"It truly is Demon Technique! Just crooked tricks!!"

Shibata Katsuie roared with fury, swinging his double-bladed axe and stirring up an extraordinarily fierce whirlwind, the air currents almost visible to the naked eye.

"Die for me!!"

His voice thundered, and amidst the roaring, he viciously smacked away several charging mechanical golems, sending their heavy bodies flying several meters!

If it were a relatively light human body, it would likely have been smashed to pieces by this violent force!

It was only natural; such a fierce warrior on the battlefield reached a strength that defied science, his burly frame twice the size of an ordinary person, no less formidable than a typical Demon Ghost, his whole body of bulging muscles like cast iron, exuding a wild sense of power.

The huge phantom of a demonic pig appeared behind him, with a presence incredibly imposing. On its back, bamboo leaves grew lush, representing the charging force and sharp tusks viewed as manifestations of Natural Power, a sign of prosperity since the Jomon period, possessed by the Pig Bamboo King with Divine Power!

And this Divine Power now bolstered Shibata Katsuie's physique and muscles!

With this terrifying strength, the humanoid beast utilized a special martial arts power technique, wielding the half-human height axes in sweeping gestures, each strike delivering extremely violent lethality, as if transforming a simple attack into a local AoE effect!

A single axe strike! Resulting in a thunderous boom!

An incredibly fierce and aggressive vacuum wave like a sledgehammer, accompanied by an explosive sonic boom, created a terrifying force capable of shattering the ground!

In the next moment, another axe swing followed!

The destructive power of the fierce shockwave raised a visible pressure wave, a second circle of high-speed shock waves compressed the air and burst outwards, dispersing the dust cloud into nothingness!

It was almost like a series of high-explosive grenades detonating consecutively, every full-force swing of the double-bladed axe practically unleashed an explosion equivalent to a detonator, a killing machine unimaginable on ancient cold weapon battlefields. After all, if faced against humans, it was hard to counteract such a violent physical power.

Even if taken head-on, without sufficient resistance, it's likely the opponent's arm or even the entire upper body would disappear, the flesh and blood blown to smithereens!

And now, it was an extremely terrifying destructive force.

Several mechanical golems, first to bear the brunt, showed OBVIOUS cracking on the surface under the successive ferocious attacks, their metal shells seemingly unable to withstand such powerful blows, internal components malfunctioning from the severe shock, with sparks flying and actions becoming visibly sluggish.

But this didn't affect anything, as the surrounding other mechanical golems continued to act according to the original instructions.

Their red electronic eyes flickered with cruel cold light, striding forward as if nothing could impede their advance.

These were the first-generation prototype humanoid mechanical golems, whimsically named "Terminator Type I", the first batch of three hundred manufactured on the Moon Surface City, all deployed into this world to partake in the grand upgrading project of Mino.

It was also to collect data during practical use, observe deficiencies, and provide adjustments or upgrades in the future.

Currently, two hundred and fifty mechanical golems were dispatched to this battlefield, with the remainder tirelessly executing orders at Rice Leaf Mountain Castle or other locations.

Their prototype technology came from the reverse engineering of Mr. Skillful, combined with the mysticism knowledge of constructing golems—using spells to endow lifeless substances with life, whether stone or wood, to animate and act.

Since even simple constructs of wood or stone as prototypes could be enhanced so remarkably by spells, allowing lifeless substances to move, understand commands, and keep functioning as long they were not destroyed...

Then what if the spells were cast on already precisely designed robots, using precise mechanical bodies as prototypes, enlivened with spells?

Would they not achieve another leap in performance from the already excellent design capabilities?

Inspiration came this way, though not complex, it was a product of the spark of wisdom clashing, finally allowing Gu Mo, who mastered both, to creatively combine them to create intelligent puppets closer to his ideal.

The intelligent mechanical personality matrix and simple emotion simulator provided exceptional performance, better mimicking humans, comprehending more complex instructions, and completing more detailed tasks; while magic, granting life, solved the power issue and left a mystical "backdoor" as double insurance.

Their reliability was written into behavior protocols at the foundational code level.

And combining magic, a system distinct from technology, added an invisible layer of security.

These mechanical golems knew neither fatigue nor pain, naturally fearing nothing nor dreading, executing orders from their master loyally and efficiently.

Shibata Katsuie's bravery invigorated Oda's troops' morale, halting the trend of collapse, many soldiers, under the furious urging of the officers, with reddened eyes picked up their weapons and charged again, seeing hope to turn defeat into victory.

This was only seen in this world; on a normal historical timeline, ordinary troops encountering such demonized creations would have been scared out of their wits."

But in this world, with various bull ghosts and snake gods, monster strength and chaotic deities existing as a fact, people were long accustomed to it, understanding it deeply, so even when seeing the strange iron shells beneath these humans, they were only momentarily startled, not entirely losing the will to fight.

——Compared to fearing these "Demons", the collapse and chaos of Oda's troops were more due to being smashed by the offensive firepower of the enemy.

The two sides clashed again, seemingly giving Owari a glimpse of hope.

Although... this light was so faint, as ethereal as a candle in the wind.

Amidst the fierce gunfire, countless bullets rained down on Shibata Katsuie, but were directly deflected by some sort of protective force.

However, it wasn't entirely effective—

The power of the Pig Bamboo King couldn't be fully unleashed through the mere human body, and the protective power endowed by the Guardian Spirit was ultimately just a minuscule fraction; the power humans could utilize was but the tip of the iceberg.

Even for those who have immersed themselves in this for many years, skilled and experienced, who can more proactively and frequently summon the Power of the Guardian Spirit, mastering this supernatural or demonic power, there is ultimately a limit... To fully unleash this power, one only has the option to become Demonized.

Oh, and the Ninety-nine Weapons…

But it's evident that this is not some common skill; despite being rated only at the Silver Level, it can perfectly leverage the power of the Guardian Spirit and can be described as a highly tailored skill. Shibata Katsuie did not possess this skill, but his eyes appeared blood-red, filled with pain and rage!

He actively attracted fire, creating opportunities for other soldiers, but his body burst with blood in multiple places, and he sensed a certain mortal danger coming.

His blood-red eyes emitted a sense of ferocity, and the massive shadow of the demon pig behind him seemed to solidify further, as if ready to merge with this burly general, becoming one!

Demonized!!

"Katsuie..."

Oda Nobunaga's facial muscles twitched, somewhat pained, but he quickly made up his mind and waved decisively, "Advance! Full assault!"

The situation had reached a point of no return, and all he could do was seize this chance, trying to turn the tide... No regrets, Mino was within his sights. Because the geographical location of Owari determined that to aspire for the world, Mino must be taken first; if Mino couldn't be obtained, everything he had done thus far would be meaningless.

......

...

The sun set to the west, about to dip below the horizon.

It was blood-red, faintly exuding an ominous aura.

Seated in the main hall, the people of Owari chatted and watched the last rays of light in the courtyard begin to fade; the sky was growing dark, and they felt an immense urgency.

Where exactly did things go wrong?

Why was there still no movement?

In their calculations, taking the unguarded by surprise during what should have been a honeymoon period between the two countries would surely have unexpected results.

Though it was possible to push forward and advance to the gates of Rice Leaf Mountain Castle, by then, no matter how slow Mino was, they would have reacted, ready to defend within the mountain castle… That would be a less than ideal outcome, allowing for significant damage but making it difficult to capture Mino entirely.

After all, besieging a city is inherently challenging and not so easy; one misstep, and it turns into a horribly drawn-out battle of attrition.

They intended to launch a fatal strike from within at the critical moment, combining efforts inside and out to seize Rice Leaf Mountain Castle, which would be the most ideal outcome.

But the premise was that their own troops would make a rapid advance, crossing the Great Plains directly, quickly rushing to the castle gates, seizing the perfect opportunity… But now, they felt numb, as if things weren't going smoothly; it was all quiet outside.

Yet, if they continued to delay, the other side might start to suspect something.

Action must be taken!

Even if things couldn't proceed smoothly as hoped, at the very least, they had to eliminate this immediate threat, plunging Mino into a state of leaderless chaos… Though it would be troublesome, they would still obtain the result they wanted, or at worst, trigger a string of disturbances, giving them the chance to seize those advanced devices and escape!

They gritted their teeth and exchanged glances, their eyes fierce.

"Lord Mo, we should also prepare to leave now..." The leader pondered, standing up from his seated position, bowing neither humbly nor arrogantly to the young man in the upper seat, as if about to bid farewell, while the others behind him prepared to rise.

"Very well..." Gu Mo nodded, appearing somewhat absentminded.

Beside him, Oda Chi had been keeping her head down, but couldn't help lifting her gaze now.

The young girl appeared preoccupied, seemingly reluctant to part with these family members before her, lost in contemplation… Then, in that instant, her pupils sharply contracted, reflecting a flash of blade light!