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Volume 4 Chapter 1 Part 4

But even with that, the Asakura clan’s front troops who were suddenly attacked by arquebuses in the mist-covered mountain were scared stiff by the sudden burst of the gunfire.

「The arquebus is single shot! There’s already one shot, so there’s no need to worry! Charge! 」

The enemy commander shouted and was about to charge ahead, but then *BLAM!*, the second shot fired by Yoshiharu hit right on the target. The commander shrieked: 「F… Fuck… 」, fainted, and fell from his horse.

「Next! 」

Without giving the enemy any time for breathing, Yoshiharu fired the third shot.

「Th-those are the multi-shot arquebuses?! How is that possible?! 」

「As expected, the Oda clan must have shipped some new weapons imported from the western barbarians! 」

With just this, the front troops of the Asakura clan’s army were already defeated.

Yoshiharu’s plan worked.

「Hattori squad, engaging the enemy! 」

Hattori Hanzo roared and together with 10 other ninjas, they rushed into the confused Asakura clan’s front troops while throwing their shurikens at the enemies silently, and then mercilessly finishing them off with their daggers. They also scattered spikes on the floor while releasing more smoke bombs to confuse the enemy. Inside of the smoke, movement had already been difficult, but with the addition of gunshots ringing out in the surroundings, the Asakura clan’s front troops fell into mass confusion.

At that time, the ground shook with a huge explosion. The cold and merciless Hattori Hanzo seems to have ignited the explosives that were prepared by the enemy.

「Now! 」

Yoshiharu shouted 「Everyone, retreat! 」, and at that signal of his, all 500 members of his troops turned their backs on the Asakura clan’s troops and once again ran away into the mountains.

Originally, Yoshiharu’s running speed had been honed playing dodgeball at high school, making him exceptionally fast, but after coming to the Sengoku era and training here, his skills were becoming better and better still.

「Nicely done, Sagara Yoshiharu. Before igniting the enemy’s explosives, you succeeded in clumping the Asakura clan’s troops together. 」

Without Yoshiharu even noticing him, Hanzo was silently running beside Yoshiharu while whispering words of praise to him, unexpectedly.

「Hanzo! That was a little too cruel! That explosion just now blew all the soldiers away! 」

「Hmph. Because of that, we gained some more time… There’s only one bomb left, so from now on it’s up to you to guard your own life. 」

「Yeah, sure. When it comes to running, you can leave it to me. 」

As expected of the 500 soldiers who were determined to protect Nobuna’s rear, though 10% of the troops had fallen, the rest were supporting and relying on each other with extraordinary strength and will. To catch up to the ninjas who had very good running speed, all of them tried their best to run and not fall behind at all.

For Zenki, it was too troublesome to run, so he flew in the air.

(A miracle had occurred on that battlefield.)

Zenki realized.

The mist that he had created, Yoshiharu’s 「Three-Line Formation」and the ninja squad under the command of Hanzo were used together to great effect, and they had once again evaded the fierce attacks of the Asakura clan’s troops.

But, the biggest contribution to this miracle wasn’t the strategy of 「Three-Line Formation 」that was born from Sagara Yoshiharu’s tasteless knowledge, but instead was Yoshiharu’s undying will to「get everyone back to Kyoto safely! 」that imparted the heroes with incomparable morale and loyalty, though only Zenki and Hanzo noticed this.

「The enemy is still chasing us, so we can’t delay for even a second, but there are still numerous mountains to cross in front of us; if we don’t rest, I’m afraid we won’t be able to hold out and reach Kyoto! 」

Pushing at full speed, Yoshiharu was thinking about how to let his companions have a chance to rest in all this chaos, and finally, he decided that they should rest for a short while after crossing the peak of a mountain, on a narrow mountain path.

Yoshiharu was still worrying about the pursuing soldiers, but after deciding to rest, he lay onto a bamboo leaf on the ground and soon started snoring after falling asleep.

「This fellow is the same as an ordinary folk, so full of openings. 」

Zenki laughed and said, and the foot soldiers around him replied:

「Though he looks like someone totally not used to war, and the way he uses the arquebus is kinda clumsy, he turned out to be an excellent commander. 」

Everyone then nodded happily.

After Yoshiharu rested, he stood up, full of gusto once more.

「Okay! Let us continue on! From now on, we have numerous mountains to cross! 」

As of now, not even one of them had fled for fear of death, but even so, they had lost many comrades. Half were lost during the battle with the Asakura clan’s troops, after which some thought, 「I can’t burden the commander due to me not being able to run. 」 and left quietly.

One of the more distinct warriors, a plump guy with thick eyelashes that looked like he was from Samoa, wasn’t here anymore.

(Damn it…! Has that guy died…!? Fuck…!)

Yoshiharu felt a heart-shattering pain clutching at his chest. But even so, if the commander sheds tears at such a critical period, morale would definitely fall, so Yoshiharu tried his best to give a bitter smile to the rest of the members of his corps.

In the darkness of the night, they came to a crossroads.

「Everyone, we need to go into the mountains, bypassing Echizen, and head towards Wakasa! 」

Hanzo, who had climbed onto a mountain cliff, grumbled.

Right after this, Yoshiharu and his comrades started climbing the mountain. Not a single soldier was uninjured at this point.

Constantly getting spotted by the enemy, hearing 「Ah, that’s the enemy’s commander! 」 and being sniped, Yoshiharu’s face and forehead were smeared with blood. His own blood and the enemy’s blood had mixed together, and Yoshiharu himself did not know where the initial wound even was anymore.

His stomach was empty, and his throat felt incredibly parched. But his eyes were still sharp, and he was showing not a sign of giving up.

「Everyone, can you all still run? 」

「No problem! 」

「I still feel energetic, no problem! 」

「When we feel terrible, we can just think of Nobuna-sama’s smile and our courage will be boosted a hundred times! We’re still full of indomitable spirit! 」

「Alright then! If we run to Wakasa, the enemy won’t be able to chase us anymore. Just a little more and we will be there! 」

「Ohhhh~! 」

The bloodied suicide squad was still in good spirits, but at this moment…

「Not good, Sagara. It seems that the situation has taken a turn for the worse! 」

Zenki whispered, his normally bored and lazy face wearing a serious frown.

「What is it, Zenki? 」

「Wakasa’s Tsuchimikado clan seems to be standing on Asakura clan’s side. 」

「Tsuchimikado clan? Who are they? 」

「…The leaders of Japanese Onmyouji. In the past, the head of the clan bore the name of Abe, though now he is known as Tsuchimikado. He fled the chaotic Kyoto and retired in Wakasa. 」

「Maybe he is the descendant of the super Onmyouji from the Heian era, Abe no Seimei? …I was wondering why I didn’t see him in Kyoto. So he was actually at Wakasa! 」

Yoshiharu said with a sigh.

「Whoever you think this Tsuchimikado to be, he seems to want your head and has opened up a barrier while waiting for us! 」

「Ah, a barrier? 」

(But there’s just darkness in front of me… )

Yoshiharu squinted and looked forward. In the dark night, the scene was just as it had looked before, just uncountable mountain peaks. Hanzo then added:「It’s a little different from the barriers set by ninjas. 」while shaking his head.

But Zenki only bared his teeth, his eyes emitting a golden glow as he looked at the barrier emitting a mysterious light invisible to ordinary people.

「Hmph. The barrier will be upon us once we close in and head towards it. 」

Across Zenki’s white forehead was a streak of sweat.

Here he was. Onmyoji Tsuchimikado. Not using his own body. Not bound by gravity. Supported by a power that can’t be seen. Floating slowly from the mountain.

「Are you Tsuchimikado? 」

「Yes, I’m the head of the Tsuchimikado clan, Tsuchimikado Hisanaga. We should return to Kyoto now, but before I arrive, shouldn’t I prepare some gifts for Kyo’s new masters, Azai-kun and Asakura-kun? Tonight, right here, we’ve decided to take the head of this Oda clan’s Monkey! 」