Oda's castle—or rather, Japanese-style castles—wasn't all that different from Western ones. If there was any real difference, it was mostly in appearance: Western castles were more rounded, while Japanese ones were square and angular. But one thing was the same—the boss was always at the very top.
If this were a normal invasion, the attackers would first have to cross the moat, the bridge, break through the main gate, then fight their way into the castle, battle countless enemies inside, and finally push step by step up to the rooftop… basically, you'd be exhausted to death before even reaching the end.
Duanmu Huai's approach was much simpler.
Just drop straight down from the sky, smash through the ceiling, and charge in.
All intermediate steps were skipped.
Of course, Duanmu Huai could perform an airborne drop with his own body, but that didn't mean the others could. Fortunately, Duanmu Huai had already thought of that.
"Uh… what is this??"
Looking at the large iron-box-like object hanging off the edge of the Sky City, Ling Nü blinked curiously.
"An airdrop pod. We'll ride this down later."
"From here…??"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's answer, Uesugi Kenshin frowned slightly. She didn't change expression when facing enemies, but… some things were instinctive and couldn't be overcome by reason alone.
"That's right. Alright, get in."
Duanmu Huai opened the hatch and gestured to the two of them. Ling Nü cheered and, with the excitement of a child riding a roller coaster for the first time, dove straight in and sat down on one of the seats. Uesugi Kenshin hesitated for a moment, then stiffened her resolve and followed her inside. Duanmu Huai entered the drop pod last, and the heavy steel hatch slammed shut.
"Don't talk. Keep your mouth closed."
That was all Duanmu Huai said. In the next instant, a powerful sense of weightlessness struck, and the drop pod plummeted straight down, hurtling directly toward Oda Castle below!
"———————!!!"
Uesugi Kenshin's face turned deathly pale as she clutched the metal frame strapped over her shoulders with all her strength. Ling Nü, on the other hand, had eyes shining with excitement. If Duanmu Huai hadn't specifically told her not to speak, she probably would have screamed in excitement by now.
The Sky City hovered at an altitude of around ten thousand meters, but the drop pod didn't take long to fall. The pitch-black pod screamed downward like an artillery shell. Only when it reached the airspace above the castle did it suddenly fire reverse thrusters to slow down, before smashing straight through the magnificent dome of Oda Castle and plunging inside.
"Boom!!!"
The drop pod smashed through the ceiling and crashed onto a tatami-covered floor. With a hiss of venting air, the steel door opened. Duanmu Huai rose first and strode out. Behind him, Ling Nü leapt out energetically, while Uesugi Kenshin staggered, barely able to stand.
"Who are you people?!"
As Duanmu Huai stepped out of the pod, the first thing he saw was a fat, big-eared man holding a matchlock gun, glaring at him viciously. Seeing this man, Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow and looked at Uesugi Kenshin. She lifted her head, carefully examined the fat man, and shook her head.
"Not him."
"Oh."
Duanmu Huai moved faster than his voice. Almost the instant Uesugi Kenshin finished speaking, he leapt forward, swinging his warhammer down toward the fat man's head with brutal force!
The fat man clearly hadn't expected Duanmu Huai to be so straightforward—attack on sight. The expression on his face hadn't even had time to change before the steel warhammer slammed into his face.
"Bang—————!!"
The fat man flew backward like a baseball struck by a home run. Duanmu Huai paused briefly, then gave his verdict.
"An Apostle."
To be honest, after beating up so many demonkin and Apostles in this world, Duanmu Huai had more or less figured out the pattern.
If they died from one normal hit, they were ordinary humans.
If they survived one normal hit, they were Apostles.
If it took more effort, they were demonkin.
As for Demon Kings… so far, they weren't much different from demonkin.
Strictly speaking, in Duanmu Huai's eyes, demonkin and Demon Kings were actually less durable than Apostles. That wasn't hard to understand. Demonkin and Demon Kings were arrogant because they had cheating-level invincible barriers and weren't afraid of being harmed at all. Under such conditions, many demonkin hadn't been injured for hundreds of years. Their tolerance for pain was actually very low—exactly the type that would cry for their mothers after taking one punch from Duanmu Huai.
Apostles, on the other hand, were subordinates of demonkin. They didn't have invincible barriers and frequently participated in combat, so their resistance was slightly higher.
Of course, only slightly.
Like the fat man here—half of his head had already collapsed inward. If he were an ordinary person, he would've died long ago.
Even as an Apostle, he was now squealing like a pig waiting to be slaughtered.
Duanmu Huai naturally didn't intend to leave it at that. He strode forward, lifting his warhammer again.
"Crack!!"
But just as Duanmu Huai was about to reach the fat man, the floor in front of him suddenly shattered. A woman wearing a three-point bikini, with one arm transformed into a metallic claw, burst out from below and lunged straight for Duanmu Huai's chest.
This level of ambush wasn't even worth a glance from Duanmu Huai. His steps didn't slow at all. He simply swung his warhammer forward in passing, smashing the bikini woman's upper body into bloody pulp. The howling shockwave, mixed with fragments of her corpse, scattered across the room. Duanmu Huai reached the fat man, grabbed him by the head, and lifted him up.
"Where is your master?"
Duanmu Huai stared at the fat man, his gaze cold and severe. The man's obese body looked like a three-hundred-jin pig in Duanmu Huai's grasp. Now, he trembled as if he'd been laid on a butcher's chopping block.
"M-my master isn't here…!"
The fat man answered with difficulty. He had never imagined a human could be this terrifying, defeating him so effortlessly… Was this really a human?
"Where did he go?"
"I don't know. Master said he was going to lift a seal…"
"A seal?"
"...…"
"Talk, or die?!"
Still gripping the fat man's head, Duanmu Huai's aura of terror fully erupted. Even Uesugi Kenshin and Ling Nü instinctively stepped back, watching him with grave expressions. The fat man struggled desperately, like a pig with a butcher's knife at its throat… but it was useless.
"I-I'll talk…!!"
At last, unable to withstand the fear that felt like it was crushing even his soul, the fat man spoke.
According to him, the current Oda Nobunaga was no longer truly Nobunaga. His body had been taken over by a demonkin named Zabiel. This demonkin was ancient, predating even Demon King Jill. Back then, Zabiel had come to O.J hoping to make a name for himself, but was defeated. His demon blood soul was sealed away.
Later, Zabiel finally found a chance to revive—only to be cut down once again. This time, the Tenshi Church divided his demon blood soul into seven parts and sealed them inside seven gourds. These gourds were entrusted by the Tenshi Church to seven different daimyō, and the Church regularly sent people to inspect whether the seals were intact.
During the reign of the current Oda clan head, his gourd was broken by a monkey raised by Nobunaga. As a result, Zabiel's demon blood soul was released from its seal. Zabiel then attached himself to Oda Nobunaga and manipulated his Apostles to search for the other gourds that contained the remaining parts of his demon blood soul.
Judging from the current situation… Zabiel had most likely succeeded.
As for where Zabiel currently was, the fat man didn't know. He only knew that Zabiel was in the process of lifting the seals… and was not in Oda Castle.
"Hmph!"
After hearing everything, Duanmu Huai snorted coldly, then crushed the fat man's head with one squeeze and tossed the corpse aside.
He then turned to look at the two women.
"Nobunaga isn't here. We came for nothing… where's Ling Nü?"
"Yah-ho, I'm right here."
Just as Duanmu Huai was wondering where Ling Nü had gone, she appeared cheerfully beside him—this time with a girl slung over her shoulder.
"What is this?"
Duanmu Huai looked at the unconscious girl Ling Nü was carrying and frowned as he asked. Ling Nü giggled.
"I was bored and took a look around. I found this little sister locked in a tatami room. If I remember correctly, she should be Demon King Nobunaga's younger sister, Oda Kaori."
"So she should know where Demon King Nobunaga is?"
"Maybe? But her body is very weak, and she's sick. We might want to treat her first."
"Then let's go."
Duanmu Huai thought for a moment and said nothing more, directly opening a portal back to the Sky City. At that moment, Uesugi Kenshin walked over and asked,
"What about that big iron box?"
"It has its use."
Duanmu Huai glanced at the drop pod not far away, then turned and walked into the portal. Uesugi Kenshin, still confused, followed him inside.
The moment the portal vanished—
A deafening roar erupted.
The entire drop pod exploded, transforming into a massive, blood-red mushroom cloud that shot straight into the sky. The enormous blast and shockwave tore everything around it to pieces. Even the thick cloud cover overhead was completely swept away by the explosion, revealing a clear blue sky.
As for Oda Castle—
It had completely vanished.
All that remained was a gigantic crater, hundreds of meters wide.
(End of Chapter)