Ichijo struggled with the horse on top of him, his leg well and truly trapped. With the combined weight of the beast and the grip of the stirrups, it was impossible to move. It did not help that the horse thrashed around madly in pain, crushing his leg again and again. It would not surprise him if he found it broken, for the pain was certainly sufficient.
He slit the horse's throat to end its suffering. Its blood spilt out violently all over him, threatening to drown him. He struggled against it. In truth, he already knew himself to be dead. Action helped to stop him from falling into a blind panic. His world had been shattered. The truth that was his own strength had been dismissed and so frankly at that.
Gengyo stood over him, meeting the man's gaze before he delivered his death sentence. "You're strong, Ichijo. I cannot risk leaving you alive. I trust that you'll understand." He promptly severed his head at the neck, stamping out the sparks of the only fire that might cause an issue for him.
His men had gutted Ichijo's remaining soldiers and now they waited by his side, holding his horse by the reigns, an offering to their Lord. He sheathed his blade carefully, and leapt up to mount it. They had a battle to win.
Two streams of hors.e.m.e.n darted across the battlefield, vastly different in size. They had a common target, it would seem – that of the encirclement. They were keen to pry it open. Nobunaga pulled his horse closer to Gengyo's forces, closing the distance quickly, intending to parlay before they engaged.
Gengyo barely even spared him a glance of acknowledgement. It seemed he had expected as much.
"We've come to join your fight, Miura-dono!" Nobunaga called out respectfully, catching up with him.
"That I can see," Gengyo responded evenly, knowing full well why he had chosen this moment to appear on the battlefield. He did not blame him, for he would have likely done the same, but nor would he grovel at his feet and pretend that this victory was in any way due to him. "Attack Shingen's headquarters. Do not allow him to flee. I will shatter this glass formation he's built." He pulled away, intending on engaging immediately, not giving him the chance to respond.
"What did he say?" Hirate pulled level, seeing the look of bemus.e.m.e.nt on Nobunaga's face.
The young Oda Lord had to glance back on the two thousand men behind him just to make sure that they were still there. Who in their right mind would reject such a strong reinforcement? Stranger still, was he giving him the honour of dealing the final blow and ending Takeda Shingen's life, despite having not earnt it?
"To hell with it…" He muttered. His men were fired up and ready to fight. Even if it was an unearned treat that they were sinking their teeth into, so be it. "We're going for Shingen!" He barked, directing his horse off to the right, his soldiers moving with him.
"Hah…" It was time for Matsudaira to breath his sigh of relief. His role in this battle had been fulfilled, and – to his eyes – he had not made an obvious mistake. A man this nation needed would live another day. If he had helped to bring that into fruition, then he would count himself blessed.
With the arrival of Oda, their endgame was upon them. There was no counter. It was done. Matsudaira had to wonder, what could have been written in that letter to inspire him to come to the battlefield at all? It must have been something rather special.
Like an axe chopping through wood, Gengyo made his entrance through the circle. He sliced up all in front of him, and their cavalry wedge came after, making that hole even wider.
"Finally! Took you… hah… long enough!" Morohira shouted through laboured breaths. They had been ready to turn over at any second. From all angles, they had been pressured. There had not been a single moment of released tension. It was an extremely demanding position to put one's body in.
Gengyo cleaned through the suffocating masses, granting his circle of surviving soldiers some breathing room, so that they might have some chance to recover. Even the Takeda Generals were not foolish enough to keep up their aggressive offence with his arrival and they took a few cautious steps back, regouping under Akiyama.
"Tadakata…" Akiko breathed in relief, as he pulled his horse in front of them, stopping the enemy from coming even a step closer. If it had gone on much longer, then she feared she would not have been able to last without sacrificing body parts in the process.
"Akiyama?" Gengyo let loose something that was close to a greeting, staring firmly ahead.
"That is I." The man who had to bear the weight of his gaze replied, his jaw tight.
"Good. I wouldn't want to waste time killing men that do not matter. I extend to you – and all the men here – an opportunity. Within minutes, Takeda Shingen will be dead. You have nothing left to fight for. Lay down your weapons and continue your path under my banner." He was deadly serious as he spoke, though some still chuckled, thinking it was a jest. They were so heavily outnumbered. Who was he to be telling them it was time for surrender?
"I would rather die than fall so deep into dishonour. Here is an alternative proposition: I kill you here and now, then I ride to my Lord's defence. How about it?" His stone-faced reply had a similar appeal. He was a respectable leader, but he neglected to take into account the physical condition of many of his men. This brief respite in the fighting was everything to them. Their bodies could not handle such abuse. They would need days of sleep before they could even fancy walking again. They did not want to continue this fight. They wanted an opportunity to end it.