Chapter 145: Revelation through Attrition
As the Yutaka twins once said to him back in Hashidate province, and the old lady of the Kiyomasa clan confirmed back in his time in the Imperial capital, Otherworlders aren't much of a rarity in the country in this world where he was reborn. In truth, with the five-year rotations between the four sanctums in the country who can summon one, along with the random Strays that get into this world by accident or being reincarnated, the average number of Otherworlders in this world is between the minimum of fifty and a maximum of a hundred.
As such, he especially made sure to convey an underlying message in his declaration of war with choice of words that only an Otherworlder would understand.
An example of the success of that move is from one guy who just wanted to be called "Saru" (monkey) after he felt cheated when the Kirin Lord's words gave him paranoia, only to learn that was intentional misinformation.
"I heard from the radio that this province in the south… Kise province, was it? Yeah. When the person speaking said that his forces attacked it and promised to do the same against us, I'm not gonna lie, I was a nervous wreck. I mean, even if Lord Ichinose has nine provinces under him and a large army ready to defend it, if the guy speaking on the radio can attack a land into surrendering unconditionally in a matter of moments, I know we're screwed."
"So that's why you planned your escape immediately?"
"No. I had trust that Lord Ichinose and his generals would try to negotiate an alliance with these people because I told them that this force might be led by someone like me who has some measure of knowledge about modern weapons… But they insisted to not negotiate and instead, honor the plan to attack the Shogunate capital alongside the other clans in the Central plains."
"And this made you think about defecting?"
"Well, yes. I did think about just escaping and leaving them behind there since I don't want to be forced to stand by them till the end. I mean, I already have qualms about whether or not Lord Ichinose is as wise as his father whom I sworn fealty to years ago. And in the end, I was right to the dot."
"I see… Well, with all of these thoughts swirling in your mind, can you tell me the moment where you decided to leave immediately, just like you told our men when they found you?"
"At the same time when he mentioned the words "sea of glass" and "second sun"."
"Wait… are you saying that you learned about the missile strikes in Kise, pondered about defecting and decided to defect all at the same time frame?"
"I did. In truth, I finalized my decision the moment the Kirin Lord finished his declaration. By morning, I was already riding out of the castle under the excuse of meeting with a colleague at Mikahara province."
"Wow… I expected it to take a bit more time."
"What can I say… I decide things quickly and decisively. If it's a matter of life-or-death to me, it goes without saying that I'll decide things quicker."
"Then this "sea of glass" and "second sun" that you mentioned… what does it actually mean? For us, these were poetic exaggerations by our master, but for you, it seems to carry another meaning."
"It does, yes. As a modern person- I mean, as someone that you guys call an "Otherworlder", those words can only be linked to a single thing."
"Which is…?"
"A nuclear bomb."
"Nuclear bomb… I've never heard of such a thing before. Can you elaborate?"
"Well… the specifics itself is quite beyond me and explaining it in detail would just make both our heads painful. Umm… Okay, think of it as a bomb just as large as a barrel…"
"Uh-huh. I get the scale."
"…But it can blow up an entire city by itself."
"What?"
"To top it all off, everything in the fireball that it makes would just be melted or incinerated in an instant. The shockwave it will make would flatten several kilometers of land around the blast site, splintering even the largest trees like toothpicks, toppling large buildings like they are sandcastles and hurling anything that isn't solidly planted to the ground up into the air."
"Wait… you are clearly joking-"
"And lastly, the expanse of land where it detonated would be covered in this kind of soot rain and ashfall for years to come. Then, there is this something called radioactive fallout… think of it like a poisonous snowfall or rainfall where your body would become really sickly once you get exposed and this thing can shorten your life by several years."
With Saru's words, the radio interviewer was astonished with this weapon that he mentioned. If something just as large as a barrel can do that much damage, there surely would be nothing to stop whoever has such a thing.
"Thankfully, I learned that it was an intentional misinformation from the Kirin Lord to draw out any Otherworlder out of the battlefield. By mentioning that he has such a terrible weapon on hand, he managed to convince all of us who have sworn our service to our Daimyos to think about ourselves and either try to push our masters to not provoke the allied forces or just run away to save our own selves."
"About that, I heard nearly forty or so Otherworlders has defected to our side since the start of the war. Have you met some of them and did they say the same things?"
"Yes, yes. They did. They all said that if something like that which has devastated the world where we came from would follow us here, we want to at least be on the side of the force that has it and not against it."
"It's really that terrible of a weapon?"
"Yes. I wasn't kidding when I said that those weapons devasted our world. I mean that in the most extreme extent. Several generations suffered because of their use, and instead of shortening wars and making them less devastating, it made wars rage longer and cause more damages."
"I see… Is Lord Iwasawa perhaps saying something by mentioning the use of such weapons in a misinformation campaign?"
"I wish to believe that it is not the case… After all, no one really wants to be in such a situation. If the Kirin Lord is indeed planning to use such terrible weapons, I wish that it wouldn't be used against our lands once again."
"Once again…?"
"Oh. Forget that I said that. I was just musing to myself."
Though a majority of Otherworlders successfully outwitted their masters and escaped before the devastation and conquest for the Central Plains, there are also those who either decided to stay beside their master till the bitter end…
"Is it him?"
"Yeah… The handbook from the Kiyomasa clan has his information and portrait. Arataki Youji, 24 years of age. The location also checks out since he was taken in by the Ushiro clan and became their tactician. Makes sense for him to be here in the throne room along with the map of their forces."
"Such a waste… only 24 and he's already dead."
"Well, not like we're any different. We are only a year older than him, but we're already Military Police officers. The world is screwed up right now."
"Yeah… I'll wrap him up and send word that we found him dead. Can you handle the report about the Ushiro Daimyo's death then?"
"No problem. Leave it to me."
And then, there are also those who was forced to stay behind against their will.
"Urk!"
"Damn it… What kind of monster would do something like this…?"
"Monsters who are desperate to clean the stain in their names and feign toughness and reliance when they can't even lift a finger against their enemies."
"It's clear. This guy was tortured and was left to die here just a few days ago. Because it's damp, the decomposition is-"
"Enough, corporal. Just send in some cleaners and let's bury him properly. This place already stinks enough."
"Roger that, sir."
Still, what is important is that the front lines of the allied forces have pushed through the lower half of the Central plains while the subjugation forces have completely covered the border of Yamato province in order to stop the enemies from holding it hostage during the offensive. At the current pace, it would take only a few weeks for all resistance against the allied army to cease and if Marshall Leader Kusanagi would allow for the reserve forces in Hitachi province to join the fight, those few weeks would only take two weeks.
Because of that, Hiroshi was confident enough to have himself and the four other leaders of the Southern Quartet alliance be flown by plane to Yamato province to personally meet with the person who has become their ally in this war.
"That looks like a decent enough road. Let's land there."
"Okay. Let me lower the landing gear."
"I'm cutting the engine power now. I'll leave the approach maneuvers to you."
"Gotcha. Don't snatch the wheel now."
Unlike before when they just rode and took off into the air, the three other leaders except Hiroshi and Rin are not nervous or reluctant of the trip anymore.
"Huh… I thought it would be scary but being up here in the clouds actually feels peaceful."
"I second that, Kusanagi-dono. Except for the engines, it's actually pretty quiet here."
"Yeah. Down there, there's all kinds of noises that I can hardly read my light novels."
For the past two hours, the leaders have preoccupied themselves in the cabin of the plane. Kyoko was playing solitaire using a deck of cards, Koshiro is reading a shonen manga beside Mitsuha who is reading her light novel and Rin was knitting a scarf that she wanted to give to Nobisuke on his birthday.
In truth, except for the plane's propeller engines that was mentioned to be the only noise heard in the cabin, the only other sound to be heard was the light screeching and scratching of the ballpoint pen of Hiroshi who is writing letters to some officials in the Shogunate capital including the Shogun himself.
"I wonder what the Shogun would tell us once we arrive…"
"Probably some pleasantries for appearances before getting to the business itself. He knows how to be courteous enough before being practical."
After Rin's question was answered by Kyoko, she looked at Hiroshi who seemed to have his ears perk up with the subject.
"I'm finished with the last volume… I wonder why the author suddenly wanted to take a hiatus only six volumes into the story."
"Maybe he has a health issue?"
"That might be possible, but Ouji-sensei always mentions things like that in his afterword, I wonder what it really is that made him stop writing for a while."
"Ah! It can be possible that he volunteered into the army. That sounds more plausible."
"Oh yeah! That can be possible too, Kyoko-sama."
Soon, they heard from the plane's intercom that they would be having a rough landing.
["Esteemed leaders, we would be landing on an empty highway shortly. Please be seated and secure your seatbelts as we make our landing. Thank you for your patience."]
"Well, you guys heard them. Let's be seated now."
The five leaders sat down on their seats and worn their seatbelts tightly as they felt the gentle downward descent of the plane before a bumpy landing on a road shook the interior of the plane.
"Woah… That was not the gentle landing I was expecting…"
"We landed on a paved road without an asphalt cover. You can't really expect bare cement to be kind to an over 10-ton plane landing on it."
"Well, Hehe… I can't deny that."
After a few more bumps and the screeching of the plane's tires, the plane finally slowed and stopped to a halt in the middle of a highway.
["Please wait for us, esteemed leaders. We will secure the plane first before proceeding to become your security detail."]
"…Forget about it, Captain. We're grabbing the weapons and heading out ASAP."
["W-wait, Iwasawa-sama! You and the other leaders shouldn't-"]
"If we wait for you, we might be boarded and shot on the spot. Look outside, those folks are coming here with guns."
["Then that's a greater reason for you and the other leaders to stay put, my lord! Please wait for us, we're almost done with-"]
Hiroshi talked with the pilot and co-pilot through an intercom after unlatching himself from his seat. He said that he and the others would be heading out with weapons in order to defend against some men that seem to be coming their way with weapons. The two airmen tried to insist that they would be the first to head out as per protocol, but Hiroshi cut the wire of the intercom and turned around to face the four other leaders.
"Well… what do you four say about a bit of target practice after we did nothing but hand out commands for the past half a year?"
"Hehe! Sounds like a plan!"
"I-I'm not really that good at shooting yet. But I'll be doing my best!"
"That's not a question that I have to answer anymore! Of course, I would join in that stuff!"
"My, my… I wish no one would tell Nobi-kun that I will be taking part here."
With the four other leaders seemingly interested at the prospect of finally letting loose after months of doing nothing but paperwork and Press conferences, Hiroshi had a small smile on his face as he opened a locker at the rear of the cabin.
A locker that contained the first production models of a weapon that has just recently been cleared for general use.
"Hey, Hiroshi. A little question before we start blasting out there."
"What is it, Kyoko?"
"Are you doing this to distract yourself from the fact that you haven't visited Chiyo-chan yet since you came back to prepare for the war?"
"…"
"I won't judge you at all. You are a leader before you became her lover. As cruel as it may sound, even Chiyo would probably understand why you haven't visited and why you are distracting yourself in this kind of way."
"…You really are sharp, Kyoko. Not just in mind, but also in words… So sharp that it's stabbing me from the inside."
"Hehe… That's a gruesome way to put it."
"But you're right… I am distracting myself. It's either by leading our army, talking about our supply chain with the ministers and industry leaders, churning out more designs for our weapons and finishing up the sixth volume of that light novel that Mitsuha-san loves… I've been doing all kinds of things to distract myself."
"…I see."
"But even with all of that, Chiyo is still in my heart and mind… In truth, the very moment when Shizuka shot her still replays in my dreams every night… it's like a never-ending nightmare."
Hearing all of this and seeing the pained expression on Hiroshi's face that is barely holding back tears, Kyoko wanted to take his hand that isn't holding his rifle but stopped midway and instead, placed her hand gently on his back.
"I heard that someone from Kyoga sanctum has been looking after her. It seems like the initial estimation of her passing is well beyond feasible. If the heavens allow, she may one day wake up and you two can be together again."
"Hehe… I find it funny that those words are coming from you."
"Tch… You moron. I am trying to be a friend here and you're really propping up that terrible memory."
"Yeah, yeah… Even with that lousy excuse of declining your confession and admitting that I didn't really took that romantic spark between of us seriously, I am thankful that it never destroyed the relationship between the two of us that he first had."
"Yeah… I still remember the day when I chained you after I suspected you for a spy."
"I do too… I actually still remember that time when I slipped into your commander's tent and thought to myself "who is this female gorilla sitting on a chair and dressed like a thug?""
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! This is the first time that I am hearing about this! Did you really had that impression about me when we first met?!"
"Haha! I did. I actually still had that impression until we talked at the roof of Yukonami's castle pagoda and finally saw you as a human."
"Argh! If only we aren't heading out to fight, I would beat you up so hard you won't be awake until tomorrow!"
"Hahaha!!!"
This conversation was cut after the three other leaders finally stepped out from the cabin with weapons on hand and a ammo vest worn on their bodies.
"Everyone good now?"
"R-Ready am I, sir!"
"Haha! I can't wait to finally let loose!"
"Let's do this!"
Koshiro, Mitsuha and Rin all responded before Hiroshi unlocked the plane's door and began the exchange of gunfire against enemies dressed in their most obvious uniform of a green hood.
"Go, go, go!"
"I-I am providing cover fire! Please head out past me, Ayanami-san and Mizuki-san!"
"Alright!"
"Right-O!"
One by one, the nearest enemies to the plane dropped dead with three bullet holes in wherever they were hit. The weapon responsible? A derivation of an iconic assault rifle called M-16. This modified recreation is named by Hiroshi as the M-18 A1 Ryuujin.
"Kyoko! Take our right flank! We can't be surrounded!"
"Roger! Give me some cover fire!"
"Leave that to me, Kusanagi-san!"
"Alright! Watch my back, kid!"
Against heaven-knows-how-many enemies, the five leaders armed with the latest in firearms technology defended their plane and each other.
"You have a good arm don't you, Rin-chan?"
"I do. It's because I always played softball with my castle servants."
"Alright… Toss this to those wimps."
"Roger… Hyaup!"
*BGAAGH!*
"HYAAA!!!"
"Wow! These new grenades are awesome!"
Now, though these odds might be ridiculously overwhelming, it's not like it is a few-versus-an-army situation. They only need to hold on until the real soldiers come to their rescue.
"I can hear it! Cavalry is here, Kusanagi-sama!"
"Man, his men can deploy fast!"
"Everyone! Let's round them up from the flank! Pin them between us and the incoming cavalry!"
"""Gotcha!"""
The five leaders moved around while giving each other cover fire, outflanking the enemy who was shocked to see that even with their superior numbers and preparation to ambush the five, they dropped like flies one by one and is now in a difficult position between the firing line of the five and the incoming cavalry charge of the Shogunate forces.
"They're pooling together to fire on the cavalry!"
"Frag them!"
On Hiroshi's command, the five threw grenades on the grouped enemies who initially didn't notice them until they detonated and splintered their bodies into bits and pieces.
"CHAAARGE!!!"
"They cavalry's charging! Let's push these greenhoods back too!"
"Right behind you!"
"As you command, Kusanagi-sama!"
Finally, with the charging Shogunate cavalry speeding on towards the remaining greenhoods, Kyoko stood up alongside the four other and began their sustained fire approach to press the enemies nearer into the charging wall of pikes and horsemen.
The aftermath of the failed ambush was quite horrible to say the least. The cavalrymen of the Shogunate ended up inducing horrendous amounts of pain to the surviving and barely surviving greenhoods, probably due to the fact that these people have besieged and to some extent, ruined the livelihoods of the people of Yamato, and also due to them being the enemies of their master. As Endou would later say about the torture that these traitors received before being executed, "only honorable warriors who fight with honor and valor deserves to receive just treatment as prisoners of war. Everyone else can only pray for mercy from our men."
To be fair, these people didn't really deserve any after everything they have done.
After the battle, the leader of the cavalry group ordered for the caught prisoners to be taken away before approaching the five who was seated on the stairs of their plane.
"…Leaders from the south?"
"We are. All five of us."
"Everyone! Dismount and show reverence!"
The cavalry commander ordered for everyone to dismount from their horses and raise salutes to the five who replied with their own salutations.
"Alright! Time for us to help out the leaders!"
"Yeah! Huh?"
"…"
"You guys sure took your time, huh?"
"I'm shocked that none of you two noticed that it's quiet already."
"Well… this is awkward."
"R-Rin-dono… please be considerate of them…"
It was at that moment when the two pilots finally stepped out of the plane with guns on hand and ready to fight, only to realize that the battle is over already and instead of cheers, they were met with awkward gazes from the others and teases from their leaders.
"Let's not talk about this… I wouldn't want to shame them any further."
After all of that, Hiroshi made arrangements for their plane to be taken to a more appropriate parking area which he left to the pilots to look after. As for the five of them, they were made to ride in a carriage to head to the Shogun's palace at the heart of Yamato province.
"So that's where he lives, huh?"
"It looks quite new for something that is supposed to be a thousand years old already."
"That's because Shogun Sora-sama renovated it. It took a few years to disassemble the ancient wood beams and furnishings in order to either repair or replace them with new and stronger materials. When it was opened for public viewing, it was quite the attraction."
"I see… Wait, it was opened to the public?"
"Hm? Shouldn't it be, my lady?"
"Well… it's the seat of power and the Shogun and his family lives there… Surely it wasn't just opened to let anyone in and out, right?"
"Oh! Well… there do are days when it is closed from the public including special meetings by the Shogun and his court, or when it's maintenance day inside. For your concern in security, the Shogunate Interior Guards and an army of trained dogs patrols the entire compound every minute. Except for the route approved to be used by visitors and tourist, every corner and cranny of the palace is well-guarded."
"Then… this might just be me, but I am not really fond of having strangers around my house. Is the Shogun and his family not uncomfortable with this?"
"Hm? Shogun Sora-sama and Lady Chiasa doesn't live in the palace."
""""Huh?""""
"Eh?"
It wasn't only Kyoko who was surprised with that statement. Except for Hiroshi, the three other people in the carriage had a look of disbelief on their faces.
"W-Wait… so you're saying that the Shogun and his family isn't living in the Shogunate palace? The place which is supposed to be their official residence?"
"Well, no. Shogun Sora and his family lives in an estate a bit away from Nadeshiko city."
"But why? Wouldn't it be more convenient to be in the center of the city?"
"Umm… I wish to speak only on official information and avoid saying things that I personally know… but from what I know, Shogun Sora and Lady Chiasa likes to live away from the city as much as possible. I believe it has something to do with this "urban sprawl" and "noise pollution" that they keep on mentioning."
"Well, they used to live in New Tokyo. I'm not surprised that they want to live away from a noisy city."
"New Tokyo?"
"Where is that place, Hiroshi-dono?"
"Hm? It's a city from our old world. As an Otherworlder, I know about that place and why they wanted to stay away from areas like it. I mean, if Naka city isn't the center of my land's development, I would also like to live outside of the city."
After a while, Hiroshi and the others finally arrived at the Shogunate palace of Nadeshiko city. There, they changed their clothes to more formal ones and finally met with the Shogun after half a year.
"I heard you guys got attacked the moment your airplane landed. I'm surprised to hear that instead of a dedicated security group, the five of you were the ones who defended each other."
"It's been a long while since we had a chance to directly take part in a battle. We wanted to check if we still had it within ourselves."
"Hehe… I see. It sure, sounds fun to be young like you guys."
"Speaking of which… what happened to you?
"Yeah. You look a bit haggard and composed. You weren't as energetic as you looked before when we last saw each other in Hitachi."
Hiroshi and Kyoko's statements weren't wrong. After all, instead of in the throne room or a meeting chamber, they are inside the Shogun's bedroom in the palace where he is sitting in his bed with a face that looked worn out and an expression that looks tired to the bone.
"Ahaha! Surely you jest, Kusanagi-dono! My wife would surely prove you wrong in that."
"Sora! There are kids here!"
"Ahahaha!"
Hearing the Shogun respond through a salacious way that even his wife had to raise a complaint, the cheeks and ears of the three female lords tinted a bright red while Koshiro looked around him as if he is confused about what is happening.
"Well, notwithstanding the current state of your health, I want to ask you something about how we will handle the continuance of the war beyond this point."
"Right… Currently, there is no question about whether or not we can conquer the rest of the provinces south of Yamato. The only question is when it will be done."
"General Shimura said that it would only take a couple of weeks, but with our frontlines moving hundreds of meters every day, and another army group of ours that are currently setting up defenses by your borders, I doubt that the remaining belligerent lands and leaderships would remain standing by this week's end."
After hearing all of this, the Shogun pondered for a moment before asking his wife to hand something from his bedside table's drawer.
"Hmm… I guess it is time for me to hand over the baton."
"And this is?"
"A letter sent to me by our common enemy."
Sora handed a scroll to Hiroshi who laid it for the four other leaders to see and read.
"My trusted friends and allies north of Yamato province are no more. They were either assassinated or replaced by people that this freak controls directly. I apologize, but the road ahead of you five would be treacherous than ever before."
"You mean to say that unlike before when you said that you and I can corner and finish him easily because you have the loyalty of the leaders of the Northern Coalition, that isn't the case anymore?"
"Right… He made his move as soon as he heard that the Daigo clan of Kise that he planned to use to destroy your young alliance is no more and that you have obtained weapons of mass destruction that can harm him anytime you wish to do so."
"So, he proceeded to end the life of those who are on your side…"
"And replace them with people who wouldn't question any of his commands nor betray him…"
"That is correct… That is the reason why out of the blue, the war against the Daigo clan that could've been detected early and stopped before it even began, started and incurred atrocious amounts of deaths on both sides and ended with the almost complete destruction of Kise province and annihilation of its people."
"How… How did you know about the aftermath of what happened in Kise?"
"Right. Hiroshi placed a gag order on the media to not be too detailed about what happened in Kise. Not even tabloid newspapers know the extent of the damages there."
"Well, let's just say that I have good eyes and ears working around the clock and reporting to my friend outside of this room. There's not really anything that is a secret to me in this country."
After the initial conversations, the Shogun finally opened up against the main reason why he asked for the five to come to him as soon as possible before winter comes.
"Before all communications with Kurumi Sanctum was cut months ago, the Chief Priestess told me that there have been fluctuations in the Sanctum's Ki lines and it might mean something regarding us Otherworlders. I told her that it might be due to the unreported summoning attempts by Chief Shrine Priestess Azusagawa of Kyoga sanctum. But she said that it is something more than that…"
"What is it then?"
The following statement by the Shogun changed the entire tone of the meeting for it not only impacted their current conflict with their common enemy, but instead has something that might harm their world as a whole.
"I'm afraid that our dying and rotten old world might be attempting to go past the barrier of the Dimensional Limits of Reality to take over our world."
"Huh? What does that even mean?"
"Right. I don't understand anything that you said."
The three other leaders who are native to this world all looked confused with what the Shogun said. But the same cannot be said about Hiroshi and Rin who are Otherworlders.
"The Dimensional Limits!? Are you sure about that, Shogun?!"
"All of my observations and knowledge points at that reason… The Dimensional Rift that has been forming due to both the Summoning and Straying of us who came from the old world has become larger and larger not because of Azusagawa's regular summoning attempts, but because the old world finally learned of a fresh new earth that it can use and it is now reaching out towards us."
"If that is so… I believe it is the right time for you to tell me everything, Sora-san."
"…"
With a determined gaze and a resolute tone, Hiroshi asked for the answers that he has been looking for since half a year ago when they properly talked.
"Tell me everything that you know about Ephraim… and how he managed to destroy our world just like you told me and how I saw it in my premonition."
It is finally time for the person who was there until the very end to tell him who died because of the old world's cruelty everything that he needs to know.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone