Warring States Survival Guide-Chapter 205 - 142: Surprise Attack Team

On the walls of "Stone City," the Ninth Small Banner of the Wanjin army was taking turns on night watch.

This ten-man squad mostly sat under the No. 3 Arrow-Shield Bamboo Canopy waiting for orders. Only Taichiro, the Small Banner, and Stone Bodhisattva, the Deputy Small Banner, occasionally leaned against the battlements for cover, observing the pitch-black surroundings outside the city. The former Small Banner had been promoted, making Taichiro the new Small Banner while Stone Bodhisattva, a sergeant, temporarily acted as the Deputy Small Banner, and as long as he was literate enough, he could assume the position formally.

Taichiro glanced outside the city a few times, found nothing unusual, and, estimating that the interval was about right, said to Stone Bodhisattva, "Shoot an arrow and see!"

Stone Bodhisattva didn’t say a word, moved slightly away under the cover of the battlements, lit an arrow, drew the bow, and shot it out. The fire arrow flew far into the night sky, eventually landing on the ground and illuminating a small area.

Taking advantage of the firelight, Taichiro quickly scanned the surroundings but still found no signs of people. Stone Bodhisattva also encountered no stealth attacks by arrows, indicating that it was a quiet night, and the enemy apparently didn’t plan to harass them tonight.

Taichiro relaxed slightly. In the past, when he was a miscellaneous Ashigaru, he would have secretly found a place to nap at this moment, but in the Wanjin army, he dared not. Falling asleep while on night watch was a grave crime punishable by beheading, known as the "Eighty-Eight Beheadings." So, he could only continue to keep quiet with the other soldiers, listening intently for any sound from outside the city.

After a while, the No. 2 Arrow-Shield Canopy in the midsection of the city wall and the No. 1 Arrow-Shield Canopy at another corner also shot out fire arrows consecutively, briefly lighting up the night sky again. Taichiro quickly used the chance to observe outside the city, but still found no trace of the enemy.

They continued to take turns shooting fire arrows—tonight was moonless, and having discovered the enemy’s reinforcements had arrived, they heightened their alert status, hence being more cautious than usual. Normally, they didn’t need to do this so frequently. They kept this up until late at night, almost to the shift-changing time, and it remained a very quiet night.

Until another fire arrow flew far out, and in the flickering light, vague shadows appeared layer upon layer.

Taichiro’s heart tightened, quickly signaling and ordering a round of fire arrows to be shot from the post. Other watchpoints also sensed something amiss. Almost simultaneously, a wave of fire arrows shot out from the city walls into the distance, and under the scattered light, this time, Taichiro saw clearly that a large group of enemy troops was accelerating their approach.

He didn’t hesitate, immediately grabbed the iron whistle hanging on his chest, put it into his mouth, and blew with all his might, while commanding the Ninth Small Banner to launch an assault immediately, using arrows to stop the enemy’s advance.

As the piercing sound of the iron whistle rang above the city walls, movements started within "Stone City" immediately. Whistle sounds and loud orders followed one after another as a large number of soldiers, still dazed with sleep but in neat armor, rushed out of their quarters to form up and began running toward the city walls under the officers’ lead.

The great battle was on the verge of breaking out.

......

Ishimochi Kenshiro (Genshi) was lying in a mountain depression on the north side of the North Mountain, fully armored except for his beloved "Golden Deer Antler Helmet." After all, the antlers were too tall and easily reflected light, unsuitable for a night raid on foot, so he reluctantly left it behind.

He was a veteran household retainer of the Matsudaira family, a Little Soldier Skill instructor (Swordsmanship instructor), recognized for his martial arts prowess within the Matsudaira family. Now he was backed by five hundred elite troops of the Matsudaira family, with not a single Ashigaru among them. They were a top-tier surprise attack team of this era, and their mission was to capture the large Rock Fortress at the peak of the North Mountain.

This Rock Fortress was quite troublesome, being the highest point in this wilderness. Any daytime maneuvers, even minor raids, would be immediately spotted from here, and the enemy city could be notified to prepare defenses in no time. It also housed a large number of troops ready to support the front line at any moment, making it a major headache. freewebnøvel.coɱ

However, attacking this place by day was impossible—pushing bamboo and wooden barricades up the mountain was very difficult, and charging in heavy armor would be a disaster, hence the only option was a night raid.

This plan was proposed by Asahina Taisuke of the Imagawa family and handed over to the Matsudaira family for execution. If they could seize the North Mountain Rock Fortress, they would have a complete view of the movements within "Stone City," turning visibility disadvantage into advantage. Moreover, the North Mountain Rock Fortress, overseeing from a high vantage point, protected an enemy watchtower at the northernmost end of the sheep pen from attack. So, by capturing it, they could effortlessly seize the enemy’s sheep pen’s northernmost tip, preventing the enemy from using it for defense.

This place was definitely the defensive core of the enemy, as important as the front-blocking "Stone City." It had to be taken in one swoop. Nevertheless, Ishimochi Kenshiro, after circumventing and arriving here from the camp late at night, lay in this small mountain depression with his troops, making no moves for the time being, waiting only for the southern frontal battle to commence.

According to the enemy’s responses previously observed by Asahina Taisuke, once "Stone City" on the south of the mountain came under attack, the enemy on the mountain would attempt to sally forth, relieving the assault pressure on "Stone City." Moreover, the enemy left behind in the Rock Fortress would focus their attention southward. This would be the opportunity for their surprise team to silently move up from the north. Even if they couldn’t capture the Rock Fortress in one strike, they could get extremely close; otherwise, climbing the mountain slowly in armor, the enemy could overwhelm them just by throwing rocks.

After Ishimochi Kenshiro reached the designated position, he patiently waited for almost an hour before hearing a rumble from the south, followed by the sounds of shouting.

The frontal battlefield had finally ignited. Asahina Taisuke began leading the Chita nobility in a fierce night assault on the enemy’s Stone City and sheep walls. Ishimochi Kenshiro looked up at the Rock Fortress on the mountaintop and found it bustling with activity. Illuminated by firelight, he could vaguely see people running along the walls, shouting, as the enemy concentrated to the south.

It’s now or never!

Ishimochi Kenshiro quietly whispered orders back, passing them down through the Samurai, and soon the Matsudaira family’s raiding party started moving. Everyone had a wooden stick clenched in their mouths as they crept out of the mountain hollow, using the noise from the frontal battlefield to start climbing toward the mountaintop.

The journey was smooth; the previous madness of the Nozawa family’s Lang Faction had left the entire mountain barren. The originally sparse woodlands on this small mountain had been quickly cut down for construction materials, while shrubs were set ablaze to ensure a clear view for attack. However, this prolonged effort aided the Matsudaira family’s raiders, as they encountered little resistance in the pitch black and made it to the mid-mountain point within just over ten minutes. By then, they had spread out to form an attack front; clambering in a single long line to the mountaintop risked crowding them into a ball, which would hinder the siege.

Meanwhile, the wilderness at the southern foot of the mountain grew more intense, with fire arrows flying across the battlefield, entire rows of Iron Cannons belching flames, and walls soaked with oil or kindling burning brightly—this was Asahina Taisuke’s suggestion. He suspected the enemy used some sort of magic to convert mud to stone, hoping to see if fire might disrupt their spells. Perhaps burning it casually would cause the enemy’s wall to collapse.

Ishimochi Kenshiro took a distant glance at the frontal battlefield and then continued leading the team forward. But before long, immense pain shot through his foot, and, relying solely on personal willpower, he stifled a scream. Quickly sitting down, he pulled out what had pierced the sole of his foot and discovered it was a "Triangular Nail Spike."

He cursed the Nozawa family for their treachery, quickly signaling to those nearby about the "sharp objects" on the ground. But it was somewhat late, as over a dozen who had moved parallel to him had already fallen victim. Nevertheless, everyone knew that the closer they got before launching their surprise attack, the higher the probability of success, hence no one cried out in pain.

The raiding party had to slow down, feeling their way along the ground to clear the "Triangular Nail Spikes" while pressing onward. Moving forward several more steps, nearly crossing the mid-mountain point, there was suddenly a loud Iron Cannon blast not far away. Smoke burst from a hidden pit, immediately taking down two Matsudaira family Lang Faction members moving forward.

The shrill sound of an iron whistle immediately followed, and dark shadows rapidly fled toward the mountaintop.

Ishimochi Kenshiro felt a chill; he hadn’t expected that while the battle in the wilderness was so heated, the enemy’s sentry would remain immobile at mid-mountain, not even peering out for a glance, unnoticed by anyone before.

With their discovery, Ishimochi Kenshiro showed decisive courage, instantly springing to his feet, drawing his sword, and fiercely shouting orders to charge forward. His Attendant Household Retainers promptly blew the Dharma Conch, and the Masudaira family’s five hundred Lang Faction leaped up, letting out battle cries, with those at the front carrying bamboo ladders forward, and those at the back bending bows to shoot arrows, casting a rain of arrows for cover.

The enemy on the Rock Fortress responded quickly, not as Ishimochi Kenshiro expected, with all personnel sent to the south. Before the Arrow fell upon the Rock Fortress, a burst of firelight flashed, and a continuous roar of Iron Cannonfire broke out. A storm of lead pellets instantly rained down, toppling a row of Lang Faction members shouldering bamboo ladders and rushing toward the mountaintop.

They had snuck close enough, within mere dozens of meters from the Rock Fortress, significantly enhancing the Iron Cannon hit rate, where one shot would likely claim a life.

Yet, Ishimochi Kenshiro had no retreat at this point, and according to Asahina Taisuke’s observation during this time, the Rock Fortress had at most two hundred defenders, who might not all be Armored Lang Faction. Even if they suffered heavy casualties braving the firepower, once close combat began, they could still claim victory.

He screamed loudly, desperately yelling, ordering the Lang Faction to rush forward during the enemy’s reloading, striving to get as close as possible to the Rock Fortress. However, another wave of arrows struck, instantly felling another batch of them. Among them, some Lang Faction members, charging desperately forward, suddenly vanished into a pit, impaled by sharp Bamboo Spears at the bottom, emitting incredibly tragic screams.

The enemy atop the walls did not let up after the Iron Cannons and Bows and Arrows double assault. The wind in the night sky picked up, and a slew of fired pottery jars was hurled from some unknown source from afar.

Some exploded mid-air, bursting with blinding firelight; others detonated upon impact, scattering dirt in all directions, with blast forces capable of sending people flying.

Ishimochi Kenshiro staggered, miraculously avoiding direct blasts from the pottery jars, but the sudden explosive firelight in the night sky and close by nearly blinded him. Now disoriented, unable to distinguish direction, he relied on instinct alone, crawling and scrambling forward.

Victory or defeat hinged on this single move. No matter what, they had to take the Rock Fortress!