Chapter 17 "The Battle for Yenchei Lumber Mill"

My dears, I could hear you running from your rooms to listen to Papa's story. I'm glad you've taken a keen interest in my tales. Now, I don't want to keep my dearest children waiting, so after our bold move to liberate the Ishikawa Estate, we decided we were ready to reclaim the western outpost, which was a lumber mill. This would prove to be a useful area to hold since we needed a fair amount of wood to make upgrades and repairs to our ship. So, I once again ordered Joy and Hana to scout the area from above.

Jiro offered to help, as he just gained a new ability from the goddess Sophie. He could see through the eyes of any creature he had tamed. He summons a wolf, which he captured while we were liberating our family's estate. He sends the wolf to an area near the lumber mill where It has a clear view while being hidden from the enemy. Report after report came, and it seems the western outpost had quite the large force. Seems the pirates need this location as much as we do, but we simply couldn't let them have it.

As one of two lords of the Ishikawa Clan, I ordered Lilliana to rally a group of 500 men to assist us in our attempt to liberate the outpost. She bows without saying a word and runs towards the estate. Joy finally comes back, but without Hana. I asked her where she was, and she replied, "She stayed behind after we took out a female pirate and took her gear. She's over there. I'll take her to the brig once we get her some clothes."

Joy also had the armor of the pirates on, but something confused me. The armor was white with an orange finish. The front breastplate had the crest of a clan much like ours on the island. The color of the armor intrigued me, though, such a beautiful combination, but I didn't have time to admire it. I ran to my quarters on the ship and checked a record book your auntie made a few years back when we were still on the island. It had every clan on the island and its family crest, along with the last name of the lord of each clan.

When I reached the final page, I saw the crest that was on the armor Joy took from some poor bastard from the camp. It was the crest of the family Takahashi. Now, if you kids remember from my first story to you, we had our very own Takahashi on board, that being Jiro. And what would you know, Jiro barges into my quarters panting, obviously shaken by the sight he'd just seen. I asked him to calm down and explain, which he did once he gathered his thoughts.

He spoke up, "Cap… the pirates on the island are wearing my family's armor, the crest… the colors… even the banners… and what's worse is my father is at its head. He's a tamer as well, but do not underestimate him. He is extremely skilled in making poisons. He once ran into battle with a blade covered in a poison that makes a person puke their guts out until their very souls escape their bodies. Their deaths lasted minutes, but they were very excruciating minutes. I know how to make cures, but I'll need certain herbs to do so."

He knew his father's capabilities, which was our greatest advantage at the moment. He knows his father's strengths, meaning he knows his weaknesses as well. I permit him to gather the herbs, and I sent Jo to assist him, making sure he doesn't die or get captured. While we prepared our gear for battle, Lilliana returned and said, "Lord Ishikawa, I've gathered the 500 men you asked for. They're currently awaiting your orders."

I smile and reply, "Lilliana, my dear cousin, you don't need to be so stiff around me. I may be your lord, but when we're on the ship, I'm the captain, and as a captain, I want my crew to be comfortable around me. Speak casually, my dear." She smiled and then left. I exit my quarters to check on our status. A battle plan had been developed while I was dealing with the reports, and your uncle filled me in.

"Ah, just the man I needed to see! So, we have a plan; give it a listen, okay? The lumber mill is here. There's a cliff face nearby, and according to Joy's reports, there's a slack line connecting that cliff face to the main house across it. In that house, according to Hana's reports, that's where the traitorous Lord Takahashi is. Oh, and Jiro returned a while back; he told me to tell you that he's sorry he couldn't greet you properly and that he needed to work on the antidotes right away so that we'd have enough for the initial battle. So, yeah, the plan is we'll use a steel bar to zip line from the cliff face to the main house. Jiro, you, Zeth, and Lilliana will take the main house, capture as many of the Family Takahashi Samurai Guards as you can, and confront Lord Daisuke Takahashi. The rest of us will deal with the guards outside the main house; we'll try not to eliminate too many because we want these samurai alive. After all, I assume the collector's urge in your mind is telling you to capture one samurai from each clan and make them a member of your crew. I know you, Rei, and we'll try to capture an interesting one for you. Anyway, do you agree with this plan? It's the best you'll get. It's either this or we barge right in and risk Lord Daisuke escaping."

I agreed with the plan but requested some changes. "Mil, you've outdone yourself once more. This is why you're my first mate; you're a battle genius. But I do want to request something to be changed. I need Lilliana to join the main force; she will command the 500 men of the Ishikawa Clan. The three of us can handle Lord Daisuke; he doesn't stand a chance against two Ishikawa lords and his own son. And I need you and Kinny out of the main fight. Pick off enemies with rubber bullets, rendering them unconscious from rooftops. I strongly suggest you wear something dark because we strike under the cover of the night, and luckily for us, tonight is a new moon with no stars to be seen. Do this for me, General Austria, the chosen retainer of the Ishikawa Lords."

He agrees to my changes, saying they are only a few minor adjustments and won't damage the plans too much.

And so, we waited for the sun to fall and moved out at sundown. As we reached our destination, I made it clear to the samurai that eliminating an enemy should be a last resort. We want to capture as many enemies as possible and turn them over to the mainland prison for a bounty. After the warning, we began our attack. Me, your Aunt Zeth, and Jiro entered the main house first. We placed a lantern on the roof to signify our presence and start the main charge with 500 Ishikawa Samurai against well over 1,500 Takahashi Samurai. With the help of your Uncle Austria and Kinny, who are excellent shooters, they took out at least 150 each with head shots. Meanwhile, chaos ensued outside, and the guards inside the house let their guard down, thinking they outnumbered whatever force was at their doorstep. We encountered two guards betting about who was attacking them – one bet 300 on a local rebellion, and the other bet 300 on a group of large animals. I cheekily whispered that it was the Black Stone Pirates attacking. Zeth and I quickly knocked them out by pinching a specific point on their necks. After tying them up, Jiro handed us each five syringes, explaining that injecting someone with these would make their bodies go limp and cause them to pass out for a few hours. I praised his twisted genius idea. We made our way past ten more guards, and then we saw his father, Lord Daisuke, sipping tea, seemingly calm about the whole situation. As we stalked him, he spoke up, revealing that he knew of our presence when we stepped on a slack line. I confronted Lord Daisuke Takahashi about his betrayal, and he smirked as he stood up. Suddenly, Jiro warned me to look out, and I saw that his father had thrown a poison smoke bomb. Jiro quickly countered with a blow dart containing the antidote, and he injected Zeth with it just to be sure. Thankfully, none of us got hurt, but the traitor escaped, which made my blood boil. I grabbed my sister, who was equally combat-hungry, and we entered a state where anger consumed our minds, releasing all of its rage.

I'd say we took out over a hundred men each from that single rampage alone. Those men didn't pass away; they were captured and transported to the Ishikawa estate, where they were held in the prison that went 2 floors down. Some were taken to the ship. The Lumber Mill was ours, but the one who led it has escaped. I was sure we'd see him again soon but at another outpost.

Once we returned to Yenchei Harbor, our temporary HQ at the time, we celebrated so hard that we had headaches the next day. But headache aside, as the captain, I had my duties to fulfill. Your uncle accompanied me to the brig floors where we looked at the samurai we captured. We let them keep their clothing so that we could choose who to pick more easily. I only needed one, and then I saw him—a man in a single cell, sleeping while seated. I got closer and was shocked to hear him speak, "Captain Rei Ishikawa, one of the two lords of Clan Ishikawa, the older sibling. What have I done to earn the honor of having you visit me?" His eyes opened, and they were light gray in color. He smiled before speaking once more, "I am Haruki Takahashi. I'm not a Takahashi by blood but by paper. Lord Daisuke adopted me and turned me into the warrior I am today. But his actions against this island left me with my mouth agape. He took the lives of women and children, sons and wives of men on this island." I looked him dead in the eyes and sensed no lie, even when I used Themis' skills. This one is called the truth seeker, and so I asked him, "What do you say? Will you atone for your sins, make things right, and join the Black Stone in the liberation of this land and seek revenge on Lord Daisuke? What do you say, my friend?" He smiled and agreed to help our cause. Since we already had someone from the Takahashi clan, we collected the armor of each and every remaining samurai prisoner we had from the battle. We had to make so many armor stands to ensure it doesn't get damaged through the journey home. We also collected the banner of Clan Takahashi and kept it in the treasury.

"And that's time, my loves. It's time for you to rest your little heads. Pray to the goddess Themis, and she will bless you with her guidance."