Chapter 67: Would You Like to Dance?
And when Natsuba Genryū reacted, his expression changed drastically, and he looked up at the sky.
Everyone else immediately reacted as well.
They all looked up.
The incredibly dense deathly aura, although it had not yet reached the Natsuba main residence, still a hundred meters away, made the air incredibly thick.
Breathing was difficult.
Even a single breath felt like life force was draining away.
If this wide-scale attack were to land…
Most of the stewards and staff in the main residence would likely die. The Natsuba main residence’s secrets protected the direct descendants, not them.
And such a level of casualties, even for the vast Natsuba conglomerate, was unbearable.
After all, although they had plenty of money, loyal stewards were irreplaceable.
Natsuba Kouryu’s face turned grim.
“This is the power of the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain?!”
“How much of her power did she use to create such a wide-scale attack?”
Before this, he had wanted to test the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain’s strength. With his peak B-rank power, he thought he could exchange a few blows.
But seeing this terrifying attack, his thoughts vanished without a trace.
He only wanted to cower under the protection of the Natsuba main residence.
However, Natsuba Kouryu guessed that such an attack would be quite taxing even for an A-rank like the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain. She had probably charged it up for a while.
To launch a surprise attack from high above.
“Interesting!”
But beside Natsuba Kouryu, a rough, deep voice rang out.
Natsuba Taiga’s pupils constricted slightly, his pale golden eyes turning pure gold. His eyes widened, his whites filled with bloodshot veins, and he clenched his fists tightly.
Filled with fighting spirit.
White fur spread across his legs and arms.
And black markings appeared on his face, slowly forming a pattern like a demonic tiger.
“Fighting such a strong opponent is the only way to temper myself in the crucible of life and death, the only way to reach A-rank!”
However, just then, a commanding shout echoed.
“Everyone, stand back!”
An incredibly fierce killing intent instantly swept through the area, pushing back the encroaching deathly aura.
The many servants and stewards who had been unable to stand, kneeling on the ground, stood up and, obeying Natsuba Genryū’s voice, ran to the side.
Natsuba Kouryu’s eyes shifted slightly, and he also began to retreat, silently moving to the side.
Only Natsuba Taiga remained motionless, baring his teeth at the sky.
However, Natsuba Genryū wouldn’t indulge him now.
A powerful killing intent pressed down on Natsuba Taiga, and a fierce glint appeared in his golden eyes.
“You too, get to the side!”
Hearing this, Natsuba Taiga gritted his teeth, stared at Natsuba Genryū, and prepared to defy him.
“Old man, why? I also want to…”
However, when Natsuba Taiga saw the soul-piercing ferocity in Natsuba Genryū’s eyes, his pupils widened, then constricted sharply.
He froze for a moment.
All the transformations, the white fur and the demonic markings, faded away. The tiger seemed to have become a kitten, its eyes filled with fear.
He walked to the side.
Seeing this, Natsuba Genryū took a deep breath, the gravity on his face intensifying.
“What a terrifying opponent.”
“But ultimately, just an ignorant junior. To dare to attack the Natsuba family, I’ll knock you down first and let you experience the reputation of the Human Butcher.”
The title of Human Butcher wasn’t just for show.
It was earned through thousands of slaughters, a title born from the fear of others.
A single thought.
Natsuba Genryū chanted silently in his heart.
Suddenly, his bones cracked, and his body rapidly expanded as if being inflated. Veins bulged like coiling pythons, and a powerful, fierce aura erupted.
The frail old man’s appearance transformed into a three-meter-tall, burly man in the blink of an eye.
An immense killing intent was released from his body, spreading wildly within the Natsuba main residence, making others cower in fear.
Fortunately, Natsuba Genryū controlled his killing intent, not letting it spread to the most crowded areas of the main residence.
Then, his eyes instantly turned completely red, without a trace of any other color.
Second release.
Activating his ability, Natsuba Genryū’s right arm suddenly elongated, transforming into a chillingly sharp blade.
At the same time, the killing intent was siphoned into the blade like a vortex, turning the originally white blade blood red.
The time had come.
The black and red lotus was now within fifty meters of the Natsuba main residence. Natsuba Genryū’s eyes pierced through the black and red lotus, and he saw the massive bird high above.
A ruthless glint appeared in his eyes.
Third annihilation!!
All the muscles in his body tensed, the recoil cracking the ground like a spiderweb. Natsuba Genryū’s body sank slightly, and then he fiercely swung the blade!
A brilliant, blood-red sword qi shot out, carrying a boundless killing intent, hurtling towards the black and red lotus!
Its speed was incredible, and it clashed with the Sanctuary Flame black lotus in the blink of an eye.
After a stalemate of several dozen seconds…
A crack appeared in the center of the black lotus, and the sword qi, using this as an opening, tore it apart!
The black lotus was split in two.
However, it didn’t dissipate, but continued to fall.
When it was ten meters from the highest building of the Natsuba main residence, it suddenly collided with the main residence’s barrier.
“Boom——————!!!!”
A deafening sound echoed through the sky, and the entire Natsuba main residence shook as if the earth dragon had turned over.
The barrier shattered, and the black lotus also dissipated into the air.
This was Natsuba Genryū’s goal.
As the Human Butcher, his strength was in offense, not defense.
Splitting the black lotus in two, weakening it, and having it only destroy the barrier upon falling was the best possible outcome.
He ordered,
“Have the sorcerers of the main residence act immediately. Get supernatural materials from the warehouse and repair the barrier.”
Then, he stared at the blood-red sword qi, which continued on its path, hoping it would injure the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain.
The supernatural materials spent on the shattered barrier made his heart bleed.
However, high above…
Natsuba Hanae naturally saw the approaching blood-red sword qi.
For a B-rank, this sword qi would be impossible to dodge, but for her, an A-rank, and at such a high altitude, the sword qi’s speed was incredibly slow.
She controlled the black bird, and it slightly veered to the right.
The blood-red sword qi tore through the sea of clouds, but it passed by the black bird and continued to fly into the heavens.
In the first exchange, both had achieved their goals.
Natsuba Hanae had lost a tiny bit of her already replenished Sanctuary Flame, but had destroyed the Natsuba main residence’s barrier.
And the Natsuba main residence, with Natsuba Genryū expending a great deal of effort, had split the Sanctuary Flame and lost a barrier built with a large amount of supernatural materials.
Truly a cause for celebration.
However, for Natsuba Hanae, this was just a casual blow.
She had no intention of destroying the Natsuba main residence with it. And with that secret, she couldn’t destroy it now anyway.
But…
She could tease them relentlessly.
A faint smile appeared on Natsuba Hanae’s lips.
She said,
“Rinrei, are you ready to meet your family as an enemy for the first time?”
Natsuba Rinrei was still in awe of the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain’s power.
When asked, she was stunned for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said,
“They are not my family.”
Initially, Natsuba Rinrei had held a sliver of hope, thinking that since she was of Natsuba blood, they wouldn’t kill her over an unconfirmed prophecy.
But when she saw that old geezer and those two bastards all gathered at the west gate, near where she and Hanae lived, clearly ambushing her…
That sliver of hope vanished.
Just as the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain had said, they were enemies!
Seeing Natsuba Rinrei’s growing resolve, Natsuba Hanae smiled slightly.
Natsuba Rinrei was still a girl not yet sixteen. She had to reinforce this understanding, in case those three shameless individuals tried to use some trick to manipulate her in the future.
And Natsuba Rinrei, now, wasn’t feeling sorry for the Natsuba main residence, but was worried about Natsuba Hanae.
Even if her mother was an A-rank, could she really fight against the Natsuba conglomerate, which had stood for over a thousand years?
Natsuba Hanae seemed to have sensed this. She said softly,
“Rinrei, you don’t have to fight this time.”
“And don’t worry about me. The purpose of this trip is to let you witness my power.”
“To let you understand how big your mother’s embrace is, how strong your backing is.”
In the next moment, the black bird instantly took flight.
It swooped downwards like a whirlwind, casting a massive shadow on the ground, a black line streaking towards the Natsuba conglomerate.
Its incredible speed made the people in the Natsuba main residence panic.
Fearing another sudden attack.
But they saw the massive black bird, so large it could almost cover the entire main residence, fly past, then turn in mid-air, flapping its wings, facing the west gate of the main residence.
And as it descended to this height…
The many stewards who had been lying in wait inside and outside the main residence…
Under Natsuba Genryū’s command, they swarmed towards the black bird, a dark tide of people, C-ranks as common as cabbage.
And Natsuba Hanae’s bare feet lightly tapped the black bird, and she leaped down.
Landing silently like a bird.
In the sky, a sea of black feathers blotted out the sun.
The crimson vertical pupil covered the sun’s position.
Night had fallen.
Natsuba Hanae looked up slightly, her brilliant deep red eyes shining like the sun, their light flowing.
She parted her lips, her mouth beneath the black bird mask still holding a gentle smile.
“A human wave attack?”
“It won’t work on me.”
…
