Throughout the summer of 1563, Takakage and his army stationed themselves in Imabari Castle repairing the damage buildings. News reached them that the Daimyo Takamoto had landed in Iyo with some 1000 troops and was on his way to reinforce Imabari. Almost simultaneously, reports came in that a large Chosokabe army was already in Iyo. He would not have believed the reports of the size of this army if he did not now see it before his eyes. Worse still, the castle defences were not yet fully repaired.
Takakage looked out from the citadel towards the south. Still no sign of the reinforcing army.
~ ~ ~
Under the half moon, Daimyo Takamoto whipped furiously at his troops.
"Move, you slime! No stopping till we reach Imabari! I will march your feet off if that's what it takes!" He shouted.
Takamoto had received the reports of the Chosokabe army in Iyo and was desperate to reach his brother before them. However, his troops had given him every last ounce of their energy and were now at the point of exhaustion. Even if they reached Imabari, they would be too exhausted to fight and Takamoto knew this.
"My lord, we have to rest the troops!" One of his generals protested. "You cannot ask more of them. At this rate, by morning you will not have an army left!"
~ ~ ~
The Daimyo is not coming, Takakage thought as he looked vainly towards the south, and now the Chosokabe are preparing to storm the castle. They will not even wait to starve them out.
Mori Takakage addressed his troops.
"My brothers, today we face an army more than twice our size. But that is of no concern for our skill and courage is more than twice theirs! If they'd brought an army ten times our size...well then we might call that an equal fight!"
His troops cheered loudly at his rousing words. But words are no protection against arrows.The opening volleys of the Chosokabe archers are terrifying. They shoot flaming arrows with deadly accuracy.
In that small castle, there were few places to hide from these deadly barbs.
The elite N warrior monks are cut down helplessly where they stand.
"Come in and fight me face to face you cowards!" the Mori troops shout through gritted teeth. Eventually, they do. And the Mori slaughtered them with the mad delight of men who know that they are about to die and who wish for nothing more except to kill as many of the enemy as possible.
Wave after wave of Chosokabe are beaten back in terror.
Eventually, the Mori push the Chosokabe out of the castle and take the fight to the Chosokabe archers outside the castle.
As Takakage slashed at the seemingly endless mass of black armored Chosokabe samurai, and the pain from his many wounds fused into one, he seemed to split into two beings. He saw the first Takakage standing before the wooden Buddha of Imabari, beyond pain and beyond fear. The other Takakage was there at the gates slashing, parrying, dodging like some puppet on a string, without feeling or thought. Slash, parry, dodge ...he seemed to hear the voice of his kenjutsu master instructing him, and this puppet Takakage simply acted out the instructions. So he did not feel the cold steel of that fatal thrust through his ribs, he did not feel the ground as he hit it and the bodies that fell over him. The real Takakage was no more in this world, he was there gazing upon the Buddha of Imabari.
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