The autumn wind blew gently, caressing the unnamed hills.
In his prime, the lord protector of Chikuzen who had once been proclaimed by his lord Ouchi Takayoshi as the "unparalleled great general of the western realm," Tao Qingxian, stood solemn-faced with eyes closed and hand on his katana atop the hill. Draped in a sumptuous red armor inlaid with gold, his towering stature stood out among the Dongying samurai, each no taller than five feet. His brooding and weighty presence deterred all the samurai guarding him from looking directly at his figure.
A ninja, cloaked in black leather armor, swiftly emerged from the woods and knelt in the textbook-perfect gesture of dogeza at the foot of the hill, respectfully announcing, "Reporting to my lord, the invading army of eastern demons has set foot on your territory, now less than ten miles away."
Without opening his eyes, Tao Qingxian commanded in a stern voice that carried an intrinsic authority, "Scout again!"
The ninja bowed his head, "Yes, sir!"
Having spoken, he rose, bowed his head, and hurried back into the woods with quick, short steps, vanishing from the samurai’s gaze in an instant.
After the ninja’s departure, a remarkable swordsman clothed in coarse linen with muscles coiled like rocks and a wild beard knelt on one knee, whispering in a deep, resonant voice with his head bowed, "Once again, I entreat my lord to take refuge. I am prepared to fight to the death in your place!"
Tao Qingxian opened his eyes, which gleamed sharply, exuding a natural authority as he asked, "Would the disciples of Shin-toryu also shrink from battle?"
The remarkable swordsman replied, "I neither shy away from battle nor fear death, but it is unwise for my lord, upon whom the fortune of Chikuzen hinges, to be in such peril."
Tao Qingxian replied indifferently, "I have faced a myriad of dangers in my life; this one is of little consequence."
Struggling to persuade further, the remarkable swordsman began, "My teacher, the Sword Saint Tsukahara once said, ’He who harbors the heart of a ferocious tiger, does not chase a cunning rabbit...’"
Before he could finish, Tao Qingxian interrupted with a nonchalant yet unequivocal tone, "I have made up my mind!"
He closed his eyes, his gauntleted hand gently stroking the tiger-striped hilt of his katana at his waist. His gaze seemed to return to the night when he decided to launch a coup, slaying his lord Ouchi Yoshioki and seizing the protectorship of Chikuzen, and he seemed once more to hear the roar of that ferocious tiger in his heart...
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His family, the Tao Family, had served the Ouchi Family, the hereditary protectors of Chikuzen, for generations. As a vassal of the Ouchi Family, he and his descendants would have continued to serve them from generation to generation...
Yet, having transformed from a mere retainer to the lord protector of Chikuzen and a dominant force in the western realm during the prime of his life, he had gambled brazenly countless times. Some gambles were deadly, others were enigmatic, but each time he emerged with the last laugh and won everything there was to win!
He believed this time would be no exception!
The Hirado Matsura Family?
Mere rustic fishermen and bandits. They were insignificant. Had he not been set on advancing eastward to take part in the struggle for supremacy over Honshu, he would have long since leveled Hirado Castle and extinguished the Matsuura clan!
A few dozen brash bandits from Wei, thinking they could scorn the warriors of the world after breaching Hirado Castle, now dare to underestimate him and aim to break through Chikuzen?
It was mere overconfidence akin to a frog in a well!
All said that Dongying was an exalted country with a profound cultural heritage and an endless stream of distinguished heroes. Yet now, it seemed, they amounted to very little!
Tao Qingxian’s eyes narrowed slightly as he raised the corner of his lips in a mocking smile.
But no sooner had his smile appeared than the autumn wind carried to him the wild sound of galloping hooves.
He opened his eyes with displeasure, only to see at the base of the hill four riders approaching from the east. The leader, a Wei man in black, rode astride a fierce black horse with curly fur. The horse’s rampaging vigor, ready to trample over mountains like a thundering herd, brightened Tao Qingxian’s eyes with the thrill of the hunt.
He immediately ordered, "Do not harm my prized steed!"
And in the moment he spoke, a boisterous laugh erupted as if to challenge the heavens, "I’ll take the left; you take the right. This first kill is mine!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Tao Qingxian saw the black-clad rider atop the fierce black horse toss a bloody decapitated head, concealed by a black cloth, and charge toward the hill where he stood.
Seeing this, the mocking smile on Tao Qingxian’s lips grew even thicker.
He slowly raised his right hand adorned with a dark gold tiger-patterned gauntlet, reiterating, "Do not injure my prized steed!"
Having spoken, he swept his right hand downward with force.
In the blink of an eye, a swarm of armored samurai burst forth from the woods, brandishing their slender nodachi like a dense forest, and charged toward the black-clad rider atop the fierce black horse.
...
Yang Ge, who had just charged into the forest, hadn’t heard the commotion above, but the dense, tangled underbrush not only impeded Erhei’s advance but also obscured his vision.
Without much thought, he drew his treasured blade and sent forth a thirty-meter arc of sword energy into the woods, cleaving all the bushes in his path into mulch and forcibly clearing a way for Erhei to charge through.
But for some reason he couldn’t fathom, the mountain seemed as if it could bleed, for the path he’d cleared ran red...
"So this is the spectacle of Dongying? Quite the sight to behold!" he mused to himself as he spurred Erhei’s sides, and with understanding, Erhei crashed through the forest, galloping up the rugged mountain path like the wind.
From Tao Qingxian’s vantage point, he saw his pride, the elite soldiers of the western realm, just as they had formed up, were pierced by a sword energy surging from below, sending countless limbs and shattered armor spraying towards the hill like fireworks.