With Master Yumi safe and secure, a command meeting was being held in the Kasai family estate. Lord Ienaga had tried to argue that it should be held in Shoda castle, but Yoshika refused to leave Yumi’s side or allow her to be moved until her condition was more stable.

It was a little cramped, but the elderly couple did their best to accommodate the assembly gathered within their humble abode. To keep things simple, and because of a lack of space, Jiaguo and Ienaga had two representatives each. Lord Ienaga and General Takeda on one side, and Yoshika with Jin Hu.

Since Yoshika had left the planning in his hands, Jin Hu started them off.

“While our diversion has left our armies out of position, it may have inadvertently created a unique opportunity for us to take advantage of. We must consider what our enemy knows, and what they do not.”

He unraveled a map that absolutely did not fit on Kasai’s tea table and indicated their current position.

“Hayakawa’s loyalists do not know why we diverted our forces, but they do know that Lady Ienaga has escaped from confinement, and they believe that Lady Yoshika is dead. It is likely that they will reach the conclusion that we have recovered Lady Ienaga.”

Ienaga crossed his arms and scowled.

“That much is obvious. I had planned to simply retreat back into my own territory, but you believe there’s a way forward?”

“Indeed. That path lies in what our enemy does not know. A single xiantian combatant is enough to warp an entire battlefield. This has been demonstrated time and again throughout history, and even within the context of this war on the few occasions that Lady Hayakawa has taken the field. We have supposedly lost one, but gained another.”

Kaede pursed her lips.

“Master Yumi’s in no shape to walk, much less fight, and you said you wanted to keep my recovery secret.”

“Indeed, but our enemy does not know that. Moreover, Ienaga Yumi is still beloved by the entire nation as a hero. For over a hundred years she’s developed a reputation as Yamato’s most stalwart defender, and perhaps more importantly for being strictly apolitical.”

Lord Ienaga sighed.

“That’s been a rather sensitive subject between us for a long time. I wanted her to take over once I was too old to remain as Shogun, but she refused. We’ve had many arguments over it, but if I ignore the personal elements then the crux of her argument is that the moment she turns her sword against her own people is the moment she turns from a guardian to a despoiler.”

Jin Hu shrugged carelessly, and knowing who he really was, it struck Kaede just how unlike him the gesture was. For a man who seemingly never lied, he was an incredible actor.

“On that, I will refrain from comment. However, that reputation is to our advantage. Ienaga Yumi is a battlefield-warping presence who has historically only ever taken the field to protect all of Yamato. She is beloved by all. What do you suppose will happen when our enemies see her at the head of our armies?”

General Takeda grimaced.

“They’ll be vindicated. Remember, the entire basis of Hayakawa’s denouncement of us is the accusation that Ienaga Yumi killed his daughter. In his narrative, our alliance with Jiaguo is a plot to overthrow him and seize back the shogunate.”

Ienaga nodded along.

“I’m sure rumor has spread that Lady Hayakawa is the one at the head of Jiaguo’s army, but nobody who doesn’t see it in person is going to believe it, and I guarantee you that Yoshika’s fall was reported without mention of her full identity.”

Jin Hu grinned wickedly.

“That’s why we won’t be fielding one, but two xiantian powers. We will shatter Hayakawa’s narrative, and replace it with our own. Clans Ienaga and Hayakawa, united at last in their fight against the corrupt Shogun threatening the entire nation from within. To find oneself on the wrong side of that story, and against insurmountable odds to boot—I believe that even the famously unshakable morale of Yamato’s soldiers would break under such conditions.”

That was an interesting idea, but Kaede noticed one problem.

“I thought my survival was meant to remain a secret.”

“Once more, we turn Shogun Hayakawa’s control of information against him. While he and his demonic allies know the truth, the rest of his forces only know that Yoshika was defeated. I cannot predict what will happen when the enemy morale breaks, but if we are quick enough we should be able to take advantage of the confusion to break through to the capital before the news of your return reaches the Shogun.”

Lord Ienaga grumbled.

“I don’t like it. Too much relies on chance. If our bluff is called, and the enemy stands their ground, then we’ll be trapped in a pitched battle. No offense, Sir Jin, but these are not the imperial farmers you’re used to. Warriors of Yamato do not cow so easily.”

“Of course they don’t. In fact, it is precisely that fierce warrior spirit which I am counting on. The people of Yamato fight relentlessly to protect what they believe in. I don’t intend to break their will to fight—merely change what they believe. The same strategy we employed against the northern provinces, but on a larger scale.”

Takeda’s eyes widened.

“That’s an insane gamble. It’s not enough to inspire a few defections or small scale revolts. You’re banking on full scale mass-mutiny across multiple combined armies, possibly in defiance of the lords they’ve sworn oaths to, without any organization.”

“Not entirely without organization. As inspiring as I believe our ladies are, I wouldn’t dare risk so much without planting a few seeds to nudge things in the right direction. Harada Jun and Ishihara Nao are on their way to infiltrate behind enemy lines as we speak, and in anticipation of something like this I’ve had Lord Noguchi working behind the scenes to bend the ear of any potentially sympathetic lords among Hayakawa’s vassals.”

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Ienaga gave him an incredulous look.

“You predicted this?”

“Not at all. I did, however, prepare for it. I knew not what shape the seeds would take when I planted them, but it seems that fate has given me a bountiful harvest.”

Kaede considered herself reasonably adept at both strategy and politics—it was even a point of pride that she’d been able to cover such a glaring weakness in Yoshika’s skill set. But Qin Zhao’s level of planning and social engineering was beyond her.

She was almost reminded of Do Hye’s infamous scheming, except instead of meticulously planning for every little contingency, he adapted to whatever was in front of him and found the way forward.

“So what do you need us to do?”

Jin Hu bowed graciously.

“Nothing at all, my lady. Simply stand at the front of the army alongside your precious mentor and allow me to do the rest.”

----------------------------------------

Minami Yuuko felt like her entire life was falling apart around her. Though the Grand Academy of Spiritual, Martial, and Arcane Arts had ended catastrophically, the time immediately following it had been some of the best years of her life.

She, along with the other unified cultivators who’d made it out of the academy alive, had enjoyed a brief period as a rising star. Hayakawa Kaede had arranged for them to gain comfortable positions as instructors, training the next generation of Yamato’s finest warriors and paving the way for their nation to reliably produce xiantian-level martial artists that could take the fight back to the Qin imperials.

But it was a slow process. Yoshika had never been a great teacher, and most of Yuuko’s colleagues had instead learned from Takeda Rika, Hyeong Daesung, or Yan Yue. Mostly Dae, as he had been the one to help them create the fusion of arcane and martial arts that they ultimately adapted into unified cultivation.

Trying to relay those lessons without the foundations ingrained in them by Qin Zhao, Hwang Sung, and Ienaga Yumi was more difficult than Yuuko could have imagined. It had been all too easy to take those lessons for granted, but the academy deans were among the best in the world.

On top of that, the ones they were tasked with teaching were often career soldiers that already had a lifetime of battle-hardened habits that needed to be unlearned. Hayakawa Kaede had advocated for them to be given a special dojo, but the Shogun insisted on soldiers that were already battle-tested and loyal.

Even so, it hadn’t gotten bad until the coalition. Yuuko thought it was a good idea at the time. The academy was a result of the three great nations working together in the first place—why not work together to take it back from the demons?

Shogun Hayakawa didn’t seem to agree. Almost as soon as Yoshika’s party had left for Qin with Ienaga Yumi and Hayakawa Kaede, things changed.

The Shogun, growing increasingly paranoid about the possibility that the coalition would turn its sights on Yamato, started making impossible demands of Yuuko and the others. He wanted entire armies of martial artists with unified disciplines, trained as quickly or even faster than regular soldiers.

It was impossible. They needed to build up a foundation of teaching standards, capable personnel to implement those standards, and years to scale all of that up into a fully operational military division. Yuuko was sure the Shogun knew that—he was just setting them up to fail.

And fail they did. Unsatisfied with their results, Shogun Hayakawa reassigned Yuuko and the others to regular units, effectively ending the program to develop a base of unified cultivation within Yamato.

At least they got to keep their ranks.

The only remaining hope Yuuko had was for Hayakawa Kaede to return from her mission abroad and pick up whatever tattered pieces of her program remained.

Then she heard the news—the academy was liberated, but in a shocking betrayal, Yoshika had taken control of it for herself and declared ‘independence,’ from the other nations. But there was no real question who the tiny city-state ruled by a pair of youkai truly belonged to. Goryeo had managed to gain itself another shield city right from under the noses of the other nations.

It made Yuuko sick. Lee Jia and An Eui had been her friends! What happened to unity and cooperation? She didn’t want to believe that they would throw away their principles for power, but it just kept getting worse. Hayakawa Kaede, dead at the hands of her own mentor. The legendary guardian of the land wasn’t so apolitical after all—perhaps she didn’t tolerate rivals.

And where did that leave her? Stuck in a war against people she’d once trusted and respected, under a ruler that didn’t appreciate her potential, and with no friends left to stand by her side.

Izumi, Harada, and Ishihara disappeared not long after the descent, Fujikawa returned home after their unit was disbanded, Kasai Hanako was off raising her daughter, and Ryuuji had completely left her in the dust, his family’s military background earning him much better prospects.

Even Eiji left her. They’d been together since they were children, but he kept insisting that there must be more that they weren’t seeing—that Yoshika and Ienaga would never betray them like that. Yuuko got sick of his naivete, snapped at him, and destroyed over two decades of friendship in an instant.

Minami Yuuko had nothing left but regrets. Even vengeance against the ones who’d taken it all from her was off the table—Yoshika died in an assassination attempt against the Shogun. All Yuuko could do was climb the ranks and do her part to make sure that those pulling the strings couldn’t take anything else.

Her brooding was interrupted by one of her subordinates entering her office and saluting.

“Lieutenant Minami, there’s a survivor from the battle at Shoda with an important message for you.”

Yuuko’s heart sank. Shoda was Kasai’s homeland. She’d heard about the attack there, but she was holding out hope that Hana was alright. Surely even Yoshika wouldn’t sink as low as to target her former friends. But Yoshika was dead, and she could see no other reason why the messenger would ask for her specifically, rather than the fort’s commander.

She steeled her heart for the worst, then nodded at the soldier.

“Let them in.”

Of all the things Yuuko had been ready for, Harada Jun walking into her office hadn’t been one of them. While she was still stunned, he snapped a clean salute, only a little ruined by his characteristic goofy grin.

“Private Hada Junichiro reporting, ma’am. If possible, I’d like to deliver my message in private.”

She pursed her lips. Between the circumstances of his disappearance, the fake name, and the fact that he was coming from territory that had just been taken by the enemy made him the most hilariously brazen spy she’d ever heard of. Harada never had been a subtle one.

Against her better judgment, Yuuko nodded at her subordinate, gesturing for him to leave the room. Once they were alone, she used a talisman to cast one of the most popular spells from her academy days—the circle of privacy.

Yuuko was sick of being betrayed by everyone around her, but unlike some people, she still put some value in her friendships. Or maybe she was just lonely. Either way, the least she could do is hear him out before having him executed.

“You’ve got one minute to convince me not to report you to the commander then hang you from the battlements by your gonads as a warning to any other would-be spies.”

He grinned, unfazed by her threats.

“Aww, I missed you too, Minami. I don’t need a minute. Unless I’m a fatally poor judge of character, I’ll have you convinced in one second.”

Yuuko gave him a flat look.

“By all means, then.”

“Right, here I go—the Shogun’s been lying to you. Hayakawa Kaede’s alive and well, no thanks to her father. Ienaga Yumi never betrayed the country, and the returning coalition forces were slaughtered to silence the truth.”