Mount & Blade: Warband in the Sengoku period of Japan

The first wave of attackers was not the cavalry of the Nanbu clan, nor Chen Daoyuan's heavy armored phalanx, but a group of foot soldiers from the Nanbu clan who came down the hillside with the cavalry.

These foot soldiers numbered about two hundred and were clearly the elite of the Nanbu clan. They were all dressed in barrel-shaped tunics painted black, just like the "Dogenmaru-do," and wore straw hats. They carried spears that were about five or six meters long.

These men followed the cavalry down the mountain, quickly lined up in front of them, raised their spears high, and then, at the shouts of the head warriors, marched forward towards the Spock's lines.

Faced with the forest of spearmen advancing slowly, Chen Daoyuan remained still. In this situation, whether to engage in a direct confrontation or not made little difference. Although the full-body armor made of manganese steel was lighter than traditional steel, it was still a very heavy burden. Every bit of energy saved was worthwhile.

The distance of three or four hundred meters between the two sides was quickly closed by the spear-wielding foot soldiers. The sound of bowstrings rang out behind them as Shiba Tsuneaki's foot soldiers lined up behind Chen Daoyuan's heavily armored square formation and began to fire arrows.

The Japanese great bow truly lived up to its reputation as the bottom of the traditional bow-wielding hierarchy. The foot soldiers lowered their heads and used their black-lacquered straw hats to block most of the projectiles. Out of the two hundred men, only three or four unlucky ones fell to the ground.

After two or three volleys of arrows, the foot soldiers' line, which had lost about ten men, did not waver. When the distance closed enough, the foot soldiers, led by the head samurai, let out a unified shout and began to charge with their spears.

The short distance between them passed in an instant. As they closed in, the foot soldiers raised their hands and slammed their spears down on the front line where Chen Daoyuan was located.

This is the signature move of the Japanese three-section spear. The first strike is not a thrust, but a swing and smash. The sturdy shaft of the Sōmaki spear is no less powerful than a heavy blunt weapon... However, this move is not very effective against the three-section sword and manganese steel armor.

The samurai around Chen Daoyuan raised their three-day swords. Ordinary Japanese swords would usually break if they were to parry the Somaki spear shafts like this. However, these spear shafts were as fragile as noodles in front of the blades made of eutectic steel. The Shiba samurai steadily blocked the swords, and then the spear shafts broke in two on their own when they came crashing down.

Even without using a knife to block the gun barrels, the manganese steel armor on his body was not something that these rope-bound wooden sticks could harm. The excellent elasticity and impact resistance of manganese steel well withstood the blows from these gun barrels. The residual impact force that could penetrate the inner leather armor was only a slight stagger for the Shiba samurai.

This scene was even more mentally devastating to these foot soldiers than the subsequent counterattack.

What kind of monster is this?! That sword can actually withstand the blows of the swirling staff!? And that armor is so tough, it can't even be broken through?!

Panic quickly spread through the foot soldiers' ranks. Those whose spears hadn't been broken instinctively thrust their spears out after the initial strike... but their honed skills were useless today. What on earth was that dark, round thing before them?! They couldn't smash it, let alone pierce it?!

Unfortunately, the foot soldiers had no chance to ask any more questions. The samurai pushed aside the spear shafts, which were still long even after the spearheads were broken, and charged into the foot soldiers' ranks with swords in hand.

The Nanbu clan certainly couldn't equip all their soldiers with iron armor. The black plates on the sides of their armor were just bamboo strips and leather straps. The sword-shaped head of the Shiba samurai's three-day sword pierced through these armors with little difference from piercing through a piece of cloth. Puffs of blood mist sprayed out, and this squad of foot soldiers shattered and dissolved in front of the Shiba army in just a few breaths.

Chen Daoyuan shook the spear shaft. Compared to the warriors around him who used swords, his spear was indeed very efficient at killing. After pushing aside the spears, he took two steps forward and thrust the spear. The leader of the warriors who was commanding in the middle of the line didn't even have time to react before the black spear pierced through his body.

The samurai's most prized footwear, in fact, couldn't even alter the feel of Chen Daoyuan's grip when faced with the tungsten alloy spearhead.

As Chen Daoyuan tossed aside the large skewer of meat in his hand, the ground beneath his feet trembled slightly. When he looked up, he saw a vast expanse of swirling dust; the Nanbu clan's cavalry had already launched their charge!

These lunatics are actually using light cavalry to charge heavy infantry!

Before Chen Daoyuan could reflect further, the southern cavalry, riding Oshu horses and brandishing their swords, had already charged in front of him.

A complex and intense metallic sound rang out as the cavalry charged into the formation, sending a dozen or so Shiba warriors flying. The clanging and slashing sounds echoed throughout the battle lines.

However, the reaction of these southern cavalrymen was exactly the same as that of the foot soldiers just now: shock, then panic.

These Shiba warriors in black armor were impossible to cut! Even if a sword was struck by a horse's hooves, it would only make them stagger back a few steps. Then, along with the warriors who had been knocked away by the horses and quickly got up, they swayed but their steps were firm as they charged forward, wielding their strangely shaped swords.

The cavalry, having lost their momentum, didn't even have the ability to break free. Three or four hundred cavalrymen charged in succession, but it was like a swarm of rats rushing into a pool of asphalt, quickly getting stuck and dying in this deep blackness.

Chen Daoyuan was also a little dizzy. When the cavalry charged, he easily pierced one of them with his spear, and then he was knocked away by the second cavalryman who charged.

Fortunately, the cushioning structure of the lamellar armor he was wearing was superior to that of the warriors' manganese steel armor. When Chen Daoyuan got up, he only felt a little tightness in his chest and dizziness, but no other injuries.

With his spear nowhere to be seen, Chen Daoyuan drew his heavy sword from behind and strode back to the battle line, raising his sword to stab the knights still on horseback.

Thrusting is more effective than swinging; this was a technique that Tsukahara Bokuden and Nobuko taught him.

The high hardness of modern steel was also brought to its extreme by the stabbing action. The armor on his body allowed Chen Daoyuan to not need to think about dodging. He could just stab those bastards off their horses!

After Chen Daoyuan stabbed his third target to death, there were no more targets still on horseback around. As for those who had fallen from their horses, they were all killed by the warriors with great efficiency.

Chen Daoyuan quickly glanced into the distance; there were still quite a few foot soldiers in the Southern Army!

Those foot soldiers were clearly not elite troops. When the cavalry was being overwhelmed by the Shiba samurai, those who followed behind and witnessed everything had already begun to scatter.

Fortunately, Shiba Tsuneaki was an experienced veteran. When the cavalry began to charge, he decisively divided his foot soldiers into two groups, which circled around the heavy infantry square from the left and right, and went straight behind the enemy to encircle them. At this time, they were chasing the rear guard of the Nanbu clan's foot soldiers up the mountain.

After observing the battlefield situation, Chen Daoyuan immediately shouted, "Form ranks! Form ranks! Nakano clan, Hosokawa clan, you lead your respective squads to attack Hachimantai's castle gate immediately! Use heavy axes to break down the gate! Everyone else, rest where you are!"

The heavily armored phalanx composed entirely of samurai was clearly much better organized than the foot soldiers. Chen Daoyuan's orders were immediately carried out. The two hundred-man squads composed of samurai from Takasui-ji Castle, which were just at the rear of the phalanx, immediately turned around and, still in good physical condition, rushed towards Hachiman Heijo Castle, which was not far behind them.

Chen Daoyuan, along with the remaining three hundred-man squads, removed their armor and rested. Then, they set off immediately with the armored carts and the remaining auxiliary foot soldiers.

Chen Daoyuan's direction was due east. It was only seven miles to the east that he reached the mouth of the Iwate River. After entering the mouth of the Iwate River, he would travel ten miles north along the valley to reach the Numamiya Castle!

According to pre-battle estimates, the garrison of Numamiya Castle was only a thousand strong. In the battle just outside Hachimanpei Castle, Chen Daoyuan had cut down five or six hundred spearmen and cavalrymen. In addition, the rear guard of the ashigaru were being chased by Shiba Tsuneaki and scattered into the mountains to the northeast. At this time, Numamiya Castle was an empty city!

Unfortunately, even though the samurai of the Tohoku Mutsu region were known for their ability to endure hardship, Chen Daoyuan's three hundred men were exhausted after the fierce battle and the rapid march to Iwate Kawaguchi.

With no other option, Chen Daoyuan had them rest for a while in the fortress at Iwate Kawaguchi, and then, just before sunset, they crossed the Kawaguchi Gorge and arrived at the foot of Numamiya Castle.

Looking at the inner city of the swamp palace before him, Chen Daoyuan felt quite disappointed.

Numamiya Castle is similar in size to Toriyazaki Castle, but the terrain is quite different. Numamiya Castle is built on a plateau in the middle of a canyon, firmly guarding this natural stronghold. Moreover, as a pure mountain military fortress, its defensive facilities are much more extensive than those of Toriyazaki Castle.

At this time, the defenses of the inner city of Numamiya were clearly very complete. The city gates were tightly closed, and many people were standing behind the wooden fence of the second wing and on the four arrow towers inside the wall. Although they were foot soldiers with simple equipment, they did not look like an empty city.

Just as Chen Daoyuan was feeling disappointed and was about to return to Iwate Kawaguchi to make further plans, the gates of Numamiya Inner Castle suddenly opened.

A group of knights, about fifty in number, emerged from the city gate, followed by over a hundred well-dressed foot samurai, and then a group of foot soldiers.

The enemy's armor was gleaming, and some of the knights in the group were wearing strange hooded frames. Among the foot warriors, many were carrying flags, and three in the middle were even carrying battle flags and horse seals.

Chen Daoyuan looked at the two "fat pigeons" facing each other on the flags, and at Takeda Higashi on the flags... his delight was palpable: "Immediately assemble the troops and prepare for battle!"

Horse insignia, battle flags, hatamoto samurai, hanai-shu... This is a big shot in the Nanbu family, who might even be Nanbu Harumasa himself!

Chen Daoyuan looked around. He had been running around on and off all day. Although the samurai around him were still wearing black iron armor and their own hesitant-colored three-piece kamikaze or Shiba clan's white two-piece yojin haori, they did look like a defeated army with no spirit left.

Perhaps it was this pathetic state that made Harumasa Nanbu feel that his team was nothing more than some ragtag bunch that had sneaked in to launch a sneak attack, and he decided to let them in.

"Are you all tired?" Chen Daoyuan checked his equipment again and casually asked the warriors around him.

"It's alright..." "A little tired, but I can still fight!" "With the armor on my body, even though my legs are a bit weak, cutting down these Nanbu clan scum won't be a problem!" The samurai replied with laughter.

"Alright! Then today, we'll finish this in one fell swoop! Form ranks!" Chen Daoyuan shouted in a low voice!