Both of us kicked our horses into a gallop. Sword met spear and sparks flew. Nguyen thrust his spear forward, aimed for my throat, and I blocked it. The moment I did, I felt an awful sensation from my sword. The blade broke in half and flew through the air with my gaze tracking its movement. Nguyen’s mouth twisted in a sadistic grin.
My body moved without conscious thought. I put all of my strength behind the broken sword and slammed it down against the shaft of his spear, snapping it in half. Then, I pulled a dagger from my belt and plunged it towards his neck.
“Wha—?!” Nguyen twisted his body and dodged the attack; blood flew through the air, splashing onto my clothes. He backed his horse up to get some distance and was surrounded by his remaining men as he slowly raised his hand to touch his left cheek. Nguyen’s eyes widened when he felt the deep gash I’d left behind.
I grinned and said, “Sorry about that. Compared to the bow, I’m far—”
“Sh-Shoot your arrows!” The old soldier next to Nguyen gave the order and the cavalrymen responded without hesitation.
Even with just a broken sword and my dagger, I easily knocked down the dozen or so arrows that flew my way. “I’m far better with a sword!” I finished with a smirk.
Fear filled the enemy soldiers’ eyes and the old soldier cried, “We are the descendants of the northern wolves, and yet— Yet, you’ve so easily overpowered us. Your skill on the battlefield and the way you ride your horse as if it’s an extension of your body... It’s as if...as if you’re the Undefeated Kou of ancient times!”
The wind brought with it the scent of fresh soil churned up under the hooves of approaching horses. Overconfident, I replied with a sly laugh and a threat. “Looks like the jig is up. That’s right, I’m the reincarnation of Kou Eihou, Great General of the Tou Empire. Come at me if you wish to die!”
“Wha—?!” The enemy cavalrymen’s faces twisted in obvious panic, and beneath them their horses started to whinny.
I hope this pays off. If the fight continues, then I’ll lose.
Nguyen raised his spear high in the air and the red cloth tied around it whipped like a banner in the wind. Blood continued to drip down his left cheek, but he spoke in a calm voice regardless. “Silence! The hero of whom he speaks died over a thousand years ago.”
He’s a good commander. He’s quick to recover from unforeseen incidents.
I stuck my tongue out and laughed. “You saw through my lie. However...” With my broken sword, I pointed at the hill behind the enemy troops. When they turned to see what I was pointing at, I saw panic—the most I’d seen from the army all day—spread through them. “Looks like my gamble paid off.”
CHOU.
Even from a distance, we could see the name embroidered upon the standard. It blew in the wind and the golden thread that formed the frame shimmered. Rows of cavalrymen lined up underneath it. A fearsome amount of dust blew through the air, kicked up by the horses’ hooves.
I took the chance to continue taunting them. “You see that? The big, scary Chou Tairan is on his way. You better hurry up and get back to your own country or it’ll be a massacre. If you die, then you won’t be able to bring back whatever important intel you uncovered! Now, what are you gonna do?”
Nguyen didn’t say anything, nor did his expression change—he simply turned his horse around. The sound of a horn rang out across the battlefield and, with impressive discipline, the cavalrymen turned as one to retreat northward.
Phew. Looks like we managed to get through this. I could feel the strength leaving my entire body, but I couldn’t let down my guard just yet. Nguyen had taken it upon himself to bring up the rear and when he reached the top of the hill, he wheeled around.
“CHOU SEKIEI!!!”
I wasn’t one to talk, but he had an incredibly loud voice. It was akin to the roar of a beast.
He held out his spear, the red cloth around it dangling like rope. “I shall not forget your name! Next time we meet, I shall personally part your head from your shoulders!”
Without giving me the chance to respond, he disappeared over the hill. It seemed that he hadn’t been using his full strength either.
“Ugh, I never want to face him again...” I looked down at the broken sword in my right hand and grimaced. Though it bore no name, it had been an impressive weapon. I’m not going to be greedy and look for something rivaling the Heavenly Swords, but... I might need to ask Meirin in Rinkei to look for a sword that won’t break. That reminds me. I’m going to need to check up on what kind of weapons those soldiers were using. If they were weapons from Seitou...
As those thoughts swirled through my mind, I stroked Getsuei’s neck and thanked the horse for its help. The Chou family’s cavalrymen—there must’ve been about fifty of them—approached me at an impressive speed. At the front of the troops was...
“Young master!”
“Gramps, your timing was perfect. Everyone else, you did a great job as well.”
“Sir!”
The Chou’s cavalrymen were all dragging along sticks behind their horses—the true culprit behind all of the dust earlier. It was a childish tactic, but I had my father’s reputation to thank for its success.
To disguise the embarrassment I felt from this plan being the best I could come up with, I ordered, “Gramps, let’s get back and meet up with Hakurei and the others. If we can get there in time, we can still rack up some military achievements.”
By the time we got back to the abandoned fortress, however, the battle was already over. I didn’t know why Teiha was staring at me with such respect in his eyes, but I entrusted Getsuei to him before heading inside the fortress. I was greeted by the sight of Hakurei, sitting on a rock and staring at the ground. Next to her, Asaka was wringing her hands, looking like she didn’t know what to do. There was blood splattered all over her armor, so it seemed that she’d killed her fair share of enemies.
I gave Asaka a look to signal her to give us space and then, doing my best to maintain my usual tone, said to Hakurei, “Hey! Any injuries?”
“No.” It took Hakurei a moment to answer. “Everyone... Everyone protected me.”
“I see.”
Though there weren’t any corpses around us, blood stained both the ground and the walls. I couldn’t blame her for feeling so dejected; no one wanted such a fierce fray to be their first battle. I crouched down next to her and took her clenched fist in my hand.
“Hakurei,” I said.