Chapter 129: A Perilous Situation
"Go back, we must immediately turn around!" Saki Jingūji shouted loudly. "We can't go any further!"
The other shrine's sword witches all came to a halt and looked at her with puzzled expressions.
"Don't make a fuss," the older sword witch said calmly. "If the stress is too much for you, then you shouldn't have come."
"No, no, it's not! I'm not afraid and that's why I can't move forward, it's because, because..."
Inside Saki Jingūji's body, the Fairy Principle is pulsating, but she finds it difficult to express this sensation properly. She becomes aware that something is hidden in the mountains, and it poses a great threat. Not only is it beyond their ability to handle, but it could also lead to the destruction of their entire army because that thing is multiplying! Moreover, since she entered the mountains, its multiplication speed has accelerated.
All the sword witches looked at each other in surprise. They were all skilled and exceptional in their own ways. Most of them preferred to work alone and trust their own judgments.
A sword witch performed a divination right there. Shrine maidens have the ability to predict good and bad fortunes.
"According to my fortune-telling, the southeast direction is good luck, and the southwest direction is bad luck."
The sword witch in charge made a quick decision, "Let's split into groups. One group will stay here for support while the other group returns to patrol and check on the movements of the main army."
Jingūji immediately said, "No, splitting into groups makes us vulnerable to being attacked separately. Sorry to be blunt, but we have no idea about the situation throughout the entire mountain. They are numerous, maybe even more than a hundred. If we separate, it's certain that..."
As she spoke, she suddenly stopped mid-sentence. "We will definitely be attacked..."
In the shrine, the process of clearing the mountain is usually done in several steps. First, a small group of skilled explorers search for the location. Then, the main army follows and starts the sweeping operation.
The devices for instant communication couldn't be used in the mountains filled with poisonous gas, which meant that the main army had to wait patiently without taking any action until the scouts returned.
But this was very strange, the sword witches had already ventured deep into the forest, so why hadn't they encountered any attacks all this time?
Jingūji had been unable to understand before, but now she suddenly realized.
...logistics and reserve forces were in danger.
...they want to block our escape route!
Immediately, she turned back and rushed along the same path she had come from. The other sword witches, seeing this, could only reluctantly follow along.
Throughout the journey, they didn't see any of the troops behind them, and no matter how many times they tried to contact them, they couldn't get in touch at all.
The hearts of everyone gradually became uneasy. There wasn't time to investigate Jingūji's unauthorized actions. It wasn't until they returned to the foot of the mountain that they finally caught sight of a figure.
A sword witch spotted someone she knew and hurriedly approached, calling out, "Hey!"
Her hand just touched the shoulder of the person and that person fell down like a fragile stack of building blocks. The body flipped over and crashed onto the ground, splitting into pieces.
The sword witches' hearts turned half cold.
"Do you need to go back?"
"Perhaps the entire logistics and main force have already..."
"If no one helps us, then won't we be trapped here and unable to escape?"
"Could it be that everything we do is being closely watched by something in the mountains?"
Saki Jingūji, who didn't expect the logistics team to be cut off so quickly, became absent-minded for a moment. She looked around and realized that everyone was looking at her. They had followed her intuition to this place, so she should take responsibility until the end.
Jingūji bit her lip and spoke, sharing her opinion, "Right now, we have two options."
"The first option is to keep moving forward and try to join the main army, but maybe they have already been wiped out... If they were suddenly attacked without any preparation, it wouldn't be impossible for them to be completely destroyed, because there are many enemies."
"What about the second option?" asked the sword witch, Mizuko, holding her weapon, the Red Tassel Spear.
"Let's go back to the mountain," Saki Jingūji whispered, "Let's continue our mission."
The group of sword witches fell into silence. At this moment, there was still a ray of hope in trying to join the main army. But if they were to turn back directly to the mountains, that ray of hope might disappear.
Many people looked ahead, considering the option of breaking free.
At that moment, Mizuko asked, "Which option do you think is better?"
Saki Jingūji, wearing a bitter smile, thought to herself, "I don't think either option is good, but I also can't just choose to stay here and await death."
She said, "Let's go back to the forest, but we can't take the same road as before. We have a map with us that we can use to try to go around this mountain and head towards a nearby village. We don't know if there are still people there, but we have to give it a try."
"No backup or reinforcements, relying solely on nine people is like a fairy tale," Mizuko sighed. "What do you all think?"
"This time, it's best if we don't separate," Jingūji looked at the others and lowered her head. "Please, let's not act rashly. I know some of you may still have friends in the direction of the larger group, but going back alone at this moment is simply... not a good idea."
The elder sword witch spoke up, "We'll leave it up to you... Let the novice sword witch handle our considerations. It's truly a shame for the older generation, but don't worry, we've grown accustomed to farewells like this, even ones involving life and death."
While not particularly swift and decisive, her judgments were also quick. This sword witch carried two axes on her back, displaying a great amount of courage. "I personally don't have any commanding abilities. Most sword witches excel in solo combat. Due to our small numbers, we lack experience with coordinated efforts. At most, a few of us form partnerships. However, your instincts and judgments have proven to be accurate so far. Just speak your mind in the future."
Saki Jingūji nodded gently and said, "Okay."
She took out a map and quickly calculated the distance. "We have to leave immediately, as the sky is about to turn completely dark. It will be even harder to travel at night, and the village is still thirty kilometers away. Hopefully, we can arrive before dawn."
...
The journey in the late night was actually far more difficult than they had imagined.
Even though the sword witches had started to move earlier, they still ended up encountering attacks from evil demons lurking in the mountains.
Saki Jingūji reacted quickly and swiftly drew her sword, slaying an evil spirit lurking among the trees. However, soon there appeared a second and a third one.
In the dense forest, it was difficult for Mizuko to use her spare, so she cleverly turned her Red Tassel Spear into a three-section staff.
But the frequency of the evil demons' attacks kept increasing steadily.
Saki Jingūji had a feeling that if they couldn't leave within an hour, everyone would die. It was no longer a time to proceed slowly and steadily.
"Run!"
She shouted, "Everyone, follow me!"
With her sword drawn, she cleared a path ahead. As she dashed forward, her mind remained intensely focused, unaware that the blade in her hand had been stained with a faint cherry hue.
After crossing the most difficult part of the forest, the evil demons continued to chase. However, after passing a river and washing away the scent of blood, they temporarily shook off the keen-nosed mountain spirits.
After counting, they discovered that there were only seven sword witches remaining.
"One person got hurt in the leg, volunteered to stay behind, while the other didn't want to leave the other person behind, so they stayed too..."
"I'm sorry..."
"Don't blame yourself, since you chose this path, you should have been mentally prepared. As a sword witch, you should always be ready to sacrifice your life."
Saki Jingūji nodded silently, but no matter how many times she saw something like this, she could never get used to it.
...
Continuing their journey, this time they didn't encounter any attacks, and they successfully arrived at the village in the southern mountains.
Even though the distance wasn't far, this village was located below a steep cliff, so they had to take a long way around to go up or down the mountain.
As for why they didn't go further, it was because some of them were too tired to keep walking, and if they continued deeper, they would have to leave the area of Kyoto.
This village was indeed an abandoned village, with no one living there for a long time, but some of the houses that were left behind were relatively well-preserved.
The sword witches tidied up the abandoned shrine in the village and settled down there. Afterwards, they took out the pre-prepared talismans and protective amulets, and set up a barrier.
After finishing the busy tasks, it was already in the early morning.
They were very tired, but no one suggested taking a rest. They all knew that tonight would surely be a long night. If they wanted to survive, they couldn't hope to close their eyes and sleep.
The sword witches stayed at different locations, waiting vigilantly.
Soon, the first wave of evil demons arrived and began to search around the barrier. They wandered, making strange sounds and attempting to call their companions in a language similar to that of humans.
"Don't go outside," Jingūji said. "Even if we're surrounded, don't go out. Let's try our best to hold on until daybreak."
"What if they're not afraid of sunlight?" Mizuko worriedly observed that there were more evil demons around. Even though they hadn't started attacking yet, the temporarily reinforced barrier might not hold up for much longer.
"We can only take a gamble," Saki Jingūji said. "I hope they will retreat after daybreak."
"If it doesn't work, we'll wait until the barrier breaks and then fight our way out," another sword witch sat down and said, "For now, let's gather our strength."
Several sword witches also started to relax one after another.
"Jingūji, why don't you take a seat for a while? You must have exerted quite a lot of energy earlier. I have some candy here, would you like some?" Mizuko said.
"Thank you, but I'm not hungry," Saki Jingūji politely declined, gently shaking her head. She stood in the center of the old shrine, continuously adjusting her breathing.
...the only one who can save everyone is you.
...the only one who can save themselves is also you.
...Please, other me, respond to me, I need your help.
She wanted to awaken the sleeping immortal spirit inside of her body, not because of fate, but because she wanted to be the one to trigger this mystery.
She knew very well that the fox was slumbering deep within her soul. However, it refused to awaken.
Now, on the brink of a critical moment, she had to take action, not just for herself, but also for others.
"Something is coming!" exclaimed Mizuko, shouting loudly. "Quick, let's hold the barrier steady!"
Saki Jingūji opened her eyes and looked at her own hands. She chuckled self-mockingly, realizing that she still couldn't gain approval from her other self.
