Hogwarts Summoning Guide

The hardworking villagers had never seen such a secret technique before, nor had they ever felt such a surge of life force that completely eliminated their pain. Both men and women felt as if they had become ten years younger out of thin air. The common people, who already held the Yin-Yang Bureau in deep awe, pushed their worship of Amaterasu to its peak.

Then, Seimei took the opportunity to announce that Bai Lin was the messenger of Amaterasu Omikami and would lead "divine soldiers" to cleanse the court of evil spirits for the Emperor, eliminate all demons, and restore peace and tranquility to the world.

Seimei's "speech" was quite impassioned, though the villagers might not have been able to understand it. Nevertheless, the result was that the villagers were greatly encouraged, and they took out hoes and sticks, ready to follow "Amaterasu's messenger" back to Kyoto.

Looking at this motley crew of only a few hundred, Bai Lin felt disdain for Qingming's actions. However, a single spark can start a prairie fire. Peasant uprisings are always started by a small group of people. It's still three or four hundred miles from here to Kyoto. Let's see how big a commotion Qingming's little torch can create.

After resting for a day at the inn, the trio led this rabble toward Kyoto, taking in refugees along the way. Seimei, with the help of shikigami and yokai, captured birds and beasts and had officials distribute food to the refugees to stave off hunger, once again demonstrating his brainwashing rhetoric of "God said there was bread, and there was bread," which, undeniably, always worked.

From the homes of some fleeing officials, the three learned roughly about the situation in Kyoto. The Minamoto clan was gathering very quickly. Until this time, no one knew that the Minamoto clan still had such great power in the provinces. It turned out that Minamoto no Yorimitsu's retreat to the abandoned Kaiko Village with his family was just to create a tragic atmosphere and show the daimyo of the various prefectures the consequences of condoning the arrogance of the Fujiwara clan.

Thus, when the Genji raised the banner of "purging the court of corrupt officials," dozens of families and daimyo from the Kinki region, such as the Yamashiro, Kawachi, and Settsu clans, the Tokaido region, such as the Iga, Ise, Kai, Musashi, Awa, and Kazusa clans, and the Higashiyama region, such as the Mino, Ueno, and Dewa clans, all sent troops to help.

Even the seasoned strategist Seimei and the former Crown Prince Minamoto no Hiromasa were dumbfounded by this situation. Wasn't it said that the daimyo were warlords who ruled their own territories and refused to submit to the central government? Wasn't it said that the daimyo were fighting each other for territory and never interacting with each other again? Wasn't it said that the Minamoto clan and the local daimyo were at odds and that the Minamoto clan often had to send troops to suppress them? What, have you been putting on this show with your father all these years?

Bai Lin raised an eyebrow, thinking: Sigh! You two are still too young! Under normal circumstances, these local tyrants and big landlords would naturally be unruly and resist the central government. But in the current situation, the number one family in the land, the Minamoto clan, has "taken the lead in a righteous cause." They can just follow suit and rebel. This is the same principle as the eighteen warlords who attacked Dong Zhuo at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Everyone is here to gain benefits, but if used well, they can also be a considerable force.

These families ranged from a hundred or so members to over a thousand. With such ease, the Minamoto clan managed to gather an army of nearly twenty to thirty thousand, which was more than the combined forces of the Kyoto garrison and the Imperial Guard. This once again astonished Seimei and Minamoto no Hiromasa.

They set off on the official road and traveled along the way. Seimei also gathered several thousand laborers. Although they were just a ragtag group with pitiful fighting strength, their momentum was quite great, just like the Yellow Turban Army. Seimei had people tie white cloth to their arms to show the holiness and wisdom of Amaterasu Omikami, and called themselves the "Raging Sun Army".

At first, Bai Lin didn't quite understand Seimei's intentions. Gradually, he began to realize that Seimei simply wanted to gain more influence when he met with the Minamoto clan. If it were just three people, the Minamoto clan would most likely provide them with food and drink, keeping them at a distance. At most, they would use them as free henchmen during the decisive battle. After pacifying Kyoto, the Minamoto clan would naturally hold immense power, and the spoils of war would be distributed among the various clans. As for Seimei, he would simply return to being the Yin-Yang Assistant, ranking fifth below him.

The farmers were not a regular army and moved very slowly. After two more days, they were finally no more than a hundred miles from the capital. Ahead, dark clouds covered the sky, obscuring the sun. They could vaguely see dark shadows moving through the clouds, much like the situation at the deserted mountain.

The scouts sent ahead rushed to report that ghost soldiers had built a checkpoint, blocking the way.

At this time, there was no radio, so intelligence was gathered from the refugee population. The refugees mostly made up their own guesses based on what they saw. In the end, Seimei had no idea where the Genji army was. However, they desperately needed a great victory to solidify the image of the "messenger of the gods" in the hearts of the laborers, thereby further uniting the people and enhancing their fighting strength.

Bai Lin was very curious about the "ghost soldiers" the farmers were talking about. If they were just the little devils from Mount Ooe, Bai Lin didn't take them seriously. With their abilities, they could easily cut them down.

The Great Tengu lifted Seimei with the wind and flew into the sky with Bai Lin. They looked at the "ghost soldier" checkpoint that the scout had mentioned. What they saw startled Bai Lin.

"This...this...this means they're mass-producing the Demon Slayer Corps?" Bai Lin exclaimed in surprise.

At the narrowest point of the pipe below, a simple wooden fortress stood. The fortress itself was not particularly sturdy, and there were no houses or pavilions inside. Instead, several square formations stood neatly, numbering at least one or two thousand people. The rows of soldiers, clad in black iron armor, stood motionless like stone or clay sculptures. However, their physiques and the black aura swirling around them told Bai Lin that these soldiers had been transformed into half-human, half-demon monsters using the secret techniques of the Demon Slayer Corps.

"Damn it! Tamamo-no-Mae approached the Demon Slayer Corps for this reason!" Hakurin cursed.

Seimei and Minamoto no Hiromasa were equally shocked. Seimei felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead. He knew clearly that Tamamo-no-Mae had transformed the entire Kyoto city guard and imperial guard into demon swordsmen. No wonder the refugees called them "demon soldiers" and were terrified of them.

Tamamo-no-Mae didn't even limit the effects of the demonic energy on their bodies. These demon swordsmen would completely exhaust their life force in less than ten days, either transforming into demons or their bodies collapsing and decaying. Clearly, Tamamo-no-Mae didn't care; she only needed these poor soldiers to help her hold off the enemy until the full moon two days later.

Not only were there ghost soldiers in the wooden fortress, but dozens of riders also patrolled back and forth on the official road at the foot of the mountain. Those jet-black warhorses were over three meters tall, and the riders on them were strong and majestic, exuding a strong demonic aura.

Just as Seimei was frowning, unsure of what to do, a chorus of war drums suddenly resounded from the distant mountains and forests. Immediately afterwards, colorful family banners poured out of the mountains and forests, numbering at least tens of thousands.

"Raikō's vanguard has arrived!" Minamoto no Hiromasa said with a complicated expression.

Enjoy reading "The Hogwarts Summoning Handbook".