spears, and fire and water. Even karma fire and curses cannot make her lose a single hair.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was full of confidence.

No one can defeat her. He can't even imagine her being defeated and dying. At most, he can only seal her with supreme magic, but she should have been blessed by Emperor Jimmu and will not be easily sealed.

Moreover, there are many spells in Buddhism that can undo seals. After all, what Buddhism is best at is not killing but subduing.

Where there is a method of subduing, there is a corresponding method to undo the subduing.

"If you have to face an opponent who cannot be killed, will not be injured, will not be sealed, and will not be poisoned by any curses, karma fire, or poisons, no matter how hard you rack your brains to figure out how to win, it is all futile."

"That Ming immortal must be unable to get away, but it may still be difficult to convert an immortal with Buddhism..."

Regarding that Ming immortal, the information that Tokugawa Ieyasu received was that the other party was once a True Immortal, but now is a Damaged Immortal. But even if they are damaged, the immortals on his side are not the legendary Supreme True Immortals. And from the series of tragic battles that have occurred before, the other party is a starving camel is bigger than a horse, even if damaged, the immortal might cannot be violated.

After all, they are people who have truly reached the "Celestial Realm" and cannot be suppressed so easily.

But as long as the fighting power at the immortal level does not appear on the front lines, the remaining fighting, ordinary cultivators, even great figures who have reached the Chunyang (Pure Yang) realm, cannot ignore the defense of national prestige and directly start a war. Those cultivators are the most aware of how terrifying the power of a country is.

If you want to achieve results, in this kind of large battlefield with hundreds of thousands of people, it is impossible to complete assassinations like beheading with only experts at the Lian Shen (Spirit Refinement) and Chunyang levels, because they are particularly powerful, so they will be watched by the national prestige, and once they are impacted by the aura of the army formation, they will be immediately suppressed. If you want to assassinate, you need a weak mortal to serve as an assassin, but this kind of assassin cannot kill...

Puff!

A long sword suddenly pierced through his heart!

Tokugawa Ieyasu's chest shook, and then he saw the gushing blood pouring out of his chest!

Where is the enemy?

He was thinking about assassins, so an assassin really appeared?

"Who..."

Tokugawa Ieyasu tried to use divine power, but was horrified to find that his divine power could not function, and the sword that had pierced his body was actually the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven)!

No, this is a fake... It was transformed from the Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto divine position held by Kobayakawa Hideaki!

"Hideaki!"

Ieyasu roared, his eyes wide with anger. Relying on his own strength, he grabbed the divine sword, and then his body actually became filled with boiling blood!

The splattered blood shattered the divine might that was seeping out from the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi at this moment!

Behind Ieyasu, the Shadow Warrior was shocked. This assassination should have been foolproof. He did not expect that the other party would actually eliminate the suppression of the divine sword with a surge of blood?

What kind of spell is this blood?

And Ieyasu drew his sword and unsheathed it, not giving the Shadow Warrior a chance to observe carefully!

A slash flashed past, like a thunderclap, forcing the Shadow Warrior back!

Sure enough, the person who can serve as the commander-in-chief is definitely not an ordinary existence. It is impossible not to have any life-saving methods.

"Haha... Hideaki! How did you get in..."

Tokugawa Ieyasu's chest was pierced, and although blood was gushing out, his life force did not decline at all. Seeing "Kobayakawa Hideaki" looking puzzled, Tokugawa Ieyasu sneered:

"There is a curse in the family. In a sense, I should be grateful for that curse now."

"Do you know what the刀 (dāo, sword) in my hand is?"

The Shadow Warrior was puzzled. This information is easy to find out. There is no need to deliberately ask.

So he responded: "Hannya Nagamitsu, blessed by 600 volumes of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, has a deep Buddhist nature, and when wielded, there are heavenly sounds and Buddhist teachings lingering around it."

Tokugawa Ieyasu sneered: "Contemplate all dharmas as having no existence, take no attainment as a means, and depart from the cycle of birth and death in the three realms!"

"But unfortunately, the one in my hand now is not the Hannya Nagamitsu."

As he said this, the precious sword in his hand emitted bursts of eerie light!

"Muramasa."

"You don't know this name, do you? After you die, go ask the souls of your ancestors and see if they know the name of this sword!"

"It's really amazing that you dared to come to assassinate me and succeeded! But Hideaki, your greatest stupidity lies in being self-righteous!"

The妖刀 (yāo dāo, demon sword) Muramasa, this sword will bring misfortune to the wielder, and the Tokugawa family's curse is that each generation of the head of the family will be unfortunate because of this sword, or even lose their lives because of it, and can only lose their lives under this sword.

The reason why the Hannya Nagamitsu has such a deep Buddhist nature is to suppress this demon sword.

"I see, you didn't bring the Hannya Nagamitsu, but instead took the demon sword Muramasa... You had already anticipated that you would be assassinated."

The Shadow Warrior showed a sudden realization. Tokugawa Ieyasu's divine power had gradually recovered. Feeling the sudden return of the power that had disappeared, Tokugawa Ieyasu sighed: "If it were the real Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, I would have died just now."

"However, the real Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi cannot be in your hands. The power that sword symbolizes is not something that a guy like you can touch."

"What a pity, Hideaki, even if you took the Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto divine position, even if you used a fake Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, you are still a piece of trash."

"If it weren't for you being the adopted son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, do you think you would be sitting in the position of a general in the Western Army? Now you are shamelessly not only not running away, but also licking the boots of the Ming Dynasty, and instead turning back and pointing your sword at me."

"Now even if I kill you, Hideyoshi will not protect you. The Kobayakawa family and the Shimazu family have been completely finished by your betrayal and that of Shimazu Yoshihiro."

However, the Shadow Warrior was lost in thought, and suddenly said: "Ieyasu, why don't you betray as well?"

"Your eastern country was forcibly unified in the first place. Hideyoshi made you one of the five elders to assist him in order to win you over, and now you are desperately fighting for him on the front lines. You don't want to continue like this, do you..."

"Pull Hideyoshi down from his horse, kill him, and then destroy Emperor Jimmu. This way our country will definitely become better. There will be no restrictions on our heads, and people can rest in peace after death. Why don't you consider it?"

The Shadow Warrior was just trying it out, but he didn't expect that Tokugawa Ieyasu really had a hint of contemplation on his face at this time, but then he asked:

"Hideaki, are you so sure?"

"Do you know the power of Emperor Jimmu? In our country, the sky, the earth, the sea, the mountains, the forests, the wind, the rain, the thunder, the lightning, farming, sericulture, and even people's entry into the land of the dead, everything is under his control."

"Born from the land of the gods, wanting to escape the land of the gods and to overthrow and kill the immortal gods, do you think it is as simple as assassinating me? Just relying on the fake Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi in your hand?"

"The three sacred treasures are all in Hideyoshi's hands, and Emperor Jimmu has even more power that we don't know. Apart from submission, there is no other choice."

"Emperor Jimmu chose Hideyoshi to be the ruler of the world, and Hideyoshi also showed his ability to Emperor Jimmu. They are in a cooperative relationship. What I am thinking about is that after Hideyoshi ascends to immortality, I can replace him as the ruler of the world."

"But now, how can I collude with you? If I betray here, and he finds out, will I have any chance to return home alive?"

The Shadow Warrior heard something between the lines from his words: "In other words, as long as he doesn't know, you will betray?"

Tokugawa Ieyasu suddenly fell silent, staring at Hideaki with a strange look.

After a few silent breaths, he spoke:

"That's right, I still don't know how you got in. It seems that you have a way to deceive the heavens, Hideaki. Is this a spell taught to you by a Ming immortal?"

The Shadow Warrior fooled him: "You don't need to worry about that. In short, it seems that you are willing to talk to me now."

"You are already dissatisfied with Hideyoshi himself, aren't you? You were forced to submit and attack the Ming Dynasty, and the benefits you received were all empty promises from Hideyoshi. It would be good if you could really get them. But what will happen if you can't get them?"

"Has Hideyoshi told you the odds of winning this battle?"

Tokugawa Ieyasu's eyes moved: "I know that there are other immortals within the Ming Dynasty, but they cannot be dispatched by the Ming court, can they?"

The Shadow Warrior laughed: "If you occupy their land, they may not attack you. Attacking the Ming Dynasty also results in heavy losses, and attacking Hideyoshi also results in heavy losses. With so many soldiers under your command, do you think those corps commanders really want to continue fighting?"

"Ieyasu, go and see outside. Are those sounds of fighting really only from the Ming army?"

A look of suspicion appeared on Tokugawa Ieyasu's face. He used divine power to sense the situation outside, and his expression gradually changed dramatically!

"How could it be... Changnyeong, Milyang, Yeongju, Seongju... Aren't these the defending generals over there? How could they be mixed in with the Ming army?!"

The Shadow Warrior gave a big忽悠 (hū you, con/sweet-talk):

"This is the trend of the times!"

"Toyotomi Hideyoshi is a tyrant and a traitor, treating the world like weeds and the people like ants. Now that the time and place are right, all that is needed is harmony among the people. The world should rise up and punish him!"

"If you rebel against Hideyoshi and successfully seize Japan, the Ming Dynasty will bestow upon you the title of a feudal lord, placing you at the head of all the domains, promising you descendants forever, and enduring alongside the Ming!"

"Emperor Jimmu is lording over you, constantly manipulating you. Even if you become an immortal, you cannot become a True Immortal, but only a Fake Immortal. Are you willing to continue being a puppet of Xu Fu after Hideyoshi turns into a Fake Immortal!"

"If you surrender to the Ming Dynasty, it can be said that you are truly abandoning the darkness and turning to the light. At least the Ming Dynasty has no way to constantly monitor you, who are isolated overseas! You are the 天子 (Tiānzǐ, Son of Heaven) of this land of Japan. Even if you call yourself emperor, a single line for eternity, what is impossible!"

Tokugawa Ieyasu's spirit was shaken at this time, and his heart was thinking of change. And in this room, in the corner, a black shadow had been standing, watching the entire change in the situation completely with its eyes!