Claiming Yamato [Faction]

[Morei Haji]

Faction: Morei
Territory: Yamato - Currently led by Tsutsui Junkei
Method: Negotiation, possibly force
Army Size: 78 Normal Troops
5 Exceptional Troops
2 Commanders

Amakusa forces may be providing support.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Haji would march onto Tsutsui castle in Yamato territory with a small army of men with him. At his side would be Amakusa Kazuya, brother of Amakusa Takehiro, meant to provide relief for Haji's forces. Takehiro himself would have shown, were he not currently in battle at Shima. Haji's force of 85 was backed up by 132 Amakusa troops, giving him a combined army of 217 troops.

Outside Tsutsui Castle, the Tsutsui forces would be gathered, refusing to allow Haji entrance into the castle. At their forefront was Shima Sakon, a warrior yet to gain renown, but one who was skilled nonetheless.

"Who are you to come onto our lands with an army?"

Morei Troops:
78 Normal Troops:
Str: 10
Dex: 10
Con: 10
Wis: 10
Spr: 10

5 Exceptional Troops:
Str: 20
Dex: 20
Con: 20
Wis: 20
Spr: 20

2 Commanders:
Str: 30
Dex: 30
Con: 30
Wis: 30
Spr: 30

Amakusa Troops:
120 Normal Troops:
Str: 11(21)
Dex: 11
Con: 11(16)
Wis: 11
Spr: 11

8 Exceptional Troops:
Str: 23(33)
Dex: 23
Con: 23(28)
Wis: 23
Spr: 23

4 Commanders:
Str: 35(45)
Dex: 35
Con: 35(40)
Wis: 35
Spr: 35

Shima Sakon:
Str: 40(50)
Dex: 65(75)
Con: 50
Wis: 65(70)
Spr: 50(60)

Tsutsui Troops:
300 Normal Troops:
Str: 10
Dex: 10(20)
Con: 10
Wis: 10(15)
Spr: 10

20 Exceptional Troops:
Str: 20
Dex: 20(30)
Con: 20
Wis: 20(25)
Spr: 20

10 Commanders:
Str: 30
Dex: 30(40)
Con: 30
Wis: 30(35)
Spr: 30

[Morei Haji]

I looked up at the famed Shima Sakon, a man known for his wisdom as well as his skill in battle, at least in this region. I did not ever think I would cross swords with such a warrior, but here I was.

"I am Morei Haji. I am but a humble wanderer. I have seen the people of these lands suffering, and they tell me that your ruler is to blame. I demand an audience with him."

I would speak up to him. With the supporters from the village, as well as men from the Amakusa by my side, I felt like I would be able to undertake this situation and free these people.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Sakon would shake his head at Haji's demand. Lord Junsho was deceased, Lord Junkei was but a child, and the stand-in was blind. There was little he would accomplish from such a meeting, so there was little point in allowing it to happen. Instead, Sakon brandished his dual blades and stared into the eyes of Haji.

"I am afraid I cannot comply."

He left it at that, opting not to give away the situation. His troops, however, all took up defensive positions on their horses. Meanwhile, Sakon stepped off of his.

"If you wish to speak to Lord Junsho, you must go through me."

[Morei Haji]

I closed my eyes, sighing. I wished it did not have to come to this so easily, especially as Sakon was a man who was rather wise. Why did he choose to serve a lord like this? What was in it for him?

"Then I guess I have no choice but to convince you through other means..."

I drew my Seraph's Blade from its sheathe in my shield, pointing it towards Sakon. I stared intently at him, not planning on taking my eyes off of him. I did not know his capabilities to the fullest, and whether or not he was a match for me remained to be seen.

"I'll give you one last chance. Let me speak to your lord."

[Oda Nobunaga]

Sakon would make no remarks whatsoever. The troops in the back of the army would simply nock their arrows (which were dipped in oil and set ablaze), raising them and pointing them at Haji's army. They would be, however, hidden by the front troops, who were armed with spears, swords, and axes.

The Morei-Amakusa alliance would begin to feel the wind picking up, blowing toward them and away from the Tsutsui forces.

[Morei Haji]

Nothing, huh? I guess I had no choice. My sword, pointing at Sakon, would instead point skyward as I moved my arm up. A beam of light would come down from the sky, landing on my sword, while my wings of light would sprout outwards from my shoulders. My hair would turn golden, and even my eyes were resonating with the power of the light inside of me. If this was not enough to intimidate them into submission, I would have no choice but to fight.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Sakon was evidently not impressed by Haji's display. So it seemed he was one who'd been given power by the gods, Sakon was as well. The Tsutsui officer smiled, pointing his sword toward the Morei-Amakusa army, shouting "Fire!"

The wind would pick up fiercely, pushing most of the Morei-Amakusa men back. At that exact moment, Sakon's men released their fire arrows at the army. If successful, they would strike grass and hay in the area and ignite it, taking the whole army in fire. The wind around them would begin to circle their area, keeping the fire restricted solely to them.

The archers began to nock more fire arrows, and the men at the front armed themselves with pikes, spears, and halberds in defense. Sakon held his swords in front of him, awaiting Haji's move.

[Morei Haji]

My eyes widened as Sakon shouted his command, seeing the flaming arrows shoot up into the sky. Channeling my energy into a large dome to cover all of the troops with me, I would shout into the sky, sending a large burst of energy outward. My goal was to overcome Sakon's wind and push the arrows far away from their course, while possibly pushing Sakon and his army back as well. If this was successful, I would channel light into my sword, slashing it horizontally in front of me to fire a large wave of light towards Sakon and his men.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Haji would redirect the arrows and push the wind away, but Sakon was incredibly skilled with what he did! he would pull the arrows high into the air and bring them down upon Haji, just as he pulled his light into his sword. At the same time, ballistas from atop Tsutsui castle would begin to rain arrows down upon the Morei-Amakusa forces, so if Haji went through with his attack, he would take out some Tsutsui soldiers at the risk of his light shield being destroyed and a large amount of his forces falling.

In the event Haji continued with his slash, Sakon pushed all his men back with his wind and leaped high into the air, before phasing toward Haji's side, and striking at his throat with one of his blades!

[Morei Haji]

Sakon's use of the wind was... impressive. He was more skilled than Katsumi, and this made me realize just how difficult the task of uniting this country would be if there were other men like Sakon, or perhaps even stronger than him.

Letting go of the light in my blade, I would use it to reinforce the light shield, protecting all of the men in my unit. With a shout, I did my best to direct the arrows away from us, pushing them all back towards Sakon.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Sakon would catch all of the arrows with his wind and pull them far away enough that Haji threatened to weaken his shields if he continued his pursuit. He would then fire them at the shield repeatedly, while his archers in the back fired another volley of fire arrows at them! The troops in the front all began to charge, striking at the barrier with their polearms and looking to weaken it even more!

"You come to my home, and seek to take it from me? It seems you are unprepared, Warrior!"

[Morei Haji]

"Tch..."

I grimaced as the barrage continued, channeling all of my energy into the shield. As the arrows and soldiers began to pound away at the shield with their continual assaults, I would shout, sending the entirety of my Musou forward to blast everyone and everything back, possibly taking out the charging men.

"Don't underestimate me."

[Oda Nobunaga]

Haji's light wave slew all the charging men, though sending his wave of light out was a tactic with a fatal flaw! While the arrows recently fired would be destroyed, the ballistae would continue firing, taking out a good number of Haji's troops as well! Almost immediately, Sakon's archers fired off another round of fire arrows at the enemy army, and Sakon used Haji's offense to his advantage. The entire Morei-Amakusa army would feel the wind circling around them strong enough that it threatened to throw them into a whirlwind!

Sakon could not lift the entire army, due to their numbers, but he could feign.

Morei-Amakusa Army:
198 Normal Troops - 25
13 Exceptional Troops
6 Commanders

Tsutsui Army:
300 Normal Troops - 30
20 Exceptional Troops
10 Commanders

[Morei Haji]

Damn it! I wasn't trying to lose anybody! The reality of my inability to protect everyone was starting to sink in, but I had no time to grieve right now. My inexperience was showing, and gritting my teeth, I would pull out one of the Musou Wines, drinking it quickly to restore my previously lost strength.

I quickly formed another light shield around my men and myself, firing off powerful beams of light from the shield itself. Two would aim for Sakon, one after the other while the second was hidden right below the first, while the rest of the beams would target the various ballistae on the castle. If this was successful, we would be able to take the offensive and bring the fight back to the Tsutsui forces.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Haji would find that, despite his mastery of the light, an offense and defense being used simultaneously was incredibly strenuous on his body! The ballistae, however, would be destroyed before he could lose any other soldiers! As the beams of light fired at Sakon, the man dashed to his side, narrowly avoiding them. They would shoot into the castle gate, breaking it down to reveal several arbalests! Almost immediately, a wave of hundreds of bolts would shoot toward Haji, slamming into his shield! The archers continued to rain their fire arrows down upon it as well!

[Morei Haji]

Geez... this really wasn't going to be easy. I could foresee myself needing another Musou Wine soon. Shouting, I reinforced the shield the best I could against the assault. I would begin to push it forward slowly, increasing the height of my shield in order to try and block everything. Once it reached a desirable height, I would push it forward with all of my might, planning on ramming that light not only into Sakon's men, taking out the archers, but the arbalests behind the gate as well. If this was unsuccessful, I would quickly put the shield back up, trying to minimize losses. If it succeeded, then the real fight could begin.

[Oda Nobunaga]

As Haji began to move his light forward and increase its size, his tactic became apparent. Sakon immediately halted his barrage and used his wind to push his army to the sides and out of the way of the oncoming light blast, jumping out of the way just in time for it to slam into the castle with incredible force. A piece of it continued through the broken gate, destroying the arbalests. Soldier deaths were basically nonexistent from that maneuver, however.

All stray weapons and arrows in the area - including those of the fallen Morei-Amakusa soldiers - would be lifted up by Sakon's wind, a grin appearing on his face. The wind would pick up once again, the weapons creating a whirlwind around the armies, becoming deadly debris for the enemy.

"Lord Haji, we must act! This back-and-forth battle is getting us nowhere!" Kazuya shouted at Haji's side, deflecting all blades he could.

Tsutsui archers nocked more fire arrows.

[Morei Haji]

I gritted my teeth, glad I broke through the castle gates, yet I still missed my intended target, Sakon. He also managed to save all of his men, he was truly a force to be reckoned with.

Channeling my energy, I formed five great swords of light above me, and with a shout, I would send them flying forward, planning on decimating the soldiers in front of me. If I can at least get rid of the archers, I'd be happy.

(OOC: 70 Spirit behind each of sword, 21 maintaining my shield)