"The Great Chieftain has given an order! The other side has been confirmed—they're a trading party! Front ranks, lower your weapons! Vanguard guards, withdraw beneath the ships and rest!... Oh, right! The Great Chieftain says the Ainu tribes are to fall back half a li first, then sit down and rest for a while. Their formation has completely fallen apart. The head warriors need to give them a proper lesson! Still, they're already much better than last time..."
"Elder Kudo orders! Yabusame, dismount and refit! Spear warriors, rest where you are!..."
The two armies kept a safe distance and faced each other for a long time. Seeing that a fight truly would not break out, both sides lowered their weapons. Facing off before a battle consumed a great deal of strength, and doing it in armor was even worse. It was just that both sides were still wary right now, so there was no way they would let their soldiers remove their armor. Meanwhile, envoys were constantly moving back and forth on both sides of the river, increasing the communication and mutual trust between the leaders.
"Blessings of Hachiman Great Bodhisattva! That group of heavy-armored Sanda warriors has finally withdrawn! Those thirty men put more pressure on me than three hundred Ando Banner Guards! They were simply as terrifying as packs of Ghost Samurai in the illustrated legends! Eek! Sanda Ghost Samurai..."
Elder Kudo sat on his horse, and his back could finally relax. His wary gaze kept chasing that group of heavy-armored archers on the hillside, all the way to the galley fleet farther behind them. He was certain that this was a newly revealed squad of heavy-armored warriors from the Sanda Great Chieftain!
Each of them was as tall and massive as an iron tower. They had never