บท 265: Long Reaching

At noon, half a day from home, the exhausted army paused for lunch. As they marched, many of their wounded died. They had yet to go a night without a funeral. Their morale had sat low for days, only with the sight of Shigeto castle in the distance did their mood begin to pick up once more.

The sun had been beating down on them for days, unrelenting. The ground beneath their feet was all dry and cracked. It was with relief that they passed through forests, for the large canopies of leaves would give them a brief respite from the sun.

Gengyo sat away from his men, as he was taking to doing more and more lately, deep in thought. On his lap, there sat a package, wrapped thickly in cloth. A messenger had delivered it as they marched, alongside news from the castle. Whilst they'd been away warring, Takeshi and Morojo had been busy rebuilding their defences, amongst other things.