"Ittosai..." Inamori murmured, and subconsciously glanced at Matsudaira Sadanobu who was beside him and was also in a state of shock.
Before this, he had always turned a deaf ear to Matsudaira Sadanobu's idea that "Ogata Ittosai might go to ask for reinforcements" - but he never expected that Matsudaira Sadanobu's long-standing worries would come true.
At this time, the messenger sent by Katsura Yoshimasa also reported another important information: the cavalry brought by Ogata Ittosai was a Russian cavalry team.
Although the question of "who brought this cavalry team" was solved, more questions arose.
Why did Ogata Ittosai bring people to attack them?
Is Ogata Ittosai still connected with the Lucia people? How could they invite Ogata Ittosai?
What exactly does Ogata Ittosai want to do? Does he want to attack our main camp directly, or does he just want to harass us?
…
Although all the doubts squeezed together and made Inamori feel a little pain in his head, at this moment, he instinctively displayed the qualities that a commander-in-chief of the entire army should have.
He quickly regained his composure and looked around.
All the generals in the main camp are now in a state similar to "petrified" because they know the name of the attacker.
Knowing that he had to find a way to boost everyone's morale, Inamori pondered for a few breaths and said loudly:
"I was wondering which idiot dared to attack our army! It turned out to be Ogata Ittosai, the madman who has been trying to find ways to oppose our shogunate!"
"Humph! Since he is leading this cavalry team personally, he came just in time!"
"The cavalry under his command number less than a hundred."
"And the army we are waiting for has 10,000 people!"
"Less than a hundred people against ten thousand, the advantage is on my side!"
"No matter how sharp Ogata Ittosai's sword is, can it defeat our army of 10,000?"
"No matter how powerful he is, he is still just one man after all! He will eventually run out of energy!"
"When his strength is exhausted, that will be the moment for us to eliminate this scourge and leave our names in history books!"
As Inamori wished, his impassioned speech successfully boosted the morale of many generals in the main camp.
Some generals, probably to give themselves more courage, shouted:
"That's right! Lord Inamori is right! No matter what we say, there is no way we can't deal with a mere cavalry of less than a hundred people!"
"Is there something wrong with Ogata Ittosai? Why does he keep causing trouble for our army? This is his third time attacking our army, right?"
"Kill the executioner!"
…
Looking at the changes in the generals around him, Inamori secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Inamori turned his head and shifted his gaze back to the direction of the 6th formation which was currently being ravaged by Ogata and others.
He has now conveyed the order to resist the enemy to all the generals in the army and has done everything that can be done.
All he could do now was to pray that the generals and the troops could intercept and defeat Ogata Ittosai as soon as possible...
…
…
The 6th round——
After fighting his way to this point, Ogata had turned into a bloody man and his horse into a bloody horse, like a Shura from hell.
And Skulucci and others behind him now looked extremely terrifying because their bodies were covered in blood.
Originally, the Don horses used by Ogata and his men were extremely large, taller than many samurai.
Ogata and his companions, who were riding on horses that were exceptionally tall in the eyes of the generally short soldiers, already felt extremely oppressed.
The blood-soaked appearance of Ogata and his men made the feeling of oppression even stronger and made the generals and soldiers of the shogunate army feel suffocated.
Many soldiers were so frightened by the appearance of Ogata and his men that they stood there dumbfounded.
Of course - the soldiers who were frightened by the bloody appearance of Ogata and others were only a minority.
Most of the soldiers were frightened by the flag behind Ogata... or to be more precise, by the name "Ogata Ittosai".
This was the purpose of Ogata revealing his true identity and tying this flag to the saddle.
The reason why the big flag with "Ogata Issey, the Unrivaled Sword in the World" was tied to the horse was not only to prevent Skulucci and others from losing their purpose - it was also to let the generals and soldiers of the shogunate army know: Ogata Issey is coming!
Ogata's goal was to use "psychological warfare" to destroy the morale of the shogunate's soldiers.
Judging from the current results, Ogata's "psychological warfare" was quite successful.
Ogata had heard many soldiers wailing something like "It's Ogata Ittosai" while fleeing in panic.
In order to further increase the fear of the generals and soldiers and destroy their fighting spirit and morale, Ogata showed no mercy to any general or soldier who blocked his way.
Just like now——in front of him was a soldier dressed as a foot soldier, roaring and rushing towards Ogata.
Ogata was now completely absorbed in the word "breakthrough", so when faced with the three foot soldiers rushing towards him, he immediately calculated the distance between the two sides as if by conditioned reflex, swung his sword and chopped down the soldier.
Da da da…
There was the sound of horse hooves ahead.
Following the sound, I saw a warrior in mighty armor riding a horse and charging towards Ogata with a sword in hand.
Behind this general, there were only twenty or so infantrymen following him.
To be able to wear such luxurious armor, one must be a general in the army or above.
He led such a small force to meet the enemy, probably because time was too urgent and he could not mobilize too many troops.
"I am the general of Morioka Domain - Yoshimura Takeshi!"
The general loudly announced his home address.
However, Ogata didn't pay any attention to this guy's name.
Ogata, who was in a hurry, was no longer interested in introducing himself - and he was not interested in listening to a dying man's self-introduction.
The two rushed straight towards each other.
The weapons used by Ogata and Yoshimura Takeshi are both katana. Although Daishakuten's is longer and Ogata's arm span is also larger, the attack ranges of the two are actually not much different.
When their horses were about to cross each other, Yoshimura clenched the sword in his hand tightly and was about to swing it at Ogata's horse.
Ogata also grasped the knife at the same time.
The timing of their sword strikes was the same - but the difference in speed and strength was too great.
Just as Yoshimura Takeshi was about to swing his sword, Ogata's slash had already been made.
Sakakibara Ittoryu·Ryubi.
The horizontal blade light swept across the head of Yoshimura Takeshi's warhorse, cutting off the horse's head in one breath, and the remaining force continued to sweep towards Yoshimura Takeshi's neck.
Yoshimura Takeshi's head and his horse's head were chopped off at almost the same time, and the headless body and horse fell to the ground weakly.
General: Yoshimura Takeshi - killed in battle!
Yoshimura Takeshi was killed instantly by Ogata, and the more than 20 infantrymen he brought with him were all dispersed by Ogata and others.
Ogata guessed: the general he had just killed should not be an unknown general. After defeating the general, Ogata clearly heard dense screams and wails around him, and the speed of the defeat of the generals and soldiers in front of him also accelerated.
…
…
The 6th formation, the main formation——
"Damn it! What on earth is Kuroda doing? Why doesn't he lead his men to intercept Ogata Ittosai?"
Katsura Yoshimasa was looking at Ogata and others who were getting closer and closer to him with a panicked look, and from time to time he looked anxiously in the direction of Kuroda.
He had just sent an order to Kuroda, asking him to lead his troops over as soon as possible to delay Ogata and buy time for him to set up his formation.
However - until now, he had not seen Kuroda.
Katsura Yoshimasa didn't know that while he was anxiously waiting for Kuroda's help, Kuroda was now very "relaxed".
…
…
The 6th formation, flank——
"Hurry up!" Kuroda shouted to a general beside him, "Gather more people! The current number of troops is not enough to stop the bandit army!"
The samurai general did not dare to resist Kuroda. After responding loudly, he turned around and left to carry out Kuroda's task of "gathering more troops."
After the samurai general left, Kuroda turned his attention back to the direction of the 6th formation's main camp which was about to be attacked.
——Lord Gui, you just wish yourself good luck.
Kuroda said silently in his heart.
——I can’t do anything to help you…I don’t want to die.
Kuroda's state of mind had undergone a drastic change in just a short period of time.
When he first learned that the enemy army was attacking and received the order from Katsura Yoshimasa to "stop the enemy army", Kuroda was full of enthusiasm and wanted to do something big.
But when he was using a telescope to check the enemy situation, Kuroda's blood immediately cooled when he saw Ogata's familiar face.
The scene where Ogata killed them all with three of the "Seven Guns of Senshu" in one breath is still deeply engraved in Kuroda's mind, leaving him with a deep psychological trauma.
So after seeing Ogata's face, Kuroda quickly changed his mind: What bandit army? I don't know~~
But Kuroda couldn't openly say that he was afraid of the enemy and would do nothing, so he chose to use "dawdling" as a disguise.
Kuroda deliberately kept using the excuse that "this number of people is not enough" to ask his subordinates to gather more troops in order to delay time, intending to delay until Ogata left the 6th formation.
After Ogata walked away, he led his men to chase him in a pretentious manner.
Kuroda secretly rejoiced that Akizuki was not here now.
Qiuyue is currently recuperating in the camp behind them as her injuries are far from healed.
If Akizuki was present, Kuroda dared to conclude that Akizuki, whose brain was not as flexible as Kuroda's, would definitely do everything he could to stop Ogata.
…
…
The 6th formation, the main formation——
"Master Gui! Let's go! If you delay any longer, the enemy army will come and kill us!"
A military officer standing next to Gui Yi Zheng tried to persuade him to flee quickly, looking as if he was about to cry.
Gui Yizheng's facial features were now twisted together because of his troubled mood.
The samurai education he received since childhood taught him that running away is shameful.
But his desire to survive told him: although running away is shameful, saving one's life is more important...
Ogata was now only 20 steps away from him, so close that Katsura Yoshimasa could see clearly that half of Ogata's face was splattered with blood.
And his gun formation - it still doesn't even have a prototype.
Katsuragi was struggling, and finally - the desire to survive defeated the samurai's honor.
He rode his warhorse hastily, away from Ogata.
Katsura Yoshimasa dodged just in time and avoided Ogata's butcher knife.
After Gui Yizheng fled his position, the defense of the 6th formation completely collapsed.
Just like chasing a fleeing lamb, Ogata pursued the soldiers in front of him who were already in a state of retreat.
The 6th formation - Breakthrough!
Although the soldiers of the 6th and 7th formations failed to stop Ogata at all, they also bought time for the defensive deployment of the rear troops.
When Ogata and his men broke through the 6th formation and prepared to launch an assault on the 5th formation, they were shocked to find that the soldiers of the 5th formation had already formed a gun formation and were waiting for them.
However, due to insufficient time, the gun formation formed by the soldiers in the 5th formation was... to put it bluntly, it was in tatters, with gaps visible everywhere.
Dense gun formations are the natural enemy of cavalry, and no cavalry unit has ever been able to break through a dense gun formation.
But on the other hand, the sparse and not dense gun formation was just a slightly harder piece of paper to the cavalry.
Ogata found a gap closest to him and launched an attack.
His sword swung in large circles one after another. Ogata was becoming more and more proficient in swinging the sword on horseback. Wherever the blade passed, the generals and soldiers of the shogunate army were either killed or injured.
Ogata single-handedly enlarged the small gap in the gun formation, and the following Cossack cavalry rushed into the fifth formation through the gap like a long dragon.
Unlike the 6th and 7th formations, the soldiers in the 4th and 5th formations were all from the 3rd Army (Aizu Army).
Although the officers and soldiers of the Aizu Army were far more elite than those of other troops, no matter how elite they were, they were still human beings.
Facing the sudden attack from the rear, there was no way to quickly complete the defensive deployment. It would also make one feel tired and panic.
The news of "attack in the rear" and "charger: Ogata Yoshisei" had already reached the positions of the 4th and 5th formations.
Faced with the successive bad news, the generals and soldiers were already in a state of panic. After seeing Ogata break through two formations and kill their fifth formation, the panic continued to grow.
Wherever the sword flashes, there will be flashes of blood. Facing Ogata's fierce attack, the soldiers of the 5th formation were like rice being cut by a sickle.
Wherever Ogata and his men's "sickle" harvested , corpses would be left behind.
Compared with the soldiers whose morale and fighting spirit were in an avalanche, the fighting will of Skulucci and others led by Ogata was like a flame that was constantly being poured with thick oil, which continued to rise.
If the general is brave, the soldiers will be brave; if the general is incompetent, the soldiers will be incompetent - this is an eternal truth.
Ogata led them and broke through two thousand-man formations of the Shogunate army like a whirlwind - Ogata's bravery even exceeded the imagination of Skulucci, who was more familiar with Ogata.
Skulucci asked himself: If he were to play as a forward, he would never be able to achieve this effect.
Even Skulucci, who was familiar with Ogata, was frightened by his current bravery, let alone others.
In the eyes of others, Ogata now seemed to be possessed by the archangel: Michael.
Ogata's bravery made the Cossacks' blood boil. They forgot their physical fatigue because of their high spirits and fought more bravely.
Some of the soldiers who blocked their way were killed directly by the sword.
Some were hit head-on by their horses and were almost dead when they landed.
Some were very unfortunate - after being knocked away by war horses, they were trampled into a pulp by the hooves of following horses, or were trampled to death by their own frightened people.
The soldiers of the shogunate army, who had always used the ponies produced in Japan, had never imagined that the combination of humans and horses could form such a killing machine that caused blood and gore wherever it went.
Under the beam of light that fell after the dark clouds dispersed, the Cossack cavalry led by He Ren kept waving their swords. Wave after wave of soldiers rushed up to try to intercept the cavalry. They charged, attacked, intercepted, and then - died, leaving only corpses on the ground.
Some soldiers who could not endure the terror brought by Ogata screamed in fear, pushed and shoved each other, making the already chaotic army formation even more chaotic.
After leaving behind another pile of corpses, Ogata and his men successfully pierced through the entire 5th formation from south to north with their sickle.
The 5th formation - Breakthrough!
…
…
When Ogata just started to attack the 6th formation, someone on the wall of the Red Moon Fortress discovered that there seemed to be something wrong with the Japanese army formation outside the city.
It was not until the 6th formation was breached and the 5th formation was defeated that the Ainu people on the city wall finally became convinced that reinforcements were coming!
"Everyone, look!"
An Ainu shouted.
"It's reinforcements! There are reinforcements attacking the Japanese army!"
The Ainu's voice was so loud that most of the people on the city wall - including Chanup, Shendu and others - heard his shout.
"Reinforcements..." Shen Du, holding the Japanese sword and still maintaining the sword-drawing stance, looked outside the city in a daze, "Why are there reinforcements coming... Where are the reinforcements coming from?"
Compared to Shen Du, whose face was filled with only "confusion", Chanup's expression was much more complicated.
He stared blankly at the cavalry fighting outside the city.
Although the distance was too far to see the entire cavalry team, Chanup knew who brought this cavalry team.
"Thank you so much..." Chanup, with red eyes, murmured in a trembling voice, "It turned out... that you got back in just 13 days..."
More and more people noticed the cavalry that suddenly appeared outside the city and the bloody battle outside the city.
A strange "truce state" appeared on the inner city wall of the Red Moon Fortress.
Whether they were the Japanese or the Ainu, all of them were attracted by the battle outside the city and had various expressions on their faces.
The Ainu people looked hopeful.
And people looked panicked.
"Where did these reinforcements come from? Why did they attack the Japanese?"
"It doesn't matter where they come from! As long as they can help us deal with Kazuto!"
"These reinforcements are so few in number!"
"Although there are few of them, look! Kazuto has been routed! Maybe we can really defeat Kazuto in one fell swoop!"
"Quick! Defeat these people!"
…
On the city wall, the Ainu people, who had become disheartened because they felt that defending the city was hopeless, had the fire of hope rekindled in their hearts by Ogata's arrival.
Many people spontaneously expressed their support for Ogata and others who were fighting hard, even though they knew their voices could not be heard at all.
…
…
The shogunate army, the main camp of the entire army——
The generals in this camp have been craning their necks, trying to observe the battle situation.
After seeing Ogata break through their 7th, 6th and 5th formations and start attacking the 4th formation, their expressions at this moment were quite exciting.
They looked at each other, and what they wanted to say was already engraved on their slightly horrified expressions.
"They are still rushing straight in... They don't show any intention of leaving or changing direction... Their target... Could it be... our main camp...?"
Someone said this in a trembling voice.
Although the sound was not loud, it was just loud enough for everyone in the camp to hear it clearly.
The general's words expressed the anxious questions that had been circling in everyone's mind since just now.
"Damn Ittosai..." Inamori gritted his teeth, "Do you want to imitate Yukimura Mita's final blow in the Osaka Summer Campaign?"
The deeds of Yukimura Sanada, who saw that the chances of winning were slim in the final battle of the Osaka Summer Campaign two hundred years ago to decide whether the world would be ruled by Tokugawa or Toyotomi, and who led the cavalry to attack the main camp of the Tokugawa army, intending to take the head of the commander-in-chief of the Tokugawa army, Tokugawa Ieyasu, were naturally not unfamiliar to generals like Inamori.
"Sir!" A certain general seemed to finally be unable to bear it anymore and shouted to Inamori, "The enemy army is about to reach here! Let's retreat quickly!"
Inamori's main camp was between the 3rd and 4th camps. And Ogata had already started attacking the 4th camp, which meant that if Inamori and his men didn't evacuate quickly, their main camp would be completely exposed to Ogata's troops.
Inamori is already in a very bad mood.
After hearing the general's suggestion to retreat, Inamori seemed to finally be unable to bear it anymore. He threw the military equipment in his hand to the ground and roared:
"The 7th formation, the 6th formation, the 5th formation - three formations with 3,000 soldiers in total, and not a single one of them can stop this executioner?!"
After hearing Inamori's roar, all the generals in the main camp lowered their heads and dared not say even a word, for fear of offending Inamori's current bad luck.