Lin Xun finished inspecting the spoils and left the cell, still inhabiting the Shell of the Head of the Ogiwara Clan.
Regarding the item called Ushimitsu Mairi Straw Doll, Lin Xunâs next task required joining forces with the Great General to oppose the Extreme Delusion Fruit, so naturally he couldnât use this item to weaken the Great Generalâs strength.
Moreover, the itemâs effect wasnât limited to the Great General alone. As long as he replaced the hair inside the straw dollâs body, it could be used to target other bosses as well.
After leaving the cell, he had intended to rely on the clan headâs identity to turn all the samurai in the Tenshukaku into experience points and equipment. However, just after secretly killing one samurai, he received a prompt from the hellish game.
[All the samurai in the Tenshukaku belong to the Red Armor army and are linked to your item Ogiwara Clan Command Banner. Killing the Tenshukaku samurai will diminish the itemâs effect. Please choose carefully!]
ââŠForget it, Iâll come back to harvest experience and gear later.â
Continuing to use the clan headâs Shell, he stayed up all night ransacking every corner of the Tenshukaku, including the guard towers and watchtowers nearby.
After this round of looting, he had gathered quite a lot of standardized legion equipment, which he estimated could be worth several hundred thousand Spirit Essence.
It was just a pity that siege weapons such as the giant ballistae and war chariots couldnât be stored in the inventory. Otherwise, Lin Xun would definitely have emptied out the entire arsenal without leaving so much as a hair behind.
As for the treasuries of the castle lord and the daimyo, they contained mountains of gold and silver treasures, likely plundered from the people in preparation for an eventual rebellion.
Unfortunately, these piles of gold and jewels were for display only. Their actual value didnât even compare to the arsenal.
Having thoroughly plundered the Tenshukaku, Lin Xun exited the game, quite satisfied.
âAt first, guarding four Celestial Palaces alone was a bit exhausting, but nowâŠâ
â
Third floor of the Intelligence Division, conference room.
The faces of several Seven Star Lordsâ Apostles were rather grave.
After yesterdayâs difficulty spike in the Easter Egg Chapter, they all knew todayâs defense would not be easy.
Given the strength increases of the Outer Demons, the final day of the defense was bound to be extremely difficult.
If they slipped up on the last day, not only would all their prior efforts be wasted, but they would also be hit with a punishment debuff from the hellish game.
For this reason, several of them had deliberately gone into the Book of Trade to purchase a good number of consumables that enhanced their attributes.
According to their plan, everyone had to proactively abandon the defense of three Celestial Palaces. Apart from Lin Xun, who would still guard the Celestial Pivot Palace, the other Seven Star Apostles would pair up in twos to defend the remaining three palaces.
Soon, everyone had agreed on how to form the teams.
Originally, their plan was to ignore the Celestial Palacesâ enhancement bonuses and simply choose adjacent palaces to defend, which would make support easier.
However, at Lin Xunâs strong urging, they chose the three Celestial Palaces farthest from the Celestial Pivot Palace.
The reasoning was that those three palaces granted excellent buffs. Even if they were farther from the Celestial Pivot Palace, in an emergency it would only mean that the Summoned Black Dragon would have to spend a few more seconds flying over.
Giving up those buffs just to be closer together would be penny wise and pound foolish.
Lin Xun swept his gaze around and, seeing everyone fully prepared and on high alert, activated the final Outer Demon Invasion.
[You have entered the Easter Egg Chapter.]
[Chapter 8715, Seven-Star Guardians!]
[Powerful wandering souls awaken beside the Demon-Subduing SteleâŠ]
[You place your hand upon the ancient Demon-Subduing Stele. Your divine sense radiates in all directions, calling out to the six distant Star LordsâŠ]
[âŠ]
[Six mighty Star Lords of differing appearance answer your summons and tread upon the stars to arrive!]
[The sealing core within the Demon-Subduing Stele has been destroyed. In the unseen darkness, you seem to hear countless Outer Demons roaring in exultant frenzyâŠ]
[You know that soon, an endless horde of Outer Demons will pour forth from the altarâŠ]
[Please return swiftly to your assigned Celestial Palace and resist the Outer Demon Invasion!]
[You gaze toward the clouds and see that the Celestial Sphere Palace, the Celestial Measure Palace, and the Shaking Light Palace are all empty. The other Six Star Lords have paired up to guard the Celestial Authority Palace, the Jade Balance Palace, and the Radiant Sun Palace.]
The planned abandoned palaces were the second, third, and seventh Celestial Palaces, those adjacent to the first Celestial Pivot Palace.
Meanwhile, the palaces chosen to defend provided buffs that increased spell damage, physical damage, and healing effects, perfectly suited to the elite Apostles.
[The Demon-Subduing Altar begins to tremble. The Outer Demon army is about to attack!]
Lin Xun drew in a deep breath and began his unorthodox maneuvers.
[You possess the Shell of the Fire-Worshipping Palace Master of Iya Palace!]
[You form seals and chant incantations, waving the Purifying Exorcism Wand in your hand, summoning the shikigami Origin-Tracing Snow Woman of the Mountain!]
[You form seals and chant incantations, waving the Purifying Exorcism Wand in your hand, summoning the shikigami Origin-Tracing Nurarihyon!]
[You retrieve the Refined Copper Sand Maraca and gently shake it, summoning the watcher Battle Angel â Valkyrie!]
[Under your command, the Battle Angel â Valkyrie spreads her refined copper wings and flies toward the Celestial Measure Palace, taking position at the end of the cloud bridge.]
[The shikigami Nurarihyon and the Snow Woman, following your orders, rush toward the Celestial Sphere Palace, establishing themselves at the front of the cloud bridge.]
Lin Xun opened his inventory. He had originally planned to use the Dragon Marsh Temple Yokai Spirit Tablet to summon the ancient temple master yokai to defend the last Celestial Palace.
However, this item consumed non-renewable Incense Power, and the cost of using it was too high. Furthermore, the temple yokai had a time limit on its summoning and likely wouldnât last more than an hour.
On the other hand, the newly obtained Ogiwara Clan Command Banner had no time limit on the summons. Unless he canceled the summons himself, or every Red Armor samurai was killed, the effect would persist.
Both of these special summoning items were reusable rather than single-use consumables.
âLin Xun, what are you doing?â
âWerenât we supposed to abandon those three Celestial Palaces? Why are you sending your summoned creatures to guard them?â
Lin Xunâs actions were noticed by the others, and everyone began to ask questions in confusion.
Naturally, he couldnât tell the truth: Youâre all too weak, leave the remaining Celestial Palaces to me alone.
A kind lie helped maintain good relations among colleagues.
âJust trying to get a few more personal interpretation ratings, thatâs all. Once a few of the summoned creatures canât hold out anymore, Iâll withdraw them.â
Yin Linlin couldnât help feeling very envious. âLin Xun, your hidden class is really incredible. Not only are you a mage, youâre a summoner too.â
âOh, not at all. Your Paladin is also amazing, can deal damage and healâŠâ
[You take out a long black banner and silently recite the ancient seal script on its surface: Swift as the wind, steady as the forest, fierce as fire, immovable as the mountainâŠ]
[You expend 3 points of soul strength to use the Ogiwara Clan Command Banner!]
[Total Red Armor Army troops: 2000. Maximum morale: 100.]
[Because you expended 3 points of soul strength, this summoning is at the third tier.]
[The number of troops responding to your summons: 1500. Morale value: 75.]
[Please note: Each time a Red Armor samurai dies, the armyâs total number will decrease by one. When all 2000 Red Armor samurai have perished, this item will disappear.]
[Thunderous war drums resound through the skies, and a tide of rousing war cries fills your earsâŠ]
[Upon the Demon-Subduing Altar spreads a blood-red glowâŠ]
[A densely packed host of elite samurai appears in response to the summons. They wear crimson armor, some mounted, some on foot, some bearing spears, others carrying blades.]
[At the front of the formation are spear-wielding mounted samurai atop towering warhorses. Behind them stand foot soldiers armed with both long and short swords. Further back are archer samurai carrying quivers and longbows, masters of archery.]
[At the very rear of the army are numerous enormous castle siege weapons, including giant ballistae, battering rams, catapultsâŠ]
[With a single command from you, the drumbeats grow more urgent. Under the blaring horns that echo through the Celestial Palaces, the Red Armor Army marches toward the seventh Celestial Palace, the Shaking Light Palace!]
[âŠ]
[The fifteen-hundred-strong crimson army nearly fills the entire grounds of the Shaking Light Palace. Along the cloud bridge stand ranks upon ranks of Red Armor samurai.]
[They grip their weapons tightly. Within the formation, pairs of cold, murderous eyes stare ahead. Apart from their heavy, beast-like breathing, no other noise can be heard.]
[An endless killing intent spreads across the entire Demon-Subduing Altar!]