Throb!

Akio's heart faintly trembled as he saw the lifeless body of that female expert fall. His eyes reddened in rage as he lunged forward with his sword in hand. This rage wasn't unfocused, but controlled. He had been taught from the earliest of age to be able to harness emotion and rage for power, into strength, into clarity.

The spear-wielding knight coldly sneered beneath his helmet, his voice was gruff and unpleasant to hear as he snorted. He hefted his spear, brandishing its power, and matched Akio's ferocious lunge. Almost immediately, their weapons clashed violently.

Akio felt his palms hurt and his sword vibrate, but he didn't dare retreat. He sharply shifted his body, performing an odd parry of the knight's spear before slicing his sword forward ruthlessly at its neck.

While this was happening, a collision of immensely powerful forces clashed. The sound of blade meeting blade nearly drowned out the sound of grunts, cries of pain, and deathly wails in the surroundings.

The Clan Lord, wielding his pure white naginata, clashed fiercely with nine knights. They wielded all sorts of deadly weapons, including bows and arrows, chains, and a spiked mace of lethal proportions. Yet despite this, he looked like a heroic general facing a flood of demon gods as he swiped, parried, and stabbed with incredible might.

These nine were unique in comparison to the others in this sea of black knights. They wore capes and armor more noticeable in design. They were nine of the eighteen grand generals beneath the figure in the throne!

The other nine was occupied by the Elders, some even fighting up to three at once. It was evident that despite the numbers being wildly in the black knights' favor, their individual skill and strength was severely lacking. They lost five for every one Kitsune killed on average, yet they still went strong.

The numerical advantage was displaying itself substantially, as these knights numbered nearly a million in comparison to the tens of thousands on the battlefield. At this rate, the Kitsune would lose.

Kaito knew this. The Elders knew this. Even the fighters, yet they still fought and persisted the best they could. If only to buy an extra second.

Just a few minutes and the ceremony will end, their Ancestral Hope will remain untainted, and they will see an afterlife. Perhaps, in the future, they will recount their kills and sacrifice to their great, great, grandchildren.

Perhaps.

Until then, "We Kill!"

Akio held an armored head in his hand, his eyes viciously red as he observed his surroundings. The rain of black metal and flesh that fell was terrifying, yet it caused his blood to boil with potent battle intent.

His face had spatters of black blood, and his sword was dripping with black blood. The breathing of his body was uneven, but his eyes were focused beyond belief.

"Akio!" Suddenly, an aged voice was heard. Akio felt a sensation of danger as she tried to throw his body to the side. A bitingly cold wind brushed his side. The sound of crushing blood and pierced flesh echoed.

"Argh!" He cried as he felt his body felt an intense bout of pain. He felt his consciousness waver as his body lost its ability of flight and he dropped downwards. His eyes saw a blazing arrow soar away from him.

"Akio!!" A young voice this time sounded as a figure rushed over, her blade was like it had just been dipped in oil, blacker than night. The amount of lives claimed by this blade of hers was immense, but her expression, despite immature and youthful was pained.

Her sword wielding right arm trembled as she bit her lower lip harshly. Akio's body had nearly touched the graveyard of corpses below. Her eyes wanted to cry, and there was even wetness within, but no tears would escape.

"Focus!" Elder Hiroji was the one who shouted before, his blade severed the life of one of the eighteen general knights as he pushed himself towards Tsumi and shouted furiously. When he looked at Tsumi, this young and mischievous girl, his eyes trembled.

Her left arm was gone, and she had a piercing hole in her left abdomen. Her lung had just barely been missed.

Tsumi closed her eyes. A flood of memories surged in her mind, especially Akio's face. She may be young, but Akio was who she chose for the festival. From young, they were destined to be married, and why she considered Akane a big sister.

"Mother…" a gentle face who she had few memories of flashed through her mind. She tapped her sword-wielding hand against her breastplate. This was where her incense laid, and the link to her mother.

"Tsumi!" Elder Hiroji shouted, reengaging the two general knights once more. He couldn't make his way over to protect this only living family of his. He clenched his teeth, a surge of rage flowed into his heart and became power.

He drew upon hellish might as he clashed once more with the knights. His blade flickered like rays of light, slicing and reaping lives with ever strike. The general knights could keep their lives, but their nearby subordinates went straight to hell.

Tsumi opened her eyes and was greeted with a blade. This blade was just inches away from her chest. She was tired. She just wanted to return to her mother. How nice would that be? Living life with Akio and mother...how nice...

Slash!

Her sword and body moved as one, narrowly dodging the lethal blade strike and replied with her own. Her blade was beyond swift, and it directly decapitated the knight before her. His head flew away.

"Even if I'm to die, I'll take a few more with me!" She brandished her blade and rushed into the crowd of knights, her expression the epitome of calmness.

She heard a shout from afar, "WE KILL!!"

Her mind was jolted and a flow of heat emerged in her heart. That's right. That was their mantra from birth. If anyone threatens us, we kill! If anyone wishes to claim our lives, we kill! To protect our way of life, to honor our ancestors, to prove our mettle, we kill, kill, kill!

As if by some unforeseen agreement of battle, every last Kitsune, no matter their gender, age, or battle injuries, they roared to the heavens, "WE KILL!!"

Tsumi's pitch black eyes intermixed with a crimson glow. She swung her sword fiercely as she bobbed and weaved through the crowd. With each swing, a life was claimed.

The entire crowd was invigorated as they were filled with a profound intent, they seemed to be connected to each other and became more fluid, more powerful, and fiercer than ever before.

A middle-aged Kitsune male sliced his sword towards a knight which was decisively blocked by a knight wielding a shield. He thrust harsly sending him backwards, and chased. Another battle was happening directly behind the knight, a young girl was clashing with two while maintaining a fierce offensive.

Her eyes glowed as her expression became calm. She retreated, the knights followed, and she performed a backflip and stabbed her sword downwards. The knight sent backwards earlier was met with a sword in the cranium as his body, now corpse, smashed against the two knights throwing them off balance.

The middle-aged man's charge didn't stop, he dove forward bypassing the dead knight and spun ibmn mid-air, slicing the two like a whirling cyclone, their heads turned into something like string cheese.

The young girl reached out and grabbed the foot of the spinning male without any communication needed. She halted his path forward as a piercing arrow passed where he would have passed, saving his life.

The young girl swung the middle-aged man like a sack of garbage towards a direction as she rushed forward to find more opponents to kill.

Tsumi had just met one of the stronger ordinary knights and was halted, her eyes gleamed with a unique light as she threw her body forward. A blade pierced into her side ferociously, but she twisted her body to avoid vitals. She used her tiny body and held the knight in place.

The middle-aged Kitsune male launched earlier had flown over and with a slicing light, the knight was directly beheaded. Tsumi then kicked the Knight's corpse viciously, sending it towards another. This further helped someone else on the battlefield.

A formless connection seemed to be established for the most perfect synchronized attacks and movements. With this, the knights started to lose tens of times the amount per Kitsune slain, and the number was increasing by the minute.

At this moment, the battle was unclear.