holding a castle (during a siege); holing up; confinement (to one's home); staying at home; staying indoors
war; battle; match; game; competition
order (esp. to a number of people); command; ritual of bowing at start and end of school class
to run away; to flee; to make off; to start to run away
field battle; field operations; open battle; battlefield; battlefront
not a chance; you wish!; that's not going to happen; that won't work
mouth; opening; hole; mouth (of a bottle); spout; gate; door
putting on the pressure; pushing forward; being pressed; being under pressure
control; bringing under control; settling (a matter); putting in order
to be attached; to be connected with; to remain imprinted; to scar; to bear (fruit, interest, etc.); to be acquired (of a habit, ability, etc.); to increase (of strength, etc.)
destruction; annihilation; devastation; catastrophe
party; group; crew; company (of troops); corps; unit
considerably; fairly; quite
bargaining; haggling; tactics; strategy
level; standard; level (plane); floor; spirit level; (surveyor's) level
to entrust (e.g. a task) to another; to leave to; to passively leave to someone else's facilities; to leave to take its natural course; to continue (something) in a natural fashion (without particular aim); to rely fully on one's (full strength, great ability, long time taken) to get something done
it is assuredly that ...; can say with confidence that ...
memories; recollections; reminiscence
to change; to be transformed; to move to; to be different; to be uncommon
episode; side story; story within a story; aside; anecdote
warm; mild; warm (of a colour); mellow; having enough money
to wriggle; to squirm; to crawl like a worm
making noodles by hand; striking a deal; coming to an agreement; killing with bare hands
matter; affair; counter for (received) emails, text messages, voicemail messages, etc.; counter for accounts (on a website, email service, etc.)
bothersome; tiresome; bother to do
fast; quick; early (in the day, etc.); premature; (too) soon; not yet
in the background; not standing out
sky; heaven; God; svarga (heaven-like realm visited as a stage of death and rebirth); deva (divine being of Buddhism); top (of a book); sole (of a Japanese sandal)
secret manoeuvres (maneuvers); operating behind the scenes
to show signs of ...; to have the appearance of ...
puppet; marionette; puppeteer; (arch.) prostitute
paying back in installments (instalments); amortization plan (amortisation); gradual demolition; gradual erosion; gradual dismantlement
silence (not speaking); muteness
he; she; that person; (arch.) you
court noble; nobility; Imperial Court
nobles and soldiers; imperial court
together; jointly; at the same time; with; both
influenced (by); under an influence
to take in; to bring in; to capture (e.g. image); to import; to win over; to please