Editing Chronicle Legion:Volume 3 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 5===

Rikka's army had deliberately charged into the battlefield in an ostentatious manner.

Roaring, her Legions had called upon her Tōkaidō comrades to follow her and gather in the castle for a last stand to defend Nagoya Castle.

In the meantime, the noetic officers from Suruga were in charge of preparations.

They rushed over to the Tōkaidō Governor General and secured authorization to proceed with the plan. After that, they sent out pipe foxes to notify the ten-odd Chevaliers scattered throughout the castle or the city.

In other words...

'Calling all Chevaliers, leave your Kamuys on the battlefield while doing your utmost to return to Nagoya Castle. Thirty minutes from now, all units shall retreat from the castle together with His Excellency the Governor General.'

'Chevaliers unable to return to the castle shall escape Nagoya at your own discretion. Converge at the Suruga tutelary fort.'

'There is no need to defend Nagoya Castle with your life. The key to Tōkaidō's continued existence depends on future battles.'

The above was the content of the message.

The message was jointly signed by "Akigase Shouzan and Hijikata" as the ones issuing the orders.

Twelve Chevaliers returned to Nagoya Castle and the group began to retreat.


"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... Behold my Feat of Arms&mdash;Kotouhisshutsu!"

The Tachibana little sister was the one in charge of creating the opening to retreat.

In front of Nagoya Castle's central keep, Hatsune summoned five Kurou Hougans. She recited the mantra loudly and invoked the Feat of Arms&mdash;Kotouhisshutsu.

Leading the Legions under her command, the Tachibana little sister marched forward confidently.

Masatsugu was following right behind her, accompanied by Akigase Rikka, Rikka's father Akigase Shouzan, a few of Shouzan's trusted subordinates, and the team of noetic officers from Suruga.

Finally, rounding out the total were ten Tōkaidō Chevaliers.

Fujinomiya Shiori had said previously, "Can achieve instantaneous movement so long as the distance is not too great—A type of teleportation power. Perhaps it is a reenactment of the legends of the Hyodori-goe surprise assault and jumping over eight ships."

This was an explanation of the Feat of Arms&mdash;Kotouhisshutsu's power.

The Feat of Arms instantly transported everyone from Nagoya Castle to ten-odd kilometers to the northeast.

It was not a huge distance, but Japan was a nation of mountains. These ten-odd kilometers could take them to favorable terrain.

On this occasion. the group had moved to the mountainous area upstream of the Shounai River.

Escaping the intense siege, the group had arrived at a stream with pure and clean water.

Masatsugu and company were standing on the shore that was covered in gravel. They were going to sneak through the mountains, so Hatsune dismissed her five Legions.

This crazy method of movement easily rivaled Minamoto no Yoshitsune's famous legend of Hyodori-goe.

The first time he heard that story, Masatsugu had the following thoughts. Even if horses and deer were both quadrupedal creatures, how could horses traverse mountain paths used by deer exclusively? Totally ridiculous.

In any case, their retreat operation had begun.

The noetic officers summoned twenty or so retainer beasts, the Mibu wolves.

They were giant wolves with silver fur and the size of purebred racehorses. Carrying one or two people each, they raced over mountain paths.

Their destination was Suruga, more than a hundred kilometers away. Furthermore, the sky was growing dark.

Normally, it was impossible to run in the mountains under such conditions. Fortunately, the Mibu wolves had excellent night vision and sense of smell, paired with extraordinary endurance and leg strength.

With noetic officers guiding them forward using noetic control, the wolves did not have any trouble for now.

After the wolves started running, Rikka had her Mibu wolf catch up to Masatsugu's mount and run side by side with his.

"Masatsugu-dono, may I have a moment of your time?" Rikka struck up conversation with Masatsugu. "Frankly speaking, I believe that the retreat operation from Nagoya has gone relatively smoothly."

"Indeed, Hatsune's Feat of Arms&mdash;or rather, Kurou Hougan Yoshitsune's Feat of Arms&mdash;is astoundingly powerful. It's possible that the Restoration Alliance is still unaware that we have retreated."

The one who deserved the most credit in this battle was currently sitting in front of Masatsugu, riding the same wolf.

Usage of Kotouhisshutsu was very draining. Unbelievably, Hatsune was able to nod off to sleep while riding a wolf's back.

Masatsugu had his little sister leaning against his chest. He lowered his voice and said, "Were Richard present, this would've been a crazy gamble to avoid."

"I agree, it's just that..."  Rikka smiled and sneaked a glance at Masatsugu. "When you devised our current strategem, Masatsugu-dono, you took this point into consideration, didn't you?"

"......"

"Last night, the Lionheart's one thousand Legions perished in battle at Suruga. It would take at last ten days or half a month for them to fully revive, which means he should be behaving these few days."

"If that man had been present at Nagoya, the castle might've fallen before we could hurry to the scene." Masatsugu shrugged and replied, "When we summoned the troops and knights to gather at the castle, it would've been possible for him to notice our intention to retreat. In any case, defeating him last night was definitely a good thing."

"Yes, which is why we dared to take a gamble." Rikka nodded in agreement.

Smart and brave&mdash;Rare and valuable were generals blessed with both intelligence and valor. Akigase Rikka was evidently one of them.

Without needing Masatsugu to spell everything out, she was able to read between the lines.

"The true challenge lay with my colleagues... How to quickly convince the Tōkaidō Chevaliers and lead them to escape, ''that'' was the key."

Listening to Rikka, Masatsugu finally understood her intent. "No wonder you used the name of Hijikata."

"Yes, I borrowed the princess' wisdom. After all, I was taken in by the same trick too."

"Personally, Rikka-dono, I feel that your own reputation alone is already enough."

"I am not that popular. People only think of me as the Governor General's unworthy daughter, stubborn and lacking in feminine charm."

"You're too modest."

Mastsugu and Rikka's Mibu wolves were currently running at the head of the pack.

The five Mibu wolves behind were carrying ten Tōkaidō Chevaliers between them. Oddly enough, these Chevaliers were staring at Masatsugu's back with eyes of fervor...

Rikka smirked. "It was worth it for you to use Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada at Nagoya Castle. Everyone is wondering whether you are Hijikata Toshizō&mdash;or rather, they are hoping for you to be Hijikata Toshizō."

"Hoping?"

"The British have Edward the Black Prince and King Richard the Lionheart. Then Japan ought to have its own hero step forward... This hope is far stronger than you can imagine. Furthermore, the Mibu wolves we are riding..." Rikka touched the silver fur of the running wolf and said, "Did you know? Hijikata Toshizō-dono used to lead a pack of Mibu wolves to fight on various battlefields across eastern Japan to protect the northern court at Hokkaidō from the Meiji government's attacks."

"I've heard bits and pieces of that."

"Stuck with inferior numbers and equipment, Hijikata-dono had no choice but to avoid pitched battles. Instead, he relied on the Mibu wolves to fight on the run. Using guerrilla tactics similar to those of bandits, he made fools out of the government's armed forces."

"Oh?"

"After battles, he often rode a Mibu wolf to retreat."

"...I see."

In a certain way, this retreat operation was a reenactment of Hijikata Toshizō's legend too.

Perhaps this was why the Tōkaidō Chevaliers were willing to accept the retreat operation. Otherwise, they were all determined to "die for their cause" in the beginning.

Now, Masatsugu finally understood where Rikka's worries were coming from.

In fact, prior to setting off, Akigase Rikka and her father had engaged in a similar debate.

Currently, the old man who was Tōkaidō's Governor General was fast asleep&mdash;or rather, unconscious. He had suffered heavy injuries during the battle at Nagoya Castle.

His wounds included bruises all over his body, external injuries to the head, sprains to the neck vertebrae, broken ribs, etc.

Currently, the Governor General was being transported by tying him to the back of a Mibu wolf.

In any case, he had to be delivered to Suruga first before they could talk about treatment and recuperation.

Akigase Shouzan had only received minimal first aid. Until just before setting off, he had remained conscious. As soon as he saw his beloved daughter, the two of them had started arguing.

'Your strategy is correct. Dying in a last stand at Nagoya would be meaningless. However, I would rather die than retreat.'

Just before escaping Nagoya Castle, everyone had gathered in front of the central keep.

Lying on a stretcher, Rikka's father made his determination clear.

As the Governor General, he could not leave behind the city's residents and escape on his own. He was going to stay behind to fulfill a lord's duties.

In contrast, the daughter gave him no respect for it.

'I am worried that the enemy will use you as a hostage or a bargaining chip in negotiations if you were to be captured. Either way, since you happen to be injured, I will transport you to Suruga in your current state.'

'Damn you!'

'My esteemed father, didn't you make the same decision? Where are my younger brothers?'

'Oh right, Rikka-sama.' Hatsune had asked without thinking. 'You have two younger brothers, right?'

'Yes, they were sent away soon after war broke out between the Restoration Alliance and us. My father knew that Nagoya would turn into a battlefield sooner or later.'

'Hmph, if the ruler's children are rendered captives,' Akigase Shouzan spoke with disdain, 'the retainers will begin to have unnecessary worries. To be perfectly honest, I wanted to order them to commit suicide if and when the castle falls, to live and die with Nagoya.'

'Had you actually given that order to your sons, history would have deemed you an anachronistic tyrant.' Rikka did not hold back her criticisms. 'Nowadays, domestic and foreign media will harshly condemn rulers who issue unreasonable commands to their retainers or children.'

'Stating the obvious. That is why I had to take precautions.'

'Then the same will be done for you who are injured.'

'......'

'Traveling to Suruga with your injuries will be quite an ordeal. Consider this a lesson and endure the pain.'


Viewed on a certain level, this kind of upfront conversation could not have happened except between this particular pair of father and daughter.

In the end, Tōkaidō Governor General Akigase Shouzan fainted during the bumpy ride on the wolf's back, turning him into silent luggage.

However, there were those who disagreed with the retreat operation.

Nagoya's castellan and two elderly Chevaliers had decided to stay, insisting someone needed to take responsibility for the civilians and the enemy armies.

In any case, Masatsugu's faction had now gained ten new Chevaliers.

Simply having a headcount would be meaningless. The whole point of taking the expedition to Nagoya from Suruga was to make effective use of their combat power.

"Masatsugu-dono, it is about time. Let us ride wyverns instead of Mibu wolves."

Masatsugu agreed with Rikka's suggestion.

They asked the noetic officers to summon wyverns then switched to flying.

For the time being, they would follow the mountain ridge and fly at low altitude, the same as what they had done during the journey to Nagoya. The plan was to instantly increase elevation once they neared Suruga to head to the tutelary fort.

This was a stealth operation, but time was of the essence.

Tonight's operation was not over. More plans lay ahead.

"Rikka-dono, take this chance while they're switching to wyverns to tell the other knights about ''that''&mdash;"

"Very well, I shall explain. Then let us wake my father. I need his consent for the battle plan. If he is in delirium, I will need him to appoint me as the acting Governor General at least."

At a glance, Akigase Shouzan seemed to be a strict father.

However, his beloved daughter was also a strong-willed woman who was strict with her father too. One might say 'Like father, like daughter.' Perhaps this father and daughter pair were quite alike in personality.

A wry smile surfaced on Masatsugu's face while he watched their amusing interactions.

To the eyes of others, his smile would probably be nothing more than a slight twitch on the corner of his mouth&mdash;

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