Chapter 95: Follow me, charge!
The Hayashi Family’s surprise attack on Takeuchi Manor proceeded extremely smoothly, encountering almost no fierce resistance. This small detachment, which had charged all the way to the vicinity of the South Gate, was in high spirits, so much so that they were practically arrogant. Seeing the fleeing enemy turn back to fight, they didn’t become cautious; instead, they howled and accelerated, seemingly intending to break through them in one decisive charge.
This was Yuan Ye’s first encounter with a formidable enemy, or rather, his first time being a part of the battlefield, his first time facing direct combat. Listening to his own followers around him also letting out desperate howls under the enemy’s threat, his heart pounded like a drum, his heart felt like it would burst out of his chest, his mouth and tongue grew dry, and his hands began to tremble slightly. He even had the illusion that time had slowed down; the already dim light grew darker, and the world seemed to take on a surreal, unreal quality.
It wasn’t until a moment later that A Man’s shout was heard, either nearby or from some distant place: “We can’t be this slow, we have to charge too!”
Yuan Ye’s thoughts instantly plummeted from some distant place. It was a strange thing, but he understood A Man’s meaning—his subordinates were all new recruits, possessing only temporary courage. If they let the enemy initiate the charge, these men would likely lose their nerve.
That’s right, we have to be more proactive, we have to let their temporary courage shine!
In this world, the brave always win when paths cross!
Once he reacted, he didn’t hesitate. Adrenaline made his eyes begin to redden. He started to push forward forcefully, and in a voice that didn’t sound like his own, he said in a deep tone, “Follow me, charge! I’ll take care of the injured, and the dead will receive thirty *guan* in compensation, not a single coin less!”
Mentioning compensation at this point was somewhat superfluous, but under the leadership of their chieftain, their thirty-six or thirty-seven armored followers howled even louder. Stimulated by life and death, their eyes also began to redden. They exerted force with their feet, their speed increasing, gradually breaking into a trot, charging directly at the enemy.
The two groups clashed head-on on the straight street near the South Gate of Takeuchi Manor.
As the distance between the two sides closed, with a shout from A Man, the dozen or so followers with bows behind her loosed a volley of arrows at the enemy. The Hayashi Family’s force had even more unarmored archers, who also began shooting with their bamboo bows almost simultaneously.
For a moment, the street was filled with a “thump-thump” sound like cotton being batted. The birch arrow shafts, propelled by the powerful momentum of their bamboo cores, swayed like fish in the air. The fletching cut through the air with a buzzing sound, tracing arcs in the dimly lit night sky illuminated only by firelight, seeking out unfortunate souls.
Almost simultaneously, people in both formations let out inhuman screams and fell directly to the ground. The others seemed to have lost their hearing and their compassion. They didn’t care if these people were dead or alive, pushing them aside, stepping over them, and continuing to run forward.
While running, no one could shoot a second arrow. The two sides immediately collided, and a moment later, more heart-wrenching screams erupted.
At this point, no one could think, not even Yuan Ye. His mind was blank, and his eyes only saw a short, indistinct samurai not far away. He casually pushed aside a follower who had just been speared, raised his eight-sided black iron club, and brought it down on the enemy’s head.
The low-ranking samurai had just pulled back his spear but reacted quickly. Without waiting to regain his stance, he thrust his spear at Yuan Ye.
Both were instinctive movements. A moment later, the low-ranking samurai dodged the blow to his head, but his shoulder was not so lucky. Yuan Ye’s club, swung from above, struck him, sending pieces of his lamellar armor flying. The samurai immediately let out a heart-piercing scream, falling heavily at an angle, coughing up large amounts of blood. A streak of fire flashed across Yuan Ye’s chest as the spear tip scraped against his iron armor with a piercing screech.
Yuan Ye staggered, his body thrown off balance by the impact. At this moment, another enemy charged at him, but before he could get close, he was stabbed by A Man, who was right behind Yuan Ye. The enemy froze, clutching the spear shaft with a look of pain and despair, dropping his weapon.
Yuan Ye steadied himself and instinctively swung his club again, hitting the enemy’s head. The enemy’s head made a dull thud like a smashed watermelon, his jingasa hat was flattened, and he collapsed to the ground without a sound, limp.
A Man pulled out her spear and threw it forward forcefully. Without checking if it had hit anyone, she drew her long sword and began shouting loudly, hacking at the back of another enemy. She was like a madwoman, simultaneously pushing Yuan Ye back a large step.
Yuan Ye steadied himself, panting heavily for a moment to calm his surging blood. He looked again and saw that the street was now a chaotic melee. Almost everyone was attacking nearby enemies like beasts, with people constantly falling to the ground with screams. Occasionally, arrows still flew, embedding themselves in someone.
A Qing was at the very front, her movements agile, shifting left and right. Her attacks were swift and deadly. With a light sweep or quick thrust of her long naginata, she targeted the enemy’s throat, face, and other vital points. In the brief moment Yuan Ye watched, two men near her had fallen, their throats slit without exception, unable to even scream. Only large amounts of dark, black blood spread out from beneath them onto the stone pavement.
After this brief glance, he dared not delay any longer. Seeing A Man being attacked by two enemies, he suddenly lunged forward, rejoining the fray. He also began attacking all visible enemies, desperately pushing them back, not daring to retreat a single step.
Time seemed to disappear again temporarily. He didn’t know how long had passed. After he knocked down an enemy with his club, he noticed the man was unarmored. Looking up again, panting heavily, he saw that the enemy had lost their previous frenzied howling. Their courage had been shattered, and most had already turned to flee.
Yuan Ye was momentarily stunned, his soul returning to his body. He stopped moving forward, feeling the iron club in his hand becoming slippery.
“You really didn’t grow that big for nothing!” A Man, still holding her sword, was beside him. She was also a bit dazed; this was her first time participating in such a fierce, head-on battle with hundreds of people. But she was always bold and adapted well. She reached out and pulled an arrow stuck in Yuan Ye’s waist, tossing it aside. She even had the leisure to praise him. Seeing that he seemed fine, she brandished her long sword again, shouting loudly to halt the pursuit and rally their own men.
Yuan Ye himself hadn’t noticed when he was hit by the arrow, nor did he know how much time had passed. It felt like three or four minutes, or perhaps tens of minutes. Looking behind him, the ground was already covered with corpses, and the smell of blood in the air was overwhelmingly strong.
“A little less than half are dead, and several are severely wounded,” A Man reported after a round. She ordered the wounded to be gathered and the enemy wounded to be finished off, then returned to find Yuan Ye.
Yuan Ye nodded slightly, not dwelling on the casualty figures. The Hayashi Family had lost more; most of the front-line followers had fallen.
Overall, he hadn’t lost.
He surveyed the battlefield again, let out a long sigh, and said with a somewhat dark gaze, “Gather the wounded, and let’s head to the South Gate!”
…………
When Yuan Ye arrived at the South Gate, he saw not only the “old, weak, sick, and disabled” employees from his soy sauce workshop but also over a dozen Oda Family followers. These followers were part of the South Gate’s defense force; the other part had gone with a samurai to support Okuruku Kiyobee and were now missing. These followers didn’t know what to do, and then Yuan Ye, the fake samurai, arrived.
Yuan Ye didn’t stand on ceremony and immediately incorporated these dozen or so followers to replenish their recently lost combat strength. He then looked towards the center of Takeuchi Manor, in the direction of Okuruku Kiyobee’s residence. A large fire had also started there, and the sounds of fighting could faintly be heard, indicating a fierce battle.
Moreover, even though he had scattered a large contingent of Hayashi Family troops, there were still scattered Hayashi Family ashigaru lurking in the shadows near the South Gate. However, seeing so many of them gathered together, they didn’t dare to attack easily and remained quiet for the time being.
The situation was still not good. Yuan Ye didn’t hesitate and directly ordered Maeshima Shichiro and Yayoi to take the family retainers and leave first, along with their foolish son and the wounded. They were to leave this troublesome place. He, along with A Qing, A Man, and the Momoi Brothers, and other armored followers, began constructing simple fortifications, preparing to delay time at the South Gate.
It wasn’t to wait for Okuruku Kiyobee. He had sacrificed over a dozen lives and scattered a small enemy force; as a resident, he had done more than enough. Staying now was mainly because the “old, weak, sick, and disabled” couldn’t run fast, and carrying their foolish son, the severely wounded, and their gold, silver, and valuables would make them even slower. They needed to hold here longer to buy them time to escape.
As for whether there were still enemies outside… there probably weren’t any, otherwise the South Gate would have been taken from both inside and out by now.
“Lord Yuan Ye, where should we go?” Maeshima Shichiro asked Yayoi before leaving.
“First, try to get to Hibitsu Village and find Yayoi’s father. See if you can hide in the village until things pass. Try not to use the main roads when you go, be alert on the road, and if necessary, find a place to hide first,” Yuan Ye had thought this through beforehand, choosing a place he was most familiar with. After all, the situation was chaotic, and they could only run towards familiar places. At least, given Maeda Toshiharu’s personality, even if he participated in the rebellion, he likely wouldn’t go so far as to kill their foolish son and Yayoi.
“I understand. Lord Sanlang, please take care!” Yayoi and Maeshima Shichiro knew this was not the time for pleasantries. They said a hurried farewell and quickly led their people away.
Yuan Ye didn’t mind. Having experienced combat, he no longer had much fear of death. He merely urged his followers to hurry and finish the simple fortifications, hoping it might save a few more lives and buy more time later.
Indeed, a few minutes later, more Hayashi Family members arrived and slowly began to surround them, preparing to attack. If he hadn’t been there to hold them back, the enemy would have pursued them relentlessly, and they likely would have been routed before getting far. He would have lost everything and his entire family would have been wiped out.
After repelling another wave, hold on for about ten minutes, then retreat!
