I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

Bandits are like combing, soldiers are like shavings, officials are like shaving

——ancient Chinese proverb

(There's another chapter to come!)

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At this very moment—

"Lilata, look."

In a certain forest not far from Siwasi Village, Ulape smiled at Lilata beside him and held up a huge mushroom in his hand.

"I picked a good thing. This mushroom is big and fresh. It must be delicious."

After being taken into the woods by Ulape to pick mushrooms, Lilata's overall state is obviously different, and her eyes have become more agile. Seeing the big mushroom in Urape's hands, he smiled with a hint of joy.

Urape, who had been carefully observing Lilata's state, couldn't help feeling relieved at this moment.

"There are still some mushrooms under that tree." Ulape pointed to a big tree not far away, "Let's pick the mushrooms there and go back."

Lilata, who was fingering and playing with the blades of the windmill, nodded lightly.

...

...

"Mogami-sama! Look! The villagers of that village have come out with weapons!"

A general wearing a mighty battle armor and speaking with a heavy accent who rode his horse and galloped beside Mogami shouted to Mogami beside him.

This general with a heavy accent is named Sakaguchi, and he comes from the Morioka Domain.

In this mission, he can be regarded as the top lieutenant general.

Mogami, who was riding his horse and walking at the head of the team towards Siwaxi Village, which had already appeared in front of his sight, looked forward after hearing the reminder from Sakaguchi next to him - he saw a lot of people standing outside the village in front of him villagers, and most of them are holding spears, bows and arrows and other weapons.

Mogami raised his hand to signal the soldiers behind him to slow down.

Mogami, who had slowed down his horse, slowly approached the villagers ahead at a constant speed.

"Everyone! Don't be nervous!" Mogami shouted loudly to the villagers of Siwaxi Village in front of him.

"We have no malicious intentions!"

As soon as Mogami's voice fell, a soldier behind him who was in charge of speaking both Japanese and Ainu loudly repeated what Mogami said just now.

Naturally, the villagers in Siwaxi Village will not let down their vigilance because of Mogami's words.

After discovering the top person who suddenly appeared, the village chief immediately called all the people in the village who could hold weapons to take up weapons and get ready for battle.

At this moment, these armed villagers are relying on the various houses in the village, watching the top class people who are constantly approaching them with vigilance and fear.

After Mogami led the soldiers to a distance of about 50 steps from the village, he continued to shout loudly:

"Don't be so nervous! We just want to ask you something!"

"As long as you are willing to cooperate with us, we assure you - we will never hurt you, and we will leave immediately!"

"My question is simple - have you ever seen anyone with our and human knives on them?"

"The knife in my hand is the knife of us and others!"

After all, Mogami untied the saber from his waist, then raised it high, and showed his samurai sword to the villagers of Siwaxi Village in front of him.

After listening to the soldier's translation to Mogami, the village chief's pupils shrank slightly.

The man with the samurai sword - he had just seen...

After a long silence, the village chief cleared his throat, and then responded loudly:

"I haven't seen it! No outsiders with your Kazuto swords have come to our village recently! (Ainu language)"

The village chief didn't know why these Kazuto who came suddenly were looking for someone with a samurai sword.

But the village chief's intuition told him that these Kazuto were definitely not looking for the man with the samurai sword with friendly intentions.

Ogata had just given them the important news that "there is an army nearby". So Ogata was kind to them, so the village chief didn't want to be that kind of ungrateful person unless he had to.

Hearing the village head's negative answer, Mogami didn't show any strangeness on his face.

With his usual expression, he put the saber back on his waist and asked in a calm tone, "Is what you said true?"

Village Chief: "I didn't lie to you! (Ainu language)"

"...Let's change the question then."

Mogami smiled faintly.

"For some reason, we have to find someone with a samurai sword no matter what. I wonder if you can let us enter the village to check?"

Although it was a question, there was no hint of negotiation in Mogami's tone.

"I want to confirm whether there are people with samurai swords lurking in your village, or if there are any relevant clues."

Hearing Mogami's words, the village chief's expression changed several times.

When the village chief was silent, thinking about how to reply, Mogami went on to say:

"Why? Don't you want us to enter? Since you dare to say what you said just now with such confidence, you shouldn't be afraid of us entering, right?"

"If you are worried about whether we will do something excessive after we enter your village, then you can rest assured! I assure you - we only check and do nothing else!"

Speaking of this, the most Shang paused.

Then he put on an unusually calm tone and said slowly:

"I hope you can cooperate with us. This will benefit both of us."

Mogami didn't say any threatening words directly, but the lines were full of threats.

The village chief pursed his lips tightly, with a look of resentment on his face.

It's not just the village head, most of the villagers who heard Mogami's words just now showed the same resentment as the village head.

Because they all know - they have no right to choose at all...

There are less than 150 people in their Siwaxi village, and the number of soldiers who can take up arms to fight is not as many as the soldiers brought by Mogami.

While the number is not as good as the opponent, the equipment is also far inferior to the opponent.

The biggest killing move of the Ainu people is the poisonous arrow, and the biggest killing move against them by the armor on the people is simply Tianke.

To kill these armored soldiers like using poisoned arrows, you can only use brute force to pierce the armor, or accurately shoot those places that are not protected by the armor - whether it is the former or the latter, it is extremely powerful Only shooters can do this kind of thing.

If you fight head-on with Mogami and the others, you can imagine what the consequences will be...

Accept Mogami and the others to enter the village, maybe the whole village will be safe in the end.

And refused Mogami and their entry into the village...Mogami, he had already threatened them in a very euphemistic tone just now...

Their weak strength makes them unable to choose other options...

The village chief sighed heavily:

"...I understand, but I only allow 10 of you to enter. (Ainu language)"

Mogami raised his eyebrows: "...All right. 10 people, just 10 people."

"Village head." A villager standing next to the village head whispered eagerly, "Are we really going to let these people enter our village?"

"How else can we choose...?" The village chief sighed again, "Should we deny them entry and then go shopping with them? Are we their opponents?"

The words of the village chief directly made the expressions of resentment on the faces of the people around him even stronger.

"Don't worry." The village chief comforted the surrounding villagers and himself, "There is no one with a samurai sword in our village now. After they check and confirm that there is nothing abnormal, they should leave... ..."

...

...

Mogami led nine soldiers striding towards the village of Siwasi, and the village chief himself acted as their "team leader".

After looking at the scenes of several private houses in one breath, Mogami asked the village chief who was walking in front of them in a nonchalant tone:

"Your households are packing their luggage. Are you preparing to flee for your life?"

The village head had long guessed that Mogami was likely to ask this question, so after swallowing hard, he answered with the answer he had prepared early in the morning:

"A young man from our village spotted your army when he was out hunting yesterday. We are afraid of being implicated by the flames of war, so we are going to temporarily flee into the mountains. (Ainu language)"

Mogami nodded lightly: "That's it...well, understandable."

Seeing that Mogami didn't seem to be delving too deeply into their village's plan to flee with the whole village, the village chief secretly breathed a sigh of relief... praying that it will go smoothly in the future, and praying that Mogami will leave obediently in the future.

...

...

"Huh? What's wrong with the village?" Urape, who took Lilata's little hand and returned to the village from the east side of the village, looked around suspiciously.

The atmosphere of the whole village enthusiastically packing their luggage and preparing to run away has completely disappeared at this time.

Instead, there is a strange dead silence...

Urape and the others returned to the village from the east of the village, while Mogami's troops were on the west side of the village, so Urape and Lilata missed Mogami and them perfectly.

Just when Urape was holding Lilata, standing in a corner of the village, and continued to look around with a puzzled look, a voice with a bit of anxiety sounded from Urape's side:

"Ulape, are you back? Don't walk around, something happened."

The owner of this voice is an old woman who is currently shrinking half of her body behind the curtain in a private house not far from Urape and the others.

This old woman has a good relationship with Urape on weekdays, and her eyes are full of anxiety now.

"What happened?"

As soon as Urape asked this question, she suddenly heard a strange "clicking" sound of iron objects colliding from the corner in front of her.

She followed the prestige——then saw the village head leading the most senior people appear from the corner in front.

That strange "click, click, click" sound was exactly the sound of armor colliding when Mogami and the others were walking.

Looking at these armored Kazutos who suddenly appeared, Urape's face turned pale, and he subconsciously pulled Lilata, pulling Lilata behind him.

Although Urape moved quickly, Mogami, who was following closely behind the village chief, still saw Lilata's appearance.

After seeing Lilata's face, Mogami narrowed his eyes slightly—but no one noticed Mogami's subtle expression change.

Knowing that Ulape and Lilata have a close relationship with the "man with a samurai sword" who just left their village, the village chief has quick eyes and quick hands:

"Ulape, you are back. There are guests coming to our village. Don't wander around in the village now. Go home first. (Ainu language)"

After finishing speaking, the village chief turned his head and smiled at Mogami behind him:

"I'm sorry, there are very few people in the village to patronize. They were just a little scared just now. (Ainu language)"

"It's okay." Mogami smiled slightly, "It's understandable. Let's go, let's go somewhere else."

The village chief led the most senior people away.

After watching Mogami and the others leave, Urape, feeling relieved, let out a long breath.

"Why are Kazuto's soldiers here... eh? Lirata? What's wrong with you?"

It wasn't until this moment that Urape realized that Lilata, who had just been pulled behind him, was shaking quite violently and her face was pale, as if she had seen something horrifying.

"Yes, it's that person...it's that person..." Lilata's voice was trembling along with her body.

Just now, after seeing Mogami following closely behind the village chief, the memories of the night before began to pop up in Lilata's mind...

A strong man in red and black armor, wielding a strange spear, killed her grandfather. Her parents tried their best to stop her, creating time and opportunities for her to escape...

Lilata will never forget the face of that strong man...

That brawny man... was the one who was following closely behind the village chief just now...

...

...

There was still about half of the village that I hadn't visited, so Mogami suddenly said to the village chief - it's ready, it's almost done after checking here.

Although he didn't know why Mogami suddenly gave up halfway, the village chief also wanted him to leave as soon as possible.

The village head personally sent Mogami back to the west side of the village where his troops were.

After returning to the west side of the village, after his troops appeared within his field of vision, Mogami continued to walk towards his troops, while suddenly hooking the corners of his mouth slightly upwards,

"Village Chief, thank you for your cooperation."

Mogami thanked the village head next to him abruptly.

Before the village head could say anything in the future, Mogami continued to speak slowly to himself:

"My luck today...it seems pretty good..."

"I was already mentally prepared to find no clues in your village."

"I never expected——to find unexpected joy in your village."

After finishing speaking, Mogami raised his hand and gestured to the troops ahead.

This gesture was agreed upon by Mogami with his generals in advance.

The specific meaning of this gesture is - attack.

The moment Mogami made this gesture, the soldiers who were already ready to go raised their weapons in unison.

Ten arrows soared from the formation, and then slammed heavily on the villagers holding weapons who stayed on the west side of the village, confronting Mogami's subordinates...

...

...

Ogata, who was concentrating on riding his horse slowly on a dirt road that had been trampled out, suddenly stopped.

Then he turned his head slowly and looked in the direction of Siwaxi Village, which he had just left not long ago.

"Huh? What's the matter?" A-Machi turned his head and cast a puzzled look at Ogata.

"...It's nothing." Ogata said softly, "It's just that I just felt a little restless for some reason..."

...

...

"My lord."

As Mogami's lieutenant general, Sakaguchi strode towards Mogami who was resting under a big tree.

Mogami is currently sitting and resting under a big tree.

Next to the big tree, there are a large number of Ainu people who are squatting on the ground, either looking sad or crying-they are all villagers of Siwaxi Village.

Around them, there were more than 20 soldiers guarding them.

Just now, after the highest order to attack, he and his subordinates, relying on powerful equipment and excellent training level, occupied Siwaxi Village after paying a few single-digit casualties.

All those who dared to resist were killed.

Those who gave up resistance and were powerless to resist are now all herded together like livestock and centralized management.

Mogami personally led people to take care of the remaining villagers of Siwaxi Village, and then handed over an important task to his deputy general Sakaguchi.

This task is - to torture some villagers and ask them for information.

"We have tortured some villagers, but those villagers said they don't know, they don't know."

Walking up to the top, Sakaguchi reported in his heavily accented voice.

"Only the village chief and the old woman have shared a lot of information."

"After beating the village chief half to death, the village chief admitted that just now, two men and two women visited their village, one of them was Kazuto, and the man with Kazuto was wearing a samurai sword. .”

"The village chief said: The two men and two women have just left from the north side of the village."

"But the village head doesn't know their names."

"That old woman has more information."

"The old woman said: It was those two men and two women who saved her granddaughter who lived in Takta Village."

"Not long after these four people sent her granddaughter here, they just left from the north side of the village."

"We also asked the old woman if she knew the names of these four people. The old woman said no. The four people left in a hurry after sending her granddaughter. They didn't introduce themselves, and the old woman didn't have time to ask."

"Although neither the village chief nor the old woman knew the names of the two men and the two women, the village chief and the old woman both told them about the appearance of the two men and the two women."

Mogami, who was resting under a big tree, heard the news, grinned and laughed: "...My luck today is really good. I didn't expect to have a clue so soon. From the north side of the village Have you left...I didn't expect you to pry the information out of the old woman's mouth so quickly. Good job."

Hearing Mogami's praise, Sakaguchi smiled modestly:

"It took us a lot of effort to get the information from the old woman."

"At the beginning, no matter how much I tortured her, she just didn't say anything. Until we threatened her: If you don't tell everything we know, we will chop off your granddaughter's fingers in front of you."

"After hearing our threat, the old woman finally let go. While telling us everything she knew, she begged us not to hurt her granddaughter."

Speaking of this, Sakaguchi paused, and then quickly added:

"In order to ensure that the information is correct, we have told these tortured people according to your order: if the information they said does not match the information that others said, we will kill them all."

In order to ensure the accuracy of the information, the people who may have the information are placed in different places, so that they cannot see each other, and then threaten them: If the information you said does not match, let you feel what is "pain"—— This is a very common means of obtaining information.

Mogami nodded lightly, with even more joy on his face: "Good job."

"It's all thanks to you, Mogami-sama." Sakaguchi flattered Mogami, "Sir, how did you know that there is something wrong with the people in this village?"

Mogami smiled and shrugged: "It's just luck."

Mogami slowly got up from the ground.

"By the way, what about the little barbarian? Does the information that the little barbarian said match the information that the old woman said?"

"This..." Sakaguchi's face showed a faint look of embarrassment, "That little barbarian... until now he still hasn't said a word..."

Mogami frowned slightly.

And Sakaguchi immediately added:

"Let's scare that little barbarian first."

"I thought that the little barbarian was so young, as long as he was intimidated, he would definitely be scared to death."

"But no matter what we say, that little barbarian just won't say a word."

"And then?" Mogami asked, "Did you torture her?"

Sakaguchi nodded quickly: "When we saw that intimidation was useless, we started to torture her."

"But until now, that little barbarian still hasn't said anything..."

"That's it..." Mogami said lightly, "...Take me to see that little barbarian."

Sakaguchi: "Yes!"

Sakaguchi led Mogami to the place where the little barbarian was being tortured—that is, Lilata.

Soon, Mogami was led by Sakaguchi to a corner of the village. I saw Lilata who was lying on the ground now, and the 4 soldiers who were standing beside Lilata responsible for interrogating her.

After seeing Mogami and Sakaguchi, the four soldiers immediately stopped their torture work and saluted Mogami.

The exposed skin was bruised and bloodied—this is what Lilata looks like now.

With so many bruises and bloodstains, it is hard to imagine what happened to this child just now.

The pain from all over her body made Lirata's face pale, her eyes closed tightly, and her face was covered with cold sweat.

Seeing Lilata's miserable state, Mogami - his expression didn't change at all.

After glancing at Lilata blankly, he said softly:

"I didn't expect this little barbarian to have quite a backbone."

"It's a pity that we don't have any instruments of torture on hand now." Sakakou said with emotion, "The pain and torture brought by torture instruments are not comparable to punching and kicking. If we have torture instruments in hand, we will definitely be able to Let the little barbarian spit out everything he knows."

After hearing Mogami's voice, Lilata, who was lying on the ground dying, trembled violently, then struggled to open her eyes and looked at Mogami.

Looking at Mogami, who was looking at her with a smile, Lilata's already pale face instantly became like snow.

Tears came out slowly and swirled, and complex emotions formed by a variety of emotions appeared in the eyes - anger, fear, and fear...

"Looking at your appearance, you seem to remember me." The most superficial smile smiled, "You remember me, and I remember you too. I should say 'thank you' to you, thanks to Thanks to you, let me grasp useful information so quickly."

The battle the night before yesterday was the first battle of this campaign, so Mogami still remembers it fresh.

He remembered it very clearly - when he was waving a sickle gun and killing happily, he once chased and killed a pair of "an old man and a young girl".

After flying the old man with a sickle gun, when he was about to kill the little girl, a man and a woman suddenly jumped out and stopped him.

Because he was stopped by the man and the woman, Mogami missed the chance to kill the little girl too.

Although he failed to kill the little girl, Mogami remembered the little girl's appearance.

At the same time - he also remembered that he saw with his own eyes that 4 soldiers chased and killed the little girl instead of him.

Just now, after seeing Lilata, Mogami immediately remembered that this was the girl who escaped from his gun the night before.

How did such a young girl escape from the pursuit of the four soldiers and then escape here? This question made Mogami suspicious of the village.

So he decided to use simple and crude methods to extract information from the village.

It is also because of this that Mogami designated Lilata and her grandmother Urape as "special care objects", and designated their mother-in-law and grandson and the village chief as "objects that must be tortured."

Fortunately, Mogami was right.

There is something really wrong with this village.

"My luck today is really good..." Mogami let out a sigh of relief, "I thought it would take a lot of effort to collect information... Hmm? What is this?"

At this time, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small thing on the ground not far away - a small windmill made of branches and leaves.

After picking up the small windmill at Mogami, Sakaguchi on the side quickly explained:

"This is what this little barbarian has been holding in his hand just now. When we just threw it away from this little barbarian's hands, this little barbarian wanted to snatch it back. After we slapped her twice, she Be honest."

"A windmill made of branches and leaves..." Mogami frowned, "It looks disgusting..."

After all, Mogami threw the small windmill in his hand on the ground as if he was throwing some disgusting garbage.

Windmills made of branches and leaves are inherently fragile.

After the windmill was casually thrown aside by the top, one of the blades of the windmill that touched the ground head down fell directly from the pole made of branches.

"Mogami-sama." Sakaguchi asked at this time, "Do you want to continue to torture this little barbarian, or other villagers?"

Mogami pondered for a moment: "...Forget it, no need. The information collected so far is enough."

"Sakaguchi, inform everyone—ready to go. Target: the north side of the village."

Speaking of this, Mogami grinned:

"We might be able to catch up with those two men and two women now."

"Then... what about these villagers?" Sakaguchi glanced at Lilata on the ground next to him.

Mogami glanced at Lilata together: "...let them fend for themselves, I am no longer interested in them, and I don't want to waste precious time on them anymore."

After all, Mogami never looked at Lilata on the ground again, flicked the haori on his body, and walked away.

"Action! Sakaguchi! I want to see the team ready to go within a stick of incense!"

"yes!"

...

...

"Mr. Mashima, look! The tree in front is very suitable for building a hunting lodge!" Aizan, who was sitting behind Ogata, pointed forward.

At the end of the direction Aizan pointed at was a fir tree that grew just beside a small slope, with a trunk so thick that a grown man could hug it.

Fir trees are the most common trees in Ezo. No matter where you go, you can always see fir trees.

"It's not too early now, and I don't think the weather is very good. It should snow soon. Shall we spend the night here tonight?" Aizan continued.

Ogata looked up at the sky above his head.

According to Ogata's estimation, the current time is probably approaching 5 pm.

At this time, the sky was covered with a thin layer of dark clouds, as if covered with a layer of black gauze.

Ogata nodded lightly: "Okay then, let's spend the night here tonight."

Ogata and A-Ming took the radishes and grapes to a big tree and tied them, while Aizan took his machete and chopped down the fir tree that happened to grow next to the small slope. It took a few minutes So a "temporary hunting lodge" was built enough for the four of Ogata and the others to lie down and rest in it.

After Ogata and the others got into the hunting lodge, Aizan sighed softly:

"If only the road we started on hadn't been blocked by an avalanche. That way we can get out of the mountain now."

Not long after leaving Siwaxi Village today, Ogata and the others encountered a small accident—the road ahead was blocked by trees crushed by an avalanche, and Ogata and the others had to take a detour, which wasted a lot of time.

"Forget it." Ogata smiled, "Anyway, it doesn't make much difference whether you leave this mountain earlier or later."

"Mr. Aizan." Ahili on the side said at this time, "Let's go and hunt some prey while it's still daylight? (Ainu language)"

"Hmm... That's right, the sky is pitch black now, (Ainu language)"

Aizan turned his head to look at Ogata:

"Mr. Mashima, Ashley and I are going hunting now, you two should rest here first. We will be back as soon as possible."

"Yeah." Ogata nodded, "Be careful. If you can't catch any prey, just come back."

After Aizan agreed, he and Ahili got out of the hunting lodge with their respective bows and arrows, and both disappeared into the depths of the nearby woods.

After Aizan and Ahili left, A-Machi, who was sitting cross-legged beside Ogata, suddenly asked Ogata in a joking tone:

"Thinking about it now - the life we're living in right now is very nourishing."

"You don't have to worry about eating. Aizan and Ahili will help us get fresh food every meal time."

Hearing Ah-cho's words, Ogata couldn't help but smile:

"Treasure the life you have now." Ogata put on a joking tone like A-cho just now, "After that, you probably won't be able to live the good life that someone will hunt for you for you now. .”

After finishing speaking, Ogata undid the Da Shitian stuck in his left waist, and then pulled Da Shitian out of the sheath.

"Do you want to change the oil on your knife?" Machi asked.

"Yeah." Ogata nodded, "It's been a while since I changed the knife oil."

Ogata took out the powder stick for knife wiping powder that he carried with him, the knife powder for removing oil from the knife, and the knife oil that was applied to the knife body to prevent rust.

Ogata knew that after coming to Ezodi, there should be no other way to get knife powder and knife oil, so long before he went to Ezodi, Ogata bought enough "supplement oil" for him to use for 2 years set".

Replacing the oil on the knife—this kind of thing, Ogata has long been familiar with it.

Ogata had just dipped the powder stick into the knife powder, and was about to apply the powder to the knife, when A-Machi suddenly called Ogata:

"Wait a moment."

"Huh? What's the matter?"

A-Machi tapped his cheek.

"Now that Aizan and Ahili are not here, take off your mask temporarily."

"You've been wearing it all this time, I think it's time for your face to breathe." A-Ming changed into a slightly joking tone.

"... That's true." Ogata put down the powder stick in his hand, stretched his fingers to the root of his left ear, and peeled off the human skin mask that had been worn on his face for a long time.

"Hmm..." A-Machi stared straight at the face that had just taken off the human skin mask.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's nothing." Ah-Ming smiled, "It's just that I haven't seen your real appearance for too long, and I feel a little strange to your real appearance."

"Then I have to wear this human skin mask as little as possible in the future." After responding to A-Ming with a joke, Ogata picked up the powder stick again, and used the powder stick to rub the knife powder on the knife body with skillful movements , and then bit by bit wiped off the old knife oil remaining on Da Shitian Knife.

When Ogata was changing the oil on his saber, A-Machi sat aside, quietly watching Ogata who was seriously changing the oil on the knife, and the knife in Ogata's hand was being coated with new oil bit by bit. The great release of knife oil.

Unexpectedly, Ah-Ming suddenly murmured in a low voice:

"...Your saber is also covered in cuts and bruises..."

"Yeah. That's right." Ogata responded softly, "No matter how tough a sword is, it still has its limits."

"Think about it carefully—these two knives have been with me for a long time, almost a year..."

While Ogata was sighing softly here, A-Machi kept looking at Da Shitian in Ogata's hand with a lot of gaps with complicated eyes.

After Ogata's sigh fell, A-Machi was silent for a moment, and suddenly said faintly:

"Ayi...while we are alone now...I have something to tell you..."

"Huh?" Ogata stopped what he was doing, and looked at A-Ming, "Just speak up if you have something to say, I'm all ears, don't be so mysterious."

"What I'm going to say next...you may not like to hear it, but I'm going to say it anyway."

After all, Ah-Machi took a deep breath, as if to muster up his courage.

After taking several deep breaths in a row, A-Machi, with a serious face, said word by word:

"Ayi, I have no objection to you acting bravely."

"But I think...you should protect yourself more while you are acting bravely..."

"To be honest... the night before yesterday, when I saw you confronting the country's army, I was actually a little scared..."

Speaking of this, Ah-Ming couldn't help but pursed his lips tightly.

And Ogata——he at this moment laughed dumbfoundedly.

"...Are you afraid that I will miss and be killed?"

A-Ming shook his head: "I'm afraid that your identity as 'Mashima Goro' will also be wanted by the whole country, or...'Ogata Issei' further annoyed the shogunate and was hunted down by the shogunate..."

"I don't need to tell you, you should also know how bad your situation in Japan is right now...?"

"Before, there was the felony crime of killing the lord, and later there was the attack on Ertiao City..."

"You have offended the shogunate badly now."

"I'm worried that if you offend the shogunate further, the shogunate might decide to adopt a hunting method that has never been seen before, and will use all the power of the country to hunt and kill you..."

"I think if you further annoy the shogunate, it is really possible for the shogunate to do such a thing..."

"The shogunate ruled the whole of Japan. No matter how strong a person's martial arts are, they can't shake such a huge monster."

"Shiranui is so powerful, in order to survive, he has to rely on the shogunate."

"So—Ayi, promise me."

A-Machi raised his hands and pressed Ogata's cheeks.

"Anything that may further offend the shogunate should be done as little as possible, it is best not to do it, and live as low-key and anonymous as possible in the future, okay?"

"I can guarantee this kind of thing for you..." Ogata smiled wryly, "Things are impermanent, and there will always be some uncontrollable things..."

Before Ogata could finish his sentence, the conversation stopped.

Because he saw A-cho's eyes looking straight at him.

There was no extra emotion in Ah-ding's dark pupils.

Yes, only seriousness, and——real worries about Ogata's future.

Looking directly at Ah-Machi's pupils, Ogata sighed silently:

"...I see." Ogata smiled wryly, "I promise you. I will try to do as little as possible to offend the shogunate."

Hearing Ogata's promise to her, Acho put on a big smile at Ogata, and then let go of Ogata's cheeks.

"Oh." Ah-Ming looked outside the hunting lodge, "It's snowing..."

Ogata also turned his gaze to the outside of the hunting hut—only bits of white snow were falling from the dark clouds.

Looking at the current situation, the amount of snowfall seems to have a tendency to increase further.

Ah-cho stood up slowly while patting the dust on his buttocks:

"Okay, I'll find something to do now."

"I just saw a clean river not far from here. I'll go fetch some water and come back. Give me your kettle."

"It's snowing outside now, do you still have to fetch water?" Ogata said.

"It's not some blizzard that's too big to walk on. I'll be back soon."

"Ah, since you are oiling your own knife now, then help maintain my weapon by the way."

A-cho took out her Su Sakura and Hi Sakura and handed them to Ogata.

"My two short guns have not been properly maintained for a long time, so I will trouble you."

"Ah, and - after hearing the voices of Aizan and Ahili coming back, remember to put back the human skin mask in time."

After all, without waiting for Ogata's response, Ah-Ming got out of the hunting lodge with her and Ogata's water bottle, leaving Ogata alone in the hunting lodge.

Ogata glanced at the unoiled saber in front of him, and the two pistols that A-Machi had just thrown to her.

"Speaking of which...my gun seems to have been out of maintenance for a long time..."

After saying this to himself, a helpless smile appeared on Ogata's face, then Ogata temporarily put away his knife, picked up A-Machi's Su Sakura, and took the lead in maintaining A-Machi's weapon.

...

...

Following his own memory, A-Ming walked quickly towards the clear river he had just seen.

After a while, Ah Ding heard the sound of gurgling water.

After hearing the sound of water, A-Machi quickened his pace a little. After a while, I saw a clear river.

"Woo...it's really ice..." After putting the unscrewed kettle into the icy cold river water, Ah-Ming was immediately so cold that his whole body shivered a few times.

...

...

Standing on a high slope with a telescope in his hand, he looked around.

Although binoculars are expensive and extravagant imported items in Japan today, as a senior general, Mogami is still qualified to own one.

While Mogami was observing the surroundings with binoculars, Lieutenant General Sakaguchi and other generals stood around him, silently waiting for Mogami's observation to end.

Soon, Mogami put down the binoculars in his hand, frowning tightly.

"Mogami-sama." Sakaguchi asked, "Didn't you notice?"

Mogami shook his head: "I didn't see half of the people. But I saw a lot of deer."

After interrogating the information about Ogata from the villagers of Siwaxi Village, Mogami and the others followed the direction pointed by the villagers of Siwaxi Village and chased them all the way.

However until now, most of them haven't found anything.

Sakaguchi, with a bit of regret on his face, looked up at the sky above his head.

"My lord, it's almost dark now, let's find a place to spend the night first, and wait until tomorrow morning to continue hunting for the 'mysterious swordsman'."

Mogami did not respond to Sakaguchi.

With a faint expression of resignation on his face, he raised the binoculars in his hand again.

"……Ok?"

After raising the binoculars again, Mogami suddenly let out a surprised "hmm", and his brows that were originally tightly furrowed suddenly loosened.

The sudden change in Mogami's expression was just because - through the telescope, he saw a scene that surprised him.

He saw a river not far from here.

A woman is crouching by the river, as if fetching water.

"...My luck today is really good." Mogami put down the binoculars in his hand, and grinned happily.

...

...

Suppressing the biting coolness of the river water, after filling his and Ogata's water bottles to the brim, A-Machi held her and Ogata's water bottles in one hand, and tightened his clothes with the other hand.

"The snow has gotten bigger..." Ah-Ming looked at the sky above his head and murmured.

When Ah-Ming left the hunting lodge, it was still snowing.

But at this moment, the original fine snow turned into heavy snow with goose feathers, accompanied by moderate wind.

After fastening the clothes on his body, A-Machi ran quickly in the direction of returning to the hunting lodge.

The only sounds that reached A-Ming's ears were the sound of wind and snow, and the low sound of breaking wind after a fast sprint.

However, at this moment—very abruptly, Ah-Ming suddenly heard some strange noises.

Ah-Ming suddenly heard—a slight abnormal sound behind him.

When the strange noise first sounded, Ah-Ming didn't pay attention to it, and just thought it was the sound of the wind blowing.

It wasn't until the abnormal noise became louder and louder that Ah-Ming gradually realized something was wrong...

Ah-Ming gradually realized that this sound did not seem to be the sound of the wind blowing.

But... the sound of hooves!

After realizing that the abnormal sound was the sound of horseshoes, A-Machi's pupils shrank suddenly in surprise.

Wanting to escape temporarily—it was too late.

One after another cavalrymen emerged from the snowstorm behind A-Ming.

How fast the horse is - that needs no words.

From the appearance of the figure, to quickly blocking A-Ming's way and surrounding A-Ming - it took less than 2 breaths.

Ah Ding looked at the enemies surrounding her, although she tried her best to control her, but there was still a slight panic in the depths of her eyes.

——Damn it... the sound of wind and snow covered the hooves of these people...

It was the first time that Machi hated wind and snow so much.

The noise of the wind and snow covered the hooves of the uninvited guests, so that Ah Ding failed to discover the cavalry in time, and missed the best time to hide or escape...

"Karawaki is hung on the back of the waist, she is very beautiful, and her breasts are very plump... The appearance and characteristics are the same as the information squeezed out of Siwaxi Village..."

A-Ming followed the voice - the owner of the voice was a general wearing a red and black armor with a scythe spear.

"Who are you?" Ah Ding forced himself to be calm, "Why are you blocking my way?"

"Okay, this beautiful woman. I don't want to spend too much time talking nonsense, let's get straight to the point." The military commander—that is, Mogami shrugged, "You should have three companions, two men and one woman. ? Where are they now? Can you tell me where?"

A-cho's pupils shrank imperceptibly: "What are you talking about? What are three companions, two men and one woman?"

"I knew you wouldn't just tell me the information obediently." Mogami sneered lowly, "It's okay, we have plenty of ways to make you spit out the information. Hey, tie up this woman and take her away!"

Hearing Mogami's order, several soldiers closest to A-cho dismounted from their horses, and then slowly leaned towards A-cho with their spears in their hands.

"Wait!" Ah-cho yelled, "I really don't know what three companions are two men and one woman!"

Mogami remained unmoved.

The soldiers who received the order to tie up A-Ming continued to lean towards A-Ming with their spears in their hands.

Seeing this, A-Ming gritted his teeth.

Then he let out a sigh of relief.

"I know! I'll tell you everything I know!"

Hearing what Ah-cho said, Mogami raised his eyebrows, and then raised his hand to signal the soldiers who were ordered to tie up Ah-cho to stop.

"Then tell me everything you know." Mogami smiled, showing a condescending attitude, "Don't worry—as long as you cooperate obediently, we won't do anything to you."

Machi nodded silently.

Then he took a deep breath.

then--

"There are enemies—!"

Shouted that loudly as loud as he could.

...

...

"...Okay." Ogata looked at the beautifully maintained Su Ying and Fei Ying in his hands several times, and nodded with satisfaction.

After temporarily placing the two guns in his hand on the ground beside him, Ogata turned his head and glanced at the sky outside.

The sky outside has begun to darken slightly.

"Why hasn't Ah-cho come back... Is that river that far away..." Ogata muttered.

After muttering, Ogata picked up Da Shitian, who had just been half maintained, and prepared to continue maintaining his saber.

But at this moment——

"There are enemies—!"

A scream pierced through layers of snow and entered Ogata's ears.

This scream seemed to have some magical power.

Ogata, who was calm just now, changed suddenly when he heard the scream...

...

...

After screaming "There is an enemy", A-Machi quickly pulled out the wakizasa from her waist, and rushed towards the enemy on her right.

Now she only hopes that Ogata and the others can hear her screams, and... that she can successfully break through the encirclement of these cavalry, or wait for Ogata and the others to support them.

Just after being surrounded by the sudden cavalry, Ah-cho noticed that the defense on her right was weaker.

Although A-Ming's skills are not very high, she does not lack in combat experience.

After jumping on the soldier on her right at an extremely fast speed, A-Machi swung Wakizashi in his hand and cut the soldier's throat.

Then, like a cat, he quickly jumped towards another soldier.

However... a sudden change occurred.

Ah-Machi suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming from beside him.

Turning his head to look at his side - Mogami strode towards A-Ming with his scythe gun on his shoulders.

Just now, after seeing A-Ming's agility, Mogami's face showed a strong interest, and then turned over and jumped off the horse, and rushed towards A-Ming.

This was the first time Mogami met such a skilled woman.

He decided to meet this rare female warrior.

Mogami, armed with a sickle spear, relied on an extremely wide attack range, and launched a stab attack when he was nearly 2 meters away from A-Machi.

call--!

There was a sharp piercing sound of the gun tip piercing the air.

Looking at the rapidly enlarged gun head within his field of vision, Amachi's face was filled with astonishment.

Ah-ding tried his best to narrowly escape Mogami's stabbing attack.

Seeing that A-Machi was able to dodge his own stabbing, the interest on Mogami's face became a little more intense, he grinned happily, and then launched a new round of attacks on A-Machi.

Seeing that Mogami stepped forward to fight A-Ming himself, the surrounding soldiers obediently stepped aside, leaving enough space for the two of them to fight.

Facing the sharp stabs one after another, A-Ming's face was full of anxiety.

Su Ying and Fei Ying—her two major killers are now in Ogata.

The only weapons Ah-Ming has now are the Wakizashi hanging on his back waist, and a few kunai that he carries with him...

With Wakizashi as her weapon, her attack range is only a fraction of that of Mogami...

So right after the battle with Mogami started, Acho was directly suppressed by Mogami...

Knowing that he would lose if he continued like this, A-Ming gritted his teeth.

She decided to give it a go.

After dodging Mogami's stab again, A-Ming took out 3 kunai from his back waist with lightning speed, and threw them all at Mogami in one breath.

Looking at the three oncoming kunai, Mogami's pupils shrank suddenly, then retracted and swept the sickle gun in his hand, knocking down all three kunai in one go.

And just when Mogami knocked down the three kunai, A-Machi clenched the wakizashi in his hand, seized the rare opening, and rushed towards Mogami.

Facing Mogami, who has a super wide attack range, it must be difficult to escape.

So A-Machi quickly came up with the best and most feasible plan at present - to subdue Mogami, take Mogami as a hostage, and coerce the cavalry to retreat.

It's a pity—Ah-Ming's plan is very fulfilling, but the reality is very cruel...

She underestimated Mogami's strength.

After sweeping away those kunai with one shot, Mogami turned the long spear in his hand at a speed far faster than every stab at A-Ming just now, and pointed the end of the gun at A-Ming who had not had time to get close to him.

bump!

Mogami pointed the butt of the gun at Machi's stomach and stabbed it hard. Machi's facial features twisted due to the pain, and the forward momentum stopped abruptly.

Then...

laugh!

The sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh and blood resounded.

The last time he turned the scythe gun in his hand, the scythe blade of the tip of the gun swept towards A-Ming's left collarbone...

Blood flowers bloomed from Ah Ding's body...

Mogami's offensive didn't stop.

Instead, he turned the gun again, pierced the gun head into the flesh under A-ding's left collarbone, and then pushed forward, pushing A-ding's petite body against the trunk of a big tree behind her.

"You said 'there are enemies' just now...was it a warning to your companion who happened to be nearby?" Mogami asked A-Ming in a deep voice.

A-machi ignored Mogami.

Being pushed against the tree trunk, she only endured the severe pain while casting an unyielding gaze towards the top.

"...It's fine if you don't want to say it. I hope that after I torture you later, you can still be so stubborn. I like to torture women the most, because there are many torture methods for women that cannot be used when torture men."

With that said, Mogami retracted the gun in his hand.

And Machi also fell from the tree trunk.

"Tie up this woman!" Mogami ordered the four soldiers behind him, "Take her away! After tearing off a few of her fingers, I'll see if her mouth is still tight!"

"yes!"

After the four soldiers echoed in unison, they quickly walked towards A-Ming whose snow under him was already stained red by his own blood.

As for Mogami - he turned and left with his scythe gun on his shoulder, looking very high-spirited.

"Master Mogami." Sakaguchi on the side patted Mogami's flattery, "It seems that we will soon find the 'mysterious swordsman' who dared to kill our generals."

Mogami didn't respond to Sakaguchi's flattery.

Mogami just smiled triumphantly.

Smile that the mission went so well.

Smiling at the fact that I've had pretty good luck lately.

Smiling at the joy of feeling that he is almost done with this task.

"Be quick, tie up that woman quickly! Ah, yes, and stop the bleeding of that woman by the way." The top man shouted loudly at the four soldiers he had just sent to tie up Ah Ding Shouted, "After it's tied up, put that woman on my horse..."

...

...

Plop, plop, plop, plop...

...

...

Mogami hadn't finished speaking when four strange heavy objects fell to the ground, interrupting Mogami's conversation.

Following the sound of these 4 strange sounds, the generals and soldiers around Mogami screamed as if they saw some strange scene.

And Mogami was slightly stunned, and then slowly turned around - only to see that the 4 soldiers who were in charge of tying the rope for A-cho had all fallen to the ground at this time.

A strange samurai held a knife that was still dripping blood in his right hand, while his left hand supported A-Ming whose clothes were already stained red by blood.

...

...

_