Time goes back to the 7th day after Ogata left the Red Moon Fortress——
Skuluch and his camp——
"So--Mashima-kun, I'm sorry."
Although he had already prepared himself mentally, Ogata couldn't help but smile bitterly after hearing what Skulucci said.
However, just as Ogata showed a bitter smile on his face, what Skulucci said next made Ogata's expression freeze.
Skulucci put down the wine glass in his hand and stood up.
"——I can't guarantee that all my subordinates will be willing to follow me."
After standing up, Skulucci said the second half of his "sorry".
After saying this, under Ogata's surprised gaze, Skulucci quickly walked out of the tent.
As soon as he walked out of the tent, Skulucci saw his assistant, Vasily, who was particularly interested in "boxing" and "being beaten by strong men", walking towards him.
"Ah, Boss." Vasili said, "I heard that Mr. Majima came to our place, is that true? (Lucia)"
"It's true." Skulucci nodded. "Vashili, you're here just in time. Help me gather everyone. I have something important to tell them."
Vasili has been Skulucci's partner for many years and has long developed the good habit of "just do it after Skulucci gives the order and don't ask any more questions."
After loudly responding "I know", Vashili quickly ran away from Skulucci's sight.
At this time, Ogata also walked out of Skulucci's tent and stood behind Skulucci.
"So... the 'sorry' you just said was an apology for not being able to get all your subordinates to help me..." Ogata showed a complex smile of helplessness and gratitude.
Ogata really wanted to say something to Skulucci.
But after thinking about it, only the simplest sentence can best express Ogata's current feelings for Skulucci.
"Thank you, Skulucci."
Skulucci laughed loudly towards the sky:
"You must be curious - why should I risk my own life to help you?"
Skulucci turned his head, smiled and looked at Ogata with a meaningful look.
Before Ogata could return to his camp, Skulucci continued to speak to himself:
"There's no complicated reason. I just wanted to do it."
Skulucci didn't have many subordinates to begin with, so after a short while, all of Skulucci's subordinates had gathered together.
Although Skulucci was now joined by his superior, Alexander, their two troops did not live together.
The main camp of Skulucci and his troops was located a few hundred meters west of Alexander's camp.
So Alexander had no idea about the situation in Skulucci's camp.
After his subordinates had assembled, Skuluch stood on a wooden box half a person's height with his hands on his hips, looking down at the 85 subordinates in front of him, including Vasili. As for Ogata, he stood behind the wooden box at Skuluch's feet.
"I'm sorry to call you all together so suddenly."
"I will keep it brief."
"The rulers of Japan have set their sights on a piece of precious land not too far from us."
"And this precious land is home to more than a thousand Ainu people."
"So Japan sent out 10,000 troops to attack the thousand-plus Ainu people, intending to drive them out of that precious land and occupy it alone."
“I hate this approach in Japan.”
"So I'm going to help the Ainu people."
"The strategy is very simple: while the Japanese army is busy attacking the Ainu, we will attack the flank of the Japanese army and go straight to their base camp, defeating the Japanese army in one fell swoop."
"You are not morons. You should all know which number is larger, tens or ten thousand."
"This is a very dangerous battle, and you may die."
"I won't force everyone to follow me to rush to the battlefield to help!"
"If you are tired of this boring winter life and want to find some excitement, and if you are not afraid of death and are willing to follow me, then follow me!"
"I won't punish you if you don't want to go. Just remember not to cause trouble while I'm not here."
"I'll give you some time to think about it! After dark, anyone who wants to follow me should report to Vashili! Vashili, report to me as soon as you have gathered the number of people."
"Also, Vashili, I have another task for you: provide our horses with extra food and make sure they are ready to attack at any time."
After saying this, Skulucci ignored his subordinates who were in an uproar at his words and jumped down from the wooden box.
"Have you finished?" Ogata looked at Sculucci in surprise, "I thought you might have a lot to say..."
Ogata naturally didn't understand Skulucci's Lucia language, so from Ogata's perspective, Skulucci stepped onto the wooden box, chattered incomprehensible words for less than half a minute, and then got down from the box.
"That's enough." Sculucci smiled and shrugged. "My men and I are not used to long speeches. This kind of concise speech is just right for them."
"I let them choose whether to go or stay. The deadline is tonight."
"Let's just wait patiently. Wait till tonight and see how many people are willing to follow me."
"And I am taking advantage of the time I still have to do something else."
After saying that, Skulucci took a big step and walked in front of Ogata. The distance between the two was so close that their breaths could bump into each other.
"What are you doing?" Ogata subconsciously took a step back.
Just as Ogata took a step back, Skulucci took another step forward.
"Don't move. Let me compare your size with mine."
Although he was not sure what Skulucci was going to do, Ogata finally decided to listen to Skulucci and stood still, allowing Skulucci to stand in front of him.
"Hmm... you and I are about the same size..."
"So what are you going to do?"
"Mashima-kun, we can be considered as mercenaries hired by you." Skulucci smiled, "So you can be considered as our general."
"Not only that, your skills are also very impressive."
"I still remember clearly the time when I was completely suppressed by you during the competition."
"You are the sharpest 'spear' on our side. If anything happens to your 'spear', it will be troublesome. We may not be able to rush to the base camp of the 10,000-strong army."
"So - we need to find a way to make your 'spear' less likely to break."
After saying that, Skulucci left Ogata, turned around and strode eastward.
"Mashima-kun, judging from your face, you probably haven't had a good rest these past few days, right? You should go back to my tent and rest for a while. I'll go get some things and I'll probably be back this evening."
Although Skulucci had been doing things that Ogata couldn't understand since the beginning, Ogata did not stop Skulucci or ask more questions.
Although he had not spent a long time with Skulucci, Ogata still had some understanding of Skulucci's work style: he was not the kind of person who would do meaningless things.
Looking at Skulucci's back as he left, Ogata suddenly remembered something and shouted at Skulucci:
"Skulucci!"
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Since you're going to get something, could you help me find something? A long pole that's about half my height. Preferably a straight pole."
"Straight pole?" Sculucci was not the kind of person who was keen on getting to the bottom of things. After raising his eyebrows, he nodded, "I see. I'll go look for it."
After bidding farewell to Ogata, Skulucci strode back to his superior: Alexander's camp, and went straight to Alexander's tent. After pulling aside the curtain, he saw Alexander holding a bottle of wine and drinking it in big gulps.
After seeing who the person was, Alexander, who was already drunk and had a red face, shouted happily:
"Oh! Skulucci! You're back!"
"Really? What were you doing just now? You left me drinking alone."
"Sorry, sorry." Skulucci sat down in front of Alexander. "I was just taking care of some personal matters, but now I've finished them. Come on! Boss Alexander, let's continue drinking!"
"Ahaha!" Alexander's face turned even redder due to excitement. "I'm just waiting for you to say that!"
Alexander threw a bottle of wine at Skulucci.
As a result, after Alexander threw the wine to him, Skulucci's mouth corners curled up in a cunning arc.
"Boss Alexander, we have been drinking and chatting to kill time - don't you want to be innovative and come up with a new way to kill time?"
"Innovation?" Alexander's eyes lit up. "So what good innovative ideas do you have?"
"I think about it carefully - you and I have never compared our drinking capacity." Sculucci shook the bottle in his hand, "Boss Sculucci, how about we compare and see who can drink more?"
The light in Alexander's eyes grew brighter.
"Oh? Interesting! Okay! Then let's have a drinking competition!"
Seeing that Alexander agreed to his "drinking challenge" so readily, the cunning hidden in the upturned corners of Skulucci's mouth became even more intense.
"Then let's drink!" Sculucci unscrewed the bottle in his hand.
…
…
2 hours later——
"belch……"
Alexander burped loudly.
Now, night has fallen.
Candles had just been lit in the tent for lighting.
Between Alexander and Skulucci, there were piles of empty wine bottles.
Like Sculucci, his cheeks were already burning red.
But the difference between them is that Alexander's eyes are cloudy, while Skulucci's eyes are still clear.
Skulucci looked Alexander up and down several times, and after confirming that Alexander was now quite drunk, he tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth that were curled up as if he was trying to hold back a smile, and cleared his throat:
"Boss Alexander. I need your help with something."
"Huh? What's the matter?" Alexander spoke with a lisp because he was drunk.
"It's like this - when I was mapping the area in the south, I met a Japanese man who lived in seclusion in an Ainu village."
"That Kazuto is a descendant of a samurai. He has a set of armor handed down from generation to generation in his family. Although it is an armor that has been passed down from generation to generation in his family, it is just a very ordinary set of armor."
"But that guy shows off his armor to others every day."
"When we were staying in that village, that guy showed off to us how powerful his heirloom armor was whenever he had the chance."
"The more I think about his smug look, the angrier I get."
"So - Alexander, I want to borrow your suit of armor that you gave me today in exchange for 10 horses."
"I will wear it and take my men to that village again. I will let that guy know that his family heirloom armor is nothing but a pile of scrap metal compared to your armor, Alexander."
Alexander, who had drunk too much and whose mind was already a little unclear, stopped thinking after hearing Skulucci's flattering words.
"Okay!" As soon as Skulucci finished speaking, Alexander slammed the table without hesitation, "No problem! You can wear and use my armor as much as you want!"
"Hey, Boss, don't be anxious."
As if performing magic, Skulucci took out a piece of paper with several lines of words written on it from his arms.
"I am borrowing something from you, after all. So I'd better write you an IOU. Come, sign your name here."
"You need to sign a signature or write an IOU?" Alexander muttered. "Why bother? You can just take my armor away!"
Skulucci raised the index finger of his right hand and shook it left and right.
"That won't do."
"Although the English and French are a bunch of stinky shit, I still recognize their 'spirit of contract'."
"I think we should also learn from their spirit of contract."
"Well... that's troublesome... OK. Give me your IOU."
Alexander took the IOU handed over by Skulucci and glanced at it roughly: there was not much written on it, just "When and where Skulucci borrowed Alexander's armor", "If it is damaged, compensation will be paid at the price", and then "Alexander has agreed and will never regret it".
Sculucci handed over the pen at the right time.
Alexander used the pen handed to him by Skulucci to write his name beautifully on the IOU.
…
…
"Boss, you're back. Hmm? What's that big box on your back? And what's that long pole in your hand?"
As soon as Skuluch came back, he saw Vasily, who seemed to have been waiting for him for a long time, walking towards him quickly.
"This long pole was found for me at Mashima-kun's request. I don't know what it's used for."
"As for this big box I'm carrying on my back."
Skulucci gave a smug smile and patted the big box on his back.
"It's a good thing I just 'borrowed' from Boss Alexander."
Skulucci briefly outlined what he had just done to Alexander.
When Skulucci finished speaking, Vashili's eyes widened in surprise.
"Boss... you are really amazing..."
The surprise on Vasili's face turned into bitterness.
"But... when Alexander sobers up and comes to his senses, he might come after you..."
"By then, even if you have an IOU signed by him, it will be useless... He can just play rogue and deny it."
"That doesn't matter." Skulucci shrugged. "I am his top general. No matter how angry he is, he can't do anything to me. I have plenty of ways to fool him."
"All right. Tell me your story, Vashili. How is it? How many people are willing to go crazy with me?"
When saying the word "crazy", Skulucci raised his voice and used a joking tone.
Vasili smiled in response to Skulucci's joking tone.
"Including me, a total of 63 people are willing to go crazy with you." Vashili said loudly, enunciating each word.
"63 people?... That's a lot more than I thought."
"The Cossacks who will stay under the command of a weirdo like you who never loots or robs are either true adventurers who love adventure," Vashili said with a smile, "or they are weirdos who will follow you no matter what you plan to do and will not leave you."
"And our team happens to be mostly made up of these weirdos."
"Adventurers and weirdos..." Skulucci laughed. His shoulders shook because he laughed so hard. "So - Vasili, which category do you belong to?"
"Need I say more?" Vashili straightened his back and chest. "Boss, you are going to such a dangerous place. As your number one weirdo, how can I not go with you?"
Looking at Vasily in front of him, Skulucci smiled and raised his hand to pat him as he puffed out his chest.
"Alright. Stop sticking out your fucking breasts. You're not a woman, who are you sticking them out for?"
"Go down and rest quickly."
Vashili nodded vigorously, then quickly walked away from Skulucci.
Skulucci returned to the tent where he lived, carrying the armor box on his back and the long pole that Ogata had specifically requested.
As soon as he entered the tent, Xu Fang, who was resting in his tent, immediately opened his eyes when he noticed the movement.
…
…
Since leaving the Red Moon Fortress, Ogata has compressed his rest time to the extreme in order to arrive at Skulucci's camp earlier.
The lack of rest naturally made it difficult for Ogata to relieve his fatigue.
Ogata was not a fool who didn't know what "work and rest" meant, so when Skulucci asked him to take a rest before it got dark, Ogata did not refuse. He obediently went to Skulucci's tent to take a nap.
The 36 points of "vitality" are of great power at this moment.
Although he only slept for more than two hours, after waking up, Ogata felt that his fatigue had mostly dissipated.
"Sorry for disturbing your sleep." Skulucci, who had just walked into the tent, apologized to Ogata and handed the long pole in his hand to Ogata. "What's the length of the pole you want?"
"It's the perfect length, thank you." Ogata took the long pole from Sculucci, "Hmm? What's that big wooden box on your back?"
"I'll tell you later." Skulucci put the big wooden box on his back on the ground, and then used the box as a stool and sat on it. "Mashima-kun, let me tell you a good news first - there are many more people willing to follow me than I thought, a total of 63 people. Including me, you have invited a total of 64 elite knights."
"64 people..." Ogata's face showed some surprise, "That's twice what I expected..."
"Yeah." Skulucci showed a somewhat relieved expression, "It's much more than I expected. I didn't expect that I would have so many monsters under my command... Mashima-kun, when are you planning to set off?"
"When can you set off at the earliest?" Ogata asked.
"Tomorrow morning."
"Then let's set off tomorrow morning." Ogata said calmly, "Tomorrow morning, we will rush to the battlefield."
Skulucci grinned:
"It's really time-saving and comfortable to deal with a straightforward person like you, Mashima-kun."
"Okay! Let's set off tomorrow morning!"
"Mashima-kun, do you want to imitate Oda Nobunaga tonight?"
"Imitate Oda Nobunaga?" Ogata asked back.
"It's about the fact that before Oda Nobunaga defeated tens of thousands of troops with inferior forces, he sang the song 'Atsumori'." Sculucci shrugged. "I always thought that Oda Nobunaga's act of singing and dancing before defeating the enemy was very great."
"In fact, I have always wanted to imitate this behavior - but unfortunately I don't know how to sing, let alone dance."
"Mashima-kun, do you want to give it a try?"
"Singing and dancing... that's not necessary." Ogata said with a wry smile, "Instead of singing and dancing... it's better to use the time to do something else."
Sculucci: "Business?"
As soon as Skulucci asked back, he saw Ogata raise his right hand, grab the skin under his left ear, and then slowly peel off his "face skin".
Looking at Ogata who suddenly peeled off his "face", Skulucci was so scared that he almost fell off the box.
"I'm sorry for keeping it a secret from you." Ogata put away the torn human skin mask and said slowly, "The face you see now is my real appearance. It's inconvenient for me to show my real face to others, so I have been using this human skin mask to cover my face. Oh, by the way, 'Mashima Goro' is actually my pseudonym."
"Human skin mask...Does a human skin mask really exist?"
This was the first time Ogata saw Skulucci look so surprised.
Skulucci stared at Ogata's face with a look of astonishment for a long time, and then the astonishment on his face slowly turned into a complex expression dominated by helplessness.
"It seems... these secrets about you are enough for us to talk about for a long time tonight."
"But before you tell me your own secrets - let me give this to you first."
Sculucci opened the large box on which he was sitting.
"Mashima-kun, have you ever worn armor?"
As Skulucci finished his words, the door of the wooden box slowly opened, revealing the blue and gold armor inside.
This time it was Ogata who looked surprised.
"Take this and put it on." Skulucci smiled, "This is the armor I received from my superior."
"With this, your sharpest 'spear' shouldn't be broken so easily."
"Is this armor for me?" Ogata asked, "What about you?"
"Cossacks don't wear armor." Skuluch shrugged. "Wearing armor will weaken our combat effectiveness. There's no need to think too much. Just take it and put it on."
"...I understand." After a moment of silence, Ogata nodded.
He was not a pretentious person, so he didn't refuse.
"Then let the sunshine of tomorrow morning bear witness to the moment when I, in my armor, draw my sword and ride with you!"
He said with a smile.
…
…
…
…
Time goes back to the present——
Ogata moved his gaze, scanning the scene before him.
The Red Moon Fortress was under fierce attack from the army. Even without a telescope, Ogata could see that the fortress was already on the verge of collapse.
And the human army - arranged in a densely packed formation.
This was also the first time Ogata saw such a large-scale army.
The army, arranged in dense battle formations, emanated a terrifying and oppressive feeling like a meteorite falling from the sky, and smashed towards Ogata and his men.
“Whisper, wheezle…”
The radish under Ogata's crotch made an uneasy sound.
It wasn't just Radish who was like this - the horses of the many knights behind Ogata were now making uneasy noises.
It's not just horses, it's the same with humans.
Many of the knights behind Ogata now had expressions of panic, fear, and shock on their faces.
But their expressions were fleeting.
They were all mentally prepared and knew what they were here for and what might happen to them before following Skulucci and Ogata to this place.
How could I back down at this time?
Therefore, the negative emotions on the faces of these knights slowly dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Panic turned into determination. Fear turned into eagerness to try.
A few knights licked their tongues and looked anxiously back and forth at Ogata and Skulucci who were in front of them, hoping that they could issue the order to charge as soon as possible.
"Calm down." Ogata stroked Radish's mane.
Perhaps it was because Ogata's gentle caress took effect, the radish that had been making anxious noises just now slowly calmed down.
Ogata gently stroked Radish's mane while looking into the distance at the 10,000-strong army covering the entire field.
Ogata felt that he was in a very strange mood now.
Looking at the 10,000-strong army ahead, Ogata somehow remembered the night when his fellow disciples in the sword hall were massacred.
That night, he was clearly very close to the patriarch's residence, but he was unable to save anyone.
This moment is very similar to that moment.
Someone who is very important to you is now in danger.
A-Ting is now in the crumbling fortress.
But the difference between this moment and that moment is that he now has the ability to save important people.
His strategy was successful.
He came back successfully.
He returned with reinforcements.
He is no longer the powerless self he once was.
Ogata began to move his gaze, scanning from one end of the military formation to the other, taking in the powerful enemy that he would soon face.
The one standing before him now may be the most powerful enemy in his life.
He faced the more than one hundred guards of Matsudaira Gennai.
Face the prisoners on Butterfly Island, led by the evil monk.
Faced many enemies on top of Nijo Castle in Kyoto.
Faced those ninjas in Shiranui.
And now——he would face the shogunate's 10,000-strong army, the shogunate's most powerful armed force.
This will be a bloody battle far greater than any other in the past, and perhaps no battle in the future will be comparable to it.
——If we win this battle, the name of "Executioner Itosai" will probably be recorded in the history books forever, leaving an indelible mark in the history books.
Ogata thought this for no reason.
Fight a battle that may seem crazy to others, just to protect the important people.
Even if the enemy outnumbers us, we are willing to charge forward!
For no reason, Ogata felt his heart beating faster.
For no apparent reason, Ogata felt his emotions becoming increasingly agitated.
This was the first time that Ogata clearly felt that he was at the center of history.
I am creating new history!
Creating a new peak for the "History of Swordsmen"!
Ogata suppressed the excitement in his heart, took out a flag from the saddle bag next to him, and then pulled out the long pole that he had asked Skulucci to help him find.
Ogata tied the flag to the long pole and then tied the flagpole to the back of Radish's saddle.
"Skulucci."
Ogata said.
"Please tell your men to keep their eyes on this flag when the charge begins. Follow wherever the flag goes."
Skulucci stared at the flag that had just been tied to the back of the carrot saddle, and then read out word by word:
"The unrivaled sword in the world... Ogata Issei..."
This was the flag that Jiro Nishino gave to Ogata after Ogata helped Jiro Nishino write a Kabuki play based on his story and made the play a successful performance.
This was a flag that was originally used to promote the play, but was given to Ogata by Jiro Nishino as a souvenir.
Ogata originally only regarded this flag as a souvenir - but in this kind of occasion, this flag is a very good flag.
The general's flag can not only inform our own people of the general's location, but also frighten the enemy.
Having seen the use of this flag in advance, Ogata brought the flag out before leaving Red Moon Fortress to find Skulucci.
"The content written on this flag is very arrogant." Skulucci laughed, "But - I like it!"
Skulucci turned his head and said something loudly in Lucia to his subordinates behind him, and then his subordinates responded loudly one after another.
"Ogata-kun." Skulucci turned his head back and said to Ogata in a half-joking tone, "Are you really not going to imitate Oda Nobunaga and sing "Atsumi" or something? It's rare to be on such a big stage. If I don't do something, I always feel like something is missing."
"Oda Nobunaga...singing and dancing..." Ogata murmured.
At this moment, Ogata suddenly understood Oda Nobunaga.
Before this, Ogata had never understood why Oda Nobunaga would sing and dance before leading thousands of troops to a battle that would determine the fate of his family.
Now——Ogata understood.
When you are emotionally excited and your heart seems to be about to jump out of your chest, singing and dancing will help you express the heroic spirit in your heart.
"...Okay." Ogata smiled, "Then let's sing a poem. But - not 'Atsumi'."
Who is Oda Nobunaga!
What is "Atsumi"!
I want to sing my own poem, Ogata Issey!
The poem that represents me, Ogata Issei, in the annals of history!
Skulucci was just joking, so Skulucci now looked at Ogata with astonishment as he slowly pulled out the knife from his waist.
Ogata had not received any classical education in his previous life.
Although the memories are integrated with those of "Hara Ogata", "Hara Ogata" has only received some basic education.
But the amazing thing is that under his excited emotions, words popped out of Ogata's mind one by one and then gathered into lines of poetry.
The blade was unsheathed, making a crisp sound.
With the clanging sound of the blade being unsheathed as accompaniment, Ogata softly recited the poem that had taken shape in his mind:
"The fierce class sound
A surge of hot blood in my throat
"Sword Shadow Breaks the Sky"
As soon as he finished speaking, Dashitian had just pulled all the swords out of the sheath, ending the poem with the sharpest sound.
The dark clouds above all dissipated, and the beam of light formed by the gathered rays of light shone on the man and horse standing in the sun, like gods.
And as if to welcome the arrival of this god, the sky began to disperse the dark clouds at a much faster speed. More and more dark clouds disappeared, and more and more sunlight broke free from the obstruction of the dark clouds.
"...Is this a poem you designed yourself?" After listening to the poem sung by Ogata, Skulucci was stunned for a moment, then slowly came back to his senses, "It's really a poem that suits you very well..."
Ogata smiled but didn't respond.
He gripped the reins tightly with his left hand, clenched his sword tightly with his right hand, and stared at the 10,000 troops in front of him.
"...Skulucci." He suddenly asked, "Do you believe that miracles can happen?"
Faced with this sudden question from Ogata, Skulucci was stunned for a moment, and then answered without hesitation:
"No." Sculucci paused, then smiled and said, "I only believe that miracles can be created!"
At this time, Ogata's chest was rising and falling in a strange rhythm, his eyes were shining like flames, and his momentum was boiling.
"Then you have to follow me closely!" Ogata pulled the reins, "Follow me, and create miracles with me!"
My heels hit the horse's belly and a cold wind immediately hit my face.
Luobo spread out his four hooves and galloped towards the 10,000-strong army in front of him.
Skulucci shouted loudly, then led his men to follow closely.
There were more than sixty knights, and the momentum of their charge was overwhelming.
A large banner with the words "The unrivaled sword in the world, Ogata Issei" fluttered in the cold wind.
The figure of this waving flag and the posture of Ogata Issei riding his horse to charge the shogunate army will be immortal in the history of civilization and in the heroic epic of the Ainu people.