Main base

It took a day to reach the main base, but upon reaching it all I could see were high walls surrounding a giant parameter that was stationed on a hill, the only way in was to a built bridge that was large enough to fit 1,000 men easily.

"The army of the west camp has returned!" The general shouted at the gate, and the giant two doors opened slowly, revealing what was inside.

Inside was a town filled with people of all ages, women, men, children, and elders living within these walls.

As we walked inside, many people celebrated our return and some people were looking for men within the army maybe a husband to some, father or son to others.

After we went to the military camp, almost all the troops returned to their home, a well-deserved rest for these people, yet most will mourn for their dead brothers who were killed in the night attack.

The general had already ordered some people to construct many gravestones for the dead soldiers.

"Akaal-sama, follow me for an audience of shogun-sama" I looked at the man who approached me, gathering my thoughts for a little, I followed him quietly.

We walked through the busy streets until we reached a large house

"Please remember to be respectful with your tone, this is the almighty shogun you will be speaking to" The man warned me before opening the door behind him and stood aside to let me enter.

"Excuse me" I entered the room and walked quietly, turning to the side of the room I saw the shogun sitting on the floor with a table in front of her.

"You must be Akaal the general talked about, come, sit with me" She signaled to sit in front of her and I quietly did so.

"It is an honor to meet the Shogun-sama herself"

"No need for the formalities, just call me Shogun or Makoto if you feel like so" She smiled and replied.

"Shogun-sama, how could I call an almighty goddess so casually, I could never"

"It seems you have quite the discipline, who taught you such manners"

"My father, shogun-sama"

"A warrior perhaps? this kind of discipline could only come from warriors"

"You are correct Shogun-sama, but may I ask why did you summon me?"

"As I said, no need for the formalities, call me shogun normally, I'm quite genuinely curious about you and see if the general's words were true"

"Shogun-s.. Shogun, could you tell me why you summoned me"

"As I said, I'm quite interested in you boy, in the words of the general 'A cunning person who has the speed of lightning' is quite an intriguing description don't you think so"

"Well, compared to the wise and strong Shogun, im nothing of worth"

The shogun simply said nothing in response and smiled.

"Akaal-san, what I want from you is someone who can lead, and you seem to be a perfect candidate for it" Hearing Shogun's words my eyes widened a little, and frowned a little.

"Shogun, are you not suspicious of me" I sharpened as I asked the question.

"Well, from the letter sent from the general, you seem to be loyal to me and believed in me being the victor in the archon war, I am simply returning the trust to you"

"I... am thankful for the trust of shogun-sama, I will not let you down" I tightened my fist and slammed it against my chest.

~~

Making sure Akaal surely left, Makoto turned to her left and opened her mouth.

"Observe the boy's action and do not miss a single thing he does" The shadow moved in response

"As you wish Shogun-sama" The shadow quickly left, leaving Makoto alone.

"So Ei, what do you think of the boy" She turned to the curtain behind her.

"He senses me as soon as he entered, a very sharp perception rivaling a seasoned warrior" Ei walked to the side of the curtain, revealing her figure with the iconic clothes she wore all the time.

"I noticed his eyes looked at you for a moment before returning to me, he seems to keep his cards close to his chest, not even letting his guard down for a second" Makoto retrieved an empty and wrote an order to assemble a new army with Akaal as the general.

The reason why Makoto appointed Akaal to general is to be easily monitored if he is truly an ally or an empty.

War is ruthless and every person can change the tide of battle, Makoto needs to be careful about who she truly trusts and keep them close but also keep the enemy closer.

~~

"Was she a body double? no, I didn't see any makeup on her" I scratched my chin and remembered my conversation with the shogun.

But I was not convinced that the one I talked to was truly the shogun as I sensed another person sitting behind her as well, one similar to the shogun I talked to.

I also remembered her words 'I want from you someone who can lead, and you seem to be a perfect candidate' This sentence was basically a warning to me.

'I will monitor every action you do to see whose side you are truly in' Though the role of general seems excessive, being monitored is uncomfortable, to say the least.

She was indeed a wise general in the archon war even smarter than me than I cared to admit, I wondered how her IQ dropped significantly after a thousand years passed to close off the border in Inazuma.

In any case, the Shogun has trapped me between hard rocks, if I abandon the role of General, the whole of this town will hate my guts, and knowing I've been branded to be a 'Traitor' to Orobashi's troops, they will hunt me to the ends of the earth.

The only place safe is here below the banner of Shogun as a general.

"Sigh, what did I do in my past lives to deserve this, I only wanted to sleep, eat, and laze peacefully, was that too much to ask for" I lamented for the last time before looking towards the sun to see it is setting, and night time will come 'I need a place to sleep'.

Asking around, I stumbled upon the general and heard that I needed it, he invited me to his place.

Upon reaching it, it was a medium-sized house reflecting his status as a general, after a little chat I was led to a room and slept in a bed the maid gave to me.

~~

Opening my eyes, I stretched my body before opening the door to see it was late-dawn, and the sun was peeking through the high walls.

"Akaal-sama, good morning" One of the maids who was cleaning the floor greeted me.

"Ah good timing, could you tell me where the well is to wash my body and a place to practice swordsmanship" The maid readily answered and pointed to both locations.

After showering and wearing the clothes the maid provided, I went straight to the flat ground the maid pointed.

Arriving at the small garden with flat ground I did some warm-up to loosen my body, before placing my left hand on the sheath and readied my stance.

"Click" "Click" "Click" I repeatedly did a single action. Deep breath, Strike, Sheath. Every time I did, a feeling of a missing puzzle still appeared, but I already had gotten used to it, and now I felt like I was slowly discovering what was actually missing.

Something relating to power, or guiding 'something' into my sword to fully uncover the full potential of this strike.

But while I kept doing the same repetitive strikes, I entered a zen state, discarding every distraction and only focusing on the movement of my body, felt the contraction of my muscles, and the sound of wind cutting by my sword.

I long realized this move's weakness, I need to be close enough to the enemy and perform the strike, And if I can't let the enemy's guard down or take them by surprise, they could back out in the time I prepare my stance.

I need something, a move that combines the swiftness of my sword to my legs, but I can't mimic the movement of my sword to my legs so I tried to remember something similar, and remembered a certain animal that locked their arm and put pressure into them before contracting their lock, producing a fast and strong body movement.

If I could mimic that with my legs I should be able to move and strike in a single move.

Stopping my repetitive strikes, I sheathed my sword and did the same stance but now lowering my stature and solely focusing my power on my legs.

Locking the muscle that flexes the rotation of my legs and expanding the rest, feeling enough power I instantly let go of my lock, and out of instinct I slashed forward

"Click Kr" Feeling a hard thing that made my sword stuck, I opened my eyes and saw my sword stuck on the stone walls surrounding the house, but also a pale-faced maid whose neck was inches away from my stone-stuck blade.