In the evening of the same day, Fūma Kotarō, who had been out gathering information in a nearby town, returned.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. My Lord.”
“Ah, Kotarō. I’m glad to see you’re back safe and sound.”
Kotarō was dressed in his usual black costume and cape.
Of course, he didn’t go to the town dressed like this. He used his ninja skills to disguise himself and sneak into the town.
Whereas Yukimura’s skill, ‘The Best Soldier in Japan’, is a combat-focused ability, Kotarō’s ‘Ninjutsu Mastery’ is a much more applicable skill.
He could disappear under the cover of darkness, change his clothes with the aid of illusions, or disguise himself as others. He can also pick locks, set and disarm traps, identify drugs, and sense the presence of enemies in the vicinity.
“I’ve just finished preparing dinner. We’ll listen to Kotarō’s report while we eat.”
The evening meal consisted of grilled wild boar meat caught by Yukimura and garnished with edible wild plants. And Kotarō had bought some wine in town. For the time being they are all being hunted. Castor decided not to get drunk, so he will drink a moderate amount of wine.
“The northern half of the kingdom of Styria has already fallen into the hands of the kingdom of Revra. The noblemen who hold lands in the north have surrendered to the enemy and have fallen into their arms.”
With a mouthful of wild boar meat, Kotarō recounts the information he has seen and heard in the town.
Immediately after the tragedy that occurred at the wedding, the army of the Kingdom of Revra broke through the northern border and invaded.
The army of Revra subjugated the nobles who had territories in the north one after another, and cut off the territories of the Kingdom of Styria.
The king, who was supposed to control the nobles, was killed by a deadly blade and the prince was imprisoned. The nobles were forced to surrender with little resistance and pledge their allegiance to Revra.
It was a clear betrayal of the kingdom of Styria, but Castor is not to blame for it.
It was Castor’s fault that he was caught up in King Zardis’s plot and taken into custody. He could not blame the nobles for his own lack of ability.
“If I didn’t resist badly…It would have caused less damage to the people. On the contrary, I am relieved”
“In the southern part of the……kingdom, some nobles have colluded to clash with the Revra army. It appears that the Duke of Caesar is in command and is confronting the enemy forces.”
“Lord Caesar is ……! I see, if it was him, he wouldn’t have betrayed Styria!”
Castor clapped his hands and thought of the face of the Duke of Caesar.
The Duke of Caesar was the father of the Queen, who had died of illness a few years earlier. In other words, he was Castor’s grandfather.
For Castor, he was an “outsider” who had his back and was the most reliable of all the noblemen.
“So …… should we head south and meet up with Lord Caesar?”
“I think it is a good idea. The Duke of Caesar seems to have been overpowered by Revra, but with the addition of the royal family, he may be able to turn the tide.”
Kotarō affirms Castor’s words and continues his report, “But ……”.
“The Revra soldiers have already discovered that my lord is hiding in this neighbourhood. The town and the roads are patrolled by many enemy soldiers, and it will be difficult to head south without being detected.”
“I see.., so what does …… Yukimura think?”
“Mugguh……me, that I am?”
Yukimura, who had been munching on the boar meat, moved his mouth rapidly and swallowed it.
“If there is an enemy, let us defeat him, that we may. I shall lead the way and open the way for you.”
“That would be too reckless. We’re outnumbered.”
Kotarō shook his head in disappointment.
He knows that Yukimura is an unparalleled warrior, but it is impossible for him to take on all of the Revra soldiers by himself.
“I wish we had other allies, but…..the lord of the nearby town has betrayed us to Revra.”
“Ha……Viscount Ruizen, the ruler of the town at the foot of the mountain, has turned side with Revra very early on, and it will be difficult to rely on him for reinforcements.”
“So …… what is to be done? We can’t join Lord Caesar at this rate.”
“…………”
They all fell silent and stared at the fire in silence for a few moments.
Castor had studied military affairs as part of his royal education, but he was a novice with no real experience on the battlefield.
Yukimura and Kotarō must have been excellent warriors and ninjas, but they were not military strategists or strategists.
The group lacked a ‘brain’ to help them develop their strategy.
“If it’s like this, I’ll have to summon a new heroic spirit from …….”
Castor sighs in resignation and makes his decision.
If he invokes the spirits of the heroes, he will be back to fighting fatigue, but he can’t stay in the mountains forever.
If he does nothing, the remnants of the kingdom of Styria, headed by Lord Caesar, will be annihilated, and the country will fall completely into the clutches of the enemy.
“If I had to summon someone, it would be a military strategist or someone who could handle the brain work. There are several candidates ……”
Castor put his hand on his chest and invoked the blessing of [summoning the heroic spirit].
He has to be vigilant to make sure that the “Red Lotus Soul” does not appear, and he has to select the souls that meet his wishes.
During the activation of the ability, calculation and arithmetic abilities are dramatically improved. He is able to process multiple pieces of information in a compressed amount of time.
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Yoshitaka Kuroda
Occupation: Military strategist
Valour: 1
Command: 5
Politics: 9
Wisdom: 10
Special ability “Master of Castle Building”
When directing the construction of castles and civil engineering works, the efficiency of the work is greatly improved. It also increases the fighting ability of the soldiers under his command when attacking or besieging a castle.
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Yamamoto Kansuke
Occupation: Military strategist
Valour: 5
Command: 5
Politics: 7
Wisdom: 8
Special Ability: “The Single-Eyed Strategist”
He is able to share his vision with his men and see things at a distance.
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Shima Sakon
Occupation: samurai, military strategist
Valour: 8
Command: 8
Politics: 7
Wisdom: 7
Special ability “Oni Sakon”
Makes surprise attacks more likely to succeed. When a soldier under your command is in hiding, he is less likely to be found by the enemy.
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There were others, such as Kobayakawa Takakage and Ishida Mitsunari, but these four in particular stand out.
“If I had to pick one hero for overall ability, I’d have to go with ‘Sakon Shima’. His overall ability is high and he will be very useful in battle.”
But this general is more of a military strategist who is active on the battlefield. In the current situation of Castor, who has no soldiers, he cannot make use of the special ability of “Oni Sakon”.
For the same reason, “Yamamoto Kansuke” was also rejected. The ability of “The Single-Eyed Strategist” also seems to be useless in the situation which has nothing to do with the castle.
“Then there’s……‘Shigeharu Takenaka’ He’s the only one who should be summoned.”
Castor nodded his head and reached for his soul.
As soon as his fingertips touched the blue-white ball of light, it became a blinding flash of light that covered Castor’s vision.
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Author’s Note:
The abilities and personalities of the warriors are based on our own judgment and prejudice.
Sanada Yukimura has a strong image of a fierce general in games, but in reality he was a small, gentle and intelligent general. The role played by Masato Sakai in Sanadamaru(check it out, it’s a good drama) was a perfect fit.
In this film, I will be using the role of Yukimura the Fierce General.
If you are a fan of “Yukimura the Wise”, I apologise.