Tsushima looked along the length of the wall in both directions. The hundred men under his command were spread out along it. Too spread out, in his mind. But because of the ongoing battles with Tsanuri's Lions, there was no-one else to help him guard this section of the wall.
And the Shadowlands knew. He did not know how they knew, or how he knew that they knew, but he was certain they would attack in force tonight. He looked up at the clouds for a moment. It would be bad. Very bad. But he and his men would make Fu Leng's creations pay. Tsushima's men and women would be the shield that blunted the attack. They would hold out until reinforcements came because they had to. If they did not, the creatures would be loosed into Rokugan. He would not let that happen.
From off to his right, one of his men called out. He looked to the spot the man pointed to. He saw a party of Hiruma scouts running from tree to tree, hugging any cover they could find. As they approached the wall, Tsushima saw that a large force of goblins and ogres were chasing them.
He knew they would not make it in time. Already a scout trailing at the rear of the group was lifted off his feet by a massive clawed hand and bitten in two by one of the ogres.His cries faded quickly in the stench-filled air. Tsushima called out to his samurai, "Give them what covering fire we can! Aim for the rear of the shadowlands pack! Do not let your arrows fall amongst our own men."
They reacted instantly. A hundred arrows arched through the dark sky, each seeking a tainted target. At that range, in those conditions, many missed, but many found their targets and exacted their toll. The samurai fired again, and again. Soon they were joined by the pair of siege weapons mounted nearby. Arrows as large as spears were flung from the ballista and a catapult flung flaming balls of pitch at the enemy.
As minutes passed, the Hiruma continued toward the wall, this time at an open run. Tsushima and his unit increased their fire as the Hiruma ran for a hidden entrance to the wall. They held the creatures off long enough for the three surviving Hiruma to enter.
The Ogres soon led the way to the entrance, however, followed by what seemed to be hundreds of short, green-skinned mockeries of the human form.
The ogres were too large for the opening, so they forcibly convinced several of the goblins to go. Seconds later a loud clap of thunder signaled that the tunnel the Hiruma had used had been destroyed. The goblins had likely been crushed before they realized what was happening.
Upon seeing this, the ogres let out a series of loud bellows, soon mimicked by their smaller brethren, and charged the wall.
"Pikes!" Tsushima yelled as the ogres clambered up the wall with incredible speed and agility. 'They always know where we are weakest,' Tsushima thought. 'It is as if the shadowlands itself is intelligent.' He put that thought aside as he engaged the first of the ogres to top the wall. His pike lanced into its shoulder, piercing through the tough hide and muscle.
The ogre barely seemed to notice as it swatted at him. he ducked under its blow and let go of the pike. As he ran for his tetsubo, laying nearby, several of his men ran up with pikes and slew the ogre. As they pushed it back over the wall, Tsushima looked around at the battle raging around him. Several ogres had managed to crest the wall and were being held back by the long pikes. As he watched, his men killed four of the ogres, only to find that six had crawled up in the meantime. The rest of the ogres were on their way, and soon even the goblins would be swarming them.
"Runner!" he called out.
A youth wearing the mon of the Hiruma family ran quickly up to him, looking warily around.
"Go up the wall to the next outpost. Tell them we need reinforcements. Tell them two dozen ogres and two hundred goblins. Now!" The runner sped off, heading north along the top of the Kaiu wall.
Tsushima picked up his tetsubo and ran towards the nearest monster, screaming a war-cry at the top of his lungs.
For several minutes, all Tsushima heard were the sounds of battle. The sound of flesh being torn, the screams of the wounded, the battle cries of the men and women who served under him. Tsushima became aware of a fact. He and his men were losing. Where a hundred had stood earlier that night, only a few dozen remained. And, though they had slain many of the monsters, many more lived.
"Pull back!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "We must contain them here until the reinforcements arrive. If we do not, all will suffer!" He lost several more samurai as they regrouped on either side of the shadowlands forces. They formed a pair of loose lines, seeking to keep the creatures from the rest of the wall.
One of the ogres, the largest of the pack, turned to him. With fire and pain in its eyes, it let out a bellow of pure rage and charged at Tsushima.
His men let out war cries of their own and, once again, the battle was joined. As Tsushima warded off the ogres massive blows, the man to the left of him fell under the bulk of another troll, while the man to his right was surrounded by several goblins and died when one bit his throat out. Tsushima started to make prayers to his ancestors, hoping that he would not be one to let the shadowlands free in Rokugan.
A flash of movement off to his right caught his attention. An o-gama, a long spear with an additional blade at 90 degrees to the first, slashed at an ogre, severing arteries in its neck. The thing bellowed, but was slain by an arrow in its eye before it could attack. As the o-gama's wielder came up beside him, he was surprised not to see the mon of the Crab. Instead, the man wore armour the colour of a grassy hillside in the spring, and wore the mon of the mantis on his chest. He had a solid muscular build and darkly tanned skin. Spinning the weapon around, he caught Tsushima's opponent in the temple with the butt end, allowing Tsushima a chance to strike at the beast's neck. Tsushima slammed his tetsubo into it just below the jawbone. There was a snap, and the ogre fell, its head laying at an odd angle.For a moment, things were quiet, as the beasts looked at their fallen leader. Tsushima looked behind the new arrival, and was stunned. Marching forward, along the wall, were dozens of Mantis bushi, perhaps even a hundred. He looked at the man beside him. They turned to the dozens of creatures before them. With another loud cry, they, and their men charged, forcing the goblins and ogres to retreat back into Fu Leng's former realm.
After the victory, Tsushima walked over to the man who had suddenly appeared with a hundred veteran samurai. "I see you wear the mon of the Mantis."
"I do." The man grinned.
"And who do you serve?"
"The Emperor." The man's smile grew.
Tsushima sensed that there was something likable about the man. "Why are you here?"
"I am here for the same reason you are. To keep the forces of the shadowlands from defiling our lands." The man made a low bow. "I am Yoritomo Torakage. I am here at the behest of my daimyo, Arashi Kaze-sama. He thought perhaps we could assist you in your time of need."
Tsushima bowed in return. "We owe you our lives."
"No. You owe Amaterasu-sama your lives. You owe me nothing." He smiled once again. "Although, if you have any sake at hand, perhaps we could trade a few stories."
Tsushima found himself smiling as well. "First I must see to the safety of the wall and write my report to Kaiu Noriyuki-sama. Then I may join you."
"Take these men and use them as you see fit. They are not veterans of the wall, but they have fought against many enemies and are samurai as good as I have ever lead."
Tsushima was surprised for the second time this night. "But will they not be commanded by you?"
Torakage looked grim. "The men are a gift to your clan. For as long as this idiocy with the Lions persists, they are yours to use to defend this wall from what lives out there." His hand indicated the shadowlands.
"Unfortunately, we are experiencing problems of our own," Torakage looked to the east. "and I am needed on the Islands."
Tsushima looked towards the Islands himself and wondered what was going on in the Empire.