Chapter 11: Silver Soul (Era of Expulsion)

The winter forest had nearly shed all its leaves, leaving the trees barren and desolate. Okakura Take emerged from the cave, racking her brain for a way to both attract the attention of the Celestials and find a path of escape. As she pondered, she glanced down at herself—she had no weapons at all. Facing Celestials empty-handed—what a daunting task!

Was there anything around that could serve as a weapon? Take looked around; nothing but trees, not even a decent-sized rock on the ground.

Trees? Trees… Trees! That would do!

With that thought, she casually uprooted a nearby tall, sturdy tree, its trunk as thick as a grown man’s thigh. She lifted it effortlessly. After pulling up four such trees, she decided she ought not to destroy any more of the forest’s resources. Hoisting the four trees onto her shoulder, she strode down the mountain with an earth-shaking presence.

Earth-shaking indeed, for as she marched, she shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Beasts at the foot of the mountain! Hahahahaha! I’m waiting for you right here!”

“If you’ve got any guts, don’t run! Meet me at the foot of the mountain for a battle to the death!”

“Burning temples—beware divine retribution!”

The Celestials were incensed. Such naked provocation! They resolved to cut down this brash yellow-haired monkey.

“Yellow-haired monkey, get down here! Come lick our boots, you little wretch!”

The Celestials shouted from below.

Take grinned. Her aim now was to pin them at the foot of the mountain, then lure them farther away from the rear slope. She wanted to draw all their fire.

On the battlefield, both the Loyalist Army and the Celestials had become blood-eyed with fury. The battle had reached the point where a man could slit open his own belly, stuff his intestines back in, and keep fighting. With each clash, the enmity only grew, and every enemy slain eased their rage a little more.

Takasugi was in the rear, directing his troops. It wasn’t his turn to charge just yet, but his eyelid had been twitching, a bad omen gnawing at him. Before long, his premonition was realized—a thick, black mist was rising from the direction of the temple.

Takasugi’s heart sank. Could the Celestials have broken through to the rear? Anxiety gnawed at him.

“General, something’s wrong!”

Who isn’t in trouble? Takasugi nearly roared at the breathless soldier who came bearing news, but he restrained himself and asked coldly, “What is it?”

“General, the Celestials have circled around to the rear and are heading for our base!” the soldier wailed.

Takasugi’s head throbbed, but he couldn’t afford to panic. The commander must hold steady. He waved the soldier away and began to ponder.

The Celestials were cunning and treacherous; their aim was to cut off the Loyalist Army’s retreat and encircle them. Now, the only choice was to fight—they could not withdraw. He had to pick a direction and break through. The men left in the rear were few; for the sake of the larger picture, he could only protect one flank. With the soldiers still fighting at the front, he had to commit to their side.

It pained Takasugi—those left behind were all battle-hardened veterans, and his decision meant abandoning them. But as a leader, he had to consider the greater good.

He stood, shook out his robes, and picked up his long sword. All he could do now was bring the battle to a swift conclusion. He would join the fray himself.

If the rear guard could hold until their return, all the better. If not, he would take as many Celestials as he could to accompany them in death!

———

The shouts of the Celestials grew ever closer. From the mountaintop, Take watched their shadowy forms below, her nerves taut. Last time, she had ambushed them by night; now, facing a whole force of Celestials in broad daylight, even she felt anxious.

But since she’d already stepped forward, she had to see it through. She took a deep breath and shouted down the mountain.

“Beasts, I’m right here!”

The Celestials looked up to see a boy grinning wildly at them from afar. They were furious—a mere brat dared to taunt them? They would cut this little wretch to pieces!

Brandishing their blades, the Celestials charged uphill.

They’re coming! Take’s heart tightened. She quickly shouldered her trees and ran down the mountain. The dense forest hampered her “weapons,” so she needed to lure them into open ground.

Dodging one Celestial after another, she sped downhill, four tree trunks in tow, knocking over several Celestials as she went. Still, most of them doggedly pursued her, bent on cutting her down.

At last, Take and the search party burst onto the plain—only to find themselves back at the temple. Ahead, a stunned crowd of Celestials stared at her; behind, a long, panting line chased after her.

There was no helping it—she was too strong, her stamina too great. Her pursuers were truly exhausted, while she, running with four trees, looked as relaxed as ever.

Truthfully, Take had been quite tense moments before. She was surrounded! Things looked grim—she was the turtle in the jar, trapped with no escape.

She searched for a way out, but the Celestials were closing in, hemming her in from all sides.

Cold sweat broke out on Take’s brow. Never before had she faced a formation like this, surrounded by so many people glaring at her with murderous intent. The feeling was truly dreadful.

In that instant, she gained a newfound respect for those warriors who charged alone into enemy encirclement. To withstand this killing aura—one had to be a true hero!

As she marveled, a Celestial lunged at her with a blade. Take dodged swiftly.

That strike seemed to signal the start of the attack, for the rest of the Celestials surged toward her.

They were on the attack—what was she waiting for? She had to strike back, or she’d just be butchered. Even at a disadvantage, she must retaliate—at worst, she could take several to their graves with her. Failing to fight back was to accept death.

Take had to fight back, and fight hard!

Perhaps the Ghost-Relic clan was born with the skill to face many in single combat. As the last surviving chieftain of her people in the universe, Take went berserk! She swung the tree trunks at her attackers, whirling them with the agility of Sun Wukong wielding his golden staff. Those who leapt at her were knocked down in droves.

But the Celestials did not rely solely on swords—they had guns and cannons. A new volley of gunfire rained down upon her.

Take was quick to adapt. She grabbed a few of the Celestials she’d knocked down and held them before her as shields. Incredibly effective—not a single bullet touched her.

The Celestials cursed her to the eighteenth generation—how shameless, using the wounded as human shields!

If Take had heard them, she would have answered solemnly: for the sake of glorious victory, any means are justified!

Now, she resolved to go on the offensive. Pure defense would only lead to her shell being worn away by constant attacks. She needed to balance offense and defense.

Most importantly—she’d spotted a suitable weapon. There, gleaming on the ground, lay a spiked mace, shining silver. Her eyes lit up—this was her weapon of choice! In the brief lull in the enemy’s assault, she tossed aside the corpses and tree trunks and dashed to seize the mace.

At just over 150 centimeters tall, the mace reached up to her waist, and was as thick as a rice bowl. It looked formidable indeed. Take hefted her new weapon and was very pleased.

Time to strike back!

With no more unwieldy tree trunks, Take charged at the Celestials who lacked firearms and brought the mace down upon them with savage force—shattering their skulls outright. Had Kimura, the weakling, been here, he would have fainted on the spot!

The mace was far more effective! In the crucible of life and death, Take achieved a new level of ruthlessness in her struggle to survive.

She grew even more ferocious. Given her short stature, swinging at heads was tiring, so she aimed for their lower bodies instead. The effect surpassed even headshots. Many who weren’t struck still winced in shared agony, seeing their comrades collapse clutching their groins. They were all men, after all—they knew that pain.

In the chaos, she was hit by two bullets, but she had also cleared a wide circle of Celestials.

The Crocodile-Head Captain panicked. He couldn’t let all his men die here. The cannons had been reserved for Takasugi’s troops, but now, he had no choice but to turn them on this vile brat.

“Ready the guns! Fire at the enemy!”

Take turned—dark muzzles were aimed straight at her.

Damn, a direct hit would send her straight to the afterlife. She ran for her life.

Boom! A cannonball grazed her, smashing through the temple wall.

Her heart raced with fear, but before she could recover, more cannonballs whistled past, each narrowly missing her.

Enraged! Enraged! Being chased like this was infuriating! Take looked ahead—at the center of the formation, the Crocodile-Head Celestial was gesticulating wildly, barking orders as the cannons thundered.

You! You first!

With her target fixed, Take charged straight at the Crocodile-Head, her face twisted in a demonic grin. The captain screamed in terror, “Damn it, shoot! Fire! How is he not dead after so many volleys?!”

As his shriek rang out, Take was upon him. The last thing he saw was her monstrous, grinning face.

Crash!

Take’s blow reduced the Crocodile-Head to pulp, smashing a great hole in the ground and burying the cannon with him.

The remaining Celestials were dumbfounded…

Such terrifying strength…

“Mother!” A few dropped their weapons and tried to flee. The enemy was too savage—they feared ending up as meat paste themselves.

Take would not let them escape. Bloodlust surging, old and new hatreds combined, she could not restrain her murderous intent. Brandishing the mace, she chased after the fleeing Celestials.

The four or five dozen survivors, like terrified deer, ran ahead with tears in their eyes, while Take, grinning like a hungry tiger, pursued with her mace, her shrill laughter ringing out behind them.

When Takasugi and his men finally arrived, this was the scene they encountered…

Everyone: What the hell! Why did we rush back in such a panic for this?!