Capítulo 82: Operation Rapunzel's Tower
"M12-A3 Hiryuu Battle Rifle. 7.62x51 caliber. Fires either semi-automatic single shots or 3-round burst. It is made with an aluminum composite body with an steel alloy chassis and firing chamber. It's so ergonomic and effective that it won the military's small arms competition and it is so simple to take apart for maintenance and be put back together and fired immediately that even a crash course militia can use it, and they will... today."
A few hours before noon, the crash course training camp of the Haguro soldiers who volunteered to save Tsuchiyo Mana formed up on neat and clear squares of 24 men. A platoon of soldiers led by one officer who belongs to Hiroshi's team.
All of them had dirty clothes, messy appearances and their faces were covered in mud and dust. It looked like they went through hell with the crash course of learning to use their guns and the way of getting into formation quickly to fire on enemies efficiently and effectively.
"You guys look like you went through shit…"
"Even with that, we are still handsome aren't we, Lord Iwasawa?"
"""HAHAHA!!!"""
The tense atmosphere was broken by a joke of a random soldier in the formation and as everyone had their own share of a giggle, Hiroshi clapped to regain their attention.
"We'll have an early lunch and I'll give you guys enough time to wash up and rest. We'll march to the fortress by high noon and during the transit, your designated officers will explain the plan we will use in order to infiltrate the castle and later get out safely with the lady in tow."
"Heh! I'm sure I'll get to sweep the lady off her feet and carry her out the castle without needing your help."
"Dream on, ya bastard. You can't even compete against me on arm wrestling."
They exchanged remarks, some encouraging and some which sounded either jokingly boastful or challenging.
"With that, never forget our main objective. We will go in, save the lady and get out. This is a delicate operation, there should be as little error as possible. Am I clear?!"
"""Understood, Iwasawa-sama!!!"""
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
In Fort Sugiyama, the wedding preparations are being given its last touches.
"Is the lord getting ready?"
"I think so. He's been keeping everyone else out of his quarters since last week. He even went here with a tightly closed palanquin. He must be getting nervous because his wedding ceremony and the siege of Myoko will almost overlap."
"Yeah."
The stage for the Noh theater was being constructed by the men especially invited from Hashidate.
"Hey, are they really actors?"
"I think so? They look the part for me."
"Hmm… Yeah, maybe I'm just getting a bit too paranoid."
The aforementioned theater actors seem to not look like they're preparing for the act. But the skeptical guard dismissed his thoughts and returned to his patrol duty.
"That's a close call, Hachi."
"Yeah. Sorry for that, Iwasawa-sama."
The actor who quickly hid the small earpiece transceiver behind his wig apologized to his master who wasn't in the castle but at a nearby mountain ridge.
"Damn… I forgot to tell you guys to choose a comfortable sniper position. My hips are giving way here and I keep getting bitten by ants."
"Too late, my lord. This is the best one in here, but not in terms of comfort."
Hiroshi and two of his men were laying prone at the mountain ridge overlooking the courtyard where the ceremony is being held.
"…Any clue where "Kaguya-hime" is staying at?"
"Nothing in my scope, sir."
"Nothing in mine too."
"My spotter scope isn't good for this… But did you guys find and tagged the wall guards by the entrance slope point?"
"Positive sir. We're ready to put them down as soon as Delta team gets into position."
Hiroshi was acting as the snipers' spotter, and he turned his scope down to look at Minori and his volunteer men climbing the steep slope at the west of the mountain castle with metal hooks and a single rope line that they harpooned onto the wall to act as their quick getaway point later on.
"Speak of the devil, those guys sure picked the short straw."
"They're not complaining since Minori-dono promised them a crate of genuine Naka Sake after this."
"Heh! This is the first time that I can thank alcohol for something."
The radiophone rang which Hiroshi quickly answered and listened to through the speaker.
"Kou-sama. Look at my position by the hallway."
"Hachi? Hmm… Oh, there you are. You're a bit away from Bravo team."
Hiroshi found his retainer by the hall leading to the rear courtyard. He was dressed as a woman and his face was covered with a female mask.
"That's one hell of a beautiful Karaori kimono, Hachi."
"Schui~! If I'm not straight, I might go after you, Hachi."
"Piss off, you two. You better thank your lucky stars that you're hundreds of meters away or I'll rip your heads off your necks."
After being annoyed by the two, Hachi gave a sharp threat which made a shiver run down their spines.
"Alright, alright… Knock it off. Hachi, please continue with your report."
"Can you look at the left, Kou-sama?"
"My left or your left?"
"Sorry, my left… 3'o clock east."
"Okay… Oh, who do we have here…?"
I spoke as I finally saw our secondary objective for this mission.
"It's the fat daimyo, huh? Probably preparing for the ceremony now."
"Are those…? Are those plates, bowls and pots?! Man, this guy already ate a feast before the main banquet!"
The two snipers beside me gave their remarks as they peered on the scene with the scopes.
"You two. Tag him as Jackpot-1. We might need to take him down later."
""Roger that. Tagging target Jackpot-1""
After they made a mental note of the man's location and identity, I wrote it down on the small overhead diagram of the castle where the 60 or so soldiers by the fortress walls were recorded as targets with unique codenames.
"You two. Are Alpha-1 through 17 still in their positions?"
"Positive sir. They're protecting the main gate so we wouldn't have to give them too much thought."
"How about Bravo-1 through 24?"
"Courtyard guards are as is. Some of them are still patrolling so we can't let them suspect our movements."
"How about Charlie team's Charlie 1 through 8?"
"Still in their archer towers. They look like they're keeping a tight overwatch on the entire castle."
"That leaves us with the guards by the ridge over Delta team."
"Delta 1 through 8 is a bit loose with their guard duty. They can probably be taken down quickly by Minori-dono."
I swept the entire place where our tagged targets are, and I returned to Hachi's position.
"Hachi, any sightings of "Rapunzel"?"
"Nothing, Kou-sama. Even Bravo team and Charlie team isn't reporting anything."
I looked at Bravo team who are soldiers pretending to be theater actors and Charlie team who are keeping our carts and horses near the watchtowers. Both of them were keeping their acts and trying their best to not attract the attention of the guards around them.
"Hngh… Where are you, Lady Mana?"
While I was gritting my teeth while finding the lady, the sniper by my right clicked his tongue before speaking with a smug smile on his face.
"Chack! Bingo!"
"Huh? Did you find her?"
"It's probably her, sir. Look at that bridal kimono she's wearing. She's walking through the main hallway from the rear courtyard."
"Someone from Bravo team who knows the lady's appearance, can you sneak a peek and confirm her identity?"
One of the pretend actors took a kimono sash and walked toward Hachi, making it seem like he is a costume designer making final touches on Hachi's kimono while taking a peek on the bride's face.
"That sign… is that a yes or no?"
"It's a yes, Kou-sama. He spelled it through Hiragana."
"Okay. We got "Rapunzel" on our sights. Every team, get into position and prepare for the show. You two, listen well to my directions and shoot only when I give the instructions."
"""Understood, Kou-sama"""
"Roger that, Iwasawa-sama. Just let me adjust my scope."
"Ready to take your instructions, sir."
Given that the volunteers received their crash course lesson on using codenames and my team had months if not a year of military education, I didn't doubt that anything would fail for now.
As the bride sat by the special seat, a closed palanquin carried by eight struggling men came out of the room where the Fujita lord is staying at.
"What kind of guy is this for him to always be carried around like a roasted boar?"
"An unroasted boar."
"…I owe you a bottle of Sake for that joke."
After his palanquin was placed by the special platform, the show started and our operation too, started.
"You two, take out Delta 1 through 8. Delta team, take their positions as quickly as possible."
"Engaging targets."
"You better get them, or the Charlie goons will see the corpses."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
As soon as I heard Iwasawa-sama's orders, I disconnected my harness from the lead rope, hung my grappling hook by my waist and jumped up from the ridge to climb to the wall and found nine men laying dead there with bullet holes on their heads.
"Come on! Quickly! We need to replace them, or we'll garner their attention!"
"Come on! Come on! We'll be seen at this rate!"
One by one, my men climbed up from the cliff face and quickly took the enemy soldiers' uniforms and stood in attention.
"Good job, Delta team. The Charlies didn't notice your entrance. Are the packed explosives there?"
"Yes sir. They're preparing to stick it on the wall now."
"Mind the placing. If you blow off too much of the wall, you might hit a foundation block and take the entire castle down with a landslide."
"Copy that, sir. I'll inform them where to place it."
I helped the rest of the team up and once we're complete, I oversaw the preparation of the bomb that will open our escape route through a zip-line.
"Delta team ready for orders, sir."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Through my spotter scope I saw that Minori and his team has done their part and are preparing for a fight as soon as the theater act gets bad enough to be suspected as fake or I give the signal for all of them to open fire.
"Wow, I didn't know that Hachi had theater experience."
"I heard that he likes Kabuki and Noh plays back at SO Academy. He must've picked a thing or two from it."
Through our scopes, we watched our theater team performing as most of the Fujita daimyo's retainers sat by the stage, watching the act unfold with great interest. The apple of their eyes was Hachi who skillfully executed his part like an experienced actor.
"Charlie team, take out the packages and bring them to the backstage. Bravo team, take your weapons and prepare to extract "Rapunzel". Someone from Delta team, dress up as a soldier and approach the target. Let go of your rifle for now so they won't suspect you."
"On it, Iwasawa-sama."
"We'll wait for the weapons."
"I'll do it, Kou-sama."
The men by our carts took out several boxes where we hid our weapons while the rest of the theater group that isn't acting at the stage went at the tent behind it to prepare for the shootout. Meanwhile, Minori took the initiative and dressed up as a soldier to fetch the lady as soon as the fight starts.
"Bravo team ready."
"Charlie team ready, Kou-sama."
"Okay, as soon as I give the signal, weapons free. Blow up the escape wall, sustain your fire to cover the target's retreat route and get the hell out of there."
"""Understood!"""
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"…"
I walked at the aisle between the audience as several soldiers looked at me cautiously.
"You. What are you doing?"
"Sir! Urgent message from the Shogun to Fujita-sama, sir!"
"The Shogun? Why? He just left Myoko, why would he send a message to Fujita-sama this early?"
"I can only say the gist of it sir… It involves reinforcements from Yamato province, sir."
"Military command, huh? Understood. Go and tell it to Fujita-sama, but don't take too long or the guests will find your presence annoying."
"Got it, sir."
After I passed by the security line where the aristocrats are, I walked nearer to the closed palanquin and the lady who was looking down with her hood still on her head.
"Lady Tsuchiyo Mana, I presume?"
"Huh?"
"Don't be scared. I am from a group allied with Lady Himeji Kotori. We are here to save you."
"Ko-Kotori-chan? I see… she must be looking for me to protect me after the war ends… But I know that the Nachi clan won't forgive a treacherous person like me."
"Worry not, my lady. We are here to protect you."
"B-but…"
"Please just hold on. We will help you escape this place."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Minori approached the seats of the wedded couple and after a short conversation, he stood up straight to look at the stage and he must have showed the signal to Hachi as they began the climax of the show where firecrackers were lit up and I looked around the perimeter to check the people we were about to shoot.
"As soon as the firecrackers go off, take down Charlie 1 through 8."
"That's a watchtower. Take care not to mess this up now."
"Oh please, I have a better accuracy ratio than you."
"Charlie 1, 2, 4 and 6 is mine."
"Charlie 3, 5, 7 and 8 is mine then."
The two snipers reloaded their rifles, pulled back the bolts to load a bullet in and reported the pattern that they will take in shooting the targets in order to maximize the efficiency of their shots and not overlap on who they will be shooting at.
"Jackpot is mine."
I went away from my spotter scope and laid on prone as well to use my own sniper rifle. My target was the Fujita lord.
"The firecracker fuse is almost done."
As soon as the firecrackers went off, the two took their shots and without even letting the enemy to comprehend what happened, they were able to kill all of the targets at the watchtowers.
"Delta team, fire squad. Take your positions."
"On it, sir."
With the guards at the watch tower gone, the rest of Delta team who won't be detonating the bomb went closer to the stage and hid by the shadows to prepare for the fire fight.
"Alright. Here we go."
I sighed for a moment to let go of my nervousness and after I spoke the order… All hell broke loose.
"Weapons free! Fire at will to protect the hostage!"
As soon as I said that, the actors and cart drivers went out of the backstage tent and let loose a burst of bullets on the guards surrounding the stage.
"Delta team, detonate the bomb and break that wall open!"
*KA-BYAK!!!*
The bomb's explosion burrowed into the wall, making it fall off the cliff and expose the zip-line rope that we prepared for their evacuation.
"Engaging Alphas!"
"Engaging Bravos!"
The two snipers made quick work and along with the shots fired by our comrades at the courtyard, they were able to dispose the Fujita soldiers who attempted to stop them.
"Minori and "Rapunzel" is nearing Delta fire squad. They're providing cover fire for the two."
"Bravo team and Charlie team, retreat to the escape route while providing cover fire for your teammates. You need to get out of there since they sounded the alarm and other Fujita soldiers are about to charge into that castle."
Although not all of them had an earpiece communicator, the ones who had one shouted my command to the others and they slowly retreated to the hole at the castle wall where they will be retreating at.
"Minori is securing the lady's harness. They're almost out."
"Sir, we might need some distraction or that wave of soldiers would overrun our men."
"On it."
I lowered my eye into the scope and with my shoulder tense and my wrist fully strained to hold the gun in place, I let loose a burst of bullets at the closed palanquin of the Fujita lord.
"They're protecting the palanquin. That will ease the pursuit for the lady."
While I kept on shooting at the palanquin, Minori announced something through the radio as he rode the zip-line out with the lady holding him tightly in fear of the height below them.
"They're out. I repeat, "Rapunzel" is out of the castle. All operatives, take your turns on the line and get the hell out of there."
With the lady out of the castle, our soldiers hooked their selves on the line and one by one, slid down to the opposite mountain slope where another half of our men are staying with carts to drive us out of the place.
"Sustaining sniper support. These soldiers are sparing some of their men to chase after us."
"Archers by the east wall. Firing at them."
The three of us still kept on supporting the others' backs as they retreated out. The two fired at the archers who were attempting to shoot our retreating soldiers while I stopped firing inaccurate and sporadic shots to fire my last bullet onto the head of the enemy lord.
"I wish someone won't write a book about this."
(T/N: This is a joke about Navy SEALs and Rangers who writes books after the end of their deployment which end up being a movie. Hiroshi is a modern person so he might have said this as a meta joke.)
One shot left my rifle and in nothing but a millisecond, a clean hole bore into the palanquin's wooden side and out of the palanquin door fell out the Fujita lord with a hole on the back of his head.
"…Kou-sama."
"What?"
"You didn't kill him."
I was puzzled with what he said, and I adjusted the zoom of my scope and sure enough, the man was already pale as snow and stiff when he got out of the palanquin.
"Wait, is that-"
I heard the other sniper and when I looked at the palanquin, the hole where the bullet went through had some kind of black shroud surrounding it.
"Mosquitoes?"
"Why is that palanquin filled with so many mosquitoes?!"
After I looked at the corpse through my scope and at the soldiers who are swatting them away, I realized what was happening.
"Everyone! Get the out of there, stat! Those mosquitoes are carrying encephalitis!"
"Ence-what?"
"Whatever it is, if Kou-sama is that worried, it might be a big problem."
As the last of our men left the place, the Fujita soldiers struggled to swat away the mosquitoes around them. But as the ferocious swarm of the insects kept on landing and stinging them, I knew that there can only be one fate for those caught in that pathogenic time bomb.
"Tsk! Let's go! Let's go before that thing spreads further!"
We packed up and left the people in the fort to their own devices.
For once, I regretted to be unable to do anything when I am bound by medical oath as a doctor.
"Thank you… Thank you very much for saving me, honorable sir."
"I'm just fulfilling my promise with your sister and your sister's friend."
"I see… even after she died, she still tried to look out for my safety."
Back at the abandoned village where we first assembled, I talked with Lady Mana and she eventually cried, seeming to mourn for her sister whom she thought had died.
"Your sister isn't dead. She appeared to be, but she is not dead. She's coming here today."
"Huh?"
Just as I said that, two people riding on horses arrived outside and the two people riding them went down quickly and ran to her to embrace her tightly.
"Mana-nee… Nee-san!!!"
"Thank the hevens… Hik-! Thank the heavens that you are safe!"
The three embraced each other tightly with tears on their eyes. It was a sweet reunion that everyone in here wanted to see.
"Ahaha! This is why I joined in. Sights like this is what feeds the heart."
"I guess this is my way of thanking Himeji-sama…"
The former soldiers around them giggled with the sight and wore cheerful expressions. For once, I saw another proof of how these men came to respect and love the person who thoughtfully protected and led them in battle.
It was a pleasing sight. One that I want to experience later when I go home to Kiko.
"Iwasawa-sama… the meeting."
"Yes. Lead the way, I have some words to tell to them."
We left the scene to let the three women to talk to each other privately. My team and the other Haguro men went to the field outside of the abandoned village and there, I talked to them about what would happen to them now that they have partially become attached to my rule.
"…I guess I don't have to explain anymore, don't I? We are currently in a conundrum."
"""…"""
"I haven't allowed anyone else to use the weapons that we develop and produce except for the provinces that we are allied with. To be honest, the fact that I let you guys use them is a borderline violation of the rules of the Southern Quartet Alliance. The only alibi I can use to justify this is that we led this operation, and you were just volunteers who also had to be armed."
All of them looked at each other and with a few mumbling here and there, they conversed for a moment. When they quieted down, I continued with my speech.
"You must know about how the Nachi prince and I didn't have a good relationship. If the rumors that he will ascend to lordship after the siege of Myoko is true, that would mean that Haguro will not ally with me."
I sighed for a moment to ask the big question.
"Thus, I ask to all of you… Will you leave Haguro and live at the lands covered by my allies and serve under my rule? Or will you stay here and be under the Nachi clan's rule, forever shelving what we did last night as an amazing memory?"
My question made them look down on the ground in contemplation. I knew that they enjoyed all of this military advantage and adrenaline rush of serving under my army, but they also don't want to abandon the people they know in this province where they were born and grew up in.
"Just like I said last day, Iwasawa-sama. None of us here have families… That was the reason why we chose to fight alongside you."
One soldier, the same person who said that everyone else who had a family or a home to go back to has left last day, stood up and spoke his reply.
"I cannot speak on behalf of everyone in here. But I wish all of you will listen to what I have to say and reconsider the fate we will have once we make this decision."
He walked forward with his gun slung behind him and with a loud voice, he shouted his impromptu speech.
"The Nachi clan are full of hypocrites. They keep on saying that they fight for freedom and that everyone under their rule is free to do as they wish, but never in my life have I experienced the freedom they have spoken about. I was just a street vendor before I was forced to become a soldier. I am not brave, I am not strong… but the fact that I was able to live until this point is something that I greatly thank the heavens for…"
He put down his rifle and knelt down in front of me before speaking the rest of his speech.
"I learned that the only way for me to survive is to become the brave and strong man that I never imagined myself to become. And after I witnessed the strength, courage and honor that Iwasawa-sama lives his life with, I knew it… I knew that I want to serve under him to become the person that I want to be."
Following his example, a few soldiers and later on, all of them stood up, lowered their guns and knelt in reverence towards me.
"""I wish to serve you, Iwasawa-sama! I am yours to command through mud and blood!"""
Hearing their decision, I giggled lightly before replying.
"Stand up, my men. I have made up my mind. You may stay here where you lived your entire life at. I will look after you as a sign of my appreciation for all the things you have done in service for me."
"""Thank you, Iwasawa-kou-sama!"""
However, our celebration was cut short as a man riding a horse ran towards us while shouting "Terrible news! Terrible news!".
"Ichi? Why are you shouting like a madman, what happened?"
As he stopped his horse abruptly and almost fell off his saddle, Minori and the others helped him down before he was given a flask of water to drink which he immediately emptied down his mouth.
"Iwasawa-sama! I have news from the town of Hisui!"
"What is it?"
What he said made me confused of whether to be concerned or be terrified with what will happen next.
"The residents of Hisui and other captured towns are revolting! They'll be marching towards Myoko to go after the Nachi clan and the aristocrats!"
"What about their soldiers?"
"The same thing! A growing pocket of rebelling soldiers are starting up a mutiny! The aristocrats of Haguro will be hanged once they lose!"
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
Ephraim_Chronia
Ephraim_Chronia "I wanted to slap Author Rai after he forced me to edit this chapter. He knew I don't like action films and he made the lead editor just for this one."
-Editor KEY
"12 Strong, American Sniper, Black Hawk Down, Lord of War. Name it, I watched that war film and I commend Author Rai for making references in here."
-Editor ZERO
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