Editing Chronicle Legion:Volume 3 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 3===

In the land of Hakone, four tutelary forts had been built at the four cardinal directions.

The first tutelary fort was Seiryuu Gate in the east. This fort was several kilometers from Hakone Yumoto, a hot spring town located at the entrance of Hakone when traveling from Tokyo.

The second tutelary fort in the south and the third tutelary fort in the west were both located near Lake Ashi.

Lake Ashi was the largest body of water in the vast area of southern Hakone. The second tutelary fort, Suzaku Gate, was on its south shore while the third tutelary fort, Byakko Gate, was on the west shore.

The fourth tutelary in the north, Genbu Gate, was situated at Sengokuhara in northern Hakone.

In other words, the land of Hakone had four strongholds, guarding the directions of north, east, south, and west respectively.

The British aristocrat who had captured Hakone, Edward, muttered to himself, "Using the Legions and ifrits at the four tutelary forts to erect a 'wall' to protect Kantō and Tokyo from attacks originating in western Japan... That seems to be the aim."

"Yes. This is Hakone Checkpoint's concept, indeed."

The genie Morrigan in his company nodded. She was possessing her usual doll, 150cm tall and dressed in a sailor outfit with a beret.

"The idea itself is sound, but ultimately, I mobilized an army surpassing ''the total forces of the four tutelary forts'' and attacked, easily capturing Hakone."

Edward and the genie Morrigan were at the central command center.

This was where the "supreme commander of the Hakone tutelary forts" used to be stationed to issue orders to the tutelary forts in the four cardinal directions. It was also located right in the center point between the four tutelary forts of Hakone.

In terms of geographic names, this was a plain near Komagatake.

"In my opinion, this isn't truly 'impregnable.' Ultimately, the fortress itself lacks the defensive strength to resist an invasion of a thousand Legions... That is the long and short of it."

"I, agree. I expect some of the Japanese, to feel the same."
[[image:ChronicleLegion 03 Map2.jpg|thumb]]

"All things considered, it boils down to this mechanism of the Four Gods Union."

The central command center did not have fortification walls.

It was simply composed of four towers of stone, built on a wide open plain.

The architectural design was essentially uniform. Like the nation-protecting keeps of tutelary forts, these forty-meter all towers used red bricks as the construction material. The four towers were arranged in a rhombus.

Riding a British white wyvern together, Edward and Morrigan were flying over the four towers.

In charge of controlling the wyvern, Edward said, "Hakone's four tutelary forts can combine each fort's guardian ifrit, respectively Seiryuu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu, into one monster with four times the noetic energy..."

"Furthermore, the merged entity can defend all four tutelary forts, north, east, south, west, simultaneously."

"Yes, an amazing system."

After offering praise together, the British aristocrat and Morrigan shook their heads.

"But this assumes the successful activation of the system. Had they activated it during my attack, Hakone would not have fallen so easily."

"It seems that Japan... lacks the competency required to tame this, monster," Morrigan remarked coldly.

"What they lack is a genie capable of controlling the Four Gods, the entity resulting from the union of Seiryuu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu. The genie in this role also requires powerful noesis from a supreme Chevalier as support..."

"Morrigan, since you have said this much," Edward smiled and said, "then our partnership should not face any problems, right?"

"Indeed. It is not impossible. Especially since you have minimized your sorties for the past half a month, Prince, conserving substantial noesis..."

"Yes, all of it for the purpose of acquiring the Four Gods."

The night of Fuji City's capture...

Edward did not head out to the front line and ended up forfeiting the chance for a showdown against Tachibana Masatsugu.

This was because they were planning to hold the ritual for subjugating the Four Gods soon. And now, the two of them were flying in the sky over the four towers.

Riding the wyvern, Edward said slowly, "Proceed, Morrigan. Use my noesis to subjugate the Four Gods."

"Affirmative."

After the genie nodded, gigantic eyeballs manifested in the sky.

...It was what Tachibana Masatsugu and company had witnessed at the Fuji tutelary fort, a giant eyeball with a diameter of sixty meters or so. In this case, there was not one but a total of three. Three eyes.

The three giant eyeballs were arranged in a triangle in the air.

This was precisely Morrigan's true form, the image of the ifrit Morgan le Fay. Behind the three giant eyeballs, an equally large magic circle appeared.

"Prince, please."

"Shame be to him who thinks ill of it&mdash;Calling upon my name and soul, I beseech the local deities and spirits of Hakone. Abandon your home country of Japan and surrender to my army. I am Edward the Black Prince, the foremost knight of the British Empire and the undefeated general!"

Edward released an inordinate amount of noetic energy from his body and soul.

Normally, this energy would transform into a thousand and two hundred Knights of the Garter, but today, not a single black knight appeared.

All of the noesis was absorbed by the ''three eyes'' hovering in the sky!

Immediately, the noesis exuding from the British ifrit was amplified three-fold.

"O deities of Japan, recognize me, Morrigan, as your master. Obey this instant."

A change came over the four towers built by the Japanese on this Hakone plain.

Four giant beasts manifested in the sky over the roofs of the four towers.

Each beast was seventy meters or so in body length. Featuring translucent bodies, they were images without corporeal form.

The four beasts were respectively a blue dragon, a vermilion phoenix, a white tiger, and a black turtle (with a snake for a tail).

These were the holy beasts, Seiryuu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu, known collectively as the Four Gods in China and Japan.

Morgan le Fay's ''three eyes'' continued to hover in the air.

Overlooking the towers and the Four Gods, the ''three eyes'' sucked away the gigantic beasts of Japan!

Seiryuu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Genbu moved away from the roofs of the towers and gradually rose up in the sky.

The ''three eyes'' watched carefully. The Four Gods of Japan released noetic energy and tried to resist Morgan le Fay's suction.

However, the ''three eyes'' had taken in Edward's noesis. The Four Gods were no match at all.

...First of all, the desperately resisting image of Seiryuu lost. Gradually approaching the ''three eyes'', it was finally absorbed into them.

One after another, the same happened to the rest of them.

Second to go was Genbu, then Byakko, and finally Suzaku.

"The central command center is a mystical device granted by the sacred beast Lord Tenryuu to merge the Four Gods of the four cardinal directions... It can be thought of as Hakone's fifth tutelary fort, isn't that right?"

"Yes, Prince."

"And until now, it never had a chance to fulfill its function."

"Yes, we of the British, shall change this fact of history."

Treacherous and unforgiving, featuring an abundance of towering peaks and abyssal valleys...

This was how people described the mountains of Hakone back in the age before motorized transportation. This place had been a natural choke point since time immemorial and now it was made even more impregnable.

"With this... We are now fully prepared to meet the Tōkaidō army in battle."

"Quite rare to see you so motivated, Morrigan."

"They have stolen ''that'' which I had left behind at Fuji City. This is revenge."

Calm and cool, the genie was full of fight as the day of reckoning approached. Satisfied, Edward nodded in approval of Morrigan.


"Edward, my younger brother's descendant. It is my turn to take on the duty of defending Hakone."

The man who proposed this solemnly was Richard I, the one whom Edward called "Uncle."

The British forces had requisitioned a luxury hotel (a cozy and stylish building) in Hakone as Edward's living quarters. The top leaders had gathered at this hotel for a war council.

It was around 7pm on November 13th.

During the daytime, Edward and Morrigan had subjugated the Four Gods at the central command center.

"As the commander-in-chief, you should return to Kinai where it will be easier to handle matters in the newly conquered Nagoya and respond to the Roman fleet advancing on Kyoto from the Sea of Japan."

"Isn't that the job I assigned you a few days ago, Uncle?"

Edward immediately rejected the Lionheart's opinion.

Originally, this forefather of the Plantagenet family was not invited to this meeting. The Lionheart had barged in two hours earlier on his own accord.

Attendees included the spirit Morrigan and trusted subordinates such as the elderly Lieutenant Colonel Grayson.

"Nagoya is yours, Uncle, while I handle the Kantō side of things. That was the plan. There is no need to alter our approach at this point. We agreed on this from the start."

"Quit mouthing nonsense in my presence. What you want is to keep the upcoming battle for your own personal enjoyment, am I right!?"

Richard's voice was deep and rich, but the words were no different from those of a child throwing a tantrum.

Edward smiled calmly and said, "Indeed you are right, Uncle, but you have no grounds to complain. Who asked you to defy orders and come back in defeat?"

"Grr!" Richard was silenced by Edward's veiled assertion that this was his deserved punishment.

"Furthermore, Uncle, the death of your thousand-odd Escalibors would require two or three weeks for your army to recover. Please remain obediently at Kyoto."

"Grrrrrrr."

Normally, revival of Legions killed outside of their stronghold would take one to two weeks.

However, that only applied to the Legions under ordinary Chevaliers whose Chevalier Strength ranged from thirty or forty up to two hundred or so.

Resurrectees with a Chevalier Strength over a thousand had to spend even more time to revive their Legions.

"Besides, Uncle, you made an excellent point. We need to increase vigilance over the sea. According to reports... Lord Caesar and his knightly fleet are showing signs of mobilizing."

"...Oh?"

"It is unknown whether they intend to cross the Sea of Japan to head straight for Kyoto, or come in from the Pacific side. Either way, we must not be careless."

"Hmph, it is not like I hate staying at Nagoya."

Imposing yet childish at times, the Lionheart finally cheered up.

However, he still could not hide his disappointment.

"I heard that the Roman garrison in Tokyo has made new movements. Tōkaidō's samurai have constructed a new system centered in Suruga and ''that man'' will definitely invade Hakone."

"Who are you referring to, Uncle?"

"Quit playing dumb. Of course I mean Tachibana Masatsugu."

"Prince, Your Highness, may I speak on this subject?"

"Yes, go ahead, Grayson."

"Tachibana Masatsugu... There is apparently a rumor circulating among the officers and soldiers of Tōkaidō. Everyone is calling him the 'Last Samurai' and 'defender of the imperial family,' Hijikata Toshizō."

Lieutenant Colonel Grayson gave off an air more akin to a rigid old gentleman than a soldier.

Edward nodded to acknowledge what he had said.

In fact, Edward had received similar reports. Hijikata Toshizō had served as the second-in-command of the Shinsengumi special police force whose activities were mainly in Kyoto (reportedly quite an unbelievable organization which had more members die in internal purges than were killed fighting external enemies).

A master swordsman who had wielded the same samurai blade as what Tachibana Masatsugu was now using&mdash;

However, Edward had his own interpretation.

"Is Tachibana-dono truly Hijikata Toshizō...?"

"Do you have doubts, Your Highness?"

"He definitely carries the 'samurai sword' as a conspicuous signboard, but putting that aside... Would this sort of island nation be able to nurture a man like him?"

"Oh?" Richard was skeptical while Grayson seemed slightly surprised.

"What we need to consider," Edward continued, "are Tachibana Masatsugu's characteristics as a strategist and tactician."

"Firstly, feints and ambushes are his specialty."

The genie Morrigan instantly offered her answer.

She must have been pondering the issue ever since hearing her superior wonder "perhaps Tachibana-dono isn't actually a samurai."

Edward smiled and said, "Precisely, Morrigan. However, that is not the complete picture."

"He employs his army in swift and bold maneuvers. His blatant disregard of soldier exhaustion borders on negligence, yet troop movements are always orderly."

"Impressive, your opinion is not far from mine. Surely an island nation of this sort, all covered with mountains, cannot hone tactics of this sort, right? I believe that vast open plains on the continent are more likely..."

"In other words, Edward," Uncle Richard frowned and said, "It is your belief that Tachibana Masatsugu is not Japanese?"

"We should review this possibility."

"Hard to say. I have also heard legends of Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Isn't he a talented cavalry commander and the pride of Japan? More importantly..."

The Lionheart snorted and declared loudly.

"Since I am the knight of knights, it would be best if my opponent is a samurai of the Far East. Hence, I place my faith in Tachibana Masatsugu being a pure Japanese samurai."

"Hahahaha, Uncle, it is perfectly fine for you to think that."

Richard I was a "war genius."

Without any need for logic or calculations, he was able to win victories simply through instinct and passion alone.

For someone with his rare talents, the true identity of the enemy was virtually irrelevant to victory. Edward smiled cheerfully and reminisced about a past enemy.

"Du Guesclin..."

"Prince, you just mentioned the Constable of France, yes? A contemporary of yours."

Morrigan had picked up on  Edward's muttering.

"Yes, speaking of him&mdash;I wouldn't really consider him a worthy rival. However, he was quite skilled in war with excellent use of feints and ambushes, perhaps even better than Tachibana-dono."

Du Guesclin was a knight born in Brittany.

Back then, under the leadership of Black Prince Edward and his father, England had gained an overwhelming upper hand in their war against France. Against such odds, du Guesclin had emerged to support Charles V, the young king of France.

That being said, he never confronted the Black Prince in a glamorous pitched battle.

Avoiding direct confrontations against the English army as much as possible, he inflicted steady losses on the English repeatedly through ingenious ambushes and swift retreats.

Du Guesclin was undoubtedly the most difficult French general to deal with in that era.

However, he had not exhibited the audacity and lightning offensives frequently used by Tachibana Masatsugu.

"The great conflict between us and France from back then is now known as the Hundred Years' War, isn't it? To be perfectly honest, I personally believe that du Guesclin was the true hero of that war instead of the rumored girl named Jeanne d'Arc. The difference in their talent and contributions is as great as night and day."

"According to my search..." The maiden doll in the sailor outfit said indifferently, "The reason why du Guesclin is overlooked is most likely due to his unimpressive appearance."

"Ah... Well, I suppose it would not be wrong to call him an ugly man."

Edward was a bit taken aback by the conversation's turn to the subject of appearance.

"He was rather obese and was derogatorily known as the 'pig'."

"Well... That is how the world works. Compared to someone like him, the crowd prefers a 'tragic maiden.' After all, fiction can arbitrarily depict her as a beauty."

"Your opinion is rather harsh, but accurate," the genie's upfront remark brought a wry smile to Edward's face.

After that, Edward turned his gaze to the only ''human maiden'' at the meeting.

"By the way, I heard that Suruga has a princess descended from a sacred beast's bloodline. Similar to how you are the beloved daughter of the Three Lions, she is the granddaughter of Lord Tenryuu..."

"This I know, good brother."

Aware that she was not a soldier, the beautiful maiden had refrained from speaking until now.

She was Princess Eleanor. Like Imperial Japan, the British Empire maintained a policy of secrecy regarding their royal family. Hence, she too was not a princess known to the general public.

She was blessed with beautiful blonde hair and a gorgeous face.

"Fujinomiya Shiori&mdash;a princess of Imperial Japan, isn't that right?"

"Yes, you are very informed."

Eleanor possessed a number of abilities akin to a "witch's" and had used them to great effect at Kyoto and Suruga City. Edward had great faith in her intelligence too.

As a result, Edward had also assigned a job to her.

"So, could you kindly report on the matter?"

"Yes... During the Second World War, the islands of Japan were for the most part controlled by the 'southern court' of the Great Empire of Japan. The sacred beast worshiped by the southern court at the time was Ōkuninushi. The current imperial family's precursor, the 'northern court,' only held Hokkaido back then."

After recounting history in her lovely voice, Eleanor turned to the heart of the matter.

"The mission of locating the body of the sealed Ōkuninushi and the resurrected Japanese warriors from that time... I have mobilized the Kinai Fiefdom's resources to conduct this search."

"Understood. Ladies and gentlemen, the other sacred beast of Japan is Lord Tenryuu," Edward addressed the group, "which it is imperative for us to secure. I believe you are all aware that our Three Lions do not have long to live. We must do our utmost in the land of the Far East, or else the British Empire shall no longer have a sacred beast within her borders."