TW:S2 Story: Wanderer of Faith (Battle of Fukuoka)

[Maltz]

Hi,
This is my first battle story. I hope you like it!
maltz

[Maltz]

One. Wanderer of Faith

Nobles are glass, adored by many but seen right through.
Peasants are grass, transient like morning's dew.
Buddha has turned into statue,
Where compassion and purity withdrew.

They once call me a samurai, before my clan dissolved and died.
My name changed to Ronin, a wanderer, lacking a cause to self-define.
But then I heard deep valley's bell at dawn,
To which my despair and fear resigned.

The Jodo Buddhism is almost too early for our time.
People call us Ikko, as our unbending willpower unite.
Sailing west to Kyushu, away from treacherous fights.
Searching for Jodo, the land for the puriest mind.

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Two. Head Counts

Nobody noticed when the rain stopped.
It had washed away any blood on the grass,
which now appears especially green under the setting sun.

"My lord, we have finished head counts. We lost Two hundred and eight men."

Sitting on a little folded chair, the taisho slightly frowned.
The battle gave his bamboo armor a few more cracks.

"Please do not worry, my lord. Most of them are wounded by arrows. Our strength will fully recover in one year."
"How about Shoni's army?"
"One thousand and two hundred men completely wiped out. Today we shattered Shoni!"

Looking at the exciting ashigaru, Suzuki Sadayu's quietly sighs in relief.

"Inform the emissary. We will proceed with the peace treaty with Shoni."
"My Lord, please forgive me but... now we have a perfect opportunity to destroy Shoni! Buzen castle is less than a week's march away."

Suzuki beams a simple smile.

"Your job is to fight. My job is to help you survive. You do your job, and I do mine."

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Three. Memorial for the Dead

The dead hears no mourning,
The dead feels no pain.
The living erects a memorial,
For their mundane pursuit of fame.

Tonight I'll drink with my fellowmen,
Celebrating our fortune of seeing another day.
Walking on the path to end Sengoku,
Many more will fall on the way.

The battle ends in a memorial for the dead,
Yet words of compassion has just begun to spread.
Here we'll build a promised land of purity,
For the faithful, hope always lies ahead.

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Four. Know Thy Enemy

Candles flicker in the lantern, the wind forecasting a change in weather.
A few cloud quickly pass in front of the moon.
It is going to rain tomorrow.

"Shoni's army is here. The battle is tomorrow."
"How many?"
"About one thousand and two hundred."
"We have a numerical advantage."
"But our soldiers are not as good as theirs."
"Our strength is actually about equal."

"An army's strength lies not in numbers or quality. Victors know how to use their army."
"Yes, my lord."

Sitting in the middle of the captains is a general in his 30s.
His bamboo armor rests on a stand behind.

"What's the terrain between Shoni's camp and ours?"
"There is a hill, slightly closer to Shoni's camp than ours."
"If Shoni gets to the hill first, they will have a height advantage against us."
"That's not good."

Suzuki closes his eyes.
The song of crickets brings peace to his mind.
There is a way to reverse the disadvantage.

"Shoni Tokinao knows this, too. And being the daimyo, he will march in front of his army."
"Yes, my Lord. The daimyo only stays in the back if case of imminent danger."
"So he will not feel imminent danger."

There is weakness in every man.
Shoni's overconfidence will mark the end of his clan.
Under the darkening moon light,
The captains eagerly learn their taisho's plan.

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Five. Morning Rain

Morning rain drips from helmet,
From the tip of spear to my hand.
My fellowmen quietly awaits fate's command,
Forming the first line, this morning may be our last.

We cannot see the enemy,
Yet battle drums come from behind the hill.
We accept battle as our destiny,
On top the lush grass our blood will spill.

Now I feel the ground's tremor,
Toward the top of the hill, our enemy begins to move.
Our taisho speaks of victory,
The truth of his promise, only time will prove.

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Six. A Flying Samurai

"Run for your lives!"

The Shoni army has collapsed. A samurai, among many, lost his will to fight.
Showing a disgrace, he turns his back toward his enemy. But he cannot outrun the cavalry's charge.

"BOOM!"

Under the high speed impact, the samurai was sent flying down the slope.
He rolls and rolls, hearing his fellowmen scream in the slaughter.

"Don't let any run away!"

Suzuki Sadayu issued his last order of the day. The cavalry will run them down in a matter of time.
The battle of Fukuoka is won, but maybe he knew it from last night.

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Seven. Through the Throat

We charge from uphill,
Too fast for them to react.
Our weapons thrust from atop,
Too scary for them to attack.

Here is an enemy who is not looking,
Here is a weakness which is not defended.
May my spear finds his throat, intended,
May his blood gushing out, splendid.

Death cry was muffled on the hill of agony,
Blood was buried with the meadow of gory.
Shoni's line completely collapsed,
We embrace a hard-fought glory.

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Eight. Three Ranks

"Soldiers, we face an uphill battle!"
"But do not let the hill fool you, like it fooled our enemies. They have begun to march to their doom!"

"First rank, our spears will stab through their cavalry!"
"Second rank, our swords will cut through their spears!"
"Third rank, our arrows break their morale!"

"To faith!"
"To faith!"
"To honour!"
"To honour!"
"To the land of purity!"
"The the land of purity!"
"Charge!"



"Charge!"

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Nine. Spear Meets Horse

Stood before us are Shoni's daimyo and son,
Stunned by the rapid approaching yari, they forget to run.
Knowing this is our chance, we hold the spear tight,
The soldier and the weapon, combined as one.



More and more of us arrive,
Aiming to take Shoni commander's live.
None of us know where exactly he is,
As we had to focus on attack to survive.



Slowly the bodyguards' number dwindle,
I saw Shoni daimyo surrounded in the middle.
There is no way he could survive,
The blunder in tactics that made him suicidal.

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Ten. Taisho's Charge

Suzuki watches his army pouring downhill.
The only line standing was Shoni's best, elite bow samurai.
Volley after volley, his men fall.
He could watch no further.



Suzuki raised his swords in the grey sky.
"Bodyguards, charge with me!"
"Charge!"



Following the command of their taisho,
Heavy cavalry crashes the thin line of bows.
Encouraged by their general,
The army of jodo Buddhists makes a thundering roar.

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Eleven. Ronin meets Samurai

Following ashigaru wielding loaned swords,
We pushed Shoni's yari toward sky's grey.
Without their taisho's command,
Their rank falls into disarray.



Shoni's ashigaru breaks and shatters,
Yet their last line stands still.
Arrows hissing over my head,
Each could a make brutal kill.

Tired, ronins lead the last charge,
Into the thickest of samurai.
There were not many of us,
But the lone wanderers now unite.

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Twelve. The Summit

"My lord, we have taken the head of the enemy taisho! He was trapped by his own steed!"
"Sound the charge for the loaned sword Ashigaru! Aim for the spear walls!"



The horn of charge resonates between hills and trees,
The Shoni spear wall was reaching the summit.
They were too slow to rescue their commander,
Now all they could hope was to live longer.



The spear wall was too inflexible for the charge of swords,
With great affiance the jodo Buddhists push forward.
The two armies face each on the summit,
With one in advance, and one in retreat.

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Thirteen. Land of Purity



Jodo Buddhists wears snow white hood,
Fighting for the purity of the world's good.
Never runs dry, the blood of the martyrs,
Fall for the crusade, as any faithful man would.



Thoughts of victory or loss cast aside,
Until our lines and the enemies' collide.
Doubts of life left behind,
At this very moment, we know only to fight.

Today, many find eternal rest on the land of purity.
Tomorrow, more embrace the faith of Ikko-ikki.
Someday, wounds of distrust and betrayal will heal,
The Sengoku Jidai will end in our hands, the faithful believes.

The End

[Maltz]

Video of the Battle of Fukuoka.
It shows how the battle was actually played in the game.