novelraw Chapter 74: War
Chapter 74: War
[Ichiko's POV]
"Thoom!"
"Thoom!"
"Thoom!"
"Thoom!"
Each step Tsuki made was a loud beat resembling that of a drum.
"Thoom!"
"Thoom!"
Fear. Nervousness. These are the emotions that my enemies feel as they hear her approaching closer and closer to the battlefield.
Who is Tsuki and how is she creating so loud noises?
Tsuki is my father's mount; she's a giant light gray tortoise around the size of a building with a shell large enough for the entire clan to stand upon.
Typically, one needs permission from the owner to control the beast but I am Tsuki's favorite so that doesn't apply to me; I was currently the one steering her using my mana to guide her movements.
You think because she's a tortoise she would be slow but the pace at which she moved, the amount of distance she covered with each step, it was almost as quick as a car.
Why don't we just use cars?
We weren't just using Tsuki for transportation but also to announce our approach, a replacement for the beating of drums you would hear during a war march.
She's beautiful as was given her name because she shared the same color as the moon, but don't let her beauty deceive you because her chomp was more than capable of taking the lives of anyone who was too foolish to get in her path.
"Are you ready men?"
"Yes, master!"
"Will you falter?"
"No, master!"
"Who are we?"
"The victors!"
"Why do we fight?"
"For honor!"
Father, the clan leader was towards the back of the shell with the majority of the men in our clan prepping them for battle with his speech.
In our clan, men are typically the warriors while women are either assigned to the magic squad or were trained in the arts of assassination.
"Miss, would you like us to continue fanning?" asked one of my personal maids who've been by my side since I was a baby.
All five of us were the same age and in a way, were sisters.
"No," I responded, a little out of breath. "Keep fanning until I say so."
Two of them were fanning me from both sides while another was in front with a tablet in her hands as she slowly swiped through the pictures of Bell, my fiancé.
The photos were dark because they were taken late at night where he was while I was currently in the early hours of the afternoon but even the darkness couldn't take away from how hot he looked in them.
"Faster," I said and soon the wind blowing against me picked up speed.
When I first heard the news of what Bell had done half an hour ago, I was extremely worried and was tempted to call him in order to inquire about his health but after seeing what he had in his hands in the media released about the situation, I was overcome with so much joy that I forgot why I had grabbed my phone in the first place.
He had brought the sword I gifted him and used it to deliver justice.
Judging by the text he gave me a couple of hours ago, it hadn't been more than a day since he took it out of the box.
Already, he was putting my gift to great use.
I know he was the one who put in all the hard work. I know that.
But I couldn't help but feel like I contributed. It made me feel like I had done something useful and what Bell had accomplished was a result of our partnership.
"Ichiko, how would you like to give our people some words of encouragement?" asked Father who approached my back without me realizing.
I was about to decline but when I turned around, I could tell without asking that Father had already promised the men that I was going to address them. "...Fine. Ladies, you can stop fanning for now."
As I walked toward the back half of the shell, my four personal maids followed closely behind with their faces covered with a white fabric and their hands tucked inside the sleeve of the opposite arm.
I was dressed in a hybrid outfit that combined the traditional samurai armor and modern armor that allowed for full movement of the joints.
I turned to one of my maids who was tasked with carrying around my helmet which had a golden crest of a cherry blossom that also resembled a burning flame.
As I reached the front where all the men were lined up and waiting, all conversations seized and silence washed over the crowd.
I felt sorry because they were probably expecting me to focus one hundred percent on the incoming battle but my mind was rather filled with Bell Agnus at the moment.
I'd love to not be here and the moment but instead be in my bed continuing to scroll through articles regarding my fiancé but as the unofficial leader of the clan, I had to keep my composure.
Trying my hardest to suppress my smile, I began to address my people.
"Kill them all."
I turned around as the crowd erupted into this loud roar that shook the surrounding buildings and had the windows clattering.
"Excellent speech," said my personal maid.
"Wonderful," said another.
"Simply perfect."
"Couldn't have imagined anything else from you. Beautiful."
The four of them were making fun of me but I simply let their audacity slide.
As the five of us walked to the head of the tortoise, one of them who was also simultaneously preparing my katana for battle said to me, "Miss, I can only imagine just how proud you are of your fiancé."
"He's like a prince charming in real life."
"I completely understand why you chose to get engaged with him. I never doubted your judgment one time miss."
"Didn't you say that she was rushing into the engagement and that she was foolish to not take her time learning more about him before popping the question?"
"...Nope."
The four of them continued bickering and I ignored them, staring off into the distance as Tsuki got closer and closer to the field of grass.
Taking a deep breath in, I smelled the fresh air that had that lingering scent of blood and lost souls that were produced during previous wars that happened here.
Exhaling a deep breath, I opened my eyes and cleared my mind of all distractions.
I grabbed the katana from my maid and the four of them knew it was time to be quiet.
I turned my head and Father gave me a nod.
"It's time," I said as I placed two fingers in my mouth and blew on it to whistle loudly.
A blue-colored bird that had roamed the sky above me the entire time slowly began to descend. It wasn't any species you could find in a textbook.
The closest description I could give you is that it was a mix between a peacock and an eagle.
This was my pet. She was an extension of me and I was an extension of her. The two of us shared a vision and in war, she was my lifeline.
Landing on my forearm, she rested her head against mine, and a link between us was made.
I could now see whatever she was seeing and vice versa.
"Aoi, another day on the battlefield. Are you ready?" I asked her.
Aoi let out this little chirp; I didn't speak bird but I could tell that she was responding with a confident "Yes!".
"Let's roll," I said as I tossed my forearm up into the air and Aoi flew off into the air. She moved ahead of where we were and I could see the entire army that was awaiting us on the battlefield.
They were large in number but I had no fear.
"They shall pay for praying on our downfall," I said to myself.
Our enemies were the Hiryu clan and coincidentally, when I had made the decision to side with the Kitani clan in their battle against the Goto, we found a document hidden in the basement of their main building.
It was information that was gathered by their spies which detailed the Hiryu's plan to acquire enough forces to wipe my clan off the map.
They were trying to find allies to aid them and a few of them were considering it.
If we never fought the Goto, we would've never discovered this secret plan and would've likely been exterminated before we even knew who it was that was planning all of this in the background.
We had to strike before they could get the others on board.
"From this day forth, your clan shall be killed off. The only thing that will remain is your name in the history books... as the losers," I said, anger starting to fill me.
Father joined me in the front with his naginata in his hand.
As soon as Tsuki entered the area of the designated battlefield, she lowered her body to the ground and her weight increased until she quite literally began sinking into the ground until her shell was on the same level as the ground.
Father stepped forward, turned around, raised his weapon into the air, and screamed, "Charge!"
I waited for all the men to charge forward first, allowing the two sides to clash like two giant tsunamis meeting in the middle.
It was only me and my personal maids and I turned to them.
I said, "Each of you needs to get me the head of at least one commander."
A commander is third in the hierarchy of clans, just below generals which was obviously below the clan leader.
This was a heavy thing to ask of them but despite their age, I had no doubt in my mind that they'd hold their own and even win against people decades older than them.
Without a hint of playfulness in their voice or demeanor, they responded in unison, "We shall bring you honor."
The ones who had their hands inside their sleeves pulled them out and all of them began gracefully rushing into the crowd.
I took one last moment taking the moment in before finally stepping into the crowd.
Father was dealing with a bunch of nobodies while slowly making his way to the Hiryu's clan leader.
While he doing that, I needed to deal with a certain bitch, aka the daughter of the Hiryu's clan leader, who had said something online on her social media about my fiancé.
She called him a "no-good piece of shit r*pist" and that it made sense for him to get engaged with me since birds of a feather flock together.
"You'll pay for trying to tarnish his reputation, wrench," I said, grinding my teeth as I beheaded three people who approached me.
He was already proven innocent and was influenced by his demon curse mark, a badge of honor he got for slaying a demon.
How dare she.
Using Aoi to scan the field to find her location, I could find her near the back.
"Hiding behind the walls of your clan members. As expected of a keyboard warrior. Doesn't have the same courage when it comes time to live in the real world," I said to myself, a little ticked off as I leaped over the crowd and landed beside her.
"Nice to finally meet you," I said as I pointed the tip of my katana at her.
She turned to me with her ugly face that I wanted to tear into.
I was delighted to see that at the very least, she didn't cower away at my sudden arrival.
"Hey bitch. Still engaged to that r*pist fiancé of yours?" she asked, a horrendous smirk on her face as she pulled out two daggers from the inside of her cloak.
I spat a small ball of lava towards her face which she dodged with ease.
That was a warning of what was to come.
"My fiancé just defeated a dark magic user and brought justice to hundreds if not thousands of victims. What did your fiancé do again? Oh, that's right. You don't have one because no man is willing to get engaged to someone with such a monstrous-looking face," I said with an innocent smile on my face.
That smirk quickly disappeared and she dashed forward.
"Die!" she screamed as she lunged into my space.