Time goes back to not long ago——
"I was... listening to my grandfather telling a story... (Ainu)" With the comfort of Yashili and others, Lilata calmed down a little, sobbing as she slowly told what had happened to her.
Ogata and Atachi knelt on one knee, so that their eyes were level with Lilata's, and listened quietly to Lilata's story.
Ayizan squatted next to Ogata and Ating and provided simultaneous interpretation for them.
"Suddenly... there were a lot of strange noises coming ."
"I followed my grandfather and opened the window, and I saw many Japanese people wearing armor killing people everywhere."
"Grandpa took me and ran away. Dad and Mom used bows and arrows to cover our escape."
"There are Japanese people wearing armor everywhere. No matter where you go, you can see them killing everyone they see..."
Lilata's sobs grew louder and louder.
"Our family ran away everywhere and finally found a place where there weren't so many people."
"But at this moment, a tall man wearing red and black armor, with a red and black coat on top of the armor, and holding a strange-looking spear in his hand, caught up with us..."
Ogata, who had been listening quietly, thought to himself:
—He was wearing a piece of clothing over his armor… a Jinhaori, right?
In the army, only generals can wear the military feather ornaments, so the person who killed Lilata's grandfather must have a high status in the army.
"That tall Japanese man who suddenly caught up with us, used a strange-looking spear to knock Grandpa away..."
"My father and mother stopped this man so that I could escape safely."
"I fled for my life alone, and luckily escaped from the village, all the way to here..."
After she finished speaking, Lilata's sobs turned into howling again.
Yashili, who was kneeling beside Lilata, raised his hands again and patted Lilata's back to comfort her.
While Lilata was telling her story, Tang Shen was standing by and listening quietly.
After Lilata finished speaking, Tang Shen pursed his lips and looked at Lilata, who was sobbing in Yashili's arms, with complicated eyes. He clenched his left hand, which was hanging naturally, and his right hand, which was holding his crutch, also clenched the cane tightly.
However, after only a moment, Tang Shen seemed to suddenly remember something. The light in his eyes dimmed, and his clenched left hand slowly loosened...
After howling and venting in Yashili's arms, Lilata raised her tear-stained face and looked at Ogata who was kneeling on one knee beside her. Then she stretched out her slightly dirty little hands and tightly grasped the clothes on the chest of the man who had just descended like a god to save her from danger.
"Please...save my parents, save our village..."
Ating, Aizan, and Yashili on the side looked at Lilata with eyes full of complicated emotions.
Everyone present knew that according to Lilata's description, the group of people who attacked their village was at least hundreds of people...
Before Lilata escaped, a large number of people had already died. At this time, including her parents, there are probably not many living people in the village...
Everyone looked at Lilata with complicated eyes.
But only Ogata's eyes looked calm.
Ogata lowered his eyes and looked quietly at Lilata's little hands that were tightly grasping his clothes.
Then he raised his big, calloused hands and held Lilata's small hands.
"……I see."
Although Ogata's voice was not loud, his tone was full of determination.
Although Lilata did not understand Japanese, at this moment, based on Ogata's tone, expression and actions, she understood what Ogata meant.
Lilata sobbed again, but this time the tears were of joy, excitement, and seeing the savior.
Then, Ogata turned his head and said to Atachi beside him:
"A-Ting, you guys stay here and take care of this girl for a while. I'll go get the radishes and grapes."
"Wait, wait!" Tang Shen suddenly said anxiously, "Mashima-kun, you are not really going to help this girl, are you?"
"I suggest you stay out of other people's business."
Tang Shen looked serious, as if he was going to explain some truth to Ogata.
"If you meddle too much, it's easy to get into trouble."
"In the end, I didn't gain any benefits, but got into a lot of trouble."
"The people who attacked this girl's village are obviously soldiers of the shogunate."
"It is not a wise move to go against the shogunate's army. Not only is it very dangerous, but it is also very easy to get into trouble that may ruin the rest of your life."
"Let's go quickly, stay away from the army, and stop interfering."
Tang Shen looked sincere and tried his best to persuade Ogata.
But after Tang Shen finished speaking, Ogata just smiled at him:
"Thank you for the reminder."
"only--"
Ogata changed the subject.
"When the girl grabbed my clothes and begged me to help her, I couldn't ignore the strength of her palms."
Ogata's response was simple but powerful.
Tang Shen was startled, and then he looked furious:
"I've already advised you. If you don't listen, then I won't care about you anymore. Don't regret your nosy behavior in the future!"
"I'll go first!"
"Are you leaving?" asked Ating.
"I don't want to get involved in this mess with you guys."
"Since the shogunate's soldiers have appeared here, it means that the shogunate's large army must be nearby. This place is no longer safe."
"I'm leaving here! I'm going to spend the night somewhere else! See you someday!"
After saying that, Tang Shen turned around and left without stopping for a moment, as if he was escaping. Soon he disappeared from the sight of Ogata and the others.
After watching Yushin run away, A-Machi turned his attention to Ogata and asked seriously:
"…Are you really going to help this girl?"
Ogata didn't respond, just nodded vigorously.
"...Okay then." Ating sighed with a complicated expression.
…
…
Ogata brought the radishes and grapes as quickly as possible, and then, under Lilata's guidance, rode on horseback to Takta Village.
As they got closer to Takta Village, the strong smell of blood went straight into the nostrils of Ogata and his companions.
As the smell of blood became stronger and stronger in their nostrils, they became less optimistic about the current situation in Takta Village.
"Just go a little further and you'll reach our village. (Ainu language)" Lilata, who was riding on the same horse with Ogata and was crying so hard that she almost had no strength left, said to Ogata in a somewhat weak voice.
Knowing that Takta Village was approaching, Ogata and A-machi slowed down their horses slightly to avoid making too much noise.
After walking a short distance forward, finally - Takta Village appeared in the sight of Ogata and his friends.
Because of the angle, Ogata and his friends couldn't see the entire picture of Takta Village.
But just from the partial scenes that Ogata and his companions can see at present, it is enough to see that Takta Village is in a very miserable state now.
Looking around, there was not a single living Ainu person.
From what Ogata and his companions could see, there were only three or two people walking around, carrying the bodies of the villagers.
The red blood and the white snow blend together to form the background of the painting; corpses in various states of death become the main body of the painting; broken limbs are scattered everywhere, dotting the picture.
The picture scroll of hell before their eyes made Ai Zan and Ya Xili pale as dirt as they had rarely seen such a scene.
The pale-faced Yashili covered his mouth and nose tightly to prevent himself from vomiting.
As for Lilata──she finally stopped crying, and her eyes turned red again.
But she did not cry, for she knew that if she cried or made any noise, it would attract the attention of the villagers, so she held it back, lowered her head, and bit her lower lip tightly, trying to hold back her tears while preventing herself from seeing such a cruel scene.
Even Ogata and Atachi, who were used to seeing all kinds of bloody scenes, couldn't help but look gloomy when they saw the scene before them.
Ogata took out the telescope he had won from Vasili earlier, and after a brief observation of the current situation in the village, he whispered to Atachi beside him:
"A-Ting, you, Ayzan, Yashili, Lilata, and our two horses stay here."
"If anything happens, just yell. I'll come right over."
Ating said nothing, but just nodded vigorously.
After Atachi nodded, Ogata pulled out the Great Freedom, lowered his body's center of gravity, and walked slowly alone towards Takta Village, which had turned into a dead village.
Ogata used the Shiranui-style stealth technique, relying on every house in the village, and sneaked carefully in the village.
What Ogata wants most now is information.
According to what Lilata said before, there were at least hundreds of soldiers attacking their village.
But now the soldiers in this village are sparsely populated, and their number is pitifully small.
Where did the rest of the generals and soldiers go? This is what Ogata wants to know most at the moment.
Soon, Ogata found a suitable person to question - Ogata, who was moving in the shadow of the house, turned into an inconspicuous path where there were only two soldiers.
One soldier had a scar on his face, while the other had an ordinary look with nothing special about his appearance.
Ogata was hiding closer to the ordinary samurai and farther away from the scarred samurai.
The two men were chatting while carrying the corpse.
Ogata didn't pay attention to what they were talking about. He was just waiting for the best opportunity to strike.
The two soldiers didn't keep Ogata waiting any longer.
Soon, both of them turned their backs to Ogata.
Seeing that the time to strike had come, Ogata did not hesitate at all. He quickly flashed out from his hiding position and pounced on the ordinary samurai from behind.
Cover his mouth and nose with your left hand, and hold Da Zizai's right hand towards the back of the ordinary warrior's neck.
Sakakibara Ittoryu - Torashi.
The tip of the knife protruded from the throat of an ordinary warrior.
Because Ogata's movements were too fast, the ordinary warrior didn't have time to react to what happened or utter a single sound. His eyes rolled back and he died.
[Ding! Use Sakakibara's sword style, Bird Thorn, to kill the enemy.]
[Gained 65 personal experience points, and 60 swordsmanship "Sakakibara Ittoryu" experience points]
[Current personal level: Lv38 (630/6000)]
[Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 13th Stage (5815/12000)]
After quickly dealing with this ordinary samurai, Ogata let him go and rushed towards the scarred samurai in front of him with his sword.
"Hey, this Aizo woman is pretty, and she doesn't have any tattoos on her face. Hey, come and see! I found a very beautiful Aizo woman. It's such a pity that such a beautiful Aizo woman died... Hmm? Did you hear me?"
The scarred samurai turned around with a puzzled look on his face, and happened to see Ogata who had just dealt with the ordinary samurai.
He only discovered Ogata now, but it was too late.
From the time Scar Samurai discovered Ogata, to the time Ogata placed Daijizai against his throat and covered his mouth and nose with his left hand - from beginning to end, Scar Samurai felt like only a moment had passed.
The skin on Scar Warrior's neck clearly felt the breath of the sharp blade, and big beads of cold sweat broke out on Scar Warrior's face. He subconsciously wanted to scream, but because his mouth and nose were covered, he could only make a low "woooo" sound.
"Don't move." Ogata said to the scarred warrior in a low voice, "I have some questions to ask you. I will let go of your mouth and nose later. You just answer whatever I ask. Don't shout, otherwise-"
Ogata did not say anything else, but simply brought the blade of the wakizashi closer to the scarred warrior's skin.
The scarred warrior, with more cold sweat on his face, was frightened and nodded quickly.
Ogata released his left hand that was covering the scarred warrior and asked:
"Why are there so few soldiers in the village? Where are the other soldiers?"
"They all left." Scarred Warrior stuttered nervously, "After killing all the Ezo in this village, the general left with a large army, leaving us alone in the village to clean up the battlefield and wait for the return of our companions who were chasing the fleeing Ezo."
"Then where did your main force go?" Ogata asked.
"I, I don't know... I'm just an ordinary soldier, it's impossible for me to know the specific orders from my superiors..."
"So how many soldiers are left in the village now?"
"About 30 people... I don't know the exact number."
Ogata was silent for a long while before he asked another question quietly:
"You just said that in addition to cleaning up the battlefield, you were also responsible for waiting for the return of your companions who were chasing the fleeing Ezo, right? So how many of them have returned now?"
"As far as I know, there doesn't seem to be one..."
"…Thank you very much."
Ogata thrust Daijizai forward and pierced the scarred warrior's throat with his blade.
The system prompt sound for gaining experience sounded again in Ogata's mind.
After the Scar Samurai fell silent, Ogata sheathed his sword and dragged the bodies of the Scar Samurai and the ordinary samurai into a house nearby.
Now the soldiers who stayed in the village to clean up the battlefield were scattered everywhere. It would take too much time to assassinate them one by one.
So - Ogata just now came up with a method that, if successful, could gather together all the soldiers who were now scattered throughout the village.
After dragging the bodies of the scarred warrior and the ordinary warriors into the room next door, Ogata took off the Daishakuten and Daijizai swords from his left waist, placed the two swords in a corner of the room, and then began to take off the armor of the scarred warrior who was of similar size to him.
Ogata is going to use the same trick he used on Choujima again.
…
…
Takta Village, in a spacious open space somewhere in the center of the village.
Yize, who was in charge of leading the troops cleaning up the battlefield, was bored and practicing "javelin throwing" with a spear in his hand.
The target he used for practicing javelin throwing was the body of a young villager from Takta Village who had been dead for a long time and was placed against the wall of a house.
Yize squinted one eye and took aim. When he felt that he had hit the target accurately, he threw the spear in his hand with force.
The spear drew a straight line and hit the corpse's chest, and the tip of the spear went straight into the corpse's body.
"Very good." Yize nodded with a smile, quite satisfied with his previous shot.
Just as Yize was about to retract his spear and continue practicing javelin throwing, he suddenly heard anxious shouts coming from his side.
"My Lord! My Lord!"
Yize looked in the direction of the voice and saw a soldier with blood all over his face and armor, stumbling towards him.
"What's wrong?" Yize's brows frowned instantly.
The blood-stained "blood-stained soldier" stumbled all the way and sat down in front of Yize, and said in a hurry:
"A-A large number of Ezo appeared nearby! A large number of Ezo appeared nearby!"
As soon as the words "bloodstained soldier" fell, the expressions of Yize and the soldiers beside Yize all changed drastically in an instant.
"What's going on?!" Yize squatted down, held the shoulders of the "Bloody Soldier" tightly with both hands, and asked urgently.
"I, I was just chasing a fleeing Ezo with my companions."
"That Ezo was very fast, and we chased him all the way to a very deep place. Just when we were about to catch him, a lot of Ezo suddenly appeared in the woods!"
"There are at least 100 of them!"
"My companions were killed by the Ezo that suddenly appeared. I, I was the only one who escaped by luck!"
Yize's face was now as dark as if water was about to drip out.
"From which direction did those Ezo appear?" Yize asked.
“That, over there…” The “Bloody Warrior” raised his hand and pointed to the north.
“Damn it… Could it be that the fleeing Ezo invited reinforcements…!” Izawa cursed loudly while letting go of the “bloodstained samurai”’s shoulders, then stood up and ordered the samurai beside him:
"Listen, everyone. Go and get everyone in the village to put down what they are doing and gather around me!"
The soldiers nodded vigorously, then dispersed to carry out the tasks assigned by Ize Xin.
Ize turned his gaze back to the "Bloodstained Warrior" and asked, "Are you injured anywhere?"
"I'm fine..." The Bloodstained Warrior whispered, "I just feel very tired..."
"Thank you for your hard work. Please go sit aside and rest."
"yes……"
After a while, the soldiers who were originally scattered around the village returned to Yize one by one.
After quickly counting the soldiers, Yize's expression darkened.
"Why are there two people missing? Is there anyone else who hasn't come?"
Ize roared at the soldiers in front of him with an impatient look on his face.
He didn't know at this moment - when he was roaring impatiently at the soldiers in front of him, the "Bloody Warrior" who was sitting aside to rest suddenly stood up slowly.
Then, with lightning speed, he drew out the wakizashi from his waist and rushed towards Izawa who was only a few steps away from him.
The distance between the two was too close, and the "Bloody Samurai"'s movements were too fast, so Izawa had no time to react, and his left knee, which had no armor to protect it, pierced the wakizashi.
“Aaaaaaaaaaa——!”
A scream that seemed to tear his vocal cords apart erupted from Yize's throat.
…
…
The first military camp, the commander-in-chief’s camp.
At this moment, the lights in the tent of Shengtianmu’s commander were still on.
Inside the camp, two figures were projected in a corner of the tent under the light of the lamp, and the shadows swayed slightly with the shaking of the lamp.
The owners of these two figures were none other than Shōtenmoku and Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Not long ago, upon learning that Matsudaira Sadanobu was coming to visit him unexpectedly, Sheng Tianmu hurried to Yingkou.
After arriving in Yingkou, Sheng Tianmu saw Matsudaira Sadanobu and his group, who looked exhausted.
Although he had many doubts in his heart and didn't know why Matsudaira Sadanobu, who should be in the Second Army with Inamori, was here, Sheng Tianmu still quickly took Matsudaira Sadanobu into the camp, and then brought him to the commander-in-chief's tent where he lived.
Although there was no alcohol in the military camp, there was some tea.
After ordering people to quickly prepare tea and completing all the arrangements for entertaining Matsudaira Sadanobu, Shōtenmoku finally asked Matsudaira Sadanobu why he suddenly came here.
While drinking the tea provided by Sheng Tianmu, Matsudaira Sadanobu told Sheng Tianmu about his experiences during this period.
He started by leading a team to survey the strait, and then talked about how he unfortunately encountered a snowstorm and a pack of wolves, and accidentally fell down the snow slope, but fortunately he was rescued.
After learning that Matsudaira Sadanobu had encountered so many things, Shōtenmu was quite shocked and sighed:
"Master Lao Zhong, I never thought that so many things happened to you along the way."
Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was toasting with Shōtenmu, lowered his eyes to look at the tea in the cup in his hand.
"Yeah... Now that I think about it carefully, a lot of things really happened..."
"Master Laozhong, going to investigate the terrain in person is too dangerous. Especially in a place like Ezo." Sheng Tianmu smiled bitterly. "In a place like Ezo, even with a hundred guards, there is no guarantee of absolute safety."
"There is absolutely no need for you to do such a dangerous thing in person. Please do not go to dangerous places in person in the future."
Sheng Tianmu's tone was full of sincerity when he spoke.
He said what he just said not out of courtesy or to gain favor from Hiromatsudaira Sadanobu, but because he was genuinely concerned about Sadanobu Matsudaira's personal safety.
Ever since Matsudaira Sadanobu came to power and became the new elder councilor of the shogunate and promulgated a considerable number of reform measures aimed at boosting the strength of the shogunate, Nagatenmo has always respected Matsudaira Sadanobu very much.
As a middle-aged man in his forties, Namatemoe personally experienced the "Tanuma era" when the previous elder councilor, Tanuma Oji, commanded the shogunate.
The born third eye hates Tanuma Yiji very much.
Whether it was Tanuma Okitsugu's identity or the various decrees issued by Tanuma Okitsugu after he took office as the elder councilor, they all made Sheng Tianmu extremely disgusted.
Unlike powerful people like Matsudaira Sadanobu who had the blood of a shogun, Tanuma Oji was originally just a low-ranking samurai in the Kii domain.
He was good at business tactics and was able to get along with everyone. With his ability to maneuver, he gained the favor of the 9th and 10th shoguns of the time, and completed a miraculous counterattack. He rose to the position of elder statesman from a low-level samurai.
Sheng Tianmu has always believed that people of low bloodline are not qualified to sit on the throne of Laozhong. Only those with excellent bloodline can sit on the throne of Laozhong.
Therefore, ever since Tanuma Okitsugu came to power, Sheng Tianmu has always disliked Tanuma Okitsugu.
And what Tanuma Okitsugu did after becoming the elder councilor of the shogunate made Sheng Tianmu's disgust for this man grow day by day.
Until now, Namatemaki has insisted that the reason why today's samurai are so corrupt and decadent is because of Tanuma Okitsugu.
After Tanuma Okitsugu came to power, he changed the traditional national policy of "focusing on agriculture and suppressing commerce" and vigorously developed commerce and handicrafts. His actions of vigorously developing commerce led to the spread of the "money worship" atmosphere in society.
Sheng Tianmu witnessed with his own eyes how the samurai in the "Tanuma period" were corrupted by the "money worship" culture and stopped pursuing swordsmanship and academics, but instead pursued money.
After Tanuma Okitsugu stepped down and Matsudaira Sadanobu took office, Shōtenmoku hated Tanuma Okitsugu as much as he loved Matsudaira Sadanobu.
After Matsudaira Sadanobu came to power, his series of decrees were basically the opposite of those of Tanuma Okitsugu.
Tanuma Okitsu focused on commerce, while Matsudaira Sadanobu focused on agriculture, which made the country return to the national policy of "focusing on agriculture and suppressing commerce."
Tanuma Okitsugu's "money worship" corrupted the samurai's thoughts and filled the society with extravagance, so Matsudaira Sadanobu vigorously promoted the discipline of the samurai, encouraged the samurai to learn literature and martial arts, and strictly prohibited extravagance and enjoyment.
In Sheng Tianmu's eyes, these policies of Matsudaira Sadanobu were the ones that could put the country on the right track. Only by strictly adhering to the traditional national policy of "focusing on agriculture and suppressing commerce" could the country avoid turmoil or the emergence of any inexplicable bad ideas.
Sheng Tianmu has always regarded Matsudaira Sadanobu as a hero who turned the tide and brought the country back on the right track after it went astray.
Out of respect for Matsudaira Sadanobu, when he learned that Matsudaira Sadanobu almost lost his life during this field trip, his fear and worry, as well as his hope that Matsudaira Sadanobu would not put himself in danger again in the future, were all genuine.
Matsudaira Sadanobu did not respond to the suggestion that Sheng Tianmu had just given him. He just smiled and sipped the tea in the cup silently.
"Master Tianmu is born! Master Tianmu is born!"
At this moment, a loud announcement suddenly sounded outside the tent.
"Master Mogami has returned!"
"Oh! Is Mogami back? Hurry! Let Mogami come here to see me as soon as possible!" Sheng Tianmu ordered the soldier who came to report the information across the tent.
"Yes!" The footsteps quickly faded away from the tent.
"Mogami..." Matsudaira Sadanobu chewed on the name "Mogami" several times, and then a look of sudden enlightenment appeared on his face. "Oh, now I remember. It's Mogami Yoshihisa, one of the 'Seven Spears of Senju', right?"
"Yes!" Sheng Tianmu's face showed some excitement, "It's really frightening that the old Zhong Lord knows his name."
Matsudaira Sadanobu smiled and waved his hand: "I have heard of the names of the seven of you, the Seven Spears of Senju, a long time ago, but I have only seen you, Kuroda-kun, Akizuki-kun - the three of you."
A while ago, when Matsudaira Sadanobu was still staying in Matsumae Castle and the entire army was still making final preparations for the expedition, Tendo and Mogami stayed in the army to manage the army, so Matsudaira Sadanobu still didn't know what Tendo and Mogami looked like.
"Did you send Mogami-kun to carry out any mission?" Matsudaira Sadanobu asked.
"Yes." Sheng Tianmu nodded vigorously, and then briefly introduced the task he assigned to Mogami today to Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Just after Sheng Tianmu finished introducing the content of the mission that Mogami would carry out today, powerful footsteps were heard outside the tent coming closer and closer.
The curtain of the tent was pulled open, and Su Shang followed the opened curtain into the tent.
After seeing Matsudaira Sadanobu sitting next to his uncle, Mogami, who had never seen Matsudaira Sadanobu before, was stunned where he was, wondering who this person was.
Before Mogami could figure out what was going on, Shengtianmu immediately helped him solve the confusion.
"Mogami! Hurry up and pay your respects. This man is none other than the elder councillor - Lord Matsudaira Sadanobu!"
Mogami's pupils suddenly shrank, and after staring at Shotenmu blankly, he knelt in front of Matsudaira Sadanobu at a speed so fast that an afterimage was left, saluted and greeted Matsudaira Sadanobu, and apologized for not saluting in time.
Matsudaira Sadanobu waved his hand and signaled Mogami to stand up. He then looked at Mogami carefully from head to toe several times and nodded slightly.
"As expected of you, Sheng Tianmu-kun's nephew. This majestic figure is truly intimidating."
Matsudaira Sadanobu , who had heard of the name , naturally knew the relationship between Shengtianmoku and Mogami.
"Master Lao Zhong, you are too kind."
The reason why Sheng Tianmu asked Mogami, who had just completed his mission and returned to the camp, to come to his tent immediately was to make his nephew familiar to Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Therefore - seeing that his goal had been initially achieved, although he was being polite and modest in his words, the joy that could not be hidden had already emerged in Shengtianmu's eyes.