Do not let Takeda Shingen escape!

Hearing his elder brother sigh beside him, Takeda Nobushige no longer had the strength to offer any advice.

Their most pressing task now was to bring back as much as possible of the army they had painstakingly built!

Otherwise, by this time tomorrow, they might find themselves dancing a whirling dance before the sighing warriors!

With that thought, Takeda Nobushige grabbed a warhorse in desperation, without knowing whose it was.

He immediately had his men help him hoist Takeda Shingen into the saddle.

But perhaps because he felt safe for the moment, Takeda Shingen, who was still a show-off at heart-

Who knew what went through his head? He suddenly called out.

"The warriors at the front are still fighting! As their commander, how could I flee alone?"

"Attendants, are you trying to ruin me?"

This was, after all, a man capable of taking on Uesugi Kenshin in single combat with a command fan-yes, a fan.

His mind certainly worked in peculiar ways.

"Uh."

Hearing this, Takeda Nobushige once again felt utterly drained.

So the man shouting from the command platform just now about using our ally Uesugi Norimasa's troops as a rear guard wasn't you, then?

For the sake of his reputation, and to salvage a little of it after being reduced to someone else's stepping stone-

His elder brother really had no shame.

But faced with Takeda Shingen, who was still putting on an act even though one foot was already halfway into the stirrup-

What could Nobushige do as his younger brother?

He quoted a line from the storybooks that had come over from Tōdai, seeing his good deed through to the bitter end.

He also wanted to polish his own reputation a little.

"My lord, leave at once! The realm can do without me, Takeda Nobushige, but it cannot do without you!"

Takeda Nobushige shouted his own name especially loudly, while discreetly leaving his elder brother's name unspoken.

"Uh."

Now it was Takeda Shingen's turn to be speechless as he stared at his brother's display of unswerving loyalty.

Finally seated on his horse, he felt as though he had swallowed a mouthful of shit.

What neither of them expected, however, was that during those brief moments spent trying to boost their reputations-

Hojo Akitoshi, leading his surprise attack force on a horse as swift as the legendary Dilu, had cut straight through the camp.

He was already close to Takeda Shingen's command position.

Spotting the man in red armor and an outrageously ostentatious helmet from afar, Hojo Akitoshi pointed his spear at Takeda Shingen.

"The man in the red helmet is Takeda Shingen! One Copper Coin to whoever takes his head!"

The reward was certainly paltry. This was the renowned Tiger of Kai, after all.

But everyone who heard it understood that Hojo Akitoshi was insulting Takeda Shingen.

It was another way to raise his own army's morale while crushing the enemy's.

With a roar in answer to their lord, the Hojo Army urged their horses even faster.

Meanwhile, as the man being pursued, Takeda Shingen no longer had time to take issue with his younger brother.

In a flash, he snatched off the helmet painstakingly crafted by the Helmet Immortal-

The helmet he normally treasured and that always drew countless admiring eyes-and flung it away.

Then he flattened himself against his horse's back and desperately lashed its rump.

"Hahaha! The bareheaded man in red armor is Takeda Shingen!"

Laughing at the tiger's disheveled flight, Hojo Akitoshi loudly called out another identifying feature.

Needless to say, what happened next?

Takeda Shingen truly lived up to his title of tiger. All alone on the jolting horse, he unfastened-

The armor that normally took several people to help him put on.

"The man in the plain white robe is Takeda Shingen!"

That hateful voice rang out again, making Takeda Shingen grit his teeth. This time, he stared at the single garment he had left.

He was just about to console himself again with something about Heaven imposing hardships upon those destined for greatness, telling himself that even fleeing bare-assed-

Was fine as long as he escaped alive.

Then his savior suddenly appeared!

"Do not panic, my lord! Sanada Yukitaka is here! Let me hold off your pursuers!"

A rider burst out of the sea of flames. Clad in the Takeda Army's signature red armor, the man spurred his horse onward.

Without hesitation, he charged toward the terrifyingly imposing Hojo Akitoshi.

"Yukitaka!"

Looking back at this officer who obeyed him so faithfully and whom he held in such high regard-

This man who had left his former lord to join him of his own accord-Takeda Shingen clutched his reins, his eyes misting with tears.

It would have been even better if he had stopped his horse for a moment to show a little reluctance to leave.

Though his cry was heartfelt, Takeda Shingen was ultimately a man destined for great things. His horse did not slow in the slightest.

"Oh?"

Interest flickered across his face. Takeda Shingen might currently regard Sanada Yukitaka as merely a capable warrior.

And Sanada Yukitaka's name was relatively unfamiliar to people from Tōdai in later generations.

But mention Sanada Yukimura, and many would surely show a flash of recognition.

That was right: Sanada Yukitaka was Sanada Yukimura's grandfather.

One of the Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda, he was the Attack Danjo of the Three Danjo, and the lord of Toishi Castle.

He was a talented warrior in his own right, as well as the true founder of the Sanada clan.

So, driven by his interest in collecting famous generals-and the prospect of getting several more thrown in for free-Hojo Akitoshi watched Sanada Yukitaka charge at him, sword swinging.

Hojo Akitoshi readied himself and waited for his opponent's blade to descend.

With a light tap against his horse's belly, Hojo Akitoshi used his expert horsemanship to evade the nearly suicidal attack.

"Get down!"

Then a thunderous roar erupted as he turned toward the enemy riding past him.

Sanada Yukitaka was dazed for an instant. By the time he recovered, an immense force had already knocked him from his horse.

Staring blankly at the butt of the spear Hojo Akitoshi was drawing back, Sanada Yukitaka bitterly recognized the gulf between them.

I couldn't even last a single exchange. He truly is a heroic lord without equal in this age of war!

His eyes immediately shifted. The Nagano clan, which had once taken Sanada Yukitaka in, had been enemies of the Takeda clan.

Even then, he had managed to find an excuse to join the Takeda clan, who were theoretically his enemies.

Why should now be any different?

With his remarkably flexible moral standards, Sanada Yukitaka shouted.

"Lord Hojo Akitoshi, your fame truly resounds throughout the realm! You are indeed the Kirin of Sagami!"

"Today, for me, Sanada Yukitaka, to-

"Die beneath your spear would be an honor, even in death!"

"My only regret is that my dream of restoring the Sanada clan must end here!"

"What a lamentable shame!"

"Heh."

Hojo Akitoshi had his own keen understanding of human nature, and he knew something of Sanada Yukitaka's life.

As soon as he heard those words, he understood exactly what the man was plotting.

Nor was Hojo Akitoshi the only one who noticed. Sanada Yukitaka's scheming was so blatant that he might as well have shoved it in everyone's face.

Arriving behind him, Akechi Mitsuhide immediately flicked his blade. But when he saw Hojo Akitoshi ride away without a word to resume his pursuit of Takeda Shingen-

He ultimately refrained from cutting Sanada Yukitaka's head off.

"Tie up this enemy officer."

Giving the order to the cavalrymen who had followed him, Akechi Mitsuhide hurried after his lord.

"Whew."

Watching the main body of the Hojo Army's surprise attack force depart, Sanada Yukitaka let out a long breath.

He knew his life was safe. Looking at the Hojo Army soldiers preparing to dismount and bind him-

Sanada Yukitaka spoke politely.

"There is no need to trouble yourselves, gentlemen. As a warrior, I was defeated by Lord Hojo Akitoshi himself."

"I would never dishonor the warrior's code by fleeing in such a disgraceful manner."

"I shall sit right here and await Lord Hojo Akitoshi's judgment upon his victorious return."

He did exactly as he said.

Under the eyes of the two Hojo Army cavalrymen, Sanada Yukitaka removed his arms and armor, then sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed.

Seeing his conduct, the two unsuspecting cavalrymen exchanged looks.

Then they recalled how he had deliberately raised his voice earlier to emphasize that their lord had defeated him personally.

A little admiration actually stirred in them, and they let Sanada Yukitaka remain seated there.

They truly made no further attempt to bind him.

Meanwhile, having already put Sanada Yukitaka out of his mind, Hojo Akitoshi led his cavalry in relentless pursuit of the fleeing Takeda Shingen.

It was not as though his opponents had never considered mounting a defense. As more and more Takeda Army soldiers gathered around them-

Both Shingen and Nobushige organized successive forces to launch counterattacks.

But every counterattack was shattered by Hojo Akitoshi's spear.

After that, they thought of nothing but escape.

They raced with all their might toward their sworn enemy, Uesugi Kenshin.