A samurai who doesn't want to be a daimyo is not a good onmyoji

Chapter 170
The next day, when Asai Nagamasa took a short rest and re-adjusted his condition, he found that the battle in Thunder Blade Xiaolong Jingguang was over.

The fragments of the Minotaur's consciousness disappeared out of thin air. The winner was undoubtedly Thunder Blade's consciousness, and it seemed to have become stronger. It seemed that it did not simply kill the opponent, but absorbed part of the opponent's power. This is He is even very similar to Asai Nagamasa, which makes him look forward to the heights that the other person can reach in the future.

At the same time, he also roughly figured out what happened to Inugami.

According to it, it was originally the shikigami of an onmyoji hundreds of years ago. When that onmyoji was about to die, it was not killed by the onmyoji like most of its kind. Instead, it was because of his loyalty. and bravery, and was truly set free.

Unaccompanied, it was very confused at first, not knowing what to do, because it had been a shikigami since it had memories.

So it can only continue the task it was most accustomed to before, which is to use the sword in its hand to defeat monsters, and in the process it becomes more and more cruel.

In the process, it also made a friend, a little sparrow demon, who used its friendliness to change it and prevent it from degenerating into a real monster.

It was also the little sparrow monster, regardless of its body or strength, that made it truly realize that the sword in its hand could be used not only for killing, but also for protection.

As soon as he heard this, Asai Nagamasa could almost see the ending.

Because Inugami are not particularly advanced shikigami. Although they are stronger than Guanhu, their inability to use magic is their biggest weakness. Especially this kind of Inugami that has lost its master, its power has limits after all.

Hundreds of years ago, when demons were at their most rampant, if a guy who was not considered a strong person protected a purely weak person, the most likely outcome would be that both of them would die together.

Sure enough, the good times didn't last long. Inugami's little friend was attacked when he went out to look for food. When Inugami arrived, he only saw a bloody feather.

After desperately killing the enemy, it completely lost the reason to survive, so it sealed itself.

Then yesterday, it was caught by the Prajna for some reason, and it was still in the weakest state.

But now, it has temporarily found a reason to continue living, at least to repay Asai Nagamasa for saving its life.

After listening to the whole story, Asai Nagamasa nodded. He did not detect any deception, and this behavior was indeed the most consistent with Inugami.

However, he still had some questions: "Did you see the sparrow demon being eaten by the enemy with your own eyes, or was that just your speculation?"

The Inugami was stunned. He opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say. Finally, he retched and spat out a bloody feather from his mouth: "Master, this is the sparrow demon's relic. The blood is still there, it must have encountered something unexpected."

Asai Nagamasa couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and looked at Inugami with admiration again. Even though Inugami was always known for his loyalty, bravery and affection, it was rare for him to be as affectionate as he was.

Since Inugami is a shikigami, it actually does not have saliva or anything like that. Nagamasa Asai would not dislike this. He took the feather and looked at it, and found that it was just the most common little sparrow feather, and it had almost nothing on it. There was no spiritual power, and its owner was probably extremely weak at the time. He didn't expect to be able to make friends with the Inugami.

However, he didn't feel any resentment or hatred on this feather. He didn't know if it was because too much time had passed, or because the sparrow demon was not actually dead?
"If the original sparrow monster appeared in front of you, would you still recognize it?"

Inugami became a little excited when he heard this: "I will definitely recognize it. It is my only friend. Master, what do you mean?"

Asai Nagamasa shrugged: "I'm not sure, but I didn't feel any breath of death up there, and you were just speculating at the beginning, not seeing it with your own eyes, right? Then at least you still have a glimmer of hope. "

The Inugami suddenly became excited after hearing this, and spun around in circles several times, its short tail almost turning into a windmill, before it tried its best to calm down again.

"Okay, Master, I understand. For Master and to see the sparrow demon again, I will definitely fight hard!"

Asai Nagamasa chuckled and nodded: "Very good."

He has always believed that shikigami with their own motivation and hope will be more motivated than the tasks ordered by their masters. Similarly, this sentence is also true for humans.

So after having breakfast, the little miko Kagami had a tachi on her waist, and a small beige dog with clothes on her feet. She looked extremely alert as she looked around.

As an Inugami who had many actual combat experiences and vaguely considered himself a samurai, he did not want to be held in his arms like a fox, so Asai Nagamasa let him follow the little miko, and its weapons were also improvised. The little miko will help hold it, and then hand it back to it during the battle.

Speaking of which, this is also Asai Nagamasa's fault. If his magic power was deeper and his spells were more powerful, he might be able to cast the magic of collecting objects for his shikigami, or even directly turn energy into clothes, and there would be no Now this dilemma arises.

After a while, Hosokawa Fujitaka also came. On the one hand, he expressed his gratitude to Asai Nagamasa and praised his strength. On the other hand, he also came to invite Asai Nagamasa to watch the ceremony. Moreover, the general was also willing Receive him personally.

With the money Asai Nagamasa supported yesterday, he has arranged everything needed for the ceremony for the general, and now he is waiting for Nagao Kagetora and others to arrive.

Naturally, Asai Nagamasa did not refuse. Apart from being able to meet the general, for him, Nagao Jinghu was a very good friend.

First of all, he is one of the few warriors who still abides by justice in the troubled times of Nippon. He values ​​human ethics, integrity, and is good at learning. If you form an alliance with him, at least you will not worry about betrayal. Even if you disagree with each other, before parting ways, he will I will definitely inform myself in advance.

Secondly, the Echigo Nagao family has also been fighting with the smelly monks of the Ichigo clan.

Nagao Kagetora has always regarded himself as Bishamonten, the great protector of Buddhism and the incarnation of the Northern King Tawen of the Four Heavenly Kings. As a devout believer in Buddhism, he was very dissatisfied with the meat-and-potatoes monks like Ichikōsō.

And because his old rival Takeda Shingen is related by marriage to the Ichigo clan, the Ichiko clan often causes trouble for him behind his back. He is naturally suitable to be his ally. After all, he killed a monk official of the Ichiko clan and dozens of others in Nagashima City. A warrior monk.

In the end, even though they only met briefly at the city gate, in Asai Nagamasa's eyes, he was filled with golden energy and he was also a powerful warrior.

Even among all the people Asai Nagamasa has met, perhaps only Oda Nobunaga can rival him.

It's just that I don't know if it's the power of the other party's guardian spirit or some other special reason, but I haven't been able to see the true face of its guardian spirit.

Soon, under the leadership of Hosokawa Fujitaka, Asai Nagamasa took Axiu and the little witch Kaga to the palace where the general was. Although when he noticed that there were foxes and dogs around the little witch, he was obviously a little agitated. He hesitated, but finally turned into a silent sigh.

Perhaps hundreds of years ago, the sons of daimyo had no chance to meet the general, let alone women and pets.

But in this era when the samurai are rising and the royal family and the shogunate are extremely declining, even if it is extremely rude, I can't offend the other party for it.

However, Asai Nagamasa is not a rude person. Although everyone knows that the current general is just a decoration, he still has to give the other party some face. So when he arrived at the imperial palace and was about to meet the general, Hosokawa Fujitaka was very I was surprised to find that the two little animals disappeared without knowing when.

But now is not the time to dwell on such details. He just said quickly in a low voice: "Sir Asai, the general is already waiting inside. Let's go to see him together."

Asai Nagamasa nodded: "Okay, it's time for you, Mr. Hosokawa."

After walking through the slightly old and dilapidated corridor and front hall, Asai Nagamasa heard a man who was not a stranger shouting: "Young master of the Asai family, Asai Nagamasa has an audience!"

"Xuan!"

Looking in the direction from which the sound came, Asai Nagamasa saw Hosokawa Fujitaka's brother Mibuchi Fujihide, looking at him with a smile on his face and a little flattering look on his face.

There was no one else around him, and it seemed that he was acting as a waiter. With the abilities he had shown so far, this position was not an insult to him.

After Asai Nagamasa nodded to him, he then entered the main hall. As for Axiu and the little miko Kaga, they did not choose to follow, but stayed outside for the time being, because they did not like the atmosphere here, and even more She didn't like sitting with a group of strangers, so Asai Nagamasa didn't force them.

As soon as he entered the room, he found that more than a dozen people had arrived in advance. Even after he opened the door, many of them took the initiative to smile at him as a sign of goodwill, revealing a lot of teeth blackened by black charcoal. .

Asai Nagamasa nodded in return, but after looking around quickly, he didn't find anyone of note, because these guys with black teeth, white face, and even shaved eyebrows all looked alike. Bloodless, weak body, dull eyes, he doesn't look like a powerful person.

Truly talented people will never squander their health easily, because they all know that in order to realize their ambitions, they must live, and live longer and healthier than ordinary people.

Even if these so-called ministers and nobles leave Kyoto, there probably won't be many foreign lords willing to take them in.

Only the handsome young man in the middle made Asai Nagamasa look at him a little higher, because he felt the power from him.

Like a sharp knife out of its sheath, its sharpness is revealed.

Without any introduction at all, he immediately knew that the opponent was Ashikaga Yoshiki, known as the "Swordsman General".

Maybe in the past, he would have doubted whether the title of Sword Master was a deliberate compliment given to him by others, but the moment he saw the opponent, he immediately realized that this was not the case. He was indeed qualified to be called "Sword Master". Hao".

But a strong man is easy to break. No wonder such a sharp-edged general was regarded as a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh by the powerful Miyoshi family, who expelled him from Kyoto more than once.If it weren't for the fact that he didn't have any power in his hands and couldn't support himself alone, I'm afraid the Sanhao family would have done something even more outrageous, right?
However, as a general and the nominal leader of the entire Nippon martial arts family, in the end he could only focus on swordsmanship. It was also a great pain for the man in front of him, right?
Many thoughts were racing through his mind, but on the surface Asai Nagamasa bowed and saluted with a calm expression: "Your Majesty, Asai Nagamasa, pays homage to His Highness the General."

Although he is just the young master of the Asai family and does not have any official position. This title is actually inappropriate, but no one present would raise any objections. Compared with those who really have official positions, at least the young man in front of him is willing to use the name Donate money to express your respect for the general, and he really has power.

"Ah, he is from the Asai family. He is indeed a talented young man. Get up."

After a slight compliment, the general motioned to Asai Nagamasa to find a place to sit down. Although he was also very interested in the other party, the protagonist today was not him.

It didn't take long for today's real protagonist, Nagao Kagetora, to arrive with several trusted samurai.

Compared to Asai Nagamasa, who was as plain as water, he was obviously much more respectful to the general. However, when he saw the people in the room, he was still a little surprised, because there was someone here that was completely beyond his expectation. people.

But now was not the time to study this matter. After smiling and nodding in return, he couldn't help but make a decision again. It seemed that it was really necessary to investigate this young man carefully.

An outstanding warrior like him should not be a nobody.

Soon, after going through several procedures, the general finally announced: "Therefore, Nagao Kagetora will take over the position of Kanto Governor of Kensei Uesugi and inherit his surname."

Below, Nagao Kagetora, no, it should be said that many retainers of Uesugi Kagetora suddenly showed excited expressions. After several years, many bloody battles, and an unknown number of soldiers and money lost, their Nagao family Finally gaining formal recognition, they now had the true mission of exploring the Kanto region.

But Asai Nagamasa was keenly aware that Nagao Kagetora himself didn't seem to care particularly about this matter. Although he was also surprised and smiling, for some reason, he subconsciously felt that this was the other person. A kind of disguise, he is pretending to be extremely excited.

But before Uesugi Kagetora could express his gratitude, the general paused briefly and continued: "Because of your loyalty to the shogunate, I decided to give you the 'Hui' in my name. I wonder if you are willing?"

There was a commotion among the many officials and nobles present, and then without exception, they all looked at Uesugi Jinghu with envy.

Changing surnames and giving names has always been a tradition in Nibon, and a name given by a strong man is considered an honor. A name given by a general himself is even more of an honor.

In the entire Kyoto, and even in the entire Nippon, the only person who has enjoyed this kind of treatment is Hosokawa Fujitaka. He accepted the word "vine" in the general's name when he was a child.

In terms of gold content alone, the word "Hui" is obviously better than "Teng", because "Hui" represents the identity of the general.

"Yes, I am very willing. Thank you, General, for your kindness!"

He bowed down deeply. From this moment on, he was the commander of Kanto and the master of Echigo-Uesugi Terutora!

After this somewhat simple ceremony ended, the new Kanto leader, who was renamed Uesugi Terutora, and Asai Nagamasa and others left one after another.

For Asai Nagamasa, apart from the fact that warships are an issue that cannot be completely determined for the time being, he has thanked Hosokawa Fujitaka and met the general. There are not many regrets anymore. Now he is more interested in Uesugi Terutora .

At this moment, the samurai led by Teru Uesugi all looked very excited, but he himself just smiled faintly. For some reason, Nagamasa Asai suddenly remembered the Hannya last night, although Teru Uesugi was undoubtedly better than Hannya. He was a hundred times more handsome, but he subconsciously felt that the smile was also the other person's mask.

Seeing Asai Nagamasa come out, Axiu and the little miko, who were a little bored outside, came over to greet them. Uesugi Terutora also noticed this. He seemed to be interested, and even ignored his obviously over-excited subordinates. Take the initiative to come forward.

"Even if you came to see the general, you actually brought your female relatives with you?"

This sentence can't be called polite. After all, the two parties have only met once, but Asai Nagamasa finds it very interesting. I don't know why, but this daimyo from Echigo seems to be a little too friendly to him, right?

"I only know that they are my friends and disciples, people close to me, and that is enough."

Glancing at the fox in the little miko's arms and the puppy squatting on the ground, Uesugi Teruhu seemed to be becoming more and more interested.

"Huh, interesting, you don't seem to mind their gender?"

Asai Nagamasa nodded without hesitation after hearing this: "Yes, I value ability more than gender. If Axiu is willing to officially serve me, I will be very happy to make her a general."

Axiu, Qiaoji, Ningning, Aguo, and even Nongji who I met before, they are all women, but they are far superior to ordinary men by countless times, gender will not be a powerful obstacle for them.

Axiu immediately waved her hand in a hurry, telling her that it was okay to kill monsters or kill people, but being a general or something like that gave her a headache just thinking about it.

"Haha, interesting. What Mr. Asai said is really surprising."

Even Asai Nagamasa has to admit that having such a face is really a gift from God, and it even makes him selectively ignore the other person's gender sometimes and only notice his beauty.

Although he was still smiling, the white-bearded veteran Usami Sadamitsu behind him was keenly aware that compared to the perfunctory treatment he and others had just received, the current lord was really happy from the bottom of his heart, and he really appreciated it. other side.

unfortunately
Sighing secretly, Usami Sadaichi cupped his hands: "We meet again, Mr. Asai, I didn't expect you to come here to watch the ceremony."

Logically speaking, apart from the general and his loyal courtiers, outsiders should not be allowed to attend this kind of thing, but I didn't expect a young master from Beijinjiang to appear there, and met by chance twice in a row , he didn’t think it was a complete coincidence.

But because the time was too short, he really couldn't collect much information about the other party.

But despite this, what he has already learned is very shocking. Although he does not believe what that idiot Owari said about the Dragon of Omi, but he has inherited the power of the legendary great Onmyoji Abe Seimei, which must not be underestimated. ah.
Asai Nagamasa smiled: "It's a bit of a coincidence. I didn't expect that I just expressed my loyalty and respect to the general, but I would be able to meet Lord Uesugi's inauguration ceremony."

"Oh, loyalty and respect?"

"Yes. Although he is a general, he can be so devoted to the sword and try to protect himself and the shogunate with his reputation. It really makes me admire him."

Asai Nagamasa was not completely bragging about the other party, he really thought so.

However, he was obviously a high-ranking general with a respected status, but in the end he could only rely on the sword in his hand. While admiring him, he could not help but feel a little sad for him.

At this point, even if his strength in swordsmanship were twice as strong, he would not be really taken seriously by the Miyoshi family. How could his swordsmanship be compared to an army of thousands?

Even though he is respected as a swordsman, the general is still a mortal body. At least in Asai Nagamasa's view, he does not possess any extraordinary power. This led to a secret sneak attack or dozens of weapons. A volley of arrows or iron cannons could easily take his life.

Usami Sadamitsu and Uesugi Terutora were both speechless. They were not stupid people, so they figured it out quickly. However, this was the general's territory after all, so it was better not to speak ill of others here.

Uesugi Teruhora suddenly raised his head and looked at Asai Nagamasa: "Asai-sama, I wonder if you heard thunder last night?"

"Ah, I heard that thunderstorms in autumn are indeed rare."

Nagamasa Asai, who was the closest, certainly knew how powerful that thunder was. He would be lying if he said he couldn't hear or see it.

"Oh, is that just that?"

With a smile of unknown meaning, Uesugi Teruhora once again glanced at the puppy on the ground, and then glanced at the long knife on Asai Nagamasa's waist, and then bowed his hands in a very chic manner: "Asai-sama, we will leave soon Kyoto, if you have free time, you might as well come to Echigo and I will prepare fine wine for you in Kasugayama Castle."

The white-haired veteran Usami Sadamitsu next to him became more and more worried after hearing this, and the other samurai were also shocked.

Wine, fighting, and meditation are the three major hobbies in their lives, among which wine ranks first.

But he rarely shares it with others. So far, the only ones who can enjoy the honor are the lord's sister Ayahime, the veteran general and military advisor Usami Sadamitsu, and the lord's old enemy Kai's Tiger-Takeda Shingen. Only the first two people drank.

Now, after just hearing about the other person's reputation and briefly meeting him twice, did the lord invite him to drink?
Really, this is so enviable and jealous!

Asai Nagamasa was keenly aware of these unfriendly glances. To be honest, he was a little surprised. It was only the second time they met. This Echigo Dragon admired him a little too much. But at the same time, He became more and more firm on one of his guesses. If that was the case, it wasn't particularly exaggerated.

So he returned the favor and said, "If I have the chance, I will. Of course, the famous Echigo Dragon is also very welcome to come to Kitaomi. I will be waiting for him in Otani Castle."

"Haha, I will. Then, see you next time, Omi Dragon."

(End of this chapter)