The pain had subsided a bit but his entire torso was sore, he lied with his back on the cold hard floor, although, that did little to relieve him of the pain. He had thought about what happened at the inn, then his thoughts drifted to the wolf wardens, his brothers. They had taken him in and trained him. When he felt lost they found him and helped mold him into a warrior, a samurai. Now they were on a mission and he was in pain because he did not control his temper.
"Yare yare." He said to himself.
He was thrown out of his thoughts by the sound of several knocks on the door. He rose up and went to door. "Who is it and what do you want?" He asked before he decided to open the door.
"I bring a message from Tadayori, senior Captain of the Aoshima samurai. This is a message from the captain of the Okami no Banshi. Hoshigami Wasuren Chujo is summoned to the battlefield."
Wasuren's eyes widened, "Give me a moment to get ready." Wasuren replied.
Wasuren looked at his armor in the corner with a deep sigh. "Yare yare."
----
Tadayori and his ten samurai moved fast and they soon arrived at the home of Lord Senzo.
Lord Senzo was flabbergasted by the urgency with which Tadayori barged into his chambers. "Tadayori, have you no manners no longer?"
"Forgive me Senzo-sama, I have report from the captain of the wolf wardens, there's a horde incoming."
Lord Senzo struck the desk with his fist as he lost control of his anger. "Again! Have my people not suffered enough?"
The samurai around him looked towards their Lord in pain. Tadayori moved closer to Lord Senzo, his tone softer, "I will take the remaining samurai and lead the people to safety as previously planned then I will join the wolf wardens in battle."
Lord Senzo rose from his chair, he moved closer to Tadayori and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I will pray for your success Tadayori."
Tadayori nodded then stepped out of the chambers.
----
"Non of us are dead yet, that's a good thing." Said Masaki Taisho as he whaked away a Sarugami with his Warhammer.
Kiyoshi kicked one away then impaled another with his katana. "They are endless, how are we going to-"
He stopped his sentence midway as a pressure descended upon them. The air suddenly felt thicker and their feet felt like they've been dipped in quicksand. Even the Sarugami ceased their attack.
"Do you feel that Taisho?" Kiyoshi asked his captain.
Masaki nodded. "The advanced tier has arrived and its energy feels denser than that of even the descendant of Yamata no Orochi that we faced in Hebimori."
They felt vibrations through the roots of the trees beneath their feet. Their heads shot up and above them, standing on the branch of a tree was what resembled a gorilla. The Sarugami had red fur, the same color as its eyes. It's arms were as long as an entire man and as thick as tree trunks in its right hand was a club made of metal. The most unsettling thing about this beast was it's face that looked almost human and it did not help that there was a belt on its waist and the red robe on its back.
The advanced tier Sarugami lifted its arm and beat its chest multiple times then it let out a gutteral roar. It jumped from the tree and landed a few meters away from the Wolf Wardens. When the intermediate tier saw it land, they got on their knees in fear and reverence.
The Sarugami grinned and spoke in a voice that sounded almost like a growl. "Arise my brethren, it is time we pay back those people for killing our brothers. They deprived us of women, women! We shall take women. Go, go into the village, lay waste and take what you wish. I will handle these humans that has been bothering us."
"Is there any chance that it is not talking about us?" Kiyoshi asked jokingly.
The Sarugami that they previously were engaged in battle with, left them and rushed through the forest on their way to the village.
"Masaki Taisho, should we run after them?" One of the wolf wardens asked.
"No. We can not allow this beast reach the village, we have to trust that the Aoshima samurai can defend themselves. Where is Wasuren?" Masaki asked with a sigh as the advanced tier Sarugami approached.
----
Tadayori had called all Aoshima samurai to himself all together they were up to sixty excluding the twenty that remained at the forest opening. He had finished securing everyone in the village and was on his way to the forest when he saw one of the samurai he left at the forest opening running at him.
The samurai looked bloodied and beaten, his sword was no where to be found. " We tried to hold them back Taisho we tried." The samurai said almost in tears.
Tadayori caught the samurai by his shoulders. "Where are the others, how far is the enemy?"
The samurai shook his head with a pained expression. "The enemy is here!"
Tadayori looked ahead and behold an army of Sarugami running at them screeching.
Tadayori let the samurai go and with an intense expression he drew his katana. "Brothers, these vermin have invaded our home again. We will stand and we will fight for our home as we have done many times before. We will send them back as we have done many times before. We will show them what happens when they mess with Aoshima. CHARGE!"
The Aoshima samurai behind Tadayori drew their katana and ran towards the enemy ahead of them with new found motivation.
They easily cut down those without weapons, but those that had weapons proved difficult to defeat. Although the Sarugami numbers were great, the Aoshima samurai fought valiantly and with time their enemies dwindled. But just when they expected it to be over they noticed the fifteen of the twenty samurai stationed at the forest opening running towards them, and behind them was another wave of Sarugami.
----
Wasuren had worn his armor and left his quarters with the samurai that came to call him. He was briefed on the issue concerning the Sarugami advancement and decided to head straight to the forest. They had reached the main village, and as they were close to the part of the village that was closed off to civilians they heard sounds of fighting. Wasuren and the samurai immediately increased their pace until they came upon the battle between the Aoshima samurai and the Sarugami.
---