Editing Chronicle Legion:Volume 2 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 4===

Chevaliers were able to manifest armies of Legions with tangible bodies from their own noesis.

Using this ability, Chevaliers could infiltrate enemy cities or important facilities single-handedly to summon Legions to wreak malicious destruction&mdash;

Fighting war in such a dishonorable way was possible.

However, almost no one ever put it into practice. First of all, doing so would violate the Charter of Chivalry. It was also rather inefficient.

''When far away from the stronghold where the tutelary pact was established, a Chevalier was unable to summon all of their Legions.''

All Chevaliers paid close attention to this rule when going to battle.

Their Chevalier Strength was 10% when using Legions anywhere apart from their stronghold.

Furthermore, the various superpowers all placed tutelary forts near important cities to prevent terror attacks. Consequently, destruction via infiltration was very inefficient.

(One more factor was that Chevaliers belonged to the privileged class and could not be wasted on suicide missions.)

But this time, Masatsugu deliberately summoned Legions in an urban area&mdash;near a port.

Masatsugu's current Chevalier Strength was 302. Shiori had been sharing a bit of ectoplasmic fluid with him on a daily basis, plus what she gave him before the battle, finally allowing him to build up reserves to this level.

Unfortunately, summoning Legions outside of Suruga reduced their numbers to 10%&mdash;

These were the thirty that Masatsugu had summoned at Fuji City's port.

"Standby where you are and don't do anything," Masatsugu quietly ordered the Kanesadas under his command.

He did not have them fly. The red-purple Legions entered a circle formation on the ground with their bayonet rifles aimed outwards.

There was only one Kanesada inside the circle and Masatsugu was standing on its shoulder.

"A commotion seems to be starting."

Legions were roughly eight meters tall. Standing on one's shoulder would be equivalent to a third-floor balcony of an apartment building, treating him to a view of the entire harbor scenery.

Seeing the sudden appearance of winged giant soldiers, civilians fled for their lives.

People would stay indoors as much as possible during war but there were still crowds at port facilities, shops, factories, and houses.

Dozens of speakers in the city sounded an alarm.

Soldiers also fled. The unit of infantry patrol that Masatsugu provoked earlier had disappeared. Instead&mdash;

"They're here, huh?"

The Fuji tutelary fort sent out eighty-four Crusades.

The Crusades flew slowly, approaching from the western sky. The tutelary fort was west of the port, roughly one train stop away.

However, these eighty-four Crusades did not attack the Kanesadas immediately.

Their commander was aware that starting an urban battle with eyewitnesses around would run the risk of breaking the rule of "intentionally destroying civilian facilities" from the Charter of Chivalry. It would be very troublesome to handle indictments after the fact.

The enemy formed a spherical formation in the air, observing the Kanesadas for movements.

Eighty-four versus thirty was quite a big disparity in numbers.

Masatsugu watched the tutelary fort calmly&mdash;The truly troublesome enemy was there.

They were separated by four or five kilometers. Masatsugu could clearly see the vortex of noesis and the eyeball in the sky.

The eyeball was humongous, its diameter surpassing sixty meters.

This was the shadow of the ifrit Morgan le Fay, or rather, an avatar. It was said that Morgan was a goddess of death from British fay folklore.

The eyeball of the goddess, reputedly death itself, stared intently at Masatsugu's army.

This was to allow offensive or defensive measures to be taken any time if necessary.

However, the eyeball did not make a move so far, so as to avoid wasting noesis and mystic power. Britain's ifrit seemed to be quite a seasoned warrior.

What Masatsugu hoped for was precisely this confidence and composure.

"Excellent."

The British Chevalier and ifrit were both waiting for him to make a move.

Masatsugu must not act lightly. His next step was to leave things to Hatsune and see if she could seize this opportunity to complete the mission.


"Are you mentally prepared, Hatsune?"

"O-Of course, Princess!"

Princess Shiori called to Hatsune, who straightened her back.

The two of them were in a park at the port of Dagonoura which offered a view of Suruga Bay's vast waters and a near view of Mount Fuji.

This scenery was beautiful but Hatsune was in no mood to enjoy.

Her relative, Tachibana Masatsugu, had set off thirty minutes ago. According to the plan, it was time for Tachibana Hatsune to enter the battlefield for the first time. However, there were so many uncertain factors.

"But the Legions I can summon are too few&mdash;''Just one''. That's not very reassuring..."

Currently, Hatsune's tentative Chevalier Strength was "just one."

Once she became more experienced, the number of Legions would increase, allowing her actual Chevalier Strength to be known. It was true that her combat power was not very reliable at the current stage.

However, Shiori said, "Not to worry, this actually suits your mission better. Just one ''makes it harder for you to be discovered''."

In her role as strategist, Shiori was very confident, contrasting with the insecure Hatsune.

Hatsune did not know if she was trying to encourage her, or if she was actually confident of victory? Perhaps both.

"I will help you as much as possible, so just do what you can."

"Yes... Oh right, Rikka-sama will be angry later, right? After all, Princess, you are putting yourself at risk."

"That cannot be helped. We will simply have to apologize when the scolding comes."

"Got it, I will endure the scolding by your side!"

"Let us find some dirt on Rikka-sama another time. That way, we can strike back any time she nags too much."

Sometimes, Hatsune felt an urge to put away her clan's ruffian and larger-than-life ways to properly caution her lady, "Princess, you need to act more like a proper princess."

In any case, the time for the operation arrived during their conversation.
 
"Hatsune, proceed. Masatsugu-sama has summoned the Kanesadas!"
 
Shiori pointed at the sky&mdash;west of the Fuji tutelary fort.
 
The British army of eighty or so Crusades were flying towards the port of Dagonoura. They were advancing slowly at around fifty or sixty kilometers per hour because high-speed flight would consume a lot of ectoplasmic fluid.
 
There was also a gigantic eyeball in the sky over the tutelary fort.
 
This eye, an avatar of the ifrit Morgan le Fay, released powerful noesis. Its gaze was directed at a certain corner in the port.
 
Masatsugu had evidently put the plan into motion. Hatsune roared, "Upon my Appellation of Kurou Hougan Yoshitsune&mdash;Assemble, my Legions!"
 
One Legion, red and white in color, manifested.
 
Its appearance was basically the same as the Kamuy except with dark-red armor and a white garment on top. The top of the helmet was elongated like an ''eboshi'', a type of headgear worn by court nobles in the past.
 
Like the Kanesada, Hatsune's Legion, "Kurou Hougan," was a variant of the Kamuy.

"Take me and the princess and fly to the tutelary fort&mdash;In one go, Kurou!"

The soldier wearing the name of Kurou Yoshitsune reacted swiftly.

Slinging its rifle, the Legion bent down and picked up the two girls in its huge hands&mdash;

Then it flew up slowly, instantly accelerating to a hundred kilometers per hour.

The Kurou Hougan continued to speed up, heading straight for the Fuji tutelary fort.

However, it flew at a very low altitude, its feet almost about touch the roofs of two-story buildings.
[[image:ChronicleLegion 02 BW05.jpg|thumb]]

Forced to keep a low profile, Hatsune could go no higher. Masatsugu had summoned Legions in the city to act as a diversion.

He was attracting attention from enemy Chevaliers and Morgan le Fay.

This was to delay the Fuji tutelary fort from noticing the approaching Kurou Hougan for as long as possible. Otherwise, the enemy would deploy a noesis barrier in such a situation.

Once a barrier was erected around the tutelary fort, getting in would be a huge challenge.

The park at the port was only a few kilometers from the tutelary fort. At their current speed, it would take less than five minutes.

However, just as there were only a couple hundred meters left...

Morgan le Fay's eyeball suddenly swiveled and caught sight of the approaching Kurou Hougan. Then a singing voice, resembling a solemn chorus, resounded throughout the sky.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

In concert with the singing, high-density noesis coalesced in the atmosphere.

A noesis barrier gradually took form to cover the Fuji tutelary fort. Noticing the signs, Hatsune hastily yelled, "Kurou Hougan! My power&mdash;I will share my blood with you, so fly even faster!"

Instantly, Hatsune almost fainted.

The symptoms resembled anemia and was due to Hatsune's rapid depletion of the ectoplasmic fluid she had stored up from the water shrine. Next, the Kurou Hougan accelerated with explosive power.

"Kyahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Hatsune screamed as though riding a roller coaster.

Shiori groaned in pain from the massive g-forces. Without the protective barrier that guarded a Legion's body, the passengers' bones would probably have shattered.

In any case, during the fraction of a second before the noesis barrier could be fully deployed...

The Kurou Hougan instantly dashed into the tutelary fort.

"Are you okay, Princess!?"

"D-Don't worry. Let us hurry and begin."

The Fuji tutelary fort's layout was similar to the one at Suruga.

Its premises covered an area roughly the size of five or six Tokyo Domes, surrounded by perimeter walls in a star shape.

There was a forty-meter-tall nation-protecting keep in the center with scattered buildings and warehouses elsewhere. Directly above the nation-protecting keep was a giant hovering eyeball.

Inside the fort, the Kurou Hougan lowered Shiori and Hatsune to the ground.

"W-When Chevaliers are captured, their Appellations are sealed first," said Shiori, trying her best to hold back her nausea.

Hatsune rushed over to steady her lady.

"Hence, it is necessary to summon a large team of noetic officers to activate the sealing mechanism. Both knights and Appellations release noetic waves... If we head to a strong source of noetic waves, it is highly likely we will find the captives."

In the midst of conversation, Shiori's breathing returned to normal and her tone recovered her usual fortitude.

"However, we must not stay in the enemy base for too long. Regardless whether the search succeeds or fails, we must retreat within ten minutes. Use the talismans when the time comes."

"Don't worry, I remembered to bring them!"

Hatsune took out folded A3-size pieces of thick paper from the front of her kimono.

They were two retainer beast talismans. Since they must not be lost, Hatsune immediately returned them to her bosom. After seeing the talismans, Shiori's body glowed golden.

At the same time, there was high-pitched ringing.

This was rumored to be a phenomenon when projecting strong noetic waves. Hatsune watched in wide-eyed astonishment.

"...There is something fishy about the building in the back. Let us proceed."

"Thank you very much&mdash;Kurou!"

At Hatsune's order, the red and white Legion lifted them up to its shoulders.

Shiori was on the left while Hatsune was on the right. The Kurou Hougan jumped gracefully, clearing a distance of two hundred meters and landing in front of the building indicated by the princess without causing any tremors.

The massive Kurou Hougan Legion landed noiselessly.

Such light movements were similar to those demonstrated by the young Yoshitsune in Hatsune's dream. Despite weighing dozens of tons, the Legion was as agile as a cat.

While feeling impressed, Hatsune did not neglect to give orders.

"Open a hole in the wall to let us look inside. We need to confirm who's in there!"

There was a seven-story pitch-black building in front of them.

This style of architecture could be found in trendy office buildings downtown. However, this was a tutelary fort and all buildings were military facilities. Thus, one could damage them without holding back at all.

The Kurou Hougan delivered an acute right punch, puncturing the outer wall on the second floor.

In the face of a Legion's arm strength, steel-reinforced concrete was no different from a paper door. The Kurou Hougan withdrew its fist, leaving a giant hole in the side of the building, which provided a view of the office furniture inside.

In the same manner, the Kurou Hougan opened up additional holes in the building.

In the fourth hole, they found several men in the military uniforms of Imperial Japan.


Meanwhile, at the port of Dagonoura...

Masatsugu's thirty Kanesadas continued to face off against the eighty or so Crusades.

The army of Kanesadas continued to maintain a circle with rifles aimed outwards.

In contrast, the Crusades were diagonally above, overlooking the circle.

They were in a line formation dozens of meters in the air with rifles aimed at the Kanesadas on the ground.

"They don't dare to attack recklessly, huh...? What a great help," Masatsugu muttered to himself. The enemy's caution was in his favor.

The Crusades in the air were in a row. Behind them, riding a white wyvern was a British Chevalier. A man in his prime.

The man had his wyvern circling while he watched the Japanese Legions for movements.

Presumably, this was because Masatsugu had not ordered his Legions to attack. Since a while ago, Masatsugu had simply engaged in a profound silent demonstration.

Fighting in populous urban areas would ultimately be against the Charter of Chivalry. Hence, the British army did not dare fire first. They did not wish to actively violate the rules and sow seeds for trouble.

The result was both sides in a standstill for almost ten minutes.

Had a stalemate not occurred, Masatsugu's original plan was to hold their ground defensively to buy ten-odd minutes of time. Of course, avoiding unnecessary fighting would be more than welcome.

Just as Masatsugu was thanking his good fortune, the "eye" in the sky over the tutelary fort emitted noetic waves and singing.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

A noesis barrier was formed presently, surrounding the entire tutelary fort. Did Hatsune and the princess enter the fort and succeed in finding the hostages?

"No matter what the result, next comes a struggle for survival."

As soon as he said that, Masatsugu heard a loud noise.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnn!

From the Fuji tutelary fort came a roar.

The sound reached the urban area near the port from the rural wetlands. A Legion was howling using its mouth behind the mask. This was called a War Cry.

This singing and shouting came from a winged giant soldier that were not human.

&mdash;When retreating from the tutelary fort, use the Kurou Hougan's voice as a signal.

Masatsugu had given this instruction to Hatsune in advance. Hearing the agreed signal, Masatsugu said quietly, "All men draw your swords. Prepare to charge."

The thirty Kanesadas immediately acted.

Their bayonet rifles&mdash;rifles outfitted with blades&mdash;instantly turned into Japanese swords. And it was a fabulously renowned sword, Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada, the personal blade of Hijikata Toshizō.

The thirty Kanesada emitted protective barrier particles from their entire bodies.

Barrier particles usually glowed white but the Kanesada's were red-purple, the same color as their armor. Moreover, the Kanesadas were exuding more than the glow of the protective barrier.

All Kanesadas were giving off frightening ''bloodlust'', determined to cut through all obstacles in their path.

This terrifying aura undoubtedly belonged to the "Merciless" Shinsengumi Vice-Commander.

"Attack!"

Masatsugu ordered his army and the Kanesadas entered the flat seigan stance.
 
The eighty-something Crusades on alert in the sky also deployed a protective barrier and reflexively pulled their triggers. They were probably intimidated by the katana-wielding army's bloodlust and terrifying aura.
 
Naturally, the Crusades were targeting the thirty Kanesadas in a circle formation on the ground.
 
Just as the rifles shot beams capable of vaporizing asphalt...
 
Masatsugu's army kicked the ground and took flight. Instead of dashing at the Crusade army in front of them, they made a detour around the enemy and continued to accelerate fiercely.
 
It turned out that the Kanesada army was flying to the Fuji tutelary fort at high speed!
 
A rain of flashing light struck the thirty Kanesadas' former location from two seconds ago.
 
Already firing, the Crusades were unable to track the Kanesadas with their beams in time. Masatsugu had executed a feint using bloodlust precisely to take advantage of this.
 
The pier at the port was less than five kilometers from the Fuji tutelary fort.
 
The Kanesadas flew over the city, leaving residential areas. It only took ten-odd seconds to reach the beautiful natural scenery of the wetlands.
 
The protective barrier around the Legions shielded Masatsugu from the effects of speed and g-forces.
 
"Ignore the lightning. Go straight ahead."
 
Along the way, the Kanesada's encountered descending lightning strikes.
 
A meteorological decree invoked by the ifrit Morgan le Fay.
 
Fortunately, the thirty Kanesadas were in a packed spherical formation. The protective barrier would be able to withstand several seconds of continuous lightning strikes.
 
The star-shaped walls of the tutelary fort came into sight.
 
However, a non-physical shield&mdash;the noesis barrier&mdash;was blocking the way. Unless the barrier was removed, there was no way to break inside the tutelary fort.
 
"Next task&mdash;Penetrate!"
 
From atop a Kanesada in the center of the spherical formation, Masatsugu issued orders to the whole army.
 
This was a "word of kill" ordaining certain death. First, four Kanesadas accelerated and left the spherical formation to collide with one part of the noesis barrier.
 
The four Kanesadas formed a row while extending their katanas with both hands.
 
Four katanas stabbed into the noesis barrier. The remaining twenty-five Kanesadas rushed with full momentum behind the earlier four and pushed their backs in unison. Only the Kanesada carrying Masatsugu did not take action.
 
This attack opened up a series of four holes in the noesis barrier.
 
The holes of similar size grew, finally becoming one big hole. The twenty-nine Legions under Masatsugu rushed into the tutelary fort.
 
The Kanesadas' katana offensive even managed to slice through a small part of an impregnable noesis barrier&mdash;

This was the power of the renowned blade Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada's Feat of Arms&mdash;Gankouken. Its effect was to bestow Legions with Hijikata Toshizō's weapon and infantry tactics for slaughtering enemies with swordsmanship.

A Kamuy-like Legion flew over to the Kanesada army that had created the huge hold.

"Onii-sama, you really came!"

The Kamuy had red armor with a white garment on top&mdash;A Kurou Hougan Legion.

Hatsune was sitting on its right shoulder. A shoulder was not a particularly stable spot, but Chevaliers and Legions were linked by mystic power, so cases of Chevaliers falling off were extremely rare.

Hatsune looked calm and composed, evidently getting used to a Chevalier's powers.

Two blue wyverns came flying from behind. Shiori had told Hatsune to bring retainer beast talismans, so the wyverns must have manifested from them.

Shiori was riding on of the wyverns which had a saddle to sit on.

The second wyvern was carrying three Japanese men dressed in uniforms of military officers. They all looked gloomy and listless, but fortunately, their lives were not in danger.

Thus, the "princess and her knights" converged successfully, exiting the noesis barrier.

"Princess, are you okay?"

"Yes, nothing to worry about. Thank you for your efforts too, Masatsugu-sama."

"What about those three?"

Masatsugu looked at the three Chevaliers who had almost become hostages.

They were young men between twenty and thirty years of age. Their names were respectively Habuna, Maike, and Tabi. The three of them thanked Masatsugu meekly. Unfortunately, their Appellations were sealed and had to be unsealed at Suruga before they could summon Kamuys again.

From his Legion's shoulder, Masatsugu jumped behind the princess, onto the wyvern she was riding.

The two of them sat on one saddle to ride the same wyvern. This was to help out Shiori who was not a skilled rider. Just as they were about to escape&mdash;

"Onii-sama, over there!"

Masatsugu looked as directed, turning his head towards the port.

The eighty-odd Crusades he had left behind were gradually approaching. Their movement speed was not high and they had already aimed their rifles at Masatsugu's group. Just as he was pondering how to escape&mdash;

Hatsune said from the Kurou Hougan's shoulder.

"Wait, leave the rest to me!"

"What did you say?"

"I feel it&mdash;Yoshitsune's Appellation says he's got a good plan."

Hatsne was not a proper Chevalier yet, but her abilities were definitely developing. Sensing that she had an idea, Masatsugu nodded and said, "Got it. Go ahead and try it out."

"Yeah, I got this!" Hatsune replied energetically then slowly lowered her voice. "...When penetrating enemy territory, know locations to avoid and identify poorly guarded lines of retreat to ensure certain escape. Charge the enemy, break their formation, take no prisoners. <!--quoted from the Six Secret Teachings, an ancient Chinese classic on strategy-->Behold my Feat of Arms&mdash;Kotouhisshutsu!"

As Masatsugu predicted, Hatsune was going to invoke a Feat of Arms.

After reciting a mantra that sounded like principles from a military classic, Hatsune said loudly, "Onii-sama, follow me!"

The Kurou Hougan released powerful noesis and flew west.

In front of them were the eighty-odd Crusades that Masatsugu had confronted at the pier. In spite of that, Masatsugu did as told and ordered his Legions to follow.

The thirty Kanesadas caught up with the Kurou Hougan that had moved out first.

...Immediately, the view before their eyes changed dramatically.

Spontaneously, their army had arrived in the sky over the Fuji River. It was the river they had reached a few hours ago, traveling by Mibu wolves to cross the mountains.

"What?"

The Fuji River's did not have a huge quantity of water flowing through it. Its gravelly sandbanks and shores were very striking.

The tutelary fort was roughly ten kilometers from the Fuji River. Unbelievably, their army had traversed this distance instantaneously. Furthermore, Masatsugu and the others had not experienced any sensation of "high-speed flight."

Following the Kurou Hougan, they had arrived here "just like that." 

There was no feeling of speed or g-forces. The Kanesada army had not consumed any ectoplasmic fluid either.

"It appears that Kurou Hougan Yoshitsune's Feat of Arms..." Shiori said with surprise all over her face.

During the process, the Kanesadas and the wyverns continued to fly west&mdash;in other words, towards Suruga. They crossed the Fuji River and came to the sky over the highland forests of Mount Oomaru, Mount Kanamaru, Mount Amagoi, and Mount Arashi.

"...Can achieve instantaneous movement so long as the distance is not too great&mdash;A type of teleportation power. Perhaps it is a reenactment of the legends of the Hyodori-goe surprise assault and jumping over eight ships."

"P-P-P-P-Probably, Princess..."

Of everyone present, only Hatsune was out of breath.

She looked like she had just finished a sprinting competition. This Feat of Arms evidently took a huge toll on the Chevalier leading the army.

Hatsune was so tired that her eyes were spinning. Masatsugu ordered the Kanesadas to stop mid-flight.

The wyverns carrying him, Shiori, and the three Chevaliers also stopped. The wyverns flapped their wings, hovering in one place in the air.

Meanwhile, the exhausted Hatsune said proudly, "A-Anyway, now that we're here, all that's left to do is run as fast as we can! Our operation was a success!"

"...No, it is still too early to say that."

Masatsugu observed Fuji City from where they had just traversed using teleportation.

Over in the air above the tutelary fort, Morgan le Fay's gigantic eye avatar remained manifested. Its gaze was directed straight at Masatsugu and company.

A Chevalier's sharp instincts informed Masatsugu.

The eyeball's noetic waves and gaze were following them relentlessly.

"Morgan le Fay has not lost our trail. It knows where we are."

"Huh!?" Hatsune exclaimed in surprise.

A "voice" was instantly heard in this airspace.

(Precisely, so... Chevaliers of Japan. I am, the genie Morrigan. The controller of the ifrit Morgan le Fay.)

It was not a real human voice but sound formed from noetic waves.

The soprano voice sounded adorable, but the tone was a bit choppy.

The source was ''overhead''. A giant eyeball, seven or eight meters in diameter, was hovering in the air above, surrounded by a powerful vortex of noetic waves.

Its appearance was very similar to the gigantic eyeball over the Fuji tutelary fort.

(Give up, on your futile escape. Even if you land, and hide in the mountains, I, the spirit Morrigan, will never lose your trail. I will definitely, catch you.)

Sure enough, nothing was ever easy on the battlefield.

Masatsugu shrugged. Whatever. In truth, he did not really care. After all, he was prepared to fight all-out to retreat. However, his brow furrowed slightly when he heard the following notice.

(Also, here is some unfortunate news, for you. Morrigan originally asked, a Chevalier at the Fuji tutelary fort... Sir Gary to pursue you. But now, another Chevalier happened to return.)

Could it be Richard the Lionheart?

Masatsugu frowned and pondered. Did the Resurrectee whose chase took him in Motosu's direction return? However, an even worse scenario overturned Masatsugu's hypothesis.

(This person has flippant tendencies despite being the commander-in-chief. This time, he will surely take care of you personally.)

"Morrigan! Don't you have anything better to say than calling me 'flippant'?"

A young voice suddenly interrupted, retorting against the comment delivered through noetic waves.

Instantly, a rider on a British white wyvern arrived. He was dressed in a black military officer's uniform. A handsome man with silver hair.

Unmistakably, he was the Chevalier whom Masatsugu had spotted from afar, the day he swore his oath of fealty to Shiori.

Masatsugu was very certain, this was none other but Edward the Black Prince himself.

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