Although he knew that Inamori was in a very bad mood, a confidant still plucked up the courage to say to Inamori:
"Sir, please move our formation back as soon as possible!"
After Inamori let out that roar just now and simply vented his anger, his emotions became calmer.
Retreating with the main camp - there is no doubt that this will be something that will be laughed at by others.
But Inamori can't care about so many things now.
"...Retreat!" Inamori's words were almost squeezed out from between his clenched teeth, "Retreat in the direction of the first formation!"
Upon hearing Inamori's order, the rest of the people in the main camp felt as if they had been granted amnesty, and began preparing for the relocation of the main camp as quickly as they could.
In fact, there is no need to prepare much for the relocation of the main camp - just move the flag representing the main camp.
After issuing the order to relocate the main camp, Inamori suddenly remembered something, turned his head, and said seriously to Matsudaira Sadanobu beside him:
"Master Lao Zhong, the battlefield is full of swords and guns. If you stay in this camp, it will be too dangerous. Please evacuate this place for the time being and wait for the good news of our great victory!"
Perhaps because of his anxiety, Inamori's words were not tactful at all and he directly told Matsudaira Sadanobu to escape quickly.
Matsudaira Sadanobu did not have the energy or time to pursue Inamori's extremely straightforward words.
He looked deeply at Inamori in front of him with a meaningful and tangled look, then nodded: "I understand. I wish you good luck in martial arts."
How could Matsudaira Sadanobu not understand the hidden meaning in Inamori's words? He even asked Matsudaira Sadanobu to leave the main camp, which meant that Inamori himself was not sure whether he could stop Ogata Issei...
Matsudaira Sadanobu was a samurai after all, and one who was born in the Tokugawa family and had the bloodline of the shogun. The samurai education he received since childhood made Matsudaira Sadanobu have an almost instinctive aversion to the word "escape from the battlefield."
But after being a politician for many years, Matsudaira Sadanobu realized a truth after years of political life: being alive is more important than anything else. As long as you are alive, there is still a chance for everything.
This reason overwhelmed instinct.
Inamori transferred one-third of the guards in the main camp to Matsudaira Sadanobu, and escorted Matsudaira Sadanobu away.
When Matsudaira Sadanobu left the main camp with the support of these guards, he unconsciously turned his head to look in the direction where Ogata was now - the confusion on his face became even more intense than before.
If possible, Matsudaira Sadanobu actually wanted to stay in the main camp for a while longer.
He wanted to wait for Ogata Issei to get closer so that he could take a closer look at his figure, his sword, his eyes...
He has not yet confirmed how similar or different Ogata Issei and Majima Goro are...
…
…
The 4th and 5th formations were all composed of soldiers and officers of the Aizu Army. In terms of combat effectiveness, the Aizu Army was far superior to that of the 1st Army. However, the speed at which the soldiers and officers of the 4th and 5th formations were defeated was even faster than that of the 6th and 7th formations.
Simply because——the panic has completely spread.
For an army, it would be a terrifying thing if panic spread on a large scale.
A large army collapsed directly due to the spread of panic - such things are not uncommon in history.
These generals and soldiers were not blind. Many of them saw with their own eyes how the three military formations of thousands of people in the rear were penetrated and defeated by just a few dozen cavalrymen.
What’s even more terrible is that many of the defeated soldiers ran to the front army formation that had not been attacked yet.
These defeated soldiers were the "source of infection" of the operation.
Their legs running out to escape, their screams of terror... brought constant panic to the people around them.
Ogata and his companions, who were chasing after the fleeing soldiers, were not only asking them to help them destroy the army formation and further spread panic, but were also constantly creating new and more fleeing soldiers.
This created a virtuous cycle that was quite good for Ogata and others: the deserters helped them disrupt the order of the army, which led to more deserters, and more deserters further disrupted the order of the army.
The armor on Ogata's body had been splattered with blood, with red patches here and black patches there, and it was almost impossible to tell its original color.
There were a few more notches on the sword in his hand - Ogata didn't even have the energy to count them.
The number of Skulucci and others behind him was reduced unknowingly due to the continuous bloody battles along the way, from the original 64 people to the current 50 people.
After defeating three enemy formations in a row, it was common sense that Ogata and his men should be tired, and in fact they were.
Ogata didn't know what was going on with Skulucci and the others, but in any case - although the "state of no self" would weaken the perception of fatigue, Ogata could clearly feel the fatigue surging through his body.
The physical energy consumed in horseback fighting is much greater than that in foot fighting.
As the "sharp knife" who rushed to the front, he faced the most enemies. As he rushed forward, he could feel the arm swinging the knife starting to take the blame, and his chest and lungs, which were constantly breathing in and out of air, began to hurt.
But Ogata's spirits remained high.
He charged, collided, swung his sword, and stabbed. He used the sword skills of Sakakibara Ittoryu and Muga Nitoryu, and the moves he had learned throughout his life, one after another, dazzling the generals and soldiers of the shogunate army.
Ogata's sword is as swift as thunder, as unpredictable as flowing water, and as brilliant as the glow of a sunset.
——The commander’s flag…moved back…
Ogata, who was always paying attention to the position of the commander's flag, was naturally the first to notice when the large flag with the trefoil painted on it began to move.
The movement of the commander's flag, the change in the position of the main camp - all of this was within Ogata's expectations.
In response to the movement of the commander's flag, Ogata simply tightened the reins and sword in his hands in silence.
The Don horse is indeed an excellent horse breed bred for the purpose of "going to the battlefield" and has both explosive power and endurance.
Even though the radish under Ogata's crotch was now shedding a lot of sweat and the enemy's blood splashing on him with every step he took, he still had enough physical strength to carry his master to fight - although the speed began to slow down uncontrollably.
After leaving a pile of corpses on the ground, the 4th formation suffered the same fate as the three formations behind it - being cut in half in the middle.
The 4th round - Breakthrough!
…
…
"grown ups!"
Even though they were hastily moving the main camp towards the direction of the first camp, some generals were still diligently reporting to Inamori on the current movements of Ogata and others.
Inamori and his team are now in the middle of the 3rd and 2nd formations.
After hearing the report from the general, the corner of Inamori's mouth twitched, and he turned his head to look at the battlefield behind him. When his sight fell on the cavalry team that had begun to attack the third formation, Inamori's pupils shrank slightly.
He keenly sensed that Ogata and the others were slowing down.
"...Our chance has come." Inamori couldn't hide his excitement and murmured involuntarily, "Their speed has slowed down...Their horses are getting tired..."
After murmuring, Daosen loudly announced the good news to all the generals:
"The enemy army has slowed down!"
"Their horses are probably running out of steam!"
"Continue to the first formation!"
"As long as we continue to drag this out until the enemy's physical strength is exhausted, our army will win!"
Born in a peacetime era, Inamori had only commanded battles to suppress peasant uprisings and bandits. In terms of command experience, he did not have much experience.
He had never experienced a strong cavalry attack in the rear. He lacked experience in dealing with such a situation.
In this dangerous situation, perhaps there is a better way to deal with it.
But for Inamori now, who only has such generals and soldiers of varying levels under his command, he doesn't know what other means he can use except "ordering the generals and soldiers in each formation to block the attack layer by layer until Ogata and the others are exhausted."
Inamori looked back frequently, looking at Ogata who was chasing them relentlessly from behind with a nervous and somewhat fearful look - he prayed that Ogata and the others would stop charging forward soon due to exhaustion.
…
…
Ogata rushed forward.
The general's flag kept retreating.
In order to shorten the distance between them and to reach the general's flag as soon as possible, Ogata has used all the means he can.
In order to break through the layers of enemy troops in front of him more quickly, Ogata even snatched the spears of some generals and soldiers of the shogunate army and used them for his own use.
Just like now - a general dressed as a samurai general, hiding in an inconspicuous corner, attacked from the left rear of Ogata, stabbing Ogata's left abdomen with his spear.
He had a brilliant plan, wanting to launch a sneak attack on Ogata - but his poor spearmanship meant that his attack was invisible to Ogata.
Ogata raised his left hand and snatched the man's spear. As he snatched the spear, the samurai general screamed shrilly - probably because the skin on his palm was torn off.
After snatching the spear, Ogata immediately turned it into his own weapon, clamped the spear under his left armpit, and pointed the spear tip at a foot soldier in front of him.
The tip of the spear hit the foot soldier, and a huge force instantly passed along the spear shaft to his arm.
The spear used by this general was not an ordinary spear. The spear shaft was extremely tough. The force generated by the collision caused the spear shaft to suddenly bend into an exaggerated bow shape, but it did not break.
The soldier, who was bearing the tremendous force generated by the impact of the spear, had his feet lifted off the ground. The next moment after his feet left the ground, the bent spear suddenly straightened up like a spring that was compressed and released. The force accumulated in the spear shaft was released instantly, knocking the foot soldier off the spear tip and causing him to fall heavily into the crowd behind.
It might be strange for a swordsman known as "The Killer Ichisei" and "The Executioner Ittosai" to say this, but Ogata still wants to say it out loud: On the battlefield, the spear is really useful!
Not only does it have a wide attack range, it's also extremely powerful.
After killing several people with the stolen spear, Ogata left the spear in the body of a general who was riding a warhorse to intercept him. Ogata pierced the horse's head with the spear, and then pierced the general's body behind the horse's head, entwining the general and his horse's head together.
Although Ogata had tried his best, he still couldn't see them getting any closer to the enemy's main camp.
Ogata, who had clearly felt the horse under him begin to slow down, became anxious when he saw this situation.
At this time, Ogata thought of provoking the opponent.
Use words to stimulate the generals in the main camp to prevent or delay the retreat of the main camp.
Although he didn't know whether it would be useful, Ogata felt it was necessary to try.
For some reason, when Ogata thought of the strategy of provoking the opponent, Atachi's face appeared in his mind.
It wasn’t because Ogata suddenly missed his wife whom he hadn’t seen for nearly half a month.
Instead, he remembered the story that Atachi always told him - the story of Yukimura Sanada.
Atachi, who has a strong interest in listening to books, is extremely fond of the stories of Yukimura Sanada and knows all of them by heart.
To be honest, Ogata was a little unhappy about Atachi's liking for Yukimura Sanada, and it made him feel a little hostile towards this man who had been dead for nearly 200 years.
Although he had some hostility towards Sanada Yukimura, Ogata had to admit that whether it was the Sanada Yukimura in historical facts or the Sanada Yukimura described by storytellers, he was a legendary military commander.
Ogata still remembered what Yukimura Sanada said to the Tokugawa army when he led the Toyotomi army in the final battle with the Tokugawa army.
Ogata cleared his throat.
Take a deep breath.
Then, at the loudest volume he could muster, he shouted towards the flag and the direction of the main camp:
"There are millions of Tokugawa samurai, but not one of them is a man!"
Ogata slightly modified the roar that Sanada Yukimura had once made, and roared it again 200 years later.
He was also roaring at the Tokugawa army with the "three-leaf sunflower" flag.
But the difference is - when the two of them roared, Yukimura Sanada was retreating, while Ogata was attacking the main camp of the shogunate army.
Ogata's words, shouted at the top of his lungs, reached the main camp and pierced the ears of Inamori and the others like sharp needles.
Ogata's words were a naked mockery of them, the sharpest mockery of the samurai who valued honor.
The faces of many generals turned as dark as liver.
The expression on Inamori's face also changed dramatically, but he still bit his lips tightly, suppressed the anger and unwillingness in his heart, and shouted to the generals around him:
"Don't pay attention to the thief's nonsense! No one is allowed to stop!"
Inamori has now completely turned into a gambler who has gone crazy with gambling.
He was gambling now - whether Ogata and the others would run out of strength, or whether they would collapse first.
The stakes are this army and the victory or defeat in the attack and defense of the Red Moon Fortress.
…
…
Ogata himself did not expect that his roar would not only reach the main camp of the shogunate army, but also reach the ears of... Matsudaira Sadanobu who had not yet run far.
Although due to the distance, the roar was very small when it reached Matsudaira Sadanobu's ears.
But Matsudaira Sadanobu still heard it clearly...Ogata Issey's voice was very similar to the voice of someone in his memory...no, it should be said that it was exactly the same.
The moment the roar reached his ears, Matsudaira Sadanobu's pupils suddenly shrank.
As he was fleeing in a hurry on horseback, he turned his head to look at the battlefield behind him.
The expression on his face and the emotions in his eyes were quite complicated.
There is confusion, shock, regret, and...pain...
In the end, all these emotions mixed into an extremely complex color left on Matsudaira Sadanobu's face.
Matsudaira Sadanobu smiled.
The corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a bitter smile.
He was smiling bitterly when he let out a long sigh.
It’s like I’ve let go of some obsession in my heart.
…
…
Seeing that the flag did not slow down at all despite his mocking roar, Ogata, who seldom swore, cursed in his heart, which was very rare.
The battle is still a cat-and-mouse game, nothing has changed.
The battlefield was now in chaos, with soldiers trying to resist and soldiers fleeing, all pushing each other, making it a mess.
The shogunate army still put up an orderly resistance, preventing Ogata and his men from advancing smoothly.
But at this moment, Ogata suddenly discovered that the flag representing the main camp slowed down!
At first, Ogata blinked hard because he suspected that he had seen it wrong, but he found that he was not wrong - the speed of the general flag moving backwards was really slowing down.
Ogata didn't know why the general's flag slowed down, but he knew: this would be his best chance to break through the main camp of the shogunate army.
"Carrot, try harder...!"
Ogata raised his hand and gently stroked Radish's blood-stained mane.
Radish seemed to understand what Ogata said. He snorted loudly, stomped the ground with his four hooves alternately, and ran faster.
When Skulucci and others behind Ogata saw that Ogata was starting to speed up, they gritted their teeth and squeezed the strength of their horses, which were also slowly losing strength.
The speed at which the general's flag moved back slowed down. The reason was actually very simple—their way forward had been blocked by their own chaotic people.
"Don't make a mess! Don't make a mess!"
"Follow orders! Everyone follow orders!"
The generals in the main camp roared at the soldiers in front of them in a hysterical manner, trying to maintain order.
At this moment, Inamori and his men were already in the first formation closest to the Red Moon Fortress, but as soon as they entered the first formation, they felt like they were entering a quagmire.
The soldiers of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd formations were all the direct troops of the shogunate. However, the direct troops of the shogunate were not much better than the troops of the various feudal domains in the 1st army.
The chaos in the rear, the constant wailing and roaring, and the continuous reporting of various bad news from the rear have already made these direct descendants of the shogunate panic.
The general's flag, which was constantly retreating and had already retreated to their side, was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.
These soldiers were not stupid people who could not think. Seeing the general's flag retreating continuously, they could naturally guess the reason - to avoid the enemy's attack.
The fact that our main camp was actually being chased by the enemy army caused the morale of many people to plummet.
Finally - the order of the first formation completely collapsed.
The originally tight army formation became chaotic. Some soldiers looked around in confusion, some asked their generals about the battle situation, and some tried to fish in troubled waters after the enemy army arrived... The completely out-of-control order made it difficult for the generals to integrate and command.
The first formation turned into a quagmire, making it difficult for the commander's flag to move back.
"Damn it..." Inamori looked anxiously at the mess ahead, "These guys are always causing trouble but not being able to do anything good..."
Inamori cursed at the shogunate's direct troops who were now hindering his and the entire army's final victory.
After cursing loudly, Inamori turned his head to check the current movements of Ogata and others.
After turning his head, Inamori's expression froze.
He saw that the soldiers who were still resisting and the soldiers who were fleeing were all pushed to the left and right by brute force, and a huge figure with blood splattered all over his body jumped in front of Inamori. Just seeing this black shadow, half of the soldiers around him couldn't help but retreat, and the remaining half were stunned and couldn't even make a sound.
Looking at this huge shadow, Inamori was stunned at first, then he came to his senses and opened his mouth subconsciously:
"wait……"
Inamori had just uttered a few syllables when he saw a flash of knife light slashing down towards his head.
Sakakibara Ittoryu: Waterfall.
This huge figure - that is, Ogata, split the crown of Inamori, the commander-in-chief of the entire shogunate army, with one sword.