Oda rode through the masses of men, trampling them to the ground, and following their route closer and closer to the Imagawa camp.
They heard Oda coming from a long way off, forecast by the screams of the fallen and the fleeing. No one seemed to wish to move to their aid, as their formations were secure, and they were as solid as a brick wall. To move would be to render themselves vulnerable.
"HELP! AHHH F.U.C.KKK! HELP US!"
A man screamed out, his voice rich with pure fear.
As he caught sight of the Imagawa camp ahead, Gengyo was finally able to give the order to stand firm.
They were merely 130 men, but with their spears, they would be able to break Nobunaga's charge, and stop him from killing quite as many men.
"HOLD FAST! YARI WALL!"
He called out, the men responded quickly, forming up, holding their spears firmly. They were glad of the order, as the screams of the slain had been haunting, and they had felt great guilt in running away.
Recognizing that black armour of theirs to be that of their saviours, the men sprinted past, breathlessly, tears stained their eyes, and urine soaking their clothes. That had truly been forced into the position of prey, and it was not pleasant, not pleasant in the least.
A fully armoured man, who held his spear in one hand, did not run past altogether. Instead, he joined the wall, presenting the point of his spear towards the enemy.
"IF COWARDICE IS NOT IN YOUR HEARTS, JOIN THIS MAN, AND HELP US STOP THAT ODA BASTARD FROM KILLING MORE."
He shouted out to his fellow men at arms. Most ran past, terrified, simply wishing to be as far away from the fighting as possible. But some were able to conquer their hearts, and pick up their spears once more, resuming the heart of a warrior, rather than that of a startled rabbit.
And so, from 130, the number of defending men trickled up over 200 hundred. It was still far from enough to comfortably withstand the charge of 1000 cavalry men, but it was certainly an improvement.
"Come on! Imagawa's camp is just up ahead! Keep running!"
Masaatsu called out in encouragement to those who had reached the end of their rope. Whose lungs and hearts were screaming from overexertion. But even then, they were not liable to stop. There was not a man who would refrain from pushing himself to his limits should certain death wait behind them. What was a little discomfort compared to the end of your life?
Thousands passed them. But thousands more were still far from safety. A light wind spread the smoke throughout the forest, and soon they could barely see whether the man charging in front of them was friend or foe.
The only way they knew the enemy had not yet arrived was because the vibrating earthquake that rattled their feet – drummed out by thousands of horse's hooves – was not yet on top of them.
"AAHHHH!"
A scream rang out nearby as a man was hacked down. But they could not see his body fall. Their hearts grew tense with fear. The smoke had leant a power to the attacking forces that they did not previously have.
And then, emerging from the fog, as though he were a demon suddenly materialising, was Oda. The colour of his armour was impossible to tell, as now it was thick with blood, and stuck with many bits of grizzle from organs, skin and muscle.
The pointed teeth of his men-yoroi seemed to want to devour them, and that sword in his armoured hand was more than happy to deliver on that wish.
Out of nowhere, two men appeared behind him. Their armour stained in a similar fashion. Even their horses looked fearsome, with their maddened eyes and furious foaming mouths that ached with pain from how hard they had been pushed.
More and more of these demonic figures slid out, each wearing a mask that looked so very excited by the scent of more bloodshed.
The arrowhead of this demonic legion drew closer, and their features became easier to make out. But that did not make their fear lessen, as they could confirm that these were mere men. Conversely, it made it grow stronger, as the blood and gore on their armour was rendered even more vivid. It was piled on so thick, as though they had bathed in a bath of severed body parts.
The men towards the ends started to break. They had not come here to fight this. They simply wanted to pretend they were not cowards, after having run from Oda for so long. Surely it was wiser to run back to Imagawa, and fight amongst them?
But it was far too late. Even if they began running now, the hors.e.m.e.n would easily catch them. Yet rational thinking was not the strong suit of a fear consumed man, and soon they had all fled, leaving the Niwa army by it's lonesome.
"DAMN COWARDS!"
Morohira roared, far more angry than he was afraid.
"HOLD FIRM!"
Gengyo instructed, as they gritted their teeth, prepared to catch the mass of horses on the ends of their spears.
Oda drew closer, his sword held high. He and his horse seemed to show not an inch of fear from the sharpened spear points that could claim their lives at any second.
His gaze was focused on that man in black. The one who seemed to have made his plans so much more difficult. Had it not been for his interference, then they would have been able to demolish more than half of Imagawa's army with ease. But yet he was made to give chase.
And even now, he stood in his way, with his measly amount of men, seemingly convinced that his stand here had meaning, that he would save more men this way.
He drew nearer, till he was almost on top of Gengyo's spear, and looked him dead in the eye.
Those were not the eyes of a sane man. They were red. Red from days of sleeplessness. He had clearly put every inch of energy into making this attack a success, and now that it had not reached his expectations, he was angry, so very angry, and was willing to risk his life to right the wrongs.
But at the last second, he circled his horse past the men.
'What?'
Gengyo had been fully prepared, mentally and physically, to meet that man's charge head-on. Yet at the last second, he had turned, and with him, the entire arrowhead came.
He thought within those eyes he had caught a hint of insanity. But perhaps that was his own lack of rationality? This man. This Oda Nobunaga had demonstrated - right until the very last moment - that he was a man of extreme logic.
Purging this meagre unit of 130 men would have been easy for him, and it would have settled a personal vendetta. But, it was useless in the grand scheme of things. More than that, it would actually serve to be counterproductive. Leading cavalry onto the points of spears was the height of folly, and they would likely have to sacrifice over 200 men just to kill that measly few. It was not worth it. He needed every man he could get.
And so they rode around, as the men's breath caught in their throats, not quite understanding what had happened.
Gengyo dared to allow himself to breathe, as he shook his head.
'F.u.c.k.'
He, despite all the fighting that they had done, felt himself come to admire that young man. He put the lives of his men foremost before everything else, and that was something worthy of respect.
He stood there, unmoving, before realising the danger that they were in. Any second now, Oda's infantry would be running through, and amongst that order were certainly matchlocks, who would have their weapons loaded and ready to fire at a moments notice.
"WITHDRAW! QUICKLY!"
He called out, watching his men follow his order and run on ahead, as he dared to turn around and look back in the direction that Nobunaga had rode. But there was nothing to see anymore. The cavalry had been swallowed up by the smoke.
He ran back with them, imaging those that had fled would be feeling rather foolish by now.
They slid back through the ranks of spear wielders that held the line, noticing Imagawa was close to the front, surrounded by his shield bearers. From the way he looked at them, it seemed that he had been able to catch sight of their exchange with the Oda cavalry, despite the fog.
"HALT!"
He shouted out, as the spear wielders under his personal command lowered their spears as one – almost hitting them – and forced them back in the process.
"What the f.u.c.k!?"
Morohira cursed at such rudeness, his eyesbrows knotting together in a furious frown. The rest of the men felt the same. It did not matter who you were, treating men that had just risked their lives to save your cause with such rudeness – that was unforgivable.
Imagawa shot Morohira a stern look for his words.
"WHY DO YOU FLEE FROM BATTLE?"
He bellowed, so that the whole army might hear him.
'Flee from battle? The f.u.c.k? What battle are you looking at, old man?'
Rokkaku thought internally, thoroughly despising the way in which the obese Daimyo's chins wobbled together aggressively, like a gigantic toad.
It was left to Gengyo to try and keep his cool, as he attempted to keep his voice level, and respond to Imagawa's accusations.
"Daimyo-sama, we merely came back so that we might rejoin you in your charge."
"NONSENSE. THERE ARE INFANTRY UNITS ON THE WAY, ARE THERE NOT, OKABE?"
He turned to the man beside him, who wore a snakelike smile.
"There are indeed. In retreating, you've allowed them to walk freely past, tut tut tut."
"With respect, Daimyo-sama, those infantry number in the thousands, we would have been unable to hold them alone."
'Or at all. They would have shot us down before we could even trade blows.'
"MMM, A PITIFUL EXCUSE. YOU ARE UNWILLING TO GIVE YOUR LIVES FOR THE SUCCESS OF OUR GRAND CAMPAIGN? DESPICABLE."
"We are, and always have been willing to serve the Daimyo to the best of our abilities."
He responded back through gritted teeth.
"OH? GOOD. THEN YOU WILL LEAD THE CHARGE, AND BRING THE WORTHLESS ODA INFANTRY TO IT'S KNEES. FAIL IN THIS TASK, AND, AS PUNISHMENT FOR YOUR COWARDICE, I WILL HAVE YOUR HEADS!"
"There are a thousand matchlocks amongst them! We'll be slaughtered before we can even get close!"
"SILENCE! FROM YOUR MOUTH COMES THE WORDS OF A COWARD. IT IS POSSIBLE, IS IT NOT, OKABE?"
"Indeed it is my lord, if only they would show a bit more heart."
'F.U.C.K!'
He roared internally, his fist clenching tightly around his spear, he took a step forward, rage overcoming him. Right there and then he wanted to spear Imagawa like the fat pig he was.
How dare he put his men in such danger! This was virtual suicide! After the lengths, he had gone to in order to ensure that their defeat was prevented… This was his reward?
If they had to die, perhaps it would be better to die ridding the earth of such incompetent sc.u.m?
He seriously considered labelling this his final charge, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Lad. Calm yourself."
Nakatane admonished him seriously. There was something about the look that his master gave him that made him listen, and make a conscious effort to still the fire in his blood.
When he was a little less fired up, Nakatane leaned in, and whispered into his ear.
"I am of the same thoughts as you. But for now, we do as he says. When this battle is over however… We will equalize the score. Do you understand?"
//Author's Note
So, that's the first chapter for today. Will be two more coming out.