Chapter 237: The Attack of the Bandit Demonic Humans
The moonlight cast the long, lonely shadow of a man riding on horseback.
On a mountain not far from the cliffside cave, the man bore multiple blade wounds, yet he seemed completely oblivious to them. He simply sat atop his horse, eyes fixed upon the cliffside, remaining silent for a long time.
"Shirou, let's go. We need to get back to the village quickly," the black-haired, red-eyed girl riding the other horse spoke, addressing Shirou.
"Yeah! Let's head back!" Shirou nodded. Hiding the sadness on his face, he steeled his resolve and said firmly, "I will absolutely protect this village."
Shirou tugged the reins. Feeling the rider's will, the stallion quickened its pace and galloped forward.
In truth, he had been prepared from the very beginning. The memories within his body told him clearly that this was a cruel war, and in war, people die.
Even if they didn't die in this particular skirmish, someone would surely perish in the upcoming defense of the village.
In this war where seven samurai led a village to fight against forty bandits, it wasn't a loss as long as one samurai could take down five bandits.
Everyone had joined this team knowing full well the danger of the battle ahead.
Though for him, across the dozens of battles he had experienced in this life, he had never truly won...
Previously, he fought for lords, seeking a true enlightened master, or perhaps the decisive battle that could end the chaos. But in the end, whether the war was won or lost, he never felt happy or satisfied with the outcome.
This time, fighting for the farmers, he had lost another friend. It felt as though, from this moment on, everything had already been lost.
However, if he didn't keep going, even more people would become unhappy. Therefore, he had to pull himself together.
Shirou rode the stallion, leading the way without looking back once. This was because the mare following behind the stallion's tail no longer carried that noisy girl.
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'Good grief, I really have chosen a difficult route, haven't I?' Maou Nobunaga thought to herself, sighing helplessly as she began to scheme once more.
'However, now that Souji, whose compatibility with me was troublesome, has been dealt with, the others can be handled through human-wave tactics. The only ones I truly need to be wary of now are probably that Kojiro and Houzouin Inshun. When the time comes, I'll just use the barrage of my Noble Phantasm to keep my distance and finish them off!'
"Regardless, the advantage lies with me, the one who possesses the Holy Grail and the body of a Heroic Spirit. The final victor will definitely be me!" Having made up her mind, Maou Nobunaga grinned hideously. She stretched out her palm toward the path ahead, as if she were about to crush Shirou within her grasp.
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The path down the mountain was slightly faster than the climb up. By the time the sun had fully risen, Shirou had returned to the village via the small path from the back mountain.
The children, who were the first to hear the commotion, saw the horses and began jumping and shouting.
The samurai and villagers ran out to greet them upon hearing the noise. After returning to the village, Shirou calmly reported the results of the mission.
The people noticed the strange expressions on the faces of the two who returned, and they seemed to understand what had happened.
The samurai girl who often played with the children was nowhere to be seen, and they realized that three horses had returned.
Though they didn't want to believe it, they had no choice but to accept reality.
At the highest point of the village's collective burial mound, a small earthen hill was piled up. A pit was dug beside it. Even though they hadn't brought back a body, the villagers spontaneously built a grave for the sacrificed samurai. Inside a wooden box, they placed the daily items the girl had used, such as her cup, bowl, and chopsticks.
One child was crying so hard that tears and snot fell uncontrollably to the ground. However, she carefully held up her hands to avoid dirtying the object she was cradling—a long scarf.
Having been physically weaker than the other children in the village since birth, she could only stay in front of her house, silently watching the other children play.
Only the samurai "Big Sister" would come over and pull her along to play. Since she couldn't handle intense physical activity, the sister taught her how to play cat's cradle.
Seeing her occasionally cough or have a runny nose, Souji had wrapped her own scarf around the girl's neck and given it to her.
Now, everything was being returned to its original owner.
The long scarf was placed into the box, the lid was closed, and earth was shoveled over it to bury the casket.
As joss paper burned, the villagers pressed their hands together and bowed to the grave in mourning.
The samurai stood behind them in silence. Only young Yukino stood beside Shirou, silently wiping away her tears.
As a warrior, the death of a comrade is an unavoidable and necessary experience. The girl who wished to become a mature samurai had gained a significant experience today; she would surely grow up soon.
The younger children in the village were still look confused, not yet understanding what was happening. In their minds, they perhaps thought the "Big Sister" who played with them had simply left the village for somewhere else.
Thus, they only watched with curiosity before being carried away by their parents.
Young Yukino walked back into the house alone. She took out a long piece of cloth painted with dyes and slipped it onto a bamboo pole. She then walked to the large tree in the center of the village, directly facing the burial mound, climbed up, and tied the pole to the very top of the tree.
A gust of wind blew, and the long cloth began to flutter. It was a banner, painted with seven moons of different shapes—from a crescent moon to a full moon—representing the seven samurai. Below the moons were grid patterns representing the "Tan" (rice fields), symbolizing the village and the farmers.
This was one of the items her master, Shirou, had crafted earlier. It was the military flag for this village defense battle—a spiritual symbol in war, a banner that fused everyone into a single entity.
Yukino was praying, hoping that this flag, which represented all of them, could see everything on behalf of Okita-san.
The military flag, which was originally intended to be revealed when the battle began, would now stand in Souji's stead, watching over the village and witnessing the war until the very end.
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Once the funeral rites were concluded, Shirou nodded to Tawara Touta. He stood on high ground and shouted to the people, announcing: "Now is not the time to be immersed in sorrow!"
"Because of Okita Souji's valiant fight, more than ten bandits were dealt with during last night's raid. However, the provoked bandits will surely arrive after noon today! Everyone must be prepared!
You are fighting for the village, and for yourselves! Your previous training has already taught you what to do! Get to work! Move! Don't let Okita's sacrifice be in vain!"
"Yes!" The villagers steadied their hearts and answered loudly.
After that, all the villagers went home to fetch their bamboo spears. Following the previously assigned squads, they ran to their respective posts under the guidance of the samurai to stand guard.
In the forge, Shirou ground the blade of his katana, restoring it to its optimal condition. He then took out a special ore, picked up his hammer and other tools, and began clanging away, modifying his weapon.
When noon arrived, young Yukino, standing by the flag on the roof, looked toward the mountains in the distance. Seeing a cloud of dust rising, she quickly jumped down. Using her agile body, she performed a 360-degree mid-air rotation, landed in the center of the village, and rang the alarm bell.
The bandits had finally arrived! They first began circling around three directions, excluding the back mountain.
The villagers quickly dismantled the bridge connecting the upper and lower village. On the other two sides, Kojiro and Houzouin Inshun moved quickly to their positions.
The bandits riding down from the mountain had murderous glints in their eyes. Using the Holy Grail, the "Maou" had placed a suggestion upon these low-grade demonized bandits. At this moment, the horns on their heads had grown thick and hideous, and their eyes had turned blood-red. While they had lost their sanity, they had become violent, brave, and monstrously strong.
It seemed they might pounce at any second!
"ROAR!!!"
"Don't panic! Just use your bamboo spears to thrust!"
Shirou's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He stepped forward and cleaved down a pouncing demonized bandit with his blade, shouting loudly.
"Yes!" The villagers also resisted with all their might, stabbing and knocking back the bandits who tried to climb up.
Even so, the high-intensity, focused combat caused the militia to show signs of exhaustion.
In the state of confrontation across the barricades, everyone fell into a state of stiff, full-body tension.
"General, why don't you tell us about some good food you know," Tawara Touta spoke up at this moment.
Shirou then began to speak: "There are truly so many foods that can be made with rice. I can think of dozens just off the top of my head. Besides the most common sushi, rice balls, and mochi...
The most basic steamed white rice can be eaten with anything. It can be soaked in soup, soaked in tea, fried, stir-fried, or smothered in curry sauce; you'll never get tired of it.
You can also slow-cook fragrant, easy-to-eat rice porridge: fish porridge, taro and crab porridge, old duck porridge, or preserved egg and lean pork porridge—all are incredibly delicious.
If you grind rice into powder, you can make all kinds of noodles. If you press it into thin sheets and cut them into strips, you get rice noodles, which are fragrant and tasty whether boiled or stir-fried.
You can also puff it up to make rice krispie treats or rice crackers. You can even use it to brew syrup."
Although the surrounding militia members hadn't eaten such things, after hearing Shirou's vivid descriptions, they couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
"Ooh, General! The two of us together could support an entire army! Taking over the world wouldn't be impossible!" Tawara Touta said with a loud laugh.
"If you put it that way, it isn't impossible. After all, rice can also be made into dry rations," Shirou said.
"Dry rations? Like rice balls?" Touta asked.
"There's also an ancient food called 'Hou.' It's said to be a recipe passed down from the old Qin people who came over during the pre-Qin period. You take rice and vegetables, dry them in the sun, and finally they harden into blocks. The soldiers of the Warring States period a thousand years ago ate that kind of ration."
"Is it tasty?" Touta asked curiously.
"Naturally, the taste is a bit worse," Shirou admitted.
"But it's made of white rice, right?" Touta said.
"Yeah, more or less," Shirou nodded.
"Then it's delicious enough!" Touta said, looking at the people around him.
"Mm-hmm!" The surrounding villagers, drooling, nodded repeatedly.
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At that moment, in a certain cave, two girls who were so hungry they had forgotten even to fight were sitting on the ground, shoulder to shoulder, staring blankly.
"Come to think of it, when I ran away, I forgot to bring the snacks I left in my room," Nobu said despondently.
Souji felt the bundle behind her and let out a cry of extreme surprise: "Ah! That's right! Luckily, this bundle didn't fall off!"
"What is it, nu?" Nobu tilted her head in confusion.
"Ah! There are four left! Here! I'll give you two." Souji untied the bundle and handed it toward Nobu.
"So they're rice balls. Well, at a time like this—" Nobu took a rice ball. "Nu-nu-nu! Wha... WHAT!! What is this!?"
"It's a rice ball made by Shirou using the super delicious vegetable medley pilaf he made yesterday. Everyone ate several large bowls of it. It's amazing, right? I feel like I could eat this for a week straight without getting tired of it," Souji said with a beaming smile as she bit into the rice ball.
"Nu-nu-nu?! What's going on? Have you guys been eating such good things every day after I left?!" Nobu roared in a frenzy.
"No... it was only just that one meal yesterday..." Souji waved her hand.
However, at this point, Nobu, blinded by rage, could no longer listen.
"Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!!! Did that Bad Nobu actually tie me up here while she enjoys such delicacies every day?! Nu-nu-nu...! Too cunning! Simply too cunning! Bad Nobu! I must defeat her!"
Whether it was because Nobu had recovered a portion of her strength or because of the power of gourmet food, the girl, whose emotions were fluctuating wildly, regained control over her magical energy. Crimson flames from Purgatory actually erupted behind her.
The scorching magical flames blazed fiercely, illuminating the girl's surroundings.
"Ah! An exit! An exit! I found it!" Souji pointed above the magical flames. From the high ceiling, two long ropes could be seen hanging down.
These were exactly the things Nobu had bumped into when she fell from that trap-door bed earlier. To get out of here, one had to climb up the two ropes and trigger the mechanism.
At this moment, because of the Purgatory flames erupting behind Nobu, the cave was illuminated and the ropes were finally revealed. However, the ropes on the ground happened to be touched by the magical flames behind Nobu and immediately caught fire.
"Waaaah! It's on fire! It's on fire! The ropes are going to be burned away!" Nobu shouted as she jumped around in panic.
The ropes on the ground were ignited and quickly burned up, the fire climbing upward. Because flames travel faster vertically, it was about to reach the level of Nobu's head.
"Mumyo Sandan-zuki—!!!" (Avici Three-Stage Thrust)
Souji kicked off the ground and reached the ropes in an instant. With one strike, she sliced off the two sections of burning rope, which flew off and smacked Nobu in the face.
"Uwah! Hot, hot, hot!" Nobu clutched her face and rolled on the ground, extinguishing the fire on the rope sections before stopping. However, she didn't get angry. Instead, she looked at Souji seriously and extended her right hand, saying:
"Let us get out of here! Let us crusade against that Bad Nobu, that rebel who acts only for her own selfish desires! Let our swords tell her that keeping good food all to oneself is absolutely forbidden, nu!"
"Ah, this is the first time since coming to this world that I've agreed with you one hundred percent!" Souji nodded and reached out to shake her hand.
"OHHHH!!!" The two girls raised their swords high, crossing them together.
"Then... from this moment on!" Souji and Nobu declared in unison.
"The Okita-Nobu Alliance—"
"The Oda-Souji Alliance—"
"Eh?!" The two girls looked at each other, both seeing in the other's eyes a refusal to back down. Thus, they shouted together: "Enough! The GUDAGUDA Alliance is officially formed! The goal is to defeat Bad Nobu!"
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