Mount & Blade: Warband in the Sengoku period of Japan

From sunset to nightfall, Chen Daoyuan kept observing the Gejuan Pavilion.

In his eyes, the details of this large village gradually became richer.

As the sun set, the villagers returned to the village one after another, carrying their farm tools. Compared to the rule of the Shibo clan, these villagers' clothes and farm tools were more tattered, but their physiques seemed to be two points more robust.

There wasn't much tension in the village. After sunset, the south and north gates at both ends of the village were closed, but only two sentries remained inside the south gate, and there was still no one on the arrow tower.

As night fell, the entire village fell silent, with only a few scattered lights still illuminating the scene.

Chen Daoyuan stretched his shoulders, which were a bit stiff from putting on the armor so early, and called over the ninja captain of the team.

"Go, take your men to the wall. Once we break open the front gate, you set fire to the wall."

The ninja accepted the order and left. Chen Daoyuan turned to Ryokawa Nobutsugu beside him: "Ryokawa-sama, you are in charge of leading the foot soldiers and staying here. If our operation goes smoothly, you will be responsible for providing backup. If we get bogged down in a fierce battle in the village, then launch an attack to provide support. The timing is up to you."

"Yes." As the second son of the samurai family, Liang Chuan Xinji had also worked his way up from the bottom, and Chen Daoyuan believed that he had the ability to observe the battlefield.

Chen Daoyuan then turned to Shiba Kenshin: "Young Master, it will be you who comes into battle with me."

"Oh...him." A hesitant, nervous voice responded to him.

Chen Daoyuan ignored Shiba Kenshin and waved his hand. The samurai who were resting in the forest got up and followed Chen Daoyuan out of the woods in the dim night.

Chen Daoyuan didn't split up his troops. Visibility was low at night, and there were no walkie-talkies. Splitting up would only cause trouble for himself. Given the current village, it would be better for the fifty of them to stick together and charge in.

The group carefully crossed the farmland and arrived at the dirt road in the fields that led directly to the south gate of the Gejuan Hall.

Chen Daoyuan quickly reorganized the ranks, then drew his four-edged heavy sword and held it high: "Gentlemen, may your martial prowess be abundant! Charge!"

The group followed Chen Daoyuan and walked quickly toward the Gejuan Hall. When they were less than fifty meters away from the south gate, Chen Daoyuan took a big step and rushed toward the wooden gate first.

The clanking of armor as a group of men charged forward seemed to finally awaken the dozing sentry behind the wooden door. When a shrill cry of "Enemy attack!" rang out from behind the door, Chen Daoyuan had already rushed to the front.

The wooden gate wasn't perfectly sealed. Chen Daoyuan leaned close to the half-palm-wide gap in the gate and swung his sword down with both hands.

Luckily, the blade pierced the crack in the door precisely, striking the bolt with a snap. Unfortunately, that bolt, which was as thick as a man's thigh, was certainly not so easily cut.

The two warriors beside Chen Daoyuan rushed over to help, pushing the gate inwards with all their might, making the wooden gate open a little more.

Chen Daoyuan continued to raise his sword, hacking fiercely at the door bolt.

Fortunately, the cleaving power of the four-sided heavy sword in his hand even surpassed that of the axe of this era. After a dozen or so strikes, he had split the bolt in half. Then, with the combined force of a dozen or so warriors, there was a cracking sound, and the bolt, which was only half connected, finally broke under the weight.

The gate was breached, and the warriors swarmed in. Chen Daoyuan caught his breath and squeezed into the crowd, rushing inside with them.

"Don't scatter!" Chen Daoyuan shouted, restraining the warriors. "Young Master, you take ten men to sweep the streets inside the fortress, the rest of you come with me to attack the fortress!"

Several perceptive samurai immediately pulled Shiba Kenshin aside, while the rest followed Chen Daoyuan and continued charging forward.

The village was not yet fully awake. Only a few people ran out onto the main road, whether they were there to stop the enemy or just to watch the spectacle. Regardless of whether they were armed or not, they were hacked to death by the passing samurai.

Firelight rose on the other side of the village, and the village gradually became noisy. Chen Daoyuan ignored it and led the warriors to the inner city of the village.

The core area of ​​Hachinohe Castle is much larger than the fortress of Obo Fortress, and it is surrounded by an earthen wall, so it can barely be considered a Honmaru.

The door to this citadel was not the wooden gate like the ones outside, but two thick wooden doors with no gaps to cut the bolts. Even with several samurai trying their best to install them, they wouldn't budge.

As some warriors were about to turn back to find the battering ram, Chen Daoyuan glanced at the earthen wall, which was slightly shorter than himself, and casually called out to two warriors, pointing to the base of the wall: "You, you, go squat down over there."

The two samurai were a little confused, but they still obeyed and squatted down at the base of the wall. Chen Daoyuan stepped forward, stepped on their shoulders, and, under the astonished gazes of a group of samurai, jumped over the earthen wall and into the citadel.

A dozen or so people had gathered at the entrance to the citadel. Some were servants carrying bamboo spears and wooden clubs, while others were samurai carrying katana.

Chen Daoyuan climbed over the wall, startling everyone. But Chen Daoyuan didn't wait for them to recover; he swung his greatsword and charged into the crowd.

The servants instantly lost their hard-won courage, dropped their weapons and ran away, while the warriors were tough and surrounded Chen Daoyuan with their swords drawn.

Unfortunately, these warriors who rushed over in their nightgowns were no match for Chen Daoyuan.

Chen Daoyuan swung his greatsword in a wide arc. Regardless of whether the warriors parried or slashed vertically, anyone his sword touched was instantly killed. After two or three swings, he had cut them all to pieces, sword and all.

After clearing out the enemies, Chen Daoyuan unlatched the door and let the warriors in.

The samurai swarmed in again, following Chen Daoyuan as he rushed into the main hall.

They stormed through the main hall and into the backyard, where several warriors, fully armored, stood in a line, pointing their swords at Chen Daoyuan and his group.

The leader was a burly middle-aged man with a pale face, but he still glared at Chen Daoyuan with wide eyes: "I am Kuzumaki Mitsumune, the head of the Kuzumaki clan. Who are you?!"

"Chen Daoyuan." Chen Daoyuan didn't bother to shout. He calmly gave his name while observing Kuzuma Mitsumune.

Kuzumi Mitsumune was the tallest person Chen Daoyuan had seen in the area. He estimated that he reached Chen Daoyuan's nose. He had broad shoulders, a large chest, and a thick waist. Even in modern times, he would be considered a strong man. His armor was also very complete and of high quality. He was indeed worthy of being the head of a famous and powerful family.

Upon hearing Chen Daoyuan's announcement, Kuzumi Mitsumune showed a slight surprise, glancing at the samurai beside Chen Daoyuan: "A Ming Chinese? Serving the Shiba clan? Hmph, what's so great about the Shiba clan? Why don't you come with me and follow Lord Kugimiya? How much fiefdom can Shiba Kengo offer? We Kugimiya can give you double!"

"But your samurai always try to kill me at the drop of a hat," Chen Daoyuan replied casually, then drew his sword and charged forward. "So let's settle this with swords."

Seeing Chen Daoyuan step forward, Kuzuma Mitsumune had no choice but to shut his mouth and concentrate on dealing with Chen Daoyuan's attack.

However, after a brief exchange of two rounds, Chen Daoyuan sensed something was amiss.

Despite his large size, Kuzuma Mitsumune was incredibly agile, far surpassing the warriors Chen Daoyuan had fought.

The tree-guarding fighting style that Chen Daoyuan had comprehended was surprisingly ineffective against Gejuro Mitsumune. His explosive charge was easily dodged by Gejuro Mitsumune with a large side jump, and the man didn't even seem to have the intention to retaliate. Chen Daoyuan's two wide-range slashes following up with his charge naturally missed.

When Chen Daoyuan finished his strike and truly revealed his weakness after the attack, Kuzumi Mitsunomune stepped forward. Moreover, instead of slashing, he thrust his sword straight at the armpit area where Chen Daoyuan's lamellar armor had gaps.

Chen Daoyuan's hair stood on end. Although he had titanium alloy chainmail and inner soft armor under his lamellar armor, he had no interest in taking the opponent's full-force thrust head-on. He quickly twisted his waist and rolled on the ground to dodge Kuzumi Mitsumune's follow-up attack.

"He's a master!" Chen Daoyuan's hair stood on end, and his attention immediately focused. Although his lamellar armor was invincible, it was not without blind spots. This person in front of him was clearly a master who could accurately find these blind spots in the defense during battle.

Fortunately, the next moment, Chen Daoyuan proved what a numerical monster and an equipment monster really are. Just as he was about to get up from the ground, Kuzumi Mitsumune followed him like a shadow. With a light slash and a slash, he aimed for Chen Daoyuan's neck. Chen Daoyuan subconsciously raised his arm to block, and with a "clang", Kuzumi Mitsumune's slash struck his arm armor.

Chen Daoyuan's arm armor was naturally unharmed, and Kuzuma Mitsumune's sword was not broken, only chipped. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chen Daoyuan reacted quickly, raising his sword and stabbing Kuzuma Mitsumune.

Chen Daoyuan's four-sided heavy sword was crafted according to the size of a European half-sword, with a blade much longer than that of a typical Japanese katana. Chen Daoyuan's arm was undoubtedly longer than that of Japanese samurai of that era. Even though Kuzumaki Mitsumune was highly skilled in martial arts, he had never faced such a numerically monstrous opponent before, and his estimation of distance was clearly a bit off. Chen Daoyuan's sword pierced right into his right shoulder socket. The tip of the sword, made of Cru-Wear steel, pierced through Kuzumaki Mitsumune's armor with unreasonable ease, and with a muffled "crack," it went straight into his flesh.

Kuzumi Mitsumune immediately retreated, and Chen Daoyuan also took the opportunity to get up.

Kuzuma Mitsumune's right hand fell limply to his side. He had taken a sword to the shoulder, rendering his arm useless. His face was even paler than before, and he gave a bitter laugh, saying, "Good armor, good sword..."

Chen Daoyuan touched his arm armor, then patted the longsword in his hand: "Swordsmanship is a minor art. The true path is to use superior armor to defeat inferior armor, a superior sword to defeat a inferior sword, superior forging skills to defeat inferior forging skills, and a strong nation to defeat a weak nation. This is what it means to be a master strategist without ostentatious achievements!"

Kuzumaki Mitsumune said bitterly, "This is not the way of the samurai."

"Samurai my ass..." Chen Daoyuan cursed under his breath in Chinese, then raised his hand to beckon the group of samurai behind him, pointing at Kuzumi Mitsumune and the others: "Alright, the duel is over, the war begins, wipe them out."

Dozens of samurai immediately swarmed forward. The men behind Kuzumaki Mitsumune were not as skilled as him, and Kuzumaki Mitsumune, whose arm had been crippled, was killed by a flurry of blows after only a few parries.

Chen Daoyuan watched all this coldly, and some strange thoughts inevitably arose in his mind... Although he spoke with confidence, he was still a little scared of the duel just now.

I need to find a mentor to improve myself; a good combination of numerical values ​​and mechanics is truly invincible.