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Chapter 173 - Chapter 173: Becoming a Hero

The Shogun of the Bakufu was not a warmonger, and coupled with his advanced age, he only wanted to guard his castle and had no desire to fight the Kabaneri.

After the Iron Fortress arrived at Kongokaku and handed over Amatori Biba, who had returned to being a normal human, to the Shogun's people, Inaba Tsukiyo immediately sought out the Shogun and proposed a plan to eliminate the Kabaneri.

The reason why humans were confined within cities was that they hadn't found an effective way to deal with the Kabaneri.

However, the technology Ikoma had developed, as well as the coated katana, could pierce the Kabaneri's heart.

Ordinary soldiers could deal with ordinary Kabaneri, and as for the Weapon Skills Kabaneri, others could handle them.

Initially, the Shogun disagreed with Inaba Tsukiyo's proposal, refusing her plan no matter what, and even wanted to drive her away.

But after their in-depth discussion (coercion), the Shogun finally agreed to Inaba Tsukiyo's plan.

Kongokaku took in the residents of the Iron Fortress, and Shikomorikawa Ayame was also accepted by the Bakufu, becoming one of the personnel in charge of Kongokaku.

Although Shikomorikawa Ayame was still very young, her excellent leadership abilities were gradually emerging.

Afterward, the Bakufu began to massively strengthen its weaponry, including the motorcycles that the Kataribe had used.

These motorcycles, once their principles were understood, could be mass-produced, and mortars and other weapons could also strengthen the human faction's power.

With increased firepower, it became much easier for samurai to deal with Kabaneri; at least they no longer needed to carry backpack-mounted engines and use steam guns to attack Kabaneri.

Gunpowder was used in the military, while steam was only used in construction; gunpowder gradually replaced steam, becoming a necessary resource for weapon ammunition.

This modification was successful; bullets using gunpowder, after improving penetration and speed, could pierce the Kabaneri's heart from a very long distance.

Then, under the leadership of Inaba Tsukiyo and Hozumi, the samurai of Kongokaku mobilized.

In order to reclaim the previously fallen stations, all participants in the operation joined with a determination to die.

Many of them had lost everything to the Kabaneri in the past; they had been confined for so long, and it was time for them to fight back.

The impact of the new weapons was significant; the initially uneasy samurai, seeing their weapons easily kill Kabaneri, gradually gained confidence.

Whenever special types like Weapon Skills Kabaneri appeared, capable of dodging bullets, Inaba Tsukiyo and Hozumi would be dispatched to kill them.

The subjugation proceeded very smoothly. During this time, Inaba Tsukiyo and Hozumi also instructed several samurai in swordsmanship, allowing them to provide cover while other samurai fired at the Kabaneri.

These samurai, once deemed weak by Amatori Biba, displayed great strength after their period of cowardice.

This was the potential of humanity; to survive, they built walls capable of defending against Kabaneri and developed various steam industries.

Although they had been confined to stations for twenty years since the Kabaneri landed in Hinomoto, starting today, they took up their weapons and chose to fight back.

The territory of Hinomoto was quickly reclaimed from the Kabaneri, and although there were casualties during the reclamation process, it was all worth it.

In just a few months, the Bushi of Kongokaku achieved excellent results, not only reclaiming the previously fallen Iwato Station but also taking back other stations from the Kabaneri.

Under the protection of the Bushi, the city's work proceeded in an orderly manner, and the once numerous Kabaneri had become quite scarce after several months.

During the time the Bushi were dealing with the Kabaneri, Inaba Tsukiyo was also carrying out her own tasks, dealing with the Weapon Skills Kabaneri and finding the Biba Gattais.

Amatori Biba had created many Biba Gattais, and the heart of this monster also possessed abnormal energy; each time she killed these monsters, she would gain physical enhancements.

Inaba Tsukiyo and Hozumi were very fast; compared to the Bushi who moved using the Iron Fortress, their movement through Imaginary Space was significantly faster.

During this process, Hozumi also grew a lot, gradually becoming skilled from her initial unfamiliarity.

Now, Hozumi could deal with a Biba Gattai by herself.

No... perhaps she should be called Hozumi; she had picked up this discarded name and was living as Hozumi, not as Hozumi the Kabaneri.

This world had many Kabaneri, especially in some countries that had fallen because of them.

But after Inaba Tsukiyo dealt with some of the Kabaneri, the will of this world sought her out and entrusted Inaba Tsukiyo with the task of helping to eliminate other Kabaneri.

The will of this world was also troubled by the existence of Kabaneri, but it did not have the ability to deal with these world-threatening Kabaneri, so it could only place its hope in humanity.

But humans were truly unreliable, choosing not to resist but to stay confined within their cities, refusing to launch proactive attacks.

Inaba Tsukiyo's appearance brought about significant change; the world, which had become weak due to the emergence of Kabaneri, could also provide Inaba Tsukiyo with some conveniences.

Of course, Inaba Tsukiyo was not helping for free; after she helped eliminate these Kabaneri, the will of the world would help strengthen the power of 'Nue' within Inaba Tsukiyo, making this power completely Inaba Tsukiyo's own.

It was a profitable deal; Inaba Tsukiyo agreed to the world's will and also took Hozumi along to travel around the world.

Hozumi and Inaba Tsukiyo gradually appeared in various parts of the world, and each time they appeared, they would eliminate the local Kabaneri, resolving the Weapon Skills Kabaneri and Biba Gattais there.

And after leaving methods to deal with the Kabaneri, they would be teleported by the will of the world to the next city.

The figures of Inaba Tsukiyo and Hozumi were gradually remembered by the surviving humans: two young girls with Eastern faces fighting the Kabaneri and saving humanity.

The combination of one silver and one black was deeply etched in the eyes of the people fighting the Kabaneri around the world; they didn't know who these two people were, but their appearance saved them.

They were saviors; they gradually represented hope; wherever they appeared, the Kabaneri would be eliminated by them, and humans could return to their homelands.

Humans who had heard rumors of Inaba Tsukiyo and Hozumi prayed every day, hoping that these two saviors would appear and bring hope.

The seed of hope gradually spread, making this once desperate world begin to brighten.

The strength of two people was ultimately limited; Inaba Tsukiyo and Hozumi could not always help them.

After realizing that Kabaneri were not as invincible as imagined, humans finally took up weapons to resist the Kabaneri, eliminating them and driving them out of their homes.

The entire world was constantly in turmoil, and soon the number of Kabaneri decreased to a controllable range, and both the Weapon Skills Kabaneri and Biba Gattais were eliminated.

When humans had the power to fight against the Kabaneri, Inaba Tsukiyo and Hozumi disappeared.

As heroes, after completing their mission, the rest could only be accomplished by humanity.

In Kongokaku of Hinomoto, the plan to reclaim territory was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

Shikomorikawa Ayame successfully gained a very high reputation among the populace with her excellent abilities, and the world was developing in a good direction.

Among these people, Ikoma was also constantly working hard to research more effective weapons against the Kabaneri.

However, he was still a Kabaneri, and he still could not integrate into human society.

One night, while Ikoma was alone in the laboratory researching weapons, an unexpected guest appeared.

"Not bad, it seems you are also working hard to contribute to this world, Ikoma."

"Inaba-san? And... Hozumi?"

Ikoma looked in surprise at Hozumi and Inaba Tsukiyo who appeared before him; the two who had disappeared for several months had reappeared.

At first, everyone thought Inaba Tsukiyo and Hozumi had died fighting the Kabaneri, but the people of Kongokaku heard news from abroad.

A black-haired girl with silver twin-tail long hair was eliminating Kabaneri; when Ikoma heard this news, he immediately thought of Inaba Tsukiyo and Hozumi.

He didn't expect them to leave Hinomoto and go to other places to eliminate Kabaneri; they were truly astonishing individuals.

"Don't call me Hozumi now, you should call me Hozumi, Hozumi. That's the name Mother gave me."

Hozumi looked at Ikoma with some dissatisfaction; she understood that Ikoma's actions were unintentional, so she didn't say much, just complained.

Ikoma awkwardly scratched his head, then looked at the two with some confusion.

"Why are you here? Ayame-sama didn't even receive any news of your arrival."

"Us? Our purpose in coming, actually, is you, Ikoma."

Inaba Tsukiyo patted Ikoma's arm and pointed to his chest, where the Kabaneri's heart was located.

"Our purpose in coming this time is to allow you to become human again. Your mission as a Kabaneri has been completed, and now it's time for you to return to the ranks of humanity."

As she spoke, a short knife appeared in her hand, and without waiting for Ikoma's opinion, she directly stabbed it into Ikoma's chest.

Ikoma watched with wide eyes as Inaba Tsukiyo used the short knife to stab him in the chest.

He didn't feel any pain, but he could feel something draining from his body.

Before he could react to what he had lost, Ikoma's eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

Having done this, Inaba Tsukiyo and Hozumi nodded to each other and turned to leave.

Soon, someone arrived at the laboratory and found the unconscious Ikoma.

At this time, Ikoma had already become human again, having completed this final mission, and Inaba Tsukiyo's journey to save the world could also be concluded.

At the same time, Hozumi's achievement had also been realized.

She didn't just take Hozumi around the world to eliminate Kabaneri simply to train her.

Her goal was for Hozumi to accumulate enough great achievements so that when she left the world, she could fulfill the contract with alaya.

Just as she had thought, when they arrived not far from Kongokaku, threads suddenly appeared in the sky, wrapping around Hozumi.

These white threads were the contract with alaya, and these threads would allow Hozumi to become her Guardian, and of course, she could also become a Heroic Spirit.

By saving this world as her accomplishment, Hozumi became a Heroic Spirit.

I was bothered by an Elementary School Student when I went out today, it felt very strange. ( ̄ー ̄)

I was walking along happily when I was provoked by an Elementary School Student.

I just glanced at him, and he immediately said, 'What are you looking at?' I really...

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