XElenea
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CA : 90 Shogun
🕑 Added 2025-01-07 16:00:01 +0000 UTCIn this world, the Kabane never expected that one day they would become the hunted.
According to Altair's arrangements, Kurusu selected nineteen other capable samurai to form the first hunting party. Each of them received the antidote, so they no longer had to worry about being infected by the Kabane. To reassure them, Altair even tied up a person and threw him near a Kabane, allowing it to bite him. The man screamed in pain like a slaughtered pig, causing the other samurai to tremble in fear. However, when they pulled him back, they discovered that apart from a missing chunk of flesh on his arm, he had no other issues.
The samurai became excited; their mothers no longer had to worry about them turning into Kabane!
Following Altair's instructions, the twenty of them received enchanted katana and began hunting Kabane around the Aragane Station. When they encountered Kabane, they would rush in without hesitation, chop at it first, then bind it with chains and throw it into a cage, and use the Hayajiro to transport it back.
At first, due to their small numbers, they could only catch four or five at a time. But as Altair used the newly captured Kabane to produce more antidote and enchanted weapons, their efficiency in capturing Kabane began to rise rapidly.
In just half a month, over a hundred samurai from the lord's manor received the antidote and joined the efforts to capture Kabane. The Kabane caught by these samurai were then used to produce more antidotes and enchanted weapons, which were given to the guards defending the city walls.
Thus, a month later, all the samurai in Aragane Station had acquired both the antidote and enchanted weapons.
During this time, Altair's reputation reached its peak.
Altair turned the hunting into an event; before each hunt, he would have the samurai depart from the lord's manor, cross the entire city to the station, and then take the train.
The scene resembled the Survey Corps setting off to exterminate Titans in the Attack of Titan, with crowds cheering on both sides of the road.
At Altair's request, Kenshou promoted the existence of the antidote, so everyone in Aragane Station was aware of it. Kabane quickly transformed from a fearsome threat to something that could be easily countered. Each time the samurai returned, they would pull carts with cages containing Kabane through Aragane Station, allowing the civilians to see these once-nightmarish creatures now reduced to prey.
Eventually, Altair even had Kabane publicly executed, much like in a marketplace. Every Kabane caught was decapitated in front of an audience, with limbs chopped off and burned, while the remaining torso was taken back... to be used for enchanted weapons and for Altair to produce more antidote.
The civilians' confidence in the lord's manor soared, and some began to speculate about when the manor would reclaim the outer lands so they could farm, gaining more land and food.
After witnessing Altair's actions, Amatori Biba's subordinates completely surrendered. Their previous belief in the strong-man theory had been overturned; it was clear that following Altair promised a brighter future.
Mumei was also injected with the antidote and returned to humanity. She lost her Kabane powers, causing her combat ability to plummet, becoming a 12-year-old girl with only a few skills. She was taken in by Ayame, who had feelings for her and became Ayame's assistant.
In such circumstances, Altair spent two months in Aragane Station. The surrounding Kabane had been nearly wiped out; if they wanted to capture more, they would have to take a train to areas 60 kilometers away from Aragane Station.
This situation naturally drew attention from other strongholds.
Travel between the cities was infrequent, often relying on Hayajiro, but there was some exchange. Especially for those with ambitions, in any era and environment, whenever humans found a small patch of comfort, ambition would emerge.
The promotion of the antidote that Altair had Kenshou advertise became known to people from other strongholds. Thus, some Hayajiro began to head to Aragane Station from various parts of Hinomoto.
In this era, what was most valuable? To a person, their life was the most valuable. The greatest threat to life was the Kabane. Therefore, the antidote that could provide immunity against Kabane was highly sought after by those who feared for their lives.
Besides those wanting to buy the antidote, some wanted to obtain it without offering any money, such as the shogun hiding in Kongoukaku.
Amatori Okimasa, the current shogun, was the head of the conservatives. He was the one who declared the establishment of high walls to keep Kabane at bay, but the result was a failure; not only did they fail to hold onto much land, but they also saw the outer cities continuously consumed by the Kabane.
However, Okimasa did not care about this, as he and his conservative followers were only interested in their riches and glory.
Thus, a demand for tribute was issued from Kongoukaku. A Hayajiro train departed from Kongoukaku, carrying a messenger to Aragane Station.
As they set out, the people from Kongoukaku sent a radio message to Aragane Station. Yes, this era had radios, so the lord's manor in Aragane Station received the news well in advance.
The one responsible for receiving the news was Kenshou, who immediately informed Altair upon hearing it.
"Altair-sama, how should we handle the order from Kongoukaku? Should we provide tribute as requested by the shogun?"
In the reception room that once belonged to Kenshou but now belonged to Altair, Altair sat in the main seat, with Ayame and Mumei seated behind him, together with Kenshou across from him, waiting for Altair's response.
Instead of answering, Altair smiled and asked Kenshou a question.
"Kenshou, why do you think the shogun is the shogun?"
"Because…"
Kenshou initially wanted to say it was because he was the shogun, but upon seeing the somewhat enigmatic smile on Altair's face, he paused and thought carefully before responding.
"Because the shogun controls the operation of Hayajiro, manages the flow of resources between the various cities in Hinomoto, and possesses the most samurai!"
"Exactly! The shogun controls the operation of Hayajiro and has the most samurai. But what if we no longer need the operation of Hayajiro? What if we have more samurai than the shogun?"
"Then the shogun is no longer the shogun!"
Upon hearing Altair's first question, Kenshou understood his meaning and beamed with pride.
"Altair-sama, who controls more samurai, will become the new shogun! And we will become the new shogunate!"
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A/N: Hinomoto is an island country located on the east of the Eurasian continent.
Basically Japan in this anime.
