Even A-class yokai factions, struggling desperately to survive under the pressure of the exorcists, were now choosing to join Nekomata's side. That alone was enough to show just how overwhelming the previous yokai-hunting operations had been.
Strictly speaking, if these yokai factions had simply fled before they were targeted—leaving the Tokyo metropolitan area altogether—the exorcists likely wouldn't have pursued them relentlessly.
But ever since awakening, they had poured enormous effort into carving out territory in Tokyo. To abandon everything and leave with nothing now was something they simply couldn't accept.
And even if they did leave Tokyo, once they entered other regions, with their level of strength, they would soon be absorbed by other yokai kings' factions anyway.
They had grown accustomed to being the local bosses. Being forced to become underlings somewhere else was something they would only consider as a last resort.
Just as these yokai factions were living in constant fear—worried every day that exorcists might come knocking—they heard news that a yokai alliance had appeared in Tokyo.
It was called an "alliance" because rumors said it was formed by nearly ten yokai factions banding together, and so the yokai privately began referring to it that way.
The emergence of this force made many yokai in Tokyo feel as though they were finally seeing a ray of hope.
That's right—if humans could unite to carry out large-scale yokai-hunting campaigns, why couldn't yokai gather their strength as well?
Compared to fleeing Tokyo and becoming someone else's subordinate, joining this so-called alliance meant that, as an A-class yokai, they would at least stand on equal footing with others.
Plenty of yokai factions in Tokyo shared this line of thinking, and as a result, the yokai force that Nekomata and the others had hastily assembled began expanding at an astonishing rate.
Of course, they didn't accept just anyone.
Any faction that wanted to join had to pass a round of screening by the Samurai Spirit.
As a yokai himself, he knew very well that those without human blood on their hands were rare. That didn't bother him—so long as they were willing to obey discipline going forward, that was enough.
But factions with arrogant temperaments or hidden agendas were all rejected outright.
Based on his and Spider Princess's judgment, the current situation—Tokyo's yokai being forced to gather under their banner—was likely entirely within Ren Kuroda's expectations.
By leveraging the exorcists' pressure, they had managed, in just a few short days, to absorb nearly all yokai factions of every size in Tokyo.
Every time the Samurai Spirit thought of this, he couldn't help but marvel at Ren Kuroda's intelligence.
From what he knew, other yokai kings might command hundreds of demons, but those forces were either made up of their own kin or had been cultivated painstakingly over many years before the chaos began.
But their Lord Ren?
Just a few days ago, he had barely been better off than a lone commander with no troops—and now, through a single plan, he had gathered such an enormous force.
True, aside from the yokai they had personally rescued earlier, many of the factions that joined later did so under pressure from the exorcists.
Still, the Samurai Spirit understood one thing clearly:their faction had now taken shape, and with such massive movements, the Tokyo exorcist forces would never remain idle.
If he and Spider Princess were right, the exorcist camp was already preparing to concentrate all its forces and wipe out this most troublesome yokai faction before it could grow any further.
And if they relied solely on their current combat strength, facing several of the Thirteen Yokai-Slaying Houses at once, victory would be impossible.
They lacked the kind of overwhelming top-tier power that could turn the tide. Even if their numbers and mid-level fighters weren't inferior, a loosely bound yokai force clashing head-on with disciplined human exorcists would almost certainly lose.
However—
If Lord Ren Kuroda were to enter the battle at that moment, leading the yokai to repel the human exorcist coalition, then his prestige would skyrocket to unimaginable heights.
Leaving aside the yokai they had already rescued, the factions that joined later—once they witnessed Lord Ren's absolute strength and commanding presence—would fully pledge their loyalty sooner or later.
When it came to Ren Kuroda's personal charisma, the yokai under his banner were filled with absolute confidence.
And reality soon proved the Samurai Spirit right.
As their influence continued to expand, the Tokyo exorcist camp finally lost its patience and decided to unify all exorcist family forces in the region, determined to eliminate this unstable factor once and for all.
Both Ren Kuroda and Yamato Kuka were assigned to this exorcist coalition—and due to their outstanding combat records, each of them was given an important position.
"Ren-sensei… I never thought I'd get to meet you here again. And you're actually our captain this time? Then our squad is definitely going to rank near the top in the Tokyo operation!"
After discussion, the Tokyo exorcist camp abandoned the traditional approach of having each family act independently. Instead, they gathered everyone together, broke up existing groups, and reorganized them into entirely new teams.
Exorcists from the same family worked well together, but their strengths overlapped too much, making it hard to deal with unexpected situations.
So after careful planning, the reorganized exorcists were evenly distributed among squads, ensuring each team had members skilled in healing, defense, offense, and other specialties.
Thanks to his achievements and reputation, Ren Kuroda was appointed captain of a squad of nearly twenty exorcists. The average spiritual power of the members ranged from C-class to B-class.
To Ren's mild dismay, even that troublesome fire-style exorcist from before—Hinomura Yūichi—had been assigned to his team.
Since their last meeting, the flame-haired youth had clearly matured. Having witnessed real life-and-death situations, much of his childishness was gone, replaced by an unwavering resolve in his eyes.
"I can't believe our captain is the famous 'Redeemer.' Looks like we really hit the jackpot this time."
Being assigned to Ren's squad made more than just Hinomura Yūichi excited—many other exorcists were thrilled as well.
Ren might look young, but he ranked extremely high on the exorcist leaderboard and possessed astonishing combat achievements.
Other squad leaders were mostly B-class exorcists too, but very few could claim to have slain an A-class yokai.
Following a leader with both strength and fame was clearly better than most alternatives, and Ren quickly received plenty of goodwill.
Of course, those who showed the most respect were mostly exorcists from small families or independent backgrounds. Members of major families carried their own pride—while they didn't oppose Ren, their attitude toward him remained noticeably cool.
Interestingly, a middle-aged man from the Yamato family and a young woman from the Kūsuka family, likely aware of Ren's "special relationship" with Yamato Kuka, were particularly warm toward him.
As the exorcist camp prepared in an orderly fashion, Ren gazed toward the opposite side of the city, his face full of a throbbing headache.
He genuinely had no idea how things had spiraled into this mess.
All he had done was ask the Samurai Spirit and the others to rescue some harmless yokai who had been unintentionally caught up in his actions—and somehow that had turned into a massive yokai faction, one now on the brink of war with humanity.
Seriously.Ren's original intentions had been simple and pure, nowhere near as grandiose as the Samurai Spirit and Spider Princess imagined.
But reality had a cruel sense of humor, always pushing events far beyond expectation.
The only thing Ren felt relieved about was that he had left his true body hidden in reserve beforehand. If things went south, he was confident he could still extract the Samurai Spirit and the others safely.
"Captain, why do you look so troubled? Even if those yokai have banded together, no matter how you look at it, our side still has the advantage, right?"
"You don't get it. Our captain is the man known as the 'Redeemer.' Once a battle begins, people are bound to die. What he's thinking about right now is probably how many lives will be lost because of this fight."
Ding—ding—ding.
The sound of human reputation increasing echoed repeatedly as notifications popped up on Ren's system interface, shattering his thoughts.
When he saw that the reputation gains were coming from his teammates—including Hinomura Yūichi—his expression turned blank with disbelief.
No matter whether he was acting as a human or a yokai, people always seemed to project him as some kind of towering saint.
Was this reputation system secretly bundled with a halo effect or something?
Before the clash of armies, logistics naturally had to be prepared.
Large quantities of basic talismans, holy water, and other supplies were distributed evenly to each squad.
This time, the exorcist families truly spared no expense—almost all supplies were provided free of charge.
As before, squads that hunted enough yokai could still exchange their merits for additional rewards.
Compared to the humans' orderly preparations, the yokai side looked noticeably worse off.
Forget about supplies—even organizing basic formations gave the Samurai Spirit a pounding headache.
After all, their force had been assembled hastily out of fear of extermination. While they weren't quite a pile of loose sand…they weren't much better either.
..
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