Through a bold plan and sheer tenacity, Issak and the defenders of Rosenheim manage to hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive, but the victory does not come without sacrifices. Unbeknownst to them, the Spanish have also suffered a great loss—Lorenzo, the mysterious man from Issak’s past, has murdered the crown prince and has fled, leaving their forces in disarray. When Prince Heinrich is ambushed by Spinola’s forces on his return to Fuchsburg Castle, Issak races to rescue him. But when he finds him with Lorenzo’s gun trained on his chest, he must make a choice—give up his master’s gun and his chance at revenge to save Heinrich’s life, or forfeit both of their lives in order to exact the vengeance he has sworn.
Issak (I) continues to hunt down the samurai who murdered his master in Germany. Caught in the middle of the Catholic/Protestant war - I must try to survive while on his mission of revenge. Lots of bloody action involving samurai vs knight; this is a rollercoaster ride of violence that never lets up!
Stellar series, the attention to historical detail and making the story feel grounded in reality while still having this wonderful narrative. Highly recommended!
Zetta's life changes radically in these volumes. She is one crazy girl I will give her that. With Oppa gone and herself being tried as a witch, great day, she has it rough. Now Issak iand friends are getting a whirlwind tour of the German interior. The bad thing is you can't trust anybody because you don't know friend from foe. Then to end the volume right at the beginning of another battle yeesh.
There is a spoiler in the preview section for the second half. Strange editing choice.
A lot happens in these two volumes, but I would summarize them as traveling across what would become Germany in a very chaotic time, when wars were between both kingdoms and religions, when there were different duchies and kingdoms every other step. Zetta and her grandfather are part of a religious order that I did some brief reading on. The leader was tortured and killed for heresy, as seemingly happened to everyone who proposed anything other than what the catholics preached back then, around a century before this manga is set. Muntzer was a follower of Luther until he formed his own branch of Christianity. It is not clear exactly which parts of that system Zetta actively believes, but in this time and place, it is not ideal to be carrying a cross with his symbol on it, as becomes relevant in this omnibus. To this point the battles have been part of a bigger war between protestant and catholic nations, but here it gains a more granular form, showing that religious persecution, though it can happen between large groups, is also commonly done to random people, such as a young girl.
While this is a traveling adventure omnibus, it can also be described as a Zetta omnibus since each story features her in one way or another, cementing her place at Issak's side through spoilers.