Kanbe Hikaru narrowed his eyes; he was already all too familiar with this scene.
Three months ago, when he transmigrated to this world, the place where he woke up was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Back then, although he was an Oni Samurai who had just died once, in essence, he was just a modern person who had just transmigrated. He was actually quite ill-at-ease with that scene.
Now, however, he merely frowned.
Kikyo's reaction was stronger than his.
Though she walked through a chaotic world, as a priestess, Kikyo mostly participated in the exorcism of demons. She was too strong, which meant many disasters would actively avoid her.
She had naturally seen war, but she had never seen a village massacre.
So this was her first time witnessing such a scene.
Such a picture.
"Go."
She spoke, her voice light but resolute: "Let's go over and take a look."
She felt an unparalleled resentment.
The two quickened their pace.
The further they went, the thicker the scent of blood in the air became.
That wasn't a smell that could be emitted by the blood of one or two people, but only by the deaths of hundreds or thousands.
At the end of the mountain path, the open plain finally revealed itself completely before their eyes.
Kanbe Hikaru's footsteps paused for a moment.
Kikyo also stopped.
The two stood side by side on the hillside, looking down at everything below.
It was a hellscape.
A true hell on earth.
...
The fields were no longer fields.
The land that should have been planted with crops was now soaked in fresh blood, the soil turned into red sludge.
Corpses lay strewn about.
They were everywhere.
There were Ashigaru in crude armor, farmers holding hoes, and women with faces full of terror.
And—children.
Very small children.
Some were hacked in two, some were trampled into meat paste, and some had only half their bodies left hanging on the ridges of the fields.
Kanbe Hikaru looked at all this, his expression still unchanged.
But Kikyo's breathing became noticeably more hurried.
"Who did this?"
Kikyo's voice was cold, frighteningly so.
Kanbe Hikaru did not answer, because he had already guessed the answer.
The further they walked, the more corpses there were.
They died in different ways, yet all were equally miserable.
Kanbe Hikaru's footsteps did not stop. He stepped through those pools of blood, over those severed limbs, and continued forward.
Until—he saw the center of this desolate purgatory.
There were still living people there.
No.
There was still a battle going on.
An army clad in armor was clashing with another group of people.
That group had only seven people, yet they were slaughtering the army of hundreds, forcing them back step by step.
Kanbe Hikaru's eyes narrowed.
Seven people.
Every single one of them possessed an extraordinary aura.
Leading them was a young man carrying a massive greatsword on his back, nearly twenty feet long, radiating a ferocious temperament.
Behind him followed six figures.
There was a giant man as burly as a mountain, wielding a flail, each strike capable of crushing several people.
There was a freak entirely encased in iron, the mechanical devices on his body constantly firing hidden weapons.
There was a man with feminine features like a woman, wielding a peculiar long blade that could actually bend and extend like a snake; with a single sweep, a dozen heads would roll.
There was a short, ugly person surrounded by a green toxic mist; soldiers who came near him collapsed one after another.
There was a bald man who looked like a monk, constantly spewing flames from his mouth, incinerating enemies into charcoal.
And there was a man dressed in a physician's attire, with sharp claws fitted over his hands, tearing through enemy armor with every swing.
Seven people in total.
Seven figures like gods of slaughter.
They moved through that army as if they were in an empty field.
Kanbe Hikaru's gaze shifted slightly.
He truly recognized them.
He recognized these seven—
"The Band of Seven."
He whispered the name.
Kikyo turned to look at him.
"You know them?"
"I've heard of them."
Kanbe Hikaru's voice was calm, but waves were surging in his heart.
The Band of Seven.
Beings from the original story of "Inuyasha."
A team composed of seven mercenaries, active during the chaotic Warring States period, notorious for their cruelty.
They killed without regard for age or gender; as long as they were paid, they would take any job.
It was said they had once slaughtered an entire city.
Later, they were trapped by a certain lord, and the entire group was killed.
But in the original plot, they were resurrected by Naraku using Shikon shards, becoming Naraku's subordinates.
Except—it shouldn't be that point in time yet.
The original plot wouldn't begin for another fifty years.
So these seven... should still be living people.
They hadn't been killed yet, let alone resurrected. Theoretically, they weren't as powerful as they would be later when resurrected with the power of the Shikon Jewel, yet they definitely belonged to the peak of normal human physical potential.
"Who are they?"
Kikyo asked.
"Mercenaries."
Kanbe Hikaru answered briefly, "Seven people, known as the Band of Seven."
"They are said to be the most ruthless seven in the Kanto Region. For money, they'll kill, burn, and commit every evil imaginable."
Kikyo's gaze turned cold.
"They did this?"
She pointed to the surrounding corpses.
Kanbe Hikaru shook his head.
"I'm not sure."
He looked at the battlefield.
The Band of Seven was slaughtering an army, not civilians.
As for these civilian corpses nearby...
"It could have been one of the warring parties, or it could have been the Band of Seven."
Kikyo fell silent.
She watched the battlefield, seeing the soldiers dying miserably under the Band of Seven's blades, her brow furrowing tighter.
War.
This was war.
No right or wrong, only slaughter.
No justice, only death.
...
The Band of Seven's massacre continued, and the army of hundreds had been reduced to only a few dozen.
They tried to flee, only to find the area had been sealed off.
"Why are you running?"
The young man with the massive greatsword—Bankotsu, the leader of the Band of Seven—grinned.
That smile was exceptionally jarring on the battlefield.
"Since you've come, just stay here."
He swung the greatsword.
The massive weapon named Banryu sliced through the air, carrying a gust of bloody wind.
With a squelch, another dozen heads fell.
"Big Brother! It's finished on this side!"
The feminine-looking man—Jakotsu—sheathed his bendable long blade and shouted to Bankotsu.
"I'm done too."
The iron-clad Ginkotsu made a mechanical sound.
"Heehee... the poison is about done as well."
The short Mukotsu stepped out from the toxic mist, licking his lips.
"Everyone who should be dead is dead."
The fire-breathing Renkotsu brushed the dust off his hands.
"Phew..."
The massive Kyokotsu hoisted the flail onto his shoulder and yawned.
"The doctor didn't need to step in."
Suikotsu, wearing his claws, stood to the side with a calm, even strangely gentle gaze.
They had slaughtered an army, seven people killing enemies dozens of times their number.
Time taken—less than fifteen minutes.
Kanbe Hikaru watched this scene, not surprised in the least.
This was the Band of Seven.
The most ruthless mercenary organization of this era.
Their strength... Bankotsu was roughly equivalent to a demon of the Six Transformations, and without spiritual power, reaching such a level through physical strength alone was almost unique among humans.
The other six varied, but excluding the poison user, the weakest was at the level of the third transformation.
Working together, as long as they weren't specifically targeted or countered, they were indeed enough to sweep through most human forces.
"What do we do next?"
Kikyo asked.
Kanbe Hikaru didn't answer immediately.
He just watched those seven figures, watching them chat and laugh amidst the pile of corpses.
Then—
He heard their conversation.
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