Author's Games: Samurai

Task 1 Battle Task: Oda verses Asai

Hey guys! So I decied to post me and ariel_paiement1's entries so that you knew that I turned mine in on time - it's only fair! Both entries are on here, so you'll just have to read one chapter for everything. Remember that you have to score us BOTH and decide who wins and loses. The loser obviously stays in the competition since Asai is high up on the rankings and I am the Gamemaker. IT CAN END IN A DRAW. My word count was 1,897. Remember historical accuracy, Japanese siege information as well as both of our supply information and levels of creativity and seige tactics and units we both chose when judging! Enjoy! :)

Clan 16: Nobunaga Oda

Mud and blood squelched beneath Nobunaga's feet as he sliced his katana across the chest of a fleeing samurai. "That's the last of them."

Mitsuhide-kun nodded, swiping his blade in front of him traditionally before sheathing it. He glanced at Nobunaga. "They sent waves of soldiers to fight us in the fields and do not wait inside their castle. Why are they so bold?"

Nobunaga looked at the north side walls of the castle before him. They towered twenty to thirty feet high, made from stone that was old and cracked. The gates were further to their left—with a bridge leading to and from it. A moat surrounded the castle, filled with murky water. "They have combined forces with the Hojo clan." Nobunaga laughed. "They actually believe that they can beat me in an outright fight." Staring at the walls, Nobunaga sheathed his katana and thought for a moment. He knew his opponent, Asai-kun, leader of the Asai clan, was no fool. He is using the field attacks as distraction—hoping that it will pull our forces away from the main gate.

"That moat could be a problem, though," Mitsuhide-kun said.

Nobunaga's two generals—ignorant fools by the names Egami-kun and Fujita-kun—both turned and bowed at Nobunaga. "Oda-sama," Egami-kun started, "I will take my legion across the moat. Attacking the front gate would be unwise."

Nobunaga shrugged and waved, signaling for Egami-kun to do whatever he wanted. His entire reason for attacking the Asai was to prove which general was smarter and more loyal—Egami-kun or Fujita-kun. Whether Nobunaga won or lost was of no importance to him. The two –thousand soldiers he had here was only a fourth of his entire army.

Sieging of of the Asai castles meant nothing to him.

It was nothing more than a convenience because it had been the closest castle available. What mattered to Nobunaga was testing his generals' competence.

As Egami-kun and his troops marched toward the moat with ladders, Nobunaga frowned. The dark blue water in the moat swirled and lapped quietly against the walls, but it wasn't only dark blue—no there were spots of black all throughout the water.

Oil. The Asai mean to light the moat on fire, Nobunaga thought with mixtures of boredom and hilarity.

"Should we follow them, Oda-sensei?" Mitsuhide-kun turned to meet Nobunaga's gaze.

Nobunaga shook his head. "No. There is oil in the water."

Mitsuhide-kun's eyes widened. "What?" He looked back at the moat, and then nodded. "Why are you pulling back? Shouldn't you warn Egami-san?"

Nobunaga laughed. "No."

Egami-kun was the first to dive into the moat and begin swimming. His men were skilled—able to swim with the ladders still in hand. The instant most of his troops were all in the moat on the north side—avoiding the bridge that led to the main gates—Asai samurai threw torches down into the water.