Volume 4 Chapter 107 Self-Blade
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The War-golem I’d been riding got wrecked in a mutual kill.
I crawled out of the scrap heap. They promised to return Kenze to me, so I headed for Tōshōji Temple. Most of the refugees were fleeing toward Tsurugaoka Hachimangū, while our soldiers regrouped at the administrative hall where the general’s mansion had been just moments before. The monks and I ran past them all, cut through the samurai quarters, hit the main road, and entered a large estate.
”Welcome home, master,” the servants said, bowing as the head monk was ushered inside.
He announced he needed to change clothes, then disappeared deeper into the house with the other monks trailing after him.
”So what am I supposed to do?” I asked.
Nobody answered. I didn’t know the way to Tōshōji Temple, either. And I was still worried about the battle.
Conveniently, there was a decent tree in the courtyard. I climbed up, struggling until I reached about five meters.
From up there, I could see the enemy reorganizing behind their War-golem wreckage – though the distance made details hard to make out, and the winter leaves that hadn’t fallen yet kept getting in the way. As for the administrative hall, the soldiers’ movements were hidden behind buildings and walls.
Soon, arrows started flying. The enemy shot fire arrows; our side launched Red Flame Balls.
Fire arrows stuck into the buildings. They didn’t catch fire right away, but as more and more embedded themselves, the wood started to smolder. The Red Flame Balls arced slowly, targeting enemy soldiers hiding behind the wreckage. Whether they hit anything, I couldn’t tell – but more troops kept coming. It was a drop in the bucket.1
Then I spotted figures slipping out from the edges of the hall. Women, I’d get – but these were low-ranking soldiers, stripping off their light armor as they ran toward Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. A lot of them. I counted at least a hundred running. Some threw off fine armor; others picked up what was abandoned and sprinted the other way. Anything goes now.2
Soon, the enemy sent out about ten smaller War-golems. No more than three meters tall – about the same size as the one I’d ridden in Takere, the trading city in the Land of the Fire Ring, but made of wood.
They lined up and advanced on the hall. Spears flew at them, but only two stopped. The rest smashed through the walls in one go. Cavalry poured in, followed by infantry.
”Welp, that’s done for,” I muttered.
I climbed down, thinking I needed to find a way to get Kenze back.
Just then, the head monk emerged from the house – no longer in his priestly robes, but dressed as a warrior. No armor, just a look like a sumo referee’s, but damn, he looked impressive. A black samurai eboshi sat on his head, tied with a gold cord under his chin. No tachi, just a short sword at his hip.
Behind him, the younger monks had changed too, now carrying spears in their warrior outfits.
”Sorry to keep you waiting,” the monk – Hojo Takatoki – said, smiling at me.
It was creepy.
Just then, a servant at the gate turned around.
”Enemy cavalry and infantry approaching! Five horses and about ten men – passing through Lord Osaragi’s estate.”
I had no idea where Lord Osaragi’s estate was, but I could hear the hoofbeats closing in. Several lower-ranking samurai brought stools from the mansion and started shooting arrows over the wall.
”Guest, please wait here with the master,” said one of the young ex-monks, leaving the former monk behind as he headed for the gate.
”Quicker than I expected,” the ex-monk remarked.
Immediately, fighting broke out at the gate.
”Because you took forever changing!” I shot back.
No choice. I drew Nagamitsu from my belt, just in case.
”Guest, what are you doing?” he asked.
”Getting ready to fight.”
”You don’t even know how to hold a tachi.”
He completely roasted me. Apparently, gripping it lower down for more reach was the wrong move.
He explained: the hilt is long, but the blade doesn’t extend that far – only about a hand’s width. Grip too low, and the blade could come loose, even snap the hilt. I thought, Then make the hilt shorter – but apparently, the length served a purpose.
”A tachi is meant to be used on horseback – one-handed,” he said. The right hand grips just below the tsuba. When fighting or using both hands, the left hand goes just below the right.
”And you see the mekugi pin here?” he said.
The mekugi is the pin that holds the blade in the hilt – right in the middle of the grip.
”Try flowing your mana through it,” he said.
Huh?
”Nothing’s happening,” I said.
”Fool. You have to flow it from the front of the mekugi to the back!”
Which meant flowing it from my fingers into my palm. I’d channeled mana from fingertip to fingertip during Amber charging, but this was trickier.
Still, I managed – and Nagamitsu’s blade began to glow violet.
Whoa.
It was the same color as Excalibur’s discharge – the one that created high-pressure mana through a Cockcroft-Walton circuit and paralyzed golems.
”So the glow means it cuts better, or shocks things, or something, right?” I asked, full of expectation.
”Nope. It just prevents chipping.”
”That’s it?”
It was quite a letdown.3
”Fool,” he scolded again. Not chipping during a clash or while cutting armor was apparently a big deal. Also, it wouldn’t get clogged with fat if you cut a person – so the edge stayed sharp.
”Very few tachi can carry mana, and even fewer people can imbue them,” he said.
So Nagamitsu was something of a legendary blade.
”Master, we lost one in a duel, but the rest have been dealt with,” said the ex-monks, returning just as I’d finished my lesson. Their freshly changed clothes were now soaked in blood.
”Then let us go,” said the former monk.
We stepped through the gate – and were met by a heap of bodies.
”Hey, get a helmet for the guest,” he ordered.
One of the ex-monks picked a decent-looking one off a corpse and handed it to me. I wanted to refuse – it was gross – but he said it would protect against Red Flame Ball attacks. Not directly, of course, but even a side or back hit would give you an eighty percent chance of survival with it on. Come to think of it, the silver bucket I’d gotten earlier was still inside the War-golem.
No choice. I put on the bloodstained helmet, though it made my skin crawl, and tied the cords.
Down the slope on the eastern road, a small bridge was crowded with samurai.
Everyone bowed as the former monk passed. Some knelt on one knee; the wounded nodded; even the dying tried to raise themselves. They adored him this much. So why had they started a losing battle?
After crossing the bridge, we climbed for about fifty meters until we reached the mountain gate. A commotion was happening in front of it.
”Make way!” one of the ex-monks bellowed at the troublemakers blocking the path.
”Is that you, Takachika of Luzon?” the former monk said, addressing the central figure.
There knelt Hojo Takachika, brought from Luzon, one knee on the ground. So he was the troublemaker.
”Forgive my rudeness, Uncle,” he replied. Beside him stood Imai and Tomoe, both at attention.
”What’s the matter?” the former monk asked.
According to Takachika, Tomoe refused to stay outside the temple grounds, and they’d been arguing.
”Lord Regent, I beg you – let me stay with Lord Takachika to the end – ” said Tomoe, clad in armor, a great bow on her back.
”Enough,” Takachika cut in. “We are about to perform seppuku. I will not be slandered as a man who dragged a woman to his final moments. Do you understand?” he shouted, then rose and kicked Tomoe.
She tumbled down the slope a little, but crawled back and kowtowed.
”Then cut my head off here,” she said.
They were saying insane things. Seppuku? Cut her head? Come to think of it, Takachika and his men had mentioned looking for a place to die.
This really was the Land of Shura. Life meant nothing here.
”Wait, are you all going to do seppuku here too?” I asked one of the nearby ex-monks.
”Yes,” he said. Inside the mountain gate, more than thirty warriors stood in the temple courtyard.
”Tomoe, you are my attendant – my property. Am I correct?” Takachika said.
Tomoe lowered her head until it almost touched the ground.
”Good. Then listen carefully: I am transferring you to Larry-dono.”
Damn it. This berserker was using me again.
”That is a fine idea,” the former monk said, smiling like a kindly old man.
I couldn’t refuse. I didn’t treat life as lightly as they did.
”Besides, women should not commit seppuku. They carry the seeds of life,” the former monk added with a grandfatherly expression.
Then time seemed to stop.
A black arrow pierced the old man’s chest with a sharp hyun. Takachika and a young ex-monk stepped forward, shielding him from the slope below.
Another hyun – and an arrow tore through Takachika’s left arm.
”Tomoe!” the berserker roared.
”At once, my lord. Let me serve you one last time,” she replied, nocking an arrow and scanning the slope. A sniper was hidden somewhere.
I remembered the War-golem piloted by the Akabashi boy – its eye had been shot out.
”There’s an enemy with a strong bow,” I said.
”I know,” Tomoe replied, and loosed her arrow. She didn’t reach for another.
A moment later, a black arrow pierced her ear with a hyun.
”Magnificent,” Takachika said, then pulled the arrow from his arm and looked at me. “I entrust Tomoe to you.”
I wanted to say no. But all that came out was, “Got it.”
”Then, guest – stay well,” the wounded former monk said. Easy for a man about to kill himself to say.
While I was still searching for a response, Takachika helped the staggering former monk through the mountain gate and disappeared inside. Imai and the ex-monk warriors bowed to me and followed.
More warriors were climbing the slope. Were they all coming here to die together?
I watched them like they were from another world, then looked south of the gate. Three familiar women stood there.
”Hey, let’s go,” I said, tapping Tomoe’s shoulder. She’d been staring into the gate for too long.
We gathered Kenze, the nun Nyodai, and the nun Ezen, then left the mountain gate and took a game trail. Eventually we reached Zushi Beach, boarded a hidden boat, and sailed back to the Izumo.
On the way, Ezen’s stab wound from Kenze worsened. She couldn’t walk, so I carried her on my back. At a mountain pass checkpoint, more than a dozen samurai had already performed seppuku and lay dead.
”Wait, isn’t there someone to – you know – cut your head off?” I asked Tomoe.
She shook her head. “In this era, there’s no second. You cut across the belly once, then down – a cross. Your guts spill out, and you die within moments.”
Not something I wanted to hear.
I learned later that Tomoe’s father, Higuchi, had been cut down in the chaos near Gokurakuji. Her uncle Imai and her betrothed Hojo died in the mass seppuku – though their bodies were never confirmed. Her mother and other relatives were killed in Luzon or Kamakura. The one who’d loosed the black arrow at the mountain gate was Tomoe’s first archery master. She shot him dead.
In this battle, Tomoe lost her entire family.
The two nuns said they had a temple connection in Awa Province, so we dropped them off on the Boso Peninsula coast – near Tateyama, I think. But Tomoe was alone in the world. She had to stay on board. And she had to work for her keep.
At first I thought about assigning her to the deck crew, but she couldn’t climb the mast. In the end, she could handle mana – only level one – so we assigned her to the Artillery Department.
And so the Izumo gained one more crew member. She set out into the Pacific, riding the Kuroshio Current, heading for the Nicaragua Canal.
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Spoilers:
The berserker – Hojo Takachika – is modeled after Kiso Yoshinaka, as many of you probably noticed. Tomoe is Tomoe Gozen (though mostly just the name). Higuchi and Imai are taken from the Yoshinaka Four Heavenly Kings. I also mentioned Nai and Tate in Luzon. Lady Aoi – there’s a theory she died at Kurikara Pass; here, she died in Hojo’s hometown.
The Berserker – Hojo Takachika – is modeled after Kiso Yoshinaka, as many of you have probably noticed.
Tomoe is modeled after Tomoe Gozen (though mostly just the name).
Higuchi and Imai are taken directly from the Yoshinaka Four Heavenly Kings.
I also mentioned the names Nei and Tate in Luzon.
Lady Aoi – there’s a theory she died at Kurikara Pass; here, she dies in Hojo’s hometown.
Also, the fall of the Shogunate – I glossed over it quite a bit, but it actually dragged on longer ( ;∀;)
And the Mongol invasions – did you notice? I set it so Ogodei was the one who invaded, not Kublai.
And the one who conquered Daqin (like the Southern Song) was Ogodei’s third son, Kuchu. In actual history he died, but… well.
I distorted things because the Kipchak Khanate existing at this point would be problematic ( ;∀;)
—
Summary:
The protagonist escapes the collapsing battle, retrieves Kenze, and witnesses the mass seppuku of Hojo Takachika and his retainers at the mountain gate, including the transfer of Tomoe into his care. Tomoe loses everyone – father, uncle, betrothed, and extended family – while the protagonist carries the wounded Ezen through the chaos. The chapter ends with the Izumo gaining Tomoe as a new crew member and setting sail for the Nicaragua Canal, leaving Kamakura behind.
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Trivia:
The protagonist’s silver bucket helmet is still inside the wrecked War-golem, forcing him to wear a bloodstained replacement from a corpse.
Tomoe’s first archery master shot the black arrow at the mountain gate; she killed him in return.
Higuchi and Imai are historical references to Yoshinaka’s Four Heavenly Kings, and the author used them as direct name lifts.
Lady Aoi is confirmed dead in Hojo’s hometown, not at Kurikara Pass as some historical theories suggest.
The Mongol invasion in this world is led by Ogodei, not Kublai, and the conquest of Daqin was done by Ogodei’s third son Kuchu – a deliberate historical distortion.
The nuns Nyodai and Ezen are dropped off on the Boso Peninsula near Tateyama because they have a temple contact in Awa Province.
Tomoe cannot climb the mast, so despite being a warrior, she is assigned to the Artillery Department because she can handle low-level mana.
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Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Kenze – Kenze is a muscular, brown-skinned Amazoness and former Tashkurgan operative turned research student. An observant, teasing guardian with dragon tattoos, she wears gauntlet-like armor and fights with formal precision. Formerly bonded with Earnest and now a rebel leader on the Izumo, she works with Tatyana, rooms with Larry—whom she prioritizes above all—and is currently nursing an egg while declining in health.
• Hojo – An unsettling, aggressive male warrior from a fallen clan and ambassador/lord of the Land of Shura, this “Berserker” commands Imai and the Izumo. Dressed in sumo referee-inspired garb with a gauntlet, knee guards, and hip-mounted longsword, he has an intense, unblinking gaze. Linked to the Hojo clan, he speaks in imperious, clipped Kamakura-period Japanese. Driven by honor and trauma from his family’s slaughter, he views lethal violence as jest, yet shows restraint before outbursts.
• Ho – Ho is the family name of Oliver, a 17-year-old deck crew member and comrade of the protagonist. As a member of the military unit that defended Garao Village, the young man was ultimately murdered during a night watch, slaughtered alongside Marx-san.
• Amber – An object or entity that receives mana infusion from Pamela, serving as a vital source of Mana to power the Golems.
• Al – Alberto (Al), a massive red‑haired man recently wed to Mary, lives near the Dish Basin. He’s a companion of Hans, helping intimidate and rally elders as a villager and leader.
• Master – An old master who serves as a mentor to the protagonist. He maintains a calm and pragmatic demeanor.
• Takachika – Hojo’s family name.
• Hojo Takachika – The berserker—modeled after Kiso Yoshinaka. Brought from Luzon to die in Kamakura. Intense, commanding, and brutal. Kicks Tomoe, then entrusts her to the protagonist before entering the mountain gate for seppuku.
• Tomoe – A tall, strong, and sincere warrior woman serving Hojo as an attendant and watchman. The daughter of Higuchi, she is skilled with a naginata, a heavy bow, and crafts, yet maintains a blank expression in battle. Easily flustered by nudity and naive around men, she has grown close to the other women, aids the protagonist with language, and holds deep emotional ties to the deceased Children.
• Imai – Hojo’s attendant and group member who remains on the bridge with Fredys and Roland. Previously scolded by Hojo and having threatened seppuku, he speaks with frustration about the Luzon fugitives. A dagger-wielding warrior of cold, methodical brutality, he operates with clinical efficiency and no emotion, interrogating a pirate by severing his ankles and calf before beheading him.
• Larry – Larry is a dark-haired, weary 16-year-old reincarnated Second Lieutenant, cynical Acting Captain of the Izumo, and Associate Professor. A pragmatic, sardonic narrator and Mana user, he founded the Fee Grand Principality, carries Philip IV’s sword, and seeks to protect his companions. Haunted by past trauma and complicated relationships, he struggles with moral conflicts while awaiting his next assignment.
• Nyodai – One of two nuns at Tōshōji Temple. Participates in holding Kenze hostage. Presses her palms together in a bow when addressed.
• Izumo – The iron-hulled primary vessel, named and personified as a character herself, who loyally carries the protagonist and his crew throughout their journey.
• Ezen – A nun who was stabbed by Kenze. Her wound worsens during the escape, and the protagonist carries her on his back. Later dropped off with Nyodai in Awa Province.
• Higuchi – Hojo’s attendant. Sent to gather details from the ship that brought news of Daqin’s fall. Social member of the group. Helps the protagonist understand the Berserker’s language through gestures.
• Aoi – Hōjō’s quiet female attendant and Kenma’s grieving mother on the Izumo, who watched over the protagonist and shared details of Hōjō’s past. Known for sewing children’s clothes, she was emotionally shattered by a dead child before perishing in a pirate attack. Serving silently, she handed Hōjō the Red Flame Ball on command and delivered the physical blow that knocked Earnest unconscious.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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