Masked Knight

Rody was tall and that armor could barely fit him. It was somewhat out of place. Fortunately, he was riding a horse and therefore it was not obvious. However, Sith’s armor seemed to fit him quite well. Sith sighed and smiled. "We only have two horses and there are three of us. What should we do?"

Nedis rolled her eyeballs and smiled. "Naturally, you disguise as Oda Nobunaga’s cavalry while I pretend to be your prisoner. Even if others were to look, they will, at most, think that you are all unscrupulous soldiers taking advantage of an ordinary woman only."

They looked to their side at the two cavalrymen who were stripped of their clothing. Those two unlucky guys were shivering in the cold wind. However, they dared not resist and appeared submissive.

Rody frowned. "What should I do with these two guys? Should I kill them?"

Nedis had a mildly disgusted expression. "No, it will be too bloody and extremely nauseating." Rody went up to give them a kick each to knock them unconscious. Nedis smiled and said, "Well, let’s go and look for that young guy from the Kikukawa family. I believe if he were to see us now, he will be so happy that he will burst into tears."

They had enquired from the cavalrymen just now and had some knowledge of the current situation in the dwarf kingdom. Sure enough, that war in Kyoto had brought great turmoil to the dwarves.

That massive war in Kyoto not only destroyed the entire Kyoto, it even busted the shogunate and imperial palaces.

Fortunately, Kikukawa Yukinari and Oda Nobunaga miraculously survived.

The old Kikukawa general was very cunning. He had already noticed that something was not right with Oda Nobunaga from the assassination attempt that day. So, that night, he assigned the task of investigation to his youngest son, Yukinari, who had always been regarded as the useless one. Although Yukinari had never been given any important assignment, he was the only hopeful candidate left for the Kikukawa general to pick. That was because his eldest son had planned the rebellion and he was left with a dead end.

That arrangement was also with the hope that his youngest son would soon acquire some power.

However, Oda Nobunaga was, after all, not stupid. When he noticed that the old general had doubts about him, he actually took a risk in desperation. Before his opponent could give him any difficulties, he on that very night, used fake military orders and escaped with his cavalry out of Kyoto. So, the old general immediately dispatched his youngest son, Yukinari to lead another of his own competent troop, the "Maruyuki", to pursue and kill Oda Nobunaga.

Originally, Kikukawa Yukinari did not have the courage. He immediately went to look for Nedis, Rody, and Sith. In his heart, he had already become dependent on these three. However, he noticed that his three mysterious patrons had disappeared. As he could not delay his father’s order, he could only brace himself to lead the troops to pursue out of Kyoto...

At that time, Rody and the others were in the fantasy land of the sacred mountain.

The following matters were relatively simpler. In the massive and alarming war, Kyoto and the sacred mountain were destroyed. Naturally, the shogunate and the Kikukawa generals were busted.

Even the dwarven royal family was also destroyed.

In the whole of Kyoto, there were hardly any survivors.

After that war, Kikukawa Yukinari and Oda Nobunaga, who were a few kilometers away, were stunned by that kind of major changes. Oda Nobunaga immediately realized that an opportunity was at hand.

The shogunate was destroyed. The royal family was also finished. So, he was probably the most powerful force in the dwarven kingdom then...That was precisely his best chance!

The following few days, Oda Nobunaga’s cavalry and Yukinari’s troop, the "Maruyuki", fought a few rounds against each other. As both parties fought, they moved southwards.

As Kyoto had already been destroyed, there was no evidence left for assassination and rebellion.

Therefore, Oda Nobunaga simply proclaimed himself as the new shogun general. All along the way, he gathered the local army and recruited able-bodied men from the streams of refugees to combat against Kikukawa Yukinari.

Kikukawa Yukinari, after all, was very much more inferior to Oda Nobunaga. Faced with such a shocking change, he had long been panic-stricken. At that time, a special character would stand out as conspicuously brilliant. That person was the warrior whom Yukinari had recently accepted, Hideyoshi.

Hideyoshi was indeed outstanding. He actually suggested some ideas to Yukinari. He encouraged Yukinari to claim himself as the shogun general and, in the name of shogun general, command everyone in the dwarven kingdom. At the same time, he requested support from the army in the front line, who were then confronting the people of the Roland Continent.

Yukinari also copied Oda Nobunaga; he gathered the troops from all the nearby small garrisons surrounding Kyoto. Although the power of Yukinari was much more inferior when compared to the so-called "Thousand Rider General", Oda Nobunaga, he was still the son of the old Kikukawa general and so there were still many people willing to follow him.

Although Yukinari was not very capable, fortunately, that troop "Maruyuki"’ that he brought with him was truly one of the old Shogun’s elite army. Yukinari occupied River Home while Oda Nobunaga occupied Kashima Town. Both parties were confronting each other.

The person who was in the most difficult situation was Kumu Yu, the commander of the front line army who were confronting the invaders of the Roland Continent. At the same time, he had received two orders. Both Oda Nobunaga and Kikukawa Yukinari claimed that they were the new shogun general. They asked Kumu Yu to obey their orders. When Kumu Yu first received news of the changes in Kyoto, he was almost frightened to death.

Kumu Yu did not expect the dwarf kingdom to actually suffer such a major catastrophe in such a short time. There were strong invaders from outside and strange natural disasters from inside. What was more cursing was the news that on the night of the explosion of Kyoto, someone saw in the distant sky the big Hakone Serpent

When Kumu Yu heard that kind of scary news, his first reaction was, ’Is God going to destroy the dwarven race?’

As for the orders given by the two shogun generals, Kumu Yu was still waiting to see. He was scheming for himself. Currently, he had a full thirty thousand soldiers. In addition, those soldiers were elite frontline soldiers. He was actually more powerful than the two self-proclaimed shogun generals. Those two guys, one was a dislikeable haughty Oda Nobunaga while the other was a cowardly incompetent young master. Why should he submit himself to obey their orders?

However, Kumu Yu was not very ambitious. He did not have the idea of becoming the shogun general like Oda Nobunaga. His idea was that, while the two of them were fighting, he would observe from the sidelines. He would only intervene when the time was appropriate. With that then he could show his importance and finally, he would display out his maximum ability and reap the maximum reward.

At the same time, another reason why he did not move his troops was there was the fierce invading Roland army in front of him. How would he dare move with such powerful enemy outside? He was afraid of the war chariot team of the Roland people, as he was badly defeated by them. Currently, the only way was to go through the narrow mountainous passageway on the island and use the solid city walls to defend.

Of course, the cavalrymen held captive by Rody and friends did not know so much. What they had said was the current confrontation between Oda Nobunaga and Kikukawa Yukinari and also the front line commander Kumu Yu’s wait-and-see situation. Nedis had guessed the developments based on the current situations.

Rody frowned and whispered, "Do you still want to look for Kikukawa Yukinari? Is it necessary to get into all this trouble?"

Nedis stared at Rody and said, "I had already put in a lot of effort on that guy! If he were to become the owner of the dwarf kingdom, I will be able to get the exclusive business rights of the ironwood.

Do you know how much that is?"

Seeing Rody’s disapproving expression, Nedis rolled her eyeballs and immediately changed her tone. She patiently said, "Your purpose of coming to the dwarven kingdom was to find the secret inside the sacred mountain. Now, the Hakone Serpent is gone and the thing that you are looking for was probably blasted and destroyed together with the sacred mountain...We went through such great difficulties to get here and had suffered so much. Are we just going to go back empty-handed? What a waste! We must grab something before we return!"

Before Rody could express his views to what she said, Sith’s eyes suddenly lit up.

That time, King Sauron had two purposes for attacking the dwarf kingdom...One of the purposes was to obtain that thing that had a threatening effect on the Temple and it looked like they had failed. The other purpose was to conquer the dwarven kingdom and acquire their valuable ironwood resources. That being the case, then what Nedis said was somewhat logical. If they could help that useless Kikukawa Yukinari gain power and become the ruler of the dwarven kingdom, then the Sauron Kingdom could exercise control over the dwarven kingdom.

That would be better and more cost-effective than sacrificing tens of thousands of casualties and numerous lives in conquering the dwarf kingdom.

That could also prevent the other kingdoms of the Roland Continent from getting angry. The Sauron Kingdom, in attacking the dwarf kingdom, had already offended the other kingdoms of the Roland Continent. However, helping an obedient shogun general to gain power would prevent ire of the other kingdoms.

Moreover, Nedis and Sith are good friends of the royal family. Nedis was a businesswoman seeking nothing more than wealth. Giving her the sole rights to the management of the ironwood business would ensure that the Sauron Kingdom would still get the ironwood resources and at the same time not under the scrutiny of everyone. ’Let Nedis counter the anger of the other kingdoms of the Roland Continent. Even if they garner hate, they will only hate Nedis.’

As long as Kikukawa Yukinari assumed power and with the support of the Sauron Kingdom stationed in the dwarven island, then Nedis could have the benefit of making some money from the other kingdoms of the Roland Continent.

Having figured out all those, Sith smiled and said, "I think it makes sense. That young Kikukawa had all this while been very obedient. It is not a bad idea to give him a helping hand now."

Rody sneered as he looked at Sith with a knowing look. Suddenly, he smiled, "Master Sith, looks like you a very loyal and dedicated to His Majesty the King."

When Nedis saw that Sith looked embarrassed, she immediately rushed to respond, "Rody, the army of the Sauron Kingdom is in the south now. Even if do not help Kikukawa Yukinari, the army of the Sauron Kingdom will still fight until they reach here. If we were to help Yukinari, it can be considered that we have avoided a war. It is definitely better to have fewer fatalities..." After a short pause, Nedis smiled unpleasantly, "We have caused trouble in Kyoto. We have blasted their Kyoto, destroyed their palace and flattened their sacred mountain. Let’s just consider this as some compensation..."

Rody looked up at the sky and laughed. "Haha...Compensation? You, girl, sound very pleasant. I think if that young Kikukawa were to be under your control, I am afraid you will sell everything in the dwarven kingdom, including the people there."

Nedis smiled but did not say anything. However, she noticed that Rody was silent. Although she had not known Rody for a long time, based on her intelligence she had long seen through his temperament. If it was something that Rody was determined not to do, then he would simply refuse.

No matter what others said, it would have no effect. Then he did not directly refuse which meant that he did not firmly oppose that.

Sure enough, Rody pondered for a while and said, "I have not recovered my strength. Now, Master Sith also cannot cast magic. I am worried that right now we may not be able to suppress that young Kikukawa...I still need another five to six days before I can fully recover. Then I can be certain."

Nedis giggled and said, "To handle this issue, we need to divide it into two parts."

She seemed to have already thought about that and slowly said, "I am afraid the three of us must split up. You and I will go and see Yukinari. This guy is too timid, while Oda Nobunaga is very fierce. What if Yukinari is not careful and he ends up getting destroyed by the other, then all our efforts will be wasted. It will be better if we go and help him. Even though you are unable to kill Oda Nobunaga and his men now, we can still go and help to give Yukinari some ideas. Moreover, with your current strength, there is probably no one in the entire dwarven kingdom who can defeat you. There is no powerful master in the dwarven kingdom. As long as we do not encounter any large troop, we will not have any problem with self-defense. We just need to wait for another few more days and when you have fully restored your strength, then we can easily get rid of Oda Nobunaga..."

After saying that, Nedis seemed to have thought of something. She shook her head and said, "Ah, I am afraid Master Sith will have to be separated from us...You don’t have to go with us to see Yukinari. You go directly to the south and think of a way to get to the army of Sauron Kingdom. It will be useless for Rody and me to go there because only you can order them..."

Sith frowned and asked, "What is the purpose of me going there? Am I supposed to stop the army of Sauron Kingdom from attacking?"

Nedis stared at him and said, "Of course not." Instantly, her face revealed an unpleasant grin. "When you go there, ask them to speed up the attack and to make sure they defeat the frontline army as soon as possible."

Sith shook his head and asked, "Why like this?"

Nedis sighed and slowly said, "Don’t you understand? This time, our meeting with Yukinari will be different from last time. The last time we met him, he was still an unaccomplished young master without any power. Now he is a self-proclaimed shogun general and his subordinates have already acquired some military power. I am afraid he may not be as obedient as he used to be. Although now he has this great enemy, Oda Nobunaga, if the frontline army suddenly supports Yukinari, then Yukinari will probably not require our help. By then, he will not value us. So, you make sure the army of Sauron Kingdom defeats the frontline army of the dwarven kingdom as soon as possible. We must put Yukinari in a tight spot and can only rely on us."

Sith smiled wryly and said, "I am afraid it is not going to be so easy...The battle on the frontlines seems stagnant. I think they must have encountered some difficulties. Do you think that the army of Sauron Kingdom does not want to defeat the enemy? Up till now, the dwarves are still recalcitrant. They are actually able to firmly hold our army in the south. I think the dwarven army is not simple. Although they were initially badly beaten by us, they seem to have reacted very quickly."

Nedis thought for awhile and said, "Then, we just have to do our utmost best. Even if we cannot defeat the front line army of the dwarf kingdom, we must at least injure them seriously. This way only can we show our real formidable strength and also make Yukinari fear us. We must let him understand that even if he were to defeat Oda Nobunaga, he still cannot sit back and relax!"

Rody suddenly said, "It is actually not very difficult to defeat the frontline army of the dwarven kingdom..."

"Oh!" Nedis’ eyes lit up. Although she did not know that Rody’s true identity was the Duke of the Tulip Family, with Rody’s super fighting skills, in her mind he was already ’The Invincible Rody’.

Rody pondered for a while. "You naturally do not understand war. In my opinion, the frontline army of the dwarven kingdom will most probably support Yukinari."

"Why?" Nedis frowned.

Rody smiled and responded, "Don’t you understand? Do you think that a war is as simple as a commander leading his troop of soldiers to attack only? In a war, money is a necessity and so are the supplies. Right now, all the supplies for the frontline army of the dwarven kingdom are shipped out from River Home; and River Home is now in the hands of Yukinari. So, I think the frontline army cannot stay on the sidelines for much longer. When there is an urgency of replenishing their supplies, they will turn to Yukinari. I am afraid Oda Nobunaga is also aware of this. Otherwise, he would not be so anxious recruiting able-bodied men and gathering refugees."

"Then what should we do?" Nedis was anxious when she realized that her plan was not workable.

Rody smiled. "This is nothing. Although you are smart, your understanding of war matters is still lacking. In fact, there is still a way out..."

"Oh!" Nedis’ eyes lit up. Even Sith looked hopefully at Rody. Master Sith was different from Nedis. He knew the true identity of Rody. Rody was the reputable invincible Duke of the Tulip Family of the Radiant Empire. As for matters regarding war, if Rody said there was a way out, then there must be a way out!

Rody sighed and picked up a stone from the ground and quickly drew four equal circles on the ground.

"These four circles represent the four groups of forces in the current island country of the dwarves...The first is Oda Nobunaga, the second is Kikukawa Yukinari, the third is the defending frontline army of the dwarf kingdom and the fourth is the army of Sauron Kingdom." Rody smiled and continued, "Now, ahead of Yukinari is Oda Nobunaga while behind him is the defending frontline army. Yukinari is sandwiched in between. At present, what he most hope for is the support of the defending frontline army of the dwarf kingdom and what he is most afraid of is if the defending frontline army turns towards Oda Nobunaga. If that happens, then he will be caught in the middle and there is the possibility of him being wiped off anytime."

Nedis’ eyes turned bright and she immediately understood.

Rody gave Nedis a glance and continued, "Since Yukinari has such fear, then we might as well increase his fear, psychologically. First, let him turn hostile with the defending frontline army. As long as he is willing to block the checkpoint of River Home and not allow the military supplies to be transported to the south...by then, even if the defending frontline army of the dwarven kingdom in the south has no intention of rebelling, he will be forced to rebel. Finally, even if the defending frontline army does not rebel, with the stoppage of supplies, then it will not be difficult for the army of Sauron Kingdom to defeat them."

Nedis giggled. She clapped her hands and happily said, "That’s right! By the time the army of Sauron Kingdom defeats the chaotic defending frontline army of the dwarven kingdom, then we can dispatch our army to the north. As for Oda Nobunaga, Yukinari can deploy his ’Maruyuki’ to have a life-and-death fight with him. The most ideal will be both parties suffer severely. At that time, when the army of Sauron Kingdom arrives, we will support Kikukawa Yukinari as the shogunate general of the dwarf kingdom...By then, Yukinari will no longer have his own army...He will have no choice but to be obedient!"

By that time in the discussion, the face of that gorgeous woman only had the unique smile of a profiteer.

Nobody knew how the dwarves were later conned until they lost their pants, but it was due to three guys who hastily dreamt up the scheme during their flight from their enemy along this wilderness in the roadside...

Sith, who was beside Rody, was secretly scared listening to him. Sith could not help but give Rody a profound look as he smiled and said, "I didn’t expect you can plot such a crafty scheme. It is so vicious and this is completely different from you in normal days.

Rody lightly replied, "War is like this. If you want to win, then you have to be unscrupulous. Victory is the only objective."

Sith sighed and seemed to mutter to himself. "No wonder...No wonder we were so miserably defeated by you below the city wall of Thunder City...You..." Having said that, he suddenly woke up and immediately stopped talking. He looked at Nedis, coughed a couple of time and then said, "This being the case, let’s set off quickly. When we reach River Home, both of you go and see Yukinari while I continue south. I will go and find our army."

Rody frowned. "It’s alright to go to River Home. However, all your way south, you have to pass through war zones. I am afraid it is not so easy for you to go through that place alone."

Sith proudly smiled and said, "I have also recovered a little bit of magical power. Although not fully, I can cast some low-level stealth. As I travel, my power will gradually become stronger, so you do not need to worry."

Sith suddenly smiled. "My only concern is Yukinari. He is really a playboy who hardly has any skill. Besides that, I am not sure how powerful are his men, the ’Maruyuki’. I am worried that before I can bring the army of Sauron Kingdom to join you, you will have been defeated by Oda Nobunaga. Right now, you are not a master with Domain Powers. During the military upheaval, you must preserve your life."

"Well..." Showing a profound smile, Rody faintly jested as he gently looked at Sith, "If I really were to die here, will it not be what your King hoped for?"

Sith smiled insipidly and seemed a little embarrassed. Rody sighed in his heart as he somewhat regretted lashing out at him. In fact, he did not have too much prejudice against Sith. During the war, a few days ago, Sith utilized a lot of his strength to help Rody. In a sense, if Sith did not exhaust his strength to cure the Hakone Serpent so that the Hakone Serpent could draw on its violent attribute, then perhaps everyone would have been finished.

Moreover, even if King Sauron was afraid of the Duke of the Tulip Family and would finally plot against him after achieving what he wanted, it wouldn’t be now. That time had not yet arrived.

Hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war had not been released yet, so the king would not dare plot against him. Otherwise, without the return of those hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war, the people of the Roland Continent would not be in a position to confront the Temple.

With those thoughts, Rody smiled and changed his tone to say, "Well, let’s not talk about this anymore. You can rest assure. I definitely will be alright. Although Yukinari is a playboy, he grew up in the shogunate and he may not necessarily be a bungling oaf."

After saying that, Rody could not help but think to himself, ’Must playboys definitely be useless? Definitely not so! Do not have to consider others. Just consider that playboy in the family, now. He is a talented guy.’

After some discussion, the three of them made their decision. They would travel south towards the direction of River Home. The three traveled by horse and they managed to save a lot of time.

Along the way, they occasionally encountered some scattered refugees fleeing. When those refugees saw Rody and Sith in the cavalry outfits, they hid far away from the two out of fear. When Rody and Sith encountered some of Oda Nobunaga’s cavalry, they noticed that the cavalrymen would ride nonstop to the north using the main road. They presumably were on their way to intercept those refugees. Occasionally, some of the cavalrymen would interrogate Rody and his companions. Rody and his companions would casually say something to fool them.

Although there were loopholes in their disguise, because in the past two days Oda Nobunaga’s men and Yukinari’s men had fought with each other several times, it would not be unusual to see soldiers with broken armors. In addition, there was also a beautiful woman, Nedis, on Rody’s horse. She was also in a sorry state. Some of Oda Nobunaga’s men looked at her with a smile while the rougher ones laughed loudly, "This guy actually managed to grab a beautiful woman. Brothers, let’s continue to move forward. When we reach the frontline, let’s also grab a few pretty women to have fun."

Occasionally, they bumped into some clumsy soldiers. Rody would casually strike them down even though his strength was still far from the Domain Power level.

Indeed, as he traveled south, his body gradually regained some strength. He was still strong enough to deal with those low-rank soldiers. As long as he did not encounter a big troop of an army, he could still easily manage.

They finally reached a fork in the road. To the left was Oda Nobunaga’s Kashima Town and to the right was River Home, which Yukinari had occupied.

After identifying the direction, the three of them headed for River Home. However, after a short while, they heard screaming in front of them. A team of about twenty warriors on horses rushed towards Rody and his companions. All along the way, those warriors on horses shouted loudly, "Get rid of those cavalrymen who are traitors."

The horses’ hooves threw up the dust...More than twenty shining warriors’ swords charged at Rody and his companions. Rody grinned and stared at Nedis as he thought to himself. ’This is your idea. Now, we are wearing the armors of the soldiers of Oda Nobunaga, but instead, we are being chased by Yukinari’s soldiers!’