The purple crescent arc unleashed by the Thunderous Half-Moon Slash instantly surged to a height of dozens of meters. Radiating a brilliant violet effulgence, it sliced forward with terrifying smoothness.
Those countless wood dragons, tumbling and wreaking havoc in their scramble to attack, met the oncoming purple crescent slash. They were utterly unable to resist, instantly reduced to a pile of splintered scrap wood!
The spectacle was simply breathtaking.
It wasn't just Jigoro and Zenitsu, watching from afar, who witnessed it; even down in the town at the foot of Mount Momoyama, many people saw the phenomenon.
The tremors, resembling an earthquake, had already startled many awake. Consequently, a significant number of them witnessed the tower of purple light slicing dozens of meters into the sky above the mountain.
For ordinary people, unversed in such matters, how awe-inspiring and terrifying was this sight?
Many who saw it immediately fell to their knees, believing it to be a divine miracle. They bowed and kowtowed toward the direction of Mount Momoyama, murmuring prayers and incantations under their breath.
To others, this slash was merely shocking.
But for Zohakuten, the one facing it, it was pure, unadulterated terror!
Watching the towering purple crescent slash barreling toward him, the hair on Zohakuten's body stood on end. His scalp tingled, and a chill ran down his spine.
I can't dodge it!
There is absolutely no way to evade this!
The slash was too fast, and far too sharp!
In that critical moment, Zohakuten could only grit his teeth and command a massive swarm of wood dragons to impede the slash's advance.
Yet, it was futile. The Thunderous Half-Moon Slash tore through them like a hot knife through butter, finally carrying the unstoppable force of heavenly punishment straight for Zohakuten's face!
At the very last second, he could only raise the drumsticks in his hands in a desperate attempt to block.
His drumsticks were indeed hard, but how could they withstand this?
In a blur, the Thunderous Half-Moon Slash sliced vertically through Zohakuten's body before dissolving into fine purple electric arcs that gradually faded into the air.
Zohakuten's mouth hung open, his eyes bulging, until finally...
His body split smoothly down the center and toppled over stiffly—the left half falling to one side, the right half to the other.
Indeed, that Thunderous Half-Moon Slash had sliced Zohakuten's entire body into two very equal, very smooth halves.
The intense battle came to an abrupt halt; the massive commotion vanished without a trace.
The one-sided suppression was finally over.
Standing there, Horitake suddenly slapped his forehead, looking filled with regret.
"Oh, crap! I forgot!
"I clearly intended to torture this Zohakuten to death! I didn't expect to get so carried away and accidentally gave him a quick end!
"A loss. What a total loss."
With the strange mindset of someone who had just lost a fortune, Horitake carried his sword, Shimmer, and walked over slowly.
Looking down, he discovered that the bisected Zohakuten was actually not dead yet.
Horitake looked at the body twitching in agony, at the smooth cross-section of flesh and blood, and the internal organs spilled on the ground.
Suddenly, he felt he hadn't lost that much after all.
See? A demon's vitality is just that tenacious. Even cut in half, he wouldn't die immediately.
How was this a quick death? Wasn't this actually a fate worse than death?
Horitake asked Zohakuten with great interest:
"Zohakuten, now that things have come to this, do you have any thoughts?"
With his body sliced in two—and naturally, his mouth sliced in two as well—it was a mystery how he could still speak. Yet, trembling, he managed to force out a voice filled with ultimate resentment:
"Mu... Muzan-sama... He... He won't let you get away with this!"
Horitake snorted coldly.
"From the very beginning, your Muzan-sama never intended to let me go.
"Of his six Upper Moons, I've now encountered four.
"One fought me to a draw.
"One fought a great battle against me and was heavily injured.
"Another was killed by me.
"And the last one is you.
"However, you don't need to worry. I don't intend to kill you.
"To be precise, I don't intend to kill Hantengu.
"It's just a pity that you, Zohakuten, as Hantengu's strongest clone, must be eliminated by me.
"Alright, if you have no other last words, just lie there and slowly wait for death. It looks like you're down to your last breath anyway."
After Horitake finished speaking, the last breath Zohakuten was holding onto finally dissipated.
The two halves of his head tilted in opposite directions. Zohakuten was completely devoid of breath; all signs of life vanished.
With that, Hantengu's five great clones were all annihilated, without exception!
However, do not forget: Hantengu is not dead yet.
As long as the main body—the Coward—is not dead, Hantengu will not die!
Standing in the center of the chaotic battlefield, looking at the massive destruction around him, Horitake realized that his battle with Hantengu had nearly demolished half of Mount Momoyama.
But that couldn't be helped; when the fighting gets real, who has time to worry about anything else?
Horitake stood there, located the direction where Jigoro and Zenitsu were hiding, and waved his hand, shouting:
"Stinky Old Man! Zenitsu! I've completely finished up here! Mount Momoyama is safe! You guys can come back now! Bring that Coward with you—make sure you don't let him escape!"
Hiding far away, Jigoro and Zenitsu heard Horitake's voice.
The grandfather and grandson instantly felt a wave of relief.
"Hmm, it seems Horitake has eliminated all the enemies."
"Gramps, let's go back."
"Right, let's go."
Jigoro tightly gripped the Coward in his hand, and Zenitsu carefully supported Jigoro, whose movement wasn't very convenient. The two slowly walked over from the distance.
Upon arriving at the devastated battlefield and seeing the mess under the moonlight, Jigoro felt a sudden pang of angina. The little old man clutched his heart, practically wanting to cry but having no tears.
"My Momoyama... My home..."
Horitake walked over and spoke nonchalantly:
"Oh come on, it's just a little bit of heavy destruction, a slightly large area ruined, and a few too many peach trees destroyed. What's there to pity?
"As long as you two are fine, everything is fine.
"Besides, look—despite the wide range of destruction, our house wasn't damaged. That counts as a blessing in disguise."
Speaking, Horitake pointed toward Jigoro's house.
It was true.
Although Jigoro's house was within the battlefield's range, it had miraculously survived, sustaining not a scratch, standing there quietly as always.
Jigoro continued to sigh.
"Fine. At least we still have a place to live and won't be sleeping in the wind."
Zenitsu looked at the terrifying destruction around them, his heart still fluttering with lingering fear.
"Big Brother, is this... is this what a battle between the strong looks like?"
After thinking for a moment, Horitake answered:
"For you, this is indeed a battle between the strong.
"But for me? This battle... wasn't strong enough."
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