Demon Sword Maiden

Odawara Castle, home of the Hojo family, was located in the northwest of Kamakura and the north-eastern part of Mt. Amegyo. To its south was Mt. Tama and to its southwest was Suruga.

The bluish-gray mist lingered all year round. Mountains were overcast and the trees were old. But amongst the mountains, there were plenty of fertile fields, and abundant rain water. As a result, the Hojo family grew stronger and stronger.

This magnificent castle which had been built for less than ten years was called Odawara Castle because it was surrounded by endless mountains and overlooked the farms.

The so-called endless deep mountains referred to the Kanto region which was a mountainous region that stretched over ten thousand miles, centered on Mount Fuji. This endless deep mountain was extremely hard to reach and dangerous. The monsters that invaded the Kento region and the Mitsu province in the East mostly swarmed out from these endless deep mountains.

Today, the atmosphere in the Odawara Castle felt heavy.

On this day, the Hojo family was holding an evaluation meeting on the third floor of the pavilion.

The head of the Hojo clan, Hojo Tokitaka, sat in the lobby. Sitting on their knees at either side of him were the younger generation of the Hojos as well as their vassals.

All of them had a serious expression on their faces. They all looked worried.

Hojo Hayamasa and Hojo Ujizane were also present in Hojo Family’s evaluation meeting.

In the center of the hall, Hojo Dijon, who was much taller than the people around him, faced Hojo Tokitaka while sitting cross-legged.

“Father! All of this was caused by Kagami Lily and Uesugi Rei! My Hojo family suffered heavy losses because of this. I will definitely take revenge for this!” Hojo Dijon angrily exclaimed.

Hojo Ujizane’s face crumpled and he looked worried: “Miss Kagami, did you really kill my younger brother and Master Akira, and hurt my Hojo family so much? Why on earth did you do this? Moreover, how can you suddenly have such strength? When I met you a few months ago, although I thought you were special, you were still a weak woman with zero strength to even tie up a chicken. If I hadn’t been sent out for a long time because of my official duties, I should have come to see you more. Maybe, things wouldn’t have arrived to this point… ”

The head of the Hojo family, Hojo Tokitaka, glared at Dijon with an angry look. He suddenly picked up the tea cup and threw it at him.

“Unfilial son!”

The teacup smashed on the face of Hojo Dijon and splashed all the tea on his face, but Hojo Dijon remained motionless with a scary look.

Everyone was silent, waiting for him to continue speaking.

At that time, Hojo Tokitaka continued to scold: “You have a strong body but you have no talent for governing the country! You are brave and ruthless. You have killed many innocent samurai of other countries, ⓡⓐⓟⓔⓓ and insulted countless wives and daughters with that disrespectful Motoshige.

You think I don’t know? You and Daidouji Akira have gone against the rules and committed many injustices. But in the end, you both lost to your opponent. You reaped what you sowed! How dare you blame others?”1

“Dijon, do you think you can run amuck in Kamakura by relying on the Hojo family? If you are better than others, you will kill them and take their wives. Unfortunately today, the other party was better than you, so you couldn’t kill her, right? You were utterly defeated by Uesugi Rei. Not only did she kill dozens of loyal and brave samurai of the Hojo family, but she also made the Hojo family a laughingstock of the East Nation! You dare to talk about revenge!? What revenge are you seeking? If Kagami Lily was just a feeble little female samurai, would you have come back to look for me? Can you win against Uesugi Rei? Do you think my Hojo family at its current strength can challenge the Echigo Army? Idiot! Stupid!”2

“Luckily, Uesugi Rei defeated the three of you. Otherwise, if the three of you harm Uesugi Rei, then her grandfather, the first-class old monster of the East Nation, would have come right up to our doorstep. Wouldn’t our Hojo family have faced a danger of extinction? Who are you to provoke the Uesugi family!? Not only have you got so many samurai killed and turned the Hojo clan into a laughing stock, you also made it more difficult for my Hojo clan in a strategic viewpoint. You fool! I don’t think you have inherited the forbearance of the Hojo family at all! That Hojo Motoshige was also a treacherous person. It’s his own fault to be punished! In my opinion, the next generation of the Hojo family should be kind and steady. Only then can they have great achievements!”3

When Hojo Tokitaka said this, the whole audience was dumbfounded.

Dijon was the number one expert and the son of Tokitaka. Hojo Motoshige was the son of Tokitaka’s younger brother. Tokitaka even said such austere words in the court which showed how disappointed he was with Dijon.

Dijon’s fists clenched and the anger in his chest rose to the point where it seemed like it would burst at any time.

“Big brother!” Suddenly, Hojo Hayamasa who sat beside Tokitaka exclaimed: “Dijon is just full of youthful vigor. Although he is a bit reckless, my Hojo family revere military skills.

Moreover, he did this for the Hojo family. Please don’t say that you’ll let Ujizane inherit the family properties anymore. It should be fine if he just works hard enough to help Dijon.”

Tokitaka was still shaking with anger. His face twitched. No matter what, Dijon was his eldest son. Which father would want to pass the position of head to his nephew instead of his son? However, the character of Dijon was too cruel and violent, and his strength had not reached monstrous level. Sooner or later, he would ruin the Hojo family.

Tokitaka sighed helplessly and said, “Well, let’s discuss this matter again in future. Dijon, I want you to reflect at home and you will not participate in the evaluation meeting for now!”

“What!? Father!” Dijon was angry and unwilling.

“What? Are you dissatisfied with this?”

“Father! What about revenge for Motoshige? What about those samurai who died? That’s it?”

“What can I do! You, unfilial son, you still dare to mention this. The Ashikaga family and Genji have both written letters to me. They are all on Lily’s side. Furthermore, they took Lily and Uesugi Rei under their wings. In principle, you were wrong in the first place. What else can I do! All of this is your own fault! What do you want to do? Do you want to implicate the Hojo family? Do you want to start a war with the Ashikaga and Genji family, and ruin my Hojo family? Get out of here!” Tokitaka furiously scolded.

Dijon Hojo was also suppressing his anger. His spirit power affected the surrounding airflow. Even the beams of the room began to rattle. He savagely glared at Tokitaka.

The atmosphere suddenly turned extremely tense.

“Humph! Cowards! A bunch of cowards!” With a loud snort, Dijon stood up and left.

Seeing that Dijon didn’t know how to repent, Tokitaka was also angry and almost vomited mouthful of blood. His face turned red and all the officials helplessly shook their heads.

It was night and the chilly wind from the endless mountains blew into the room north of the castle tower.

Dijon was sitting in the room with his back to the mountains and moon, drinking wine alone.

“Clink!” Dijon threw the bowl, causing it to break into pieces.

“Ⓑⓐⓢⓣⓐⓡⓓ! Ⓑⓐⓢⓣⓐⓡⓓ! My Hojo family is going to be ruined in the hands of a group of cowards!”4

Dijon’s hair was disheveled as he roared in anger.

At this time, a cold voice of a woman sounded in a dark corner of this blue room.

“Your Highness Dijon, I wonder what happened today that made you so angry?”

“Who!?” Dijon turned around and looked fiercely at the moonlight.

The woman who could enter his room without him realizing it was by no means an ordinary figure.5