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Volume 4 Chapter 2 Part 5

「W-Wait! I understand that it is very disadvantageous for us if we gave up the protection of Kyoto and get trapped here, but why has Mount Hiei become our enemy!? Did we do something to provoke it to turning against us?! 」

「I am not sure. The timing that the Azai and Asakura clans allied with each other is just too perfect, and the betrayal of Azai Hisamasa was not noticed even by his own son, Nagamasa-sama. I’m afraid that someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes… 」

As the Oda clan had lost their target, they pitched camp at Sakamoto. Before, it was the Oda clan retreating from Kanegasaki, but now it was the allied forces escaping into Mount Hiei.

The Oda army, previously supported by their mindset of vengeance, had reached their limits. The soldiers were all exhausted, both physically and mentally.

But, at that moment, there was yet another unexpected event that occurred.

「Wahahaha! I’m a priest from Mount Hiei, Shokakuin Gosei-sama! Thinking of lofty ideals such as Tenka Fubu when you are all women, let me teach you gals a lesson that you will never forget! 」

From the forests of Mount Hiei, suddenly and without notice, there were a lot of monks coming to attack them. Their heavily built leader was waving an iron rod in his hands without stopping.

The Oda clan’s army who was pitching camp was caught unaware and was subsequently plunged into confusion.

「Katsuie-dono, now is the time to display your courage! 」

「I understand! Let’s battle it out! To Shokakuin! 」

Shibata Katsuie rode into the enemy’s formation single handedly, knocking away masses of monks as she rushed towards Shoukakuin.

Even the monks of Mount Hiei seemed unable to stop the invincible Shibata Katsuie as she shouted:「Where have we offended you guys in the past? I will now accept the heads of you monks as penance, so eat this! Ultimate Skill: Vases-breaking Slash! 」

The aides who followed closely behind her threw a huge vase at Katsuie. Katsuie swung her long spear and hit the vase, and with a loud shattering sound the broken pieces of the vase shot out in every direction around her.

「Ahh! 」

「Uwahh! 」

「Hmm, you’re a capable lass, I’ll give you that much! 」

The monks who were hit on their heads or bodies with the broken vase fell down one by one while Katsuie kept opening up a bloody path towards Shoukakuin’s commander. As expected from Oda clan’s strongest warrior, the invincible Shibata Katsuie. This was actually the first time that skill had been used in battle, but whether due to her great experience and practice beforehand or the fury that Katsuie was feeling right now, the effect of this skill was remarkable.

「Enough! Shokakuin, have a fair fight with me! 」

「Hmph, to fight with an unclean female warrior like you, I will get punished by the great Buddha for such a travesty. But since you had come all this way, let me play along with you, Uwahahahaha! 」

Shoukakuin Gosei waved the iron rod in his hand and rushed towards Katsuie. The spear and rod collided multiple times. Though in terms of strength Shokakuin Gosei held the advantage, Katsuie, who was on horseback to augment her remarkable spear skills, overwhelmed her opponent as she gradually closed in on him.

「Ahhhhh~! I’m the Oda clan’s Shibata the Demon ! Shokakuin, prepare youself! 」

「What is this strength, you, don’t tell me you’re actually a man? With such power, you must be a man! 」

「Eh!? Why would you say something so rude?! 」

「We can win~! As expected from Katsuie-sama who is stronger than even men! 」

At first, the soldiers who were shattered by the ambush had lost their courage, but after witnessing Katsuie’s battle, their morale had returned.

「Uhh, haha, my true mission is the protection of Mount Hiei. I won’t play with you anymore, lass, so let’s end it here for today. 」

Shokakuin Gosei turned his back to Katsuie, gathered the remaining monks and retreated. Though defeated, they were not confused. As expected from the monks at Mount Hiei.

But Katsuie had fallen into a frenzy.

「Wait! The duel had just begun and you are running already!? YOU COWARD! 」

「Wahahaha! If you can’t take it, try and chase us down! But if you enter the holy Mount Hiei and begin battling with us monks, it won’t be enough with just you female generals! 」

「Damn it! All forces, chase that bastard monk and attack Mount Hiei! 」

Katsuie responded, provoked by Gosei. She tried to swing her spear at him and pursue him, but Nagahide stopped her.

「Wa…Wait, Katsuie-dono! Mount Hiei is a famous mountain that protects Kyoto’s Gate of Demons! The main temple worships the ‘Holy Flame’ that has not been extinguished since the temple was built there. People believe that if the fires of the ‘Holy Flame’ are extinguished, the spiritual power responsible for the sealing of the Gate of Demons will disappear and Kyoto will be besieged with disasters! It is bad if we just attacked like this! On top of that, Mount Hiei is a holy mountain that prohibits females from entering its premises, so forget about attacking it! We won’t even be allowed to go anywhere near it just because we’re women! 」

「Eh~!? They prohibit females from entering the mountain’s premises? Why is that? 」

「Their reasons originate from religious teachings, and also, there are scholars who think there are ancient rules that have existed long before Buddhism came about that stated that women shouldn’t be allowed to come anywhere near the holy places. 」

「So as to say, I can’t attack our enemies on Mount Hiei… and I can’t call off our siege of Mount Hiei as well?! 」

「Yes, with the situation being the way it is now, we cannot make any move whatsoever. 2 points. 」

「Ohhhhh! Shokakuin, you bastard! You ask for it yourself, yet you don’t dare to battle it out fairly in a duel, running into a safe place that prohibits females from entering instead?! Just… Just what kind of a bastard are you!? 」

Katsuie and Nagahide stood and watched at the foot of Mount Hiei in a daze, worrying in their hearts about the gradually darkening fate of the Oda clan .

At that time, Oda Nobuna, who was unconscious at Honno-ji, had yet to wake up.

* * *

Mount Hiei, main temple’s hall.

There were 3 men sitting in front of the 「Holy Flame」.

「….I didn’t think that we would begin our battle with a turtle style, or that Oda Nobuna would still be alive. According to our plan, shouldn’t we have won already? 」

Hisamasa, inexperienced as he was in wars, had already turned pale.

「Is it really okay to betray the Oda clan like that? it will be all over if we are defeated by their army. 」

He was still plagued with unease about how things turned out.

In complete contrast to the panicking Hisamasa was a tall man sitting calmly while sipping his tea. His black hair wasn’t tied up, but was instead at his back. This man seemed around 30 years old. Though he was very tall, his build wasn’t particularly muscular. Rather, he looked well-seasoned, evoking the imagery of a wild cat that was about to pounce on their prey. At the same time, though he was on the battlefield, that man was wearing elegant clothes worn by Kyoto nobles.

「Hisamasa, the more we drag this out, the more advantageous it will be for us. A battle full of blood is hideous, and I despise letting female warriors bleed. A beautiful fight that could be used to boast to the world should be one that is won not through waving swords and shedding blood… so all we need to do is to relax and wait for the Oda clan to be destroyed themselves. 」

This man has a mix of elegance with a beautiful voice. He was the Daimyo of the Echizen province named Asakura Yoshikage, the 11th head of the esteemed Asakura clan.

Different from Asai Nagamasa who cross-dressed as a male, Asakura Yoshikage wasn’t a beautiful type. Both his heart and body were 100% manly, but he had extreme interests, and an extremely frivolous character.

Because he was crazy about Kyoto’s culture, he renamed Echizen’s capital, 「Ichijodani」 to 「Little Kyoto」. The city’s building style totally imitated Kyoto, and at the same time Yoshikage always carried a copy of the book titled 「Genji Monogatari」with him.

Asakura Yoshikage’s interest in 「Genji 」 wasn’t just limited to books though. The residence he lived in was build exactly like Hikaru Genji’s annex house in the story.