Genji approached the army of Su and observed their movements from a distance. He could tell the army marched in a more orderly fashion compared to the army of Fu. They took more time to scout the area, gather food, and ensured the soldiers were combat-ready.
"They have a good commander," Genji thought to himself. "Hopefully the commander is not the lord. Otherwise, assassinating him will be even more difficult. I will need to kill the lord first when I get the chance. The strategist will not give me another opportunity if I kill the other lord first."
Genji then compared the trajectories of the two armies. The Fu army would arrive at the lord's manor in about a day's march, while the Su army would take another 3 days to get there.
He needed to provoke conflict between the two sides somehow if he wanted an opportunity. As the saying goes, fish in troubled waters. Genji was no scholar, but he knew chaos creates opportunity.
To incite conflict, he would need the Fu lord to attack first. So how could he manipulate the Fu lord into doing that? Genji pondered for a few moments before formulating a plan. He began approaching the army while staying hidden in the trees and bushes, taking care not to make noise.
When he got close enough, he started observing the composition of the army. At the front were the foot soldiers, behind them the pikemen and cavalry, followed by archers - a standard formation.
Genji looked up at the sun. It was still midday. For his plan, he wanted to wait until sunset to move under cover of darkness. So he decided to retreat for now and return later. After getting some distance away, he hunted a rabbit to replenish his energy. He also gathered some vines and berries, planning to use the bright berry juice to mimic poison and slow the army's pace.
When the sun set and the moon rose, Genji snuck back to the camp. After the soldiers finished eating and entered their tents, he ensured most were asleep before sneaking past the guards into an outer tent. Inside, eight soldiers were crammed together, sleeping uncomfortably.
Genji walked over and squeezed their windpipes, blocking airflow completely but leaving no bruising. After five minutes per person, he took out the berries and crushed them, smearing the juice on their mouths. He put some juice on the rims and in the cups, then returned them to their original spots before sneaking out.
The next morning, a panicked soldier ran to the lord's tent. "Lord! Something happened!"
"What's going on so early in the morning!?!?" The lord hurried out, angry about the early interruption.
"Poisoning! Three tents were found dead!"
The soldier explained, jolting him alert.
"What?!? Bring me there," the lord demanded.
At the outer tents, the lord saw purple smears on the dead bodies. "How did they get poisoned?" he asked without entering.
"We suspect it was in their drinks, sir," a guard replied, showing a cup with purple water and stains.
"Get that away from me!" The lord jumped back, revealing his cowardice.
The guard threw down the cup and calmed the lord. "It's just a cup. You're safe unless you ingest it."
Recovering, the lord asked, "Anything else?"
"Well..." the guard hesitated.
"Spit it out!" the lord snapped.
"One armor set is missing."
"Why does that matter? Call General Fukaki."
"Yes, sir."
After meeting and discussing, the lord ordered, "Speed up our march!"
The general frowned. "I'm afraid not. To stay combat-ready, we must go slowly over this terrain."
"I don't care! By the time we arrive, Fu will have pillaged the town! We will speed up," the lord insisted stubbornly.
"Understood," the general reluctantly agreed, knowing their current pace was useless.
As they talked, a shout came from outside. "Lord! Something happened!"
"What is it now?"
This shout annoyed the lord greatly. Why does everyone keep bothering him? Can't they solve the problems themselves? A bunch of useless fools that panic over the smallest of things. This is why he's the lord and they are the pawns. Hphm.
"Samurai Ron's body was found, hanged!"
"What?!"
This was not what they expected to hear. A samurai? One of his best warriors? Dead?
Both the lord and general rushed out.
"Lead the way!" ordered the general.
The three of them weaved through the forest until they came upon a large tree. Hanging from a branch was a bloody vine, the other end wrapped around a stripped body in its undergarments. The lord lowered his gaze to see a gruesome face.
The eyes had been gouged out and stuffed into the mouth. The cheeks had been slashed, permanently edging a bloody smile into the flesh. Through the cheek slits, he could see two white eyeballs wedged between muscle strands and teeth.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
As he looked further down, he saw crude kanji carved into the abdomen. Though sloppy, he could make out what it said:
"You're next, Su."
As he was reading the words, he noticed the rotting organs protruding through the cuts. Deeply disturbed by this scene, the lord fell on his behind. Shakily, he turned to the stern-faced general.
"G-General, m-my life is now t-top priority. Dis-Disreg-gard m-my p-prev-vious o-order," he stammered through chattering teeth, terrified.
----------------------------------------
Here's the rest with improved grammar and flow:
Later that afternoon, Genji returned to the Fu army's location. He donned the stolen armor, ensuring the Su lord's symbol was visible. He stalked the army until a group broke off from the main force, looking to hunt. Genji snuck up and decapitated one soldier.
"Who the hell are you!?" yelled a soldier.
Silent, Genji attacked another, kicking him swiftly in the stomach before lopping off his head. The poor men didn't even get a chance to scream.
"Get him!" their leader shouted.
They drew swords and charged. Genji dodged with minimal movement, parrying when he couldn't evade. With only one sword, his killing pace was slow. This gave them time to comprehend their opponent's skill. As Genji slew the next soldier, the leader attacked fiercely.
"Retreat, I'll cover you!" he yelled to the survivors.
Though hesitant, they obeyed, knowing they were overmatched.
"You think you can face me alone?" Genji finally spoke.
"Of course," the man responded boldly.
Genji quickly proved him wrong, slicing off his sword arm.
"Captain!" the retreating soldiers cried.
"Go!"
One soldier hesitated, but another stopped him. "We must report this. Don't let his sacrifice be meaningless."
Seeing them retreat, Genji stopped holding back. In seconds, the captain was dead, shock still etched on his face at Genji's skill.
"Now I wait," Genji muttered.
Soon after, a larger group of twenty approached. As they entered the clearing, Genji stood, wielding his sword intimidatingly.
"I hope you're ready to die," he greeted them.
"That's him, Captain Gushima!" one survivor exclaimed.
They drew weapons - some spears and two archers. The archers are going to be a problem if left unchecked. Deciding to target them, Genji charged at the group, but the captain stopped him.
Their swords clashed briefly before Genji's kick sent the man reeling. Slipping past him, Genji moved into the group. The sides tried to stop him, but he parried and evaded.
In the heavy armor, agile rolls were impossible. He had to move conservatively, resulting in the captain landing a back strike. Genji took the blow to propel himself forward instead of stopping to block.
*Clang*
-69
The blow was heavy, leaving a moderate diagonal cut. It was the first damage Genji had taken here, and it hurt as badly as before. This confirmed his suspicion - semi-digitization removed organ damage hindrances, but internal strikes could still be lethal. He's still as human as before.
Ignoring the pain, Genji beheaded a soldier in passing. As he approached the archers, a spearman tried to stop him. Genji slowed slightly, grabbing the spear shaft and yanking hard. The man let go before being pulled in, but Genji used the moment to stab the spear into another's skull.
The archers shot arrows to gain distance, but Genji knocked them from the air and ran full speed. Reaching them, he stabbed one archer's heart and then spun to the other. Seeing his comrade die, this man drew a dagger futilely. Genji caught his swing mid-strike, twisted the wrist, and sliced his throat.
After performing these kills, Genji retreated using trees and bushes for cover. They searched but he assassinated stragglers. Realizing it was fruitless, the leader withdrew. Shockingly, only eight of the twenty remained - over two-thirds dead.
They rejoined the main army and reported the situation.
"Dammit!" The Fu lord punched a tree. "Just you wait, Su. This isn't over!"\
----------------------------------------
Later that night, patrol guards smelled something burning. Investigating, one guard quickly rang the emergency bell. After three strikes, everyone gathered around.
"What's happening so late?" a captain asked.
"We were attacked. Two tents burned, all soldiers were killed inside. Bodies of guards lie around too, with 'Su' carved into the ground."
"Motherfucker!" The news enraged the lord further. "Find this bastard and kill him in the most painful way! Go!"
The army mobilized in anger as plundering thoughts disappeared, replaced by frenzy. Genji's constant harassment the next day only fed this intense desire for his death.
He would ambush and kill one or two from a small group before vanishing by the time the main force arrived. After a few repetitions, the lord is forced to send out larger groups to prevent unnecessary losses.
Eventually, the whole army banded together, having lost too many over two days - only 250 of the several hundred remained. The lord's hatred of this assailant grew. Now better prepared and armed with a motivation for revenge, they managed to repel Genji with fewer casualties, even some fights with no deaths. This result increased their morale and made them more aggressive.
Soon they were chasing a frantically fleeing Genji, only to lose him minutes later. Then he would pop up again and the process would repeat. With each instance, they would get closer to him, making them tunnel vision on catching him. Unbeknownst to the lord, these chases had arched their path, avoiding the town Genji first entered.
On the eleventh day, a heavily wounded Genji made one last attack before escaping quickly, appearing desperate. The lord thought he'd forgotten to cover his tracks. Though unable to keep up with a horse, they could track him down in a day.
The lord smiled, knowing it was only a matter of time before he could torture this bastard in the worst ways, making him regret ever crossing him. The lord fantasized inflicting the same pain on the man's family as he watched in anguish. To make him wish for death, but forced to live. Only then, will his anger be satisfied.
As the lord daydreamed, Genji bandaged his wounds hastily - not serious, but his health was half depleted. Regeneration occurred slightly faster than normal, but far from superhuman levels.
After a brief rest, Genji traveled onward, eventually nearing the Su army. He waited for scouts to separate before removing his armor and taking two swords. This time, it is important that none survive to contradict his plan.
Minutes later the ground ran red with blood, trails extending where Genji allowed targets to "escape" with lethal wounds, giving them thirty seconds at most - not enough to reach the army, but will make the scene more convincing.
Genji then donned the armor again, now caked with blood and dirt, and started stumbling toward the camp.
----------------------------------------
Nagi was on guard duty today. He made his patrols and started daydreaming. It's a boring job when nothing ever happens. He doesn't understand why his lord had become so paranoid since finding the hanged samurai. The lord had become overly cautious, and they'd been moving at a snail's pace since the incident. It seems ridiculous. They could be plundering riches right now, but instead, they're stuck here.
As Nagi was resenting his lord, he saw something - a soldier stumbling into view, leaning on trees to stay upright. As the man saw Nagi, he collapsed. Nagi ran over and noticed his armor was very worn out - something must have happened.
"Hey! Someone help me out here!" Nagi yelled, realizing the soldier was unconscious. This was heavy armor, and Nagi wasn't confident he could carry that much weight alone. After much struggling, Nagi and a few other soldiers managed to bring the man to the medics.
The doctors quickly removed the armor and examined him. There were many wounds on his body.
"Quick, he's in critical condition!"
Over the next 30 minutes, the medics washed his wounds with warm water and bandaged him to the best of their abilities. They then placed him on a straw mattress and allowed him to rest.