Chapter 128
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Fifty Years in the Human World (5)
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"What?"
Oda Nobunaga led the way as Baek Il-yeong and Mori Yoshinari entered Jenshoji Fortress. Right after, she and her companions received some grim news.
It was none other than—
"He asked us to tell you it was an unavoidable choice to buy as much time as possible."
Those were the final words of the fortress's lord, an old vassal whose body had aged but who, unlike the others, hadn't been weeded out and still firmly belonged to Nobunaga's faction.
Nobunaga hadn't yet gathered all of Owari Province's forces, so she needed time.
Thus, the old vassal's decision had been straightforward: he would buy her that time.
"He took three hundred ashigaru and went out to intercept them? What a reckless..."
Nobunaga muttered under her breath, and Mori Yoshinari opened her mouth as if to ask if they should go rescue him.
But Il-yeong was different.
'Did he deliberately leave the samurai behind?'
With Washizu Castle and Marune Castle fallen to the enemy, Jenshoji Fortress wouldn't hold out long if they really wanted to take it.
His gaze swept over the fortress.
Everything was worn and crumbling.
It might have been livable enough, but it was woefully inadequate against the massive armies of Matsudaira and Imagawa bearing down on them.
Having taken it all in, Il-yeong spoke to Nobunaga, who seemed to have grasped the situation just as quickly.
"Clan Lord."
"...Hah. Right."
She wasn't a fool; she could easily read the vassal's intentions in charging toward the battlefield.
Did he really think that was the only way?
...Tch, what an idiot.
Feeling a bitter taste in her mouth for no reason, she swiftly mounted her horse and shouted to the samurai and ashigaru remaining in the fortress.
"Abandon Jenshoji Fortress! We're falling back to Nakajima Fortress! I mean the fortress itself—empty it completely!"
—Yes!
A resounding response echoed back.
Not only the ashigaru and samurai already in the fortress but also the samurai who had followed Mori Yoshinari quickly helped evacuate it.
Finally, even the last civilians joined the evacuation procession. Nobunaga, Il-yeong, and Mori Yoshinari exchanged glances and mounted their horses in unison.
—Hiiing!
The horses' mighty neighs rang in their ears.
Without a word, they gripped the reins and spurred their mounts forward.
Their goal: Nakajima Fortress.
Il-yeong mulled it over, then shifted his gaze beyond Jenshoji Fortress to the unknown souls fighting desperately there. He prayed for their souls and made a silent plea.
'Please.'
Take down even one more enemy.
"Die!"
"Gahk!"
The tip of a katana thrust at an angle pierced through the layered samurai armor, stabbing into fragile human flesh.
—Splash!
Blood slid down the blade's groove.
"Cough!"
Perhaps because it had pierced his lung at an angle? Blood mixed with his coughs as he glared wide-eyed before finally dropping to his knees.
"...Hah, hah."
The surviving samurai let out a sigh of relief, staring blankly at the dying man.
In a split second, life and death parted ways.
In that terrifying truth, the only way to stay sane was to surrender to the madness of the battlefield. As he thought that and reached for his katana with his bandage-wrapped hand—
—Puk!
"Die, you bastard!"
"Kuhk!"
An ashigaru's spear tip shattered his shinbone precisely, and a hulking samurai who saw it veered his path and charged straight at him.
I don't want to die.
I want to live.
Not here. Not like this.
I have to block—
His mind raced through countless possibilities in an instant, but unfortunately, his aged body couldn't keep up with his desperation.
"Ah."
A dying murmur escaped his lips.
His vision spun.
'So that's it.'
He blinked, watching his sense of reality fade and his body tilt uselessly. Finally accepting it, he closed his eyes.
And right after.
—Roll.
The severed head tumbled across the ground, and from that moment, the stagnant battlefield atmosphere shifted dramatically.
"We killed the enemy commander—!"
The samurai—no, the one who had beheaded Jenshoji Fortress's lord—roared triumphantly. With that as the trigger, the three hundred troops he had brought melted away like sugar in water.
Naturally, the news raced straight to Imagawa Yoshimoto, Matsudaira Motoyasu, and Oda Nobunaga.
"Hahaha! Nothing—not even oni or yaksha—can stand against my spear tip!"
Imagawa Yoshimoto laughed in satisfaction, tilting his sake cup, while Matsudaira Motoyasu simply nodded and massaged his numb foot.
And Oda Nobunaga...
"How many in total?"
"Just shy of three thousand, Clan Lord."
It was a hastily assembled force.
Thus, Il-yeong and most of the vassals and samurai could instantly tell morale was in shambles.
Wasn't it obvious?
The samurai at least had some justification.
Loyalty to their lord or grand rewards for victory in battle. Since wielding the sword was their profession, they didn't fear the coming fight.
'But the ashigaru are different.'
At least half were farmers dragged in. Who would welcome being handed a spear overnight and told to harvest enemy heads instead of rice?
But there were countermeasures.
Il-yeong shifted his gaze to the left flank of the army, where a group of about four hundred and some stood out with their own discipline and distinct aura.
They were none other than the ashigaru Oda Nobunaga had personally trained as professional soldiers.
'They played a big role in the original history too.'
Comparable to samurai in combat power, they were the reliable backbone.
Just then, lost in thought, Il-yeong realized Nobunaga had ascended a hill overlooking the troops gathered at the fortress.
"The enemy used their provisions this evening and marched through the night to Otaka Castle, fighting fierce battles at Washizu and Marune Fortresses—now their arms and legs are weary!"
Mounted on her horse, she declared boldly.
Her voice cut through the chaotic murmur of the troops, drawing all eyes.
"But we're fresh and ready—aren't we?!"
Her signature black bob shimmered like silk.
Golden eyes flashed.
Red lips parted and closed like sweet fruit awaiting the bite.
"Don't fear a larger army! Victory depends on heaven's will! Flee when they attack, strike when they flee! Topple the enemy! Forget the spoils—aim for something greater!"
—Shing!
She finally drew her katana.
A clear, well-maintained metallic ring brushed their ears. Then, raising the blade high toward the entranced crowd staring at her, she shouted.
"If we win this day—in this great battle—drive these invading vermin from our lands, and everyone gathered here will shine through the ages!"
Shine through the ages.
When child bore child, great-grandchildren's lullabies would sing of my struggle, and children's dreams would be of me.
Before they knew it, ambition burned in their eyes.
Revulsion at their wretched reality turned to hatred for the enemy.
Doubts of why they were dragged to war became resolve to fight the invaders.
And questions of whom to follow settled on the clan lord before them.
"Am I wrong?! Tell me if my words are wrong!"
Clad in unfamiliar silver armor and a mantle evoking sour grapes, she thrust her sword skyward and demanded of them.
In unison, they roared back.
"No!"
"Long live Oda Nobunaga!"
"Crush the filthy vermin!"
"Kill them all!"
It was a near-mad fervor, a clear sign that the coming battle was inevitable.
'Around five thousand, give or take.'
Il-yeong watched the scene with quiet satisfaction while quickly tallying the reinforcements joining them.
Oda Nobunaga could now mobilize roughly twice the forces of the original history. Exactly as he had planned.
By spilling minimal blood in the internal strife, they preserved their strength, then seized territory amid Mino's chaos to boost Owari's mobilization power.
The result was now before them.
'We can do this.'
A full frontal battle or massive clash would be suicide, but if they stuck to the plan, there'd be no issue.
And then.
"Young master. This."
Il-yeong took the note from Akechi Mitsuhide, who approached cautiously and handed it over. After reading it, he looked up at the sky.
A sky slowly turning gray.
Confirming it, Il-yeong let out a wry chuckle, tossed the note into the fire without hesitation, and muttered.
"Well, at least the heavens are on our side."
It was a sigh laced with relief.