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TalecoreJin's JourneyHardAct II — A Gathering Storm

The Ghost of Yarikawa

The Yarikawa arc's climax — the battle the clan was recruited for, and the point where Jin's reputation as the Ghost stops being a rumour and becomes a strategy.

RoleMain story
Importancecore
  • TypeMain Tale
  • Act2 – Retake Castle Shimura
  • RegionToyotama
  • Quest giverTaka
  • PrerequisiteComplete "The Coward of Yarikawa"
  • RewardsMajor Legend Increase
  • Steps12

Key takeaways

  • Bring crowd answers. This is a mass engagement rather than a camp clear. Dance of Wrath — from The Spirit of Yarikawa's Vengeance, set in this very region — is the obvious pairing.
  • Kunai earn their slot here. Multi-target stagger matters far more in a battle than in a duel.
  • Manage Resolve, not health. In a long fight, Resolve spent on healing is Resolve not spent ending the fight faster.

OverviewSpoilers

The title is not about a legend any more. It is about Jin.

The culmination of the Yarikawa chapters, this mission delivers the large-scale fight that The Walls of Yarikawa spent its runtime preparing. The clan Lord Shimura once crushed fights alongside the man who bears his name.

It is also one of the clearest points in Act 2 where the Ghost identity becomes an operational asset rather than a personal cost — the reputation does work that numbers alone could not.

In the game’s own framing: The missing archers are home and the stronghold can defend itself. Now the siege has to be broken.

What to bring

The stances are a counter-table, not a preference: each one is the answer to a specific enemy, and this tale fields the ones below.

  • RequiredComplete "The Coward of Yarikawa"This tale does not appear until then.
  • RecommendedStone StanceStone breaks swordsmen, who make up most of every Mongol group.
  • RecommendedWater StanceWater is the only efficient answer to a raised shield.
  • RecommendedMoon StanceMoon staggers Brutes; nothing else in the melee kit reliably does.

Objectives

  1. Speak with Taka
  2. Meet Yuna at the steward’s keep
  3. Follow Yuna
  4. Reach the main gate
  5. Defend the main gate
  6. Defend the northern gate
  7. Reach the siege weapons
  8. Disable the siege weapons
  9. Return to the stronghold
  10. Reach the steward’s keep
  11. Duel General Temuge
  12. Drive the Mongols out

Full walkthroughSpoilers

  1. 01
    Speak with Taka

    In the town centre, among the training soldiers.

  2. 02
    Meet Yuna at the steward’s keep

    Up the steps, then the ladders to the top floor, for a cutscene.

  3. 03
    Follow Yuna

    Out through the door.

  4. 04
    Reach the main gate

    Forward and down.

  5. 05
    Defend the main gate

    Blue and yellow armour, all four enemy types, plus archers. This is a stance-switching fight. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit.

  6. 06
    Defend the northern gate

    Right of the main gate. A lot of archers — close the distance fast rather than trading. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit.

  7. 07
    Reach the siege weapons

    Up the hill, behind the large crate, chain-assassinate three Mongols, take another through the tent, then climb the rocks to the weapons. Take the ends of patrol routes first, where a body will not be walked into — a discovered corpse raises the alarm just as reliably as being seen.

  8. 08
    Disable the siege weapons

    Clear the guards — archers first — then interact with both engines. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit.

  9. 09
    Return to the stronghold

    Two hundred metres back to the bridge and keep entrance. You will be caught on the way; keep running.

  10. 10
    Reach the steward’s keep

    Mixed Brutes, archers and swordsmen, and a leader with an explosive weapon to dodge. Switch to Moon Stance for the Brutes: they shrug off ordinary damage and Moon's heavy overheads are what actually stagger them. Their big swings are unblockable, so dodge rather than block and answer in the gap afterwards. Deal with the archers first. Everything else in the fight is harder while arrows are landing, and archers fold quickly once you are on them — or take them at range before you commit. Stone Stance handles the swordsmen; its heavy attacks do extra stagger damage and break their guard.

    TipStone breaks swordsmen, who make up most of every Mongol group.

  11. 11
    Duel General Temuge

    One on one. He carries a shield, so Water Stance. Dodge the fire attacks and keep enough Resolve back to heal. Shield-bearers need Water Stance, and specifically its heavy attacks — light attacks chip uselessly at a raised shield. Keep at least one Resolve segment in reserve — it is your healing as well as your techniques, and spending the last one on damage is how a won fight turns. Duels disable your tools, so this is stances, parries and dodges only. Let them commit first and take the recovery window rather than opening yourself.

    TipWater is the only efficient answer to a raised shield.

  12. 12
    Drive the Mongols out

    Ghost Stance — both stick clicks — and clear to the gates for the final cutscene.

    Checkpoint

Enemies in this tale, and how to fight them

Strengths

  • Archers — Deal with them before you commit to the melee, because everything else in the fight becomes harder while arrows are landing. Take them with your own bow, drop them from stealth before the fight opens, or close the distance immediately — archers are poor at close range and fold quickly once you are on them. Where the tale gives you high ground, use it: an elevated position means only one side of the field can answer you.
  • Brutes — Moon Stance. Brutes soak an enormous amount of ordinary damage, and Moon's heavy overhead strikes are what actually stagger them. Their big swings are usually unblockable — red marker — so dodge those rather than trying to block, and answer in the window afterwards rather than trading. Some carry explosives. If you have Resolve banked, a Brute is the right place to spend it.
  • Shield-bearers — Water Stance, and specifically its heavy attacks — that is what breaks a raised shield. Trying to chip through the front of a shield with light attacks wastes the fight. Stagger them first so the guard comes up and breaks, then go through the opening quickly before it closes.
  • Swordsmen — Stone Stance, whose heavy attacks do extra stagger damage to sword-wielders and break their guard. Swordsmen are the backbone of nearly every Mongol group, so Stone is the stance you will spend the most time in. Parry timing matters more here than anywhere else: blue attacks can be parried, red ones cannot and have to be dodged.

Rewards

  • Major Legend Increase
    A large step toward the next Legend rank. Legend gates your Ghost Weapon unlocks and your health and Resolve upgrades, so main and Mythic Tales are the fastest way to raise it.

What this unlocks

Characters in this tale

Sources