Days and days marching and finally, the mountains became distant in the landscape. Now, what awaited the army was a dense forest.
"Wow! To think we finally left those cursed mountains behind," Yasuo said excitedly. He, like all the other soldiers, was now walking among immense trees. The grassy ground was much better than the rocky mountain terrain. Taigen looked around, holding his spear and with a sword at his waist.
"The crossing was smoother than I thought. Maybe it's because Lord Genichiro came before us. What do you think, Shura?" he asked, looking back.
Alexander was walking with him, but his mind was elsewhere, lost in thought.
2 weeks have passed, and I still haven't managed to cultivate while moving or doing anything else. Well... Talking while cultivating is already a good step. But I need to get better... Heh, it's been a while since I had to really dedicate myself to improving at something. I think the last time was when I wanted to dribble without giving opponents a chance.
"Shura."
He snapped back to reality.
"What is it, Taigen?"
"Thinking again?"
"A little. I'm thinking about how much longer we have until we reach Lord Genichiro's camp."
"I don't think it will be long. We've come down from the mountains, but we still need to be careful crossing the Shizuku Forest because of the..."
"Because of the tigers…"
A strange smell appeared, and Alexander noticed it the moment the first hint entered his nostrils. Looking around, he tried to see if anyone else had noticed the strong odor, a mix of iron and something rotten... Blood.
A few minutes later, the march slowed down a bit, the smell even stronger, even Taigen and Yasuo noticed.
"What a horrible smell..." Yasuo grumbled, covering his nose.
"Smells like death..." Alexander said, placing his hand on the hilt of his katana and taking precautions.
As they approached, the landscape filled with trees changed. A stinky and somewhat frightening place, with skinned animal bodies impaled on spears. The animals seemed to be the same size as the lions that attacked the camp in the cave, with almost the same body type. Their exposed muscles were dark, the dried blood attracting flies and insects devouring their flesh. Trees were cut down, others toppled, and some burned.
Even though the march continued slowly, it was clear the men were curious and a bit scared.
"It looks like they encountered some tigers. I just don't understand why they skinned the beasts," Alexander said, with a somewhat impressed smile seeing the scene. Some bodies still had their hides intact... Well, 'intact' isn't the right word for describing a creature cut in half.
But to deny they were impressive creatures would be a mistake. Orange fur with black stripes, and you could also see horns coming out of the tiger's head, horns that were cut off.
"The hides of magical tigers are quite tough; few blades can cut them. They also took the horns. Legendary samurai have armor decorated with the spoils of their victories," Taigen replied, his voice sounding strange, maybe because he was covering his nose.
"I didn't see any graves... It means they had no casualties in this intense encounter."
"Lord Genichiro marched with two thousand men, probably the ones he trusts most and certainly the most powerful men in this army."
"Makes sense. But what I want to see is the battlefield; I'm tired of marching."
"It's normal for young people to be impatient, but I've never seen anyone impatient to kill or die."
"Curiosity eats at me, but that's why I left my home. To see things as they are, not to live and die on a farm."
"Youngsters like you are rare, crazy dreamers with enough skill to maybe achieve that dream. Where did you learn to handle a sword like that?"
"A tengu taught me."
"A tengu?"
Alexander looked at him with a smile on his face.
"I'm kidding. It's like something natural, I can't explain it."
"Some people are just born with talent. I heard that Ichibachi Tomonari wielded his father's katana two weeks after he was born," Taigen laughed.
"Is Ichibachi really that powerful?"
"Is he powerful? Don't they tell legends about him in your village?"
"A little, but just the basics, that he's the strongest in the world, and that's it."
"Wow, you really are a country boy. Let me see... Ah, there was the great summer war two hundred years ago. He advanced with the Griffin Clan's armies against the Tiger Clan with such force that he nearly wiped them out. If the Hawk and Turtle Clans hadn't joined the Tiger Clan, they all would have been conquered."
"Did you go through a tough time with the mountain lions?" Genichiro laughed heartily, holding a small, crude porcelain cup, an ochoko that smelled of sake.
He was sitting on a sturdy bench, strong enough to support the weight of his armor. It was an armor worthy of a great samurai, with massive green metal plates adorned with the symbol of cranes in orange on the large breastplate. The helmet was something befitting Genichiro Hidesue, a glorious kabuto helmet matching the color of the armor plates, decorated with three large pairs of elk antlers. Genichiro wore a cloak made from the skin of the skinned tigers.
"We encountered a slight obstacle while crossing the Peak of the Three Gods, even with your division escorting us, sir," said a samurai in red armor, the sub-commander of the army, Shinzaemon Takeda. He was kneeling on the ground, a formal position to report to his superior.
"No wonder, the crossing is famous for being dangerous. How many casualties in total?"
"Twenty-three men."
"Wow, only that? That's quite a few for the Urazaki Mountains. Didn't anyone slip and fall off the mountain?"
"We were careful in the steeper parts. There were a few who were careless, but most of the casualties were due to the lions. The divisions attacked by lions were the seventh and twelfth, which managed to drive the lions away, and the fourth, which managed to kill one."
"You managed to kill a lion in all that chaos? Was it you?"
"It wasn't me, sir. They avoided attacking my division; apparently, they focused on the divisions with fewer trained samurai."
"Smart beasts, the worst kind. So who killed the lion, was it Captain Hirata?"
"According to Captain Hirata's report, it was a young warrior named Shura who was capable of using aura. While the lion was distracted, he jumped and struck the neck of one of the lions, and the other fled afterward."
Genichiro was silent, looking surprised, and then he smiled.
"Bring him here."