Book 4: Chapter 78: The Besieged Light Canoe

After finis.h.i.+ng the main body of the canoe, Lily retrieved the remaining branches from the mirror s.p.a.ce and cut them into paddles.

Lily pushed hard, propelling the canoe into the water, and leaped atop its bobbing frame.

The boat was really narrow, impelling Lily to stand with one foot behind the other. As the canoe drifted offsh.o.r.e, she briefly looked back at the deserted island. Although she still harbored an extravagant hope that her sister remained or would eventually return to the island, Lily wasnt a weak, impractical girl. Deep in her heart, she knew that s.h.i.+mizu had already left. As for where she went, Lily had no idea.

Lily sighed helplessly as she paddled with forlorn strokes, heading into the deep waters of Lake Biwa.

She studied the position of the sun to roughly discern her direction and rowed towards the west.

When Lily reached a certain distance, the underside of the boat started to rattle. A bizarre undercurrent slugged the boat, forcing her to increase the strength of her paddles.

Lily also discovered that a slightly larger raft was rus.h.i.+ng her position. The raft surfed the flow of the cold currents and sped towards her direction.

On the raft stood a tall, handsome man with a long tachi strapped to his back.

It was Sakanoue no Tamurakonoe!

Sure enough, our meeting was inevitable! The other party rode the current while Lily wanted to break through it. Lily wasnt skilled in rowing so it would prove difficult to shake off the pursuit.

She held no intentions of running anyways.

Hahahaha! What a surprise, Kagami Lily! Tamurakonoe chuckled deeply, You really are an incredible woman. It seems that you also discovered the secrets of the trees on that island! But as smart as you are, I bet youre cursing your bad luck, right? I cant believe that you ran into me like that!

Lily was actually a little ashamed in her heart. In what way was she incredible? All she did was listen to her sisters advice.

Sister s.h.i.+mizu

Lily recalled that s.h.i.+mizu got knocked unconscious by Tamurakonoe on the deck of the s.h.i.+p. Perhaps the defeat contributed in stimulating s.h.i.+mizus desire to leave and embark on her own path of advancement!

Whether its my bad luck remains to be seen!

Hehehehe! Kagami Lily, did you know that your sister is also on the island. Maybe she has already died in the ancient tomb, but dont worry, youll see her soon.

Tamurakonoe, I also have some news for you! That nasty little girl of yours is also on the island. Her soul got injured and its unknown whether shes dead or alive. Lily shot back, showing no signs of weakness.

Oh? Ill go find her after I kill you!

Regardless of Tamurakonoes approach, Lily didnt want to stay trapped in the turbulent current. She angled the boat in preparation for impact while attempting to escape the cold currents.

Unfortunately, the strong current grappled to keep her in place, causing the canoe and raft to collide with each other.

The rafts stability and momentum almost capsized Lilys canoe. She quickly spread her legs to maximize full control over the canoe and pressed her weight near the stern. The canoes front promptly lifted and spun in a half-circle to diffuse the impact before splas.h.i.+ng back into the water.

Under the influence of the cold current, the canoe and raft flowed in parallel to each other.

Tamurakonoe held his paddle in one hand and clasped the hilt of his sword with the other.

He was known as the fastest sword among samurai of the same level!

However, both he and Lily had no way of directly clas.h.i.+ng swords while riding the surging current.

Whizz!

Suddenly, a flash of light sparked from Tamurakonoes direction. His hand blurred, and before Lily could react, the blade was already cutting towards her with lightning speed!

Clang!

Lily was shocked. If she hadnt drawn Yasutsuna beforehand, she probably wouldnt have been able to block the attack in time.

If they were battling on solid ground, Tamurakonoe could have executed follow-up attacks aimed at her weak points. Luckily, they were balancing on unsteady crafts which limited their attack range and flexibility, otherwise, she wouldnt have gotten off so lightly.

Lily adopted a defensive stance and readied her katana to parry any strikes. No matter how fast her opponent was, it was useless in their current situation.

Although his sword was fast, Tamurakonoe couldnt exert his full power. Another sword clash sent rippling waves through the water and widened the distance between the two.

Tamurakonoe had to paddle closer to Lily.

The nearer he got, the faster and fiercer his blade became, causing Lily to have palpitations.

I cant react fast enough so I can only defend in advance. If we fought on land where theres plenty of s.p.a.ce to maneuver, things wouldve been more difficult for me!

Cold sweat trickled down Lilys back. Unexpectedly, Tamurakonoes attacks were still so fearsome even when burdened with so many restrictions. If the carp spirit hadnt disrupted their battle on that rainy night, it was hard to say whether she would have defeated Tamurakonoe or not.

No wonder he managed to take down Sister s.h.i.+mizu with only a bamboo knife. It wasnt that she was weak, but Tamurakonoe was too strong!

Lily could understand why the proud s.h.i.+mizu was underestimated and knocked unconscious with only a bamboo knife.

If one suffered such a disgraceful failure and encountered a rare opportunity to gain strength, would they refuse?

Sister s.h.i.+mizu, you must train and return safely. Lily will avenge you for being humiliated by this man!

Lily firmed her mind. She aligned the canoe with the flow of the current and tilted it to one side, skidding in Tamurakonoes direction. Just as they were about to collide, Lily stepped onto the stern and launched the canoe into the air at high speed, causing it to fly over the raft.

What?! Tamurakonoe was taken by surprise.

Lily knelt on the canoe to steady herself and slashed at Tamurakonoes face.

This time, Tamurakonoe was the one to defend. With his speed, he was naturally able to block, but he was still surprised at Lilys skill in maneuvering the canoe.

The two continued to clash with their swords, more or less equal in strength. Suddenly, the canoe swept past Tamurakones raft and rushed out of the cold current. He wanted to immediately chase but was slowed by the opposing current.

This Kagami Lily is really a genius. This should be the first time that shes using a canoe, but shes able to maneuver it as comfortably as walking. For her to demonstrate such control without the need for any special tools or artifacts is strange but very admirable!

Tamurakonoe couldnt help thinking as he watched Lily escape the cold currents.

He snapped out of thoughts and increased his efforts in paddling, but still couldnt catch up. Realizing this, Tamurakonoe swung his tachi backward, rousing a wave of water that pushed his raft in pursuit of Lily.

After leaving the vicinity of the cold current, Lily had no intention of running away. She turned the bow of the boat and faced Tamurakonoe directly.

The canoe and raft floated only a few dozen meters apart.

Tamurakonoe didnt expect that his battle with Lily would take place in a water environment where none of them excelled.

In this case, Kagami Lily holds the advantage since shes better at adapting to changes

, Tamurakonoe looked grim,

Im stronger than her, but if Im enc.u.mbered by any external factors like the water currents again, wouldnt I be risking the death of my ill.u.s.trious name?

However, the two crafts were already facing each other and it was impossible to tuck tail and retreat.

The proud Tamurakonoe never lost faith that his sword would strike down Lily in the end!

Suddenly, waves surged in the distance, and large swathes of powerful demons emerged from the depths.

They consisted of kappas, murlocs1, and other water demons, as well as a huge flying bird that circled above the sky.

In addition, two notable splashes occurred, revealing the majestic figures of the new arrivals. They were the carp spirit and Kybzu!

The huge bird continued to circle about, boasting colorful feathers and a wingspan of more than 20 meters. It emitted an aura of the Permanence Stage and was surrounded by a flock of smaller bird demons.

The carp spirit pointed at Lily and roared, Woman, hand over the treasure! Be my and Kybzus slave and we might consider sparing you from death!

Mirror Girl, your luck ends here! Lets see how youll escape from us by floating on that broken piece of wood! Kybzu wielded a heavy harpoon paired with a big net.

d.a.m.n, why now Lily wasnt even confident in a one-on-one fight against the carp spirit much less the c.u.mulative strength of this many demons. Furthermore, the formidable Tamurakonoe blocked her path of retreat, cornering her in a hot spot.

Hahahaha! Lily, even the G.o.ds want you to die! All you have to do is choose between dying by my hands or becoming a slave to those demons! Tamurakonoe laughed.

Tamurakonoe, its said that you have the fastest sword among experts of the same realm in the Western Land. Are you taking advantage of my precarious situation? Dont you have any dignity as a samurai?

Kagami Lily, dont you think its naive to lecture me about dignity in this situation?! Hahahaha

The group of strange birds flew past the kappas and other water monsters, ignored Lily, and rushed towards Tamurakonoe2.

Its you! You are the human male that killed my brother. Today, I will avenge my brother!

Tamurakones laughter instantly muted. This Permanence Stage archdemon seemed to be the legendary leader of the bird demons on Lake Biwa! Unexpectedly, he had killed the brother of this archdemon.

Pffft~ Although he was an enemy, Lily couldnt help but chuckle, It looks like your luck isnt much better than mine!

Mirror Girl, dont gloat too soon. Your fate is also sealed! Tamurakonoe clenched his teeth.

However, pressured by the flock of flying birds, droplets of sweat couldnt help but form on his forehead. At this moment, Tamurakonoe would rather work together with Lily than aid in her death. After she was dealt with, the demons would most likely set their sights on him. The gain simply wasnt worth the loss.

Kagami Lily, you are also a famous female warrior of the Eastern Land. Do you dare to agree on a decisive sword duel to the death with me? Tamurakonoe shouted to Lily.

Whats this duel youre talking about? Lily didnt want to get caught up in this chaotic battle. Even if she could kill Tamurakonoe in the chaos, the remaining demons would besiege and overpower her.

Today, it would be difficult to showcase our true level of swordsmans.h.i.+p by fighting on water. We will call a truce and deal with the enemy demons separately. There is a small island called Ryu Island near the west bank of Lake Biwa; lets meet there fifteen days later. If you make it there alive, well use it as our battleground to fight to the death, how about it?

Ryu Island near the west bank of Lake Biwa? Okay, but will the duel be one-on-one? Lily asked.

Of course! Regardless of whether you win or lose this battle, our Maro dojo will no longer prevent you from entering Heian-ky. However, if you end up dying by my sword, you have no one to blame but yourself. If you have any honor as a samurai, dont shy away from battle!

Lilys long hair fluttered in the lake breeze, the overwhelming battalion of demons serving as her backdrop.

She calmly nodded, I will definitely go to Ryu Island in fifteen days.

Robinxen: Never thought Id see these here.

lol, i was wondering why he felt so secure surrounded by a bunch of demons