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CHAPTER 3 – LILY OUT OF FORMATION
Ashigaka Makoto?
So the imperial court was sending an army to attack Shuten Doji and the chief commander was Ashikaga Makoto?
However, Lily had heard that the Ashikaga family was an official lineage of the Genji Clan. Based on Madam Ashikaga’s status, identity, and influence in the Genji Clan, it was reasonable to send her if Minamoto no Yoritomo remained in Heian-kyō.
Furthermore, Madam Ashikaga, as one of Minamoto no Yoritomo’s core forces in Kanto, was perhaps more trustworthy in his point of view than those Kansai Genji commanders. Although Ashikaga’s strength wasn’t considered high in Heian-kyō, the duty of a chief commander in a large army was to lead, command, dispatch, and strategize; not to rely on their individual combat power. Lily didn’t know how to lead troops. Maybe Madam Ashikaga’s military strategizing skills were good, or maybe…
However, Lily was still worried about letting Madam Ashikaga enter deep into such a dangerous demon’s lair, but, at least, she could secretly protect her when she went with the army.
Thinking back to Minamoto no Yoritomo in Kanto, Lily had a question in her mind that was difficult to solve.
“Lord Shogun, Lily has a question that may seem superficial and ridiculous to My Lord, but it really puzzles me. I wonder if I can ask?” Lily said.
“Haha, Miss Kagami is, after all, a woman, so I will make an exception and allow you to ask a question, even if it’s difficult for me to answer.” Minamoto no Yoritomo replied earnestly.
“Thank you, Lord Shogun. Please forgive Lily’s disrespect. Lily is puzzled because the Lord Kamakura I saw in Kamakura was ten meters tall1, and looked so lofty and majestic, but when I came to see Lord Shogun in Heian-kyō, although still quite majestic, you are ultimately as tall as an ordinary man. Lily is really puzzled…”
“Hahahaha, I guessed you would ask this question. Not many people know about this in Kamakura, but most leaders of various Genji Clan branches and the powerhouses of the dynasty know about it. Lily, at this time, the ten-meter-tall clone2 you mentioned is still sitting in Kamakura. The situation in Kanto is very serious right now, so how can I leave?”
“Eh? Clone?” Lily was astonished.
“Lily, in this world, there is still a way to create clones. One day, maybe you will understand.”
“So that’s the case. Lily thanks the Shogun for enlightening me.” Lily kneeled down and bowed.
Minamoto no Yoritomo nodded, “Be more careful on this expedition.”
“Yes. Then Lily will excuse herself.”
After a moment of deep thought, Minamoto no Yoritomo nodded.
When Lily left Minamoto no Yoritomo’s palace, there was a Tsukiyo-haired3 samurai wearing large armor and no helmet waiting at the gate who greeted her, “May I ask if this is Lady Kagami Lily?”
“Yes.”
“We have already received the instructions from Lord Shogun. Your Ladyship has been appointed by the Shogun as a lone warrior in the great army.”
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“May I ask, My Lord, what I should do next?”
“This is the token indicating Lord Shogun’s instructions. It serves as an identification in our army and has Lady Kagami’s name on the back. Please keep it safe.” The samurai took out a wooden token made of sixth-grade lumber. It was carved with the Genji Clan’s Gentiana flower emblem on the front and Lily’s name and military identity on the back.
Lily took the wooden token and stored it in the storage jade.
The samurai was surprised upon seeing Lily instantly store away the wooden token. He had heard of storage treasures, but for this Kagami Lily to have such a treasure, she definitely wasn’t an ordinary samurai.
“So where is the army now?” Lily asked.
“At this time, the army is at the Ashikaga house northeast of here. Chief Commander Ashikaga will lead the main formation to travel all the way through the Genji territory, Suzaku Avenue, and a large road leaving Heian-kyō from Byakko Gate before heading west. Along the way, the major powerful clans in Kansai will assemble one after another and join the army to go to Tanba Province together.”
Lily nodded. Not everyone was gathered with the Heian Dynasty’s expeditionary army from the start. Only when the main formation took the lead would the various martial families join along the way as they head to the battlefield, creating a large army. After all, most of the army was controlled by the various martial families and the imperial court’s standing in the army was very little.
But it was also because of this that it was impossible to accurately predict how many people this large army would eventually have.
“Lady Kagami, currently, it is estimated that the formation has just departed. Lady Kagami should wait near Suzaku Avenue. When the army passes by, you can join the group.”
Such a large army was impossible to miss.
“I understand. Thank you, My Lord.” Lily nodded.
Lily then left the Shogun’s imperial palace, mounted her white horse, and went all the way to Suzaku Avenue.
Up ahead, Lily saw an army of about four or five hundred men coming up the fork in the road.
“The female samurai ahead, who are you?” A horseman in front of the army asked.
Lily saw that the incoming army was flying the banner of the Genji Clan’s crest. It was the time to depart so, obviously, it should be an army heading to Tanba Province.
She replied, “I am Kagami Lily, ordered by Lord Shogun to head to Tanba Province.”
“Ah?” The army of samurai looked sturdy and rough, and they looked Lily up and down.
At this moment, Lily was wearing her expedition armor attire.
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This time, Lily was wearing a very conservative one. It was an eighth-grade armor prepared for her by the chief advisor, but it was not very revealing. Except for the plain white cloth at the neckline, the armor did not look too different from the male armor. The color was also relatively low-key— an ordinary neutral color.
But the breastplate was bigger to fit Lily’s size4. There were special metal and rattan-woven shoulder armors on both sides of her shoulders, and on her lower body, there was a long hakama under her high-slit skirt armor. While she was riding the horse, one could almost see the entire side of her jade-white hip and thigh through the slit. This was the only place on Lily’s body that was currently exposed, and the slanted white neckline was tightly wrapped.
It gave off a rather sensible, lady-like samurai feeling.
“A woman?!”
At first glance, these samurai looked rougher than those of Heian-kyō, and they stared at Lily with puzzled expressions.
“This capital really knows how to play with us, to actually send a woman to participate in the expedition.”
“How can this chick with her delicate hands and legs fight in a war? And without even a soldier?”
“However, this woman is really beautiful, but she is dressed a bit too moderately.”
“What’s wrong with your eyes? Isn’t her lower body exposed?
“Hahahahahaha!” Several brutish samurai laughed.
At this moment, the horseman in front came forward and continued to ask, “Woman, what division do you serve?”
“I was ordered to serve Lord Minamoto Jujiro Takamune as a lone warrior.” Lily replied.
The samurai looked at each other with blank faces.
“No way?!”
“This chick is actually joining us for a while?”
“Although this woman is pretty, isn’t it bad luck to bring a woman on the expedition?! Why did the Lord Shogun arrange this?” A tall, bearded military commander cursed.
“Don’t be presumptuous!” At this time, an old, helmetless samurai with gray hair braided into a bun came forward, “Girl, we are the army of Lord Takamune. We were ordered to come here from Dewa Province. It’s been more than two months since the start of our journey.”
Dewa. Lily recalled the map of the Heian Dynasty. This place was farther northeast of Kanto, and farther northeast than the Uesugi family. It was a distant and barbaric area, which was also in the sphere of influence of the Genji Clan. No wonder these samurai looked so formidable.
“I see. I was ordered to follow you for a while, but there seems to be some people in the army who are not very welcoming?” Lily said, looking at the brutish samurai behind her who were staring at her with discriminatory yet deeply lustful gazes.
“Don’t blame us, girl. We are all men from the northeastern part of Kanto. We are always out in the great wilderness fighting against powerful demons, and it’s a bit rough. But since it’s the Lord Shogun’s order, we will naturally obey the military order. Please show your token to this old man.”
Lily took out the token.
The old samurai took a look and nodded before returning it to Lily.
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Lily felt that it was troublesome to have the token checked from time to time, so she simply hung the token on her waist.
“The token is okay. If you don’t mind, please follow our army to travel. But this army is full of rude men who are accustomed to killing people and demons with big swords, and playing with women. Girl, you better follow behind and not mix in too much with the army formation. This is for your own safety.”
“Lily understands. Thank you for reminding me. What’s your name, elder…?”
“I am Ida Nobutada, the retainer and teacher of Lord Takamune.”
“Kagami Lily. Nice to meet you.” Lily saluted. Although she felt that most of the army was rude and impolite, this old man was very stable and decent.
“Teacher Nobutada— what’s going on up ahead? I heard that there’s a s̲l̲u̲t̲ in the way?” A young and spiteful voice5 came from the middle of the army.
The crowd of horsemen got out of the way, making room for a fat man riding a stout horse with gray and black spots. He was more than 1.9 meters tall and wearing armor. His belly was like a huge wine barrel and his face resembled a big gourd with a big bottom and small top. One couldn’t see his neck, and his chin directly connected to his chest. He had a retro hairstyle with thick sideburns on both sides, and his hair was a rare light chestnut color. He also had a garlic nose, a big fat mouth, small eyes, and a freckled face.
The fat man in armor seemed to be tired from riding the horse and was sweating all over. Lily visually estimated that he weighed more than 400 pounds. An average horse wouldn’t be able to move, but fortunately, his damned horse was strong enough.
The fat man was wearing greasy and somewhat messy-looking armor, but it looked very flashy.
“Young Lord!” Ida Nobutada and the crowd of samurai all moved aside and saluted.
Lily stared at this fat samurai who came swaying over with a domineering look on his face and couldn’t help but feel troubled in her heart. She felt that this Takamune was more troublesome than Juzaburo.
The fat samurai flanked to Lily’s front. He looked down at Lily imposingly, flaunting his luxurious armor, “What? It’s actually a b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ samurai blocking the way?”
“Lord, this is Kagami Lily, a lone female warrior personally appointed by Lord Shogun himself to accompany our army on the expedition, under the command of Young Lord.” Ida Nabutada said.
“My old man?” The fat, freckle-faced man’s oily mouth twitched.
“Young Lord, we are on a military expedition and you have to call him Lord Shogun or Father.” Ida Nobutada reminded in a low voice6.
“How could my old man, ah, Lord Shogun, send a woman to help me in battle?” The fat Takamune said while looking down at Lily. However, although his small eyes showed contempt and arrogance, he secretly said in his heart, This b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ is really f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g beautiful! Ten thousand times more beautiful than those country women I saw in Dewa!
References
LazyButAmbitious: Eh?!Robinxen: Why is his clone a giant?Tsukiyo is the hairstyle of Japanese adult men before the Edo period. Men would shave all the hair from the forehead to the top of the head to expose the scalp in a half-moon shape.Robinxen: Of course.Robinxen: A foolish and doomed voice*Robinxen: My god, this ******* is the guy she has to follow? Can that guy not raise a single son decently?