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To my eyes, one unbelievable situation after another was unfolding before me.
It's a scene that's almost unbelievable.
The moment I emerged from the Shiozu Road, the first thing that came into view was the Saito army advancing from Sekigahara.
Their numbers weren't particularly large, and their marching speed wasn't particularly fast either—but it was clear that this faction was heading towards Aichigawa, intending to "pincer attack" the Asai army.
Then, thinking about whether it would be possible to mobilize some of the defenders of Odani Castle, I turned around and saw the Asakura family's battle standard flying brilliantly over Odani Castle.
(city--!?)
I was so overwhelmed with anxiety that I almost went insane.
I wonder if the city will be alright.
Could it have fallen into the hands of the Asakura family?
Could they be being abused by outlaws?
辱embarrassingPerhaps they chose to commit suicide rather than face the consequences.
The worst-case scenario keeps swirling around and around in my head, appearing and disappearing repeatedly.
He clutched his head while still on horseback, a groan escaping his lips. Stomach acid refluxed into his esophagus, causing the mucous membranes in his mouth to become irritated.爛just
"Kyuuuuuuuun!!"
As if to scold me, Taishakutsukige let out a sharp cry and then tilted its neck and glared at me.
When I snapped back to reality and looked at her, her light green eyes were completely filled with accusations directed at me.
Then, shaking its head sharply, it points with its golden horn to the left and slightly ahead in the direction of travel.
There was a small castle there, and surrounding it was the army of the Saito clan.
"That's... Sugawa Castle..."
"Kyuuuuun"
"Naotsune...! That's right, Naotsune! Is he alright?! Did he make it to the city safely—"
"Kyuuuuuuuuuun!!"
Taishakutsukimo could never understand that.
After all, she had been with me the whole time, fighting against the Wakasa Takeda clan in Kuchiki Valley.
So what am I saying then? Probably—
"Calm down! You're the one who sent Naotsune off! If you don't trust Naotsune, who else is supposed to?!"
They're probably angry about something like that.
I've known Taishakutsukimo for quite some time now.
Thanks to that, I've come to understand much better what she's thinking.
"—Yeah, that's right."
I stroked the neck of the sprinting Taishakutsukimo and said:
"If I don't believe in it, there's nothing I can do."
"..."
Taishakutsukimo said nothing more.
She simply charged forward not toward Sugawa Castle, but toward the Asai army, which was sandwiched between the Saito and Rokkaku armies.
"I can't do anything by myself. I may have drawn up the blueprints for the hot spring resort and silkworm farm, but it's not me who actually builds them; it's the construction workers. And the necessary accounting work is handled by Masamoto and the finance officials. Even in battle, Taishakutsukige... without you, I'm nothing but a burden."
"..."
Taishakutsukimo slowly turned around and looked at me again with those beautiful eyes.
"I'm not omnipotent. I couldn't possibly be omnipotent. I'm always relying on someone, and someone is always relying on me. I was almost about to forget that basic relationship."
"..."
I clenched my fist tightly and thrust it out towards her.
"I believe that Naotsune has moved the city to Sugawa Castle. I believe that Tsunachika and the others are still waiting for me—and I am certain of it. Everyone is eagerly awaiting my arrival!"
Indra cried out in an exceptionally high-pitched voice.
Hearing the clear cry, Asai's soldiers turned to look in my direction. Our eyes met. And sure enough—the soldiers erupted in a roar of cheers.
"My lord!!"
"The lord has returned!!"
"Woooooooooooooo!!"
They must have noticed the soldiers' cheers.
Tsunachika and Kiyosada rushed out of the main camp, while Kiyotsuna and Kazumasa rode towards them on horseback.
"Lord Nagamasa!"
"Yes, you've been very patient up to this point!"
I patted the generals on the shoulders, thanking them for their hard work.
With the Rokkaku family in front and the Saito and Asakura families behind, they faced immense pressure, yet they didn't lose a single person—they waited for my return all this time.
"Everyone! Listen carefully!"
I raise my voice, hoping that it will reach all the soldiers.
"First, rest assured! The Wakasa Takeda who crawled out from the north have already been driven back! All is to subdue those fools who dared to invade northern Omi!"弁Wakima
The soldiers' cheers of "Oooooh!" echoed throughout the area.
Surrounded by enemies on all sides, the mere fact that one threat had disappeared gave them a great deal of hope.
"But there's no time!"
My voice echoes across the battlefield, and the soldiers are desperately trying to hear it.
"The Saito clan is closing in from behind us, and the Asakura clan has entered our Odani Castle through the hands of a traitor. It's safe to say that we are now in a situation where every second counts."
The soldiers swallowed hard.
"Therefore, there is only one course of action we can take—to run away!"
A murmur arose among the soldiers.
But I scream, trying to crush it.
"But don't run backward—run forward! First we must escape the threat of Rokkaku—Yuan Chang!"
"Hah!"
"How are the cavalry ready!"
"We can get it running right away!"
"Yes!"
I pointed to the Rokkaku family's headquarters on the opposite bank of the Aichigawa River and shouted.
" Let us show you our techniques, you weakling soldiers and corrupt monks !"遁逃Tonchō
"Oooooooh!!!"
6,500 soldiers and generals, raising their spears and matchlock guns, let out war cries and siding with me.
Noticing the change in our morale, the Rokkaku family's musketeers hastily opened fire.
But you can't fight a war if you're always afraid of lead bullets.
As the approximately 100 Asai cavalrymen lined up in a single row with me at the center, they let out a war cry, crossed the Aichi River amidst a spray of water, and charged towards Rokkaku, kicking off the ground.
The bullets flying from the Rokkaku family hit the horses and bounced, not a single one getting through to the soldiers charging on foot.
Several cavalrymen were hit directly by lead bullets and fell from their horses, but the horses themselves did not stop abruptly and for a short time served as cover for the enemy behind them.
As we advanced, scattering the enemy soldiers, the Rokkaku cavalry eventually came out and blocked our path.
The numbers are almost equal—this is a critical moment.
"Each of you, focus on eliminating only the enemy in front of you! Charge forward!"
I draw out Ishiwari Kanemitsu and try to cut down the enemy horse directly.
However, things didn't go as smoothly as expected, and my sword was deflected by the enemy horse's horns.
And with that same momentum, the horse's horns were thrust towards my heart—
"Kyuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
It was a close call. Taishakutsukige charged at the enemy horse, piercing its chest with its sharp horns, thus averting my death.
"T-Indra Moon Hair!"
"Kyuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
And then—an event occurred that was perhaps unprecedented in Japanese history.
"W-what did you say!?"
The enemy soldiers' cries of surprise echoed in my eardrums.
The moment Indra's golden horns flashed, bright blue blood immediately gushed out, and the enemy horse's body was cut in two.
Indeed, horses, which are supposedly not capable of kinslaughter, have intentionally killed members of their own kind.
"Y-you...!"
At my hoarse voice, Taishakutsukimo's determined light green eyes—stained with the blue blood of his own kind—gleamed brightly.
The sight caused panic among the enemy cavalrymen.
Perhaps that's to be expected.
Up until now, the most important thing to pay attention to in cavalry battles was the movements of the soldiers on horseback.
This is because horses avoid injuring each other, and therefore rarely swing their horns.
But that's not true.
It was known that the white horse ridden by Asai Nagamasa would even slaughter its own people if its lord was in danger .躊躇chucho
The Rokkaku army's cavalry was shaken by this fact. They had no choice but to defeat mounted soldiers, but Asai's commander-in-chief possessed the means to slay not only soldiers, but even the monstrous horses.
And the unrest among the cavalrymen was not limited to them alone.
Naturally, many of the Rokkaku clan's soldiers witnessed the sight of the horse's blue blood gushing forth .徒歩win
Or perhaps, the vast majority of people on both sides were seeing for the first time the very idea of "a horse, a monster, dying..." existed.
—A horse can be defeated if you have the means.
The confirmation of that fact greatly exhilarated the Asai forces, who had brought down the horses, and conversely, greatly unsettled the Rokkaku family, who lacked such means.
The pure white canvas of Taishakutsukimo is stained with two bloodstains, one blue and one red, presenting a gruesome sight.
Furthermore, their actions strongly inspired the fighting spirit of their allies and significantly diminished the fighting spirit of the enemy.
"Go, go!"
Now that the morale of the Rokkaku cavalry had been dampened, this was the perfect opportunity.
I called out to my fellow cavalrymen from horseback and charged into the Rokkaku clan's main camp.
Whether they lacked the courage to stand against the cavalry, or were simply intimidated by Taishakutsukige's formidable presence, the Rokkaku soldiers fled without taking on the enemy.
When Indra's horns broke through the curtain and charged into the enemy's main camp—it was already an empty shell.蛻Empty
I don't know who the enemy's commander-in-chief was, but it seems he quickly fled, leaving his soldiers behind.
It's likely that one of the reasons was that our messenger from the Asai forces, reporting that "a horse killed another horse," had reached them.
They probably thought, "Humans are no match for horses that can kill other horses."
However, abandoning one's allies and fleeing first—there were many things to think about, but the only important thing was the fact that "the Rokkaku clan's headquarters was an empty shell."
"Let's turn back!"
Taishakutsukimo neighs and lifts its upper body.
If you leap out of the main camp, where the commander-in-chief is absent, you can see the backs of enemy soldiers and the Asai forces advancing towards you, spears raised.
Unlike the situation before, it was now the Rokkaku forces that were being "caught in a pincer attack."
Amidst the biting February winds, the men's bodies are burning with heat, and a tremendous amount of steam is billowing from the battlefield.
Amidst the stench of sweat, soldiers from both sides bled, their shouts of anger and screams mingling with each other.
The soldiers of the Rokkaku clan were unaware that their commander-in-chief had already fled. They were preoccupied with fending off the onslaught of the Asai forces that was pressing in front of them.
At that moment, Nagamasa's cavalry attacked from behind.
And leading the charge is none other than Nagamasa, mounted on Taishakutsukige, a horse stained with blue blood—a symbol of his reputation as a "horse killer."
From the perspective of the Rokkaku forces, this was no longer acceptable.
"Humans can't even harm a horse, so there's no way they can defeat an opponent that can kill monsters..."
The Rokkaku forces were quickly crushed by fear, both internally and externally—and many of them vanished into thin air.
Alternatively, they might drop their weapon and run away in any direction.
This time, I didn't have to chase or eliminate any enemy soldiers.
Or perhaps they don't even have the time to do something like that.
They quickly reorganized their forces and crossed the Aichigawa River.
But even so—with the tide of battle turning this far, why is there no sign of the Asakura army moving from Odani Castle?
(What exactly are you thinking?)
The sight of 20,000 soldiers remaining silent was unsettling, but Nagamasa had things he had to do.
"Ichi... We're coming now...! All troops! Let's route Saito's army along the way and liberate Sugawa Castle!"
When I gave the order, Yuan Chang raised his horse to let out another war cry.
"Hey! Hey!"
"Yes!!"
"Hey!! Hey!!"
"Yess
"Alright! All hands, charge—"
I shouted that, and just as I was about to start Taishakutsukige—
A tremendous roar, "Zuda-da-daan," echoed from the front.
The sheer volume of the noise stopped Asai's forces in their tracks.
"W-what is it?!"
"The sound of a gunshot—but it's too loud!"
"Where did it all come from...?"
—Could this be an ambush by the Asakura army?
A cold sweat ran down my neck.
"M-my lord! We're on top of the mountain, we're on top of the mountain!"
A cavalryman nearby shouted, and I was startled, looking up.
On a small hill opposite Sugawa Castle, visible in the distance, stand countless distinctive military banners.
木瓜紋MokkoumonIt is called the "Oda Mokko" (Oda quince blossom), named after the family that uses it as their family crest.
"—No way."
I gasped involuntarily.
It's quite clear, even from a distance, whose side they're on.
Indeed, the Saito forces that had been swarming Sugawa Castle, which Naotsune was desperately defending, had been drastically reduced in number in no time at all.
"The Sixth Heavenly Demon King, Oda Nobunaga—you've come...!"
On the border between Omi and Mino provinces, the sounds of conch horns and war cries echoed anew.