Everyone who heard this sentence felt their hearts clench. Chiba Shrine—one of Japan’s most famous shrines—was crawling with powerful figures, and its onmyō arts were unmatched across the country. The shrine itself was a national totem; every year, countless Japanese fanatics joined its ranks.
With such a powerful shrine, it’s no surprise that its secret forbidden arts are insanely strong.
"Can they really summon a death god?"
"This technique is seriously OP. It’s been used a bunch of times before—once someone gets hit by it, they’re dragged into the world of the dead and never come back. The caster pays with their own life, so it’s basically a kamikaze jutsu. You can imagine how terrifying it is!"
"That insane? The Japanese are seriously messed up!"
"The Japanese are despicable, but you gotta admit, their guts in the face of death are kind of impressive. If every soldier in Huaxia had that kind of fearless spirit, our troops would be unstoppable. Too bad... sigh."
"Enough! Stop boosting the enemy and putting ourselves down. My Master Ling can definitely handle it!"
"Other tricks, maybe, but this technique really is a wild card!"
......
On the warship, everyone was buzzing with speculation, but the moment they saw Ryuichi Hashimoto’s transformation, all that optimism vanished in an instant.
Right then, Ryuichi Hashimoto’s whole body turned ashen-black, blotched with corpse-like spots—like a dead man’s. In an instant, every trace of living energy vanished from him. If you wanted horror, this was it.
But that wasn’t even the worst part—the real kicker was the shadow behind him, which slowly condensed until it formed a massive death god. Its eyes glowed green like lanterns, its lips were blood-red, and its mouth was packed with black teeth. Just looking at it made you want to puke. If it opened its mouth, any living thing would be swallowed whole and dragged straight into the world of the dead.
"System!" Ryan Ling froze at the sight—he’d never seen anything like this before. His Fire Eyes worked on the living, but against a death god? No way.
"Don’t panic. So what if they summon a Japanese death god? You’ve got the Hell Furnace—it can smelt any evil spirit under heaven. That death god’s just a tough ghost, and what you’re seeing now is only its projection, not the real thing. With the Hell Furnace, it wouldn’t dare mess with you!" The System snorted coldly, clearly not impressed by the so-called death god.
Hearing that, Ryan instantly felt way calmer. But he quickly asked, "But that Furnace is insanely powerful—didn’t you say I’m not strong enough to open it yet?"
"Heh, of course you can’t open it yet. But the Hell Furnace will react on its own—you don’t need to worry, it’ll handle everything. Basically, their so-called unbeatable move is useless against the son of Yama, especially since you’re a Seventh-Grade Spirit Officer!" The System giggled, and just as it finished, the lid of Ryan’s giant cauldron trembled and spat out a jet of white steam, like a boiling kettle.
"In the name of the death god, by the will of Chiba Shrine—O mighty Inmora, devour this enemy of Japan and drag him into the world of the dead, never to be reborn!" Ryuichi Hashimoto chanted, his voice shrill, determined, and tinged with triumph.
The moment he finished, that freaky death god shot forward—its massive red tongue whipped straight at Ryan, trying to wrap him up and swallow him whole. It was heart-stopping to watch. This wasn’t a fight between people anymore; it was a battle between gods.
On one side, Ryuichi Hashimoto was so hyped he nearly jumped for joy. On the warship, though, everyone was so tense you could hear a pin drop.
Just as that red tongue was about to coil around Ryan, the Hell Furnace in his hands suddenly shook. A wave of even more intense flames shot out—flames so weird they were actually black.
The death god never saw it coming—the instant its tongue touched the black flame, its ghostly face twisted in terror and it staggered backward. But the black fire just kept clinging, relentless. Panicking, the death god finally hacked off its own tongue with a swipe.
Everyone was instantly petrified.
Ryuichi Hashimoto and the two onmyōji were so stunned it was like someone hit their pressure points—they didn’t react at all.
"Get lost! If you don’t, I’ll smelt you right here!" Ryan shouted, his voice booming. The so-called death god Inmora gritted its teeth, shot Ryan a shocked look, then glanced timidly at the giant cauldron. Not daring to say a word, it vanished without a trace!
In an instant, Ryuichi Hashimoto and the others collapsed!
Inside the warship, everyone erupted in wild cheers. Nothing like this had ever happened before—it was enough to go down in Jiangdong’s history books.
"Now it’s your turn! You killed my fellow Chinese, stole our land, strutted around like you owned the place—well, your debt’s due!" Ryan didn’t hesitate for a second. His eyes blazed with fire, and in a flash, the two onmyōji’s arms burst into flames again.
They knew exactly how terrifying that fire was. Without thinking, they focused their minds and chopped off their other arms. But the moment both arms were gone, their legs caught fire too.
Instinctively, they tried to cut off their legs, but before they could even think about it, their chests, backs, and even faces went up in flames.
Agonized screams instantly filled the air, ripping through everyone’s ears!
"Bakayaro!" Ryuichi Hashimoto roared, "How dare you slaughter Chiba Shrine’s onmyōji! You’ll pay for this—you’ll die a horrible, horrible death!"
"Oh, really?" Ryan snorted and grabbed Ryuichi Hashimoto by the throat. "Say that again—I dare you."
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"You—you’ll pay—" Ryuichi Hashimoto tried to speak, but Ryan’s fingers dug in.
"Don’t—don’t…" Unable to breathe, Ryuichi Hashimoto’s eyes pleaded for mercy.
"Oh, come on! Weren’t you supposed to be fearless? Isn’t that your precious bushido spirit? What’s wrong—scared now?" Ryan sneered at Ryuichi Hashimoto’s pathetic look.
"Spare me! I swear Japan will never invade Diaosha Island again!" In the end, Ryuichi Hashimoto’s fear of death won out—life is precious, and when faced with true death, few can stay tough.
"Swear? Does Huaxia need a promise from a Japanese thief like you? Listen up—today you die, and from now on, if any Japanese dares invade even a single village of Huaxia, I’ll take my blade and slaughter my way to Edo Castle—leave not a soul behind!" With that, Ryan twisted Ryuichi Hashimoto’s neck, snapping it clean.
In that moment, the Water-Breaker Sword Sect was utterly destroyed.
The deaths of the two onmyōji tolled the funeral bell for Chiba Shrine.
The deaths of the two onmyōji also sounded the alarm for Chiba Shrine.
Even the death god Inmora fled in panic. The news spread through Japan like wildfire—the whole nation was shaken, the top brass held emergency meetings, and all their defenses were pulled back overnight!
"Master Ling, say no more—please accept my bow!" On the warship, Commander Xue Yue was so moved he nearly knelt. Every member of the special forces looked at Ryan Ling with awe, as if he were the god of Jiangdong.
"Commander Xue, don’t be like that—I don’t deserve it!" Ryan hurried to help Xue Yue up. "From now on, we’re all comrades—no ranks, no status, just brothers. How about it?"
"Great! That’s perfect! I, Xue Yue, am honored to swear brotherhood with so many heroes!" Xue Yue laughed heartily and agreed at once.
Everyone else nodded eagerly. In an instant, they bowed to heaven and earth—not asking to live together, but willing to die together!
"Good brothers! In a month, I’ll throw you a victory banquet in the provincial capital. I’ll also report your deeds to the Huaxia special forces HQ—you deserve every reward for what you’ve done today!" Xue Yue was beside himself with excitement.
"Killing enemies for the country—what could be better? Who needs rewards!" Ryan laughed, and everyone joined in.
"Awesome! From now on, Ryan Ling is a Jiangdong legend! Come on, drink up!" Xue Yue raised a huge bowl of wine and downed it in one gulp.
But while Ryan and the others celebrated, news of the East Sea battle quietly reached the Azure Dragon Society in the provincial capital—a new conspiracy was brewing...