Time goes back to just now——
After successfully reaching a deal with Skuluch, Chepke and others walked out of Skuluch's camp.
Manakel, who was walking beside Chepke, breathed a sigh of relief.
"It looks like we'll be busy later. We have to prepare enough meat and wine for Skuluch and the others... There aren't many people in our village who can go hunting right now. It'll take some time and effort to catch enough prey... Hmm? Chepke, why are you still so serious?"
"Nothing." Chepke took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled the air in his chest. "I just feel a little tired."
"Come to think of it...you seem to have not slept since last night."
"There are so many things to do. And...if I go home to rest, I might run into my son and daughter-in-law."
"I don't really want to see my son and daughter-in-law right now."
"Hmm? What happened? Did you have a fight with your son and daughter-in-law?"
Embarrassment slowly appeared on Chepke's face.
"We didn't have a fight, it was just...some embarrassing things that happened..."
"Forget it. I don't want to get involved in your family affairs. Anyway, I think you'd better go and get some rest."
"I don't have the time to rest right now. I'm going to look for that Majima Goro."
"Looking for Goro Majima?" Manakel's pupils shrank slightly - he instantly guessed what Chepke wanted to do.
"Yes." Chepke nodded, "I want to go and ask him in person if he is willing to stay in our village."
"What if he disagrees?" Manakel asked.
"If he doesn't agree, then I have no choice." Chepke said with a wry smile, "I can only think of other ways to solve the problem of insufficient number of men in our village..."
"Anyway - I'm going to try Majima Goro first."
"Maybe he would be happy to stay in our village."
"This time, I and a translator will go with us. Manakel, you go organize the people and prepare enough meat and wine."
"Yeah. I understand."
…
…
Timeline returns to the present -
"The village chief said: I want to ask if you are willing to work hard in our village, marry another wife, and then stay in our village."
The middle-aged man sitting next to Chepke translated what Chepke had just said into Japanese.
…
…
--Um?
…
…
Ogata turned his head and cast a puzzled look at the middle-aged man in charge of translation.
He looked at the middle-aged man and asked: Did you translate it correctly?
Facing Ogata's gaze, the middle-aged man did not flinch at all and answered Ogata with a firm expression - he did not translate it wrong.
Ogata turned his gaze back to Chepke.
"Village Chief, let me confirm - you are not kidding me."
"I am serious. (Ainu)" Chepke said.
After confirming that Chepke was not joking and that the translator had not made any mistakes, Ogata couldn't help but make a strange expression.
——Am I lucky in love?
Ogata thought helplessly in his heart.
In just two days, I was proposed to twice.
Yesterday, the mother-in-law who was possessed by a spirit who could see other people wanted to take him in as her grandson-in-law.
Today, the chief of Qina Village came to his house in person to ask him if he wanted to marry a girl from their village.
However, Ogata was not blinded by this "peach blossom".
After a brief moment of shock, Ogata quickly calmed down.
He folded his arms across his chest and stared into Chepke's face with eyes that seemed to pierce through him.
As for Atachi, who was sitting behind Ogata, after listening to the long speech just translated by the translator, her expression showed a great fluctuation.
Just as she was about to say something to Chepke, she noticed Ogata, who was looking at Chepke with a calm gaze.
Looking at Ogata with a calm face, Atachi silently pursed her red lips and swallowed back the words that were about to come to her lips.
Ogata stared at Chepke for a while before speaking softly:
"Village leader, can you tell me why you want me to marry a girl from your village and stay in your village?"
"Is it to increase the number of males in the village, so that the village can have one more skilled man?"
Ogata had just been thinking about the reason why the village chief proposed to him.
He thought for a long time, and the only reason he could think of was this - he wanted to expand the number of men in the village, which was already small.
Chepke pursed his lips and fell silent.
After a moment of silence, Chepke said slowly :
"I don't quite know what your life with people is like."
"For us who live a life of fishing and hunting, the strength and number of men directly determine the prosperity of a village."
"Without exception, villages lacking men are all extremely poor and are looked down upon and even bullied by people from other villages."
"Since you are a friend brought here by Ayakata, you should be aware of the 'disappearance incident' a few years ago, right?"
"Since the 'disappearance incident', the number of men in our village has decreased significantly."
"And what happened last night, if you don't think of a solution, our village will save you..." (Ainu language)
Having said this, Chepke stopped talking as if he couldn't go on any more.
Although he did not directly answer Ogata's question just now.
But what he said just now could be considered an indirect answer.
After quietly listening to Chepke's description of the suffering of their village and the translator's translation, Ogata sighed softly.
"I fully understand the suffering of your village."
"But I'm sorry - I don't want to marry a girl from your village, and I don't have the energy to live in your village for a long time."
Xu bowed to Chepke.
"I am a wanderer with no fixed place to stay. The wind and the ground are the quilt I should cover myself with and the bed I should sleep on."
"and……"
The image of his wanted poster, which for some reason had increased in value to 800 taels of gold, flashed across Ogata's mind.
“I’m not a person who can bring happiness to others.”
A smile with a hint of helplessness appeared on Ogata's face.
Chepke lowered his head and remained silent.
After a while, Chepke finally broke the silence.
"……I see."
Chepke did not pester him, but nodded readily to show that he understood, then stood up.
"Mashima Goro. If you change your mind later, you can always come see me."
"Our village will always welcome a great man like you to join us."
"Yes." Ogata nodded, "I will."
After leaving these words, Chepke and his translator left Ogata's home very happily and without any hesitation.
After Chepke left, Ogata breathed a sigh of relief.
Atachi, who was sitting behind Ogata, knelt down beside him, poked him with her elbow, and said in a half-joking tone:
"They've come to your door in person and are offering you a chance to marry a new wife. Are you sure you want to give it up?"
Ogata smiled bitterly.
"I'm not used to the Ainu people's lifestyle, so it's even more impossible for me to live in an Ainu settlement for a long time."
At this point, Ogata lowered his voice.
"Besides - if someone like me lives here for a long time, it will bring trouble to the people here."
Chepke didn't know it - by refusing to stay in their village, Ogata was actually protecting them.
"If the shogunate knew that Ogata Yoshisuke was living in an Ainu village, you can imagine what the shogunate would do, right?"
"The shogunate should now know that they can't do anything to me if they only send ordinary samurai here."
"If the shogunate knew that Ogata Yoshisei was living in an Ainu settlement, they might send troops directly over."
At this point, Ogata turned his head and looked at A-Machi, then said in a joking tone:
"I thought you would angrily tell them that 'Mashima Goro already has a wife like me' after hearing that Chepke Village Chief proposed to me."
"That's exactly what I wanted to do."
"But I think this kind of thing should be done by you, not me."
"It's okay—you didn't let me down."
After saying this, Atachi cast a praising look towards Ogata.
Ogata smiled and began to pull at the scarf around his neck.
"Go ahead and take a shower."
"I plan to meet with Sculucci this afternoon."
"You can't go to see people smelling bad."
Pulling off his scarf and unzipping his collar, Ogata revealed his muscular upper body covered with dried blood and sweat.
One advantage of ancient Japanese men's clothes is that they are very easy to take off.
You can take off the clothes by pulling the collar to the sides.
"Aren't you going to take off your clothes from below?" Atachi looked at Ogata's lower body, which was still covered with clothes.
"Don't worry." Ogata said, "Wash the upper body first and then the lower body. Anyway, I have to wash this set of clothes later. And it's so cold now. It will be very cold if I take off all the clothes at once."
"That's true."
A-Ming nodded, then took the basin filled with hot and cold water placed not far away.
After adding a little cold water to the hot water to make it warm, A-machi soaked a towel in the warm water and began to help Ogata wash his body.
A-Machi knelt behind Ogata and started to scrub his back.
Ogata was not idle either.
While Atachi was wiping his back, Ogata picked up another clean towel and wiped his own front.
Scrubbing the body is also a rather boring and tedious task.
In order to kill time, Ogata opened his personal system interface, checked his current status, and checked what his level and experience bars had become after the battle last night.
[Name: Ogata Noriyoshi]
[Current personal level: Lv37 (5710/5800)]
Personal attributes:
Strength: 20
Agility: 18
Reflexes: 15
Stamina: 21
Vitality: 36
【Skill:
[Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 13th stage (5255/12000)
Wuwo's ​​dual swordsmanship level: 11th level (11090/12000)
Shiranui Style Ninjutsu Level: 8th Stage (2690/7500)]
[Remaining skill points: 2 points]
… …
[Sakakihara Itto-ryu (13 paragraphs):
Climbing: Intermediate
Water Fall: Advanced
Bird Thorn: Master Level
Dragon Tail: Advanced
…
【Muga Nisshin (11th level):
Step: Advanced
Blade Return: Grandmaster
Flow: Master
Breath of the Source: Grandmaster
Raikiri: Beginner
Cicada Rain: Elementary
Starfall: Primary
…
【Shiranui Style Ninjutsu (8th level):
Shiranui Stealth Technique: Intermediate
Shiranui Style Jujutsu: Advanced
Shiranui Breath Holding Technique: (Not unlocked)
Shiranui Assassination Technique: (Not unlocked)]
…
The number of Cossacks who fell to Ogata's sword last night was between 30 and 40.
Killing so many enemies also earned Ogata a lot of experience points on each experience bar.
My personal level increased by nearly 4,000 experience points, Sakakibara Ittoryu more than 1,000 points, Muga Two-Sword Ryu nearly 3,000 points, and Shiranui-ryu Ninjutsu several hundred points.
Although he gained a lot of experience points, it was very difficult to upgrade because Ogata's current level was too high.
So after yesterday's battle, neither Ogata's personal level nor his martial arts skills upgraded.
However, although it has not been upgraded, his personal level and selfless dual-sword style are only one step away from upgrading.
After Ogata finished checking his personal system interface, Atachi had just finished wiping Ogata's back.
"I feel that the wild boars running in the forest every day are cleaner than you are now..."
While complaining about Ogata who was now extremely dirty, Atachi dipped the towel that had just been used to clean Ogata's back into the basin.
As soon as the towel was dipped into the basin, the originally clean and transparent water in the basin suddenly became turbid and so dirty that even the bottom could hardly be seen.
After cleaning Ogata's back, A-machi crawled on her knees in front of Ogata and began to clean his front together with Ogata.
"Why are you wiping so slowly?"
Ating said unhappily.
"I've already finished wiping your back, and you've only just cleaned your arms."
Ogata was just concentrating on checking his personal system interface, so his movements of washing his body naturally slowed down unconsciously.
"Don't look at me like this. I am a very delicate person sometimes." In order to save Tang Sai Amachi, Ogata said nonsense seriously, "Wipe it slowly, and it will be cleaner."
"Coming from someone like you who is too lazy to even wash his loincloth, this kind of talk is not convincing at all."
After saying that, Atachi looked very unhappy, as if she had recalled some unpleasant memories.
When he and Ogata first left Edo and went to Ezo, Ogata would wash his own clothes.
But gradually, Ogata became lazier and lazier.
Just like most couples - they are very respectful to each other when they first get married, but after a while, because they have gotten used to each other, they gradually become "easy-going" towards their partners.
Ogata was becoming increasingly lazy about washing his own clothes, and now he would basically just throw his clothes to Atachi to wash - including his loincloth.
The so-called loincloth can be understood as men's underwear of this era.
Realizing that he was in the wrong, Ogata silently lowered his head, his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, and dared not speak anymore.
Ating's movements were very quick.
In just a short while, she had cleaned the right half of Ogata's body and began to clean the left half of Ogata's body.
When the towel soaked in warm water touched the large area of ​​dark purple skin of Ogata that spread from the left neck to the left chest, A-Machi was suddenly stunned.
"…Is it my illusion…"
A-Machi murmured softly, then raised her hand and gently stroked the "deep purple" patch on Ogata's body that spread from the left neck to the left chest.
"You didn't seem to be 'purple' here before."
A-machi poked a finger at a small patch of skin just below Ogata's left collarbone.
Hearing what Atachi said, Ogata was slightly startled and hurriedly lowered his head to look at the place where Atachi pointed.
"Really? Hasn't this place turned purple before?"
Ogata usually doesn't pay much attention to the large area of ​​his skin that has turned purple.
He himself couldn't quite remember whether the piece of skin that Ating was poking had turned purple a long time ago.
Even if it had turned purple again recently, it must have been only a small area of ​​skin that had changed color.
If the skin discoloration is widespread, even Ogata, who normally doesn't pay much attention to his skin turning dark purple, will definitely notice the change.
"Really..." Ating muttered in a low voice, "But I remember the skin here was normal before..."
At this point, Ating paused.
Then, although he tried to suppress it, he still whispered with a hint of worry:
"This 'Immortal Poison'... could it be that it is spreading again..."
"...Don't think too much." Ogata said softly to Atachi, "Now we just need to follow the steps to find Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen."
Although Ogata had comforted her, Atachi couldn't help but cast a worried look at the large patch of purple skin on the left side of Ogata's neck.
"Where are Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen..." After a heavy sigh, Atachi continued to help Ogata wash his body.
"...A-Ming, don't worry." After a moment of silence, Ogata smiled at A-Ming, "My luck is always very good at critical moments."
"My good fortune has saved me from danger countless times, and has also allowed me to meet the right people at the right time countless times."
"So relax. We will definitely find Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen."
As if Ogata was amused by what he said just now, A-Machi smiled a little: "You are so optimistic. I must learn your optimistic character."
After saying that, Atachi stopped talking and concentrated on wiping Ogata's body with a towel.
…
…
As soon as Chepke came out of Ogata's house, he ran into Manakel.
After seeing Chepke, Manakel immediately went to meet him and asked him:
"Chepke, how is it?"
Chepke shook his head and answered Manakel with his gesture.
"Is that so..." Manakel smiled helplessly, "But this is normal. After all, he is a Japanese. His living habits are completely different from our Ainu."
"I would find it strange if he was willing to stay in our village."
"Manakel." Chepke raised his hand and rubbed his brow. "Can I borrow your home to take a nap? I feel a little sleepy now..."
"If you want to sleep, why don't you just go back to your house and sleep?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Chepke cast a helpless look at Manakel, "For some reasons, I don't really want to see my son and daughter-in-law."
"Let me take a nap at your house. I'll wake up at noon."
"Then please help me notify these people..."
Chepke rattled off the names of the most influential people still alive in his village.
"Tell them for me—I have a little meeting this afternoon."
"A little meeting?" Manakel asked. "What do you want to discuss with them?"
"Yes." Chepke nodded vigorously. "I plan to have a good talk with them about the future of the village."
"This matter cannot be delayed..."
Hearing Chepke's words, Manakel's expression instantly became serious.
"Originally, if Majima Goro is willing to become a member of our village, our village will directly add 100 new men."
Chepke continued.
"But now Majima Goro is unwilling to join our village."
"So now we have to find other ways to ensure the future of the village..."
…
…
After Atachi finished bathing Ogata, Ogata began to bathe Atachi.
Under such circumstances where one can only use a basin to hold water to wash the body, this kind of mutual assistance between two people is the most convenient.
Unlike Ogata, A-Ming did not fight the enemy head-on last night, so her body was not covered in blood and sweat, and was not terribly dirty. So it was easier to clean her.
After they simply washed themselves, they took a nap.
Neither of them slept last night.
First, he assisted the villagers in repelling the Cossacks, and then followed the villagers to clean up the village, working all night.
Even though Ogata, whose physical strength was as high as 21 points, felt very tired and sleepy after entering the "selfless state" to kill enemies, helping the villagers clean up the village, and staying up all night.
After scrubbing my body and taking a nap, it was already afternoon.
The specific time is around 2 o'clock.
After eating some dry food they brought with them as lunch, Ogata and Atachi set off for the meeting at Skulucci's camp.
Listen to what Skulucci has to tell him.
…
…
Outside Qina Village, eastward——
Skulucci's Camp
…
"Huh? Why do I want to wander around? I don't know. I have never thought about this question. I have never thought about this question. I want to wander around, so I wander around."
…
Skulucci suddenly felt a warmth on his face.
The warmth on his face was quite comfortable at first.
But gradually, Skulucci felt that the warmth was gradually rising.
Finally, Skulucci was awakened by the heat and came out of his dream, slowly opening his eyes.
Skulucci, whose consciousness had just returned to reality from the dream, looked around - all around him were the tent where he lived, which was very familiar to him.
He soon saw where the warmth came from.
His tent had many small openings for ventilation.
When not in use, the cloth sewn on these ventilation holes can be put down to cover the windows.
In order to allow for ventilation, Skulucci opened every small hole in the tent before taking a nap.
That warmth was the sunlight that shone through those small openings onto Skulucci's face.
Looking at the small opening through which the sunlight was shining, Skulucci roughly calculated the current time based on the position of the sun, and said in his heart with a helpless tone:
——It’s not a good thing if the weather is too nice…
After complaining a little about the weather being too nice and disturbing his sleep, Skulucci sat up in his hammock.
He had already woken up, but he was no longer sleepy.
He was now ready to continue what he had only done halfway due to taking a nap - sharpening the sword.
Skulucci picked up the Chasik knife and whetstone that lay beside his hammock.
Before taking a nap, he was concentrating on sharpening his saber with a whetstone.
When I was halfway through sharpening the knife, I felt sleepy.
So he put aside the half-sharpened saber and whetstone, ready to continue this boring work after taking a good nap.
Skulucci laid his Chasik on its side, with the blade facing his face.
A well-maintained sword will have a blade as clean and tidy as a mirror.
Skulucci's face was reflected on the mirror-like blade.
Looking at his own face reflected on the blade, Skulucci couldn't help but recall the dream he had just had.
The dream he had just had was a short one.
He only dreamed of the person who could be said to have changed his life, and the words that person said to him that are still fresh in his mind.
"I keep dreaming about him lately..." Skulucci murmured in a low voice.
"Boss Skulucci! Boss Skulucci!"
At this moment, Afje's voice was heard outside the tent.
Then Afje's freckled face poked its head into the tent.
"Boss Skulucci! Those two guys are coming!"
This morning, Sculucci had told his subordinates that one or two Japanese might come to his house at some point. If you see any Japanese coming to your house, remember to show some respect and inform him in time.
The Japanese and the Ainu have great differences in facial features and hairstyles, so it is unlikely that Skulucci's subordinates would make a mistake in identifying or mistaking someone.
As soon as Afjie finished speaking, Skulucci burst into laughter.
“Is it finally here?”
After saying this, Skulucci threw aside the saber and whetstone in his hands like a child who threw away the toys he was tired of playing with, and then strode out.
He was going to go and greet Ogata and the others in person.
Skulucci currently has only 12 subordinates with him.
With such a small number of people, the camp naturally wouldn't be very big.
After walking only a few steps, Skulucci saw a man and a woman standing outside Dayingkou - it was Ogata and Ating.
"Good afternoon! Mr. Majima! Ms. Atachi!" Sculucci greeted Ogata and Atachi in a very enthusiastic tone.
Ogata and Atachi also bowed slightly to Skulucci and responded.
"You guys are just in time!" Sculucci said with a smile, "I'm so bored now that I can only sharpen knives to kill time!"
"Come on, come in! It's not nice to stand here in Yingkou and talk like that."
Skulucci led Ogata and the other man through the camp gate and towards the tent where he lived.
Ogata had already been to Skulucci's camp last night, so most of Skulucci's subordinates recognized Ogata and Ating.
However, although they had already seen Ogata and Atachi, they still gathered not far away, looking at the two with curious eyes.
Since arriving in the Far East, they have basically been hanging around Ezo and have rarely seen any Japanese.
The clothes, weapons, and hairstyles of Ogata and Atachi all aroused their strong curiosity.
Ogata, who was walking behind Skulucci, asked Skulucci in front of him:
"Skuluchi, you asked the village chief Chepke to bring a message to us, asking us to come here. What is the reason? Are you asking for clues about the person you are looking for?"
Ogata is a person who likes to get straight to the point, so he went straight to the point.
"Ah, there's no rush to talk about business." Skulucci waved his hand, "Let's talk about it when we get to my tent."
Ogata followed Skulucci and entered the tent where Skulucci lived.
"Come! Let me show you something good!"
As soon as he entered the tent, Skulucci went straight to a long cloth bag placed next to his hammock.
Skulucci picked up the cloth bag, untied the string that bound it, and revealed the contents of the bag—two swords.
2 long swords with very thin blades and cage-shaped guards.
Looking at the two swords, Ogata couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
Even though he had no knowledge or interest in swords, he had seen pictures of this kind of sword through various channels in his previous life and had heard of its name - the rapier.
As a native Japanese, Atachi had never seen a rapier.
So after Skulucci unfolded the cloth bag, revealing the two swords hidden inside, Ating kept looking at the two swords with curiosity.
"Is this... a sword?" Ating said, "The blade is so thin... Can it cut people?"
"Of course it can be used to cut people." Skulucci said with a smile, "It's called a stabbing sword. Although it can be used to cut people, its sword skills are mainly based on stabbing."
"These two swords are my favorites. They cost a lot of money. I have fought with these two swords all the way to this day."
Ogata cast a surprised look at Skulucci.
"You are good at using a rapier?" Ogata asked.
"I am also good at using the Cossacks' Chasik sword." Skuluch shrugged, "But I only use the saber when I'm on horseback. When fighting on foot, I still prefer the rapier."
After saying that, Skulucci placed one of the two rapiers on the hammock.
Then he picked up the rapier that remained in his hand with his left hand.
"Mashima-san." Skulucci smiled at Ogata, "I want to compete with you."
"Competition?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
Ating also looked at Skulucci in surprise.
"I used a telescope to see you fighting with two swords last night." Sculucci said, "This is the first time I've seen someone using two swords."
"Where I come from, it's not popular to use dual swords."
"That's why I've never fought against someone who uses two swords."
"So I really want to compete with you."
Skulucci said seriously.
"Mashima-san, please let me fight you. I really want to experience what 'double swordsmanship' is like."
Ogata looked Skulucci up and down several times.
"...You, village chief Tochepuk, sent a message to me, asking me to come to you. Is it just to compete with me?" Ogata asked.
"You can say that." Sculucci smiled.
"I just want to have a friendly sparring match with you."
As Skulucci spoke, he slowly unsheathed the rapier in his left hand.
"This sword in my hand has a nickname, called 'Flower Sword'. It is specially used for sparring with others without causing death."
"The rapier I just threw into the hammock is the real rapier that can kill people."
At this point, Skulucci had just completely unsheathed the sword in his hand.
Skulucci showed Ogata the blade of the sword - it was not sharpened and the tip was round.
It is indeed a sword that will not kill people.
"...Are you really going to compete with me?" Xu Xiang confirmed with Skulucci.
"To be more precise, I want to compete with you who use two swords." Skulucci corrected, "I just want to see the 'double swordsmanship', so I want to compete with you."
"I didn't expect you to be obsessed with swordsmanship..." Ogata nodded gently, "Well, then I'll compete with you."
Ogata didn't hate Skulucci.
It would be better to say that I have a good impression of this man with a very generous personality.
Yesterday, I kindly informed the village chief Chepke of China Village that "a group of Cossacks are planning to plunder everywhere, so be prepared early."
Last night, he led his men to help the villagers of Qina Village to the best of his ability.
Afterwards, when Chepke came to ask for their doctor to come and help them, they said very generously that all they wanted was meat and wine. They did not ask for too much or put forward a bunch of conditions that would make Chepke and his men very embarrassed.
Just these righteous deeds of Skulucci made it difficult for Ogata to dislike Skulucci as a person.
Anyway, it's not impossible to compete with him.
Ogata himself couldn't remember how many people he had practiced with who were obsessed with swordsmanship and were almost martial arts fanatics.
Besides, Ogata also wanted to compete with Skulucci.
He had never seen "fencing".
When Ogata thought that Skulucci possessed swordsmanship that he had never seen before, he felt a little itchy - he wanted to experience this new swordsmanship that he had never seen before.
"Do you need me to give you some time to sharpen a wooden sword?" asked Sculucci.
"No need." Ogata shook his head, "I'll just take the scabbard."
After saying that, Ogata was the first to walk out of the tent, followed closely by A-Ming and Sculucci.
"How about it here?" Ogata walked to an open space and asked Skulucci.
"No problem!" Skulucci threw the scabbard in his hand aside.
Ogata changed his position and walked to the opposite side of Skulucci, then pulled out Daishikuten and Daishizai and handed them to Ating beside him, asking her to take care of them. Then he pulled out the scabbards of the two swords and used the scabbards as swords.
Skulucci's camp is so small, so no matter who does what in the camp, others can quickly find out.
Ogata and Skulucci had just picked up their respective houses and stood on both sides facing each other. Several people who saw this scene not far away immediately rushed over excitedly to join in the fun.
Anyone with a bit of common sense could see what Ogata and Skulucci were planning to do.
After a while, the news that "the boss wanted to compete with that guy" spread throughout the camp.
The crowd, led by Afjie, surrounded Ogata and Skulucci, looking at the two people standing in the circle formed by them with excitement and anticipation.
In an environment lacking entertainment, watching others duel and compete is one of their favorite pleasures.
"Boss! Come on!"
“Go ahead!”
“Let’s get started!”
…
Skulucci's men shouted loudly.
Their shouts made the atmosphere more lively.
Someone suddenly suggested gambling to increase the excitement of the competition.
After this guy proposed gambling, everyone immediately joined in. They took out money or items to bet on winning or losing.
They placed a dagger and a pipe on the ground.
The dagger represents Ogata and the cigarette pipe represents Skulucci.
If you want to bet on who will win, place your belongings next to the object that represents that person.
"I bet on the boss to win!"
"The boss will definitely win! I've never seen the boss lose in a one-on-one match!"
"Hey! I bet on the Japanese to win! I think the Japanese seems to be more powerful!"
Skulucci's subordinates also knew a little about Ogata's heroic feat last night - because Skulucci told them afterwards that the village was saved thanks to Ogata who killed nearly half of the enemies by himself.
So some people also bet on Ogata to win.
But overall, the vast majority of people still choose to bet on the boss they are more familiar with to win.
Ating, who was standing not far away, discovered the gambling game organized by Afjie and his friends.
After jogging to the group that organized the gambling game, Ating asked:
"Are you gambling?"
Although they did not speak the same language, Ating still managed to communicate with these people through actions and expressions.
After confirming that they were indeed gambling and that the dagger represented Ogata, a sly smile appeared on Atachi's face.
Trying hard to hold back her laughter, Ating pulled out her purse and took out five large gold coins.
"I want to gamble too! Can this be used to gamble?" A-Ming shook the coins in his hand and gave Afjie a questioning look.
Looking at the five large gold coins that Ating placed next to the dagger, everyone around stared in amazement.
Because they saw it - it was gold.
Although they could not use this kind of currency, they could use gold.
After understanding the meaning of Ating's expression, Afjie and others nodded hurriedly, and answered Ating with expressions and actions: Of course.
After confirming that the daipankin in his hand could also be used for gambling, A-Machi continued to hold back his smile and placed the five daipankin in his hand next to the dagger that symbolized Ogata.
While A-Ming and the others were gambling enthusiastically, Ogata and Sculucci were warming up.
After warming up, the two men took their respective stances.
Skulucci strikes a pose that reminds Ogata of the fencer he was in his past life.
And Ogata, as Skulucci wished, held up two scabbards and assumed a two-sword stance.
"Are you ready?" asked Sculucci.
Ogata: “I’ll teach you anytime.”
"Then please fight!"
Skulucci shook the sword in his hand and rushed straight towards Ogata.
The rapier in his hand bit towards Ogata's chest like a poisonous snake coming out of a cave.
Bang!
Muga Two Swords Style: Blade Reversal.
Ogata's scabbard and Skulucci's unopened blade collided with each other, making a dull sound.
After the attack missed, Skulucci jumped back with nimble steps without any hesitation, putting distance between himself and Ogata again.
This was also the first time that Ogata witnessed Western "fencing" with his own eyes and competed with someone who used Western "fencing".
Because he wanted to learn more about this "sword technique", Ogata adopted a conservative fighting style, focusing on defense and dodging.
While defending and dodging Skulucci's attacks, he also observed Skulucci's movements.
Not only did Skulucci's sword-holding posture resemble that of a fencer in his previous life, but even his attacking movements and footwork were exactly the same as those of a fencer in his previous life.
The "fencing technique" used by Skulucci seems to place great emphasis on footwork.
In just a few minutes, Skulucci circled Ogata for 10 times, changing his steps no less than twenty times.
He jumped around with nimble footwork to confuse his opponent and look for the best moment to attack.
His attack is mainly stabbing.
So far, Ogata has not seen Skulucci use any other moves besides stabbing.
Although Skulucci's posture and movements were very similar to the fencers that Ogata had seen on TV and the Internet in his previous life.
But Ogata felt that Skulucci's movements were much more fierce than those of the fencers he had seen in his previous life.
It’s not that the fencers are bad.
But those fencers were not as imposing as Skulucci.
As a Cossack from faraway Eastern Europe, Skuluch is certainly not a "white lotus" who has never killed a single person.
Having been in and out of many bloody battlefields and fought many life-and-death battles, Skulucci's eyes and sword are filled with a fierce aura.
His sword follows the style of a "fast sword".
The attack speed is extremely fast, the sword stabs quickly, and the sword is also quickly retracted.
In the eyes of Afjie and others who were watching, every time Skulucci drew his sword, they would be dazzled - because their eyes could not keep up with their boss's sword at all.
However - in Ogata's eyes, Skulucci's sword was still slower than Shuntaro's.
If compared with the two man-eating bears that Ogata had dealt with before, it would be even more incomparable.
In other words: Skulucci's sword speed is not yet enough to make Ogata feel troubled.
Skulucci's aggressive attacking style of constantly changing footwork is quite exhausting.
After seeing that he had stabbed Ogata more than twenty times in a row but none of the swords hit him successfully, Skulucci's face darkened.
He already felt that if he continued to fight like this, he would probably lose.
He didn't hold back.
He had been giving it his all since the beginning of the battle.
According to the conventional way of playing, we should not be able to win.
So, in order to win, Skulucci decided to take a risk and decide the outcome with one strike.
He took a deep breath, then took a step forward and sprinted towards Ogata.
This was a sword that Skulucci used all his strength to strike.
Because all of one's own strength is infused into it, it has both great power and speed.
However, facing Ogata's Blade Counter that had reached the "Grandmaster Level", Skulucci's stab was still too weak.
Bang!
Skulucci's sword, which he used all his strength to attack, was blocked by Ogata.
Ogata had seen enough of the "sword technique" by this time.
So they turned from defense to offense.
The moment he parried Skulucci's sword with his blade, he used a stepping motion and sneaked up to Skulucci like a water snake.
The flow of the two swords without self.
Ogata swung the scabbard of Daishikuten in his right hand and swept it towards Skulucci's belly.
Just before hitting Skulucci's stomach, Ogata quickly retracted his force.
Looking at the scabbard pressed against his stomach, Skulucci was stunned at first.
Then he slowly revealed a strange smile.
As Skulucci smiled, those who had just bet on Skulucci to win wailed not far away.
The more miserably these people wailed, the more happily the person who won just now, Oshiokata, laughed.
At this time, Ating no longer concealed her expression, and openly revealed her sly smile that was filled with pride and happiness.
…
…
At this moment——
Qina Village——
Chepke and six of the most prestigious people in the village, led by Manakel, gathered together.
The Ainu people don't have chairs; they sit on the ground.
Chepke and others sat cross-legged on the ground, forming a circle.
Everyone present knew what the agenda of the meeting was, so their faces were filled with solemnity.
Chepke, the village chief, broke the silence and opened the meeting.
"Let's not talk too much nonsense, let's get started."
"You should know without me telling you that there are very few young men in our village now."
Manakel nodded.
"There are not enough young men in the village. You should know what this means."
"Based on the number of men in our village now, even protecting the village is a problem..."
At this point, Chepke let out a long sigh.
"We defeated the white people last night. We killed most of them."
“But quite a few white people still escaped.”
"I'm worried that the white people who escaped will bring new reinforcements..."
"It's not impossible..."
Chepke's words made the already solemn expressions of the crowd even more solemn and dignified.
There were less than a hundred white people who attacked last night, but they had already caused such devastation to their village.
If more white people came to retaliate against them... they couldn't imagine what kind of scene and consequences that would happen...
"Although, although there are few young men in our village now." A man sitting opposite Chepke suddenly spoke in a low voice, "but there are still many young and strong women in our village."
"If the women in our village were to receive training..."
Before the man could finish his words, Chepke interrupted him:
"Are you serious about what you just said? Do you really think that if those white people come to attack us again, we can repel them with just the women and the remaining men in our village?"
The man stopped talking. He lowered his head, his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart.
"We were lucky last night. We had the help of Goro Majima and Skulucci."
Chepke continued seriously.
"But we can't keep getting lucky forever."
"We can't always have a Majima Goro or a Skulucci to come forward to help us."
“We have to save ourselves.”
"As for how to save myself, I have been thinking about it since last night."
"In my opinion, the most feasible way for us to save ourselves is——"
Chepke paused.
Then he said word by word:
"Join 'He Ye Zhe'."
As soon as Chepke finished speaking, the faces of everyone present changed drastically.
"'He Ye Zhe'?"
"Join 'He Ye Zhe'?"
…
Everyone present was chattering, looking at each other.
"'He Ye Zhe'..." an old man said in a deep voice, "I remember that 'He Ye Zhe' has been very famous in the past few years."
"Yeah." Another old man sitting next to him nodded, "He Ren has always wanted to recruit the people of 'He Ye Zhe'. But the people of 'He Ye Zhe' have always disagreed."
As soon as this person finished speaking, another person added:
"I remember that Kazuto seemed to like to call 'Heyezhe' the 'Red Moon Fortress'. What an ugly name."