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The archers thought twice about releasing a second arrow. Their man was still writhing in agony, unable to do anything to relieve the pain, as he was held so tightly. If they wished to kill their offender, then they would have to come to terms with killing their own man, and none of them were quite willing to do that.

"Don’t feel like firing again? Good." Gengyo nodded with approval, taking his time to voice his complaints. "That message you sent earlier – it was a bit... lacking, wasn’t it?"

He kicked his captive’s leg, asking his question once more. "Wasn’t it?"

"ARGH, F.U.C.K! YES! F.U.C.KKKKKKKK! YES, IT WAS!"

"See, we’ve discussed it. It was very lacking. And now, after a bit of thought, you have two choices. Firstly, you send whoever is in charge to meet with me, and we come to a more appropriate deal. Secondly, you do nothing, and we will kill everyone in this town."

He waited awhile, looking around, up and down the top wall, turning to his own people, as though he wondered what the hold up was. "Well, that’s a shame. A real shame. It looks like we’re going to have to go with option two." He began to speak to his captive once more. "It’s not what I’d like to do, but it’s just how it is... I guess you’ll be the first to die. Well, let’s get going then."

He began to drag him back to his own people, much to the man’s disproval. With every rock on the uneven earth, he was sent the most mind-numbing jolt of pain, as it snagged on the head of the arrow, and tore his flesh even further open.

"WAIT!" A voice called out desperately from the top of the fortress wall.

"Hmm..? Who might you be?" Gengyo turned around slowly, and spoke to the man who’d called out to him. He was dressed differently from the rest. Instead of armour, he was in his ordinary kimono. He was a man of some position, at least.

"I am the governor of this town." He said meekly, clearly not relishing having it come to this.

"Excellent. Come out of the gates, and talk with me, and you can have your friend here back."

"Wait, how can I trust you? You could kill me as soon as I come outside. I would much prefer it if you were to come inside."

Gengyo chuckled, truly amused. "Governor, you’re misunderstanding something. You don’t have a choice. You do as I say, and you risk dying, or you ignore what I’m saying, and you will definitely die, alongside all your people."

Even from this distance he could see the man clench his teeth, as he came to a sudden realization. This was no ordinary band of raiding mercenaries. They could not be tricked, or bought off so easily.

There was silence for a few moments, as he tried to think of another strategy. His men whispered into his ear, furiously trying to talk him out of it, claiming that it was definitely a trap, and he would get killed as soon as he left the city gates. But what choice did he have?

He shook his head, trying to work up the courage to do as he was being told to do. To die one way, or to die another. It would definitely be better to die for his people, facing his death, rather than trapped inside like a rat, and caught up in a furious melee.

"Come on, I’m hungry." Gengyo called out. He knew all the right buttons to press to make people maximally irritated.

A few minutes later, those large gates opened once more, and this time, a single man stepped out – unarmed. Gengyo pulled his captor up to his feet, ignoring his cry of pain, as he whispered into his ear. "Go on now, run back to the gate. You’ve served your purpose very well."

And then he released him. Having only a single leg to support his weight, the man collapsed to the floor, and began to crawl through the mud as fast as he could. His governor did not even look at him as they passed one another, and soon the man disappeared inside the gates.

Seeing that he was alone, without any man around him, one of the more daring archers released another arrow. He was even further away than before, and had all the time in the world to tut, and step off to the side.

"Stop." He ordered.

BANG

A moment later, a hole appeared in the foolish archer’s skull, and he collapsed to the floor. Gengyo glanced back to see Rokkaku lowering his weapon with a grin. "I’ve got ya back boss."

"Hello, governor." Gengyo greeted him as he neared. "Shall we go and talk in my tent?"

Surrounded by so many blood thirsty warriors, in the heart of the enemy camp, the governor could barely stop himself from shaking, and only managed to nod in reply to Gengyo’s question.

"Good, follow me." He said with a smile, once more making his way back towards the tent. By now, there was no one asleep inside, and it was fit for discussion. "Take a seat."

The man sat down, as did Gengyo. The black armoured folk began to filter inside as well, to make sure there was not a single opportunity for this unknown governor to try anything funny with their commander.

Gengyo looked at him for a few moments in silence, before smiling.

"Governor, you do not need to look so frightened. I do not ask much from you."

The governor did not make a move to reply – he was quite certain what had been said was a lie, and did not trust his voice to speak without cracking.

"Mm... how long have you been governing Honkaido, then?"

"Eh... ten- no, eleven years." The governor responded to the unusual question, furrowing his eyebrow.

"Is that right? How have you found ruling? It can be quite stressful, can’t it?"

"It can, but as long as you do right by your people, it is rewarding." He spoke slower than he ordinarily would, making sure he was saying exactly what he meant to be saying. His life was very much on a knife edge here.

"That’s right, isn’t it? And in return, you get an unbelievable amount of privilege. An interesting dynamic, isn’t it? And now its you, who has to go out, and put his life on the line for the sake of your town." Gengyo mused, tapping his fingers on the desk.

"Look, governor, I do not need a single piece of gold, or any of your wealth. That is not why I’m here. But a question: what do you think of the Daimyo?"

The governor furrowed his brows, and looked him at him worriedly, wondering how he might answer. He did not want to offend whoever this man’s allegiance lay to, so he chose a more neutral response. "Forgive me, but I do not know. I have never met him. We only pay our taxes, and that is the amount of interaction we have."

"That’s unfortunate, isn’t it? Paying taxes and not receiving anything in return? What madness. Who conceived such an unfair system? Look at the state of your fortress, governor, if you’d been able to keep that tax money, it wouldn’t be in such a state, would it?"

"That is true, but... it’s just the way it is. It’s neither good or bad. It’s always been this way."

"Things can always be different. I’m well aware of the amount of tax you pay – it is far more than is required to rule this land. What I require from you, governor, is your fortress, for a few days. I will give trade to your smiths, and pay them for their services. We will be guests in your fortress for a weak, or so."

The governor looked up at him surprise. There was no way it could be that simple. It caught him off guard, and he was unsure whether he should yet respond, feeling that there was something that had yet to be said.

"That being said, we will withstand an attack here. The Daimyo will send his forces to ’deal’ with us, and we will fight them here."

The governor all but melted into his chair, as the hope that had just filled his chest disappeared once more. "Ah... it seems we will die no matter what." He stated hopelessly.

There were chuckles from around the tent at his reaction of utter despair.

"Now, now. It won’t be that bad. I have quite the army, you see. Well, even if we’re defeated, I don’t imagine your people will be put in danger. You had simply need tell their commander the truth, that we forced you into it. Now, if we do happen to win this battle, then we will contest the Daimyo once more, and look for his position. Won’t that be nice? You won’t have to pay such violent taxes anymore."

"Hah... Even if that did come to pass, it would not change anything for us ordinary folk."

"...Did he not hear what I said, about the taxes?" Gengyo asked this question to his own men, as he had been seemingly ignored by the governor.

"I heard what you said – but whether you stand by it is another question. You want to turn my peaceful town into a battleground? You’re a cruel man. These people are innocent. They have no part in this conflict between you and the Daimyo."

"Innocent? It doesn’t work like that, governor. Whether you’re innocent or not, you’ll be dragged into things. That is the way this world of ours works. People eternally contest for power, and put the lives of ordinary men and women at risk. But I will do what I can to protect their lives. I have a cause that I believe in, and this is the surest way I can see to give me a chance at victory."

"Heh... So, what you ask of me, is that I open my gates, and give you free access to Honkaido, so you can fight your wars inside it? Even if we survive all this, we gain nothing."

"I wouldn’t say you gain nothing, governor. Morojo and his lads will fix it up a little, and it’ll still be in decent shape after we leave. Your smiths will receive a good amount of trade, as will your merchants. This is an opportunity, governor. An opportunity. Think of it like that, and you’ll be less depressed. Come, let us get underway. We do not have long."

Gengyo rose to his feet, and pulled the governor up with him. The man looked incredibly weak, seeing the fate that had befallen his city. But he had no choice.