[h2]Front Team[/h2]

With Terakoma tearing up the ashigaru, it seemed like reinforcements were specifically coming in to slow the monster down, the spear-wielding opponents not providing much of a [i]threat[/i], but their persistence--and the occasional prod--were unerringly leading her away from the frontal assault that she had initiated and down a side path. One comparatively free of arquebusiers, with those [i]not[/i] yet destroyed electing to ignore the whatever-the-hell-it-was and focus on the more human agents.

One thing that [i]wasn't[/i] focusing those down was an unexpectedly solemn looking figure. Somewhat armoured, true, but more notably covered with its head covered in some sort of white robe--and, shockingly, the naginata it was using was actually [i]deflecting[/i] the wild attacks that had disposed of so many.

That wasn't to say that the others were being given an easy route in; Arisa's flanking manoeuvre had been met with a surprising reserve of sword-wielding opposition, preventing the increasingly-ragged firing line from being entirely wiped out. And the remaining arquebusiers were now using [i]cover[/i] as they reloaded, making further pickoffs increasingly unlikely--and meaning that the remainder of the frontal squad was, of course, being shot at.