Chapter 4: The Lord Slayer
By: DragoonMen
'Human Thinking'
"Human Speaking"
Technique/Jutsu Use
'Bijū/Non-Human Thinking'
"Bijū/Non-Human Speaking"
Published: 30/Jul/2020
Pre-Chakra Era Arc
23 Years Before the Chakra Event (BCE)
4 Years Before Ōtsutsuki Arrival to Earth
Chapter 4
—Land of the Ancestors—
Ka no Kuni War Camp
Two Years Later
A year. 365 days. The natural timelapse that signaled the Earth had just made an entire lap around the Sun.
For the still primitive people of Earth, they just knew the basics of the foreign concept. The day, night, and the seasons.
The four seasons opening with spring followed by summer, then by autumn, and finally closing with winter.
A never-ending cycle. The people from the Earth only way of measuring time, in this time period at least.
For some people, years would go out like a flame, and before they knew they were already elder people, too bad for those poor folks.
For others, they swore that time moved slower in their heads. Entire seasons feeling like decades and years being compared to lifetimes.
But no matter what the people said, the truth is that time is relative.
For every single human being, time could play out differently, influenced by your choices and lifestyle, and affected by your way of seeing the world.
For Jigen, time was slow, so slow it can be compared to a fucking snail.
'Has it really been two years' Jigen wondered, feeling like he already has wasted his entire life in this war camp.
Jigen and his fellow compatriots were drinking cups of tea and others more discreetly, sake.
For those drinking the tea, it was boiled in a metal bucket that looked like it has seen better days, but the taste remains the same to everyone.
Other soldiers grouped together, the majority of them laughing and talking. All around the bonfire there was a joyful aura, pleasant for anyone who entered the camp.
Soldiers chatting about a wide variety of topics, most of these themes were like what they are going to do once the war is over, the stories they would tell their families, the booty they would bring that would set them out for life and women, among other things discussed in these conversations.
All around the hundred tents that littered this meadow, morale was in an all-time high.
The reason that has the land of That's war camp in such a good mood was the position of their campsite and the purpose of it.
They were stationed around the capital of So no Kuni. The last bastion in this Kami's forsaken war. Lord Matsuo walled city and his seat of power in the Mainland. His home and last stronghold in the Elemental Nations.
'Nowhere to run now, your highness'
Ka's forces had the capital besieged for a turn of the moon by now.
Finally, after two whole years of fighting, years of been away from home, of several skirmish and battles, and witnessing uncountable atrocities.
They were finally at this point in the war. The endgame.
Jigen took a sip from his cup of tea with trembling hands because of the cold of the night. The warm liquid being accepted by his mouth and going down his throat, spreading a warm tingling feeling all around his body.
Jigen and others were told by Suzaku, the camp overseer and his squadron leader, that tomorrow they would lay siege to the city and if things went out accordingly to the plan, a final assault.
So no drinking for tonight, not like Jigen was a drunk or anything but better to stay at one hundred percent of your capacity than end up as a babbling idiot and probably get a sword up your ass.
Jigen suddenly felt himself be patted in the back, bringing him back to Earth from his constant reviewings of his own life.
The teenager tilted his head to look at the person and smiled when he recognized Old Maro was holding a bottle of sake behind him. An action typical of his bald-headed friend.
Jigen and the butcher of his hometown had become quite inseparable in these two years. The old man had been one of the only individuals that had managed to worm his way into the eigtheen-year-old tight circle of friends which were quite a few.
At first, Jigen was cold and indifferent, as always but after sharing most of his time with Maro, he had come to see the old man as a paternal figure.
The elder man wisdom that came off with the years and his willingness to help him in his hours of turmoil had made Jigen come to care for the aged man much like his own father.
Not to mention that the stories of the old man were quite fascinating. It was hard to believe that Jigen once held resentment for this wrinkled man if you see the interactions between the two.
'Old habits die hard' Jigen wondered if the saying would be ever proved wrong one day. 'Sometime in the future maybe, huh'
"What are you thinking, son?" The bald man asked, his voice strangely not slurred. "You seem a lot quieter than usual." He took a seat at the log that Jigen used as a stool next to him. It was spacious.
"Just wondering how our village is doing..." The eighteen years man mumbled. "It's been already two years." His voice was polluted with homesickness.
Maro's eyes softened at the little emotion Jigen was emitting. Nostalgia.
There was silence, no one told a word until Maro decided to help ease the teen's insecurities, even for a little. The senior man had come to look Jigen much like a son of his own in these years. He could not let him drown on his own sad thoughts on his own.
"You know... sometimes I think the same thing." The older man said staring at nothing in particular. "If they have already forgotten about us and moved on..." He said quietly.
"... but then I remember the look they gave us when we departed and all my insecurities vanish. They are waiting for us. Trust me, Jigen." He looked at him and patted his back. Jigen still looks uptight but relaxed a little.
"Would they still accept us?" The mohawk haired man wondered loudly, letting Maro hear of his inner turmoil. "After everything we have done."
Maro looks down at the ground with that question. He knew what Jigen meant by that statement and he wished that the teen could forget that particular incident and others that followed.
"Stop punishing yourself with those memories. It wasn't your fault." He offered his viewpoint of the events to him, not like it mattered to Jigen.
Maro waited for an answer but seeing that Jigen did not respond, he left him alone. The boy needs his own space.
"Think about it, boy, for your own sake. Nice night." With those parting words, the elder man disappeared into the city of tents.
Jigen stayed like a statue on the kig, meditating on his past actions and recalling certain memories.
OoOoOoO
—Land of the Ancestors—
Village of Mihara
Two Years Ago
Jigen and his company led by Genbu had departed from the Capital a turn of the moon ago. They were ready at last, most of the men itching for a fight.
They have just donned in their new armor, purchased by the state and delivered personally to his unit as was mandatory.
Jigen's outfit and armor consisted of a black gambeson with a chest plate tightly secured by cords. Dark blue pants and sandals to match. In the center of the armor was the banner of Lord Oda marking him as one of his own. He looked like a real soldier now.
Genbu and his retinue were deployed after completing successfully their basic training. Maro commented that the training course was far more professional than some twenty years ago. Whatever he meant by that Jigen did not know but the training was gruesome indeed.
They were tasked by the higher-ups to capture the town of Mihara by any means necessary. Whatever it takes they said.
At that time, Jigen had come to know one thing and it was that Genbu was a slave driver. He had forced them to speed up the pace of the march, crossing the border in record time. The squadrons of men managed to reach the said town in two weeks once they entered the foreign territory.
When they reached the village, they noticed that the people have barricaded themselves. They knew that they would arrive. Mihara was a town in the border region of the land of So which meant they were one of the most vulnerable communities to be attacked by the action of Ka once they broke the stalemate at the frontier.
The village used carts, wood logs, boxes, and several other items to prevent them from taking their town without resistance.
Genbu just chuckled at the notion when he had been told of the purpose of the barricade.
Those peasants believed that their sorry excuse for a roadblock would stop them from doing what was required to do, these commoners were sorely mistaken.
Genbu proceeded to talk to the squad leaders of his company about his plan to take Mihara.
The discussion and planning on how to proceed lasted for half an hour later until the talks ended.
The platoon leaders returned to their units, telling to prepare for the oncoming battle. Evidently, the defenders would not go down without a fight.
After a few minutes, with all units in formation, the squadron commander gave the signal, charging head-on into the battleground.
ATTACK!
Jigen charged to the roadblock, following the example of his platoon leader and most of the soldiers. Two hundred or so men gave a single war cry and run like hell to meet the defenders on their ground.
Mihara's villagers were scared. They were more numerous but they are not soldiers. They didn't have training for this situation but they knew that if they didn't do something about it, they would die easily. So, they opted to barricaded the village entrance.
Jigen and all the men-at-arms finally reached the barricade and started climbing through the irregular terrain that was the roadblock. Some men getting their feet stuck on the roadblock thanks to the unstable foundation of the barricade.
Swish!
That sound was the only thing Jigen heard before an arrow barely found itself embedded on his head, barely scratching his ear off.
Instead, hitting one of his brothers at arms on the chest, the wounded man falling on the earth. The bowmen from Mihara were shooting arrows at them from the building rooftops.
'Once we cross this rubble, they will wish they had surrendered' Rage started bubbling inside him at the sight of his fallen comrade.
There was fury and hatred fueling his insides after that, Jigen crossed the barricade and penetrated the main street of the village unscathed to where the battle was unleashing.
Thankfully, Genbu's company have bowmen at his disposal, standing behind the swordsmen and spearmen when the conflict began.
The archers closed the distance to the town and stood in line with one another.
The ranged units from Ka started exchanging arrows volleys with Mihara's civilian militia but their arrows were far different from others. They were fire arrows.
Jigen only heard a single shout before a firestorm pass right through his backside and into Mihara's location.
RELEASE!
Fire rained on Mihara, the enemies were shocked when the wooden rooftops where their bowmen were stationed began to catch fire after the aerial attack.
While this happened, the battle between Ka's close-combat units and Mihara's community defense raged on the ground.
Swords clashed and men on the ground moaned in pain. A select piece of a chaotic symphony playing all around them.
Jigen was busy handling a spearman with his sword. The enemy combatant tried to thrust his spear tip into his ribs but Jigen evaded, trying to slash him but not to avail.
The slash was for naught since the spearman would back down a few steps, distancing himself from harm and any attacks coming from Jigen.
Finally, after parring with his opponent for some time, Jigen managed to trick him by stepping close to him and exposing an open hit. The spearman bought the false move and thrust his spear at him a second time but Jigen was counting on it.
The teenager sidestepped and his left hand shot out to grab the spear. The surprise depicted itself all over his enemy's old face would be a hilarious sight if not for the gravity of the situation.
Jigen had an iron grip on the spear tip with his left hand and pulled.
The Ka's citizen yanked the spear tip forward and therefore made the spear user lose his stance.
The man fell on his chest in front of Jigen, not one to waste an opportunity like this, Jigen slashed his enemy's back, mortally wounding him.
The enemy below gave a sharp howl and rolled unto his bleeding back.
Jigen positioned himself on the bleeding man until he was looking down at his opponent's face and fetched his own combat knife in his left hand.
The eighteen-year-old quivered for an instant before proceeding to stab the neck of his fallen foe several times.
Once the whole ordeal was over, Jigen looked at his hands.
His hands were stained with the blood of his opponent, a human being.
He had just ended the life of the culprit who tried to stab him with a spear. He tried to reason that he was defending himself, he was just retaliating in turn he remembered.
The villager had tried to kill him and he had defended himself, he needed justification for his amoral actions.
"Fatheeer!" A voice screamed in the confusion happening all around him.
A roar resounded near Jigen, the raven-haired teen turned just in time to see a lad holding a short sword charging at him.
His short sword was pointed at the evening sky, Jigen rapidly stood up and parred the wide arc attack in the nick of time.
Jigen deflected the energetic movement from his attacker and took his distance. The civilian changed his stance and both started circling each other. The adolescent could distinguish the subtle tears rolling down his newest opponent's eyes. The boy had too be someone close to the man he had killed a minute ago.
'Probably his son' Jigen thought with sadness. These people should have surrendered and any of this could have been avoided.
Jigen readied himself to clash weapons with the teen, if not for a hand suddenly grabbing the villager's shoulder.
A blade emerged from the young civilian's chest almost as if it magically appeared from thin air. The civilian glanced on his back to attempt to see the face of his killer, the villager's short sword falling to the ground as blood spurted from his mouth.
The blade disappeared from the torso of the now walking dead man and the villager fell headfirst into the sweet nothing seconds later, safe to say he was dead.
When the body fell, the form of the killer was revealed to be Maro. He was the one standing behind the teen with the offending weapon on his hands.
"Thanks, Maro." The youngest of the two men said. "What is the situation?" He inquired, his sword ready for more bloodshed if necessary.
"Look around, would ya." And look around he did.
The entire street was seized by his fellow brother in arms. The buildings aflame with a burning body falling from a rooftop. A Mihara bowman probably, if clothes of the charred corpse were accurate.
Jigen noticed that the wounded enemies on the ground that were ignored until now were being executed mercilessly. The spears tips of the soldiers of Ka efficiently piercing their hearts.
Other warriors kicking out the doors and entering private homes. In most of the cases, women screams followed the breaking and entering of the dwelling. Evil laughs could be heard too from the insides sometimes too.
The remaining soldiers dispersed into the alleys and smaller roads of the townlet. The combatants seeking for more blood and victims.
"This village is OURS!" Genbu proclaimed. The soldiers around him raising their weapons high. A sign of victory.
"Burn the houses. Rob their belongings. Kill the men. Defile their women. Do whatever you want. This one goes on me!" The lightly tanned man exclaimed, hands outstretched with a massive cheering from men ensuing after his declaration.
The soldiers around him went in different directions. The more poor soldiers went out to sack some houses and bring home some riches after all of this was over.
Others went to take dips on a good place to rest and some of them decided to get laid, to not say other unpleasant words.
Jigen started walking alongside Maro, finding no sense in running by now, all the houses were probably looted by now. They were heading to the local tavern to eat, drink, and make merry. They deserve it with the busy day they just had.
But searching for the tavern while walking down the streets was awful.
The public image that could be encountered all around Mihara was that of troopers getting out of the houses and carrying all kinds of shiny trinkets on their hands. Lots of them.
In other alleys, some pyromaniacs with torches were setting houses on fire for their own sick satisfaction.
While navigating through the alleys Maro, Jigen watched as a woman was pulled out of her house by her hair and then forced against the hard floor in plain view. Her hands were held by three of his comrades but he recognized one them. Suzaku.
His squadron leader and the camp overseer was the soldier behind her, ripping off her skirt.
Her loud wails filled the whole street but it didn't matter, help would not come. Other nearby men joined the spectacle, all laughing and joking about it. They were a bunch of sick bastards in Jigen's humble opinion but he could not do anything about it.
It was very hard to pretend that this wasn't happening around him. That this was the norm. Everything is fair in love and war.
"Get used to it, boy." Maro said after seeing the look on Jigen's face. "This is war and this is what happens on it." He replied leaving the scene behind him unfazed. Jigen wondered how the old man had become so desensitized about such atrocities and the monsters behind them.
"Doesn't mean this is right..." The teenager countered with a mumble.
"Right, wrong, or some in the middle. Remember this, they would have done the same with us." The old veteran huffed, tossing the harsh fact back at his younger companion.
"Don't be sorry. They were given an option." Maro said after seeing the slightly depressed look on Jigen's face.
Both men continued their way until finally, they reached their objective with Maro being the first to notice the inn since Jigen was deep in his thoughts.
Wrinkled eyes landed on the tavern. "Let's just eat and sleep, alright." Jigen nodded and both men entered the establishment.
That night Jigen couldn't sleep and the next one too.
OoOoOoO
Ka no Kuni War Camp
Sun rays began to decorate the meadow that housed Ka's war camp but even before the sun touched the camp, everyone already was moving into action.
Last night was the calm before the storm. Now, this was the storm to come.
There were men preparing the stairs to climb the five meters high wall and other soldiers were assembling wooden mobile walls to protect the archers from arrows volleys from the defenders inside the citadel.
Every man doing their job in the massive preparation for the impending assault of Lord Matsuo's city.
Jigen was fastening his chest plate cords on his body after having one last meal before the attack commenced.
He and his platoon were expected to form up before their commander in charge in the clearing in the center of the camp. The commander surprisingly was Lord Oda himself.
The lord of That had traveled all the way from the seat in the Capital City of his domains and into this war camp itself. He would lead the siege with his knowledge and wisdom.
Genbu and other commanders were currently reunited with other higher-ups in Oda's personal tent along with the camp overseer, Suzaku.
By noon, all the troops were formed in line before the rendezvous point. Jigen was playing with his utility belt after doing his tasks until his Feudal Lord arrived, accompanied by his loyal generals.
The Daimyō would direct the assault on the front lines with his inner circle of men and if someone believed that Oda would recite them some inspirational speech before the battle began, they would be extremely disappointed. Oda never gave a speech before a battle but he would do so after it.
The reason for this logic lays in the fact that he was betting all that they would triumph as always. As expected.
But Genbu wasn't Lord Oda, the nobleman would speak with them if his Lord would not do so.
Genbu and his men had been through so much these past two years. This was the last thing he could give them before the final assault of their enemies Capital.
Genbu paced around his own company of men, battle-hardened men he remembered.
Rehearsing the lines that he had come to know by heart, he stopped his striding and confronted them.
Genbu took a breath that Jigen knew would be followed with a verbal outcome thanks to the time he had shared with his supervisor during his stay in his company.
A set of words that they all have been taught in their basic training course. By him.
"When we joined Ka's army. We took an oath." His leader declared.
"According to our station. All without exception." All the men responded as one single unit. As one entity.
"In the blood of our fathers. In the blood of our sons. We swore to uphold Ka's sovereignty!" Genbu exclaimed.
"Even to our dying breath!" They shouted in response.
"Those who seek to undo so are our enemies. Worthy of neither pity nor mercy." The company officer reminded them.
"We shall grind them into dust!" Jigen and others replied already pumped up for some action. Ready to end this bloody war.
A single shout began the siege.
Lord Oda's shout.
Forward!
The siege began.
All units move together as one, crossing in minutes the forest that divided them from their main objective. The capital of So.
Following the main body of troops, Jigen found himself standing on the outline of the forest that faced the Capital City direction.
When they stopped their forced march, Jigen took the opportunity to assess his surroundings, mainly the wall in front of him.
The wall was manned with bowmen and close-combat troops loyal to Lord Matsuo The line of defenders spanning as far as the wall itself.
They were unmoving but that did not mean they were ignoring them. The men up were waiting for something to occur.
All of the sudden, Jigen saw as Lord Oda stepped forward alone.
In the upper wall, a single figure stood out among others with the way he carried himself and the aura he emitted. The man was clearly of nobility belonging and seemed to be the leader among the men. The one leading these people.
"Matsuo-dono." The Daimyō of Ka greeted. Lord Matsuo stared at him.
"Surrender yourself. This battle is meaningless. Your country has all but fallen. There is no shame in accepting the facts. I promised you and your son safe passage if you take on my deal." Oda paused to let the argument sink in his rival's head.
"If you don't..." He unsheathed his katana. "... then I won't be accountable to what might happen. I insist that you surrender and I promise you that your city will thrive in my rule." He awaited a positive response but badly for him, Matsuo response was not the one Oda was expecting.
"You have a lot of courage coming to my country, my own city. Asking for me to surrender just like that my own birthright. ME!" The opposing Daimyō all but seethed to him.
Lord Matsuo was blue in the head from anger. "I tell you this Oda-dono. This war is not over until I die. You destroyed my towns, killed my citizens and you expect me to just give up." The Daimyō of the Ancestor's country laughed at such reasoning. He would not go down without a fight.
"I insist you turn around and go back to your lands. We are not giving up, not after what you and your men have done in my land. We will fight until death if that is what it takes to defeat you and if the end is to end in fire, then we all shall burn TOGETHER!" Matsuo finished with his katana raised.
"Hurrah!" The defendants on the wall exclaimed in support of their liege Lord.
"I see." Oda grimly noted. "Then I am sorry it had to come to this."
Lord Oda sighed and returned to his position with his war council. A few seconds later, he faced Matsuo's direction again.
PREPARE FOR BATTLE!
All invaders adopted an attack stance at the order. The men on the wall drew their bows in retribution.
Draw your arms!
All around the forest, the sound of thousand of blades being drawn reverberated in the wind.
The defendants put their arrows in line and aimed at the men on the ground below.
Jigen deduced that casualties on their side would be unavoidable this day and he hoped he would pull through this unscathed.
He heard Maro whisper to him at his side when he saw the arrows directed at them, ready to be launched. "This is gonna be a bloody job."
"I don't know any other kind." He replied, never taking his eyes from the wall.
CHARGE!
At this voice, the men rushed to the wall foundations. The stairs specially made for siege purposes were instantly planted and leaned against the wall.
The wooden mobile walls gradually reaching the optimal position for their bowmen to launch their fire volleys on the capital.
While the assailants worked on these tasks, arrows rained on them. Every single of them hitting one target at least, incapacitating them or —in some unlucky cases— killing them.
Once the stairs touched the wall railings, the defendants grouped together and awaited on the other end of the stairs for them to climb on. Their weapons ready to clash and spill blood.
Jigen rushed to one of the many stairs available, successfully placing himself as the number seven in line if you counted from first to last the soldiers using the stair right now.
The men of Ka were climbing into hell and beyond. The fire volleys erupted from the ground which meant that the mobile walls reached their position and were supporting them.
The blazing volleys were directed at the defenders on the wall and other vulnerable buildings.
Jigen perked up at the wall and watched as his fellow compatriots were pushing through the heavy defense in the wall platforms. His brothers in arms were making way for them to enter unharmed but they were still too outnumbered up there.
Jigen finally reached the last tier on the stair and gripped the wall from the outside with both hands, impulsing himself up using the last step in the stair as a bouncer, he managed to get inside the walls, quickly steadying himself.
In the railings, with his sword lifted up, he raced down into the rabbit hole.
Jigen ran to meet the unsuspecting back of an enemy too busy fighting one of his comrades to glance him. A few meters before making contact with him, Jigen raised his left leg from the ground inches away from his victim's backside.
The defender of So only felt a powerful kick accompanied with momentum on his back, throwing him off of the platform.
Jigen had successfully kicked his enemy back and knock him off from the platform altogether and into the street down below. The enemy yelled the entire way down until it met his end.
A millisecond later, a sickening crunch rippled in the chaotic environment, the sound of a moving object meeting an unmoving force. Physics staying true to their facts.
Jigen turned his vision from the street and look down at his brother at arms, offering his hand to get him off the ground.
His fellow warrior smiled, extending his own hand to meet his and accept his help.
In those moments, Jigen sensed danger behind him. He turned in time to sidestep a katana meant to cleave his head in half.
The steel weapon passed harmlessly around his last known location and in his place instead it cut in half the arm of his —now— fallen brother in arms that Jigen was helping. The cries of pain from the armless man joining the symphony of death all around him until they were no more.
Jigen whirled to engage the killer of his fellow soldier and nearly of him too, if it wasn't for his incredible reflexes he would be dead just like the man between them.
The face of the katana user shocked him since if Jigen's memory was correct, this was the man Oda had made an effort to talk into submission.
Jigen's eyes widened like saucers to what this situation indicated. Before his presence was the one and only land of the Ancestors's Feudal Lord.
'Lord Matsuo. What an honor' He smirked.
Jigen changed his body and way to carry his wakizashi into a defensive stance with the sword across his chest, protecting him from attacks to his form.
Jigen stared right into the eyes of the noble leader of So no Kuni, this was his chance to put an end to this conflict. He would end this war and return home.
'Cut out the head of the snake and the body will die...'
"Matsuo-sama." The teenager acknowledges him while the senior man gripped harder his large weapon.
"With your life so ends this war..." He parried a wide slash directed at his face from the Daimyō's personal weapon, perfectly deflecting it and throwing it off to his side. Lord Matsuo didn't comment or made a snide remark, instead opting for a quick attack once more but Jigen was prepared for it.
Metal and metal clashed, the sparks could be seen flying in all different directions for a second. The attacks from the two warriors canceling each other upon contact.
These two men were well versed in the art of war, one for survival and the other because his nation depended on it. They continue to clash, both no allowing the other one to gain the advantage in their fight.
Meanwhile, the battle raged on the walls but Jigen and Matsuo paid no attention to it, they remained engaged in combat, their own lethal dance of death.
The pair of combatants found no weak points in their respective enemy's stance and movements.
"You are good, soldier. You are good." Matsuo complimented, grasping his katana with both hands.
"But the question lingers on... " The older male tried to slash at Jigen's shoulder only for a short sword to block the attack almost instantly but the young man has to recede some ground in result.
"Can you keep up?!" Matsuo snarled at him. The old warrior was the first to close the distance as Jigen lingered in his position, waiting for him.
The two warriors proceed to dance again, parring their weapons to such a level that almost looked as if they were synced.
One man trying to outmaneuver the other, the other counteracting every single of his moves.
During the exchange of attacks, Jigen noticed something intriguing. Lord Matsuo unconsciously gave more preference to wide attacks rather than quick slashes.
'He is trying to wear me out with powerful but risky attacks' It is a good thing that Jigen was just so damm observant.
With this in mind, Jigen devised a plan. He still had one last trick up his sleeve. He needed to win this, he had promised his mother to return.
Jigen changed his stance and acquired a defensive one but left his head defenseless on purpose.
Just as Jigen predicted, Tenji's father took the bait without thinking.
A wide katana arc slash met a sword blade midway but instead of deflecting the attack, they remained connected in a deadly deathlock.
Both men struggling to outclass their opponent in this battle of who had the strongest of wills, a duel that would go down in history.
Trying to force the other rival into submission was a herculean effort for both with their weapons linked to one another but not for long because Matsuo decided to close the rift.
Jigen smiled internally at his opponent's ignorance but he feigned weakness all the same.
Jigen's muscles began to slowly give out, his strength seemingly faltering. The tip of the katana entering his personal space, leading Matsuo closer to him.
"You were wrong, boy." Matsuo said through gritted teeth. "You will be the one to die today!" The Daimyō roared in his face, every ounce of strength going into breaking the block.
Little specks of saliva flew into Jigen's face but that didn't bring out a reaction from the teenager.
Jigen elected to remain emotionless when out of nowhere, he smirked at him, Matsuo frowned at the gesture.
'What is he smiling at?' The thought distracting for a second, his hold wavering. That was all Jigen needed from him, a second.
"No, just you milord."
Releasing his left hand from the pommel of his sword, Jigen reached for his utility belt and grasped his combat knife. All of this happening in only a fraction of second.
Slash!
Jigen backed down after the attack, his wakizashi in his right hand was in a diagonal angle across his upper body much like a shield.
In his left hand, there was a knife, placed at his hip level, blood droplets falling from the small blade of the weapon.
Matsuo looked down at his torso and watched as blood spurted from the new wound on his body, tainting the wall platform wooden floor in red.
A slash on his abdomen just below his chest plate was bleeding out, tainting his robes with blood.
Lord Matsuo stood unmoving but of all the things he was dumbfounded.
He had been wounded, by a boy nonetheless. His hand reached to touch the wound in his belly.
The Lord of So felt the warm liquid running down his belly button and into his pelvis with his hand. Retracting said limb, he brought his hand to his eyes. He saw red all over it.
Lord Matsuo's confused state turned into anger. "You will pay for that, you little shit."
He grasped his katana with both hands, getting the weapon in a horizontal position on at his hip level. The sharp tip of the weapon facing Jigen before its user charged once again. The attack mirroring that of a spear.
Time slowed down for Jigen
Jigen recognized this move from somewhere. The old sovereign of So and his manner to wield his katana brought a memory to him, one of his first memories of this war.
His first battle and subsequently his first kill, when the nightmares had started plaguing him.
'Yes. Just like that spearman in Mihara'
It was like history was repeating itself, a sense of already having experienced this filled the eighteen-year-old. A Deja Vu.
Yet, a katana was not a spear, it was sharp around its edges.
Preparing mentally for the pain, Jigen acted on this by sidestepping again. The tip of the katana barely scratching his chest plate and sending small sparks flying. Jigen dropped his combat knife and let it plummet into the platform, the teenager went to grab the katana with his free hand.
Lord Matsuo barely has time to process the perfectly executed move, before he was pulled from his feet into Jigen.
Pulling the steel weapon forward and cutting his palm in the process, Jigen succeeded in throwing off his opponent from his balance.
Matsuo fell right next to the feet of his standing foe. The Daimyō's chest dropping first into the hard floor of the wall's platform.
Once his enemy was down, Jigen raised his sword before the eyes of all the combatants and brought it down.
Swishh!
A loud cry of pain echoed around the wall platform. A clean-cut appeared on the back of the Lord of So, it ran very deep into his skin.
Arghhhh!
The people nearby them were to busy fighting their own battles and fighting for their cause to turn their attention to look at the pair until finally someone noticed the elephant in the room.
"Lord Matsuo!"
"Help him!"
"Kill the bastard!"
Tenji's father rolled on his wounded back, supporting his weight with one hand. His upper body is separated by some inches from the ground but with his other hand he is still clutching his katana.
Under the man, the blood had commenced pooling around his damaged form, also beginning to spit globs of blood from his mouth every time he coughed which was frequent.
The defeated Feudal Lord scowled at the young soldier who bested him and Jigen glared back at him.
Jigen had him at his feet, at his mercy. The sword in his right hand was stained with blood, the blood of the nobility. He was ready to deal the final blow necessary to win this conflict.
"For all of us, there is a time like this Matsuo-sama." He said somberly at the same time he raised the sword high in the air.
'Time to end this...'
The old Daimyō closed his eyes. He had made his peace, full knowing that his end is inescapable.
"And for you, that time is now."
"I could say the same for you, boy." The Daimyō smiled with his eyes closed.
Swishh!
With that slash, Lord Matsuo, the leader of the land of Ancestors died, at the hands of Jigen.
Blood began to cascade down and through the mouth of the fallen sovereign with his neck wide open.
'Same for you? What did he mean by that?' The Lord's slayer marveled at the last words of the leader of So.
Jigen stared at the body. Eventually, the war would be over and with Lord Matsuo out of the picture, the nation of So will surely surrender.
Retreat!
We are surrounded!
Jigen turned his body slightly to look at the source where those sound and voices were emanating from until he spotted something far worse.
In the forest that circled the capital, he watched as soldiers started engaging the invading Ka forces on the ground.
All of the newcomers carried a single banner from afar yet Jigen managed to identify it from his position.
The yellow-orange rhombus symbol being a dead giveaway on who was the attacker's identity.
'Land of This.' It suddenly clicked in his mind the reason for their unexpected entrance.
'Lord Matsuo allied with Ko no Kuni?' He realized. 'They were going to trap us and kill us on two fronts'
'So that's what his last words meant'
Footsteps creaks invaded Jigen's ears as the teenager faced the direction ahead. Two pairs of warriors appeared before him with weapons drawn. They really looked enraged, murderous dare he say. Jigen knew the reason for their current mood was because of his own doing.
The warriors slowly approached him, ready for an impending attack from him. The man before them has killed their Emperor and by this logic p, it suggested that he must be dangerous. Jigen could see the caution in four pairs of eyes.
Jigen saw them and instantly started thinking of two options.
One. He could face all four of them but no matter what he did. The only logical result would be him dead on the ground. Period.
Two. He could run from them but to where he didn't know. The second option was by far the best choice at his disposal.
Jigen's tall form descended to an offensive stance, Matsuo's guards halting in the process and taking the necessary measures to counter-attack him.
All of the sudden, Jigen threw his sword at them, effectively throwing them off the loop for a moment and ran straight into the wall.
When he was some meters away from the edges of the wall, Jigen mentally prepared for the pain to come and leaped, falling the five meters down into the soft dirt. The man landed on his side, his chest plate and ribs taking the brunt of the fall.
Jigen winced at the dull pain coming from his ribcage but forced himself into getting up. Adrenaline pumping his veins and downplaying the damage in his body to a bearable level. He staggered a little before slowly sprinting.
Jigen followed a loose crowd of his fellow men into the forest, they were fleeing from the soldiers of Ko that were hot on their trail, dividing themselves on the thick forest to make it harder for the enemies to capture them.
Jigen ran through the lush green foliage with a hand on his left rib to keep the pain from flaring out.
An arrow embedded in the tree trunk he just passed a few moments before, letting Jigen knew that he was being hunted down.
Jigen didn't know how fast or how far he was right now until he stopped to look at the obstacle in his path to salvation.
A river below the cliff he was standing on, there was no more ground for him to cross. This was the end of the road. No way out for him.
Turning in the opposite direction to find another escape route, the young adult felt a little push and a burning pain in his right shoulder.
Astonishment invaded his features when he saw a single arrow deep on his shoulder. He has been hit.
The tail of the projectile being the only visible part of the arrow and the archer who shot him revealing himself seconds later and loading another shot.
Jigen started backing down, not giving his back to the enemy and unknowingly getting closer to the cliff edge.
Thump!
Jigen fell from the precipice, a thought running on his head. 'I could say the same for you, boy' Jigen cursed internally the deceased Daimyō of the land of the Ancestors.
Splash!
His body started sinking like a rock. Jigen closed his eyes and waited for his end.
Before his body shut down, Jigen's last working brain cells managed to form a last thought.
'I couldn't keep my promise Kaa-chan. Forgive me, please'
Everything went black.
End of Chapter.
AN: So here it is. Jigen is moving one step closer to meet a certain certain celestial beign. The siege was a failure. However Jigen killed the enemy faction leader. What will Tenjin do?. What will happen to Jigen?. And wink wink to those who played Halo 2.
Stay tuned. Reviews are welcome by the way.
DragoonMen