The mountain winds howled across the ridges, carrying the smell of pine and smoke. On the lower slopes, Satomi Yoshihiro's battered banners still clung to the air, ragged cloth snapping like wounded birds. His once-proud host was a shadow of itself—emaciated soldiers dragging their feet, armor dull and bent, eyes hollow with hunger. Yet the lord himself remained defiant, riding his warhorse with spine stiff, his eyes blazing with rage.
"Forward!" Yoshihiro roared, his voice breaking with fury. "Eugene is but a boy hiding in stone walls! I will grind him beneath my heel!"
But behind him, his men whispered in silence. Many had seen comrades vanish into the night, carrying white pennons to Eugene's camp. Others marched only because fear bound them tighter than hunger.
And some captains—those who remained—exchanged uneasy glances. They had watched three of their number slip away days before, only to hear the deserters now feasted beneath Eugene's banner.
Doubt had become their constant companion.
Meanwhile, in the valley fortress, Eugene's war council assembled. Hiroshi, Lady Aiko, Captain Inoue, and the Spears stood around a map scrawled with ink lines and weighted with stones.
Eugene's finger tapped a bend in the river east of the fortress. "Here," he said calmly. "This is where Yoshihiro will break."
Hiroshi frowned. "It is open ground. His cavalry will charge us."
Eugene's lips curved faintly. "And that is exactly what I want. Pride will blind him. He will see an open valley and think it is his chance for redemption. We will lure him in, then strike from the flanks."
Captain Inoue leaned forward. "But can we count on his men to fight? Many are already half-defeated."
"That is the point," Eugene replied, eyes gleaming. "His men will falter the moment resistance stiffens. And when their lord is surrounded, they will abandon him fully. The bear will be caged by his own shadow."
The AI whispered in his mind, cold and precise:
[Simulation outcome: 86% probability Satomi Yoshihiro isolated if battle staged at river bend. Key trigger: orchestrated feigned retreat.]
Eugene straightened. "Prepare the Spears. Tomorrow, we end the Satomi."
Dawn broke with the sound of drums. Not Satomi's—their drums had gone silent days ago—but Eugene's. The Spears marched in disciplined formation, their armor gleaming in the new light. Behind them trailed the defectors, now fed, clothed, and burning with something new in their eyes: purpose.
When Satomi scouts returned with reports of Eugene's small force arrayed at the river bend, Yoshihiro snarled.
"The boy dares to meet me in the open? Then he has chosen his death!"
Against the protests of his weary captains, Yoshihiro ordered an immediate march. The battered host shambled forward, driven by his fury.
By mid-morning, the two forces faced one another across the shallow river. Mist clung to the water, silver under the sun. Eugene's men stood calm and ready, banners fluttering like wings.
Hiroshi tightened his grip on his spear. "They outnumber us still," he muttered.
Eugene's gaze was steady. "Numbers mean nothing when the heart has already fled."
The Satomi drums began again at last—a desperate, ragged beat. Yoshihiro rode forward, his armor gleaming, his blade raised.
"Traitors!" he roared across the water. "You bend knee to a child, a usurper! Today, I will cut him down myself!"
His men gave a half-hearted cheer, but their voices cracked like brittle wood.
Eugene raised his own sword, its steel flashing. He did not answer Yoshihiro's taunts. Instead, he gave a single nod.
The Spears surged forward, crossing the river with disciplined steps.
The first clash was thunderous—Satomi cavalry driving into Eugene's front ranks. The Spears held, shields locked, spears braced, the river water splashing around their legs. The impact shook the line, but it did not break.
Then, as Yoshihiro pressed forward, Eugene gave the order: "Fall back!"
The Spears retreated in precise rhythm, their formation bending like a reed in the wind. To Satomi's eyes, it looked like collapse.
Yoshihiro bellowed in triumph. "They flee! Forward, crush them!"
His cavalry surged, his foot soldiers stumbling after, desperation lending them speed.
But as they charged deeper into the valley bend, the trap sprung.
From the ridges on both flanks, hidden detachments of defectors and Spears surged down, their banners unfurling. Arrows darkened the sky, cutting into Satomi ranks. The cavalry faltered, horses screaming as men toppled into the river mud.
"Ambush!" one Satomi captain cried, too late.
Yoshihiro's men wavered, confusion spreading like fire.
Eugene raised his sword high. "Now! Surround them!"
The Spears wheeled, their retreat transforming into an encirclement. The Satomi host, caught between river and ridges, found themselves trapped.
Panic spread swiftly. Men who had fought only because fear chained them now dropped weapons and fled. Some ripped off their Satomi crests and raised white strips of cloth, shouting for mercy.
Others stood frozen, unwilling to die for a lord who had starved them.
Yoshihiro, however, refused to yield. Surrounded by his personal guard, he cut through defectors with wild ferocity, his blade dripping with blood. His roar echoed across the valley.
"Cowards! Traitors! Stand and fight for your lord!"
But no one answered. His words fell into emptiness.
At the center of the chaos, Eugene dismounted, stepping into the river mud with sword drawn. His eyes fixed on Yoshihiro, who glared back with madness in his gaze.
"So you are the boy who dares defy me," Yoshihiro spat. "You are nothing but a thief, stealing my men with lies!"
Eugene's expression was calm, his voice cutting like steel. "No, Yoshihiro. You lost your men the moment you starved them for your pride. I merely gave them what you would not."
With a roar, Yoshihiro charged, his blade arcing down. Eugene met him with swift precision, their swords clashing in a burst of sparks.
The duel erupted in the river's heart, mud and water splashing around them. Yoshihiro struck with brute force, every blow heavy as a hammer. Eugene moved like water, parrying, sidestepping, answering with precise counters.
Each clash rang across the battlefield, drawing eyes from both armies.
At last, Yoshihiro overextended, his blade sinking into the mud for a heartbeat too long. Eugene's eyes sharpened.
He struck—a clean, decisive slash across Yoshihiro's chest.
The Satomi lord staggered, blood blooming like crimson flowers against his armor. He fell to his knees, gasping, his pride crumbling with his strength.
His men watched in silence, none moving to save him.
Yoshihiro raised his eyes, filled not with fear but with bitter fury. "Curse you, boy… you will drown in the same ambition that consumed me."
Then his body fell into the river, the current carrying it slowly downstream.
The Satomi banners lowered. The battle was over.
Silence filled the valley, broken only by the murmurs of surrender. Soldiers dropped weapons, raised hands, or knelt in the mud.
Eugene stood tall, his blade dripping with water and blood, his expression unreadable.
Hiroshi approached, panting, his armor dented. "It's over," he said, disbelief and relief mingling in his voice.
Eugene's gaze swept the field. "No. This is only the beginning."
The AI's voice confirmed what his instincts already knew:
[Objective complete: Eliminate Satomi Yoshihiro. Power consolidation phase initiated. Warning: Ishida response imminent.]
Lady Aiko stepped beside him, her voice soft but sharp. "You've slain the bear. Now the wolves will come."
Eugene sheathed his sword, his eyes already fixed eastward toward Kai Fortress.
"Then let them come," he said. "For dawn has risen—and it is mine."
The valley echoed with cheers—not just of victory, but of the birth of something greater.
The Satomi had fallen.The rising had begun.