Chapter 691: Myriad Nations Fantasy Land

"Yagyu Jubei?"

Dorothy, who had been somewhat indifferent to this challenger blocking her path, frowned slightly upon hearing this self-introduction, and a hint of interest stirred within her.

The Yagyu family—this was the premier sword-art lineage of the Yingzhou Island. It was said they held the reputation of "Three Sword Masters in One House," and their family-transmitted sword art, the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, also boasted numerous disciples, making it an important, unignorable branch among the Yingzhou samurai class.

And the name Yagyu Jubei did indeed sound somewhat familiar; she seemed to be one of the three sword masters of the Yagyu family, known as the "Yagyu Three Tengu."

Good fellow, having cut down too many small fry, a heavyweight has finally arrived.

The Home Witch thought to herself.

Dorothy became somewhat eager to try. She had been perfecting the Dragon Sword Art she created, but those she had fought previously were all small fry and rotten shrimp. Although those ronin samurai had a wide variety of sword-art schools, most were not well-versed in their craft, and the Home Witch could not absorb much combat experience from them.

But now, having rarely encountered such a famous sword master, the Home Witch suddenly felt her hands itching with excitement.

If she could "leech" off the opponent, she would surely be able to absorb quite a bit of technique and experience.

Dorothy thought to herself.

It was precisely out of this desire for the opponent's experience that she took a serious look at the sword-master miss opposite her.

Hmm, she was a beauty.

Although she wore an eyepatch over her right eye, it did not detract from the charm of that delicate and beautiful face; instead, it added a touch of mystery, making one even more desirous of exploring the story behind the eyepatch.

Although her height was not as exaggerated as the Ghost-race witches who started at two meters, the Tengu template, being a powerful demon, was not bad either; a height of around 1.75 meters was already tall and slender enough.

However, the attire of this sword-master miss from a prestigious family was unexpectedly simple. She wore only a white samurai outfit with red patterns, a long sword hung at her waist, and apart from that, there were no other ornaments; even her waist-length long hair was simply tied into a high ponytail.

Her entire temperament was very capable and full of heroic spirit.

The Home Witch's...

Forget it, anyway, as a lecher, she loved any good-looking girl.

"Your teacher?"

Although she actually wanted to have a bout with this sword-master miss, Dorothy was currently playing the role of a cold-blooded killer, not a sword-obsessed martial fanatic. Compared to a duel, she was more concerned about why Yagyu Jubei wanted to block her path.

"I don't know your teacher. Who is she?"

The cold-blooded swordsman asked.

The sword-master miss opposite was very polite, answering almost every question.

"The Shinkage-ryu originated from the Kashima Shinto-ryu, founded by the great sword master Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, a disciple of the Sword Saint Tsukahara Bokuden. My grandmother once studied under Lord Kamiizumi, and I was quite fortunate to have been personally instructed by Lord Tsukahara for a period."

Yagyu Jubei raised her head slightly, saying with some pride and self-assurance.

She indeed had the qualifications to be proud. Yingzhou Island had numerous sword-art schools, and even more samurai practicing the sword, but there was only one and a half people publicly honored as Sword Saints.

The one complete Sword Saint was naturally the founder of the Kashima Shinto-ryu, Lord Tsukahara Bokuden.

And the remaining half was the founder of their Shinkage-ryu, also the once-beloved disciple of Lord Tsukahara, Lord Kamiizumi Nobutsuna.

Lord Kamiizumi Nobutsuna became famous in his youth. By the time he reached adulthood, he had already defeated various heroes and won the title of Sword Master. Afterward, his sword art progressed by leaps and bounds, and it looked like he might have taken the next step before the age of fifty to also win the title of Sword Saint.

It was just a pity that heaven was jealous of talent; Lord Kamiizumi eventually passed away young due to an accident. But even so, she remained a great monument in the history of Yingzhou sword art.

And the Yagyu family inherited the sword art of such a great hero. Was such a heritage not enough to be proud of?

Dorothy: "..."

Alright, she finally understood why the other party wanted to block her. This was all caused by that "Commendation Order" from before, which seemed like a commendation but was actually a "praise-to-kill" tactic. It was all the fault of that document blowing her up to the heavens, even using the name of Sword Saint Tsukahara to step on others while elevating her.

At the time, the Home Witch had thought that the Sword Saint's disciples would certainly be very unhappy upon seeing this commendation order. She hadn't expected that they would really come knocking on her door now.

However, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna? This name sounded a bit familiar.

The Home Witch recalled, and soon fished out the memory from her memory palace. Good fellow, wasn't this the name of that Judge miss in the Netherworld, the mother of the Courtesan miss?

Dorothy hadn't expected that the Judge miss, who looked very cool but was a civil servant, was also such an incredible big shot.

But thinking about it, it made sense. The Courtesan miss was only a little over a hundred years old this year, and her mother had only been dead for over a hundred years. To be able to climb from a new ghost to the second-in-command of the Netherworld in such a short time, her ability could not be bad.

This was truly: "Alive, one is a hero among men; dead, one is a hero among ghosts."

But this made things a bit awkward. The Courtesan miss was on her side, and the Judge miss naturally was too. And now, the Yagyu family, as the disciples of the Judge miss, stood in front of her to protect their ancestor's reputation...

This was truly "the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple; family members not recognizing family members."

Dorothy felt a bit embarrassed to strike.

"That commendation order wasn't written by me, and you shouldn't be stupid enough not to see the 'praise-to-kill' intent in it. Why do you still want to block me?"

The Home Witch suppressed her fighting intent and tried to persuade this sword-master miss, who had been verified by the Eye of Judgment to be a good person, to leave.

She felt that the other party shouldn't be the kind of fool who would jump out to be used as a gun just because someone incited her. There was no reason for her to have to be her enemy.

And opposite, Yagyu Jubei nodded upon hearing this question.

"Hmm, I naturally know the intent of the noble lords, and I also know that you are indeed a true hero, truly dedicated to the people."

The sword-master miss looked at the cold-blooded swordsman opposite with some admiration, but then her tone changed.

"Therefore, please forgive my rudeness today. No matter what, you cannot continue forward today."

She had an expression of "I am very moved, but I refuse."

Dorothy: "????"

No, you don't look stupid, girl, but why is your brain circuit so peculiar?

"You know those nobles aren't good things, and you know I'm a good person, but now you don't draw your sword against those high-and-mighty lords, but instead point your sword at me, a good person?"

The Home Witch's expression turned cold as she questioned her.

"Precisely because you are a good person."

Yagyu Jubei's expression was also somewhat conflicted as she said with guilt.

"Good people deserve to have swords pointed at them? What kind of bullshit logic is this?"

Dorothy was truly a bit angry.

She had thought they were on the same side, but now it seemed they were not.

"I didn't draw my sword to point at you, either."

The sword-master miss said with some grievance.

She indeed had not drawn her sword the whole time.

"And precisely because you are a good person, I cannot bear to see you continue to put yourself in danger. You, using violence to control violence cannot solve the problem. Your blind killing will only harm others and yourself in the end."

She tried to explain.

"Do you think you can fight the entire noble force by yourself? And as you kill your way through, even if those nobles can't deal with you, they have the ability to vent their anger on those innocent people. You are highly skilled and fearless, but what about those people?"

Yagyu Jubei questioned her.

"Do you want those innocent people to suffer along with you just for your own indulgence in this so-called hero game?"

She still stood in front of Dorothy without giving an inch.

At this, the Home Witch was even more amused to the point of anger.

"Hehe, so your meaning is that I should watch those nobles continue to act with impunity, watch those people continue to suffer, and then do nothing?"

She asked with a cold laugh.

Upon hearing this, Yagyu Jubei immediately weakened.

Although she had her own reasons, she actually couldn't come up with a better solution than violence.

"No, I have no such intent. I just want you to calm down, think twice before acting, and not be blind..."

"Then tell me a better way than killing, let me hear it."

Dorothy was too lazy to listen to this fellow's nonsense and directly pressed her.

"For example, purging the side of the Emperor, supporting a new Shogun, top-down reform, or something like that..."

The sword-master miss was forced into a corner and had to say her plan, which actually wasn't fully perfected yet, somewhat unnaturally.

And upon hearing this, the Home Witch directly shook her head.

She had thought that as a famous sword master, Yagyu Jubei must have had some high-level insight coming to her today, but she ended up saying such naive words. It was truly ridiculous to the extreme.

"Shut up. The nobles are so lawless, and you still hold expectations for them? Top-down reform? A joke. The biggest problem on this Yingzhou Island is that group of shameless nobles. As long as the nobles aren't removed, the people of Yingzhou will never have a good life. You actually expect those noble lords to show mercy?"

Dorothy directly cut off Yagyu Jubei's speech again. She was now truly too lazy to talk nonsense with such a naive child.

"Get out of the way. Long pain is worse than short pain. If you don't even have this much awareness, don't block others from moving forward."

She shook her head and prepared to walk directly past the sword-master miss's obstruction to continue forward.

If the reform wasn't thorough, it was a complete non-reform. The previous relocation plan had already proven this point. This time, she would not hold back.

However, Yagyu Jubei was stubborn and still blocked the Home Witch's path.

"I can't out-talk you, and as a martial artist, I don't understand any grand principles. I only know that if you continue like this, Yingzhou will definitely fall into chaos, and corpses will litter the fields. This is not a short pain at all. If things go wrong, Yingzhou Island will really be destroyed. Come, let us debate with the methods of a samurai."

She said.

However, although her fighting intent was rising, she still had no intention of drawing her sword, standing empty-handed in front of this cold-blooded swordsman.

The mystery of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu lay in "Mutō-dori," which was subduing an armed enemy while empty-handed. When the elders and teachers in the family taught her sword skills, they had emphasized more than once that the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu did not hone sword skills through killing, but rather: "We don't kill; we win by not being killed."

The Yagyu who doesn't draw their sword is the strongest Yagyu.

The sword-master miss knew that although the cold-faced swordsman in front of her looked cold and terrifying, she was actually a good person, and her sword would absolutely not be pointed at a good person. Therefore, she prepared to use the mystery of "Mutō-dori" to stop this "impulsive" hero.

Anyway, no matter what, she didn't want to see this Battousai miss stir up that monstrous war on Yingzhou Island. She would use all her means to prevent that war from coming.

Clearly, everyone was a compatriot, all Yingzhou witches, so why did they always have to solve problems through killing and fighting? Couldn't they sit down and talk slowly and harmoniously?

Although the nobles were indeed hateful, there were actually good people among them. For example, the Kujo family that the Yagyu family served never oppressed the commoners. Similarly, the eldest miss of the Konoe family, that current Director of the Security Bureau, was also a good person who had always protected the people at the bottom.

Therefore, as long as these good nobles were allowed to take power, the situation on Yingzhou Island could be improved without experiencing war.

The ones who were wrong clearly weren't all the nobles, just those bad ones. Why couldn't this Battousai understand?

She was clearly blinded by the feeling of being a hero and had her brain washed by a runaway sense of justice.

Yagyu Jubei pursed her lips. Next, she would subdue this Battousai miss and then try harder to persuade her.

And at this, Dorothy sighed helplessly.

"Sigh, in the end, one's position determines one's brain. The Yagyu family is, after all, also a noble family. This is the limitation of the noble reformist faction. Your status limits your perspective."

She sighed, then slowly drew the super-long tachi that was resting behind her back. The blood-red blade became exceptionally gorgeous under the sunlight.

"Hey, do you think the question of whether all nobles are bad or if there are good ones among them is important to me?"

She slowly raised the Red Shadow in her hand, without releasing the power of the demon sword, just looking at the sword-master miss opposite who had the strength of a titled Grand Witch.

Yagyu Jubei thought for a moment, somewhat puzzled.

"Of course it's important."

The sword-master miss answered seriously. After all, this Battousai miss was a good person, and she shouldn't point her sword at the good people among the nobles.

However, at this, Dorothy just shook her head, then calmly swung her sword down.

"No, the good or bad of the nobles is actually not important to me. There being no nobles—that is what's important to me."

She said.

And this strike was also plain and unadorned. She didn't use the Dragon's Breath, nor did she use any special sword art; it was purely a most basic downward slash, a downward slash accompanied by the sword intent of 'Dreaming as One'.

Just as the sword-master miss had said just now, verbal sparring between samurai was meaningless; sword clashes were the best way for samurai to communicate. And now, everything she wanted to say was contained in this one sword strike.

This strike displayed her ambition, and its name was—Myriad Nations Fantasy Land.

The Home Witch is swinging her sword...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 692 =====