I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

Seven miles south of Red Moon Fortress (about 28 kilometers today), on a certain wide plain——

The rising sun rose from the other side of the mountain, and the sun seemed to be listless. The sunlight shining on the vast snow-covered land was extremely dim, which made the atmosphere of the shogunate camp on the plain even more heavy.

Looking around, every general and soldier in the camp looked sluggish and decadent. Almost everyone lowered their heads and there was no smile on their faces.

There was silence everywhere in the camp—the only sound was the screams of the wounded while they were being treated.

In the center of the big camp, in a luxurious tent, all the generals in the army gathered here.

"Is everyone here?"

In the tent, Matsudaira Sadanobu, sitting on the first seat, looked around at the generals in front of him.

Compared with the past, the number of generals in the battalion is much, much smaller...

"It's all here." A soldier who was sitting not far from Songping Dingxin said respectfully.

Matsudaira Sadanobu nodded: "Then let's start the military discussion."

"I won't talk too much nonsense with you. Let's talk to you directly."

"We will gather the remnant soldiers for another 2 days. After the 2nd day, the whole army will retreat and withdraw from Ezo."

Matsudaira Sadanobu, who has always been vigorous and resolute in his work, made all the generals in the camp show complex and diverse expressions with just three concise sentences.

"Retreat?!" A young general with a thick sackcloth on his head shouted, "My lord! We haven't lost yet! We have assembled 6,000 generals now! We still have the power to fight! We haven't lost yet !"

After the disastrous defeat to Ogata, the entire army was completely defeated.

Fortunately——Sadanobu Matsudaira showed up in time. He personally presided over the gathering of remnants.

Matsudaira Sadanobu, who stepped forward in time, stabilized the minds of the generals like a needle of calming the sea when Inamori was killed.

After having a backbone, the generals gradually returned to their proper state, performing their duties and gathering the remnants who had been scattered in various places.

After a few days, 6,000 generals and some luggage that were discarded on the road have been successfully collected.

As soon as the young general finished speaking, there were several voices of echo:

"Yes! My lord! We can fight again!"

"The fiasco of the past few days,

It was just a sneak attack by the executioner Yidao Zhai! If we fight again, we will not make the same mistakes again! Will be able to win a battle! "

"My lord! Let's fight again!"

...

Matsudaira Sadanobu did not interrupt these people's speeches, but quietly put his hands on his legs, and tapped his right thigh rhythmically with his right index finger.

After allowing these generals to speak generously, Matsudaira Sadanobu said in a calm tone:

"Fight again? Have you guys taken a good look at the state of these remnants that have been gathered now? Do you think there is still a way for such an army to fight again?"

Song Ping Dingxin's word made the group of people who had just threatened to "fight again" choke.

"The morale of the whole army is completely drained. If they are asked to launch a new attack on the Red Moon Fortress, I'm afraid they will directly mutiny." Matsudaira Sadanobu continued, "And—— have you thought about the problem of luggage?"

"When the whole army fled, they discarded a lot of luggage, including a lot of food and grass."

"Based on our army's current reserves, it is no longer enough for our army to launch a new offensive."

"Taking advantage of the current supply reserves, it is still enough for the remaining troops to withdraw to the mainland, and retreating as soon as possible is our best option at present."

As soon as Matsudaira Sadanobu's words fell, a somewhat hoarse shout suddenly sounded:

"Master Lao Zhong! Are we really going to retreat like this? We have suffered such a great humiliation because of the executioner's knife, are we really going to retreat like this?"

Everyone in the camp, including Matsudaira Sadanobu, all focused their attention on the owner of the shout - Kamo.

From a certain point of view, Gamo's experience during this period can be regarded as a blessing in disguise-as a general of the Aizu Army, he has been recuperating in the rear area since he was seriously injured by Shendu, so it perfectly matched Ogata's surprise attack. By mistake.

After the army was defeated, Gamo, who had not recovered from his injuries, kept supporting himself to gather the defeated soldiers, and made great contributions to the gathering of the defeated soldiers.

Because he was the general of the Aizu Army, Gamo sat very close to Matsudaira Jonobu.

After everyone focused their eyes on him, Gamo, whose cheeks were flushed with emotion, continued to speak loudly:

"My lord, we have paid a huge price for the crusade against the Red Moon Fortress! I am really unwilling to retreat like this!"

These days, in addition to gathering the remnants, Sadanobu Matsudaira has also been in charge of the statistics of casualties.

It is difficult to count the casualties of ordinary soldiers, but it is easy to count the casualties of generals.

Not counting the loss of ordinary soldiers and supplies, the casualties of the generals alone are extremely heavy...

There are as many as 9 generals with names and surnames who have been confirmed to have died under Ogata's sword, headed by Inamori.

The loss was so heavy, and finally he had to return without success-this really made Gamo feel unacceptable.

Gamo's shouting just now can be said to have shouted out the aspirations of many people present. After Gamo's words fell, many people showed mournful or painful expressions.

"... Gamo-kun." Matsudaira Sadanobu said calmly, "I can understand your feelings."

After finishing speaking, Matsudaira Sadanobu raised his head and looked around.

"Everyone, I hope you can all understand—I, more than anyone else here, don't want this battle to fail."

"But the fact is so cruel-we have been defeated and have to retreat. It is useless to refuse to accept this fact."

Gamo opened his mouth, as if he wanted to refute Matsudaira Sadanobu.

But after opening and closing his lips for a long time, Gamo finally closed his mouth tightly, and lowered his head with a dejected expression.

"It's all gone."

Sadanobu Matsudaira stood up from the saddle with his expression still calm.

"Everyone, continue to follow the plan."

"After gathering the remnants for another 2 days - the whole army retreats."

After all, Matsudaira Sadanobu took the lead and walked out of the camp with his hands behind his back.

As soon as Matsudaira Sadanobu came out of the tent, his nickname - Tachibana immediately greeted him.

"Tachibana, let's go."

"yes."

Under the escort of the guards, Matsudaira Sadanobu walked with Tachibana one after the other on the way back to the camp where they lived.

Halfway through, Matsudaira Sadanobu suddenly asked Tachibana behind him:

"Tachibana, what's the matter? Are you also dissatisfied with my order to retreat the whole army?"

"No!" Tachibana hurriedly said immediately.

"Tachibana." Matsudaira Sadanobu turned his head and glanced at Tachibana, "Your expression has already expressed your thoughts."

"?!" Lihua was startled, pursed her lips tightly, and lowered her head slowly, "...My lord, if you just withdraw like this... When you return to Edo, I'm afraid countless people will impeach you You..."

"I know." Matsudaira Sadanobu turned his gaze back to the front, "After all, this joint battle was initiated by me and I personally supervised the battle. When I go back, I am afraid that even His Majesty the Emperor will follow me. After all, I and Relations with His Majesty the Emperor have always been poor."

Tachibana: "In that case..."

"Even so, we have to withdraw our troops." Before Tachibana finished speaking, Matsudaira Sadanobu interrupted his words, "There is no chance of winning the battle, so there is no need to fight any more. If the remaining troops are exhausted, yes It will be a catastrophe for the Shogunate. So—take care of yourself, Tachibana."

Tachibana raised her eyes and looked at the back of Matsudaira Dingxin who was walking firmly forward, her eyes gradually turned red.

While suppressing unwilling tears, he gritted his teeth and said:

"It's all the damn executioner's fault...!"

Tachibana, who was immersed in unwillingness, didn't notice—when he shouted the word "executor", Matsudaira Sadanobu's pace slowed down by half a minute—but soon, the pace returned to normal.

...

...

Red Moon Fortress——

"Okay, your wound is recovering well." Kunoya checked the wound of the wounded in front of her and nodded, "After two or three days of recuperation, you should be able to go to the ground."

In order to facilitate the treatment of the wounded, Chanup vacated more than a dozen empty rooms for the wounded.

During this period of time, Kunoya stayed here longer than at her own home or her own clinic.

After looking at several wounded in one breath, Kunoya let out a long breath, and when she was about to take a rest, an urgent shout suddenly sounded behind her:

"Kunoya! Kunoya! Come and see his wound!"

Kunoya turned around and saw several young people running towards Kunoya quickly carrying a man whose upper body was stained red with blood.

"You..." Kunoya raised her eyebrows, and glanced at the group of young men in front of her, "Are you the one sent by Chanup to scout and military movements?"

"Yes!" A certain young man who was carrying the bloody man replied, "When we were out scouting the movement of the Hejun today, we accidentally walked into the territory of a bear that missed hibernation and therefore had an extremely violent temper! It After seeing us, it probably thought that we were invading its territory, so it rushed over to attack us immediately!"

Although he successfully defeated the Hejun, Chanup still did not dare to relax completely until he confirmed that the Hejun had really completely withdrawn from this place. Therefore, these days, he sent some people who can still move freely to go out to scout the Hejun's movements , to confirm the current approximate location of the Hejun.

"Have you been attacked by a bear..." Kunoya glanced at the blood man, "Come with me, there is just one empty bed left."

Kunoya led them to an empty blanket in the corner of the room, and after asking the boys to put the blood man on the blanket, Kunoya took out a pair of scissors from her arms and cut the blood man's chest After cutting off the clothes, he carefully looked at the bloody man's wound.

"He was scratched by a bear's paw on his chest... The paw print is really big. The bear who attacked you is not small. This kid is very lucky. If he gets closer to the bear, he will be slapped in two by the bear's paw." gone."

"Is he still alive?" Someone asked.

"The wound is not very deep, and there is a chance to be saved." Kunoya said lightly, "I will do my best, but whether this young man can be saved—it depends on his luck."

After all, Kunoya called an assistant not far away, and read a series of medicines to the assistant like chanting a spell, asking the assistant to bring all the medicines she read out quickly.

After the assistant left quickly to get the medicine, Kunoya heard a young man who had just brought the blood man over said angrily:

"Damn Unkamuyi..."

Kunoya glanced at the young man: "That bear, have you killed it yet?"

"Of course!" the young man said without thinking, "It attacked us. If we hadn't reacted quickly, my friend would have died under the bear's claws! The bear has turned into the hateful Unkamuyi , Of course we can't let it go! We shot it to death with poisoned arrows!"

"Damn Unkamuyi..." Kunoya repeated in a low voice what the young man had just said, and then let out a low laugh as if she had been amused.

"Kunoya, what are you laughing at?" the young man asked.

"It's nothing." Kunoya shrugged, "It just suddenly occurred to me...it should be considered a very interesting thing."

...

...

Red Moon Fortress, Kunoya's clinic——

"Skulucci." Ogata asked Skulucci who was sitting next to him, "What are you writing?"

"I'm writing poetry." Scruucci replied, "I don't know why, I've been inspired these days. Well, please be quiet for a moment. I just suddenly had a new inspiration, and I want to write it down quickly."

After all, Scruucci turned the notebook in his palm to a new page, picked up the pen, and wrote quickly:

...

[The army that came to kill and plunder attacked the village.

The father of the red-haired teenager lost his head.

The mother disappeared to protect the boy.

The boy cried and wailed.

He begged for the coming of the noble knight to save him from the fire and water.

But I haven't seen the shadow of the knight for a long time.

Does no one want to be that noble knight?

There are still.

The red-haired boy soon found someone who was willing to become that noble knight.

in the mirror. 】

...

After finishing the last stroke, Scruucci held the notebook away from his eyes, held the notebook in one hand, and stroked his chin with the other.

"Hmm... It still feels a bit nondescript..."

"Can I see your poem?" Ogata asked in a half-joking tone.

"That can't be done. You and others should not be able to understand our poems. And the poems I wrote just now are a bit bad, and they don't have any value for outsiders to read."

After Scruucci put his notebook back into his arms, he moved his eyes and looked at Ogata a few times.

"Your recovery ability is really amazing. When I came to see you yesterday, your face was still a little pale, but today your face is much ruddy."

"This is one of my few strengths." Ogata said, sitting up from the blanket.

"Aren't you going to lie down?" asked Scruucci.

"I've been lying down since this morning. After lying down for so long, it's time to sit up."

"Would you like some water?" A-cho, who was also sitting next to Ogata, asked at this time.

Ogata shook his head.

"If that fellow Vasili was here, he would definitely be envious of you." Skulucci said in a joking tone at this time, "It's also injured, you are accompanied by a beautiful woman. But he can only be accompanied by me. "

Even though Ogata was wearing armor with excellent performance when he defeated the seven formations of the shogunate army in a row, it is unlikely that he would not be injured at all in such a fierce battle even with the protection of the armor.

After the battle, when checking the injuries on his body, there were an astonishing 11 injuries on Ogata's body.

When Ogata was in the bloody battle with the shogunate army, he devoted all his body and mind to how to defeat the shogunate army, and he didn't pay attention to where there was another wound on his body, so after the battle, he learned that he had so many injuries on his body. , Ogata was also taken aback.

In the past few days, Ogata and Atachi, who has not recovered from his injuries, have been living in Kunoya's clinic and receiving Kunoya's treatment. Although there were many injuries on Ogata's body, they were all just ordinary skin traumas. Ogata, who possessed a high amount of "vitality", only had to rest for a few days, and his complexion recovered greatly.

Seeing that Skulucci mentioned Vahili, who was also an old acquaintance to Ogata, Ogata took advantage of the situation and asked:

"Skulucci, how are Vasily and the others doing now?"

"They are either eating or whoever they are every day." Scruzzi shrugged, "Except for the boring life, everything is fine."

"This time... I really thank you for your assistance." Ogata sighed softly.

A total of 64 people came to aid Ogata, including Skulucci. After the bloody battle with Ogata and the shogunate army, a total of 20 people died, and the rest of the people who were still alive were basically all wounded.

The casualties are not insignificant...

Facing Ogata's words of deep gratitude, Skulucci only smiled and shrugged:

"Whether it's me or Vasily and the others, we all just did what we each wanted to do. So there's nothing to thank."

"Besides—we're getting paid handsomely, too.

Scruucci grinned.

"Last night, that Chanup came to our place suddenly and told us that in a few days they will be able to collect half of their belongings and send them over. Vahili and the others were so happy that they were so excited until the sky It’s almost dawn and I’m still not asleep.”

"As far as compensation is concerned, we actually made money."

After finishing speaking, Scruucci stood up from the floor.

Seeing Scruucci standing up, Ogata asked, "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah." Skulucci nodded, "I've been with you long enough, it's time to go back and see how the gangsters under my command are doing now."

"If I didn't watch them, God knows what they would do to pass the boring time."

"Anyway—that's the end of today's visit. Take care, Ogata-kun, I'll come see you tomorrow."

After saying that, Scruucci hurriedly walked away from the field of vision of Ogata and Atachi.

After Skulucci left, Ogata and A-Machi looked at each other in blank dismay - they were the only two left in the clinic.

"Skulucci is right." A-Machi carefully looked at Ogata's face several times, "You look much better today. I really envy your physique..."

A-Ming smiled wryly and patted her upper chest which was still wrapped in sackcloth.

"I really want to have a physique like yours... When will my injury heal soon..."

At this moment, just as Ah-Ming's words fell, there was a resounding echo from outside the house:

"If you want your injury to heal quickly, sleep more and eat more."

Ogata and Atachi looked at the door of the clinic——Kunoa strode into the clinic with her bong that seemed to have just been extinguished.

"Kunoya." A-cho said, "You're back."

"Well. I'm not so busy today, so I'll come back early and take a rest." Kunoya, who seemed to be in a good mood, smiled and took out the tools for cleaning the bong from the cabinet in front of her.

Looking at Kunoya who was smiling, Ating asked: "Kunoya, you look in a good mood today, did something good happen?"

"Nothing good happened." Kunoya said, "It's just that I encountered something that made me very emotional today."

"Things that make you very emotional?" A-Ming looked puzzled.

Ogata on the side is now also looking at Kunoya with curious eyes.

"Just now, a group of young men brought back a young man who was injured by a bear..."

Kunoya gave a brief overview of what had just happened in a few words.

"You two should know what 'Unkamuyi' is?"

Ogata and Machi nodded. The two of them are no strangers to "Uen Kamuyi". Not long after they set foot on the land of Ezo, the two of them were attacked by Uen Kamuyi.

Unkamuyi is an Ainu word meaning "evil god".

The Ainu people believe that every animal except deer has a god in it.

If an animal attacks a human being, the Ainu people believe that the god residing in the animal's body becomes an evil god, that is, degenerates into "Unkamuyi".

Once degenerated into "Uen Kamuyi", he will be listed as a must-kill target. It will be expelled at all costs.

Seeing that both Ogata and A-Ming knew what "Unkamuyi" meant, they smiled meaningfully and said quietly:

"We, the Ainu, list those animals that harm humans as 'unkamuyi' and expel them regardless of the cost."

"But what's wrong with these animals that we classify as 'unkamuyi'?"

"The vast majority of them are just hungry and want to eat, and then there happens to be humans appearing in front of them, or attacking humans who have invaded their territory."

"From their point of view, they are just living according to their instincts. The only thing they did wrong is that it affects our human life."

"The standard by which we judge whether an animal is 'unkamuyi' is completely selfish."

"Animals that don't mess with us humans are good gods, and animals that mess with us humans are evil gods."

"According to selfish standards, give animals the title of 'Uen Kamuyi', and then give yourself the title of 'Expelling Evil God' to expel the so-called 'Uen Kamuyi'."

"Do you think this kind of behavior is very similar to the aggression against us by the Hejun this time?"

Kunoya turned her head to look at Ogata and A-Ming, the meaningful smile on her face was already too strong at this time.

"In the eyes of Kazuto, according to their standards, we are probably their 'Unkamuyi', and they must be expelled."

"Our behavior of expelling animals that harm us humans is not much different from the aggression of the peace army against us this time-they are all blatantly denouncing the 'unkamuyi' in their own eyes."

"It doesn't matter whether you are a human being or an Ainu. Although the culture and living customs are completely different, some places are really the same."

"Or maybe it's the same for humans everywhere."

"I will give others the title of 'Uen Kamuyi' according to my own preferences and standards, and then give myself the righteousness of 'expelling evil gods'."

"So at the end of the day—what is an 'unkamuyi'? Who is an 'unkamuyi'?"

After Kunoya's voice fell, Ogata and A-Machi showed completely different expressions.

Ogata looked at Kunoya with slightly surprised eyes, pursed his lips, and a pensive look appeared on his face.

As for Machi--

"Hmm..." Ah Ding murmured, his whole face tensed due to hard thinking, "Kunoya, what you just said... feels a bit difficult to understand, I don't understand... ..."

"Hahahaha." Kunoya laughed a few times, "It doesn't matter if you don't understand. What I said just now is just a momentary feeling, just say what comes to mind. Take what I just said Just treat it as a complaint."

"If you're really curious about what I was talking about just now, you can ask your husband."

"I see your husband's expression - he should understand what I just said."

A-Machi turned his head to look at Ogata, and Ogata, who was suddenly named by Kunoa—he who was showing a pensive expression, was stunned by Kunoya's sudden name call.

After looking at A-Machi, and then at Kunoya, Ogata scratched his hair:

"If you want to know what Kunoya said just now, I can indeed explain it to you as much as possible... But I am not a person who is very good at talking, so I don't know if I can explain it to you clear."

"Well... forget it. You don't need to explain to me." A-Ming showed a bright smile, "I have never been interested in this kind of truth that seems to be full of philosophy. I also hate listening to big truths."

"Anyway, no matter how philosophical it is, it's not as important as 'what will you and I have for dinner tonight'."

Seeing the somewhat carefree smile on A-Machi's face, Ogata was startled, and then smiled involuntarily.

"...Yeah. You're right." Ogata smiled, "What does 'Unkamuyi' have to do with us? Instead of thinking about these big truths, let's think about what we're going to eat tonight."

"I really want to eat fish!" Ah-Ming raised his hand high.

"I also kind of miss the taste of fish." Ogata echoed.

"Don't think about fish." Kunoya said angrily, "You all obediently eat the 'wounded meal' I tailored for you."

The expressions of Ogata and A-Machi collapsed together.

...

...

Volume 7 "Unkamuyi" - Final!

*****

*****

Volume 8 (Final Volume) "Yi Dao Zhai" Trailer:

...

"Mr. Ogata, go to the sacred place Koyasan, there may be everything you want there."

...

"You are already an enemy of the court, and now you want to be an enemy of Buddha?!"