Samurai in the Time Rift 8.4

8.4

The cavern was like the others; dimmed in lighting except for the small fire places scattered around, but it offered shelter and safety. There were about a hundred of them in there; some of them are the survivors of he last war but some are stragglers which were found on the land. They were feeding on a serpent that was now roasted over the fire places.

"Welcome to our home, Taisa Mori." Aikin told the Taisa. "We been hiding here soon after you left us. Our numbers grew as we found new ones to joined us."

"Let me show you something you would not believe." Aikin asked the Taisa Mori to followed. He led the samurai to a secluded corner guarded by three warriors. In that corner, Aikin showed the Taisa Mori the three barrels of gunpowder, with assorted weapons like cutlasses and spears.

"It was a hidden cache which we stumbled on when we camped here. Captain Rodriquez never mentioned it." Aikin continued on.

"Maybe he was not telling all to his men. Sometimes leaders do that." Taisa Mori commented. It was then he noticed the amulet was glowing and it was bright.

"What is that?" Aikin asked.

"Its something which may showed us the way home." Taisa Mori looked at Aikin. "All of us may able to go home."

Aikin laughed and looked at the samurai.

"Captain Rodriquez; when he was drunk would rant on this place he said would get us home, but we are still here." Aikin continued laughing but the samurai was not amused. Taisa Mori emotion got over on him; his inner Bushido training and learning make him pulled out his katana to confront the Ainu pirate. Aikin had his daggers drawn up and pointed at Taisa Mori. When Taisa Mori realized his mistake and apologized.

"I apologized." Taisa Mori bowed to the Ainu pirate. Its was a rare feat for a samurai to apologize to an Ainu pirate. Aikin lowered his daggers.

"I did not mean to laughed, Taisa. We been here for too long." Aikin bowed back. Taisa Mori asked on the tunnels that was in the rear.

"We did not explore, but on occasions there would be a serpent that may slither through."Aikin explained.

"I need to go there. In there." Taisa Mori spoke out. "With your permission."

The leader of the Stone Column was nicknamed Stone, stood there as it checked the serrated edge blade. It then looked at the other occupant at the fire place.

"Rock, how many of those Nihonzaru are we encountering?" The Hibagon asked of the other.

"I was told in the numbers of equal to ours." Rock replied. "My warriors are setting the traps as we discussed."

"Do you think it would work?" Stone asked.

"Lord Zethre was the one that planned it well. He's been preparing for this for a long time." Rock laughed. "I seen the traps and deceptions. The Nihonzaru are not the brightest."

Lord Jedi saw the assembled warriors as they board the boats. Its a feeling of exhilaration when you viewed such an assembly ready to served on the call of one Lord. More than Leader Terin of the Crimson Guards came running.

"My Lord, First and Second are already crossing." Terin bowed to the Lord. "I would joined this crossing when you are ready."

Just as the Leader was walking away, Lord Jedi looked back at his assembled army. He then looked away and reached for the daggers on his chest belt. This war would complete his vengeance; one that its blood kin had asked to do the needed. The elder blood kin sacrificed itself for the clan when it saw the defeat by its warriors to the foul Hibagon. Its last call was to retreat to the young leader named Jedi then.

"My Lord, we are ready." The Chief Scout reported in, and the Lord called out to them.

"We would win today." Lord Jedi shouted out to the warriors.

First and Second Column made the crossing and assembled on the rocky terrain. The scouts came to report on the terrain in front; the leaders are concerned as this was unlike their land. There are hardly trees here, and its mostly flat of bare rocks. The previous wars were all fought on their land and never here.

"Send out more scouts to widen the patrols on both sides of the column. I do not want any surprises." Leader of the First Column. Second Column have taken their position on the far side, and marched out parallel to the First Column.

The first traps took out the wide spread out scouts; they were taken out by the pairs of Hibagon assigned to trapped them. The killing soon diminished the outlaying scouts and then moved in those nearer to the column. But even the best can made mistake. They only need one and it alerted the Column.

"We lost four scouts and this one made it back. It reported of movement of Hibagon." The Leader of the First Column stared at the wounded scout, and gave out the command.

"We are in an ambush!" But it was too late, the First Column had marched into the valley that the Hibagon had prepared the ambush. The Hibagon belonging to Rock and Stone Colum charged into the First Column. They outnumbered the Nihonzaru Column; five hundreds Hibagon against two hundreds Nihonzaru.

"Fight them!" The Leader of the Nihonzaru hollered out. It rushed at the nearest Hibagon and leapt onto the chest of the enemy to slashed with the daggers. The blood spewed out from the neck of the Hibagon as the Nihonzaru had leaped for the other. It had targeted the next Hibagon, but it also saw the others are not fighting well; the Nihonzaru are losing and fast in numbers. All the leader needed was time for the Second Column to reached them, but then the call of retreat was made by the Hibagon. The Hibagon all rushed off on the call and the Nihonzaru survivors are reeling from the attack. Only one third of the Column survived, while the rest are dead or wounded.

The Second Column arrived, and they found no enemies to fight with. Just as they were assisting with the First Column, the Hibagon came charging in again with the third Column Boulders reinforcing the other two Column. It was a battle of three to one, with no trees to climb on. The Hibagon did not come with just their sword or hammers but also long sweeping spears that resembled naginata. They used it like a long handled sickle and slashed their way through the Nihonzaru ranks.

"Retreat to the river!" The leaders of the First and Second Column gave the command. The surviving ones dropped their fights and scattered for the river where the boats are waiting but the Hibagon did not pursued.

The columns of Hibagon had moved towards the next Nihonzaru landing area; the one where Lord Jedi was leading three columns of the Nihonzaru. Scouts were sent ahead to the report to the Lord. At the other landing, Lord Jedi stepped off the boat, he saw a lot of branches left on the river bank and to the inner part of the land. There were also a surface of oil on the ground, but no Hibagon was seen there. Nor were the scouts from the other columns.

"My Lord, those are fatty oils left on the ground and so are the rocks surfaces." The scouts reported back.

"Move the columns out fast." Lord Jedi gave the command. Just as it completed the command, there were sights of lighted up branches thrown over the boulders into the oily surface. The oily surface soon lighted up like the branches and spread out like a swarm of bees. Their sting took the fight out of the Nihonzaru and made them fearful of the element.

"Fire!" That was warning that spread among the Nihonzaru as they trued to find their leaders for new command.

"Retreat to the boats!" The command was heard as given by the Lord Jedi. The warriors retreated but the new report came to his attention, that the branches set on fire have floated to their boats and setting it on fire. The river surface also had oily coating which spread the fire among the boats. It created more chaos among the Nihonzaru.

"Battle the fire! We would re-grouped on that hill." Lord Jedi commanded his warriors as it pointed to the nearby hill. "We would fight them to the end."

The Nihonzaru are scattered now and made their ways in all directions. Some tried to slipped onto the boats and rowed but the fire with burning of the other boats, made escape an impossible task. Some rushed to the inner land and towards the hill, but not all were lucky to avoid the traps or ambush set by the Hibagon. The smaller groups of five or less were attacked by the Hibagon scouts or patrols, with merciless killings to dwindle the numbers. Such was the act of the Hibagon warriors.

Lord Jedi and his personal group of ten warriors made their way through the fires and soon themselves facing a group of six Hibagon who blocked their way.

"Nihonzaru, prepare to die." But without any orders, the Nihonzaru warriors leapt into action.

These warriors armed with their twin daggers were fleet on their moves as they jumped in pair and pushed them off the surfaces with their strong limbs. Their strikes are perfect with the pair handling the offense and defenses before they applied the right cuts on the vulnerable places. Each cut was meticulously done, they brought the Hibagon to their knees before the final fatal strike on the side of the skull into the brain.

These are the Sixth Column warriors; a hundred of them but all well trained to fight and kill. This small group was detached to protect the Lord.

Gunso and Bento have been observing the battle for some time and then followed the scouts back to the hideout. There they discussed the battle deployment of the two warring sides.

"Gunso, the Nihonzaru deployed 'Budokan' art of fighting with some changes in the movements. The weapon looked like the hachiwara; a type of knife-shaped weapon, carried as a side-arm by the Samurai class. That weapon can be made with ease compared to our katana."

"I seen that, and on the Hibagon, they seemed to be carrying the arts outside of the Nippon land. Their use of the hammer and pick, with the sword that are wider in the blade design speaks of the Han or Ainu design. I would say the blood kin or master of the arts, tells me we are looking at two differing inhabitants that dwell on his strange land before we came."

"The Han and Nippon are traditional rivals in most matters and its no surprised that we find the rivalry carried here." Gunso added in his opinion between the warring parties.

In the cavern, Taisa Mori asked for volunteers among his group to seek out the tunnels. Only a handful volunteered; Gunso, Edo, Bento and Sun. Iza now recovered wanted to come along but Edo stopped him. The five then took up the torches given to them and proceeded into the tunnels. Taisa Mori told Aikin, that they be back by the next sunrise or never again.

'Taisa, there are two; and which do we select from?" Edo asked.