The feeling of the sharp blade penetrating into the flesh spread from the handle of the knife to Ogata's palm.
However... Ogata's knife did not pierce Matsudaira Gennai's heart.
Instead, it stabbed into the chest of a minor named Matsudaira Gennai.
At that moment, a young man who was closest to Matsudaira Gennai rushed over, pushed Matsudaira Gennai away, and blocked the knife for Matsudaira Gennai.
It was precisely because of this nickname that he blocked the sword that Ogata's thrust failed.
"Lord...run away..." the young man muttered while vomiting blood.
"Damn it...!" Ogata hurriedly pushed this brainwashed young man, who didn't know whether to praise his loyalty or criticize his stupid loyalty, aside with the knife attached, and immediately pulled out the knife from his waist.
Just now, the sword Ogata used was the sword he took from the short-bearded samurai.
After discarding this sword, Ogata still had his own sword at his waist that he could use.
Ogata had already heard shouts and footsteps coming from far and near at an extremely fast speed.
This was the sound of Matsudaira Gennai's guards rushing back to defend themselves.
More than ten seconds have passed since Qin Yuan shouted, "There is an assassin! Protect the Lord!!"
This seemingly short period of time was enough for some of the guards who were closer to Matsudaira Gennai to rush back.
Ogata, who did not dare to hesitate any longer, quickly drew out his sword, raised it high, and slashed downwards - and launched a second attack on Gennai Matsudaira, who was still sitting there.
The sharp blade carried strong wind and huge power, roaring towards Matsudaira Gennai's head...
clang--!
Then, there was a deafening sound of gold and iron clashing.
"What……?!"
Ogata's eyes suddenly widened.
When his sword was only a fist away from Matsudaira Gennai's head, it was blocked by the sword extending from his right side.
The person who blocked Ogata's sword was Nanabahara.
At this time, Nanabahara was pressing his left shoulder against Ogata's right shoulder, holding a sword in his left hand. He stretched the sword forward from Ogata's right side, and before Ogata's sword hit Matsudaira Gennai's head, he used the back of the sword to hit him.
Blocked Ogata's slash.
"Humph!" Nanabahara snorted coldly, then bumped to the left, knocking away Ogata who was standing on his left.
After widening the distance between himself and Ogata, he swung his knife and slashed at Ogata's neck.
clang!
Ogata raised the sword in his hand and accurately blocked Nanabahara's sword.
While blocking Nanabahara's sword, Ogata anxiously thought to himself:
——Damn it! Why is Qi Yuan here?!
While Ogata was shouting anxiously in his heart, he glanced towards the place where Ichiro and others had just fought with Nanabahara.
At that place, there were only the bodies of six people left in Ichiro.
The six people led by Ichiro were all killed by this time.
The sharp-eyed Ogata noticed that the six Ichiro people died in a strange way.
Only Erlang, Wulang, and Liulang were hit by swords in the neck or face and were killed with one blow.
There were no stab wounds on the bodies of Ichiro, Sanro, and Shiro.
Instead, there is a thin thing stuck in the throat.
It’s a thin arrow no longer as long as an adult’s tail finger…
After pushing Ogata away and slashing at Ogata but being blocked by Ogata, Nanabahara did not pursue him, but quickly pulled up Matsudaira Gennai and quickly retreated backwards.
"Protect the lord!! Protect the lord!!"
Qi Qiyuan has a loud voice.
It was loud enough to give people the illusion that Nanabahara's voice could be heard throughout the wild boar forest.
At this time, a large number of guards had already rushed back.
These guards running out from all over the forest were like small streams, shouting and coming towards the confluence of Matsudaira Gennai and Nanabahara.
In an instant, around 40 guards had gathered around Matsudaira Gennai, and this number was still increasing at an alarming rate.
When the lord was attacked, all the guards rushed back like crazy.
"Wait a minute!"
Ogata gritted his teeth, raised his knife and prepared to chase Nanabahara and Matsudaira Gennai.
However... Ogata had just taken two steps forward when five guards came towards him from five different directions.
"Get out of my way!"
Ogata waved the sword in his hand and pulled out 5 sword lights.
Using the four major sword skills of Sakakihara's Itto style, he successively defeated the five samurai who came towards him, killing them all with one sword.
Before Ogata could turn his gaze back to Matsudaira Gennai, three more guards came towards him.
Three more sword lights flashed, causing three more corpses to appear on the ground.
"That's it!"
At this moment, Nanabahara's shouts reached Ogata's ears.
Ogata followed the sound...
After seeing the scene in front of the voice clearly, Ogata's pupils shrank uncontrollably.
Around Matsudaira Gennai, there were already densely packed samurai...
Although the eight samurai just held back Ogata for less than eight seconds from beginning to end.
But this time of less than 8 seconds, plus the more than 10 seconds wasted from when Ogata and others rushed out of the bushes to when Ogata failed the first assassination, a total of about 20 seconds, is enough for those who
The guards scattered around rushed back to Matsudaira Gennai.
Although a small group of Matsudaira Gennai's guards had been successfully killed just now and when they sneaked in, according to the intelligence collected by Kuronaga, there were a total of 125 Matsudaira Gennai guards.
So even if a group of Matsudaira Gennai's guards have been killed just now, there are still hundreds of guards around Matsudaira Gennai...
These hundreds of guards unsheathed their swords and stood firmly around Matsudaira Gennai and Nanabahara, forming a "circle" with Matsudaira Gennai and Nanabahara as the center.
Nanabao narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Ogata.
"I've seen the swordsmanship you used just now... it must be Sakakihara's Ittō style..."
"You keep your hair long...and you use the Sakakibara Itto-style... Heh, I know who you are."
"Are you the Ogata Issei?"
"The person who obtained the Sakakibara Itto-ryu's Sakaki Kaiden more than a month ago."
"Are you here to avenge your master and your brothers?"
"How stupid!"
"Put the knife down!"
"As long as you put the knife down, I can try to intercede for you!"
Ogata ignored Nanabahara, who had been noisy.
Instead, he turned his gaze slightly and looked at the bodies of Ichiro and others not far away.
If Ichiro and the others could help Ogata hold Nanabahara down for even one second, Gennai Matsudaira's head would have fallen to the ground.
But Ogata had no intention of blaming Ichiro and the others.
He knew that Ichiro and others must have tried their best.
Although he did not see the battle between Ichiro and others with his own eyes, Ogata is sure that Ichiro and others, who gave up their future in order to kill Matsudaira Gennai, will definitely fight with all their lives to fight Nanabahara, who is far above them.
Fighting, just to help Ogata buy as much time as possible.
Ogata turned his gaze back.
Hundreds of samurai swords were pointed at him, and the reflected cold light dazzled Ogata.
For no apparent reason, Ogata suddenly recalled the time when he practiced swordsmanship at the Sakakihara Sword Hall.
That was perhaps the happiest time of his life since he came to the Edo period, before he was brutally massacred by Matsudaira Genai at the Sakakihara Kenkan.
Just recalling the time spent practicing swordsmanship in the Sakakibara sword hall, an uncontrollable smile appeared on Ogata's face.
And this happy memory was gone forever because of Matsudaira Gennai's violence.
Seeing that Ogata ignored him, Nanabahara became a little angry and shouted:
"Ogata Issei! Put down your sword! Don't think that just because you have a Sakakibara Itto-ryu Sakaki-no-Ryu certificate, you are unparalleled in the world!"
Nanabahara's loud shout made Ogata come back to his senses from his memories.
Qi Yuan did not respond vocally.
He just glanced at the hundreds of samurai in front of him, then raised the sword in his hand and pointed it directly at Matsudaira Gennai and Nanabahara.
"Ogata Yoshi!"
Qi Yuan's face suddenly turned red.
"You are such a treasonous person! As a subject of Hirose Domain, as a samurai, you actually want to assassinate your lord!"
"I kindly gave you a chance, but you still don't appreciate it!"
"Do you still have the sense of shame as a warrior?!"
After hearing the word "samurai" from Nanabahara's mouth, Ogata couldn't help but recall his conversation with Kuranaga last night.
(When the world is falling apart, a few men have to stand up. If you succumb to the darkness and don't dedicate yourself to helping the righteousness, you will be a man in vain!)
The words Kurunaga said to him last night were still in Ogata's ears.
"Today," Ogata said in a calm tone, "I did not come here as a samurai."
"Today, I stand before you as a man."
The reason why Ogata agreed to wield the sword to assassinate Matsudaira Gennai was mainly for revenge.
But what Kuronaga said to him yesterday still touched Ogata greatly.
Ogata slowly raised his left arm, placed it on the handle of the wakizashi sword on his left waist, and then pulled it out suddenly.
After assuming the starting position of the Wu-I Two-Sword Style, Nanabahara exclaimed:
"Ogata Issei! You can actually use the two-sword style?!"
"When did you have the illusion that I only know Sakakibara Itto-style swordsmanship?"
Even though there were hundreds of warriors blocking him in front of him, Ogata had no intention of surrendering or retreating.
"I must take off Matsudaira Gennai's dog head today. Let's see who has the guts to come and stop me!"
The cold murderous intention emerged from Ogata's body, boiling.
Many of the hundreds of guards in Matsudaira Gennai were frightened by Ogata's momentum and took half a step or even several steps back.
"snort."
A look of impatience already appeared on Qi Yuan's face.
"Stubborn! If you use an extra knife, can your strength be doubled?!
"Samurai of Hirose!" Nanabahara shouted loudly, "cut this treasonous man into pieces!"
Following Nanahara's order, the hundreds of guards in Matsudaira Gennai, whether they felt fearless or intimidated, all raised their swords in their hands, shouting, and came towards Ogata.
Facing the hundreds of samurai who were coming towards him, Ogata didn't show any timidity or fear on his face.
He just clenched the two swords in his hands and faced the hundreds of warriors.