6th Day of the Second Moon
?
Water splashed as the soldiers surged forward. Steel clashed against steel. Volley after volley, arrows rained down upon both sides. Cries of pain, death, and desperation mixed together, creating only panic and confusion.
…The bleached ground now stained red beneath our feet as the bodies began to pile.
This wasn't a war between magi. This was just… war…
"Hmm, didn't think this other master would look to intercept us here" Archer spoke, snapping me back to reality.
"Y-Yeah…"
Even before Archer turned to look at me, I knew the response was weak.
"Something the matter, master" she asked with a devilish grin. "You were the one moping around, waiting for the action to start. Don't tell me you're having second thoughts now that it's in your face."
"I'm not" I spoke with as much confidence I could muster. "I just… I wasn't expecting something like this, is all."
"Oh? What were you expecting from a war then? This result seems rather obvious."
"Considering this is supposed to be a Holy Grail War, something more-"
"My lord!"
Both Archer and I shifted our attention towards the officer rushing towards us.
"My lord! The enemy formation is breaking and are beginning to flee the battlefield! Shall I give the orders to pursue the routing forces?!"
"The enemy flees already" Archer sounded puzzled. "That can't be right; the battle's barely started."
Yet sure enough, the enemy force was beginning to pull back their frontline soldiers under the cover of their archers. Those further in the back of the enemy formation were already in the process of running off towards the horizon, deeper into the unclaimed land of Shikoku. While our soldiers maintained their formation and advanced slowly to keep some semblance of pressure on the enemy, it was clear they were waiting for the order to pursue.
"They have nowhere to run to" I added my own observations. "Right now, they aren't even leaving behind their equipment either. If we give the orders to the cavalry to run them down, even if we don't catch all of them, those wishing to escape would have to ditch their weapons and armor to stand even a chance to get away."
"…Have the cavalry on the left flank hunt down the fleeing soldiers furthest ahead, and send the calvary on the right flank to deal with the remaining archers and stragglers."
"And the main-"
"I will deal with the rest" Archer shouted, cutting the man off. "Now go! Before the enemy gets any further!"
"Y-Yes, my lord!"
Archer continued to glare at the routing enemy as the officer ran off. As the horns sounded and the calvary surged forward to begin the pursuit, Archer urged her horse forward.
"With me, master" she commanded, not waiting for a response.
I still wasn't all that experienced with riding a horse, so it took me a moment to catch up with Archer.
"We're going to the front" I questioned, doing my best to look anywhere but the ground.
"They catch us off guard, pin us against the coast, then turn tail and flee the battlefield before any decisive action is taken" Archer stated more so as a matter of fact than an explanation. "It doesn't make sense."
"Well… they were already outnumbered from the beginning, and considering we know that the enemy master is claiming the last of the territory in northern Kyushu, I doubt they have any reinforcements either" I pointed out, watching the enemy archers still visible in the distance abandon their weapons and try to run as the cavalry surged forward after them. "Even this… ambush of sorts… was heavily flawed due to the void being a flat expanse. The moment we got organized into formation and advanced, they were doomed, no?"
"Then why engage? Unless this enemy master is stupid and willing to throw away parts of their army, or the enemy commander was incompetent, this engagement was nothing more than a donation to our side."
"We still took losses…"
"Nothing in comparison to them" Archer dismissed as we reached the front line.
Within minutes Archer had the soldiers reorganized and assigned to their new positions. The majority would go the follow and hunt down the remnants of the enemy force, while a couple of units would stay back to serve as a scavenging force for any worthwhile equipment, especially arrows. By the time we'd began marching off in the direction the enemy had ran, both of the previous cavalry flanks were returning. They too had suffered only minor losses from the last remnants of arrow volleys from the enemy archers tasked to cover the retreat. In return, those archers laid dead, their corpses and patches of blood staining the otherwise white, pristine landscape.
After reorganizing the cavalry on the wings of the formation, Archer and I fell back into the center as the march continued.
"…At least we know either the enemy master or servant is likely Japanese as well" I eventual said to Archer, keeping my voice low. "Considering the enemy force."
"…It's no guarantee, but for now it's a safe bet to work off of" Archer concurred, following my example in keeping our voices low.
"…Doesn't really narrow down much of anything, does it" I sighed.
"No, but what comes next will."
"What comes next… Wait, you think this is a trap?!"
"Why do you sound surprised? Do you think this could be anything but a trap?"
"…I suppose I just fail to see how anyone could lay a trap in this void. Also, where the hell did the enemy disappear to?"
"They had minutes on us, marching in formation is slow, and while the battle wasn't long, our soldiers are bound to be tired regardless. Catching up to whatever remains of the enemy force was never going to be likely."
"Then why are we heading this way at all?!"
"Because the last thing I want is to get attacked from the rear by simply continuing on our way to the control spire."
"Well, I think we can safely say there isn't any ambush out here for us. If anything, that force was going to try raiding our territory in Honshu once we got bogged down in fighting the enemy master out west."
"Without ships they wouldn't be able to cross."
"Not like ships couldn't have been sent from Kyushu once the raiding party was in position. Why risk getting spotted by scouts along the coast before you could even commit to the attack?"
Archer didn't say anything, but I could see a part of her, if not necessarily in agreement, could at least see the logic in my reasoning.
"Should we continue on our way towards the control spire then" I suggested. "The sooner we get the rest of Shikoku under control and lock the enemy to Kyushu, the better. Preferably before the first line of defense in Honshu gets put under siege."
"…It can't be helped" Archer shrugged. "Which direction do we need to head now for the control spire? You're the one with the map."
"Good question" I muttered, pulling up the map. "Ah, ok, looks like we need to turn and head that-"
I didn't even have time to turn and face Archer before I found myself getting knocked from my horse, landing in the dirt face first. Despite the disorientation, I could make out clear shouts and cries of alarm coming from the men.
"I knew that wasn't the end of it! Get up, master, the enemy-"
Archer didn't even get to finish before we all ended up erupting into a coughing fit. Thick, grey smoke covered the entire area, to the point that the only person I could make out was Archer, and even then, just barely. While I could still hear the soldiers, it was impossible to see them in this condition.
"They're better prepared than I though" Archer seemed to curse, before erupting into a round of laughter only interrupted by the occasional cough. "Suppose this is where the fight for our lives begins! Don't go and get yourself killed!"
I didn't even have time to respond before Archer disappeared into the smoke, shouting orders, attempting to get our forces back under control. It was clear we weren't alone, for the cries of soldiers dying rang out all around me, though as to who's men the cries belonged to was anyone's guess.
Not helping matters was that my horse seemed to have run off in the confusion, and within taking my first few steps I walked face first into a tree, nearly knocking myself back down onto the ground.
…Wait, a tree?! And the dirt was brown, not white!
"What the hell" I quickly pulled up the map again, which confirmed my suspicions. "How could they have claimed the territory?! The enemy master had just captured territory in northern Kyushu yesterday! There's no way-"
The sound of an arrow whizzing past me and embedding itself into the nearby tree brough me back to reality. Dealing with that mystery could wait for later. Right now, we needed to push back the enemy.
The only problem with that idea was that I couldn't see anything that wasn't right in my face, let alone make out friends from foes.
"First things first" I muttered, pulling out my amulet and fastening it around my neck, "By Raijin's blessing, grant me the protection of the storm."
I felt a sharp jolt at the base of my neck as the amulet unleashed its magical energy. Within seconds I was covered from head to toe in magical armor, the surface seemingly shifting and swirling like storm clouds in the sky, with arcs of purple lighting dancing around.
While a potent form of protection, especially against lightning magecraft, the armor certainly had some weight to it, and the numbing sensation around my neck where the amulet rested was a sensation I'd never gotten used to. The numbing sensation wasn't from the activation either, but rather simply a… side effect of it's wearing, hence why I tended to avoid wearing the thing unless I needed its active protection.
Despite the discomfort though, I much preferred having it than not.
"Alright then, bring it! Bolt axe!"
Channeling magical energy to my right hand, a solid, black axe crackling with the same, purple lightning as the armor manifested. Now armed, I charged into the haze of smoke, towards the nearest sounds of combat.
It wasn't the greatest terrain to begin with, we were now definitely fighting in a dense forest rather than an empty void, but combined with the smoke taking away nigh all vision and the sounds of battle coming from all directions and it was impossible to tell where you were within the battle. The first couple of enemy soldiers I came across I more or less ended up running right into them, the sound of their blades scraping against my armor being the only action they'd managed to take before I bowled them into the dirt, swiftly taking them out with my axe while they were dazed.
As I got used to fighting under the conditions though, and as the smoke began to clear and the surroundings became more visible, the fighting did become easier. It was just that it became easier for the enemy, rather than me. As it turned out, being able to charge into an unaware enemy to knock them over first was a much more effective tactic than trying to fight them head on. I didn't consider myself a slouch by any means with my axe, but I was a magus first, and fighter second. My opponents, however, were clearly highly trained soldiers.
Or rather… shinobi. They certainly were dressed like shinobi, anyways, and their uncanny ability to get behind me and strike would have definitely landed me among the dead at our feet were it not for the armor. More than once did I notice a shuriken glance off me, seemingly coming out of the smoke from nowhere, along with plenty of arrows. While I was able to catch a few of them, each kill was a hard-fought battle in of itself, and most of the time I simply ended up losing them in the slowly clearing smoke.
On the rare occasion I ended up coming across one of our own men that were still standing, it would take a moment to desperately try to explain that I was on their side, considering my face was covered and I looked nothing like anyone from our army. It was a very seldom occurrence though; the majority of the dead bore the armor of our own troops rather than the enemy. Between that and both the lack of panicked cries plus Archer's laughter becoming the dominate sound outside of the clashes of battle, it seemed rather evident that Archer had managed to rally whoever was still standing and was finding success on her end as well.
Just as I began to think that victory was within our grasp, however minor a victory it could be called, a new wave of smoke came pouring in, and even with the armor on I found myself reduced once again to a coughing fit, nearly dropping my axe in the process.
"What now" I groaned, getting the coughing back under control as I tried to reorient myself.
…Only to end up feeling a powerful force slam into my right arm.
"Shi-"
I nearly swallowed my own tongue as I was knocked over into the dirt. Immediately following that came a second blow against my back, and while whatever I was struck with didn't manage to break through the armor, I certainly felt it, unlike the others that'd come before.
I tried to lash out with my axe as I rolled to my side, but the presence was already gone from where it'd been a mere moment before, and as I struggled to stand back up, I heard it taking off into the smoke.
"Oh no you don't" I huffed as I took off after my assailant, using the sound of their running as my guide.
It didn't take long to figure out it was a futile effort though. In my armor I was already slower than them, and with the thickness of the smoke renewed I was back to basically being rendered blind. Trying to go as fast as I could in the armor was likely to end with my running into a tree long before I caught up with my assailant.
Though while I'd managed to come to that realization and stop myself from running any further, as I tried to catch my breath, I came to a second realization.
I could no longer hear Archer's laughter, or the sound of battle.
…Just how far out am I-
The next thing I knew I was seeing stars, my head bashing against a tree I hadn't seen as I was slammed into it.
He's back!
I swung my axe in front of me, cleaving through nothing but air as everything felt like it was spinning. The second blow came against my extended arm, knocking the axe out of my hand. The third blow slammed into my chest, and despite the pain and spinning my mind ended up focused on one specific sound.
Crack
…That was my armor.
…My armor was being broken through!
"Thunderstorm thorns!"
I heard the familiar humming of the lightning thorns surrounding me, but even I knew it wouldn't be of much use. Sure, I could fire them blindly into the smoke and try to hit something, but the odds of that working were effectively zero percent. I really needed a way to see the target, but right now forget trying to see him, I couldn't even hear him!
"Useless."
A familiar sounding voice echoed in the smoke as I felt something slam against my left leg, knocking me over and causing the lightning thorns to dissipate.
Crack
"I'd expected you to know better than to fight on the front lines."
Another strike, this time on my back, and while with the force came a sharp, searing pain, causing me to inadvertently hiss.
Crack
It likely wasn't a deep cut, but whoever this was, they were breaking through, and quickly.
Though more importantly…
It couldn't be-
"Bolt axe!"
Summoning a new axe into my right hand, I pushed off from the ground and lunged forward, swinging my axe through the air until-
Clang!
As the opposing axe became visible through the smoke, locked in combat with mine, I had my answer.
"Mother?!"
"Finally figured it out then, Kirei? You're as slow now as you were the day you ran away."
"It's… Kiran" I shouted back as I pushed my axe out of the contest of strength and swung again.
"And you're still running! No wonder you're in such a sorry state! You haven't learned a thing, have you?"
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Is that how you'd speak to your mother? I raised you better than this!"
Seemingly out of nowhere I felt the axe bite into my left hip, sending my back down into the dirt.
Crack!
"Besides, did you really think when those invitations were sent out that I wouldn't know you'd make your way here, or that I'd get my hands on one myself?"
"That's not-"
Mother was finished speaking though. Blow after blow struck me from different angles, each one leading to new burning sensations as they managed to just break through my armor where they hit.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
"As annoying to deal with as ever, that armor. Still, this is over now."
Too exhausted and in pain to even respond, a powerful force sent me flying backwards, only coming to a stop when I slammed into a tree.
CRACK!
I felt the numbing sensation around my neck cease as the armor gave out, finally shattering into tiny grey and purple shards that lit up the surrounding area as they disappeared.
…At least the smoke was clearing up again, so I was able to get a look at my assailant.
Without a doubt, that was mother alright. From the short-cut black hair, the disapproving look, and the axe identical to my own, it was unquestionably mother.
…Fuck! She was the last person I'd ever wanted to see again, let alone die to!
As I saw mother prepare to rush in and deal the final blow, I closed my eyes and prepared for-
Clang! Clang Clang! Clang! Clang!
…The sound of an arquebus being made ready to fire was what convinced me to open my eyes.
Standing in front of me through the dissipating smoke was Archer. Her sword had been knocked out of her grasp and off to the side, but even in this state I could picture her smug, devilish grin as she had her rifle primed and pointed right in the face of-
…Of a man who I'd very much never seen before.
In some ways, he didn't look any different from the men I'd been killing earlier. At least, he very much looked like a shinobi himself, though his armor was clearly of a much better quality. Dark armor, as black as night itself really. From the neck all the way down, if I had to guess. I say guess because the majority of it seemed to be covered by light blue cloth of some kind or other. He was an older man, somewhere in his mid forties maybe, but despite a first glance of his hair looking white, over time it came to look closer to a silver in color, rather than actually white.
"Hahaha! Had a feeling you were the one behind this" Archer laughed as the two of them continued their stalemate, which I could only now see was caused by the man having his blade, not an axe, ready to take Archer's head. "Certainly fit your style, though how you managed to change the terrain like that is a trick I'm dying to learn about. Hanzo, you old bastard, it's been far too long!"
"Lord Nobunaga…" The man seemed to half growl, half sigh. "Should have known this wouldn't be enough. You complicate matters."
"You're telling me! Here I thought my second attempt at unification would be boring, but you really did a number on us! Looks like I'll have to start taking this seriously."
"You weren't before? …No, of course not. The Fool of Owari certainly lives up to the title, even in death."
"…"
"…"
Silence washed over the area as the last of the smoke dissipated, bringing the forest into full view.
"…Today, victory is yours" the man eventually broke the silence. "I will withdraw, for now."
"Oh? What makes you think I'm just going to let you leave?"
"I would be honored if you considered this one's life a fitting exchange for your own."
"…"
"…"
"…I suppose it can't be helped" Archer lowered her rifle as the man lowered his blade.
"Indeed" the man took a couple steps back, never turning away from either Archer or myself. "Till next we meet. Oh, and keep your lord on a tighter leash."
The sound of Archer's arquebus firing rang out in the otherwise silent forest, though the man had already slipped into the trees and disappeared.
"I'm the lord and master is the retainer! Get it right" Archer shouted to where the man had been as she tossed the rifle away, causing it to dissipate into nothing.
"Archer, I-" I tried to speak, but all that resulted in was another coughing fit and the spitting of more blood.
"Hm? Oh! Not bad, master. Not bad" Archer grinned as she turned to face me and pulled me up off the ground. "Though you may just be a bigger fool than I am, running off into the smoke like that!"
A/N
All this time waiting, and not even 4K words?! It's criminal of me, isn't it?
But in all seriousness, as with most things, I've severely underestimated how long it'd take for me to write a scene with any amount of fighting within it, especially since it's not all my own creations this time around, to an extent. I've rewritten this so many times at this point, I even considered cutting it out entirely and coming back to this part of the war even later. I think this is the best way to do it though, all things considered, so... I hope the wait proves to be worth it for you all.
As always, see y'all in the next post (whenever that'll be) o7
