Masked Knight

Chapter 293: Dark Mercenaries

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At the strictly guarded residential area within the city walls of River Home, Kikukawa Yukinari was looking at Rody and Nedis, who both looked exhausted. They looked miserable too.

"Blood Fox Nedis! You have finally appeared!" Yukinari was genuinely pleasantly surprised when he saw Rody and Nedis. With a joyful expression, he looked at Rody and said, "Even Lone Wolf Rody is here...Ah, where is Evil Star Sith?"

Nedis looked sympathetically at Yukinari. In all fairness, Yukinari was not a bad person. Since getting acquainted with him, Yukinari had shown that he respected his own people and accepted advice. Yukinari had completely believed their lies.

Yukinari was exhausted and his elegant and gentle demeanor was gone. He looked sad and depressed and his eyes were bloodshot. Evidently, he had been having trouble.

He was only a young man who only knew how to fool around. However, after he was robbed by Rody, further down the road he was involved in a struggle for power.

After the incident at Kyoto, he had managed to escape with his life. However, he now had to oppose the ruthless Oda Nobunaga. This was not something he was capable of doing.

Yukinari was a weak and gentle person. He patted his chest and said, "I thank God for his protection. I thought I would never see the two of you again after that disaster at Kyoto. I often worry about your safety."

Rody felt a little bit guilty. Yukinari’s concern was very sincere. Rody coughed and gave Nedis a meaningful glance. He had asked Nedis to speak instead.

Nedis also sighed and laughed, not immediately speaking.

Yukinari had been constipated from anxiety in the past two days. Opposing Nobunaga was beyond his ability and he was powerless. Based on his own abilities, he was no match for Nobunaga. If it were not because of the elite soldiers, the ‘Maruyuki’, he would have been killed by Nobunaga long ago.

In his mind, becoming a shogun was far different from being a ‘young master that is set for life’. However, Yukinari grew up in a political family. He knew he had no way of retreating. Even if he did not want to be Shogun, Nobunaga would still find a way to quickly get rid of him. It was something he did not have a choice in.

He was originally a timid person who was lost as to what to do until he met Rody and the others. He really believed Nedis’ words that they were brought here by his rebellious brother.

Nedis saw that Yukinari still wanted to speak and gave him a meaningful glance. Yukinari understood it and gave a signal to the few guards. He then led Nedis and Rody in.

Once he saw that no one was around, Yukinari anxiously asked, "You guys, where have you been? Right now, the situation is difficult."

Nedis sighed. She had an expression as if she did not want to recall her memories as she said, "That day, Rody left to chase after Koichi but ran into some trouble. He was also injured. Sith and I did not want to delay this and followed Rody to look for your brother. Fortunately, we left Kyoto and escaped the disaster."

Yukinari turned fearful when the disaster was mentioned. Evidently, that night had left a shocking impression on him especially when he saw the fire in the distance and the large explosions that could make everyone faint. And then that huge city went up in smoke. Soon after that, the whole world was filled with lightning and thunder rolls. Even the towering sacred mountain was gone. Such a terrifying situation had reappeared as nightmares to Yukinari every night.

Nedis also noticed the fear in Yukinari’s expression and immediately changed the topic. "Although we were lucky and escaped, we had left too anxiously and did not take anything with us. Along the way, we met Nobunaga’s cavalry. Rody defeated a few of them and obtained the information about you from them. We, the Dark Mercenaries, are very trustworthy. Since we have decided to help you, we will not abandon you. That is why we are here." Nedis showed a sincere expression as she spoke.

Yukinari sighed, feeling grateful, and said, "You two must have gone through a lot for me! But...I do not know how you ended up in such a miserable position."

"Er...About that...To make the journey more convenient, we robbed a few of Nobunaga’s soldiers of their armor and horses. We then pretended to be their cavalry. You also know that the road was not very safe. The road leading to River Home was in Nobunaga’s sphere of influence. We pretended to be their cavalrymen and came all the way here." Nedis then quickly said, "But it is unfortunate that we met your men along the way. As a result, both parties fought each other. We were helpless and could only change into the uniform of your men. However, what happened later made us dumbfounded."

"Hmm?"

Nedis sighed and said, "All this while, your men were fighting against Nobunaga’s men. If we dressed as your subordinates, we would naturally fight against Nobunaga’s cavalry. However, if we dressed as Nobunaga’s cavalry, we would be misunderstood by your men. With our capabilities, we are not afraid, but we still cannot fight against a large force. Besides that, we did not want to harm your loyal men. That is why the both of us decided to deliberately discard and hide our equipment. We dressed up like the common people so that the enemy could not find us. It was just like the saying, using the people to surround the enemy!"

"But why do the two of you still look as though you were in a very miserable position?"

"Young Master Yukinari. Please let us finish!" Nedis showed a furious expression as she said, "Rody and I are still young and inexperienced. Although we did not make the wrong strategical decision, we wrongly estimated the development of the current situation. We have pretended to be commoners and successfully disguised our identities. However, we were still chased by both Nobunaga’s men and your men. These soldiers of fortune were more ruthless than robbers. They kill and loot the common people. Not only do they forcefully conscript men. They also rob and capture the beautiful women! We took turns fighting fiercely along the way. It also made us very exhausted. That is why we now look like this."

"Such a thing happened?" Yukinari showed a hideous expression and exclaimed. "Those fellows are actually doing such things behind my back?"

Nedis immediately replied, "Young Master Yukinari, you do not need to worry. We have already taught those guys a lesson in your name! The Kikukawa family is powerful and large. The lawless people we encounter along the way here are small in numbers. As we have already taught them a lesson for you, it is no longer an issue."

Nedis did not want Yukinari to investigate who was responsible. Such a situation could hardly be avoided during these disturbing moments. Secondly, the more noise the troops made, the more unpopular Yukinari would become. This was beneficial to Nedis. If Yukinari received popular support and the unity of the dwarves, she would not be able to turn him into a puppet.

The third point was the most important one. Yukinari was not a strong leader. Otherwise, his subordinates would not have resorted to robbing the people.

Nobunaga’s men did such things to gather strength and military supplies. They also forcefully conscripted men. However, Yukinari was occupying the second largest city in the dwarven kingdom, the River Home. The city was bustling and it was densely populated. His men running wild only showed that Yukinari was bad at management.

On top of that, Yukinari usually did not have any good reputation. It was clear that he got command of an army through a sheer stroke of luck. It was the result of the old Shogun commanding them to find and kill the traitor. Right now, the Shogun had died at Kyoto. Only God knew if the Young Master could keep the army under control. If his men were to start a mutiny, Yukinari would be finished before he could rise to power. At that time, everything would be totally wasted.

Yukinari sighed as he pulled the two to a soft couch to sit. After the three of them rested for a moment, Yukinari opened his mouth and asked, "You two...There is not a day when I do not worry. Our country had suddenly encountered such a disaster and my heart is a mess. Do the two of you have any way to help me?"

Nedis intentionally plied on some pressure as she pretended to think for a moment. She then said, "Young Master Yukinari, I have only received news of you along the way here, but I think you are handling things quite well. In a critical moment, you raised the banner and gave orders in the name of the Shogun to the entire kingdom. This approach was correct and very decisive. After all, you are the late Shogun’s son. Now that the Shogun is gone, you are the justified heir. At this point, Nobunaga has no way to argue with you."

Yukinari laughed bitterly and said, "Miss Nedis, I don’t feel comforted at all." He sighed and looked sad. "Father is not around anymore. The heavy burden now lies on my shoulders. I have never felt such a sense of panic since I was young. On top of that..." He looked sorrowful as he said, "Father and Mother are gone... Then there is the princess... I had competed for the position of the heir because of the princess! It is for giving what His Majesty the Emperor expects of me! But...after the disaster at Kyoto, I heard that the entire palace was destroyed. Not a single person escaped...I...I thought of the princess’ death and..."

At this point, the young man was in tears.

Nedis thought to herself it was not the time to back down now. She quickly said, "Young Master Yukinari, you now shoulder the late Shogun’s expectations. At this moment, you must not have such weak mindset!"

Rody showed an expression of disdain and secretly snorted.

The little bit of guilt he felt for Yukinari had instantly disappeared. This was because Yukinari had only lightly mentioned his parents’ death. He did not look very broken-hearted from that. However, he was very broken hearted due to the death of one woman. He was very simple-minded.

Nedis shook her head. "Young Master Yukinari, you must not be like this. The current situation is still quite optimistic. You should be happy that you made the right decision at the crucial moment. Right now, you raise your banner to confront Nobunaga. As the successor of the Shogun, you can command a lot of the Shogunate’s army. Right now, you are the rightful party!"

After some comforting words, Yukinari calmed down a little. Nedis slowly said, "What else are you worried about? Since Rody and I are here now, you can tell us your worries. After that, we will see if we can help you remove those worries."

Yukinari thought for a moment and then said, "I am now most worried about the frontlines with the invading Roland army." He paused for a while and then added, "The Roland army is powerful. We dwarves originally rely on the power of the Navy to defend ourselves at sea. However, they have now landed. I am afraid that it doesn’t matter whether I win or Nobunaga wins. In the end, we will all be killed by the Roland people!"

This answer surprised both Nedis and Rody.

They initially thought that Yukinari would be worried that he cannot defeat Nobunaga or worried that the army at the frontlines would support Nobunaga. They did not expect Yukinari to be so insightful.

Seeing both Rody and Nedis looking at him with questioning eyes, Yukinari smiled awkwardly and said, "Don’t look so surprised. I also did not know this. It was something others told me."

He then looked happy as he said, "You know him too. He is that guy we hired at River Home that day, the warrior named Hideyoshi. I managed to get here thanks to his loyalty and devotion. He was also the one that helped me win the hearts of the people at River Home. He was also the one that gathered people and bolstered the strength of my men here." Yukinari then sighed with admiration. "This person was found and recruited by us together. In other words, the two of you are my lucky stars."

After hearing this, Nedis subconsciously looked at Rody. She saw Rody look back at her meaningfully.

Yukinari then happily continued, "This time, becoming the Shogun was also following Hideyoshi’s proposal. He also said that Nobunaga was occupying Kashima. That was where people flee to take refuge. In case Nobunaga draws in refugees and grows in strength, he suggested that I send a small unit to frequently harass them. This was so that Nobunaga could not progress without problems. Ah, I am really blessed. When my Kikukawa Family is facing such a disaster, I was given such a talented person!"

Rody and Nedis exchanged glances. They could not help but think that Hideyoshi was indeed capable.

Nedis pondered for a moment as if having a discussion with herself. She waited for Yukinari to calm down and then laughed, "Young Master Yukinari, your worries are justified. However, did you forget what I told you about the Roland army?"

Nedis deliberately paused. She then assumed an enigmatic expression before saying, "Did you forget where I came from? Did you forget that Rody, Sith, and I, the Dark Mercenaries organization, were brought here by your brother Koichi? The Roland army from the South was also brought by him to obtain military power. He cooperated with the Roland army and let them in. This was all arranged by us, the Dark Mercenaries!"

"That’s right!" Yukinari looked excited. "I did not forget! Now that you are here, is it possible for you to go to the Roland army and ask them to retreat?"

Rody secretly shook his head when he heard this. ’Yukinari does not know how to make major decisions. A war is not such a trifling matter that could be ended with a single word of retreat. He is too simple-minded, like a child.’

Nedis immediately showed a gentle smile. Blinking her eyes, she said, "Rest assured. Didn’t you see that Sith is not here with us? He has already gone ahead to contact the Roland army."

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