In just a moment, Ogata's forehead was covered with cold sweat due to the pain.
This was the first time that Ogata... was in the middle of a battle when the "Immortality Poison" suddenly took effect.
Ogata originally thought that it would be like when he was hanging out with Isshiki Hana in Osaka a few days ago, the "Immortal Poison" would suddenly take effect and then return to normal.
But I didn't expect that the pain that came from all over my body not only didn't slowly dissipate, but it seemed to be getting more and more intense...
“Hoo…Hoo…Hoo…Hoo…”
Ogata took several deep breaths to calm his mind which had been slightly shaken by this sudden change.
— Fighting a large group of enemies with flintlock rifles while enduring the physical discomfort caused by the recurrence of the “Immortal Poison”... You must be kidding...
Although he said "Don't joke" in his heart, Ogata's eyes gradually became firm and sharp.
There was no trace of dejection or panic on his face.
——Since the "Immortality Poison" has suddenly broken out... we must fight quickly and decisively...!
Although the enemy had more than 60 people and was armed with extremely advanced flintlock rifles, they had a large number of people and strong firepower, but they had their advantages and Ogata also had his advantages - Ogata had the advantage in terrain and experience.
The Musketeers stood in the middle of a street lined with houses.
If he were to face off against more than 60 well-prepared musketeers on an open plain with no obstacles around, Ogata would have basically no choice but to "temporarily avoid their attack."
But in this complex terrain at this time and place, Xu Fang has a lot of offensive and defensive options.
As for "how to fight against musketeers in such a place with many obstacles", Ogata had already accumulated sufficient experience when fighting against the Cossacks who attacked China Village in Ezo.
Ogata took a deep breath and quickly switched his breathing rhythm to that of "Source Breathing".
[Ding! The host enters the state of selflessness! ]
Ogata was in a hurry to return to the hotel to check on Atachi and the others. At the same time, the "immortality poison" in his body was taking effect right now. He just wanted to defeat the enemies outside the alley as soon as possible.
Therefore, he does not intend to make any reservations in terms of strength.
Moreover, facing more than 60 well-trained musketeers armed with flintlock rifles, Ogata did not dare to be overconfident.
It would be fine if there were 2, 3, 3 or 4 flintlock rifles.
But the enemy now has more than 60 flintlock rifles... Even with the advantage of terrain, Ogata was unable to defeat more than 60 enemies armed with flintlock rifles under normal conditions without entering the "state of no self".
As soon as the system sound prompting entering the "selfless state" sounded, Xu Fang jumped up.
Relying on the status bonus granted by the "state of no self", Ogata easily climbed up to the window sill on the second floor of a seemingly abandoned house next to the alley.
Then he used the window sill as a foothold and jumped up again, jumping onto the roof of the house.
This group of musketeers of unknown origin were indeed well-trained.
As soon as Ogata appeared on the roof, the musketeers standing in the first row immediately raised their flintlocks and pointed them at Ogata who had jumped onto the roof.
"Shoot!" Sakuma, who was standing at the back of the gun formation and directing the battle, shouted without hesitation.
The sound of gunfire, like popping beans, exploded again, and another row of bullets flew towards Ogata.
The exact same scene as before appeared—this row of bullets still only hit the air.
As Ogata's body fell from the roof, he ran towards the west along the roof without stopping.
West - where the musketeers are.
Facing Ogata running towards them, some of the 60-odd musketeers showed an uncontrollable look of panic on their faces.
However, although their expressions were slightly shaken, their movements were still orderly.
The musketeers in the first row exchanged their empty guns with the ready-to-fire guns in the hands of the musketeers in the second row behind them.
Although these musketeers were trained by British army instructors, under Sakuma's orders, they did not use the most advanced "line tactics" in the West to deal with Ogata, but instead adopted the classical "three-stage attack" tactics.
The so-called "line tactics" are the most advanced and popular tactics in the West.
At this time, the West no longer used swords, spears, and halberds, and flintlock rifles became the most mainstream weapon in Western countries.
Although the flintlock was far superior to the matchlock in performance, its accuracy was still extremely poor.
In order to make up for the disadvantage of flintlock rifles in accuracy, line tactics came into being - the musketeers arranged themselves into tight rows, and then fired at the enemy together. Hundreds or thousands of bullets whizzed past, and always hit some enemies.
The popularity of "line tactics" made the scenes on Western battlefields of this era look a little funny at first glance: soldiers from both armies were lined up in tight formations, shooting at each other face to face.
However, it was this seemingly ridiculous tactic that maximized the power of the flintlock rifle and made the military forces of Western countries unrivaled in the world.
In the "line tactics", the soldiers all fire and reload together. It is not like the "three-stage attack" where several rows of soldiers take turns reloading and firing to ensure a continuous barrage of bullets.
The reason for doing this is simple - let the soldiers fire together, the noise will be greater, the damage that can be inflicted on the enemy at one time will be greater, and the shock to the enemy will be greater.
Think about it: would you be more psychologically shocked if you saw your companions falling down one by one, or would you be more psychologically shocked if you saw your companions falling down in a large group?
But tactics are dead, people are alive.
The "line tactics" in which soldiers fired their guns together worked well on the battlefield where large-scale musketeers were fighting each other, but it was not so effective against Ogata at the moment.
Because now they only need to deal with Ogata.
In this situation where "only one person needs to be hit", "firepower" is not the most important thing, but "continuity of firepower" is the most important thing.
That's why Sakuma adopted the "three-stage attack" tactic, which did not have strong firepower but could allow the barrage to continue.
These musketeers changed guns very quickly.
But Ogata, who is in the "selfless state", has much faster reaction and speed.
He took advantage of the moment when the musketeers in the first and second rows were changing guns, and stretched his left hand, which was not holding the knife, into his arms.
He took out the short gun he had obtained from the Cossacks, which was only capable of firing single shots but was extremely powerful: Meizen.
Pulling out the gun, raising the gun, shooting - Ogata completed this series of actions in less than a second.
His purpose was to intimidate the enemy.
So he didn't aim and just shot blindly at the crowd.
Ogata was lucky. Although he shot randomly without aiming seriously, the bullet luckily hit a musketeer's forehead.
The back of the musketeer's head was like a half-broken watermelon, and a strange liquid mixed with blood and brain matter sprayed all over the face of his companion behind him.
Then, the group showed the reaction that Ogata had expected.
Faced with Ogata who suddenly pulled out a pistol and launched a long-range attack on them, the enemies all showed more or less panic, and the originally tight formation became a little scattered.
This was the tactic designed by Ogata: launch an unexpected attack on these enemies who clearly lacked combat experience, causing them to lose their composure.
——As expected, they are helping newbies who lack practical experience and are not good at handling emergencies.
After expressing his feelings in his heart, Ogata concentrated his Qi into his Dantian, poured strength into his feet, and then leaped down from the rooftop towards the enemies who had not yet regained their composure.
There was a distance of nearly 8 meters between him and the group of enemies.
It is impossible for ordinary people to jump over such a distance.
But Ogata, who is in the "state of no self", obviously does not belong to the category of "ordinary people".
Ogata, holding the sword in one hand, leaped down from mid-air like a roc, and landed steadily among the enemy group.
Sakuma and Baigo, who were in charge of commanding the operation, now had their eyes wide open in shock.
They never expected that Ogata actually had the means to launch long-range attacks.
At the same time, they did not expect that Ogata could actually fly 8 meters in one breath.
Successfully jumped into the enemy group.
What we need to do next is much simpler.
laugh!
The katana in Ogata's right hand drew an arc from bottom to top, and the blade cut into the chin of "Enemy 1" in front of him, and then chopped out from the top of his head.
[Ding! Use Sakakibara Ittoryu·Climb the stairs and kill the enemy]
[Gain 80 personal experience points, and 80 swordsmanship "Sakakibara Ittoryu" experience points]
[Current personal level: Lv40 (2590/6400)]
[Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 14th stage (1045/14000)]
While attacking the enemy with his right katana, Ogata's left hand pulled out the wakizashi from the waist of "enemy 2" on the left.
suck……
Ogata took a deep breath.
Wuwo Two Swords Flow: Starfall.
The Cicada Rain with 7 consecutive cuts and the Starfall with 13 consecutive cuts - these two consecutive cuts in Muga's Two Swords Ryu are very rare, so Ogata rarely uses them.
The biggest difference between Chanyu and Xingluo is the 7 swords chopped out by the former. Some of the swords are fast, some are slow, some are heavy, and some are light. The fast, slow, heavy, and light attacks are used to confuse the opponent, which is suitable for use in a duel with others.
Xingluo slashed out 13 times in one breath at the fastest speed.
It is suitable for suppressing the opponent in a one-on-one duel, and also for knocking down as many enemies as possible in one go when fighting one against many.
The katana in Ogata's right hand and the wakizashi in his left hand cooperated with each other to draw 13 sword beams one by one.
13 sword beams enveloped all the enemies around Ogata.
The blade light dissipated, and all those who happened to be standing in Ogata's attack range - a total of 10 enemies - were stabbed in the vital parts and fell to the ground.
A series of system prompt sounds rang out.
[Ding! Use Wuwo Two Swords Flow: Starfall to kill the enemy]
[Gain 70 points of personal experience and 70 points of swordsmanship "Two Swords of Mutual Self" experience]
[Current personal level: Lv40 (2660/6400)]
[My Two-Sword Style Level: 12th Stage (13630/14000)]
…
[Ding! Experience value is full, Wuwo's ​​dual swordsmanship level is upgraded by 1, and 2 skill points are obtained]
[Currently remaining skill points: 7 points]
…
[Current personal level: Lv40 (3490/6400)]
[My Two-Sword Style Level: 13th Stage (120/16000)]
The system prompt sound for the upgrade of Wuwo's ​​dual sword style sounded after a long absence.
However, at this moment, Ogata did not have the spare time to fully savor this joy.
After beheading 10 enemies in one breath, Ogata threw the katana in his right hand to the ground, and then quickly grabbed the katana from the waist of an enemy next to him who had just been hit by him and was now falling to the ground.
While changing the blade, Ogata kept repeating in his mind:
——The quality of cheap goods is really not good enough...
Just now, he used Starfall to kill the enemies around him. When he killed the sixth enemy, Oofang clearly felt that the katana in his hand was not so useful.
After only killing a few people, the blade of the katana was no longer sharp because it was covered with too much grease.
The poorer the quality of the knife, the more likely it is that the blade will be covered with grease.
Although the katana could no longer be used, the wakizashi in his left hand that he had snatched from the enemy was of excellent quality and could still be used for a while, so Ogata only replaced the katana.
While changing the katana, Ogata could not help but glance at the wakizashi in his left hand and frowned slightly:
——The swords used by these people... are of much better quality than I imagined... They are equipped with such good swords... Who are these people...
Although the swords used by these musketeers are not rare treasures, they are undoubtedly top-quality products. It is no problem to sell them for 20 or 30 taels on the market.
To be able to let so many people have such high-quality katanas and wakizashi... Ogata is increasingly curious about who is the mastermind behind this group of people.
As soon as Ogata jumped into the ranks of the musketeers, Sakuma's expression became extremely ugly and hesitation appeared in his eyes.
It was not until Ogata knocked down a large number of musketeers as easily as cutting melons and vegetables that the hesitation in Sakuma's eyes finally disappeared.
He pulled out a weird-looking whistle.
Beep——!
He put the whistle to his lips and blew hard, making a sharp whistle sound.
After blowing the whistle, Sakuma decisively turned around and ran away.
It wasn't just him running away.
Bai Xiang beside him and the musketeers not far away all put away their weapons and fled in different directions.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Ogata was stunned at first, then his face darkened.
These people are not fleeing.
An orderly retreat.
These people split into more than a dozen groups and retreated in an orderly manner in different directions.
Under normal circumstances, Ogata might choose to chase all the enemies, then capture a few alive and extract information from them.
But he doesn't have the time or leisure to do that now.
I don't have the energy or time to go to Yu Er to get the knife, nor do I have the energy or practice to chase these enemies.
He was now in a hurry to return to the hotel to check on Ating and the others.
If he came back a little later, something unexpected might happen to Ating and the others.
Therefore, seeing that these enemies retreated on their own initiative, Ogata did not pursue them. He sheathed his two swords, kept alert to his surroundings, and ran away along the same path he came.
As he walked away quickly, Ogata subconsciously raised his left hand to cover his left neck, his brows furrowed and his teeth clenched.
Ogata could clearly feel the pain emanating from all parts of his body, which was getting more and more intense.
And I could vaguely feel my body temperature rising.
——What a... terrible night...!
…
…
"Hey, Sakuma." Baixiang asked Sakuma, who was running in front of him, in a dissatisfied tone, "Are we retreating like this?"
The whistle that Sakuma just blew is called the "rabbit flute."
Once the whistle is blown, everyone must evacuate immediately.
"So what do you want?" Sakuma turned his head and cast a cold gaze at Baixiang behind him, "Don't you understand the situation just now?"
"Do you think we have a chance of winning if Shura gets close to us?"
"When the chances of winning are slim, get out of the battle as quickly as possible and preserve your combat power as much as possible. Don't tell me you have forgotten even this common sense."
After hearing Sakuma's scolding, Baixiang kept silent and did not refute.
Sakuma slowly stopped at this time.
While regulating his breathing, he turned his head to look in the direction he had just escaped.
"Although we were defeated by Shura just now, we did not gain nothing from the battle just now."
"At least we got three important pieces of intelligence."
"One: Shura is much more powerful than we thought, and he also has this short gun."
The scene of Ogata leaping across a distance of 8 meters in one breath like a bird just now flashed through Sakuma's mind.
"Second, we used the wrong tactics. We shouldn't have allowed the troops tasked with dealing with Shura to carry swords."
"Asking the troops tasked with dealing with Shura to carry swords will only give Shura a chance to change his swords."
"Xura doesn't have a powerful sword at the moment. If he wants to fight continuously, he has to frequently change swords. So, as long as the troops responsible for dealing with Shura don't bring swords, we can cut off Shura's 'supply'."
"Three: Shura doesn't seem to be in a good condition right now."
"He's in a bad condition?" Bai Xiang asked in confusion, "How did you tell that?"
"It's not something I saw. It's my intuition that tells me that." Sakuma said calmly, "Haigo, I'll give you two tasks now."
When he heard the word "mission", Baixiang's expression immediately became serious.
"First mission: Help me pass on the message to all the troops: When fighting Shura, do not carry any swords or knives. Shura is much stronger than we thought, and he has a short gun. Do not engage in close combat with him, and beware of the short gun on him. Also, inform all the troops: Shura's current physical condition is suspected to be poor, but even so, do not be careless."
"Second mission: I'll give you eight people. Clean up the battlefield. Don't let our warriors die in the wilderness."
"Yes." Bai Xiang said respectfully.
After responding respectfully, Bai Xiang paused as if he remembered something, and then asked Sakuma:
"Sakuma, do you want to collect the body of Yoji?"
"Hmm?" Sakuma glanced at Baixiang, "Why are you suddenly so kind-hearted? Do you want to collect the old man's body as well?"
"It's not that I'm being kind." Bai Xiang grinned, "I just thought that my current mission is to collect the bodies, so I can also take care of the body of the swordsmith who's not too far away."
"After all, the old man was in a miserable state. What happened to him could be considered an unexpected disaster."
"If he hadn't helped Shura repair his sword, he probably wouldn't have encountered such a tragic thing."
"Don't do this kind of idle work that only wastes time." Sakuma said without hesitation, "After collecting the bodies, return to the 'base' to gather. Don't let me find out that you have done anything unrelated to the mission I gave you."
"Okay. If you don't let me collect that man's body, then I won't." Looking at Sakuma's firm tone, Bai Xiang shrugged helplessly.
…
…
Not far from here is the home of Master Yu Er——
Buzz buzz buzz...
The sound of flies flapping their wings became the only sound in this shabby hut.
The house has become a nest of flies.
Some flies are flying in the air.
Some flies... landed on Yu Er, whose eyes were wide open, whose head was split open with a big hole, and who was already lifeless. They rested and laid eggs on Yu Er's body.
This home, which was originally simple but well-organized, is now in a mess.
There were signs everywhere that things had been rummaged through and searched for.
All the knives in the house were gone.
The only knife left in this knife maker's house is the kitchen knife.