The final days of preparations had past and the day of departure had arrived. A small army of a hundred men amassed outside the gates of Odawara waiting for the start of their journey. The men were separated by their divisions; spearmen, swordsmen, and a smaller group of riflemen. Some stood in shoulder to shoulder while receiving pep talks from their commanding officers. Others were huddled in small groups chatting away to pass the time. They awaited for Ma Dai's arrival in order to embark onto the depot. The time was approaching noon, yet there was no sign of him. In fact, only Yukimura and Magoichi were present as everyone else was missing at the moment.

"I hope you understand, buddy, I'm taking a big hit coming along on this trip," said an annoyed Magoichi, "Every minute I spend on this mission I could be spending it on being in the company of a beautiful woman."

"Really?" Yukimura replied, "I'm sorry to hear that Master Magoichi but I fail to see why this mission would harm you in any way."

"I don't think you would be able to understand, anyway."

Yukimura looked confused, but continued, "Well, I'm sure Ma Dai will have some sort of compensation in order for you."

Magoichi sighed, "I hope you're right." He looked around but the painter was no where in sight. "Speaking of which, I don't see our great leader anywhere. Any idea where he is about now? Come to think of it, where's your ninja, too?"

"Well, I forgot to grab a piece of my gear so she decided to fetch it for me. As for Lord Ma Dai, I don't know."

"Figures. If he doesn't show up within the hour we might as well pack it up and go home." This whole thing already feels like a waste of time.

It seemed they didn't have to wait any longer. In the distance they heard a familiar voice followed by another one.

"... and that's why Young Master is afraid of spiders, my lady," the voice said.

"Wow! I never imagined someone like Lord Ma Chao would be afraid of anything, let alone spiders," the other voice responded. "It's a little funny, to be honest."

The two voices belonged to Ma Dai and Guan Yinping as they made their way to the small army on their horses. The commanding officers called to their divisions to stand in formation for him.

"'Bout time," Magoichi blurted out

The soldiers made up ten rows of ten men each. Each row had two spearmen, seven swordsmen, and one rifle man in the front. In front of the formation were three officers. Each one in charge of their respective regiment.

Ma Dai made his way over to the group before leaping off his horse. He approached each of officers, looked at them eye to eye, and smiled.

"Why the serious faces? From what I have been told, we should have absolutely nothing to worry about. All we have to do is make our way to a supply depot located near the base of The Great Mountain. We are just going to look and make out way back. It's as simple as that." Ma Dai lowered his smile. "With that said, in order to get there, we have to make our way through the Deadlands. I am assuming you all know what they are. It is important that as we are making our way through, we look after each other. If you see your fellow soldier falling behind, help them out, get them back up. I was told you were the best so I expect nothing less. We will depart in 10 minutes."

Guan Yinping made her way towards Yukimura and Magoichi as Ma Dai was finishing his speech.

"Good afternoon, Lord Yukimura," she said before bowing. "You too, umm..."

"Saika, Magoichi," he said approaching Yinping, "My oh my, I must dying because an angel has come down to take me away."

"What! Where?" Yinping looked into the sky in anticipation. "I don't see anything, Mr. Saika."

"Wow, beautiful yet nervous to look at me. I should be honored. And please-" Magoichi grabs her hand gently, "call me Magoichi."

"Umm, Okay?"

Yukimura steps in to break his grasp. "Apologies, my lady. He gets very 'comfortable' around women. Just ignore him."

He takes the reigns of her horse and leads them away from Magoichi. "Lady Yinping, Lord Magoichi. Sounds perfect together," he said to himself.

The two met up with Ma Dai who was oblivious to what was going on. "My lord, a fine speech if I say so myself," Yukimura said.

"Please, as if anyone else was actually paying attention," Ma Dai responded, "I was promised some of Tokugawa's 'finest men.' Instead I got some of his finest researve troops. From the looks of it, I don't think they can even tell the difference between their asses and their elbows."

"Well, I'm sure with your leadership, my lord, these guys will go from awful to meh," Magoichi said as he walked up the them.

"Master Magoichi, glad to see you here," Ma Dai said.

"Yeah well you owe me for this. Not in money. Next time we hang out, drinks are on you."

Ma Dai laughed at the proposal until realizing his "little sister" was missing. "Hey, has anyone seen Kunoichi?"

"I sent to pick up something I forgot to grab. In fact, she should be here-"

"Hey everyone!" Kunoichi appeared from nowhere behind Magoichi, nearly scaring him to death.

"Right now."

Kunoichi had Yukimura's equipment wrapped in a cloth.

"Thank you, Kunoichi."

She through the wrapped equipment to him before hopping on his horse.

"Nice to see you all are in good spirits," Ma Dai said, "I hope you all had a good nights rest as we have a long journey ahead of us. Much like what I told them, we must do our best to help each other out."

Magoichi chuckled, "Relax, Ma Dai, what's to worry about some baron wasteland. There's nothing for miles."

"I hope you're right, Master Magoichi. I was told that Lord Meng Huo forbids his people from entering. I wonder why that is?"

He paused, Meng Huo and his people were as tough as they come. The fact that he would do this was not only puzzling but made him concerned over the potential safety of his friends and men. No one but the men who traveled through before know what lies within that mysterious land.

"My lord," Yinping said to break him out of his thoughts, "it could be because of the extreme weather changes that could be a danger to them, o-or us in this instance. Maybe that's why he doesn't let them go there."

"Maybe, my lady," Ma Dai responded, "but I don't know. I feel like something's off."

"Whatever we end up facing," Yukimura said, "we will do it together, my lord. You can count on us."

Ma Dai simply smiled at the declaration.

"Yup, the dynamic duo-No! The fanatical five will venture into the unknown to solve this strange mystery," Kunoichi proclaimed.

Everyone chuckled at her overly dramatic description of their mission.

"Well, before we begin our journey," Magoichi said, making his way towards Yinping, "it seems I may have forgotten my own horse by accident. I guess you and I have to share one, dear Lady Yinping."

She had a face of utmost confusion. How could he had forgotten to bring a horse? If Magoichi knew he was going on this mission, he would have surely to remember to have brought one with him. Ma Dai was also just as confused, albeit a little more aggravated. He should have known that Magoichi would have Yinping in his sights. But his abilities as a soldier were worth the hassle.

Before either Yinping or Dai could say anything, Kunoichi shouted, "OH-That reminds me!" She leaped from Yukimura's horse and onto Yinping's. "I wanted to ask you about your comedy routine Kai told me about."

"Huh, I don't remember telling Kai about it," Yinping responded, "I'm not really how yo-"

Before she could finish, Kunoichi covers her mouth. She whispers, "Just roll with it,"

Yinping had to think what she meant before she understood. She complied with the ninja's demand and said, "Oh wait, I remember now, sorry I forgot."

Magoichi looked defeated. To add salt to the wound, Yukimura said, "Don't worry, you and I can share my horse, Master Magoichi."

Ma Dai and Kunoichi laughed while at his expense. The marksman looked defeated as he slowly walked to his horse. You know, walking doesn't sound that bad anymore more. He thought to himself before climbing onto the horse and placed his back against Yukimura's.

"Alright, everyone seems to be ready," the artistic leader said before turning his attention to the army. "Men! Let's do our best to keep a good pace. Do this and we'll be in Nanzhong in no time. From then on, remember what I said about helping each other and we'll all make it back home. You men ready?"

The men let out a massive war call to show their readiness. The painter smiled, "Alrighty then. Stay in formation as given by your superiors and try to keep up." He raises his hand high into air. "Gentlemen... let's move out!"

He lowered his hand and commanded Yuqiang to move, signaling the beginning of their journey. His fellow officers followed suit as did the rest of his men. They were able to keep up a pace and before long, the castle's exterior disappeared from the horizon.

A day had passed and the small force had already made some decent progress. The heavy forested region of Nanzhong was nearly in sight, hidden behind hills and some small villages. They had already passed several along the way, including one where the children ran alongside the soldiers. They were at awe with their weapons and armor. A couple of them even approached Yinping and Kunoichi, handing them flowers as they passed by. Kunoichi tried to emulate Yinping's hairstyle but ended up leaving just one in her hair while sneaking the rest onto her unsuspecting friend. Though, it's not like adding more would've made a difference.

Everyone from there fellow soldiers to main officers spent their time making small talk here 'n there, whether it's about stories about themselves, about anybody in their forces, or simply gawking about how beautiful Guan Yinping was. Whatever the talking point, is what to help stay positive and attentive should anything were to happen. Since no one really knows what it is like in the Deadlands, some have even started to make up stories about what goes on. Everything from monsters and portals to lost cities and even new gods lie within the land. All were possible, but most were just hoping that it was just a barren wasteland with extreme weather, and that was the BEST case scenario.

"I heard that there's a big, giant monster, covered in black fur that roams the land," one soldier claimed. "It guards a lost temple from some civilization a long time ago."

"I've heard something similar, but it was a dragon," another one said, "and it's guarding a massive treasure cache from all the villages and towns it's destroyed."

The wild stories and theories could be overheard by the young maiden and her riding companion. A dragon that steals treasure for itself? What for? It's a dragon. She couldn't help but feel confused. The giant made a little sense to her, not that she would rather see it in person or anything.

"Hey Kunoichi, why would a dragon want to steal treasure? That doesn't really make sense to me."

Yinping's question was met with a look of confusion from her companion

"Seriously," the ninja said, "we have fought a magic undead monk with giant beads, a snake man and his army of demons, and said snake man turned into a giant hydra bent on destroying everything. But a dragon that steals treasure is the one thing that can't understand?"

Not listening to the mocking tone in her voice, Yinping answered her question, "Well, yeah. Aren't dragons just flying monsters that destroy stuff? Why do they need to steal anything? Money and other stuff like that should be meaningless to them."

Kunoichi didn't have the heart to keep mocking her. Yinping was strong physically but she was never the sharpest knife in the drawer. Most things would just fly over her head even if she did understand. The ninja bit her lip and said, "Maybe it's because it's looking for a nice big house to stay in and store all of the treasure."

Still confused, Yinping said, "I guess that makes sense, though I don't think I fully understand it yet."

"Well, what do you think is there? What big secrets does the unknown land hold before us?"

"Hmm...well, I was probably thinking that maybe some kind of land that no one has ever seen before. I imagine it looks beautiful, filled with strange plants and animals. Um-but not the violent ones, the nice and cute ones. I...I guess it would be like a nice meadow, or something like it."

"Hmm, a peaceful green meadow, filled with beautiful flowers and butterflies. I wouldn't mind if that's what we end up finding. I have to ask though, did you imagine yourself and Ma Dai together in that field?"

The small remark made the young lady's cheeks burn in embarrassment. While she did fantisized the two of them together, hearing the idea come from someone else made it seem more embarrassing to her.

"Uhh... nonono, I-I didn't mean that at all! N-not that I haven't thought of it before. Oh man, my face is getting warm again!"

The little ninja was enjoying the sight of Yinping frantically tripping over her words and turning into a bright red mess. She wasn't completely heartless so she tried to ease the poor girl. "Hey, hey, relax! I was only teasing you. I just wanted to see how you would react. Though I am surprised that Ma Dai didn't hear any of it."

After Yinping managed to calm down, she said underneath her breath, "Thank the gods."

Ma Dai was too occupied with the other officers to notice the women. Most likely, they were going over some plans and strategies that would make the two of them bored to tears, or least Kunoichi would be.

However, Magoichi did witness the small commotion and couldn't help but find Yinping's flustered state simply adorable. He had been watching the two, mainly her, from a distance for a while as he had no intention on speaking with Yukimura. Not because he didn't like him, but because he figured why would waste time talking to him if he could admire the beautiful woman instead. He was heavily entranced by her, Magoichi hardly heard the question put forth by the young warrior.

"Master Magoichi! Are you awake?"

The marksman snapped out of his trance before having to respond with an annoyed grunt.

"I apologize if you were asleep. You've been mostly quiet since yesterday, is something the matter?"

Not wanting to make things awkward for staying silent, Magoichi came up with a half-assed response, "Nnno, just you interrupting an amazing day dream I was having."

"Oh, my apologies. But since you are awake anyway, I wanted to ask you something."

Magoichi wasn't exactly in the mood answering questions but he wasn't going to be rude either. "Alright," he said, "What is it?"

"Well, I always wanted to know, I don't think I've ever seen you use any kind of blade or weapon aside from your rifle. Why do you prefer firearms when you can use a weapon that's more reliable?"

Magoichi simply chuckled. "My rifle is more than just a gun, Sanada. I trust this rifle with my life, much how you trust your weapon. And it's not as easy to use as you may think. I can't just point, shoot and have the bullet hit something. It's all about precision." As he was explaining, he keep his eyes on Yinping as if what he was saying had a double meaning. "You spot your target in the distance, absurve their movements to see what their doing, find the right moment, then fire."

The marksman's focus was solely on the young woman. His eyes were locked onto her with desire filling his vision. She hadn't noticed as she was still conversing with the ninja. After a small pause, Magoichi asks, "Hey Sanada, be honest; what do you think of Lady Yinping and a guy like me being together?"

Almost instantly, Yukimura answered, "No."

He smirked, then responded, "What, do I detect some apprehension in that voice?"

"No, I just know the type of person you are. You'll just say the same thing about a different woman once this mission is over."

While he was right, the marksman kept up his bravado, "C'mon Sanada, I mean it. It's not often when a woman completely smitten my heart."

"More like it happens too often."

The cold response was enough to make Magoichi turn around on the horse. Before he say anything, the convey had come to a stop in front of a tree line. They were about to enter the rainforest that led into the Nanzhong region. The dense tree line prevented most of the light to pass through, even though it was the middle of the day. Up ahead, Ma Dai had turned to face the convoy and call out, "Everyone, before we enter the forest I want everyone to stay vigilant. While Meng Huo's people won't harm us, I can't say the same for anyone, or anything else that maybe lurking here. Watch your backs, let's move out!" Everyone followed behind the painter as they entered the tree line and disappearing into the forest.