Book 6: Chapter 69: Minamoto no Kenki

The Bishamonten phantom image behind Uesugi Rei suddenly surged by a few folds and four ancient characters appeared all over its body.

“Approach (临), Soldiers (兵), Fight (斗), People (者).1”

Every character was emboldened by blue flames and exuded a mighty aura!

The tachi in Uesugi Rei’s hand and the giant sword wielded by Bishamonten behind her swung simultaneously.

Ka—!!! A sudden chilliness spread out rapidly and the surrounding rain turned into drifting snow.

“No, that’s impossible!” Aokiba shouted in surprise and disbelief. The monstrous wave of sword light he unleashed was actually frozen!

A wave-like ice sculpture was formed, tracing all the way back to Aokiba and freezing his big blade and arm. Uesugi Rei’s tachi clashed with the cluster of ice and a crackling sound resonated.

“Ha!!!” Aokiba bellowed and shattered the ice into ice crystals before throwing out a slash that conjured a column of water, knocking Uesugi Rei into the sky.

But the Bishamonten phantom image behind Uesugi was still slashing towards his waist.

Although Aokiba was short in stature, his body was extremely strong— far stronger than that of an ordinary human warrior, and his physical strength was comparable to that of an archdemon. Nevertheless, this slash was really terrifying.

Pffft—!!! A deep gash was left in Aokiba’s waist, causing blood to splatter everywhere.

“Ah—!” Aokiba staggered while clutching his waist. He immediately used his spiritual energy to heal the wound. Although Aokiba looked like a man, he was not a human, and his body’s regeneration ability was many times stronger than that of an ordinary human warrior.

Uesugi Rei was swept into the air by the column of water and fell heavily into the mud in front of him.

Countless demons and ghosts took the opportunity to swarm Uesugi Rei and her companions behind.

However, Uesugi slowly got up. She used one hand to support herself off the ground and swiftly swept the ground with her long and slender legs!

Swoosh! A silver-white, crescent-shaped sword light flew out

Boom! Hundreds of demons were blasted into the sky by the crescent arc of light before crashing down to the ground.

“This, what kind of monster is this woman?” The demons were momentarily stunned and didn’t dare to charge forward recklessly.

At this time, Hatano and the others had already retreated to the edge of the suspension bridge.

“Big Brother Kenki, take Nakajou and go first!” Hatano said.

“You go first! Hurry!! How much longer are you going to make Miss Uesugi hold on?!” Kenki roared.

Uesugi Rei got to her feet and looked back at Hatano before nodding.

Hatano took Nakajou and ran across the merchant suspension bridge while Kenki guarded the bridge and fought against two blue demons.

Clank! Clang Uesugi also arrived and each of them took care of a blue demon.

“Brother Kenki, I didn’t expect your strength to improve so fast!” Uesugi Rei looked at the tall, strong, and masculine man with some surprise. He had a handsome face with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but his body was covered in scars.

“How can Miss Uesugi always fight alone!” Kenki laughed loudly, overflowing with fighting spirit.

At this time, the army of demons approached and surrounded Uesugi and Kenki, who were guarding the entrance of the suspension bridge.

Aokiba and Touko Chakura were also approaching…

“Brother Kenki, you go first; I’ll hold them off!” Uesugi looked at the demons and ghosts that kept approaching them and said.

“What a joke! I am a man. How can I let a woman face the swarm of demons and run away alone!” Kenki shouted, “I’ll hold off these demons with you!”

“Destroy the suspension bridge!” Aokiba ordered. Behind him, a group of tall and slim demons with blue skin and purple hair in the mountain forest pulled back their bows, which were set ablaze with demon spirit flames.

Uesugi glanced at Hatano and Nakajou, who had already crossed most of the suspension bridge. Right now, the suspension bridge must be protected to prevent the demons from destroying it.

If the suspension bridge was destroyed, not only would Hatano and the others get killed, but Uesugi would also have nowhere to escape. She was also worried that she wouldn’t be able to contain so many demons by herself..

“Brother Kenki, can you keep up with me in battle?”

“Don’t underestimate your big brother!”

At this moment, Uesugi Rei and Minamoto no Kenki stood back to back, guarding in front of the suspension bridge and facing the group of demons.

“Leave the two Throne Stage archdemons to me. Brother Kenki, you guard the suspension bridge and don’t let the demons destroy it!”

“Okay then! Let’s go, maybe it’s our last battle.”

Uesugi’s face, however, had an unprecedentedly calm yet reckless expression.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Countless demon flame arrows flew over.

Swoosh—! Uesugi Rei raised her tachi high and the spiritual energy inside her body erupted. The blue Bishamonten phantom behind her emitted a surge of coldness and spread its arms. A gust of icy wind rose up and smashed most of the arrows after freezing them, while the few remaining arrows were blocked by Minamoto no Kenki.

The arrows turned into specks of dazzling frozen ice that scattered around Uesugi Rei’s body, but at this moment, her eyes revealed a hint of excitement.

In the face of such a heavy siege; in the face of such a disparity in strength, she still had such a fighting spirit. This display also shocked Aokiba, and he couldn’t help but secretly say to himself, “The woman is really born to battle! She is a battle maniac! Battle itself is her purpose and the meaning of her existence! For such an opponent, even if she is not as strong as me, I must be careful!”

“Ehehehe!” The huge scarlet-colored Touko Chakura swung his large sword with a terrifying flow of heat, “Watch me melt the frost covering your icy beauty. Let’s see if you’re the same as an ordinary woman inside!”

“If you win, you can do whatever you please!” Uesugi Rei still had bloodstains on the corner of her mouth, but her face radiated a bodacious and berserk look. She took big steps and raised her tachi high, heading towards the two Throne Stage demons to kill them!

Swish! Uesugi stretched out her long legs as if walking in the air and leaped up high before slashing towards Touko Chakura, but she felt a cold sting in her waist.

However, at this time, she was already facing the Throne Stage archdemon’s deadly blow and couldn’t get distracted, so she continued to cut down with her sword.

A dizziness that Uesugi had never experienced before filled her consciousness, and the target in front of her appeared shaky and illusory all of a sudden.

“What?!” Uesugi was startled. Seeing Touko Chakura’s large, red-hot sword swinging towards her with a terrifying heat, she subconsciously closed her stance and blocked it with her sword!

BANG—!!! Uesugi Rei was thrown out like a cannonball by Touko Chakura’s heavy slash and fell into the mud on the mountain road, causing it to splash several meters into the air.

“Huh? Is that all?” Touko Chakura didn’t understand why Uesugi Rei chose to receive the move like that.

“Hm?” Even Aokiba, who was beside him, was stunned.

“Miss Uesugi! Are you alright?!” Minamoto no Kenki rushed over regardless of the danger.

Uesugi Rei barely got up from the muddy puddle filled with rainwater. She kneeled on the ground and used her hands to support herself, her silver hair hanging down.

“Miss Uesugi!” Kenki came over to Uesugi’s side, seemingly with the intention to help her.

Uesugi Rei kept her head lowered, allowing her silver hair to cover her face, and said coldly, “How long are you going to pretend?”

“Hm?” Kenki was stunned for a moment, then stopped. A sinister smile appeared on his originally sunny and resolute face. In his left hand, he held an ancient crossbow2.

Uesugi Rei stretched out her hand and touched her waist. A unique-looking arrow that was carved from dark gold and shaped like a twisting snake was stuck in her delicate soft waist. A transparent liquid had already seeped into her wound and mixed into her blood.

Looking at Uesugi Rei with the small arrow in her waist, Kenki’s expression gradually became gloomy, distorted, and even morbid. He covered his mouth.

“Pfft—!” He started laughing out loud. “Hahaha…hahahahaha…hehehehehe, hehehehehehehe! Hehehehehehehehe!”

Kenki gradually burst into a peal of hilarious laughter, “How sad! Uesugi Rei, although I don’t know when you found out, don’t you think it’s a little too late to say that now? Huh? Hahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahahahahaha!”

At this time, Hatano and Nakajou had already crossed the suspension bridge, but were stunned when they saw the scene in front of them.

“What, what is the meaning of this?” Hatano muttered to herself in disbelief, “Brother Kenki, why did you shoot Sister Uesugi with a hidden weapon?”

Even Nakajou, who had always been concerned about his own life, shouted hysterically, “Minamoto no Kenki, are you crazy?! What are you doing, you b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲??!”

The army of demons surrounding the two was also confused.

“Infighting?” Touko Chakura grinned evilly, revealing his cracked white teeth, and tilted his head to the side as if he had low intelligence.

Bang! Kenki gave Uesugi Rei a kick, sending her rolling in the rain some distance away. He approached her in big strides with a twisted expression and threw away the ancient crossbow before stomping on it madly.

Kenki was no longer tall and upright like before. Instead, he walked towards Uesugi Rei with a furtive gait while holding his back, “Uesugi Rei, you arrogant b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲! If it wasn’t for the fact that His Highness, the great Shuten Doji, wanted you alive, I would have used this poisoned arrow long ago. After shooting you with it, I would have f̲u̲c̲k̲e̲d̲ you half to death and cut your beautiful neck! And your silky silver hair, I would like to cut it off for you! Hahaha! Hahahahahaha! That would be cool, wouldn’t it?!”

Kenki grabbed Uesugi’s long hair with his big hand and looked at her beautiful face morbidly. At this time, Uesugi only felt a blur in her vision, causing Kenki’s distorted expression to look like that of a ghost!

“I…I just don’t understand. Why did you have to pretend to this extent?” Uesugi Rei’s breathing was shallow. Although the power in her entire body seemed to be under the influence of the poisoned arrow and it was difficult to actively circulate her spiritual energy or concentrate her perception, her face was still without fear and exuded an innate aura of madness.

Kenki moved his face closer to hers and said with a twisted expression, “Let me tell you, I have long been dead3.”

Uesugi Rei’s eyes widened and her pupils constricted.

“What’s wrong? You also have moments of surprise? You also have moments of fear? That’s right! Your Big Brother Kenki was an experienced man who had accompanied you all this way in this Tanba Province adventure, and was the captain who fought with you side by side for several months. But, I, Minamoto no Kenki, have actually died many years ago!”

Kenki’s eyes flared open with madness and his face became like that of a corpse, revealing a twisted smile and a mouth full of rotten teeth.

“They way of a samurai? How ridiculous! Human life is so small and weak. Trying to practice and defy the heavens is just asking for trouble! Want to live forever? You can live forever if you die! Uesugi Rei, did you know? It’s Shuten Doji. His Highness Shuten Doji has given me true eternal life!”

Kenki stretched out his tongue befouled with toxic mist and whispered in Uesugi Rei’s ear, “You know what? I want to bite into your delicate jade-like neck and turn you into my kind! But, His Highness Shuten Doji won’t allow me to do that. What a pity! Yahahahahahahahaha!”

A dark purple necrotic aura emitted from Kenki’s body, as if several years of decay had occured in one go. His armor was also corroded and became worn out. His skin was bruised and his complexion was blue and purple, but his strength seemed to have increased greatly. He grabbed Uesugi Rei’s hair with one hand and lifted her roughly before throwing her violently at the feet of the two Throne Stage archdemons.

Kenki activated two evil black spell talismans. The spell talismans flew to both sides and turned into two dark bronze puppets engraved with eerie and bizarre patterns. Several iron chains and locks emerged from the two puppets.

Clank— Clink— Clink! Uesugi Rei’s neck, hands, and feet were all chained.

“Hahahahaha! Uesugi Rei, I want to lock you up and present you to His Highness, the great and noble Shuten Doji! Hahahahahaha—4”

4 of 9 mantra characters in Chinese folklore which was transcribed to Japanese and became valued by esoteric Japanese Buddhism. The original meaning of all 9 characters is: “all those who are fighting against the army will march forward”.

In some popular novels and comics , it is also used as a technique/spell for warriors.

LazyButAmbitious: Since his name was in the title, I guessed he would either die a martyr or betray the team. Looks like it was the latter…

Silva: That also reminds me, Kenki was supposed to be dead in the early chapters, Lily did have her suspicions then when she heard the name

Silva: yea “we” knew it.Robinxen: Poor guy, he’s screwed now. I pity him.

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