After another hour of prep time, the group of willing fighters began to march out to the Yellow Turban encampment, under a sky barely starting to turn orange as the sun slowly started to set. Chouhi led the way, while Haruto and Kan'u followed, walking side by side as they had in the village earlier. Chouhi's scouting trip had revealed one other vital bit of information that the villagers hadn't been able to convey at first; the Turbans' weapons were extremely low-quality, enough so that even a common spear could break them. The villagers only had so many things to make into weapons and even less actual weapons, but at the very least the Turbans did not have the advantage of superior weaponry.
"So there really were four thousand of them," Kan'u said to herself, reviewing the other information that Chouhi had given them in her head. "So long as the men stick to our strategy, then we should be fine, but any mistakes..."
Haruto shook his head, and looked over his shoulder at the villagers following them. Most were young and able-bodied enough to use a sword, but the older volunteers carried bows and arrows to fight from afar, and a lot of them were carrying axes and hastily made polearms. Some even had pitchforks or large sticks crafted into clubs. "We're gonna lose people regardless of what they do with your orders. Best we can do is make sure that as few of them die as possible while we kill the shit out of the Turbans."
Kan'u's face immediately took on a strained look the moment he said that. "My lord… must you be so blunt about it?"
"No point in pussyfooting around it," Haruto said. He reached behind him and drew Blood-Scythe with his right hand, flexing his arm a few times, then sheathed it again. As before, the Grimoire seemed to be moving fine, but now that he wasn't so distracted by his wounds or his surroundings, he could tell that something was wrong with it, and he didn't know what. Even its accelerated healing factor didn't seem to be doing much for him now. He'd have to try to activate it when he got the chance, but not while anyone from the village was watching or he'd have a hell of a time explaining why a "Messenger of Heaven" had such sinister-looking powers, much less what would happen if he accidentally sucked out a villager's soul. "This is a war. And if this is your first time killing people, then—"
"Hey, big bro, don't be so rough on Kan'u," Chouhi said. Her spear was balanced casually on her shoulders, and though she didn't sound much more serious than usual, Haruto still listened to her speak, as her voice had an edge he'd never heard. "She and I both have had to go all the way with bad guys before, so we know what it's like to kill people. All she's saying is that you're gonna make everyone fight bad if you keep being such a downer."
Hearing Chouhi casually admit to killing someone in the past made Haruto's stomach turn, but he hid the reaction well. At her age, or maybe younger, he'd been through a lot worse. He didn't have any right to judge her, and for all that she'd seemed to turn out pretty decently. "A 'downer', huh?"
Chouhi nodded. "Yep. Everyone's counting on you to be the leader, big bro. A leader gets people fired up to fight super-hard. So that's what you've gotta do."
As Haruto and Chouhi talked to each other, their group came to a small hill that they easily scaled. When they came to its crest, they all saw the Yellow Turban encampment within a charge's distance; they were still far enough away that even a shout wouldn't be heard, but the moment anyone from the camp saw them, the jig would be up.
"This is it," Kan'u whispered. "The counterattack begins now." She turned to Haruto. "My lord, I think it would be prudent to address the troops one last time before we engage. Chouhi was correct earlier when she said that it is your duty to help build morale." Her lips tensed. "If nothing else, it should serve as a reminder to the people that they are not risking their lives in vain."
Haruto sighed, but nodded his understanding with a grunt, and turned to the villagers behind them. They all looked back at him with quiet expectation, their faces set into grim, resolute frowns. After a moment, he took in a short breath and began to speak as loudly as he could. "You all know what you signed yourselves up for, and you all know that some of you ain't going home today," he said. "So I ain't gonna dwell on that. What we do from here is simple." He raised his voice even louder. "If you've got a sword in your hand, kill Turbans! If you've got an arrow in your quiver, kill Turbans! And if one of them tries to kill you, do your damn best to kill them too! They wrecked your home and killed your families and friends, so they deserve no mercy! Kan'u said it back at the village, and so did I—you want us to help you win, you gotta want to win! End of story!"
The villagers let out a wordless roar of determination, and Haruto turned to Kan'u and Chouhi. The former seemed shocked, while the latter looked up at him with stars in her eyes. "It's up to you two now. Don't think they're gonna get any more motivated than that."
Kan'u nodded after a moment, schooling her face back into its usual determined frown. "Your speech was rough, but honest. Those feelings you expressed… I won't betray them, my lord. These people will have their justice."
Haruto groaned and pulled Blood-Scythe free once again, staring at the tanned tents that made up the Turbans' camp. "For the last time, call me Haruto. You saying 'my lord' over and over again feels weird."
Kan'u smiled slightly and nodded, though Haruto noted that there was a teasing twist to it. "As you wish, Lord Haruto." She then turned to the villagers again, and her face was all business. "Remember the tactics we agreed upon! Every man will attack in pairs! Archers will stand back and fire upon all stragglers that break from the Turbans' ranks!" She raised her halberd high, then pointed it at the Turbans' camp. "I, Kan'u Unchou, will use the might of this Green Dragon Crescent Blade to help you avenge those that you lost to these selfish robbers!"
"Chouhi Yokutoku and the Viper Spear are here too," Chouhi said, spinning around her spear with a sharp grin. "So, everyone, charge! Don't be scared!"
With those final words from his generals, Haruto tensed his legs, then raced down the hill. Kan'u and Chouhi followed after him, and behind them came the villagers that were armed with melee weapons, allowing the archers to stay in the rear. As the group got closer to the camp, the Yellow Turbans met them in force as a disorganized mob, and Haruto was left to charge straight into what appeared to be the largest part of the force while Kan'u went off to the left and Chouhi went off to the right. With a feral roar, Haruto swung Blood-Scythe into the nearest gathering of Yellow Turbans, then plowed on through to the next set. He then gripped Blood-Scythe's handle tighter than before and swore under his breath. Shit, nothing came out, he thought, glowering at his right hand. Guess this thing really is busted. Gonna have to watch my step now.
The roaring of another group of advancing Turbans caught his attention, and he looked up to see a group of spearmen coming his way. He grunted in annoyance and brought Blood-Scythe down again, splitting most of their spears with the single strike before moving in to crush them with a series of violent punches, kicks, and slashes with Blood-Scythe. Once the enemy lay dead or unconscious at his feet, Haruto shook his head and focused on the nearest group of Turbans, narrowing his eyes. "I'll just have to fight without the Azure. These guys are weaker than those Library idiots, and they don't have Ars Magus to help them out either."
As he said this, though, the Turbans he targeted spotted him, and rushed him much like the last group had. Haruto set his face into a nasty grimace and got ready to move as they came closer. He could hear one of the villagers behind him shout, "Lord Haruto, watch out!"
Without hesitation, Haruto leaped forward, then dove into the enemy group with Blood-Scythe pointed downward. Anyone and everyone under him was either cut apart by Blood-Scythe as he flew into them or knocked away by the force of his landing. As the survivors retreated as hastily as they could, Haruto shouted, "So that's how you all operate, huh? Kick the shit out of all the weak people you want, but someone comes around to kick your shit in, and you run. What a shock!" He turned to the startled villagers, and said, "You ain't gonna lose to these weaklings. Get your asses in gear and go! I'm good here, so go help Chouhi and Kan'u! And remember what Kan'u said! Pair up and take them down one by one!"
The villagers soon regained their wits and nodded before doing as Haruto asked, splitting evenly to reinforce Kan'u and Chouhi. Haruto then glared at the backs of the Turbans that were trying to get away from him, and sprinted forward. As he did so, he felt a warmth seep into his right arm, and a flicker of black flame ran along his fingers and vanished. "That's more like it," he whispered. "Still don't need it yet, though. As long as the healing comes back, I'm fine."
Then, he raised his voice as he caught up to the stragglers and lashed out with Blood-Scythe.
"Outta my way, assholes!"