Bushido Online: the Battle Begins: A LitRPG Saga

by Nikita Thorn

  The procession made its way grandly down the straight main road, and a few Palace Maids and Soldiers in Training stopped to bow as they passed. From afar, faint bells could be heard, presumably from the numerous temples in the area. Occasionally, when the breeze picked up, they would smell the faint incense it brought with it.

  They soon crossed through the Palace District gate into North City. All the guards at the gate stood in line and gave them a formal salute.

  Rear Guards [Level 5] Quest Progress: Stage 2. Follow the Rear Guards and see the Ambassador through North City safely.

  It was a bright afternoon and the sky was cloudless. This part of the city was very quiet, and Seiki figured they must have entered an instance, since all around people were marked simply as ‘Citizen’.

  Seiki studied the orderly row of the soldiers in front of him, with their helmets gleaming in the sunlight. There were about twenty men, on foot, in the rear guard, all in identical black and red armor, carrying long spears and swords. Just ahead of them was the Ambassador’s red-roofed carriage, flanked by four mounted guards on both sides, flying the blue flag of Fuoka. Lieutenant Kato was probably somewhere in the front, leading the procession.

  “They all help you fight,” said Ippei, nodding toward the guards. “But they die pretty quickly.” One rear guard turned to stare at him disapprovingly.

  Seiki was still studying the characters on the flag, as he thought the name sounded very familiar. “Where is Fuoka?” he asked Ippei.

  “Another city to the East,” said Ippei. “I got as far as there when Beta ended. It’s not as detailed as Shinshioka, but it’s much crazier, in a way. If you think Shogun politics is complicated, try the factions of Fuoka.”

  Before he could add any more, Ippei glanced up to the left and said, “And here they come.”

  They were on a rather empty street. On one side stood the Palace District wall and, on the other, a row of three-storied buildings with shuttered windows. At first, Seiki did not notice anything out of the ordinary. But as they got closer, he spotted a man dressed in black on the roof, crouching low in the manner of an animal ready to pounce. Even if it was too far away to make out any details, Seiki thought the man’s eyes were glowing bright red.

  “Demonic Clan,” said Ippei, casually. “Watch. This is a pretty good entrance.”

  With prodigious speed, the man leapt from the roof, his arms and legs spread wide as if skydiving. Seiki stared, certain there was no way he would survive falling from such height. But by whatever demonic power he possessed, the man landed easily on one of the mounted guards beside the carriage in a frog crouch. His weight, combined with the force of the landing, immediately brought both man and horse to the ground in a mixture of a neigh, a cry and a loud crash.

  Demonic Assassin [Level 10], HP 360/360, roared as he stood up, blood dripping from his razor-sharp and unnaturally long left-hand fingers. Seiki noticed that the unfortunate guard he had landed on was now dead in a dark pool of blood on the ground. So was his horse.

  Defend the procession from attackers!

  Panicked cries broke out and the guards got into action. Arrows flew at the attacker, and more dark forms jumped down from nearby roofs. The assailants all looked identical. They were dressed in black, the lower half of their faces covered with dark cloth, revealing only their glowing red eyes set against their ghastly pale skin. They carried no weapon, except for their long bladed fingers, which Seiki felt were either part of their body or somehow permanently attached to their hands. The assassins were all rather small and lean, and their natural stances were low as if in a squat.

  One of them, a Demonic Assassin [Level 9] landed noisily beside Ippei who, in alarm, struck out with his Sweeping Blade, knocking the man backward.

  Seiki rushed in to help. With a growl, the Demonic Assassin [Level 9], HP 252/280, slashed at him with his blades. A Guard [Level 8] ran in and tried to stab him from behind with his spear, but the assassin was faster. He spun around to plunge his sharp fingers into the guard’s stomach, immediately killing him.

  Seiki’s Focused Strike hit the assassin in the chest, followed by a Sweeping Blade. At the same time, Ippei landed a Focused Strike on his back. The assassin leapt high backward in retreat.

  “Watch out,” said Ippei, nodding to his feet just as Seiki was about to pursue.

  On the ground, where the attacker had been standing, there was now a patch of darkness. Seiki glanced back at the Demonic Assassin, and became aware of something: the man no longer had a shadow.

  “Like I said, don’t step on shadows,” said Ippei.

  Seiki watched in fascination as the detached shadow on the ground lashed out horizontally with its sharp fingernails, forcing him to leap aside. The shadow patch then tried to stab one of the guards.

  “It’s alive and it stays there forever,” explained Ippei.

  The Demonic Assassin who had run away from them was now ripping apart another guard. A scream resounded as the guard tried to cut his attacker with his sword. That was the perfect opening. Seiki scurried around the shadow patch and hit the assassin with his Focused Strike, using up all his energy.

  Demonic Assassin slain. 64 XP gained.

  With the first one down, Seiki peeked around to find that two more Demonic Assassins—at Level 8 and Level 9—had dropped down from the roof. Several guards were fighting them with spears. Ippei ran behind a group of four guards and only struck out occasionally with his bamboo sword when he had the chance.

  “Do they just keep coming?” asked Seiki. This was his first time fighting so many enemies at once, and it seemed completely chaotic. Most of the assassins were quickly picked up by the guards, who seemed to be fighting them in groups of three or four.

  “I don’t know,” cried Ippei. “When you solo there aren’t this many!”

  The Demonic Assassin [Level 9] had killed one guard, and now joined his Level 8 companion in attacking the guards in front of Ippei.

  “You think you can take this Level 9?” Ippei jumped back as one of the guards in front of him fell. “These guys can’t handle him.”

  Seiki did not have the required energy, so he could only run in and hit the Level 9 on the head with his normal move. Beside him, two guards were keeping the other assassin at bay with their spears. Seiki had to strike the attacker twice more before he finally got his attention. The Level 9 spun around and slashed out with his bladed fingers, which caught one of the guards rushing in to help instead.

  By now, Seiki was ready for another Focused Strike. He lunged at the assassin, who staggered back and leapt high to detach his shadow as he changed targets. Seiki threw himself back to avoid the sentient shadow patch before it could grow its own razor fingernails.

  In the meantime, Ippei and the three guards around him had finally managed to kill the Level 8.

  Demonic Assassin slain. 15 XP gained.

  Factoring in the guards, Seiki was not entirely sure what he was supposed to do in all this. So, he just targeted whatever enemy happened to be in front of him. Jumping over the shadow patch to help the guards with the escaped Level 9, Seiki shouted to Ippei, “How many more of them?”

  Ippei laughed. “Oh, we haven’t even gotten started.”

  Seiki landed another Focused Strike on the assassin as he caught up. The guards then managed to spear the man in the chest.

  Demonic Assassin slain. 43 XP gained.

  Seiki was somehow a little bothered. The whole battle seemed completely out of his control. What he chose to do did not seem to matter very much in the end, especially considering the guards’ role. The latter could inflict significant damage if they managed to connect with their weapons, but they tended to die quickly whenever the assailants got a direct hit in. In short, things were quite unpredictable.

  Looking around, Seiki noted that the remaining rear guards were fighting three assassins, with a rather abysmal rate of success. Of the original twenty or so rear guards, there were now
only slightly more than half left. Seiki glanced ahead and saw that the mounted guards were not doing any better.

  Ippei did not seem to be trying very hard, perhaps not expecting to make it through the assault.

  The assassins are attacking the Ambassador!

  At the carriage, above the corpses of two guards, one assassin was hanging from the roof of the ambassador’s carriage. He was using his bladed left hand to stab into the side of the passenger’s car. Red splinters flew as he worked his way through the wood.

  One more Level 8 dropped down nearby, and Ippei’s three guards rushed at him with swords and spear. Seiki made a guess that it was more important to save the Ambassador, so he sped toward the carriage. His bamboo sword struck the hanging Demonic Assassin [Level 9], HP 231/280, on his back. The man turned around to snarl at him, before suddenly detaching his shadow onto the ground.

  Seiki dodged aside as the shadow fell half on the ground and half on the wheel in an unnatural manner. “What’s with the shadows?” he shouted, hoping Ippei might know a trick or two about them. At least, it would be helpful to know whether they were predictable or whether they could be killed.

  “Lore-wise?” Ippei shouted back. “These guys tap into ancient demonic powers. You should see their shadow army with shadow horses, like a battle on two levels. Really have to watch where you’re going. Shogun’s really afraid of them.”

  That was not the kind of answer he was looking for. The assassin had returned his attention to destroying the carriage.

  “Uh, never mind,” Seiki shouted as he hit the man again with a blunt strike on his arm. The assassin glared at him, then pushed himself off the carriage in a high leap toward Seiki. At the same time, the shadow patch on the ground slashed out with its blades.

  Seiki threw himself to the side. He suddenly felt something right behind him. Out of instinct, he twisted, just in time to turn a direct stab from a Demonic Assassin [Level 8] into a graze of moderately mild damage. Seiki caught his balance, ducked low, and his Sweeping Blade knocked both of them back.

  Demonic Assassin [Level 8], HP 168/210.

  Demonic Assassin [Level 9], HP 145/280.

  The two aggressors growled at him. Out of energy again, he was not sure how he would be able to keep them off, as Sweeping Blade without energy was nothing more than a regular move. The Level 9 jumped forward, his bladed left hand stretched out for a full attack. Seiki managed to knock it away with his bamboo sword, when the Level 8 also leapt in, his already bloody fingers raised high like a claw.

  Ippei’s bamboo sword blocked the finger blades before they could hurt Seiki. In reply, the Level 8 dropped his shadow right on top of them. The black patch lashed out and slashed Ippei on the leg.

  Ippei [Level 5]. HP 24/102. Energy 22/65.

  “Ugh,” grunted Ippei.

  Seiki grabbed him and pulled him aside with his left hand as his right struck out with an energy-less Sweeping Blade at the two attackers. Together, they retreated back into a group of guards.

  The assassins are attacking the Ambassador!

  Another assassin was now going for the passenger car, and two more guards rushed in to repel him.

  “Do we have to do anything about that?” Seiki asked, nodding toward the carriage.

  “Nah,” said Ippei. Seiki was not sure if he meant it as part of the quest design or if he simply was not trying.

  “Okay, we both need to be fighting one at a time,” Seiki said, coming up with a strategy. That was their best chance. The opponents were of higher levels and, with his current damage output, Seiki did not think his energy would allow him to take on two at once.

  Ippei seemed surprised. “You’re really doing this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ippei nodded toward the chaos around them. “No heals, and these guys aren’t even tuned to our levels. I thought you just wanted to see what it looked like.”

  Perhaps he was right. From what Seiki could see, there were now at least six or seven more assassins around and he had no idea if that would be all.

  “One touch from them and I’m dead,” Ippei said, not really seeming to care.

  “I’m going to try getting their attention, and you hit them from behind,” said Seiki. Ippei’s health was very low but, without his help, Seiki doubted they would make it. “Try to stay alive and only join in if you think you’ll be safe.”

  Without waiting for Ippei’s answer, Seiki ran forward. He charged at the Demonic Assassin [Level 9], HP 132/280, taking note of the grim fact that the guards had not managed to make any dent in his health at all from where Seiki left him last. He knew Focused Strike was more efficient against a single target, and Master Tsujihara had taught him well as how not to waste a single point of energy.

  Once his energy ticked to the required 48, he rushed in and struck the man straight in the middle of his chest.

  That immediately got the adversary’s attention, and the Demonic Assassin [Level 9], HP 55/280, clambered to his feet and sped toward Seiki, his left hand slashing a guard’s throat along the way. Seiki winced at how easily the guard dropped dead, and he blocked the assassin’s finger blades with his sword. His foot kicked at the man’s shoulder, knocking him off balance. Even without energy, every normal blow helped to chip away at the enemy’s health, and Seiki brought his sword down toward the man’s head. However, just before it connected, a razor-sharp coldness scraped against his side. The Level 8 nearby had managed to kill one of the guards and had turned his attention on Seiki.

  Grunting, Seiki swung his bamboo sword around and hit the assassin across the face before he could sink his fingers further into his flesh. The Level 9 below him raised his arm and pierced his icy bladed fingers through Seiki’s legs.

  Seiki drew a short breath as his health dropped.

  Coming to the rescue, Ippei rushed in with Sweeping Blade, hitting both the assassins and giving Seiki a second to recover. Still with energy to spare—since he had not been spending any—, Ippei’s sword shot forward and his Focused Strike finished off the Level 9.

  Demonic Assassin slain. 41 XP gained.

  Wasting no time and ignoring the numbness in his leg, Seiki spun around and brought down two more strikes on the Level 8.

  “Keep hitting him,” cried Ippei as he ran in and helped clobber the man to death.

  Demonic Assassin slain. 33 XP gained.

  Seiki took a deep breath. That one stab had taken more than two-thirds of his health, and Ippei’s was lingering dangerously low. They were both out of energy. Around them, Seiki counted four more assassins. The guards were mostly dead. One of the remaining few was faring very terribly against two attackers.

  “Okay,” said Seiki, taking another deep breath as he looked back at Ippei. “Same strategy?”

  Ippei stared at him for a second, then shook his head and snickered. “You’re really not giving up, are you?”

  “No,” said Seiki, and he charged at another assassin. It was a Level 8, and therefore slightly less dangerous, both for him and Ippei. He thought they would try to pick them off one by one as fast as they could while there were guards still alive.

  Luckily, from the chaos of the fray, this particular Demonic Assassin [Level 8] was already at half health. Seiki went on a full attack, hitting him with a normal Sweeping Blade, then another one, while Ippei waited on the side and lunged in when he had a chance with his energy-less Focused Strike. It was not the most elegant method, but it did the trick, and the man eventually collapsed.

  Demonic Assassin slain. 21 XP gained.

  Seiki grimaced at his bamboo sword, which was getting sticky from all the blood on it. The nearly dead guard ran off to fight another assassin, shouting, “For the Shogun!” before immediately dying as he inadvertently stepped over a shadow patch.

  “This is crazy.” Ippei started laughing. As he met Seiki’s eyes, Seiki could see that he was starting to have fun.

  They dashed toward the nearest gr
oup where two guards were fighting one assassin. Seiki had enough energy saved for one Focused Strike, before they had to resort to clobbering again.

  “The most pathetic escorts the Shogun has ever seen.” Ippei chuckled as he haphazardly swung his bamboo sword at the assassin. Without energy to spare, it was really taking a while.

  Demonic Assassin [Level 9]. HP 163/280.

  The assassin had separated his shadow right under himself, and it was let loose, causing both Seiki and Ippei to jump backward. The blades slashed one of the guard’s leg. Yet, the man did not move, and he continued to lunge his sword at the assassin, missing most of the time.

  Ippei was laughing uncontrollably, bringing his sword down on the assassin’s back while the bad guy tried to strike out at Seiki. “This is what you do when you’re missing a Level 8 kitsune in your group.”

  “Not anymore.”

  Kicking away the assassin’s bladed hand that was coming at his leg, Seiki stole a quick glance over his shoulder. Mairin, alive and well, had appeared out of nowhere and she had already taken care of an assassin further away.

  One of the guards beside him cried out as he was struck, and Seiki swung his sword again at the attacker before he could slay the unfortunate guard, who was still taking unnecessary damage from the shadow patch on the ground.

  “There you go,” Seiki heard Mairin say, and his health filled up in three small bursts. The cold numbness from the stab wound immediately disappeared.

  “What about me?” asked Ippei, pausing his method-less assault on the assassin and looking over to her.

  “You?” Mairin said. “No need. I got a better idea.”

  Suddenly, a white fox dashed forward past Seiki and leapt onto the assassin they were fighting. She sank her teeth into his neck, and the man went down with a scream.

  Demonic Assassin slain. 19 XP gained.

  Ippei has reached Level 6!

  Ippei jumped as the leveling joy presumably rushed through him, filling his health and energy. Mairin must have noticed that he had been so close to leveling up.

  “Congrats,” said Mairin, rather proudly.