Do not let Takeda Shingen escape!

Hearing the sigh from his brother beside him, Takeda Nobushige no longer had the strength to offer any further advice.

The paramount priority right now was to get their painstakingly assembled army back home by any means necessary!

Otherwise, by this time tomorrow, they might well find themselves dancing the Hu Xuan dance before the mocking victorious warriors!

With this thought in mind, in the midst of this desperate situation, Takeda Nobushige grabbed the reins of a riderless horse belonging to someone unknown.

Without hesitation, he and his men hoisted Takeda Shingen onto the saddle.

Yet at that very moment, perhaps feeling temporarily safe, Takeda Shingen—a man who fundamentally enjoyed putting on grandiose displays of pride—found some bizarre notion crossing his mind. He suddenly shouted aloud.

"The samurai ahead are still fighting bravely! How can I, the commander-in-chief, flee and save only myself?"

"You men, are you trying to ruin me!"

True to the character who could dare challenge Uesugi Kenshin to single combat with nothing more than a military fan, his train of thought was truly peculiar.

"Ugh."

Hearing this, Takeda Nobushige felt another wave of profound mental exhaustion.

As if it wasn't you who shouted from the command platform just moments ago, demanding that the allied forces of Uesugi Norimasa serve as sacrificial cannon fodder!

For the sake of his reputation—and to allow himself, who had been reduced to a mere stepping stone, to salvage a shred of honor after the battle—his older brother had completely abandoned all sense of shame.

Yet facing Takeda Shingen, who was still putting on a pretentious act while actually having half a foot already in the stirrup, what could a younger brother do?

Reciting lines from a play popularized by travelers from the East, he decided to be thorough in his benevolence and see the good deed through to the end, partly to polish his own reputation in the process.

"My lord, hurry and flee! The world can exist without me, Takeda Nobushige, but it cannot survive without you, My Lord!"

In this declaration, Takeda Nobushige shouted his own name with exceptional volume, while craftily omitting his elder brother's name altogether.

"Ugh."

This time, it was Takeda Shingen's turn to be utterly speechless as he stared at his brother, who was putting on such a thoroughly loyal display.

Now finally seated in the saddle, he felt as though he had just swallowed a mouthful of excrement.

However, neither of them anticipated that in this brief interval spent posturing for prestige, the enemy's advance would be so swift.

Riding a steed as fast as the legendary noble horse Tokiukaze, Hojo Akitoki led his surprise attack force and sliced straight through the encampment in an astonishingly short span of time.

By now, he had arrived not far from Takeda Shingen's main headquarters.

Spotting from afar the figure clad in crimson armor and wearing an outrageously flamboyant helmet, Hojo Akitoki raised his spear and pointed it directly at Takeda Shingen.

"He who wears the red helmet is Takeda Shingen! A bounty of one copper coin to whoever takes his head!"

Such a bounty was undeniably meager for the commander known as the famed Tiger of Kai.

Yet anyone who heard these words understood perfectly that this was Hojo Akitoki's deliberate humiliation of Takeda Shingen—and another psychological tactic to boost his own troops' morale while crushing that of the enemy.

Thus, answering their commander's thunderous roar, the Hojo troops spurred their horses to an even greater speed.

In contrast, the hunted Takeda Shingen could no longer afford to bicker with his younger brother.

With a swift motion, he ripped off the ornate helmet meticulously crafted by helmet-designing artisans—a piece he usually treasured like a precious jewel and which drew countless admiring glances—and hurled it away.

Then, pressing his body low against the horse's back, he whipped the animal's flanks desperately.

"Hahaha! The one wearing red armor without a helmet is none other than Takeda Shingen!"

Laughing heartily, Hojo Akitoki watched the frantic, pathetic escape of the so-called tiger, once again loudly pointing out his target's distinctive attire.

What followed came naturally.

Indeed, Takeda Shingen lived up to his title as a tiger; bouncing wildly in the saddle, he single-handedly unbuckled and stripped off the armor that normally required the assistance of several men to wear.

"The one dressed in a plain white robe is Takeda Shingen!"

The detestable voice returned, grinding Takeda Shingen's teeth to dust. Staring down at the single layer of clothing left on his body, he tried to comfort himself with thoughts of heavenly burdens preparing one for greatness, convincing himself that as long as he escaped alive, even fleeing bare-bottomed was acceptable.

Just then, his savior appeared!

"My lord, do not panic! Sanada Yukitaka is here! Allow me to hold off the pursuers for you!"

A single horseman burst out from the sea of flames, urging his steed forward while clad in the distinctive crimson armor of the Takeda clan.

He charged unhesitatingly toward the formidable Hojo Akitoki.

"Yukitaka!"

Looking back at this subordinate who had been utterly devoted to him, whom he had valued so highly, and who had left his former lord to pledge allegiance to him of his own accord, Takeda Shingen felt tears blur his vision as he gripped the reins.

It would have been even better, however, if he could have reined in his horse for a moment to genuinely demonstrate his reluctance to leave.

Though his parting words rang with deep affection, a man destined for great things rode on, and Takeda Shingen's horse did not slow its pace by even a fraction.

"Oh?"

A look of intrigue crossed Hojo Akitoki's face. At this point in time, Takeda Shingen might only view Sanada Yukitaka as a capable warrior, and Sanada Yukitaka's name was still relatively unfamiliar to the people of the East in later generations.

However, mention Sanada Yukimura, and many would undoubtedly display a sudden look of realization.

That's right, Sanada Yukitaka was none other than the grandfather of Sanada Yukimura.

Ranked among the Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda, renowned as the Attack-Jandō among the Three Jandō, and lord of Toishi Castle, he was himself a remarkably talented commander and the true founder of the Sanada clan.

Driven by an interest in collecting famed generals—and thinking of it as a buy-one-get-several-free deal—Hojo Akitoki braced himself as he watched Sanada Yukitaka charging toward him with a raised blade.

Just as his opponent swung down, Hojo Akitoki lightly tapped his horse's flanks and, with exquisite horsemanship, easily evaded the near-suicidal strike.

"Get down."

A thunderous roar burst from him as horse and rider crossed paths.

Before Sanada Yukitaka could recover from his momentary bewilderment, he was violently unseated by a tremendous force.

Staring blankly with wide eyes at the rear of the spear that Hojo Akitoki was casually retracting, Sanada Yukitaka tasted the bitter realization of the chasm between their abilities.

He hadn't even managed to last a single exchange; his opponent was truly a peerless sovereign of the Warring States period!

His eyes darting swiftly, he recalled that the Nagao clan, which had once sheltered Sanada Yukitaka, had long been enemies of the Takeda.

Back then, he had managed to find an excuse to defect to the Takeda clan, who were theoretically his enemies.

How much easier would it be to do so now?

With a moral compass possessing enviable flexibility, Sanada Yukitaka shouted aloud.

"As expected of Lord Hojo Akitoki, the Qilin of Sagami whose mighty name shakes the realm!"

"To be defeated today by your hand, Lord Hojo, is an honor in death!"

"It is only a pity that my dream of revitalizing the Sanada clan must end here!"

"Alas, how regrettable!"

"Hmph."

Adept at reading human hearts and well-versed in Sanada Yukitaka's life story, Hojo Akitoki understood the other man's hidden agenda the moment he heard those words.

And it wasn't just Hojo Akitoki who caught on; Sanada Yukitaka's calculating intentions were so blatant they were practically slapping everyone in the face.

Akechi Mitsuhide, arriving close behind, instantly made his blade ring with a sharp hum. Yet, glancing at Hojo Akitoki—who rode past without a word to continue the pursuit of Takeda Shingen—Mitsuhide ultimately refrained from cutting Sanada Yukitaka down into two pieces.

"Tie this enemy general up."

Instructing the cavalrymen following behind him, Akechi Mitsuhide hurried forward to resume his pursuit of his lord.

"Hah."

Watching the main body of the Hojo surprise force depart, Sanada Yukitaka let out a long, heavy breath of turbid air.

He knew his life had been spared. Observing the Hojo soldiers preparing to dismount and tie him up, Sanada Yukitaka spoke with polite dignity.

"No need to trouble yourselves. As a warrior, I was personally defeated by Lord Hojo Akitoki."

"Therefore, I would never stoop to disgraceful flight or any other behavior that tarnishes the dignity of a samurai."

"I will sit right here and await the judgment of Lord Hojo Akitoki upon his victorious return."

Having said this, he acted accordingly.

Under the watchful gazes of the two Hojo cavalrymen, Sanada Yukitaka unbuckled his armor, then sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed.

Witnessing this theatrical display, the two bewildered cavalrymen exchanged glances.

Recalling how he had intentionally raised his volume earlier to emphasize that he had been personally defeated by their lord, the two soldiers actually felt a flicker of admiration. Consequently, they simply left Sanada Yukitaka sitting cross-legged where he was, abandoning any attempt to bind him.

Meanwhile, having long forgotten about Sanada Yukitaka, Hojo Akitoki led his cavalry formation in a relentless pursuit right on the heels of the fleeing Takeda Shingen.

The enemy had not failed to attempt defensive resistance; as more and more Takeda soldiers rallied around their lord, both Shingen and Nobushige had tried to organize successive waves of troops to mount counterattacks.

Yet every single counterassault was shattered and routed before the tip of Hojo Akitoki's spear.

Realizing the futility of resistance, they abandoned all thoughts other than sheer escape.

With every ounce of strength they had, they fled toward the territory of their arch-rival, Uesugi Kenshin.