"That's good..."

Oda Chi gently nodded, and then, as if something hit her, she could not help but lightly furrow her delicate and beautiful eyebrows.

"Hmm... speaking of which, I, I don't quite understand, Miss Tamamo no Mae... since you could have someone from Mino come over so quickly... come over... to propose, then why go to such lengths? Why must it be in my name... to get, get married over there..."

By the time she got to the end of her sentence, her face involuntarily blushed, and her voice became as soft as a mosquito's hum.

Even if this was just a superficial act where each side took what they needed, for a young lady of the inner chamber like her, actively discussing this under the guise of marriage was still too shy-making.

"Ah, well, this, this... this actually has a very profound reason."

Miss Tamamo no Mae also felt a bit troubled, and at that point could only change the subject. She pretended to notice some strange scene outside and immediately shouted loudly.

"Eh, hey, hey, Ah Shi, look outside..."

"Huh? What?"

Currently, Oda Chi was still a young lady of the inner chamber, naive and innocent, easy to deceive. Hearing this, she was stunned for a moment, then instinctively looked outside... uh, the curtains of the carriage were down, she was just an ordinary human girl; naturally, her gaze couldn't penetrate through.

Pressing her thin lips together, Oda Chi gently lifted the curtains, casting her gaze outside.

The Nagano Great Plains were vast, and under the gentle sunlight of near-dusk, a long road wound its way across.

The young girl looked out from the carriage, and for a moment was stunned. She saw in the distance ahead, in the field, a gigantic monster making a low, rumbling noise—where several farmers were driving machines, busily digging drainage ditches in the farmland.

However, the large group from Owari naturally didn't know this, and they all slowed their pace in response, as if facing a formidable enemy, becoming tense and cautious.

What on earth was this monster?

Could it be that the people of Mino were driving demons? Or had specifically ambushed them here? But that wouldn't make sense, they were escorting Miss Ah Shi over to marry into the other family, the two families were to become allied, just like Miss Kicho from Mino came over in marriage a few years back.

—So there's no reason at all!

A string of thoughts surged through the hearts of the people in the group, bringing them a sense of absurdity, and they unconsciously looked at each other.

Moreover, scenes like this were not isolated moving forward—

After all, ahead was already the boundary of Mino, and in the opposite land, in the vast fields, one could faintly see many similar scenes. Yet even for the farmers of Mino Country who were utilizing farming machines, this was still an extremely novel thing.

Over the recent days, although gradually getting used to it, when "driving" these "demon ghosts", they still had to earnestly invite them out, executing the formalities respectfully. This was something they couldn't do anything about; the transformation was too fast, the step too big, forcibly promoting acceptance was easy, but catching up in cognition was temporarily impossible.

Even those in Mino Country who had been using the farming machines for quite some time now still harbored more or less such a mindset, naturally not expecting that the people from Owari Country, upon their initial encounter, could immediately accept these novel things with a more enlightened and progressive outlook and mindset.

Therefore, to them, this scene was also somewhat beyond common sense, and as their walking speed slowed, they instinctively scanned around warily, only to immediately discover that those demon ghosts in the fields of Mino Country in Nagano Plains were not all there was.

Even...

Looking down the road that led straight through Mino, across the Nagano Plains, towards the horizon in the distance, one could still see on certain higher elevation hills, they didn't know when several white windmills had been erected, like a group of giants standing in rows.

They stood in the wind, with their three blades glittering in the sunset, constantly rotating, converting the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy.

This was likewise a testament to the comprehensive changes happening within Mino Country over the past two months, and also merely one of the many aspects sweeping across various areas.

Even though people from Owari Country were unaware and even completely bewildered, they could see that this new thing facility was completely at odds with the time, totally not in the same tone. Precisely for this reason, they felt confused and at a loss, even suspecting it to be some kind of terrifying demon ghost.

"So this is Mino, it feels completely like a different place..."

Gently lifting the curtain, Oda Chi pressed her lips, exclaiming with wonder: "These should be... what the intelligence mentioned about what they're doing over there recently, but do any of these really make sense?"

She had been paying more attention to occurrences in Mino recently, so she somewhat understood better than others that these were not any demons, but some machines that the lord there was vigorously promoting—though the intelligence network couldn't be entirely sure of the specifics, they at least figured out those were devices.

However, knowing this didn't have much significance, those who could see the importance within were still extremely few.

After all, the process of transformation had just begun, and multifaceted reconstruction was underway, some with visible effects, others yet to manifest their effect. Plus, Mino was also strictly guarded, and Owari's intelligence network had no special privileges, moving around like spies from other daimyo factions, unable to do more than circle the periphery.

If you want to delve deeper and steal more precious intelligence, you'll likely end up losing your life...

Once discovered, you'll immediately face secret arrest or public manhunt. Exposed spies will despairingly discover that their enemies not only have well-trained soldiers but also fellow ninjas who are just as skilled.

In addition, there are Onmyoji who have been recruited, monks with mana in an organized fashion, intelligent Demons, and Synthetic Golems with steely determination...

In short, even Hattori Hanzo couldn't escape.

And because of this, no one currently understands the astounding transformation happening in Nongzhou. Miss Ah Shi naturally feels the same; her first reaction to such novel scenery is to find it refreshing, followed by confusion.

"It naturally holds great significance..." chimed in the triumphant voice of Miss Fox Spirit, who began to talk eloquently about her views, claiming that only she could understand what the Master was doing.

Heh heh, after all, coming over to sneak into the house has its significance!

This is the right choice, allowing her to leave those hateful Fox Elves far behind, unable to even catch her dust!

Oda Chi listened intently to the voice in her consciousness, nodding slightly without realizing she was being subtly led astray and had directly veered off the original topic, forgetting the doubts that had previously arisen in her mind.

The conversation in her consciousness didn't last long before another burst of noise came from outside.

Oda Chi quickly looked outside, quietly lifting the curtain to peek through a slit, and her face blushed again... As she expected, it was the escort team from Mino.

What she didn't know was that Miss Fox Spirit breathed a small sigh of relief within her consciousness.

It was, in fact, a self-assumed situation on the Owari side... After all, the other side certainly had no knowledge of it, so there was no possibility of a marriage proposal. The Master had merely sent an envoy from Mino to maintain a perfunctory relationship with Owari.

After all, there was still a bit of sentiment between them, and although it was decided that two forces should not coexist on the Nagano Great Plains, there was no need to break relations immediately.

Saying hello and maintaining several years of peace and quiet would just allow Mino to quietly develop, before considering issues of annexing surrounding areas and expanding territory... "When impoverished, set aside disputes; when successful, act according to classic traditions." He was familiar with this approach, handling it with ease.

However, the envoy sent was seized as an opportunity by Miss Tamamo no Mae to become the starting point of an ongoing ritual.

After all, if Mino hadn't proposed, Oda Nobunaga wouldn't have so decisively decided based on Miss Ah Shi's few words—the other side hadn't shown any intention, and he wouldn't be hasty to send his sister over.

The current situation was that Owari believed Mino had first actively proposed, and since Miss Ah Shi herself had the intent, even without knowing how they had gotten acquainted, it was enough for Oda Nobunaga to make a political decision in response.

In fact, Mino was completely unaware of this.

Even the envoy, used by Miss Tamamo no Mae, forgot the matter upon returning and thought they had completed their original task beautifully, without knowing they had made some troublesome proposal in Owari on behalf of the Sovereign.

Even the welcoming party appearing at the border seemed to come from Mino, but was merely a beautiful illusion created by Miss Tamamo no Mae.

It didn't actually exist.

It was simply to reassure Oda Chi and to settle the hearts of the current team. After all, having reached Mino, if the other side showed no response, they'd definitely realize something was off, which Miss Tamamo no Mae did not wish to see.

As long as things proceed smoothly, and the ritual continues to operate successfully, the accumulated "momentum" would grow ever larger, eventually converging into an unstoppable torrent...

At that time, the ritual would launch completely, naturally turning fiction into reality.

Mmm, with that thought, she didn't really deceive Miss Ah Shi, as long as the fact of marriage ultimately existed... Comforting herself optimistically, the Fox Spirit girl perfectly set aside the insignificant guilt in her heart.

Looking forward, Tamamo no Mae brimmed with confidence and drive.

Dear, I'm coming! Are you ready?!

......

"Achoo!"

At the same time, within Rice Leaf Mountain Castle.

Inside the Heaven-Defending Tower, someone suddenly sneezed.