Chapter 538: Ascending the Mountain

"Thirty *li*!?"

Nigo Haruhisa stood up abruptly.

"How is it that only thirty *li* remain!"

"Before sunset, Yamanaka-kun said there were still two hundred *li*! Could it be that his scouting was wrong? Where is he now? How far is he from here? Tell him to return quickly!"

This *daimyo* of the Izumo region had been caught off guard by the news brought by his subordinate, and he could no longer maintain his composure.

However, the scout, covered in blood and with his head bowed low, answered hesitantly.

"Thirty *li*..."

"Hmm?"

Nigo Haruhisa was stunned.

Under his bewildered gaze, the scout said hoarsely.

"Lord Yamanaka Shikanosuke is thirty *li* from here."

"That person... has been galloping toward here for the past two hours. Along the way, he has destroyed countless outposts and stockades. Wherever there was firelight or the sound of people, he has swept through them all."

"And Lord Yamanaka Shikanosuke... is being held in his hand."

"Whether he is alive or dead is unknown."

Nigo Haruhisa threw himself back into his seat.

He rubbed his brow with great force, as if trying to rub away the gloom in his heart, but with little effect.

"Yamanaka Shikanosuke has been defeated."

"Izumo Taisha, Shintoism, they have also been defeated."

"In half a night, killing from two hundred *li* away to thirty *li*... Is that man truly a reincarnation of a Heavenly Demon?"

He raised his head and scanned his surroundings.

In the mountain forest behind, the towering eaves of the main hall of Izumo Taisha could be faintly seen. Soldiers standing like a dense forest extended from both sides of the stone steps, stretching to the end of his line of sight.

The territory controlled by Nigo Haruhisa was much larger than that of Matsuura Takanobu, so naturally, the soldiers under his command were more numerous and elite. Just the ones hastily assembled here were enough to flatten Hirado City directly.

Nigo Haruhisa felt the gazes of his subordinates and gained some sense of security. He hesitated for a moment, opened his mouth, and was about to order preparations for battle.

But before he could speak, he was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps.

"Fifteen *li*! Fifteen *li*!"

The scout, soaked in blood, crawled up the stone steps, almost falling before Nigo Haruhisa.

"My Lord! Fifteen *li* left!"

"That person is fifteen *li* from here!"

Nigo Haruhisa clenched his fists tightly, his face already so gloomy it seemed it could drip water. He forcibly suppressed his emotions and was about to wave the folding fan in his hand to have the scout taken away.

"Five *li*!"

"My Lord, five *li*!"

Before he could make a sound, another shout filled with terror came from not far away.

Nigo Haruhisa's palm stopped in mid-air.

The folding fan fell to the ground with a soft *click*.

He had no heart to pick it up, nor the time to maintain his dignity before his subordinates. He roared furiously.

"Prepare for battle!!!"

Swords and spears rang out in unison; weapons like a forest were unsheathed, surging like a tide in Nigo Haruhisa's eyes. Caltrops, iron spikes, and even boiling oil were all gathered toward the direction of the stone steps, as if to fight a battle of life and death.

No... not "as if."

It was a battle of life and death.

The enemy was one person.

Nigo Haruhisa gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist, gritted his teeth, and stared fixedly at the end of the road ahead.

"Three *li*! My Lord, three *li* left!"

"He has reached the foot of the mountain!"

"The vanguard has been broken!"

"The army formation at the foot of the mountain has been broken!"

"The opponent has started climbing the mountain!"

The loyal scouts brought the news to Nigo Haruhisa's ears with all their might. This scene, which should have been tragic, was somewhat laughable because it was too dense.

Too fast.

From the first scout reporting thirty *li* to now, it had been less than the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn. And from three *li* on, the scouts' reports were almost end-to-end, even overlapping by the end.

This meant the opponent had shortened the distance to the limit. ===== CHAPTER 539 =====