The Sengoku Festival (An Oda Nobuna No Yabou fanfic)

Chapter 32

It didn't take us that long to burn the entire bridge down to a crisp while the Date were quick to get the heck out of the area before we rained arrows or anything else upon their heads but even while we got moving and abandoned our small fort at the edge of the river where it was, I knew we likely had little time.

The Date might have a concentrated force here but I knew that if they had wanted a fast and furious campaign that by going to both passes would secure them a better chance of victory than if they had simply gone to one place.

Still, getting as many troops as I now had following me to quickly make our way back to Minakonai some miles away and though getting there would take longer than a day at best to get there, we would have to then go to the other pass to support Katsuie.

Another thing that bothered me was the possibility that Katsuie was simply camped out at the other pass without anything having happened but I had to get over there and make sure. No point in simply sitting somewhere when your allies could need help.

Still, it was going to be a tough time getting these men over there and have them drop off the wounded we had. I was likely going to drop the Minakonai troops and simply stay with my own troops to make things faster as now I could see why it sometimes took days for a army to get somewhere or anywhere really.

The Green Oni, Joey, suddenly popped up next to me and while he managed to keep up my brisk pace, he asked me, "Do you think we'll make it there in time to help her?"

"We have no choice. Otherwise Minakonai is left defenseless if any form if we don't hurry on a forced march, the likelihood that it will be attacked even with Katsuie and her army there is too great of a risk to take." I told him.

"Then let's get jogging then."

And with that the whole column began to suddenly jog as one unit and though we would eventually need to go back to marching, this would give us a better head start to get back then by simply marching.

About sometime later, as the day was beginning to turn to night, the remains of the combined 210 Anno Clan and Bloody Hand army entered the outreaches Of Minakonai and as the Anno clan soldiers went to the capital building, I then said to my own, "We have to keep moving! Tomorrow we reach the other pass and whatever is left there to fight or save."

"Hai!" Men nodded even if they were worn out but while I figured that their collective morale was low, I could see in their eyes that they shared the same line of thought when it came to our friendly forces elsewhere.

But when we came to a river at the end of a forest, I then stopped the whole column and sighed as I then said, "We camp here... we can't keep going after our last battle without a proper rest..."

They all looked at me and I guess they all had detected the slight defeat I had in my voice but not one mentioned it while they began to set up a camp just at this rivers edge, right next to the nearby bridge. I kept my mouth quiet as myself and a few others went out on watch duty and while I glanced down the bridge across the way, the mountains climbed slowly into the dark sky as I could just barely see them in the minimal light of the sky.

Suddenly, almost making me jump out of my skin, one of the guards asked me, "You think the battles over by chance? The Oda Generals?"

"If only war made us that lucky..." I Muttered before I then said as an answer, "Probably not... but it's hard to know for certain as they might not have even went this way.."

"Still.." I said as I then took one of the torches we had and planted it into the soil nearby, "I think we all would sleep better knowing for sure wether or not they're coming this way than simply guessing."