Ch.227Nagasaki (3)

“As Gur Khagan said, the enemy appears to be in confusion.”

I nodded at Elunka’s report.

I handed my bow to the Kheshig beside me and picked up my sword again.

“The soldiers?”

“While Gur Khagan captured Yoshitsune’s attention, they’ve all completed their tactical repositioning to the rear.”

My appearance before Yoshitsune wasn’t simply to intimidate him.

It was a trap designed to both frighten him and secretly move cavalry to the enemy’s rear.

To set this trap, I deliberately revealed myself to Yoshitsune.

And I did so wearing exaggerated attire that would instill fear in the enemy.

To be precise, it wasn’t really a costume—I had merely attached horns to my armor.

The purpose of these horns was to make us appear as oni to the enemy.

Japan was a country with many natural disasters.

This naturally led to the development of such folk beliefs.

Of course, Japan wasn’t the only one.

This was the medieval period—the time before reason was conceived.

The world before reason was often dominated by religion.

This was because when inexplicable phenomena occurred, there was no appropriate entity to explain them.

However, even religion couldn’t explain everything.

That’s why myths and legends were widespread everywhere.

Among these places, Japan was a world where such legends held considerable influence.

The reason I explained this at length was simple.

I intended to exploit these legends and the fear they instilled in people.

“Put the disguised charging cavalry at the front. The enemy will be frightened and flee. And then…!”

I planned to use the cavalry waiting in the rear for a feint attack.

As I’ve mentioned repeatedly, we were numerically inferior to the Japanese army.

This made it somewhat difficult to execute a feint attack with our limited combat power.

The oni disguise helped to slightly compensate for this lack of combat capability.

Of course, since it wasn’t a perfect substitute, we needed to attack and gain advantage before the enemy could recover from their confusion.

Therefore, considering the overall battle situation and potential gains, attacking from both sides through a feint attack would be most effective.

Simply put, I wanted to make the enemy think they were surrounded.

“Order the cavalry positioned at the rear to charge.”

“As expected of Gur Khagan.”

Elunka nodded his head as he said this.

At his words, I gave him an order.

“I’m entrusting you with full command of the rear forces.”

The key to this battle was the rear unit.

The fate of the expeditionary force depended on how much damage the rear unit could inflict on the enemy.

If Elunka failed to inflict significant damage on the enemy, we would have to desperately defend against enemy attacks in Nagasaki.

But if we could inflict substantial damage here, the Ulus forces could secure influence around Nagasaki.

This would allow us to preemptively block enemy attacks through regional defense rather than just defending strongpoints.

“I will live up to your expectations, Gur Khagan.”

Elunka made a formal bow with a serious expression.

Then he rose and turned away.

After Elunka left the ger, I summoned my staff officers separately.

And I began to reconfirm the plan to lure Yoshitsune.

* * *

Yoshitsune breathed a sigh of relief as he watched his soldiers gradually emerging from confusion.

This was enough for them to engage in proper battle.

“I’ll rally the soldiers and engage in battle immediately.”

“It seems difficult to engage in battle right away.”

“We have no choice. The enemy won’t miss such a golden opportunity.”

Yoshitsune was a capable commander.

As such, he vaguely understood the enemy’s psychology.

The reason his soldiers had mistaken the enemy for oni was because of the Mongol soldiers’ attire—helmets with horns that made them look like oni.

This meant that the Mongols had deliberately created this confusion.

When an enemy creates confusion, it means they intend to attack during that confusion.

Therefore, whether he wanted it or not, battle was inevitable.

So Yoshitsune prepared for battle to respond to the enemy’s surprise attack that could come at any moment.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

“Huaaaap!”

As he predicted, Mongol cavalry closed in.

Seeing this, Yoshitsune’s staff officers couldn’t hide their surprise.

“General!”

“Don’t be alarmed! Order the soldiers to maintain their formation!”

He continued giving orders while swinging his tactical fan.

Following his orders, the staff officers relayed Yoshitsune’s commands to ensure the soldiers could continue fighting.

“Maintain formation!”

“Don’t be afraid! General Minamoto no Yoshitsune is here with us!”

“The enemy is fewer in number than us! So don’t be afraid!”

The officers’ commands seemed to work, as the soldiers didn’t panic despite the lingering confusion.

Following orders, they maintained their formation and raised their spears and swords to counter the approaching enemy.

Thus, a tense situation unfolded where the cavalry seemed about to charge.

If the Mongol cavalry charged in like this, it was clear that both the Japanese infantry and the Mongol cavalry would suffer significant casualties.

“That’s what I want.”

Yoshitsune waited with gleaming eyes for the Mongol cavalry to charge.

If they charged in, he planned to execute an encirclement tactic to overwhelm the enemy cavalry with his troops.

Of course, there was a difference in combat effectiveness due to the different types of troops.

However, on the battlefield, not only was the hierarchy of combat power important, but the number of troops was also crucial.

With a larger number of troops, one could reliably execute an encirclement tactic even at the cost of casualties.

In contrast, since the enemy cavalry was fewer in number, if even half of them were caught in the encirclement, they would essentially be trapped.

Yoshitsune watched the enemy with great anticipation.

But the Mongol cavalry, as if to deceive his expectations, turned their horses’ heads just before charging.

“Another deception tactic! I won’t fall for it again… What… What is this!”

Yoshitsune couldn’t help but be flustered.

This was because right in front of him, they performed an almost knightly maneuver by turning their horses’ heads and then immediately drawing their bows.

Yoshitsune couldn’t hide his bewilderment at this sudden change from offense to defense.

And he wasn’t the only one.

The infantry facing the Mongol cavalry at the front line were even more shocked.

“Im… Impossible!”

“Right in front of us, they turned their horses and then bows…! Ugh!”

Being flustered on the battlefield meant death.

The soldier who showed surprise was immediately killed by an arrow between his eyes.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh

The Mongol cavalry’s short bows were weapons capable of both direct and arced shots.

As a result, a rain of arrows began to pour down on the Bakufu army.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Aaack!”

At the forefront of these Mongol cavalry performing such knightly maneuvers was a man wearing a horned helmet.

The king of oni was personally leading the Mongol army, which was no different from yokai.

From the Bakufu army’s perspective, it felt as if the legendary Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) was unfolding before their eyes.

“Don’t panic! Chase after the enemy!”

Yoshitsune appeared on the battlefield himself and began commanding from the front.

The soldiers quickly regained their composure and tried to pursue the Mongol army.

“Kake Otoshiga! Right beside us!”

“Chaaaarge!”

“Fear not! Pursue the enemy!”

The soldiers moved according to Yoshitsune’s command.

As the soldiers quickly counterattacked, the Mongol main force, which had been firing arrows, was in danger of taking casualties.

“Finally! I’m going to capture the king of oni!”

Yoshitsune raised his voice as he said this.

At that moment, screams suddenly erupted from behind.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Yo… Yokai!”

“O… Otoroshi!”

As enemy forces suddenly appeared from the rear, the entire Bakufu army fell into confusion.

This was because they had not predicted at all that the enemy would appear behind them.

Because of this, some soldiers even thought the Mongol army was truly yokai.

Otherwise, how could they suddenly appear behind the unit without any sign?

“Calm down!”

Despite Yoshitsune’s shout, the Bakufu army found it difficult to escape from confusion.

Instead, the screams only grew louder.

With the continuing screams of the Bakufu army, Yoshitsune, the commander-in-chief, finally had to look back.

And he could see cavalry wearing bizarre face masks that had appeared from behind.

“Mo… Monsters.”

Even the usually calm Yoshitsune couldn’t help but be flustered this time.

* * *

“Tamma!”

“Yes!”

The Tamma responded loudly to Elunka’s call.

Like the Kheshig, the Tamma were an elite unit of the Ulus.

As such, their military discipline was among the strictest in the Ulus.

If the Kheshig could be considered a somewhat unusual elite unit due to their unique commander Munglig,

the Tamma were an elite unit that could be called the masters of mobile warfare through Elunka’s harsh training and hellish lower body training.

Therefore, their performance was highly anticipated in this battle where mobility was crucial.

“Who are the blue wolves of the Ulus?”

“We are the Tamma!”

“Yes, it’s us! The fastest and strongest beings on the steppe! We are the blue wolves!”

As Elunka said this, he beat his chest three times.

The Tamma responded by doing the same.

“Now! Let’s go! Gur Khagan has given us an opportunity to shine with our valor! It’s time to live up to it!”

As soon as Elunka finished speaking, the Tamma put on the helmets they had been carrying at their waists.

They wore face masks from the Byzantine Empire, commonly known as Cuman masks, which depicted male faces.

With everyone wearing these unique masks, they gave off an eerie, ghost-like impression.

“Today, we will become yokai to the enemy. An unforgettable nightmare.”

With those words, Elunka also put on a Cuman mask.

Then he mounted his horse. And he looked at the enemy camp while holding his breath.

After some time had passed, red gunpowder shot up from where Gur Khagan was.

Seeing this, Elunka drew his sword and shouted.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!”

The Tamma followed behind him.

This was how the legend of the Tamma, who would come to be known throughout Japan as “the faceless ones,” began.