Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 88: Chapter 41: The Strangulation of the West

Tachibana Muneshige’s heart hardened, and he tilted his head to let the Biyuan Sword pierce his own left collarbone as the First Snow continued to head straight for Li Yan’s chest.

As the two horses intertwined, Li Yan released the reins, leaned to avoid the long sword, and at the moment his mount caught up to Tachibana’s horse’s tail, he suddenly reached out to pull out the Biyuan Sword, carving a large gash from Tachibana’s left shoulder. The flickering green light and the black Daimyo’s Ghostly Power swirled over Tachibana’s wound for a moment before vanishing.

Having been bested in their two exchanges, Tachibana Muneshige, in a frenzy, swung his First Snow broadly to drive Li Yan back, then turned his horse to press the attack!

The two horses tangled fiercely. Swords and sabers on horseback thrusted, picked, poked, knocked, spun, and shook, with First Snow and Biyuan clanging continuously in the air. The murky mix of yellow-white snow and mud splattered everywhere under the stomping of eight restless hooves, and Tachibana Muneshige bit his lip, feinting with his sword before he turned his horse to flee.

Throughout, Li Yan maintained an expressionless face. Seeing Tachibana retreat, a fierce light filled his eyes. His horse’s eyes turned red, snorted loudly, and joyfully chased after Tachibana. However, just as Li Yan’s horse was about to close in on Tachibana Muneshige’s back, a chill suddenly ran through Li Yan’s heart.

Black ripples spread across the battlefield, and Tachibana Muneshige lay flat on his horse, a brilliant arc of sword light emerged, and black ripples burst forth.

The Iai Slash!

The Biyuan Sword struck straight down, and the drop of blood on Tachibana Muneshige’s neck deepened into a bewitching allure.

Detonating voluntarily, Blood Dip!

“Pfft~”

Tachibana Muneshige’s eyes and nose burst with large globs of black blood, and he coughed up mouthfuls of blood foam before he blacked out and fell from his horse.

“You have triggered Blood Dip, causing additional damage of 132%. Hook Star status is temporarily gone, lasting for 14 hours.”

Elsewhere, a pillar of blood shot into the sky; a horse’s head tumbled through the air, the horse slumped to the ground with a thud, plowed forward more than two meters, tossing Li Yan from its back!

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Li Yan rolled twice on the ground to dissipate the force, and as he lay there, the venomous-eyed Japanese cavalry took the opportunity to spear him! At least six spears jabbed savagely toward Li Yan!

The repeated thuds of spears striking the ground rang out, and as the snow and mud splashed around, the spears all grazed off Li Yan’s armor. In a short time, as the rolling Li Yan lost momentum, several experienced Japanese cavalry shouted out, thrusting their spears. Li Yan performed a Swallow Scooping Water maneuver, and with the Biyuan Sword whistling as it spun, several spearheads were sent flying. One Japanese was caught by a slash and, losing his balance from the force, fell from his horse, his body was cut in half midair by Li Yan, spilling blood and steaming viscera onto the ground.

Li Yan staggered back a couple of steps, blood pouring from his belly, where a twenty-centimeter-long wound looked ferocious and ghastly, like the gaping maw of a ferocious beast. Had it not been for Blood Dip detonating and altering the sword’s trajectory, that Iai Slash might have cut Li Yan and his horse in two.

Without his horse, Li Yan parried a cavalryman’s saber with his longsword and looked up at Tachibana Muneshige.

At this moment, Tachibana was falling off his horse, and a thick black aura suddenly enveloped him. Several Ming cavalrymen also saw an opportunity and stabbed continuously at the black air, producing a series of metallic clangs, to little effect.

Suddenly, Tachibana Muneshige rolled out from the black mist, his Feather cloak in disarray, with no sign of his helmet, but he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, appearing spirited and vigorous.

Nirvana!

Li Yan avoided the sweeping saber of a Japanese cavalryman, and a Ming cavalryman charged and stabbed the Japanese in the chest. As swords and spears clashed, the two horses became entangled and paid no further attention to Li Yan, still standing.

Li Yan shook the blood and flesh off the Biyuan Sword, seemingly oblivious to the wound in his abdomen, and faced the also dismounted Tachibana Muneshige, exuding intense murderous intent.

Just kill him one more time.

Despite his ragged appearance, Tachibana Muneshige wasn’t particularly panicked. He tore off his shredded feather cloak and, facing Li Yan, flashed a cold smile as he pointed in the direction of the Ming Army’s formation.

Li Yan’s eyes flicked to the side and, suddenly, a fierce roar of battle cries rose. A group of about two hundred armored Japanese troops charged into the Ming Army’s formation, puncturing several holes in their ranks in an instant. Some cavalry even drew near to the core of the Ming Army’s position.

These men wore helmets adorned with gold foil in a unique peach shape. Both cavalry and infantry formed their ranks, their ferocity hard to withstand.

They were special forces with an enhanced status, the Western Army.

Tachibana Muneshige laughed heartily, “Men of Great Ming, war is not something that can be decided by the bravery of a single person.”

In the gaps of the vehicle formation, Luo Shangzhi led a contingent of cavalry in four or five columns, carrying the Dragon Flag of Great Ming as they charged forth!

They too were special forces with enhanced status, from the Shenji Camp in Kyoto.

But Li Yan’s heart sank even further. The Ji Town Soldiers and the Shenji Camp were among Li Rusong’s most elite troops, and they wouldn’t fear Tachibana Muneshige’s Western Army. However, after battling fiercely for a full day and night, suffering heavy casualties, utterly exhausted, and with Luo Shangzhi himself having blunted two blades, facing the freshly reorganized and ferocious Western Army was a cause for concern.

But at this moment in battle, would Li Rusong not be prepared?

Brief cries of “Look!” “Destroy!” echoed as commands.

A swarm of dark, cube-shaped objects flew through the air. The Western Army, in the midst of their momentum, paid them little attention. Some raised their cane shields to block them, some even tried to push them aside with their long spears.

But there were some among the Western Army who had charged ahead during the previous night’s brutal battle; they felt a chill around their necks, reined in their horses, and desperately tried to flee.

On one side, Tachibana Muneshige was also scared out of his wits, for he had personally seen Li Yan pull out a few of these round, black objects and hurl them at Honda Tadakatsu, who was close at hand… and he vividly remembered Honda’s horse that was blasted into a sieve.

These objects were certainly not grenades, but firearms from the Shenji Camp’s charioteers.

Poisonous Fire Skylarks.

This was the same Poison Fire Cannon described in the “Military Preparedness Treatise,” which used hedges to encase the gunpowder, pasted over with dozens of layers of paper, with poison-dipped iron caltrops hidden in the hollow interior. Fired with the wind, they could reach hundreds of meters.

Irregularly shaped chunks clanged onto cane shields, and with a sizzle, the gunpowder exploded. The poisoned iron caltrops spread out in a fan shape, enveloping a portion of the Western Army. The cavaliers who had carelessly tried to swat them away with their spears got a face full of caltrops and looked horrifically disfigured.

These firearms were among the few remaining supplies Li Rusong had after the torrential rain, now revealed, instantly causing chaos within the allied forces.

After the bombardment by the cannons, infantry and cavalry burst forth. A bright red commanding flag stood in the distance; Li Rusong, in full armor, rode a spirited horse with hooves flashing white, positioned in the central army, pointing his sword at the Daimyo Allied Army.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The drums and gongs of each camp sounded loudly, with Shenji Camp’s Centurion Luo Shangzhi, Deputy Commander An Qingguo, Chief Military Officer Zhang Jie from Xuanfu, Chief Military Officer Fang Shihui from Ji Town, Staff Officer Wu Weizhong, Staff Officer Zu Chengxun from Liaoyang Camp, Deputy Commander Li Fangchun…

The valiant generals were in full array, blades and horses clashing, as they plunged into the melee with the Daimyo Allied Army!

The Ukita Faction and the forces of Tachibana and Ukita joined the fray, marking the grand commencement of this epic battle!