"Good!"
A sharp smile tugged at Dongfang Mao's lips as he jabbed a finger onto the spread-out terrain map.
"I'll lead the elite cavalry in an attack from the right flank."
His fingertip slid across the map.
"Yasuke, take your men around their left flank."
Then he turned his finger toward the rear of the map.
"Kyuzo, circle behind the enemy and cut off the Rice Field Army's retreat!"
"Yes, sir!"
The night breeze was cool as Tsukimiura's south gate slowly opened beneath the moonlight.
Dongfang Mao, Yasuke, and the others led their horses out in single file.
The moment they passed through the gate, the thick stench of rotting corpses hit them.
The bodies the Rice Field Army had left outside the walls during the day had yet to be cleared away.
Dongfang Mao frowned. Whatever the outcome of this battle, he would have the battlefield cleaned as soon as they returned. Leave it too long, and disease might break out.
Under cover of darkness, they moved quietly to a slope two li from the Rice Field Army's camp.
From their vantage point, the camp lay deathly still. Only the bonfires around its perimeter flickered in the dark.
The soldiers patrolling the outskirts looked listless, trudging mechanically along their routes without a trace of vigilance or fighting spirit.
Dongfang Mao studied the distant camp and nodded to himself. This was exactly what he had hoped to see.
"Everyone, listen up."
He kept his voice low.
"Armor on. Mount up."
Behind him, the troops moved swiftly and in silence, their armor clinking sharply in the night.
Dongfang Mao gave one final warning in a low voice.
"Once we break into the camp, hold formation. No one breaks off on his own. If you encounter ninja, form up and defend immediately!"
The soldiers nodded without a word and tightened their grips on their weapons, resolve shining in their eyes.
The column crept onward through the dark. When they came within half a li of the camp, Dongfang Mao suddenly reined in his horse and dismounted.
He brought his hands together. His long black hair whipped about as Chakra surged through him.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"
With a low shout, Dongfang Mao poured in more than half his Chakra and spat out over a dozen blazing fireballs in quick succession.
They tore across the night sky like meteors and slammed into the Rice Field Army's camp, setting the tents ablaze.
Agonized screams erupted from the tents. Soldiers engulfed in flames rolled frantically across the ground, their contorted faces ghastly in the firelight.
Those who had escaped the fireballs stumbled toward the main camp in terror, screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Enemy attack! The rebels are attacking at night!"
A cold glint flashed in Dongfang Mao's eyes. His long blade swept through the air in a silver arc.
"New Martial Army, follow me! Trample their camp into the ground!"
He did not mount his horse. With his current skill in Taijutsu, it would only slow him down.
He gathered Chakra beneath his feet. His figure flickered like a phantom, and in moments he had plunged deep into the enemy camp.
"Kill!"
Behind him, the three hundred armored riders roared as one. Horses whinnied, and the New Martial Army surged toward the blazing camp like a flood.
The few hundred meters vanished in an instant. The cavalry charged straight up to the camp gate.
Horses screamed as heavy iron hooves smashed through the wooden palisade. Cold flashes of steel gleamed amid the raging flames.
Every silver flash sent blood spraying through the air in a grisly arc lit by fire.
The cries of battle outside, the clash of steel, and the Rice Field Army soldiers' shrieks jolted Kojiro awake inside the main tent.
Just then, a guard threw open the tent flap and rushed in, panic-stricken.
"General! The rebels are attacking at night! They've broken in from both east and west and are closing in on the main tent!"
Kojiro stared at him in disbelief, as if struck by lightning. Hadn't he sent ninja to assassinate the rebel leader?
Instead of good news, he had received word that the rebels had broken into his camp.
A bone-deep chill shot up his spine.
Even he understood that, with morale as low as it had been today, the surprise attack must have thrown the entire army into chaos.
By now, weren't his soldiers little more than pigs waiting for slaughter?
"Quick! Gather whoever's left! The whole army retreats!"
Kojiro screamed the order, his voice shaking with unprecedented panic.
He no longer cared about failing to suppress the rebellion, much less the Daimyo's towering rage. Staying alive came first!
Before he had even finished speaking, a burst of flame blew the tent apart.
Several armored riders charged through the flying embers and surrounded him, their armor gleaming coldly in the firelight.
Then a figure in heavy black armor stepped slowly out from among the cavalry.
Long black hair whipped in the hot wind. His handsome face was set with a killing intent that chilled Kojiro to the bone.
The reek of blood around him seemed almost tangible. Every step felt as though it landed on Kojiro's heart.
Under that suffocating pressure, Kojiro's knees buckled, and he dropped heavily to the ground.
Dongfang Mao lowered his gaze to Kojiro, who knelt before him.
"You're the commander of the force the Land of Rice Fields sent to suppress the rebellion?"
"Y-yes..."
Kojiro's Adam's apple bobbed as he forced the words through his dry throat.
"Y-yes..."
His voice was barely a whisper. He pressed his forehead to the cold ground, not daring to meet the gaze above him.
Beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks, glistening in the firelight.
Dongfang Mao suddenly threw back his head and laughed, his mockery undisguised.
"Hah! The Land of Rice Fields is truly blessed to have such a 'fine general'!"
Kojiro flushed with shame and anger, but he dared not protest. He could only bite down hard on his lower lip.
"Tie him up."
Dongfang Mao could not be bothered to look at the useless general again. He waved a hand dismissively.
His guards pounced on Kojiro and, in moments, had him bound hand and foot.
Soon, an officer hurried over with a delighted expression and saluted.
"My lord, we've finished the count. We captured more than 18,000 soldiers and 53,000 support troops, along with over 3.4 million jin of grain, more than 40,000 weapons, 20,000 bows and crossbows, and 9,000 suits of armor!"
"Excellent! Excellent!"
Dongfang Mao clapped and laughed. It hardly felt as though the Land of Rice Fields had come to suppress his rebellion. It was as if they had seen how hard he had been pushing his army lately, worried he might not be able to keep it up, and come to deliver supplies!
But as his excitement subsided, he realized the raid had gone almost too smoothly. He turned to Kojiro and asked curiously,
"Didn't the Daimyo send any ninja to help you on this campaign?"
"Well..."
Kojiro's eyes darted away, and fine beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Dongfang Mao gave a nearby guard a look.
The soldier understood at once and ground his boot down on Kojiro's hand. Bone cracked with a sickening crunch.
"Ah! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Pain twisted Kojiro's face.
Then Dongfang Mao learned from him that ten ninja had been sent into Tsukimiura to assassinate him.
His pupils contracted, and his face darkened at once.
He spun around and shouted,
"Entire army, listen up! Return to the city at once!"
Urgency gripped him. He could not imagine how much damage ten ninja might do inside Tsukimiura!
Before you continue