Three days later.

Nagoya, an ancient castle, above the castle tower.

The cherry blossoms, blood red, fluttered down, scattering across this city that has witnessed centuries of rise and fall.

Inside and outside the city, countless armored Sakura warriors and countless ordinary residents with terrified expressions all looked up at the figure in the sky.

He was a young man with black hair and black eyes, a tall and straight figure, wearing a simple combat uniform, yet exuding a terrifying aura like a mountain.

Opposite him stood an old man dressed in hunting attire, holding a folding fan, his face somber.

He is none other than the last remaining SS-rank powerhouse in the Sakura Kingdom, the Onmyoji—Okimura.

"Who...who exactly are you?" Chong Wengu's voice tightened, his eyes filled with fear and suspicion.

Three days ago, the Great Xia military suddenly launched an unprecedented general offensive. The legendary Principal Lin Zhu, who was said to have died in battle, reappeared on the battlefield in his prime. Thousands of vines rose from the ground and destroyed their proud composite mountain defense line in an instant.

He had thought that was the last trump card of the Great Xia Dynasty.

But today, as he was stationed in Nagoya, preparing for the final battle against the Great Xia Army, this unfamiliar young man appeared out of nowhere and, with a single move, opened a gap in the Hundred Demons Parade array that he had set up, an array large enough to cover the entire city.

That terrifying control over the laws of space sent chills down his spine!

"who I am?"

Upon hearing this, the young man looked up, revealing a handsome and incredibly familiar face.

He laughed, a mocking laugh laced with murderous intent.

"Chongwen Gumao, we've known each other for decades, and you don't even recognize an old friend?"

When he saw that face clearly and heard that familiar voice, Chong Wengu was terrified!

His body began to tremble uncontrollably, the folding fan in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," his cloudy old eyes widened, his lips trembled, and every word was squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Zhao...Qing...Cang?!"

"No! This is impossible!!"

Chong Wengu looked frantic and retreated repeatedly.

"You...you were clearly dead in the battle with Qin Zeduo! Why...why are you here?!"

He stared at Zhao Qingcang's face, which looked at least forty years younger, and felt the vitality and energy fluctuations within the other's body that were even more powerful and vast than they had been at their peak forty years ago. An unacceptable thought surged into his mind.

“The pendulum of life...” he murmured absentmindedly.

The next second, he ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) seemed to realize something, raised his head, and his expression of horror turned into endless anger and sarcasm!

He pointed at Zhao Qingcang and burst into wild laughter, a shrill and piercing laugh that echoed throughout Nagoya.

"Hahaha! I see! I see!"

"What a magnificent Xia Dynasty! What a benevolent and righteous land!"

Chong Wengu laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face, his voice filled with contempt and disdain.

"On one hand, you condemn our Japanese nation's revival of SS-class soldiers as a callous disregard for human life and an act of evil! On the other hand, you hypocritically launch this so-called righteous war against us!"

"And what was the result?! You all got the same thing even after obtaining the pendulum of life!!"

"I resurrected you, the Marshal of Great Xia, immediately!"

"I'm quite curious, just how many innocent lives did your Great Xia sacrifice to resurrect you? One hundred thousand? Two hundred thousand?"

"What's the difference between you and us! A bunch of hypocrites!"

Faced with Chong Wengu's frantic questioning and accusations, Zhao Qingcang remained indifferent, his eyes devoid of warmth.

"We have our own methods."

He snorted coldly, his tone domineering.

"There's no need to explain to a dying man like you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Qingcang's figure vanished from the spot!

Chong Wengu was terrified. Without thinking, he activated all his magic power, and dozens of ferocious and terrifying powerful shikigami roared out from the void behind him, forming an impenetrable defensive circle.

However, all of this is in vain before the authority of space.

"puff--!"

Zhao Qingcang's figure appeared behind him like a ghost, and an ordinary fist, containing the power to shatter the void, struck him solidly in the back.

Chong Wengu's body trembled violently, his protective barrier shattered, and he flew forward, spitting out blood. His internal organs were pulverized.

"Cough...cough cough..." He steadied himself in a disheveled state, mouthfuls of blood gushing from his mouth, staining his hunting robe red.

His eyes became resolute and crazed!

Even if I die, I'll drag you down with me!

Chongwen Gu Mao clasped his hands together, and the dozens of powerful shikigami circling around him swelled up, emitting an extremely unstable aura of destruction!

Self-destructing shikigami!

This is the Onmyoji's ultimate method of mutual destruction. Dozens of shikigami, comparable to S-rank professionals, self-destruct at the same time, and their power is enough to turn the space within a radius of dozens of miles into nothingness!

He wanted to use this devastating blow to create an opportunity for himself to escape!

However, looking at the shikigami faces distorted by their impending self-destruction, a mocking smile appeared on Zhao Qingcang's face.

"Playing with explosions in front of me? You're really... ridiculously naive."

Zhao Qingcang raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and gently clenched them towards the area that was about to explode.

"Space—Freeze!"

"Buzz—!"

A soft chime.

Time and space in that area were forcibly frozen!

The dozens of shikigami, their bodies swollen to their limit and their destructive energy about to burst forth, were eerily frozen in mid-air, becoming a lifelike three-dimensional painting.

"No......"

The madness and ferocity on Chong Wengu's face turned into despair and fear.

He wanted to escape, but the surrounding space was incredibly solid, trapping him in place, unable to move an inch.

Zhao Qingcang's figure appeared in front of him.

"it's over."

With a flick of his finger, the tip of his fingertip swirling with the power of the void, he lightly touched Chong Wengu's brow.

"Bang."

A soft sound. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The head of the last SS-rank powerhouse in the Sakura Kingdom exploded, and red and white matter flew everywhere.

The headless corpse, amidst the falling cherry blossoms, fell helplessly from the sky, finally crashing heavily onto the bluestone slabs of Nagoya Castle.

With the fall of this last guardian of the land of cherry blossoms.

Below, the hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers who witnessed this scene were devastated.

They threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and let out desperate cries.

Faith collapsed.

The morale of the Great Xia army soared to its peak, sweeping through the last line of defense of the Sakura Kingdom like a torrent.

Having lost all its high-level combat power and facing continuous protests and riots from the domestic population, Japan was beset by internal and external troubles and had no power to resist.

In less than a week.

The major traditional noble families, led by the Kujo family, sent representatives to the Great Xia Command Headquarters to announce their unconditional surrender.

Thus, this once powerful and ambitious island nation, after paying a heavy price, came to an end.