Editing Chronicle Legion:Volume 2 Chapter 5 (section)

===Part 4===

It was midnight and November 7th had just started.

Just earlier, Hatsune's surrogate older brother, Tachibana Masatsugu, had flown off from the dorm premises, riding a wyvern summoned by Princess Shiori using noetic control.

He had gone to intercept the thousand Escalibors coming from the Fuji tutelary fort.

Tonight, Richard I had finally made his move.

It was a yatagarasu that reported to the Suruga tutelary fort of Richard's advance, in other words, the retainer beast that Shiori had summoned at the Fuji River's shore and left there for reconnaissance.

Hatsune was also prepared for battle but this time, she was staying back on defense duty.

This was the largest enemy army to attack so far, after all. Hatsune was still a novice Chevalier and could very likely get in Masatsugu's way. Hatsune was filled with mixed feelings including relief and disappointment.

"Princess, the car will be at the dorm soon. Please wait a moment!"

"Mm-hmm..."

Helping her exhausted lady, Hatsune spoke gentle words.

They had just left the entrance of princess' private quarters, Black Lily Dorm. Shiori had changed out of the yukata she wore for bed and into a clean blouse and skirt. Her platinum blonde hair had also been tied in a ponytail with a ribbon by Hatsune.

They were about to head to the Suruga tutelary fort to be present at the command center for the interception operation.

However, Shiori was truly exhausted tonight. Unable to stand on her own, she had to lean on Hatsune for support.

Her face was pale and her breathing was heavy. The symptoms resembled anemia.

"Uh, Princess, do you have a fever... Or did you do something to overexhaust yourself?"

Hatsune was going to ask if she had a fever but changed her question midway.

She could not forget the intimate act between Shiori and Masatsugu that she had secretly witnessed before news of Richard's attack arrived. Back then, Hatsune had sensed something resembling mystic power between the two of them...

The princess gave an unexpected answer.

"I have mentioned before that Masatsugu-sama cannot replenish his ectoplasmic fluid the normal way. However, he is able to use a Feat of Arms to steal ectoplasmic fluid from either a Chevalier or a princess of a sacred beast's bloodline. I have been providing it to him every day..."

"Eh!?"

"Perhaps I am reaching the limit of my physical stamina..."

"P-Princess, there is nothing more important than your health. Why must you go so far!?"

Hatsune expressed her concern in surprise but the imperial princess shook her head with dignity.

"As a leader, I must commit everything in my ability to help my retainer to draw out the full extent of his power. Besides, Masatsugu-sama also&mdash;"

Shiori smiled gently for a moment.

"Fufu, he said he was willing to offer his life to me, so I must respond to him with commensurate resolve. If the blood that flows through me is truly noble, then all the more reason for me to do so..."

"Princess..."

The princess expressed utmost resolve and actually committed ideals to action.

In this regard, Hatsune's surrogate brother&mdash;the Resurrectee whose true identity was unknown&mdash;Tachibana Masatsugu, was the same. He had protected the princess many times and kept Suruga safe. Using his wit, vigor, and life as weapons, he had compensated for the limited number of Legions at his disposal.

Determination took root in Hatsune's heart.


Riding a blue wyvern, Tachibana Masatsugu was flying alone through the sky over Suruga City.

He was accompanied by an army without humans.

This army consisted of the red-purple Kamuy Legions known as the "Kanesadas," numbering 360&mdash;

Masatsugu had converted all of the ectoplasmic fluid granted by Princess Shiori into winged giant soldiers. The Legions were surrounding Masatsugu in a packed spherical formation.

Flying at a speed of fifty to sixty kilometers per hour, this would be considered marching speed.

Maintaining this sort of low-speed flight required almost no consumption of ectoplasmic fluid on the Legions' part.

"...Riding a wyvern isn't bad at all."

A wyvern's body was roughly twice the size of a racehorse.

Masatsugu was riding the wyvern's massive body on a saddle with his feet planted in the stirrups and reins tightly in his hand.

Frequently "riding horses" in his past life, Masatsugu was very accustomed to this style. This was something he realized during the retreat from Fuji City.

Of course, retainer beasts were born to serve humans and quite intelligent.

They flew steadily and even amateur riders need not worry about falling off. Furthermore, it only took minimal directions for them to understand the rider's intent, unlike horses that required experienced equestrian skill.

In any case, Masatsugu's army flew along Suruga Bay's coast.

When he reached the mountain road that crossed Suruga City, he discovered the enemy in the sky over Satsuta Ridge.

The British army of red was approaching from the Fuji direction.

The other side was not flying fast either. The approaching army of elite troops was precisely the crimson Escalibors.

"Exactly a thousand... Outnumbering my army three to one. Looks like the enemy isn't holding back anything in the attack."

Chevaliers were able to instantly count each other's armies by sensing their noesis.

Looking at the thousand Escalibors, Masatsugu muttered to himself.

The red army was also in a spherical formation. Both sides were using the same formation. In a frontal clash between 1000 versus 360, the battle would be settled in a matter of minutes.

The side with superior numbers would have greater firepower from their rifles.

Moreover, closely packed Legions would generate protective barriers whose particles overlapped, increasing defensive power.

The two armies were some distance apart. At this rate, they would soon get into range for a shootout. Masatsugu issued a command before that.

"Scatter."

Instantly, the 360 Kanesadas broke out of their packed formation.

Masatsugu's Legions had flown in a packed formation within arm's length of one another.

Now, the formation collapsed and all Kanesadas ''scattered''.

They distanced themselves from each other all at once, separated by over dozens of meters.

The Kanesadas approached the thousand Escalibors while scattered. Hence, the British and the Japanese forces clashed in the sky over Mount Satsuta.

The thousand British knights were in a packed sphere&mdash;

Looking from afar, they seemed like a "giant crimson ball" floating in the air.

Richard's army of Escalibors stopped over Mount Satsuta, hovering motionlessly. This was like how a great yokozuna would confidently take on a weaker sumo wrestler.

Naturally, the Suruga side did not have the luxury of doing the same.

After scattering, Masatsugu's 360 Legions became "a loose collection of red-purple flying dots." They attacked the crimson sphere from all directions.

"Begin to fire. Harass them like annoying mosquitoes." Masatsugu ordered while staying back as the commander on his wyvern mount.

Both the British and the Japanese troops began to exchange rifle fire.

From every Legion's muzzle, scorching beams were fired incessantly.

The Suruga side's shots were ineffective against the solid protective barrier of the thousand Escalibor's packed formation. Moving around haphazardly nearby, the Kanesadas attacked, firing rifle shots like insect stings.

Even ten thousand stings could not harm the sphere's iron defense.

Needless to say, the 360 "red-purple mosquitoes" swarming the "giant crimson ball" were shot down one after another.

Masatsugu smiled, unconcerned about the unfavorable situation.

After all, maintaining a packed formation to exchange fire would result in rapid annihilation at the enemy's hands.

"Let's start saying hello the Hijikata Toshizō&mdash;Shinsengumi&mdash;way."

Shooting down the scattered Kanesadas meant spreading gunfire over a wide area.

In other words, the ''density of gunfire'' would decrease.

Of course, Legions were capable of firing their rifles at a rate of ten shots per second, so charging against this curtain of death would inevitably lead to casualties.

However, using this Feat of Arms would slightly lengthen their survival duration.

"All men draw your swords. Time for you to enter the stage."

Riding his wyvern, Masatsugu was wearing an officer's black jacket over his student uniform.

The sheathed Japanese sword hanging on his belt was his personal blade, Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada. With his left hand on the sword's hilt, he invoked the Feat of Arms&mdash;Gankouken.

The red-purple Kanesada Legions' weapons all turned into Hijikata Toshizō's famous sword.

Guarding their center line, the Kanesadas raised their swords to use as defensive shields. This was the tactic they had used to counter the Garter Knights' longbow formation.

"Compared to the arrows of the Garter Knights... Mere rifle fire is nothing but child's play."

The Kanesadas started to use swordsmanship in response to Masatsugu's expectations.

The Escalibors' flashing rain of light was sweeping over all directions. The Kanesadas blocked the approaching beams with deft moves of the sword by slight twists of the wrist.

Among them, some Kanesadas dodged the shots directly.

With a slight turn of their upper torso, they dodged the deadly attacks.

This level of eyesight was truly a godly feat. Sensing bloodlust beforehand to evade gunfire&mdash;Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada had empowered the Legions to reenact an experienced Chevalier's skillful techniques.

The Kanesadas were no longer "red-purple mosquitoes."

Instead, they were a team of master swordsmen sent to suppress the British army's packed formation from all directions.

...Naturally, superb swordsmanship alone was not enough to overcome the unfavorable numerical odds of three to one. All the enemy had to do was focus fire, giving up the scattered offensive in all directions, and even Hijikata Toshizō's swordsmanship would find it difficult to resist.

However, swordsmanship was ultimately one of the few advantages on the Suruga side.

The current priority was to make full use of this advantage to buy time. To approach the enemy all at once, to provoke that man's zeal and lure him into going "all-out"&mdash;

Just as Masatsugu was preparing to put his plan into motion...

"What&mdash;?"

Tachibana Masatsugu, usually calm and composed, widened his eyes in surprise.

For better or worse, the Lionheart was prone to whims of fancy and this time was no exception.


"Oh? So that is the legendary tachi of the samurai... What dazzling luster and strength, a match for my Escalibor, the sword of King Arthur."

Richard was riding a white wyvern.

The white wyvern was located in the center of the spherical formation of the thousand Escalibors.

"Hohohoho. So the villain of Suruga turns out to be a man who entrusts his ideals to the sword too?"

It was rumored that one of the Chevaliers defending Suruga could be a Resurrectee.

Instead of turtling inside the tutelary fort, the enemy had actively gone out to fight a skirmish.

Presumably, he must have made the call that there was no advantage in fighting Richard in a siege battle.  Or perhaps, he was simply a man who enjoyed fighting out on the field. In any case, he was unlike Richard's past opponents.

"Excellent, now this is a worthy opponent for a knight. My army, respond properly to the enemy's spirit!"

Richard had changed out of the combat attire of common soldiers.

Once again, he was wearing an officer's black uniform along with his crimson cape. Seated on the saddle of his wyvern, Richard drew the sword hanging at his waist.

"Stop shooting, my knights! Brandish the royal sword to fight!"

All Escalibors obeyed their master's command and stopped firing.

The roughly three hundred red-purple Legions were scattered around Richard's spherical formation, fighting with drawn swords.

"Scatter yourselves too. Break formation and fight in melee at your own discretion."

Medieval Europe was where Richard the king and knight had roamed the battlefield.

Back then, the aristocracy shunned projectiles, condemning them as "cruel weapons." The reason was because such weapons would cause unnecessary casualties. Using bows, even nameless commoners were able to kill fierce knights.

However, Richard did not hate projectile weapons.

Projectiles were able to end battles swiftly and the straightforward Lionheart liked this aspect. On the medieval battlefield, he too had actively deployed crossbows.

His collateral descendant Edward's Feat of Arms involving bows and arrows was perhaps a continuation of his legacy.

That being said, the Lionheart's true preference lay in the sword, the horse, and the lance swung on horseback.

"Cut down the samurai's swords and the men of Suruga, Escalibors!"

Escalibor was the magic sword appearing in King Arthur's legends and Richard had named his personal sword after it.

Escalibor was cognate to the English name "Excalibur." Richard the Lionheart was enamored with the knightly ideal in King Arthur's legends.
[[image:ChronicleLegion 02 BW08.jpg|thumb]]


"So the other side has broken out of formation too?"

Masatsugu muttered with a frown.

Both armies were clashing in the sky over Mount Satsuta. Masatsugu had led 360 Legions while Richard's Escalibors numbered 1000 and had formed in a packed formation.

Normally speaking, the key to victory lay in "how to make the enemy's formation collapse."

But this time, Richard had discarded the packed formation on his own initiative. Unencumbered by a formation, the thousand British legions attacked the Kanesadas freely.

"Impulsive... Yet his instincts are rather sharp. What a troublesome move he made."

Seeing the two armies locked in a chaotic skirmish, Masatsugu clicked his tongue.

Melee combat could be seen everywhere in the sky over Mount Satsuta.

Instead of firing their rifles, the Escalibors were using the bayonets on the front end of the barrel to 
exchange blows with Japanese swords, determined to pierce their enemies with deadly blades.

The Kanesadas still held the advantage in melee combat.

Brandishing their renowned blades, they exhibited the swordsmanship of Hijikata Toshizō and the Shinsengumi again and again.

For example, they used the flat seigan stance to execute mid-level slashes, severing the British Legions' rifles; or blocking the enemy's slash then following through with a slice through their crimson abdomen; or entering a low stance, luring the British knights to attack, then slicing through the enemy's jaw and face from below&mdash;

All kinds of amazing sword moves demonstrated that samurai pride was intact.

In contrast, the Escalibors had no such skill with the sword. However, they were physically two sizes bigger than the Kanesadas and had overwhelming strength.

The British knights were coarse in their use of blades, but plenty fast and effective.

They used light thrusts in fencing style, trying to overwhelm their opponents with speed. The instant their weapons clashed, they switched to using their bodies to smash into the Kanesadas. No matter how difficult Tennen Rishin Style swordsmanship was to handle, they did not give up on finding momentary openings to slash the bodies and armor of the Kanesadas&mdash;

...The Kanesadas were faster at slaughtering enemies.

However, the Escalibors were not much worse. Besides, they still had a numerical advantage of three to one.

As the melee battle persisted, the Lionheart's army was clearly going to win.

"If he held the formation and fought me slow and steadily, I could still engage using all kinds of little tricks..."

Masatsugu shrugged.

During a skirmish, what mattered was the strength of individual soldiers and ''numbers''.

Richard I had unintentionally avoided troublesome calculations and instinctively chosen the battlefield's golden truth of "winning through simple brute force."

This was the cleanest tactic towards victory, giving the enemy no room for tricks and guile.

"Impressive as always, the Lionheart. Even if he is a rash fool... No, precisely because he is a big fool who is super rash, that's why he is especially difficult to handle."

Richard I was probably a "war genius."

Masatsugu was very impressed. The Lionheart had found the method to victory through instinct and personality, overcoming theory and established tactics in the process. If someone like that was not a genius, who would be a genius?

"Compared to him, I'm just a dog at most."

Leaving the chaotic battlefield, Masatsugu surveyed the entire battlefield.

He had his wyvern rise to a higher altitude for him to overlook the two armies locked in battle. The crimson British knights and the red-purple samurai were producing a clamor of clashing blades and scorching wind pressure.

The armor of Legions cracked open from time to time with a splatter of blue ectoplasmic fluid.

Masatsugu found his target.

In the middle of the chaotic battle, the Lionheart was roaming the battlefield with his wyvern&mdash;

The enemy general was located. Chevaliers were able to experience what their Legions saw and heard. A Kanesada that had witnessed Richard informed Masatsugu of the precise coordinates.

"...Dogs have their own way of fighting. Let's go."

Masatsugu patted his blue wyvern's neck, ordering it to charge.

He was going to charge into the carnage for a "one-on-one duel of valor."

Of course, the enemy was the fierce Richard I. Masatsugu's cheek twitched to smile proudly. The duel that was coming up next had nothing to do with chivalry or samurai spirit.

Masatsugu decided to make effective use of his most prided tactics from the ancient past.

If one were to describe Masatsugu as a dog, then he would definitely be a "hound."

The blue wyvern gradually accelerated, its altitude decreasing. It was charging towards a corner of the battlefield where King Richard was.

It was finally time to hunt the lion.

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