NOVEL WEB Chapter 24: Chapter 24: The Tiger Descends
Echigo Province – The Mountain Pass, Year 9 of Tenbun (1540 AD)
The snow was no longer white.
Blood stained the frozen ground, steaming against the cold.
The Takeda forces had come as hunters.
But now—
They were the ones being hunted.
The boy they had come to retrieve was no longer running.
He had made his choice.
And now, one by one—
They fell by his blade.
The clash of steel rang through the mountain pass.
The warriors of Kai were fierce, disciplined, unrelenting.
But the silver-haired boy was faster.
His blade moved like a shadow in the snow.
His strikes were precise, merciless.
Not wild.Not desperate.
But cold.
Efficient.
A reminder that he had once belonged to the Takeda.
That he had been trained by them.
And now—
He was using that training against them.
The Takeda warriors hesitated.
Because this was not the same boy they had once fought beside.
This was something else.
Something they did not know how to kill.
Then—
A horn sounded in the distance.
A deep, powerful roar across the frozen battlefield.
And at that moment—
Everyone stopped.
Because they knew.
The Tiger of Kai had arrived.
The wind howled as the riders approached.
A force of fifty men, clad in crimson and gold.
The personal guard of Takeda Harunobu.
And at the head of them—
The Tiger himself.
Takeda Harunobu rode forward, his armor glinting in the morning light.
His dark eyes swept over the battlefield, studying the fallen, the dying, the boy standing among them.
And then—
He smiled.
"So this is your answer?"
His voice was calm.
"To cut down those who came for you?"
The boy did not answer.
He simply raised his blade once more.
Because words no longer mattered.
The time for talk was over.
The Tiger of Kai had come.
And there was only one way this would end.
[Fated Death: Progressing.]Takeda Harunobu has arrived.The final confrontation is at hand.One way or another—this battle will decide your fate.
And the Tiger does not leave without his prey.