Demon Sword Maiden

Lily continued further, “Tamamo-no-Mae has been in Heian-kyo for years now, but she never made a move until now even though there were chances for her to do so at times when the capital was left unguarded. How high are the chances that she would do so now? I don’t dare say that she wouldn’t make a move, but I’m sure that Heian-kyo would fall into a huge crisis if we just barricade ourselves here or dispatch troops against her. Nothing is certain in war, and each decision carries its own advantages and disadvantages, but it’s just nonsensical to place ourselves in an unfavorable position just because of some groundless possibility. This is what you councilors have been trying to suggest all this while. Although I’m not well-versed in military and political matters, it still wasn’t that hard for an ordinary girl like me to realize this truth. I just don’t get why all of you councilors have failed to realize it.”

“How dare you mock the court councilors so brazenly!” Fujiwara no Arima thundered at Lily.

“Hahahaha!” The Cloistered Emperor’s high-pitched laughter interrupted Arima’s words though. “Although Ms. Kagami’s words are quite simple, I find them reasonable enough!”

“Tamamo-no-Mae is a pretty cunning thousand-year-old fox demon, Your Majesty. We must not drop our guard against her!” The Chancellor of the Realm advised in a rush.

However, the Cloistered Emperor just brushed his suggestion away with a wave of his hand. “Your intentions are clear to me, my dear councilors. However, I’m wondering why the Shogun, who is in charge of mobilizing troops to subjugate archdemons, has remained so silent until now. I’d like to hear your opinion as well, Yoritomo.”

Yoritomo pondered for a while when he heard the Cloistered Emperor’s words and narrowed his eyes before he answered him in a steady voice, “It’s not the right time to subjugate Tamamo-no-Mae. Based on what I know about her, I don’t believe she will attack Heian-kyo after we dispatch troops to the Tanba province. Shuten Doji, on the other hand, will surely attack us if we try to subjugate Tamamo-no-Mae. This will place us in an unfavorable situation where we will be forced to fight on two ends, just as Ms. Kagami claimed.”

“Hahahahaha!” The Cloistered Emperor laughed heartily. “That’s just what I wanted to hear, Shogun Yoritomo! As expected of you, I suppose!”

The other councilors had nothing much to say now that the chief advisor and the shogun had expressed the same views. They bowed their heads in succession and turned silent at once.

The Cloistered Emperor said boldly after taking a look around at the councilors, “I shall make a formal declaration in that case—Subjugate Shuten Doji!”

“Understood, Your Majesty!” The Chancellor of the Realm was the first councilor to bow in approval and the other councilors followed after him.

The Cloistered Emperor looked at Yoritomo after that and asked, “I wonder what plans you have for dispatching the troops, Shogun.”

Yoritomo nodded respectfully before he answered him, “I’m in favor of dispatching troops to subjugate Shuten Doji as the samurai of the empire will lose their chivalric will if we let him roam unchecked. However, he’s no ordinary demon and has a considerable force under him. It will take us at least three months to muster the troops that need to be sent to the Tanba province.”

The Cloistered Emperor nodded when he heard Yoritomo’s words. “That sounds reasonable. This is the biggest battle that will have ever taken place after I became the Cloistered Emperor, so we must prepare well for it. I’ll leave the specifics of the army mobilization to you, Shogun. The other officials and generals must prepare well to embark on this battle within the next three months and come back victorious!”

“Understood, Your Majesty!” The councilors accepted the Cloistered Emperor’s order in unison.

“Mhm…” The Cloistered Emperor ruminated for a while before he continued, “I never expected you to have such great insight on military matters on top of having a noble character and being a master swordswoman. The court is really blessed to have you as one of its councilors. You must also prepare to embark on this battle within the next three months and follow the army to subjugate Shuten Doji!”