Commander's Camp——
"Uncle, uncle...!" When several soldiers were about to carry away Mogami, who was lying on the wooden board, Mogami endured the severe pain in his chest and asked Sheng Tianmu beside him, "That guy... who broke into our... camp... couldn't it be... that Ogata Ittosai...? Is he planning to... come and kill me?"
Although he tried hard to control himself, a hint of fear still appeared in Mogami's eyes uncontrollably.
Because of his extreme panic, Mogami at this moment did not care about the presence of outsiders such as Qiuyue, and directly called Sheng Tianmu "uncle".
At this moment, he no longer seemed like a young talent who was the center of attention, but a child who longed to be protected by his elders.
Born into a prestigious family in Sendai Domain, Mogami has enjoyed resources that are unimaginable to ordinary people since he was a child.
Thanks to his excellent family genes, he has a tall stature far exceeding the average of this era.
He eats high-quality meals and keeps his body much stronger than most of his peers.
We can invite excellent spear masters to teach spearmanship personally.
After adulthood, he didn't need to do much, just based on his background, he could get a high position and generous salary in Sendai Domain.
After entering the officialdom, his career has been smooth sailing thanks to the secret support of his uncle Sheng Tianmu.
Mogami had never suffered any setbacks - until yesterday.
Yesterday, Mogami felt for the first time what it felt like to "almost die"...
The scene of Ogata rushing towards him with a sword in hand and himself nearly being killed was deeply engraved in Mogami's mind... Mogami felt that he would never forget this scene, and whenever he recalled it, he felt cold sweat all over his body...
Until yesterday, Mogami could still shout confidently: "A samurai should become a 'death maniac' and be fanatically obsessed with death! Not afraid of death!"
But after yesterday's incident where he almost met Amaterasu, Mogami no longer dared to say this with confidence...
He already knew what "death" was and how terrifying it was. He already knew the horror of death and the beauty of life.
When I thought about Ogata Ittosai coming to seek revenge, I felt only fear and panic.
He had long forgotten the "dignity of a warrior".
"... Mogami, calm down." Sheng Tianmu said in a deep voice, "It is still unknown whether the attacking enemy is Ogata Ittosai."
"Even if it is really Ogata Ittosai who comes to kill us, we don't need to be afraid of him! No matter how powerful he is, he is only one person. There is no reason for us with 3,000 troops to lose to Ittosai alone."
The number "3000" seemed to have some kind , calming Mogami's panicked heart a little.
Sheng Tianmu also seized this opportunity and shouted to the soldiers who were responsible for carrying Mogami away with the board:
"Take him away!"
"yes!"
The soldiers carried Zuishi, who was lying on the wooden board, and walked out of the commander's tent quickly, panting.
"Master Sheng Tianmu..." After watching Mogami being carried away, Tiandao asked Sheng Tianmu in a long tone, "Can you tell us what our mission is? Don't tell us that the three of us just need to stay in the commander's tent and pick our noses."
After saying that, Tiandao nodded at Qiuyue and Kuroda, who were sitting opposite him and who, like him, had not received any tasks at the military meeting just now.
Sheng Tianmu turned his back and walked slowly towards a corner of the commander-in-chief's camp.
There was a gun rack in a corner of the commander-in-chief's camp.
On the gun rack was a gun with three scarlet stripes - it was Sheng Tianmu's favorite gun: all scarlet.
Sheng Tianmu grabbed his beloved gun with one hand.
"...Of course you three have a mission." Sheng Tianmu said in a calm tone, "You three will follow me to kill the bandits who attacked the camp."
The expressions of Qiuyue, Kuroda and Tiandao changed as Sheng Tianmu finished speaking.
However, the expressions of the three people changed differently.
The way of heaven is to become excited and agitated.
Qiuyue was surprised.
Kuroda frowned slightly, with a thoughtful expression.
"Master Sheng Tianmu." Qiuyue asked, "Shall we four come together?"
"The opponent is most likely that Ogata Ittosai." Sheng Tianmu said quietly, "Since the opponent is Ogata Ittosai, it is not excessive to be on high alert."
"...I see." Kuroda's slightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed at this moment, "Master Namatemaki, you asked Kasuga and Yokoyama to mobilize the soldiers just now. Are you planning to lead these soldiers with the three of us to kill the bandits who broke into the camp?"
Sheng Tianmu nodded: "That's right."
Ogata accidentally chose an excellent time to attack.
This moment is not only filled with mist, but also the time when all the senior generals in the military camp gather together to discuss military affairs.
The reason why the camp is in such chaos after being attacked by just one person is largely because the senior generals are not in charge of the troops they lead, and there is a lack of a backbone commander.
Except for the dozen guards currently guarding outside the entrance of the commander-in-chief's camp, Sheng Tianmu, Qiuyue and the others do not have any soldiers who can be quickly mobilized to fight.
So when Sheng Tianmu issued a series of orders to the generals in the camp just now, he ordered Kasuga and Yokoyama to quickly mobilize the troops to gather at the commander's camp. The former was responsible for mobilizing the artillerymen and archers, and the latter was responsible for mobilizing the infantry.
The Sendai Domain sent out a large number of troops, so the senior generals included not only the "Senzhou Seven Spears", but also several senior generals who were not "Senzhou Seven Spears" but were also qualified to participate in the senior military meetings - Kasuga and Yokoyama were both among them.
Kasuga and Yokoyama were both talented people whom Sheng Tianmu admired, so Sheng Tianmu entrusted the important task of mobilizing the troops to them.
"...So do we still have to wait for the soldiers to gather?" Tiandao curled his lips in displeasure, "What a hassle..."
"Tian Dao." Sheng Tianmu glanced at Tian Dao, "If you think you have the ability to kill the thief who attacks single-handedly, I won't stop you. You can just leave here now and go find the thief."
"But don't blame me for not reminding you - the thief who is making a big fuss in our camp right now is most likely Ogata Ittosai."
After saying that, Sheng Tianmu said no more to Tiandao. He held his beloved gun, sat back in his seat quietly, closed his eyes, and rested.
Hearing what Sheng Tianmu had just said, Tiandao was stunned at first, then looked resentful.
"Then I will go and take the head of the bandit who dared to break into our camp!" - Tiandao originally wanted to shout this to Sheng Tianmu.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, the words surged into his throat and he couldn't get them out.
Because the words that Sheng Tianmu had just said to him kept echoing in his mind.
Every time Sheng Tianmu's words just now echoed in his mind, the hesitation on his face became more intense.
In the end - Tiandao chose to shut up.
He folded his arms across his chest with an unhappy look on his face, sat on the chair, and said nothing.
…
…
"ha……"
While running, Ogata put his right hand holding the knife to his lips and blew hot air into his right palm.
It was still snowing lightly, and bits of snowflakes fell on Ogata's right hand, which was exposed to the sky because he was holding the knife.
The snowflakes that fell on my right hand took away the warmth of my right hand as they melted.
In order to prevent his hands from freezing and affecting his sword-wielding, Ogata had to blow warm air onto his right hand from time to time.
My left hand has been hidden in the wide sleeves, so there is no need to breathe on it to maintain body temperature.
“Please… ha… please… slow down… ha… a little…!” Sakaguchi, who was following closely behind Ogata, covered his side which was about to burst in pain, put on a face as if he was about to cry, and begged Ogata in front of him breathlessly, “I… I… ha… can’t run… anymore… ha…”
Unlike monsters like Ogata, whose physical strength and vitality have long been improved to extremely abnormal levels, Sakaguchi is just an ordinary person.
Since he and Ogata started to break into the camp, they have been rushing around in the camp at the speed of a 100-meter sprint, almost without stopping.
The reason why he has been able to hold on until now is because of his desire to survive.
Last night, Ogata ordered Sakaguchi to take off all his armor on the grounds that "wearing armor would bring great burden to Radish", so Sakaguchi is now only wearing ordinary cloth clothes.
Sakaguchi was very glad - glad that he was not wearing armor at the moment, otherwise, if he was running at such a high intensity while wearing armor, no matter how strong his desire to survive was, he would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.
But at the same time - he felt unfortunate that he was not wearing armor...
In the now chaotic camp, the roars and the shaking of armor and weapons... these sounds kept irritating Sakaguchi's nerves...
Sakaguchi is now extremely afraid that he will be killed by arrows or guns without any armor to protect him...
Ogata naturally ignored Sakaguchi's request to slow down.
Ogata's mind remained clear and calm from beginning to end, and precisely because he remained clear and calm, he knew very well that he could not slow down now.
The reason why he could rush into the camp and kill the general so smoothly at this moment was because two things played a big role: the evening mist that had not yet dissipated and the fact that the generals and soldiers in the camp had not had time to react.
There is no need to elaborate on the important role played by the evening mist that permeated everywhere and obscured people's vision .
Although on the surface this is a battle of 1vs3000, it is not actually that way.
The 3,000 soldiers in the camp are now scattered everywhere instead of being concentrated in one place, so Ogata actually only needs to defeat all the soldiers standing between him and Mogami Yoshihisa.
If Ogata slows down, giving the enemy too much time to deploy its forces, then more and more soldiers will block Ogata's way, which will become increasingly disadvantageous to Ogata.
Therefore, Ogata had to play a "fast break" and could not slow down at any time.
Ignoring Sakaguchi's request to "slow down", Ogata continued to follow the direction pointed by Sakaguchi and rushed straight to the camp of the commander-in-chief of the camp.
Finally, through the thin evening mist, Ogata finally saw that just in front of him, there was a tent that was much larger and more imposing than the other tents nearby.
Next to the big tent stands a tall flagpole.
On the flagpole, a military flag with the "three-leaf sunflower pattern" representing the Edo Shogunate fluttered lazily in the morning breeze.
Ogata was facing the entrance of the big tent, where dozens of soldiers with spears in their hands were guarding.
When Ogata saw the dozen or so guards guarding the tent entrance, the dozen or so guards also discovered Ogata.
Ogata saw with his own eyes the dozen or so guards in chaos, and then one of them turned hurriedly and rushed into the magnificent tent behind him.
…
…
"Sir! Sir!" A guard rushed into the tent, "There is a man covered in blood approaching here!"
Hearing the guard's words, Shengtianmu, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes.
“…Damn it.” Sheng Tianmu gritted his teeth, “You actually came here to kill me…”
Qiuyue, Kuroda and Tiandao looked at each other, with uncontrollable surprise appearing on their faces.
"They've made it here..." Kuroda murmured, "We haven't even had time to assemble our troops yet..."
Neither Sheng Tianmu nor Qiuyue and the others had expected that Ogata would not only come to their commander's camp, but also do so at such a fast speed.
The generals they sent to mobilize and assemble the troops haven't returned yet...
“…Follow me.” Sheng Tianmu put away the surprise and shock on his face, picked up his beloved gun, and walked quickly out of the tent.
Qiuyue, Kuroda and Tiandao looked at each other, nodded solemnly, then stood up and followed Sheng Tianmu.
…
…
When he was about 20 steps away from the magnificent tent, Ogata suddenly saw someone walking out of the magnificent tent.
And it wasn't just one person, but four people.
The four of them were wearing surprisingly identical attire, all wearing red and black armor and military feather robes.
The leader of the four was a veteran with gray hair and beard, about 40 years old, holding a red three-bar gun in his hand.
The three people following closely behind him were much younger, probably over 20 and under 30 years old.
Ogata looked closely and found that one of the three young generals was someone he knew - Akizuki, whom he had met once before in Kinno Town.
The veteran with the red three-barreled gun—that is, Nakatenmu—looked at Ogata, who was close enough to see each other's faces.
Although the man's face was splattered with a lot of blood, Shengtianmu could still recognize him: the man's face was exactly the same as the face drawn on Ogata Ittosai's wanted poster.
Although he had already prepared himself mentally, Sheng Tianmu couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in his heart after confirming the identity of the thief.
During this break-in, Ogata did not make any outward disguise—because there was no need to hide.
Mogami had already recognized Ogata when he defeated Mogami's troops yesterday.
Since everyone in this camp has most likely learned from Mougami that the person who injured him was Ogata Yoshisei, there is no need to cover it up anymore.
Ogata no longer cared whether his bounty would become 1,000 taels or 2,000 taels.
Sheng Tianmu took a deep breath——
"Qiuyue, Kuroda, Tiandao, follow me!"
After saying that, Sheng Tianmu shook the Kaifei in his hand, changed the gun from one hand to two hands, and pointed the gun directly at Ogata.
With a step of his hind legs, a large amount of snow on the ground flew into the air, and Shengtianmu stepped on the snow and rushed straight towards Ogata.
Qiuyue, Kuroda and Tiandao, who were standing behind Sheng Tianmu, were members of the "Seven Spears of Xianzhou" and naturally they were not slow to react.
As early as when they were still in the tent, when Sheng Tianmu asked the three of them to follow him out of the tent, the three of them roughly guessed what Sheng Tianmu wanted to do.
After Sheng Tianmu finished speaking, the three of them each snatched a spear from the guards beside them, and then rushed towards Ogata from four directions together with Sheng Tianmu.
Four warriors wearing mighty battle armor of the same color and style, holding spears, came towards him - Ogata's pupils shrank slightly.
Ogata, who had been through hundreds of battles and had fought against various masters, could tell that these four men were no ordinary people just from the way they rushed forward with guns in hand.
The spear's attack range is very wide.
When Ogata and Namatenmu were nearly 3 meters apart, Namatenmu shook the Kaihi in his hand and controlled the gun blade to sweep towards Ogata's calf.
The spear of Nagatenmu was very fast—but not so fast that Ogata couldn't parry it.
Ogata quickly stopped, assumed a lower stance, and swung his blade to meet the spear tip that was sweeping towards him from Sheng Tianmu.
clang!
There was a sound of metal clashing that was enough to make one's scalp tingle - Ogata successfully shook off the tip of Shengtianmu's spear.
As soon as Shengtianmu's spear tip was shaken away, another spear... no, three spears attacked Ogata - Akizuki, Kuroda, and Tendao wielded the spears in their hands and stabbed Ogata from three different directions.
Ogata did not take the three stabs head-on, but instead used his jumping steps and retreated several steps to avoid the stabs from Akizuki and the others.
After successfully forcing Ogata to retreat, Akizuki and the other two did not want to fight any longer. They quickly returned to Shengtianmu with their guns and formed a horn with Shengtianmu, launching a semicircular encirclement of Ogata.
Ogata steadied his body which was somewhat unstable due to the rapid retreat.
Stretching the five fingers of his right hand, which were slightly numb from taking the blow from Shengtianmu, Ogata glanced at the four generals in front of him with a calm gaze.
The four generals in front of him were wearing mighty battle armors, and they were not short in stature. Sheng Tianmu and Qiuyue were extremely tall, and they were holding long spears that kept flashing cold light - at first glance, they looked like four martial gods who had descended to the earth.
If it were an ordinary person, standing in front of these four extremely intimidating generals, it would be extremely difficult for them to even stand steadily.
But Ogata looked normal.
He held the knife and stood naturally.
"Get out of the way, you're blocking my way."
In a calm tone, he spoke words that sounded like orders to the four fierce generals in front of him who were like martial gods descended to earth.