Swallow Return

After all, although Kinoshita Tokichiro held a high position and wielded great power, he was only one of the senior retainers and was not yet qualified to decide the major policies of the Oda clan.

Takeda Shingen was certainly not a fool.

Therefore, Liu Yun cannot be a spy.

Then, considering that he had only been with the Oda clan for a few months, the possibility of him being bribed and turned by the Takeda clan was extremely slim.

Oda Nobunaga probably saw that Ryuun was neither humble nor arrogant and had a clear mind, and felt that he appreciated his talent, so he laughed heartily.

But after a burst of laughter, his expression suddenly changed, and he said coldly, "Although he is not a spy, he is not necessarily loyal either."

Upon hearing this, Kinoshita Tokichiro, Hachisuka Masakatsu, Maeno Nagayasu, and others immediately tensed up.

Because this statement is an irrefutable and scathing critique of the heart.

Loyalty is inherently elusive and difficult to verify by any means.

But Liu Yun reacted quickly, immediately raising his head and puffing out his chest as he retorted, "I only learned who Oda Danjo was three months ago, and today is the first time I've met him. Has anyone in the world ever developed such reliable loyalty in such a short time?"

Upon hearing this, Oda Nobunaga showed no anger whatsoever; instead, he nodded in agreement and asked, "That makes sense. Then when will loyalty be established?"

Now Liuyun didn't know what to say.

I was just casually showing off, how did you manage to pick up on that?

He quickly thought for a moment and finally came up with a brilliant idea. He then slowly and deliberately began to speak: "In the distant land of Tang, in ancient times there was a righteous man named Yu Rang. He had served many lords, but he only served and avenged his last lord. Because his previous lords treated him as an ordinary servant, he repaid them as an ordinary servant; but his last lord treated him as a national hero, so he repaid him as a national hero."

Upon hearing this, Oda Nobunaga showed a slightly surprised expression: "I thought you were just a country bumpkin, but you've actually read 'The Biographies of Assassins' in the Records of the Grand Historian. Not bad."

Liu Yun smiled without saying a word.

It's not that I'm trying to sound profound, but I'm afraid that if I keep going, I'll give myself away.

He'd at most read historical stories in vernacular Chinese in his past life; he'd never actually read the original classical Chinese history books. Even if he'd occasionally flipped through them to appear cultured and attract the attention of artsy young women, he'd long forgotten about them.

After this cryptic remark, Oda Nobunaga seemed basically satisfied, nodding and saying, "Not bad, it seems the task can be entrusted to you."

Hearing this cryptic statement, Liu Yun could only ask, "What exactly are your orders?"

Oda Nobunaga, however, appeared bored and uninterested, too lazy to say anything more. He simply hummed and casually waved his hand, pointing to the side.

It was the black-armored warrior who was first in line on the right again who stepped forward.

I remember Nobunaga called this person "Uchizōsuke," which was probably his common name or official title. I wonder what his formal surname and given name were? He's probably a character who could appear in a Koei Tecmo game, right?

The black-armored warrior remained expressionless, standing meticulously like a robot, and spoke in a cold tone: "Lord Sasaki Ryuun, due to your numerous suspicious actions, and your arrogance and recklessness in front of the lord, showing no respect for elders, you have been sentenced to three months of confinement in Yokoyama Castle—at least that's how it appears to outsiders."

Liu Yun did not answer, but he vaguely understood Oda Nobunaga's plan.

The black-armored samurai paused for a moment, then continued, "In fact, Lord Danjo (Oda Nobunaga) intends to send you secretly to Echigo to join forces with our ally, the Uesugi clan, and then proceed to another location to carry out a highly confidential and dangerous mission."

Liu Yun asked doubtfully, "Is the Uesugi family now an ally of Oda?"

The black-armored samurai's expression remained unchanged. He looked at Oda Nobunaga for permission and, after receiving it, replied, "The Takeda clan is preparing a major offensive against our ally, the Tokugawa clan, in the Tōtōmi and Mikawa regions. At the same time, a flanking force is also plotting to seize our eastern Mino territory. War between Oda and Takeda is imminent, so we quickly formed an alliance with the Uesugi clan."

I see. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That makes perfect sense.

Liu Yun nodded and said, "It seems that this task must be very special, so much so that other people are not very suitable."

The black-armored samurai replied righteously, “That is indeed the case. When operating behind enemy lines, the more people there are, the easier it is to leak information. Only a very small number of elites can be selected. The Oda clan is not without other people with outstanding martial skills, but those people are already famous and well-known, and I'm afraid they would not be able to carry out this kind of mission smoothly.”

Liu Yun's attitude was quite relaxed. He spread his hands and said, "At least tell me what to do."

The black-armored warrior turned around again to ask for instructions.

Oda Nobunaga nodded nonchalantly and said, "No one here will leak secrets."

The black-armored samurai then began to explain: "Our recent secret intelligence indicates that Takeda Daizen (Takeda Shingen) was nearing the end of his life force due to overuse of his bloodline and magical powers, but three years ago he set up a sophisticated life-extending formation, which allowed him to prolong his life. Currently, the forces of Miyoshi, Rokkaku, Asai, and Asakura in the Kinai region have not been completely eliminated, and it would be very troublesome if the Takeda army were to attack. The best course of action is to destroy Takeda Daizen's life-extending formation. Therefore, Lord Danjo (Oda Nobunaga) intends for you to cooperate with the Uesugi clan, who know Takeda best, to investigate the truth of this matter and act when the opportunity arises."

Upon hearing this question, Liu Yun pondered it carefully for a moment.

If the intelligence is true, and Takeda Shingen is indeed using a life-extending magic circle to prolong his life, then the location of that magic circle must be a top-secret location, and it must be heavily guarded, making it extremely difficult to destroy.

—This assumes the intelligence is true.

Although it's a world of supernatural beings and strange phenomena, life-extending arrays and forced life extensions seem a bit too mystical. If every daimyo had one, wouldn't they all be immortal?

At this moment, Oda Nobunaga suddenly spoke up in a mischievous tone, teasingly saying, "Isn't this the kind of task a 'national hero' should be doing? After the task is accomplished, of course, there will be the reward a national hero deserves."

Liu Yun remained silent.

He was already prepared to gain fame and fortune through force, not because he was worried about not getting rewarded afterward, nor because he was afraid of the dangers involved, but simply because he thought it was too absurd.

Whether Oda Nobunaga saw through Ryuun's thoughts or simply didn't care, he continued, "Ryuun, there's something you might be concerned about. Intelligence reports that Takeda Daizen's longevity formation requires the lives of innocent people. And indeed, thousands of prisoners of war have gone missing in recent years in Kai and Shinano provinces. I heard that you sent the magistrate of Yokoyama Castle's town to prison for the sake of a young girl; now at least several thousand lives have been lost."

These words did indeed catch Liu Yun's attention.

Moreover, the credibility of the intelligence was slightly enhanced.

If it is truly the case that living people are sacrificed in some evil way to prolong life, then it is an absolutely heinous and utterly inhumane act that should be punished by everyone.

Therefore, we cannot turn a blind eye to this.

Leaving aside the possibility of risking one's life to fight against evil—Liu Yun believes he might be able to do that—it's at least worthwhile to investigate and see if he can make any contribution within his power.

Chapter 72 Heading to Poison Island

Liu Yun accepted the task without much thought.

The primary reason, of course, is that people feel that Takeda Shingen's act of sacrificing thousands of people to prolong their lives is too evil and too inhumane. As civilized people, even if they don't fight to the death to stop it, they should at least investigate it thoroughly.

Secondly, this is an excellent opportunity to make a name for oneself and achieve great things. Being able to participate in the struggle for supremacy is a time of great excitement.

There's another thing I'm reluctant to admit, which is that—ever since my last infiltration of Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, Ryuun has found himself gradually developing a liking for thrilling and exciting adventures.

Seeing this, Oda Nobunaga said seemingly unintentionally, "If this matter succeeds, it will be like killing Takeda Daizen (Shingen) in battle, earning ten thousand koku of taels of rice, and the position of castle lord will be a piece of cake."

Hearing this, Liu Yun was naturally quite satisfied.

Because Oda Nobunaga was a man who cared a lot about his reputation, it was unlikely that he would go back on his word once he had said those words in front of his trusted retainers.

At the same time, Kinoshita Tokichiro's expression couldn't help but become embarrassed.

His feelings are understandable. Since Oda Nobunaga promised "a fief of ten thousand koku and the position of castle lord", it is conceivable that after Sasaki Ryuun's triumphant return, he would naturally become a core direct retainer of the Oda family, and no longer a member of the Tozama no Kuni under Kinoshita Tokichiro.

With Liu Yun's abilities, this was only a matter of time.

But who knew it would happen so quickly? It won't be convenient to use them anymore!

Kinoshita Tokichiro didn't hide his thoughts and said with a bitter face, "I should congratulate Brother Ryuun on his promising future and be happy for him, but I originally thought he could help me for a while longer... Lord Danjo (Oda Nobunaga), as you know, my background is so embarrassing that people look down on me. It's really not easy to find a capable subordinate!"

Upon hearing this, Oda Nobunaga laughed heartily: "Don't worry, there will be an opportunity in the future to have Ryuun serve under your command."

Kinoshita Tokichiro's worry turned to joy, and he bowed to express his gratitude: "First of all, thank you, Lord Danjo (Oda Nobunaga)! I owe my current position entirely to your esteemed promotion! Takenaka, Hachisuka, and now, my brother Ryuun, you've entrusted me with such talented individuals. I truly don't know what to say..."

Liu Yun watched from the side and found the way the two rulers and their ministers interacted quite interesting.

They complement each other so well. Is it because they are truly a match made in heaven, or because they have figured out each other's temperaments and deliberately cater to each other's preferences, or... a combination of both?

Normally, others would inwardly resent being promoted to the position of loyal retainer when faced with a capable subordinate, but outwardly be pleased. Why would anyone be as outspoken as Kinoshita Tokichiro, openly complaining?

Oda Nobunaga readily agreed to send the person back as a "powerful force" in the future.

This operation is equivalent to changing only the "organizational relationship" while maintaining the original "work unit".

There may be some subtle political elements involved, which Liu Yun doesn't quite understand yet.

I didn't have the mind to think about it carefully. Anyway, it's something that will happen after I return, so it's not too late to talk about it then.

……

Oda Nobunaga was always a man of few words, and he always left trivial matters to his retainers.

The black-armored warrior, known as "Nei-zang-shu," was a very responsible and patient person. He carefully explained the whole story to Liu-yun.

The details of the intelligence they had obtained, the specific steps to carry out the mission, the reasons why they couldn't send more people, and the benefits of cooperating with the Echigo Uesugi family were all explained very clearly and without any omissions, taking up more than half an hour.

From his words, we learned that the "longevity array" established by Takeda Shingen through the sacrifice of ordinary people was located in a mysterious place called "Poison Island," guarded by a group of demons. This was top-secret intelligence passed back from a very high-ranking insider.

At that moment, Liu Yun couldn't help but tease, "How high is your status? Are you perhaps the son-in-law of Takeda Daizen?"

Unfortunately, the black-armored warrior showed no reaction whatsoever, his expression remaining icy cold.

I don't know if it's because I don't like joking, or because I'm restricted by my job and can't joke around freely.

Then, this so-called "poison island" could not be found on the map, and the Oda clan had no idea where it was.

Unfortunately, after asking the new ally, the Echigo Uesugi clan, I discovered that the Uesugi clan actually had "Poison Island" in their possession.

But people don't know what's so special about that place.

Furthermore, the Oda clan was very particular about language when asking questions, and they listed twenty or thirty hidden locations, asking the other party one by one if they knew them, so the Uesugi clan could not determine which one they were asking about.

Therefore, the two sides had to cooperate.

Of course, even though they cooperate, they cannot completely trust each other; there is still a considerable amount of reservation and wariness between them.

Liu Yun's mission is to gather the relevant personnel from the Uesugi family and destroy the "Longevity Array" together.

After finishing their business, Liu Yun interjected with another question, and finally learned that the expressionless, stern-faced black-armored warrior's name was "Sasa Narimasa".

As expected, he is someone who will appear in games in later generations.

Moreover, his abilities are quite high; both his martial prowess and leadership skills are over 80. Even within the talent-rich Oda clan, he would rank among the second-tier members.

After learning the other party's name, Liu Yun couldn't help but ask again, "Lord Sassa Narimasa, what do you think of this new weapon, the arquebus?"

Sassa Narimasa paused for a moment, then replied in a calm tone, “This weapon, which originated from the West, is extremely ingenious. It can even enable soldiers with mediocre talent and martial prowess to kill the enemy. However, research on it in Japan is far from sufficient. The production in the blacksmithing village is too low and the cost is too high, making widespread adoption difficult for now. In the future, it may become a mainstay on the battlefield. Why did you suddenly ask about this? Do you mean that you need me to provide you with a fine arquebus for this mission?”

Liu Yun originally wanted to say no.

He brought up this seemingly irrelevant question simply because he had just remembered that Sassa Narimasa's image in later games was often associated with firearms. So he just casually asked.

But now, it seemed like he could get it for free, so Liu Yun nodded decisively and said, "If it were possible, that would be even better."

Getting something for free is always a pleasant experience.

When going out on a mission, what's wrong with bringing more weapons? The Oda family has plenty of money anyway.

Upon hearing this, Sasa Narimasa nodded calmly and said, "I will prepare for you a finely crafted iron cannon worth three hundred kan, one hundred silver-plated demon-slaying bullets for targeting demons, and the corresponding gunpowder."

Three hundred strings of cash!

That is indeed very valuable. The total annual income of Liuyun's territory of two thousand shi is only five or six hundred guan. After deducting various expenses, the actual savings are less than one hundred guan. It would take four years of saving money to buy such a cannon.

The Oda clan is indeed incredibly wealthy!

Besides the exquisite iron cannon worth 300 kan, the black-armored samurai Sasa Narimasa also provided Ryuun with other necessary items.