“I suppose I can stop here.”
I’d finally reached my destination after using a hidden game trail that my friends and I had run during our youth. I stopped my horse, who was exhausted after breaking through so many blockades and skirmishes. It was already almost morning. Before me was a large peach tree, which had grown in such a way that it appeared to be consuming the entire cliff, along with a massive boulder covered in moss. In the distance, I could hear the roaring of several waterfalls.
It had been twenty years since I had last visited Routou, the birthplace of the Tou Empire. This was where the former emperor, Eifuu, and I made our vow to unify the country. Routou hadn’t changed a bit. The old tree’s pale pink blossoms bloomed year round and, along with the tree itself, were revered for their long life. This morning they created an ethereal sight in the pale dawn.
Back then, when we’d made our vow, we weren’t afraid of anything. The only thing on our minds had been our ambitious dream.
Now those days seem so nostalgic...
I got off the horse and removed its saddle. Hugging it gently around its neck I said, “Thank you, you truly saved me. Now go. They won’t hesitate to hurt you if you stay with me.”
The horse’s intelligent eyes narrowed before it nickered apologetically and turned back to make its way to the game trail. I watched the horse go and then placed my pack on the ground in front of the massive tree. My quiver was empty, my spear broken. Judging by the shimmering twin stars in the northern sky, dimmed with the setting moon, and the morning sun on the horizon, the night was almost over.
The pursuers were probably closing in on this location. But even so...
“This place is the only thing that’s still the same.”
Peach trees didn’t have a long life span. However, despite that, this tree continued to stay standing. According to legend, it had lived for a thousand years without ever getting close to withering away. It only made sense that the area around it would be called Routou—old peach.
It didn’t take long for the wind to bring with it the scent of new dirt. I looked towards the mountain path, which had grown broader beneath the feet of the soldiers.
“You’re finally here,” I said.
With shields at the front of the line, a group of soldiers cut through the morning fog to approach me. There were approximately a thousand of them in all. To think they would send out the empire’s most elite forces in order to capture a single man, and one who was no longer even the general...
How impressive.
A young female general, still on horseback, was approaching the middle of the area we were in.
With a hand to my mouth, I called out. “Stop there! If you continue to advance, then this time, you’ll be facing casualties on your side!”
The soldiers in the front lines stopped as if scared by the possibility. Their expressions were tight with nerves—they must’ve seen the large number of injured pursuers on their way here.
Like I figured, the majority of them lack real experience.
Still, once the female general in her ornate helmet jabbed her swagger stick forward and barked out orders, the line started to slowly advance. I wasn’t able to hear her over the waterfalls, but her order was probably something like “Don’t be afraid!” It had been a long time since the team of senior imperial guards, whom the former emperor himself had led, were forced to disband. So it seemed that more and more people didn’t actually know what I’d accomplished on the many battlegrounds I’d survived.
“Aging is a sad aspect of life...” My lips twisted in a wry grin. “And here I thought I was still able to keep up with the youth.” I could see the formation the soldiers were finishing setting up to keep me boxed in on the cliff, even though they were some distance away from me. “How crude. You could’ve at least offered me the courtesy of using a formation with a bit more work put into it. Hmm, but what to do.”
The only weapons I had on hand were the twin swords hanging from my belt. The soldiers around me were technically on my side, so I couldn’t very well use the swords against them. However, the same did not keep the young general next to the battle flag from drawing her own sword.
“He no longer has anywhere to run, nor does he have any of his arrows!” she yelled. “Charge him and kill that traitor!!!”
The soldiers in formation, as well as the junior commanders, all looked uncertain. Their breath caught in their throats as they froze. I could see some of the senior soldiers I recognized blatantly twisting their faces in obvious distaste; they knew perfectly well what would happen to them if they went up against me in combat.
The general waved her swagger stick again irritably and bellowed, “What are you all doing?! Kill him! The traitor Kou Eihou must be killed!!! This is a direct order from His Majesty himself!!!”
I’d heard the words several times tonight, but they still felt like a stab to my chest. If even Eifuu’s right-hand general was saying it, then it was true: the emperor hated me enough that he’d tried to kill me.
Some of the soldiers who had hesitated before were now starting to bravely ascend from the mountain path. For half a heartbeat, I closed my eyes before bringing my right hand to the hilt of the black sword.
The first soldier to reach the top of the cliff raised his sword. “Prepare yourself! Wai— Huh?!” Before he could bring the blade down on me, I had kicked him in the armor shielding his stomach. He backed off, writhing in pain, and then proceeded to tumble down the path, crashing into the nearby soldiers. Still, more approached me from the sides. So be it.
“Don’t pass out, all right?”
They couldn’t avoid the swing of my black sword, the blade still inside of its sheath. Over ten soldiers flew through the air, screaming all the while, and fell to the ground one by one. Their cries mingled with groans of pain and whimpers of fear. The soldiers who were about to follow up on the assault stopped, too shocked to continue. I stared at them.
“I’m waiting for someone. If you don’t want to die, then don’t come any closer. I don’t want to kill anyone,” I said, warning them off.
The soldiers’ eyes wavered and a large number of them started to back away. There were plenty of familiar faces in the small number of senior soldiers present, and they were the ones whose faces were especially pale.
“What are you doing?!” Despite the female general’s own face turning white, she still tried her best to encourage her soldiers. “He may be as strong as a tiger or a dragon, but he’s only one man. He’s all alone here! Kill the threat against the empire and His Majesty! You must kill him!” It looked like she was particularly interested in killing me.
Or...perhaps not. Perhaps her fervor was instead due to her strong loyalty to Eifuu, who had given her the chance to become a general even though she had once been a slave, and a need to make sure his hands remained clean.
I gripped my black sword and bared my teeth. “Very well... You leave me no choice. Take my head and with it, enough honor to elevate your line for generations—”
“WAIT!!!”
A man riding a horse in the most awkward manner leaped out from the game trail. His features were delicate though his hair, streaked with white, was messy, and his jacket was covered in dirt. Underneath her helmet, his general’s face went slack with immense surprise.
“Y-Your Excellency?!” Her voice was shrill. “Wh-Why are you...?!”