69novels Chapter 294 The Beast's Pursuit, The Demon King's Fire
Chapter 294 The Beast's Pursuit, The Demon King's Fire
Chapter 294 The Pursuit of a Hundred Beasts, The Demon King's Fire
Six figures appeared silently in the snow outside the main hall.
The leader was none other than King, the Great King of the Beasts Pirates.
His tall frame was encased in a black leather uniform, his wings folded back, but his eyes, visible through his mask, shone like cold searchlights in the snowy night, locking onto the two people inside the hall.
Behind him were five Gifters, all elites among Zoan-type Devil Fruit users.
Their eyes were fierce, and their aura was far stronger than that of the ragtag soldiers who attacked Hiyori in the Flower Capital.
"Kozuki Hiyori," Jin's voice was deep, like the scraping of metal, "and—an unfamiliar Heroic Spirit."
He stepped onto the stone steps, the snow melting and evaporating beneath his feet, leaving charred footprints.
The intense heat emanated from him, and the surrounding snowflakes turned into white vapor the moment they fell.
"Mr. Kaido has ordered that you hand over the Heroic Spirits and qualifications for the Holy Grail War, or you will be spared."
Hiyori instinctively took a half step back, but Nobunaga reached out and pressed down on her shoulder.
"Hey, you wearing a mask." Nobunaga walked up casually and stood between Hiyori and Jin.
"You said you'd hand over the Servant and the qualification, fine, but can you really hand over the qualification? It's not a physical object."
"Okay," Jin said calmly.
"Kill the Master, or forcibly transfer the Command Seals. We prefer the latter, after all, the bloodline of the Kozuki clan is more valuable alive."
Nobunaga raised an eyebrow: "Forced relocation? How? Do you have a method?"
"This is none of your business, Heroic Spirit." Jin's gaze turned to Nobunaga.
"Your Master is too weak, and the contract is fragile. He cannot provide you with much magic power either. Surrender now, and we can let bygones be bygones for your killing of the Gifter."
"Surrender?" Nobunaga laughed, a laugh that came from hearing something ridiculous.
"Hey, are you talking to me? Oda Nobunaga, the Sixth Demon King, would you surrender just because an enemy says a few harsh words?"
He drew two swords, one long and one short, with the tips pointing diagonally at the ground.
"Besides, I hate being threatened the most."
"Those who threatened me in life, whether they were monks, nobles, or other powerful figures, all ended up as victims of my blade."
Jin remained silent for a moment.
Then, he slowly raised his right hand.
"Then there's nothing to talk about."
"Capture them alive, but be extremely careful with Heroic Spirits. Hiyori must be alive!"
The moment the command was given, all five Gifters moved simultaneously!
The Cheetah Gifter transformed into a yellow blur, pouncing on Nobunaga from the left, its claws tearing through the air!
The Mammoth Gifter charged from the front, its massive body like a chariot, making the stone steps tremble with every step!
The giant ape gifted one swung its fist down from the right side; the fist was the size of a clay pot!
The scorpion-giver's tail pierced out from an eerie angle, its stinger flashing with a purplish-black venomous light!
The pterosaur-giver took to the air, condensing a blazing fireball from its mouth!
They were surrounded on five sides, sealing off all avenues for escape!
"Watch out!" Hiyori exclaimed.
But Nobunaga didn't even move a step.
He just—smiled.
"No matter how many small fry there are, they're still just small fry."
The long sword was swung out.
It wasn't fast; in fact, it was quite casual.
But the trajectory of that slash seemed to have been calculated with the utmost precision, passing precisely through the gaps in the cheetah's claws, the tip of the blade lightly touching the opponent's heart.
laugh.
The cheetah-giver's charging figure froze.
He looked down at the small bloody hole in his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Why? His speed was so fast, his claw strikes so fierce, why—
He collapsed.
Short sword, backhand parry.
clang!!!
The giant ape-giver's powerful fist slammed into the blade of the short sword, producing a loud metallic clang!
But Nobunaga didn't budge, while the giant ape gifted felt as if his fist had hit an iron mountain, his knuckles cracking under the strain!
"He's strong, but too stupid."
Nobunaga flicked his wrist, and the short sword slid up the arm of the giant ape-giver, flashing in the light.
A gigantic arm flew into the air, spraying blood like a fountain!
"Roar—!!!" The giant ape gifted one screamed and retreated.
At that moment, the Mammoth Gifter had already rushed in front of Nobunaga, and its huge trunk smashed down like a battering ram!
The scorpion's stinger also pierced from behind! The pterosaur gifted in the air spewed fireballs, sealing off the sky above Nobunaga!
Nobunaga didn't even turn around.
He shifted his body slightly to the side, and the mammoth's trunk grazed the hem of his clothes, smashing the stone slab to pieces!
At the same time, he swung his long sword backward with his left hand, precisely blocking the scorpion's stinger. The blade and the stinger scraped together, producing a piercing sound and sparks!
And the fireballs in the air.
"You dare call this kind of thing fire?"
Nobunaga raised his head, his sword flashing as he faced the falling flame.
That blazing flame was actually split in two by him.
The pterosaur giver was dumbfounded.
Then, Nobunaga faced him, sheathing his short sword with his left hand, and a very old-fashioned musket appeared as if it came with flames.
boom!
The compressed, purified, and dark red flames shot out like a laser, instantly piercing through the chest of the pterosaur gifter!
The latter fell from the sky without even letting out a scream, creating a charred crater in the snow.
The whole process took no more than three seconds.
Of the five elite gifted beings, one was dead, one was seriously injured, one was incapacitated, and the other two stopped in their tracks in shock.
The eyes beneath the mask of ashes finally revealed a solemn expression.
"This isn't an ordinary Heroic Spirit—" he whispered, "This fighting style—is it a swordsman? No, does it even use a gun—"
Nobunaga flicked the blood off his sword and grinned at Jin.
"Your turn, masked one. Hopefully you can take a beating like these small fry."
Jin did not answer.
He slowly raised his hands, palms facing upwards.
A blazing flame rose from his palm!
The flames weren't red, but a strange cyan color, and the temperature was so high that even the surrounding air was distorting and burning!
The snow is melting, the stone steps are cracking, and the temperature of the entire abandoned shrine is rising rapidly!
"The Flame Emperor Without Servants".
Jin chanted softly, clasped his hands together, and then suddenly pulled them apart to the sides.
A massive wall of azure flames spread outwards from him, instantly enveloping the entire shrine ruins!
The wall of flames was ten meters high and three meters thick, completely blocking all escape routes!
This is one of Jhin's signature abilities: creating an absolute cage with high-temperature flames!
"In my realm of fire, everything will burn, melt, and perish."
Jin's voice came amidst the crackling of the flames.
"Although your bodies are made of magic, they can still be decomposed by high temperatures. I'm giving you one last chance: surrender or die."
Nobunaga looked at the blue walls of flames around him, then at the sword in his hand, and suddenly sighed.
"Ugh, really—"
He sheathed the long sword in his right hand.
Jin's eyes narrowed. Surrender? No, there was not a trace of fear in this heroic spirit's eyes.
Then, Nobunaga did something that no one expected.
He clapped his hands.
Like an artist about to begin their performance.
"Alright, alright, that's enough of the fire show," Nobunaga said in his nonchalant tone. "Now it's my turn to perform."
He raised his right hand, his index finger pointing to the sky.
"You know what? What I hated most in my life were those guys who thought they were superior just because they had mastered mystery and power."
"Monks are like this, Onmyoji are like this, and so-called monsters are like this too."
Dark red light began to gather on the muzzle of the musket in his left hand.
"So, I developed some little tricks specifically for dealing with these kinds of guys."
The light expanded, transforming into a complex magic circle that was not of this world, composed of countless tiny runes.
That was Oda Nobunaga's mysterious assassin ability, unique to the "Archer" class!
"This is the first power of the Mystic Special Attack."
Nobunaga grinned, his smile twisted into a grotesque, demonic grin.
—The Three Thousand Worlds: Demon-Slaying Array!
The dark red magic circle expanded instantly, covering the entire fire domain!
Within the magic circle's range, all mysteries were contained, including Ember's blue flames, the Gifter's Zoan-type abilities, and even the faint magical power of the Command Seals on Hiyori's wrist.
They all began to fluctuate violently, decay, and collapse!
"What?!" Jin stared in shock at the flame in his palm.
The azure flames, reaching temperatures of several thousand degrees, now flickered like a candle in the wind, as if they might be extinguished at any moment.
"Impossible! My flames are—my race's power, the flames of the gods! How could this be—"
"God?" Nobunaga scoffed. "In my time, I burned at least eighty or a hundred men who claimed to be gods."
"You guys always think you're something special just because you've mastered some special abilities—"
He clenched his fist suddenly.
The dark red magic circle contracted and condensed, transforming into a long spear made purely of the concept of magic breaking, which hovered in front of him.
"But in my eyes—"
The spear was fired.
"Those bastards are all remnants of the old era that should be swept into the dustbin of history!"
The Demon-Slaying Spear ignored the obstruction of flames and the barriers of space, as if it had locked onto the very concept of Ember's power, and instantly pierced through his chest!
There are no wounds.
There was no bleeding.
But Jin felt that something innate within him, something that sustained all his power, had been shattered.
The flame in his palm went out.
The wings on its back drooped limply.
His tall figure swayed, then he knelt on one knee, his face beneath the mask as pale as paper.
"My—ability—" He struggled to lift his head and look at Nobunaga, "What—have you—done—?"
"It's nothing, it's just that your special abilities have been temporarily sealed." Nobunaga walked up to him and looked down at him.
"Divine Flame? It sounds impressive, but it's essentially a kind of mystery. And my power is specifically designed to destroy the mysterious."
He drew his dagger and pressed it against Jin's throat.
"So, do you have any last words, sir?"
Jin closed his eyes and remained silent.
But at that moment...
"Lord Nobunaga!"
Hiyori's voice suddenly rang out, filled with anxiety.
Nobunaga turned around.
Above the hole in the roof of this hall, a figure has been floating for some unknown time.
Blue hair, red eyes, carrying a crimson spear.
Cú Chulainn (AIter) looked down, a smile of excitement spreading across his face.
"Fantastic, absolutely fantastic!" He clapped his hands as he slowly descended from the sky.
"Oda Nobunaga, you're even more interesting than I imagined!"
He landed on the edge of the wall of flames.
The flames had thinned under the influence of Nobunaga's magic circle, but Cú Chulainn simply swung his spear casually, tore a hole in the wall, and walked in.
"Let me introduce myself, I am Cú Chulainn, Berserker class."
He stared at Nobunaga, his eyes burning with pure fighting spirit.
"I saw part of your fight with Jhin just now—it was good, really good. So—"
A crimson spear was pointed at Nobunaga.
"Fight me, Sixth Heaven Demon King."
"Let me see whether your magic-breaking ability is stronger, or my destructive power is greater."
Nobunaga looked at Cú Chulainn, then at the powerless Jin on the ground, and then at Hiyori, who was pale-faced behind him.
Then he sighed and scratched his head.
"What day is it today? — One after another."
But he gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, and flames ignited in his red eyes as well.
That is the fighting spirit of a hegemon, one that will never back down.
"Alright."
The twin swords were drawn once more.
"Perfect timing for me to stretch my muscles."
The wind and snow intensified.
In the abandoned shrine, two heroic spirits, known for their madness and battle prowess, stand facing each other.
Boom! ...
A deafening roar, like a muffled thunderclap, echoed from the distant sky.
It wasn't thunder.
It is something heavier and more terrifying that is tearing through the clouds at an alarming speed, hurtling through the sky.
Nobunaga's hand stopped. He slowly stood up, raised his head, and looked up at the northern sky.
Hiyori felt it too. That suffocating feeling, as if the entire sky were pressing down on them, that oppressive force that made even their souls tremble.
She had experienced it once before, on the day her father, Kozuki Oden, was executed.
"Kaido—" she gritted her teeth and squeezed out the name.
A complex light flashed in Jin's eyes, a mixture of humiliation, relief, and a deeper expectation.
Cú Chulainn, carrying his crimson spear, grinned and said, "Oh? So you've finally arrived? This is going to be interesting."
On the northern horizon, the clouds were violently torn open, leaving a huge gap.
A dragon.
A real dragon, existing only in myths and legends, is stretching its enormous body covered with blue-green scales as it swoops down from the sea of clouds!
The body of the creature is over a hundred meters long, and each scale reflects a cold, hard metallic luster under the moonlight.
The dragon's winding whiskers danced wildly in the wind, and its scarlet vertical pupils, like two blood moons, looked down at the tiny ruins of the shrine below.
Zoan type, Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan type, Azure Dragon form.
Kaido of the Beasts has arrived in person.
The dragon did not land directly, but hovered in mid-air, its enormous shadow casting a shadow over the entire Linghou mountain range.
He lowered his head, and his vertical pupils, which were enough to make any strong person tremble, first swept over the kneeling Jin.
After sweeping past the heavily formidable Cú Chulainn, finally—
It was frozen on Oda Nobunaga.
silence.
The only sounds were the howling of the wind and snow, and the low wind pressure caused by the dragon slowly flapping its wings.
After a long while, the dragon spoke.
The sound did not come from the mouth, but echoed directly between heaven and earth, like the whisper of a god.
"So it was you—the one who injured Jhin?"
Nobunaga tilted his head back, hands on his hips, showing no fear whatsoever when facing such a massive object. He even whistled.
"Wow—a dragon! I've seen plenty of monsters in Japan, but this is the first time I've ever seen a dragon this big."
He stroked his chin, looking quite surprised by this thing.
"Hey big guy, can you breathe fire? If you can, show me!"
"I've burned down temples and cities in my life, but I've never tried breathing fire against a dragon!"
These reckless words stunned everyone present.
Jin raised an eyebrow: "This guy really dares to say that—"
Hiyori's face turned pale, and she subconsciously wanted to grab Nobunaga's sleeve, but stopped halfway through her reach.
She saw Nobunaga's profile.
On that rugged face, there was no frivolity, no joking, only an eager excitement.
Kaido the dragon remained silent for a few seconds.
Then, He smiled.
It was a deep, resonant laugh filled with boundless arrogance, which shook the entire mountain area.
"Hehehehehe—Interesting! So interesting!"