Battle of Yamatai (2)
Kin'emon himself is quite strong. He has not only reached the level of a swordsman who can cut through iron, but he is also the founder of the Foxfire Style. He can imbue his sword with fire and cut through invisible flames. Although he is not yet famous in Wano Country, his reputation has spread widely among the samurai.
"You may leave now."
Kin'emon waved away the wounded red-armored samurai beside him, then looked at the three men before him. "I have long admired the nine sons of the Daimyo Asakura, all of whom possess exceptional swordsmanship. Today, I shall experience the swordsmanship of my three lords!"
"Asakura Saburo..."
"Asakura Rokuro..."
"Asakura Shichiro..."
The three spoke in unison, their voices low and tinged with displeasure, "Please enlighten us!"
These three men are the three sons of the Daimyo Asakura. Enraged by the murder of their beloved younger brother, they all went into battle to avenge him. Just as they were about to kill their enemy, Kin'emon interfered, causing them to feel a surge of anger.
Although they were wary of the Foxfire Style, which was widely known in Wano Country, the three of them were unwilling to lose face for their father in front of the two armies. Taking advantage of their momentum, they launched a joint attack on Kin'emon!
Two drumbeats suddenly blared, and the four men instantly engaged in battle, their swords flashing and clashing across the battlefield.
"This is the first time I've seen this kind of war..."
Hawkins stood beside Buggy, looking down at him. "Should we lend a hand?"
"Our assistance should be used where it is more valuable. In the current situation, Kozuki Oden is capable of handling it," Buggy said calmly. "Of the eight opposing factions, only one has deployed an army so far. That means they have only used less than one-eighth of their strength. It is too early to intervene now. There will be opportunities for us to help later."
As he spoke, Bucky turned to look at Weevil, who was idly counting cicadas. Buggy didn't intend to let him go yet. Weevil's personality was too volatile and he was very easily angered. If he were hit by a stray arrow on the battlefield, he might get enraged and indiscriminately injure friendly forces, which would only make things worse. It was better to keep him by his side for now so that he could keep him in check.
"Win rate... Failure rate... Escape rate..."
After listening to Buggy's words, Hawkins calmly sat down, laid out the tarot cards, and began to calculate the situation of both sides on the battlefield.
Looking at the battlefield again, Kin'emon was surrounded by three people, but his rhythm of attack and defense was not disrupted at all. He twisted his katana and slashed forward with great efficiency, about to hit one of them in the abdomen!
The other two were startled by the sight and quickly changed their moves, thrusting their swords straight at Kin'emon at top speed, forcing him to parry and thus relieving Asakura Saburo from the attack.
Kin'emon's move was a feint; his real purpose was to break the defenses of the other two. His horizontal slashing sword suddenly retracted, and he sliced through the three wide-open defenses with even greater speed!
"Foxfire Style: Wind Willow!"
With a flash of light, the three katana were severed in two. The three men collapsed to the ground, blood oozing from their chests along with flames, unable to rise.
"Excuse me," Kin'emon sheathed his katana, glanced at the three men who had lost their fighting ability, and then shouted, "The enemy generals Asakura Saburo, Asakura Rokuro, and Asakura Shichiro have been defeated by me!"
The sound echoed between the two armies, and the soldiers of the Asakura army looked surprised, and their morale began to decline.
In a normal battle, the Kozuki Army, with its high morale, would have already launched a full-scale attack and established a suppressive force. However, Kozuki Oden was facing eight daimyo, and this was only one of them. Even if the entire army launched a full-scale attack now, it would not gain any advantage under the pincer movement of the eight enemy armies.
Meanwhile, the Daimyo Asakura was caught in a dilemma. His son had been defeated by Kin'emon, the morale of his entire army was low, and an attack seemed pointless. Retreating would not only make him a laughingstock among the other daimyo, but also leave his three sons in enemy hands...
He was initially itching to take action himself, but after glancing back at the center of the other seven armies, he held back.
As a commander, if he were to charge into battle, he would only lose face. Moreover, if he were to win, that would be fine, but if he lost, the reputation accumulated by generations of the Asakura clan would be destroyed in his hands.
The Daimyo Asakura was both distressed and heartbroken. He only regretted that his eldest son, Asakura Ichiro, the strongest among the samurai, had not come. Even if his eldest son had not come, his fifth son, who had the highest combat talent, would surely have been able to stop the foxfire Kin'emon, whose reputation was widely known among the samurai.
At that very moment, the retreat signal sounded in the Genji camp. Daimyo Asakura watched as his three fallen sons were taken away by the Kozuki Army soldiers. His brows furrowed tightly, but he finally relaxed, swallowed his anger, and used the retreat signal as a pretext to lead his troops in an orderly retreat, preventing the Kozuki Army from taking advantage of the situation.
"The outcome is decided." Hawkins put away the tarot cards and said calmly, "The real battle is about to begin."
"Let's go down, maybe a military meeting will be held." Buggy jumped down into the open space below.
The Daimyo Asakura led his troops back to their camp and immediately sent someone to his territory to summon Asakura Ichiro. He then went to the main camp.
He lifted the curtain and saw that Genji and the other seven daimyo were already seated. He then stepped forward and took his seat.
Genji had a handsome face with a thick beard, fair skin, and a rugged physique. He sat half-reclined on the central seat, ate a grape peeled by a maid, then pushed it aside. His lazy gaze swept over the eight daimyo. "That old turtle, Kozuki Oden, has finally agreed to fight. It's time for you to show your skills."
The eight daimyo sitting on either side looked at each other. Their territories were all granted by the Genji. Although they did not interfere with each other, there were differences in size and their territories were adjacent to each other, which sometimes led to minor conflicts. Each of them had a different personality, so they were all preoccupied with their own thoughts at this moment.
Daimyo Asakura was still immersed in the pain of losing his son, and silently looked at the several daimyo whose territories bordered his and with whom he had vested interests.
Yamamoto, one of the eight daimyo, spoke first, "Since none of you will compete with me, then I will claim the greatest credit for defeating the Kozuki Army."
Having said that, he immediately instructed his attendant, "Pass on my order: send Yamamoto Masanobu into battle." Only after his attendant had rushed out of the tent did he explain to the other daimyo, "Masanobu is one of my most capable men. Although he is of foot soldier origin, he is exceptionally brave and skilled in battle, wielding a pair of finely crafted iron swords. Even if hundreds of elite warriors charged at him, they would only become his victims. He will surely return victorious from this duel."
Among the many daimyo, Yamamoto's overall strength was only at the bottom, but because of this, he was the most motivated, hoping to gain more merit and receive rewards from the Genji, thus changing the ranking of the daimyo's strength.
Seeing that Yamamoto had seized the initiative, some of the other daimyo secretly sneered, some regretted missing their chance, and some were deep in thought, while Yamamoto confidently awaited the news of victory.
Not long after, a messenger came to report.
"Report! Yamamoto Masanobu has been defeated and killed!"