Chronicle Legion:Volume 3 Chapter 1
Chapter 1 - The Fall of Nagoya Castle
Part 1
November 7th, 15:45.
"Nagoya is Tōkaidō's provincial capital..."
The location was the main keep of Nagoya Castle. The man occupying the position of Governor General of the Tōkaidō Fiefdom was at the castle's highest balcony, gnashing his teeth. Slender and crane-like in appearance, he was an old man with a blazing gaze.
Dressed in a kimono with an Inverness coat, he was a man of striking impression.
"Never did I expect it would fall to an enemy of a thousand..."
Governor General Akigase Shouzan, ruler of Tōkaidō, remarked in self-mockery.
Currently, "winged giant soldiers" were fighting in the skies over Nagoya.
The invader was the Restoration Alliance. Ten Kinai Chevaliers were leading roughly five hundred Kamuys to attack in concert with the British Empire's six Knights of Her Majesty and the five hundred Crusades under their command.
A mixture of Anglo-Japanese Legions had formed a coalition force of a thousand.
In contrast, on the defending side, the Tōkaidō Fiefdom had a total of sixteen Chevaliers with roughly seven hundred Kamuys.
A great battle was taking place in the sky over Nagoya between a total of seventeen hundred Legions, friend and foe combined.
"Is it impossible to oppose the British Empire when they invade in earnest?"
Akigase Shouzan muttered to himself, his voice filled with poignancy.
On the morning of November 7th, the Restoration Alliance finally started to launch a full offensive against Nagoya and its surroundings.
There were five "tutelary forts" in the region.
These tutelary forts were modernized strongholds created by repairing and remodeling ancient castles and stationing ifrits as guardian deities. The water shrines built underground allowed them to function as bases from where Chevaliers and Legions, the mainstay weapon of modern militaries, could operate.
Namely, Okazaki Castle, Kariya Castle, Kiyosu Castle, Inuyama Castle, and Nagoya Castle.
Te Restoration Alliance directly attacked the defensive net formed by these five castles.
Leading five hundred Kamuys, the Kinai Fiefdom had invaded from west of Nagoya. Leading five hundred Crusades, the British Empire's six Knights of Her Majesty attacked from the east.
Nagoya was caught in the middle between the two fronts. Naturally, the enemy's ultimate target was Nagoya Castle, which was the Tōkaidō Governor General's residence and administrative center, the most vital location.
The Restoration Alliance had broken through the Tōkaidō provincial army's defenses to close in on Nagoya Castle.
However, the castles of Okazaki, Kariya, Kiyosu, and Inuyama had also sent Chevaliers leading Kamuy armies as reinforcements to rescue Nagoya Castle.
"The Crusades are truly powerful... No, it is the Knights of Her Majesty who are powerful."
The tide of battle was clear to see. Tōkaidō was obviously at a disadvantage.
"Is it all due to the difference in practical battlefield experience?"
The Restoration Alliance and the Tōkaidō provincial army had given up on formations.
The Legions were scattered about, fighting in close quarters. All over the Nagoya sky, Kamuys were getting defeated by British Crusades.
The Crusades were a size larger than the diminutive Kamuy in physique.
In terms of power output and pure combat strength alone, the Crusades were superior. Furthermore, the Knights of Her Majesty in command all had plenty of field experience and Chevalier Strengths over 90.
Imperial Japan did not have many Chevaliers capable of standing up to them.
"Inferiority in both strength and numbers, such adversity is truly impossible to overcome," Shouzan said quietly.
Also, the Charter of Chivalry imposed several restrictions on attacking civilian buildings.
When fighting in the sky over a city such as Nagoya, intentional destruction of the urban landscape below was forbidden. Indeed, intentional destruction.
For the sake of argument, consider the case of a Legion that had been shot or stabbed.
Unable to sustain flight, the Legion would crash to the ground, its gigantic body and armor crushing buildings in the process. Such cases were accepted as exceptions by the Charter of Chivalry and freed of responsibility.
Currently, the falling Kamuys and Crusades were mercilessly crushing Nagoya's streets.
Fortunately, dead or injured Legions did not explode, but they were still eight-meter-tall giants after all. Their corpses weighed dozens of tons.
Many buildings were smashed by the falling Legions, possibly killing people who had not fled to underground shelters in time.
"The Knights of Her Majesty broke through our defenses, then the Kinai forces invaded... This simple approach totally relies on the British."
Akigase Shouzan scoffed in disdain.
"However, no matter what the defeated side says, it would amount to nothing more than a loser's complaints."
Both Kinai and Tōkaidō were using Kamuys, the blue Legions of Imperial Japan. When civil war broke out, it was common for the aggressor to add fabric strips or extra garments to distinguish themselves.
In this case, the Kinai Kamuys were wearing red scarfs.
"What a disgrace. I failed to devise a single effective measure despite knowing of the enemy's imminent invasion. This incompetence is unacceptable."
"Your Excellency..." Nagoya's castellan bowed his head in anguish.
Shouzan continued, "The Kinai Fiefdom is backed by the British Empire, which means we need support from either Tōsandō or Kantō. However, I exhausted all manner of demands and negotiation methods and still they refused to be swayed..."
"I believe the Tōsandō Fiefdom is leaning towards the Restoration Alliance."
"This is currently unverifiable. Please watch your words."
Shouzan warned the castellan then proceeded to go on a sarcastic diatribe.
"Speaking of which, that fiefdom apparently feels dissatisfied because they received a landlocked realm of mountains back when the lands were divided among the vassals... It would come as no surprise if they actually are colluding with the Restoration Alliance in secret. As for the Kantō Fiefdom—It must be their old habit acting up again. Always sucking up to those women of the imperial palace, only wanting to leave all military matters to Rome."
"Your Excellency, you apparently need to exercise prudence in your words too..."
"Oh, indeed, let us return to the topic at hand. Well, since we cannot rely on the neighboring fiefdoms, Tōkaidō's only choice is to turn to Rome for help." Shouzan shrugged. "But asking them for aid would run the risk of making Rome our master."
"Just like how the Kinai Fiefdom is currently obeying the British military's every word... Right?"
"As dogs of Rome, those Kantō people are no better. No matter, regardless, we no longer have the luxury of waiting for reinforcements."
"All we can do is try our best and see how long we can hold." The castellan quietly expressed his determination, then said, "If only Rikka-sama were here."
"Even with her here, she can't turn the battle around on her own... Wait, I recall that she sent a letter whose contents I found rather intriguing."
Rikka was Akigase Shouzan's eldest child.
Although she was the beloved daughter born to Shouzan in his later years, she was definitely not a sheltered lady.
Matching any man in valor, Rikka was Tōkaidō's premier Chevalier and normally posted at Nagoya Castle.
Unfortunately, she was trapped by the Restoration Alliance at Suruga City, serving as the temporary castellan at the tutelary fort there.
In truth, out of Shouzan's retainers, his daughter was the most powerful warrior of them all.
The two younger brothers were no match for their eldest sister. The gap in their talent as generals was as great as between heaven and earth.
Regarding the name of "Hijikata Toshizō" mentioned by his beloved daughter—
Unfortunately, Shouzan did not have time to ponder it.
A ring was heard at the scene. A pipe fox had teleported to arrive.
The palm-size retainer beast released noetic waves to project the words of a message into the air.
'Partial destruction of noesis barrier. A force of Kamuys have invaded Nagoya Castle.'
"They are finally here...!"
Like ordinary tutelary forts, Nagoya Castle had a guardian deity stationed there.
Its name was the ifrit Nue, named after the monster that had appeared at the Emperor's residence of Seiryō-den in the past. The western equivalent in mythology would be the chimera.
The Nue featured a monkey's face, a tanuki's body, a tiger's limbs, and a tail in the shape of a snake.
This ifrit had deployed a noesis barrier to cover the castle.
This barrier was essentially the final defense line. The invading enemy's first priority would be to take over the underground water shrine and capture Governor General Akigase Shouzan.
"No need to protect me. You should go to the front line and focus on defending the castle."
"Affirmative."
Unlike his daughter, Akigase Shouzan did not possess a Chevalier's power. Instead, he left the fighting to his trusted retainers while shouldering all outcomes and responsibilities himself.
Both Shouzan and the castellan were in their late sixties, from the same generation.
Having known each other for so long, the castellan responded concisely and prepared to set off.
Before leaving, the castellan noticed an army of Legions flying at high speed towards Nagoya Castle from the east.
On a chaotic battlefield where friend and foe were mixed together, this army was packed in a wedge formation.
The orderly army was particularly conspicuous and consisted of about a hundred Legions. All of them blue samurai of Imperial Japan, they were Kamuys. But were they Kinai's or Tōkaidō's reinforcements?
"That is—Rikka-sama's army!"
The castellan yelled excitedly. His keen senses as a Chevalier had detected Rikka's noetic waves.
Shouzan hastily took out his binoculars.
Through the lenses, he observed the gradually approaching army. Standing at the head of the formation was indeed his beloved daughter. She was dressed in Imperial Japan's military uniform, riding a blue wyvern.
"Did she rush here from Suruga knowing that Nagoya is in trouble?"
Despite the female warrior's gallant arrival, Shouzan shook his head.
"What is she doing? Reinforcements of this number will not change the fate of Nagoya's fall."
Rikka's Chevalier Strength was 154, no less than any Knight of Her Majesty.
However, this quantity was still not enough to overturn the battle situation. The father frowned at his daughter's heroic but reckless act of bravery.
"Watch out, Your Excellency!"
A Crusade came flying and the castellan shouted sharply.
The Crusade raised its rifle to fire repeatedly while flying towards Shouzan's balcony. The enemy must have been drawn to the conspicuous main keep.
The scorching beams were being fired at the balcony with a rate of ten times per second.
Normally speaking, this situation would mean certain death, but fortunately, the castellan reacted appropriately.
"In the name of Zuihou, the appellation of the warrior—Assemble, Kamuys!"
The castellan swiftly summoned three Kamuys to block in front of the balcony.
Using themselves as shields, the blue samurai defended the balcony. Shot in the face and torso, the three Legions died in sacrifice, but they also raised their rifles to strike back.
One shot pierced the Crusade's throat, resulting in mutual annihilation—
The castellan had averted disaster in the nick of time. However, both the elderly decorated Chevalier and Shouzan were shocked.
"Your Excellency!?"
"Argh!?"
One of the Crusade's stray shots had struck the roof of the main keep.
A large amount of timber, tiles, and other debris was falling from the collapsing roof and onto the balcony where Shouzan and the castellan were. The two of them were buried alive under the rubble...
It was ten minutes later when they were finally rescued by the soldiers rushing to the scene.
The castellan only suffered light injuries with bruises all over him, but Shouzan was in no state to get up on his own—
Part 2
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Part 3
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Part 4
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Part 5
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