“Stop running, you traitor! I’ll show no mercy if you continue to res— Gah!”
At the lead cavalryman’s yell from behind me, I, Kou Eihou and the former Great General of the Tou Empire, turned around while still atop my horse and in the same movement, released an arrow from my bow. It struck true, piercing through the left shoulder of the cavalryman at the front of the group of pursuers.
His scream rang out through the pale darkness of the waning night and the cold air of the northern lands. The man fell off his horse, along with the lantern that had been hanging from his saddle. If this had been the battlefield, my arrow would’ve pierced his skull. My vision was compromised thanks to the darkness, but that had no bearing on my aim. I simply didn’t want to kill a fellow citizen of the Tou Empire, even if he was trying to catch me.
I maneuvered my horse using only my legs and continued to shoot arrow after arrow at my pursuers. With every shot my cloak and black armor—both dirtied by the blood of my attackers—rippled, as did the twin swords hanging from my belt. One sword was sheathed in black, the other white.
The remaining cavalrymen slowed down in surprise at the arrows suddenly digging into their arms and legs until they came to a complete stop. I heard someone cluck a tongue in irritation at being forced to give up the chase. It looked like none of them had learned mounted archery.
“To think the day would come where I would be regarded as a traitor...” I muttered to myself as I nocked another arrow on the heavy bow in my hands. The garrison captain of Routou, the northernmost city of the Tou Empire and the place where I had planned to spend the night, had shoved the weapon into my hands as I made my escape. Spring was close, but the wastelands were cold at dawn and my breath came out in clouds of white. If things had gone to plan, I would’ve been catching up on sleep in a nice, warm room...
Twenty years ago in Routou, my childhood friend Ou Eifuu—who now worked as the imperial chancellor for the Tou Empire—and the previous emperor—who died seven years ago—vowed to unify the country. The last time anyone accomplished the task had been during the age of the gods.
I experienced my first battlefield at fifteen and upon my return, the former emperor granted me my swords. Before I knew it, I had become the Great General, running from one end of the country to the other while overseeing its military affairs. Eifuu had mostly been in charge of internal business. Together, through multiple perils and troubles, we became known as the Twin Stars.
The dream of unification that the three of us—the previous emperor, Eifuu, and I—vowed that day in Routou underneath the branches of a massive peach tree said to have lived a thousand years had been close enough to taste. Tou had grown so large that apart from En, in the far north, and Sai, which was just south of the grand river bisecting the country and barely managing to hold on to its independence, the empire had taken over all the other provinces in the area.
My twin swords had even started to be referred to as the Heavenly Swords—the swords that would unify the lands beneath the skies.
And yet, the empire had not seen growth since the previous emperor’s death almost a decade ago. The current emperor had no intention of unifying the country. It had been a long time since I lost my position as the Great General, and I had not seen Eifuu for several years despite the close friendship we’d shared in the past.
Grief welled in my heart even as I continued to shoot arrow after arrow into the darkness. Screams rang out once again.
“H-How are the arrows hitting us?!”
“P-Put out the torches!”
“We have too many wounded! We don’t have enough men who can fight!”
“Hide behind your shields! If he seriously wanted to kill us, then he would’ve already done so!”
I held my arrow on my bow and analyzed the enemy forces. The majority of them were greenhorns who had never experienced true combat. The few who had had obviously never engaged in a mounted battle at this time of night, when the darkness would impede one’s vision. None of them were capable of continuing the chase.
“They’re weak,” I murmured to myself as I lowered my bow. “I never imagined that the emperor’s personal army would ever become this pathetic. They could’ve used any number of strategies if they wanted me dead for sure. Yet they didn’t have the courage to assassinate me in the city, choosing instead to come up with a fake mission like ‘Scout out the northern lands in preparation for next spring’s invasion’? No, you sent me here on purpose... So this is how much you hate me?”
I couldn’t finish giving voice to my thoughts and instead, I pulled on the reins. The twin stars shimmered in the northern skies as the night continued to fade towards morning. I turned my horse back around and hurried towards my destination.
I left my post as Tou’s general the year after the last emperor died. His successor must’ve been tired of his advisors’ insistence that he conquer Sai as soon as possible; he had implicitly requested my departure, so I first relinquished my title. Then, I gave up my military authority and the territory that had been mine to govern.
Officially, I was retired. Though Eifuu and I had once argued about my decision, the great imperial chancellor in charge of the empire’s political affairs couldn’t understand me, nor could I understand him.
I ran my fingers over the black and white sheaths at my belt. The Heavenly Swords were the only things left to me. These were the only belongings that I couldn’t bear to part with.
“THERE HE IS!!! KILL HIM!!!”
A young man’s voice rang out from before me, and scores of fresh cavalrymen descended from the hill.
An ambush!
As I urged my horse forward, I started to think from the viewpoint of an army’s commander. This was, including the assassins, the fifth squad sent after me. They could’ve simply overwhelmed me at the start with sheer manpower—I was only one man, after all. It seemed that the military’s budget cuts over the past seven years had affected the commanders, as well as the soldiers’ training. At the same time, I could be certain of the fact that these were not Eifuu’s orders.
I considered the cavalrymen’s fast approach. The morning fog was starting to set in, but I would still have no trouble hitting them with my arrows. However, I shouldered my bow and instead held aloft the spear that was hanging from my saddle.
“Hyah!”
With the reins held in my left hand, I ordered my horse into a gallop. Routou’s young garrison leader—whom I had apparently saved in the past—had chosen me a fine horse.
I can only hope that he won’t get put on trial for this later...
With that thought in mind, I charged straight into the fog and towards my pursuers.
“Ah?!”
“Gah!”
“Ow!”
“Wha—?!”
I darted right through the front lines of the enemy squad and, using the shaft of my spear, knocked several of the pursuers off their horses when I passed them. One of them tried to counterattack with his sword, but I deftly dodged it, heeling my horse around. With the fog beginning to clear I could see the shocked faces of the soldiers, as if they couldn’t believe what just happened.
“We’ll unify this war-torn land and save the people suffering under the cruelties of the government, the foreigners, and the bandits!” That had been the vow we made under that peach tree. It doesn’t look like we’ll be fulfilling that dream, but even so!
With the spear still held in my right arm, I lifted the weapon into the air and announced myself.
“I am the former Great General of the Tou Empire, Kou Eihou! If any of you greenhorns think you’re good enough to take my head, then come and try!”