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"It'll be soon—it'll be soon! Soon I'll be able to take the head of that hateful Nagamasa!!"
As he rode his horse, Hisamasa Asai cried out, reflecting on the arduous path he had walked to get this far.
Hisamasa was born in 1526 and inherited the family headship in 1542.
He himself believes that since then he has always thought of the people, implemented good governance, and conducted appropriate diplomacy.
However, it was in 1560 (Eiroku 3) that all the gears began to go wrong.
Nagamasa and his foolish retainers, who failed to understand Hisamasa's noble ideals, suddenly imprisoned him and, unbelievably, even tried to force him to relinquish the family headship.
It was humiliating.
He never imagined that his son would conspire with his retainers to bring down his father.
Since then, Hisamasa has always been waiting for the right moment to regain power.
Hisamasa has a firm belief. He believes that Nagamasa, being nothing more than a young upstart, is wrong in everything he does, and therefore should unconditionally obey him, his elder.
To begin with, the very idea of forming an alliance with the Oda clan, led by the fool from Owari—and not even by bloodline, but by a collateral branch of the main line—is absurd.
Hisamasa is convinced that the Asai family is heading in the wrong direction.
Following tradition, the Asai family had to seek survival under the auspices of a powerful and prestigious family, either the Rokkaku or the Asakura.
That fool—Nagamasa's proposed independence policy, backed by an alliance with the Oda family, seemed like sheer madness to me.
"Lord Hisamasa! Right now, the Bizen-no-kami's army is in disarray and in disarray...! Now is our chance! Let's break through and cut off the head of that fool!!"
As Inoue Tsunechika rode his horse beside Hisamasa, he said:
He is his sworn brother and also a close confidant of Hisamasa.
During the recapture of Odani Castle, he made the blunder of letting the Oda princess escape—yet Hisamasa still considered him a trustworthy person.
"It has been a long journey, hasn't it...? After enduring countless hardships, we have finally been given the opportunity for Lord Hisamasa himself to remove the Asai's ailment...!"
"Yes, yes!"
"Hahaha, looking back, it was a stubborn disease! We repelled Rokkaku, repelled Saito, repelled Takeda... they were truly formidable opponents. But it was all thanks to Lord Masayuki and that demon who went on a rampage! We absolutely cannot let this opportunity slip away!!"
Hisamasa nodded.
However, to be honest, his own children were of no importance to him.
I am the head of the Asai family, and there is no need for any man who could threaten that position.
Indeed, for Hisamasa, Masayuki, who had now demonstrated his prowess by penetrating deep into enemy territory, was a dangerous presence.
He is married to a princess of the Asakura family.
If necessary, he might use the power of the Asakura family as a backing to try and usurp the family headship from Hisamasa, just like Nagamasa did.
"Tsunechika"
"Hah!"
"What is Masayuki doing now?"
"Yes, that's right... According to the messenger, he was more injured than expected, and is currently receiving first aid at the care of the military inspector, Lord Asakura Kageakira..."
"Hmm..."
If he was nearby, I thought I'd kill him by making it look like an accident to prevent any threat from occurring...
That seems impossible right now.
(Well, that's fine.)
Hisamasa tightened his grip on the reins as he thought to himself.
(After this battle is over, we can poison him and get rid of him under the pretense that his wounds have worsened. Then, I will take his princess for myself... and become related to the Asakura family, making her our patron!)
This year, Hisamasa is 41 years old. It happened just as he was approaching old age.
What a pleasure it would be to be able to hold a young woman in your arms at that moment...
"And, Lord Hisamasa..."
"What?"
Hisamasa responded to Tsunechika, who licked his lips.
Then he grinned, the corners of his mouth curling up.
"Once I have defeated that hateful Lord Bizen, I would like to claim that Oda princess for myself..."
"law"
"I dream about it. I see that woman laughing at me, over and over again...!"
As Hisamasa looked at Tsunechika's face, he groaned.
This reliable confidant seems to hold a considerable grudge over letting her escape at Odani Castle.
"That's still too early to say. We won't know until we hear from the Asakura family."
"Yes...! Yes... that is correct..."
Seeing his obvious dejection, Hisamasa said:
"However, it will take some time before Asakura issues a ruling. In the meantime, let's do as we please with the Oda princess. We will destroy and conquer her so-called unparalleled beauty with the legitimate Asai 'spear'... what do you say?"
"...Haha, hahaha! That's right! I think that would be good, Lord Hisamasa!!"
"Yes, for that reason, we must somehow bring Nagamasa to justice..."
"That's right! No, it would be even better to capture that Bizen-no-kami and rape the Oda princess in front of him! And then kill him when he's in despair... Hmm, this is getting fun!!"
Therefore, Nagamasa and his cronies absolutely had to be killed. They had to be killed.
"Hmm...!? What's that...?"
"Hmm... It's a 'Jorōgumo' (spider woman)...!"
Looking up at the gigantic, monstrous woman standing among the trees on the mountain, Tsunechika lowered his gaze to her chest and said with a lustful look in his eyes.
"It's a monster that doesn't appear near human settlements..."
"But they..."
"Yes, that is correct! They are harmless monsters that do not directly interfere with us humans!"
Hisamasa gripped the reins tightly, relieved, and shouted.
"We'll keep moving forward and crush Nagamasa's army!"
Up to this point, the Asakura army had been on the move without rest since departing from Echizen Province.
They were probably exhausted, but to Hisamasa, the soldiers' fatigue was of no concern.
With enough willpower, you can overcome anything.
They had to serve him to the death, even at the cost of their own lives, for the sake of Hisamasa's honor of being reinstated as head of the Asai family.
Furthermore, the troops that Hisamasa is leading are, after all, merely local lords from Echizen Province.
No matter how reckless the march, no matter how many soldiers are needlessly wasted, it will not cause him any real harm.
"Hmm...! That hateful Bizen-no-kami...! It looks like he's gathered his troops and is heading straight for us!!"
"I don't care! We'll just push forward!!"
Hisamasa shouted, interrupting what someone had just said.
"A son cannot surpass his father!! I, Hisamasa, am the head of the Asai clan!!! The legitimacy of bloodline lies with me!!! Nagamasa will perish under this legitimacy—"
—It was the moment he raised his arm and gave the order to go straight ahead.
As we approached the foot of Mt. Oiwa, a tremendous bang of gunfire echoed from the side.
"W-who are you!?"
"Ambush?! It's an ambush!!! Where are they, where are they!!!! You cowards!!!"
He was hit by more than 10 or 100 bullets—soldiers and relatives alike fell forward one after another.
Tsunechika began to yell in a panic, and his emotions spread throughout the soldiers, causing widespread unrest.
For the soldiers, it was a situation where they were forced to keep running without rest, and the ambush was the result of that.
This is getting unbearable.
"Argh! What are you so afraid of?! You're all useless!!!"
"Calm down! Calm down!!"
Tsunechika was shouting and yelling, while Hisamasa was flustered and could only utter words of restraint.
Meanwhile, the Asai army, led by Nagamasa, was getting closer and closer.
"That is the enemy of our friend!!"
"Load the bullets!! Fire the second shot!!!"
Once again, a tremendous gunshot rang out, echoing through the fields and mountains.
Thanks to the highly accurate sniper fire, the soldiers of Hisamasa's unit, who were in disarray and stranded, were quickly reduced in number.
"Gwaha
After a particularly loud gunshot rang out, the rustling sound of grass and trees wafted up from the foot of Mount Oiwa.
"Alright! This should make things much easier for the commander..."
His body easily exceeds 4 meters, and is approaching 5 meters.
An old giant with golden hair, his entire body covered in muscle.
Then, he rose from the fields and mountains, threw down the matchlock guns he was holding in both hands, and began swinging a huge hammer made of fluorite crystals around wildly.
The flag of Tomokuni Village was raised, and it was shown to the army pursuing Hisamasa and his men.
"You guys!!! Help our commander and drive away the intruders!!!! This isn't just our commander's problem!!!! It's a problem for us, Tomokuni Village, too!!!!"
"Alright, women, follow orders and pull back! The rest is up to the men!!"
"I have to make a name for myself here and leave a good impression on the boss!!!"
"Yes!!!!"
There were approximately 400 of them. Men and women mingled together in Tomokuni Village .非正規部隊guerrilla
Then, about 200 men immediately let out a battle cry and charged towards Hisamasa and his men.
With battle cries rising not only from directly in front but also from the sides, the Asakura soldiers had reached their limit.
"I'm going home! I'm going home!! I can't put up with this anymore!!!"
"I'm going back to my country! I'm going back!!"
They threw down their weapons and discarded their armor, becoming unburdened and immediately began to run in the opposite direction.
"W-Wait! Where are you going?!"
While Hisamasa and his men were in a state of panic, the soldiers began to flee en masse, heading north.
"H-Hisamasa-sama!"
"...Get out of the way, get out of the way!!"
At this point, fighting is no longer the priority.
Hisamasa, dripping with cold sweat, hastily turned his horse around and tried to escape as fast as he could, but there they were already—
"No, it's no good! The Asai army has appeared from Akagoyama!! They've positioned themselves in a way that cuts off our retreat route!!!"
"Whoa... Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...!"
Upon hearing the messenger's voice, Hisamasa's face instantly turned pale, and his eyes widened in shock.
Sweat was pouring from his face, dripping down in clumps.
And from his buttocks—a foul-smelling, dirty liquid was seeping out.
"Run, run!!"
Tsunechika left Hisamasa's side and rode his horse north as fast as he could.
"Wait, wait...!"
And Hisamasa, following in Tsunechika's footsteps, urged his horse forward.
All that was on his mind was, "How can I survive?"
"What is Masayuki doing?! What is Asakura doing, what is his military supervisor, Kageakira doing?! Why aren't you doing anything?!"
But no one responded to Hisamasa's cry.
Most of the soldiers and relatives had fallen in the gunfire, and Tsunechika, who should have been by his side, had already run far ahead.
The soldiers were desperately trying to survive, and had absolutely no time to pay attention to Hisamasa.
Just as they were of no importance to Hisamasa, the soldiers also considered Hisamasa to be of no importance.
"They're here! For the sake of our lord, annihilate the enemy here!!"
Then, the troops that emerged from Akagoyama deployed in full force, surrounding Hisamasa and his men and blocking their escape routes.
Indeed, that banner belonged to none other than Endo Naotsune, a close confidant of Asai Nagamasa.
"Mmm, mmm... mmmmmmmm...!"
A single foot soldier who had rushed out from Endo's unit pushed Tsunechika, who had already fled, off a cliff.
He probably won't survive.
However, the thought crosses Hisamasa's mind that perhaps he might be able to escape thanks to the attention being focused on Tsunechika's head.
However, reality is harsh.
The foot soldier who had stabbed Tsunechika to death didn't even glance at him, and continued on towards Hisamasa.
"How insolent...! You're just a lowly soldier...!"
Hisamasa was enraged and, raising his lance, charged at the soldiers who had killed Tsunechika.
I'll just have to defeat this guy and then escape...
Driven by anger, Hisamasa thought to himself.
"Take this!!"
A deadly spear, propelled by the horse's speed, thrusts out and strikes the chest of a foot soldier.
"--Guh!?"
However, the spear failed to pierce any of the foot soldiers.
Indeed, it seems they were able to tear the cheap armor he was wearing and the clothes he was wearing underneath.
However, it was impossible to stab the skin or flesh beneath.
It was as if a stick had been thrust into a thick bedrock—that's the kind of shock that ran through Hisamasa's arm.
"Oh, ohhhhhhhhh!?"
The horse was running at an incredible speed. This resulted in an unbalanced impact on the upper body.
A feeling of his shoulder dislocating ran through Hisamasa, and he fell to the ground with a groan.
"You... you...?!"
With a groan of agony, Hisamasa gritted his teeth and looked up at the foot soldier whose blow had no effect on him.
He was a very young soldier... or rather, a child.
However, their appearance is drastically different from that of ordinary people.
"Brown skin... silver hair... and above all, those pointed ears...!"
"..."
Facing the foot soldiers who silently thrust their spears at him, Hisamasa's eyes widened in shock and he trembled.
What does that mean...?
For Hisamasa, who lives in a world overrun by monsters, this is now obvious.
"A zashiki-warashi... a zashiki-warashi of an ogre... and what's more, it's a throwback to an ancestor with a barrier-type ability—"
At that point, Hisamasa felt a burning sensation and a shock in his forehead—and all of his consciousness was taken away.
So, what thoughts crossed his mind before he lost consciousness...?
He had regained his position as head of the Asai family, and was reveling in the company of beautiful women and fine wine—a glorious image of himself.