Beginning with the Ubume Bird Chapter 93 – Chapter 93: Chapter 46 The Final Battle

Chapter 93: Chapter 46 The Final Battle

The cries of battle were boiling, and the clanging of metal rang high.

Dozens of warhorses, harnessed to flank chariots, surged down the hillside with the terrain. Long spears and step bows stood tall like forest trees amidst curling gunpowder smoke. An Qingguo, clad in wrought iron armor, had just cut down a Hatamoto warrior wearing a Sun Moon Helmet, when suddenly a whoosh sounded, and his warhorse was struck in the right eye by a stray arrow, immediately falling dead. He himself tumbled into the mud, utterly disheveled.

Seeing this, Luo Shangzhi pulled the reins tight in his hand, his horse cutter flashed past a Japanese pirate who thought to take advantage of the situation. An Qingguo rolled, steadied himself on his sword's tip just as he stood, and his gaze slid into the distance where he suddenly cried out in alarm.

“General, the Japanese commander's banner has fallen!”

Startled by the exclamation, Luo Shangzhi strained his eyes to look into the distance.

…

Eight horse hooves intermingled in disarray; two blue-black horses circled and crossed one another, turning around only to charge back into battle, the rhythmic tapping of their hooves intense.

The cutting edge of the Kachiten thrust toward Li Yan's shoulder, and although the Tiger Head Great Spear was already at Honda's throat, Li Yan had to press down his elbow, the spearhead trapping the Kachiten.

After several exchanges, Li Yan caught several opportunities to pierce through Honda's chest or skull, but was forcibly dissuaded by the “Red Bowl” making it hazardous for him to strike. His own Tiger Head Great Spear would fail to mark while a backhanded Kachiten could pierce his own throat.

As the two horses drew nearer, each spear thrust at the other's spear shaft aiming for the fingers grasping their weapon. The length of the Kachiten and the Tiger Head Spear was nearly indistinguishable to the ordinary eye, but both Li Yan and Honda were acutely aware,

that the Kachiten was longer.

Honda abruptly pulled on the reins, and Li Yan did the same.

Four hooves rose high as the two spearheads intersected, then suddenly, Li Yan, leaning back, pushed forward his speared hand, the spear tip piercing out from his left hand, his right arm swinging with the momentum transferring through the spear shaft. The Tiger Head Spear tip swept horizontally, abandoning Honda's gripping fingers and lashing out at Honda Tadakatsu's horse's head.

Both unexpected and underhanded, the move, however, did not escape Honda's eyes. The two almost simultaneously changed their tactics, aiming to strike at each other's horse's head.

The Tiger Head Spear thudded against the horse's head, several foot-long jets of blood spraying from the warhorse's nose and mouth, that horse unlikely to live.

The Kachiten, however, missed…

Yes, it missed.

The drooling Blue-Maned Warhorse, as if with a mind of its own, jumped in response to the Kachiten's swinging blow. The spear tip only grazed its neck, drawing a line of blood.

The blue horse's eyes turned red, snorting of its own accord, with a flash of pride in its eyes.

In his half-lifetime of ceaseless battle, Honda Tadakatsu had never seen such a beast!

The dying black horse's legs went limp, and Honda Tadakatsu looked up in panic as the blue horse's front hooves slammed into the ground, surging forward.

Li Yan leaned forward in his saddle, his Tiger Head Great Spear thrusting straight at Honda Tadakatsu.

With the expended momentum of the Kachiten, it was too late for Honda to withdraw his spear to counterattack; Li Yan could stab at least two more times in that duration!

“Clang~”

A phantom Alms Bowl glowing red appeared out of nowhere in front of Honda, shattered by the Tiger Head Great Spear into a spider web of cracks. Li Yan relaxed his left hand slightly and, with a tilt to the side, clamped his right arm around the Tiger Head Spear, then rode forward, exerting a fierce thrust!

The Red Bowl was completely penetrated.

It was then that the Kachiten finally grazed past Li Yan's earlobe.

Honda rolled away, dodging the two spontaneous thrusts from Li Yan. As the Blue-Maned Warhorse passed his armor, his rough palm grasped a corner of the Kachiten and pressed down; the spearhead was spurred to rise high like a living creature.

Matched against mounted cavalry, Honda's face showed no hint of fear.

“Ssshh…”

A vanguard cavalryman was pierced through the chest by seven or eight long spears; their warm blood splattered across Li Yan's back, the sticky sensation trailing down to his lower back.

The Niutou Chantan could roll over and crush several Japanese soldiers, but he couldn't be everywhere to protect all of the Ming Army.

In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the vanguard camp had lost more than half its men.

Li Yan's expression turned steely as he brandished his spear and his horse charged at Honda, the Tiger Head Great Spear lashing down from a higher position, carried with astonishing mounted force.

Honda Tadakatsu's toes were angled backward, and as the Tiger Head Great Spear thrust toward him, he let out a tiger's roar. The Kachiten flickered out seven or eight spear shadows, repeatedly colliding with the spearhead of the great spear.

Forty Strikes!

The short, clashing sounds of the weapons, clanging incessantly, sent waves of force through the shaft of the Tiger Head Great Spear, numbing Li Yan's arms and nearly causing him to lose his grip on the spear.

Honda's face brightened, for at the start of their engagement, the fierceness and velocity of the Ming man's spearwork had almost driven him to despair. However, after dozens of exchanges, his strength had clearly diminished.

But before Honda could ponder further, the Tiger Head Great Spear that had fallen to his foot shook upward, bursting towards Honda's face with a wild change that defied prediction.

The alteration was as erratic as an antelope hanging by its horns, the angle of the force completely beyond Honda's imagining.

A chill ran down the back of Honda's head, and he pressed his left hand on the rear of the spear shaft to block, feeling a hot wind scorch his face.

“Defeated.”

Li Yan smiled coldly, flipped his spear with a downward swoop of his hand, fending off the wailing Kachiten. The Tiger Head Great Spear advanced forcefully, aiming to pierce Honda Tadakatsu's chest.

Traditional Chinese spear techniques divided an opponent's weapon attack directions into major and minor gates. Honda's current stance left his minor gate sealed and his major gate powerless. Furthermore, matching infantry against cavalry, he had already lost by eight parts.

Known as one of Japan's three great spears, the Kachiten's spearhead let out a series of shrieks as the long, narrow groove on its shaft whistled in the wind from the friction.

A sudden surge of apprehension filled Li Yan's heart.

The sensitive Blue-Maned Warhorse neighed in shock, its fur bristling in fright, and at this point in the fight, there was simply no way to retreat.

With each step forced back, Honda's face settled into calmness. Stepping forward with his right foot, he leaned back and thrust out his Kachiten. At that moment, the Tiger Head Great Spear had penetrated two inches into flesh, and blood had already splattered from the armor.

“Ming man, you have a loyal heart, but not the will to die…”

Demonic Eighty Strikes!

The Kachiten's groove shone with Sanskrit inscriptions as bright as crystalline autumn water, its spear shadows spilling out like a silver jug suddenly burst, pouring its contents toward Li Yan.

Li Yan was utterly unmoved, the salty taste of that rainy night's rainwater spreading from his mouth, as the silver spear shadows covered the sky and he seemed to see none.

“Die!”

The Tiger Head Great Spear pierced through Honda Tadakatsu's heart and jutted out his back into the ground!

A half section of golden feathers sliced through the air, blocking Li Yan's face.

Li Yan felt darkness before his eyes, followed by the sound of bones and flesh parting. When he opened his eyes again, his face and head were splattered with blood.

Nine-Winged Sudu had her half-wing pierced with more than a dozen holes, yet her face showed no sign of pain, and she cried out, “My Lord.”

“Did I not tell you to protect Song Yingchang?” Li Yan frowned at her, softening his voice: “His spear wouldn't kill me, why go to such lengths?”

…

Even amidst the chaotic battlefield, Yu Shu walked as if in a leisurely garden, with both piercing arrows and red-hot cannonballs seemingly avoiding her.

She looked at Li Yan on horseback, her eyes carrying a rare hint of admiration.

“Judged purely by skill, it was nothing short of spectacular.”

Mastery in breaking through relied on personal insight and talent, unrelated to the experience of the practitioner. Having a proficiency of over 90% in a skill was something many Proxy Travelers were unable to achieve.

Li Rusong's bright red command flag was now fully visible, and the “Commander of the Three Armies” flag was scarcely five hundred paces from the vanguard camp. With the loss of several daimyo leaders and a large number of Japanese pirates being killed or scattered, troops of daimyos with mixed intentions began to withdraw from the battlefield.

Honda Tadakatsu's death further accelerated the panic, making an allied defeat inevitable. However, the casualties of the Ming Army had also far exceeded the initial estimates,

But this no longer concerned Li Yan.

He looked at the incapacitated Song Yi, and Song Yi looked back at him. After a long while, Li Yan tightened his grip on the Tiger Head Great Spear and fell silent.

Chapter end