Chapter 896: Aftermath
Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu had already leapt out before the shrine completely collapsed back into the depths of the earth.
On the way out, Qi Xuansu casually took the now dim and lifeless metal sun disc with him. This instinct to collect spoils of a battle was a habit he had cultivated over the years.
As soon as they departed from the shrine, it sank into the gaping chasm in the earth—in a sense, returning to where it had first emerged.
With a thunderous crash, smoke and dust billowed upward.
With the “sun” setting, the Sonno-joi ronin who had only just glimpsed a sliver of hope now fell into utter despair. Save for a desperate few still struggling like cornered beasts, most of them had lost all will to fight, sitting in place and waiting for death.
The Daoist army marched triumphantly into Hisai Castle, which was now reduced to ruins.
The battle for Hisai Castle had finally drawn to a close.
In terms of elite forces, the Sonno-joi faction had suffered near-total collapse. The esteemed Princess Tamako was captured; one jokai-rank shinkan, two meikai-rank shinkan, and Zen Master Sosen were slain; and the Koga ninja Sarutobi Shosai vanished without a trace. Not to mention, the casualties among the shinkan of the gon-shokai and jikikai ranks and the samurai were beyond count.
All of this was accomplished by Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu alone.
The couple had carved through Hisai Castle’s defenses with their twin swords alone.
This single battle was enough to make their names renowned throughout Fenglin.
When the two returned to Spirit Guard Jia Shen’s command post, the veteran Spirit Guard could not apologize outright for the sake of his pride, but he still tactfully acknowledged that heroes could indeed emerge from the younger generation. He also admitted that he was far inferior to the Sage Commander in recognizing talent and promised to report the two youngsters’ contributions to his superior.