Samoorai Yak
Chapter Eleven
Tso Not Ready
"General Tso has quite the fortress here. This won't be easy!" Bonnie Anne remarked as we stood outside the gates.
"Who wants to live forever? Let's charge right in and get this over with!" Ratbeard said as he drew his cutlass. I nodded as I turned to signal the crew on the Santo Oro, and a gunnery officer shouted, "Fire!"
A broadside of eight guns crashed through the wooden gates of General Tso's fortress, catching the samoorai by surprise.
My trusted associates and I charged in to fight the small number samoorai not incapacitated by the hail of splinters from the gates, and Rena shouted, "Let's make this quick. The longer we mess around with Tso's lackeys, the more time he has to get ready!"
I ambushed a samoorai dueling El Toro from behind with a sleeper hold, and within six seconds, he was unconscious. I then shot another one with my pistol, and as I reloaded, I had to duck to avoid being decapitated.
We soon had all of the samoorai either unconscious or stunned on the ground, and Bonnie ran over to a set of wooden gates painted red to try and open them. "The gate - it's been barred from the inside!"
"Then we will scale the walls!" El Toro said, but Rena shook her head. "No, we'd never make it with any good handholds. We'll have to get Tso's own men to open it."
"Look yonder! The general's army is mustering there - bet they'll come running if we work some mischief over there!" Ratbeard said, pointing to a small islet connected to the main one by a wooden bridge.
Suddenly, cannon blasts rang out, and I was sent flying from the force of a cannonball hitting the ground near me.
As I got up in a slight daze, Bonnie shouted, "Look out! The general's already got his hands on Armada guns and powder!"
"Those would make Tso's army unbeatable!" I heard Rena shout, and Ratbeard answered. "Then let's take 'em away! That must be the armory there - let's blow it up!"
Luckily, General Tso's small artillery battery weren't very experienced, so we managed to reach their position before they could fire.
Overpowering the crew of the first gun, we quickly loaded it with round shot, turned it around, and fired, destroying another cannon.
Bonnie shot down a Bull about to fire the last gun with her sniper rifle, and the rest of the gun crew drew their katanas to engage us, which is a bad idea when the enemy has a loaded twelve-pounder aimed straight at you.
"We're wasting time! Let's blow up the armory and get on with it!" Bonnie said as we stepped over the bodies of the gun crew.
"This should do nicely. Now fire them and we'll be done!" Emmett remarked as we finished aiming and loading the two guns.
On a count of three, we lit the fuses of the cannons, and the wood of the armory stood no chance as it collapsed on itself. From a safe distance away, Bonnie aimed and fired at an exposed keg leaking gunpowder, and the remains of the armory exploded, taking the guns with it.
"Nicely done, Bonnie!" I said. We pushed the cannons over the edge of the islet and returned to the main one, where El Toro said, "It worked! The gate is open - now to battle!"
Samoorai poured out from the gate, and we pushed past them as we made our way, knocking out as many as we could.
"Artillery!" I shouted as I fired a salvo of blue energy missiles from the tip of my sword, covering the others as they ran past the gate.
As I ran to join the others, they closed the door and barred it with a large and thick plank, giving us a moment to breathe easy as Rena ran to check the inner gate.
"We'll need a key for this one! It's probably in the barracks!" Rena shouted to us as she pointed to a tall gray-shingled building in the courtyard.
Luckily for us, there weren't any samoorai inside the barracks, as earlier, they had all rushed at us, so we were free to turn the place upside-down for the key to the inner gate.
"Here's a key!" Ratbeard shouted a few minutes later. "Let's get back to the inner gate and put this matter to an end, shall we?"
We returned to the inner gates, where as we took a moment to reload all our guns, El Toro said, "General Tso has had time to prepare. His soldiers are loyal and desperate. Now the real battle begins!"
The doors burst open as we came inside General Tso's audience chamber, and the white Bull wearing green armor from Takeda Moomori's wedding was waiting for us with his katana drawn. "At last, I look upon my enemies."
"You have humiliated my vassals, broken my agreements, kidnapped my servants, and disrupted my rightful rule of this province." General Tso said.
"Now you unleash warfare in my lands and break into my very house! And what are you? Pirates! Your insolence shall be punished. Now."
General Tso then sheathed his katana. "If you will excuse me, I have important matters to attend to. Takeda! Avenge your dishonor!"
Takeda Moomori then stepped forward as he drew his katana, still wearing his bright pink lamellar armor. "Yes, lord! So, pirate scum, we meet again at last. You ruined my wedding and soiled my honor! Now you will pay!"
"And I bet the next thing you'll be blaming me for is your poor fashion sense! Who wears pink armor!?" I shouted as I parried his katana, and Takeda Moomori shouted in rage as he swung his katana again.
I smirked as I swung my leg in-between his legs, and Takeda Moomori shouted in pain as he crumpled onto the floor. To put him out of his misery, I shout him in the face, and I turned my attentions to the others.
El Toro had grabbed hold of a paper lantern with his whip, and he now swung around his opponent, smacking him all around the head with his foil until he finally was knocked unconscious.
Ratbeard and his opponent had a wooden pillar between them, and they lunged at each other as they danced around the pillar, trying hit the other with his sword.
Old Scratch froze a samoorai's feet in place to make it easier for him to knock him out, and Jack was engaged in a wrestling match with another samoorai for one of their swords.
Emmett stunned his opponents limbs one by one with his pistols before finally shooting him in the head, and Bonnie shot down a samoorai musketeer about to shoot Rena, who was busy with another samoorai.
"Where did General Tso go!?" I shouted as I looked around wildly for him, and El Toro answered as he landed next to me and pointed. "General Tso fled through that doorway - no doubt you will find the coward sniveling in his inner sanctum."
I nodded as I ran through the doorway to another room, where I stopped in my tracks as my eyes fell upon a Clockwork soldier, armed with a double-bladed battleaxe and a red-and-gold shield with a gear emblem.
The Clockwork stood a good head taller than me, and he wore a black three-cornered hat with golden hems and a red-and-gold domino mask over his face, which was featureless except for his hollow eyes, and black armor with gold designs.
"Here you are at last. I am Rooke, grand marshal of the Armada. You destroyed Deacon, my brother. I'd have thought that impossible." The Clockwork said.
"I should kill you where you stand. But, I will not have it said that when I crushed you - and I will crush you - that you were not at your best."
"I fear you're not worth the time. I have what you come for. I must see to its translation, and then I have urgent business in Marleybone."
Rooke then turned to General Tso, who had just stepped inside the room. "General Tso, our business is concluded. This pirate is yours to destroy... if you can."
General Tso nodded as he drew his katana, and Rooke casually walked past me. "Very well, I shall deal with you myself."
I drew my own swords and lunged towards him, but only succeeded in getting the tips embedded in General Tso's breastplate. "Heh heh... This is kind of embarrassing."
General Tso then swiped at my head with his katana, and I ran away screaming, slamming a sliding door shut behind me to try and lose him.
A few minutes of running in fear later, I stumbled upon a chicken sitting on a very plush cushion, who clucked at me, and I asked, not expecting it to answer, "Now what're you doing here?"
I then jumped as samoorai crashed through the walls, armed with katanas, bows, and muskets. I gulped as I drew a pistol and aimed it at the chicken's head, who seemed totally unperturbed by the muzzle of my pistol.
"Alright! Surrender or the chicken gets it!" I shouted, hoping I sounded a lot more confident that I felt.
General Tso then shoved aside two samoorai, and his eyes widened as he saw me aiming my pistol at the chicken's head. "No! Wait! Stay your hand, pirate! We may hate each other for eternity, but that poor, innocent creature must not suffer. I surrender."
Wow, I can't believe that actually worked... I thought as General Tso dismissed his samoorai, and I asked, "Where is Marco Pollo's map?"
"Marco Pollo's map? That is why you are here? The Armada has the piece, but they cannot use it without translating it." General Tso said.
"You may be able to recover the piece of Marco Pollo's map, but you must win it back from the Armada."
"No one in Khotan can translate the markings on the map, so the Armada agents must go elsewhere. The imperial governor will know where the Armada has gone.
"Go to the governor's hall in Hamamitsu, and explain to him what has happened. He will set you on the right course!"
I nodded as I holstered my pistol, and taking the chicken in my arms, I handed it gently to General Tso, who held it close to him like a child with their baby blanket or stuffed animal. It was either the weirdest or the most heartwarming thing I had ever seen.
I found my swords in the first room of General Tso's sanctum, and I entered the audience chamber, only for my eyes to widen in horror.
My trusted associates were scattered all over the room, and all of them were groaning in pain. I ran over to Rena, and held her in my arms. "What happened to you guys!?"
Rena coughed as she answered. "There was a Clockwork... I thought we could take him... I was wrong..."
"Oh no..." I said, cradling Rena in my arms. General Tso then appeared in the doorway with his pet chicken, and he ordered his men to carry my trusted associates back to the Santo Oro on stretchers.
Nikolai was already busy in the sickbay, healing the men injured from the battle with Doctor Noh with life magic, and I gently laid Rena in an empty hammock, having insisted on carrying her myself.
Nikolai sighed as he turned his attentions to her, rolling her shirt up so he could lay a glowing green hand on her bruised flat stomach, and I heard him murmur, "I wish Veronica was here..."
I sighed as I sat down on a nearby stool, and I held Rena's hand as I prayed for everyone to be alright as we sailed on to Hamamitsu.