Chapter 483 Ogata: I was misunderstood as a weak swordsman, what should I do? [6800 words]
There was a small bug in the last chapter. In the previous chapter, Avger mentioned "the emperor of France". I made a mistake here and made some historical mistakes.
France does not have an emperor at this time. France now only has a king. In the current timeline of this book, the French king is the famous Louis XVI. Yes, the unlucky king who died on the guillotine of his own invention.
It has been corrected now, please let everyone know.
By the way, the famous Napoleon is currently just a little-known and very ordinary artilleryman in the army. He will not be crowned emperor until 1804, 13 years later, and will shock Europe.
At this point in time in France, Louis XVI was still in power.
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"Ah, the way those men looked at that Kazuto woman just now makes me more and more angry." The red headband flattened his mouth in displeasure again.
After saying that, the red headband unconsciously glanced at his chest, which after putting on thick clothes, looked just like a man's.
Among the Ainu people, I don't know when it suddenly became popular to say that women who are more plump there will have more milk after giving birth to children, and the children they raise will be stronger.
No one knows when and where this statement became popular.
No one knows whether this statement is true or false.
However, I don’t know when and where this kind of rumor became popular, and I don’t know whether it is true or false, but it still spreads inexplicably.
Although some people sneer at this statement, there are also many people who firmly believe it.
Fathers and mothers in many families encourage their children to find a wife who is hard-working and preferably plump enough, so that the next generation can have a healthy body.
Unknowingly, it also had a lot of influence on the aesthetics of many men among the Ainu people.
The girl with the red headband didn't know what other villages were like. Anyway, she knew that the aesthetics of the boys in their Qina Village had been poisoned.
"Speaking of which, when Ashley first started learning to use a bow, wasn't that place struck once by the bowstring?" The purple headband looked at the girl with the orange headband, "That's the size of Ashley's
They would all be struck by the bowstring, let alone that Kazuto woman."
"Don't suddenly mention my past embarrassing things..." The girl with an orange headband blushed slightly and raised her hands to cover her breasts.
"If the Kazuto woman just wanted to draw a bow and shoot arrows, she would have to tie her chest with a piece of cloth like Ashley did." Purple Headband said seriously.
"I think with the size of that Kazuto woman... even if it is tied with cloth, the range that can be reduced is very limited." Blue Headband interjected, "She is wearing such thick clothes, and there are so bulges there, it's really awkward
Do you know what size she would be if she took off her clothes?"
"I don't know why that Aiyaka suddenly brought two Japanese people to our village." The girl with an orange headband still covered her chest with her hands and whispered.
Red Headband: "Since it was Aiyaka who brought it back, then those two people shouldn't be bad people."
"Now I'm more curious about the relationship between that couple." The girl with the blue hairband tilted her head, "Are they husband and wife?"
"I think they should be a couple." Purple Headband nodded, "The female one and the male one are sitting very close to each other."
Purple Headband patted his chest.
"That Kazuto woman's breasts are directly pressed against the Kazuto man's back. Only a couple would make such an intimate gesture."
"Hmph." Red Headband curled his lips, "The men in our village must be jealous of that Kazuto man, with such a bulging chest pressed against his back."
"Really, I think about how those men didn't even turn their eyes just now. I'm so angry."
"Speaking of which, that Kazuto male is so weird." Purple Headband muttered, "Since he has two knives stuck in his waist, he must be that one, right? That... what is that?"
"Samurai." Blue Headband replied for Purple Headband.
"Yes, yes." Purple Headband nodded vigorously, "That's a samurai. Kazuto's side, everyone with a sword on their waist is called a 'samurai'."
"If that man just now is a samurai, why does he still have hair?"
The purple headband touched the hair on the top of his head.
"Don't all the warriors among the Japanese shave the hair on their heads?"
"I see that the merchants who often come to our village and the warriors who are responsible for guarding have no hair on their heads."
"That's right." Orange Headband nodded, "That person just now had hair on his head. It was so strange."
Red Headband: "Doesn't it mean that not all samurai need to shave the hair on their heads? Or is that person not a real samurai?"
"Hmm... I think that person might not be a real samurai." Blue Headband said sternly, "Because you see, that person doesn't look very powerful."
"He doesn't look very strong. I feel like if he were to draw the bow and shoot arrows, he wouldn't be able to shoot many arrows before he would lose the strength to draw the bow again."
"It makes sense." The red-headband nodded, "That person doesn't seem to be as powerful as those gold diggers who came to trouble our village a year ago."
"Those gold thieves a year ago, some of them looked pretty strong."
"But they just grew a little stronger."
Speaking of this, a look of pride appeared on the red-headband's face.
"When the gang of gold diggers attacked, I personally shot down a very strong man among the gold diggers."
"What's the use of being strong? You're not vulnerable to bows and arrows."
"You have told me many times about your heroic deeds a year ago." Purple Headband said in a helpless tone, "My ears are almost bleeding from listening to it."
These four girls, wearing red, purple, blue, and orange headbands respectively, are close friends with each other.
The oldest one is the one with the red headband, he is 15 years old this year.
The other three are of the same age, all 14 years old.
In addition to being close friends, the four of them have one thing in common: their fathers and brothers were all missing in the previous "disappearance incident" and have not returned yet.
Since the "disappearance" that caused most of the young men in Qina Village to disappear, these four girls have picked up bows and learned how to use bows and arrows like the other women in the village.
There is also cruel competition among Ainu settlements.
Young adults are the precious labor and fighting power of every settlement.
To avoid being bullied by other villages in the future, this is one of the important reasons why so many women in Qina Village have picked up bows and arrows and learned how to use them from scratch.
However, there is another very important reason why these four girls wearing headbands of different colors learn bow and arrow so that they can later go deep into the forest to search for their missing father and brother.
Even if the father and brother are dead, their bodies must be moved back to the village.
There is no need to elaborate on the dangers of the mountain forests, which are populated by bears, wolves and other wild animals, and where gold diggers pop out from time to time.
Therefore, if you want to go deep into the mountains and forests to find your missing father or brother, it is necessary to have a certain ability to protect yourself.
Although due to their age and gender, these four girls do not have much strength.
The girl with the red headband who was the best at using bows and arrows could shoot 15 arrows in a row, which was the limit for two people. This was under the premise of using the not-so-powerful bow she was currently carrying.
But all four of them are quite talented in archery. Although they don't have enough strength to shoot too many arrows, their accuracy is pretty good.
The "Gold Thieves Attack" incident a year ago that the girl with the red headband just mentioned was the incident that Ayaka told Ogata and Atachi last night.
A year ago, a group of gold diggers heard from somewhere that Qina Village had become a "widow's village" with few young men.
With evil thoughts in mind, they carried weapons and fought to Qina Village.
In the end, they were attacked head-on by the remaining young adults in Qina Village and the female warriors.
The girl with the red headband also participated in the battle a year ago.
At that time, while she was lying on the house, she shot an arrow into the thigh of a gold digger who was as strong as a bear.
With this deed, the girl with the red headband became a famous little warrior in Qina Village.
"People should not be judged by their appearance." The girl with the orange hair suddenly interjected, "Although that man doesn't look very strong, he doesn't have to be strong to be powerful."
"I heard that some Kazuto masters with swords can easily split boulders even if they are not strong after practicing their swordsmanship to a certain level and understanding something."
The girl wearing an orange headband is named Ashley. She is the youngest of the four and has just celebrated her 14th birthday.
Not only is he the youngest, he is also the prettiest one.
The plump and crimson cheeks are full of vitality.
The eyes that sparkle with childishness and youthful light have an extraordinary brilliance.
In addition to being the prettiest one, she is also the one with a body that develops more like a mature woman.
The first time she drew a bow and shot an arrow, because she was inexperienced and the instructor responsible for teaching her how to bow and arrow was negligent, when she released the bow string, the bow string bounced directly onto her chest.
It left a bloodstain directly on her chest that looked so red that it might bleed out at any time. It took her several days to recover from the pain.
Since then, every day after getting up, she would wrap a cloth band around her chest to tightly bind it, which has become something that girls with orange headbands must do every day.
"This is all nonsense." The girl with the red headband waved her hand disdainfully, "Split the stone with a knife? The stone is so hard, how can it be possible to split the stone with a knife?"
"I think the idea of 'breaking the stone with one cut' is just nonsense."
"Just to praise their swords and their swordsmanship."
"You know, if you use a knife to chop a stone, it may break the knife and only leave a few white marks on the stone."
"Ashley." The girl with the blue hairband said in a joking tone, "Do you think that Kazuto man just now is the kind of person who can split stones with one knife?"
"I didn't say that." Orange Headband said quickly, "I'm just giving you an example of not judging a book by its cover."
The girl with the red headband shrugged: "Even if there really is someone who can split stones with one knife, it's unlikely that he would be that kind of young man."
"The Kazuto just now looks to be in his early 20s."
"Probably not much older than us."
"For a person of this age, it would be pretty good if he could practice the sword to the point where his hands don't shake when wielding it."
…
…
The relationship between Kuma Village and Qina Village has always been very good, and many people in Qina Village are even very familiar with Aiyaka.
Because of this deep relationship, when Aiyaka took Ogata and Omachi into Qina Village, he did not need to report to the village chief or anyone else, and he could bring people into the village freely.
This is the trust that Qina Village has in Kuma Village and in Aiyaka.
Ayaka drove the dog sled, guided by several villagers from Qina Village, into the depths of Qina Village and parked the sled at a corner.
A strong man who was familiar with Ayyaka lent his family's "Setakuma" to Ayyaka for his four sled dogs.
"Setakuma" is a unique word among the Ainu people, referring to a long pole specially used to tie dogs.
"Setakuma" looks a bit like a clothes drying pole with a long pole placed horizontally on two long poles standing on the ground.
Then tie the dog's leash to the horizontal bar that is placed across the two long poles inserted into the ground.
After placing the sled and the four sled dogs, Ayaka loudly announced their intention to the villagers who were still surrounding them not far away.
After learning that Ayaka was looking for someone with the two Kazuto friends behind him, many people who were familiar with Ayaka immediately responded positively, saying that if you ask them anything, they will tell you everything.
.
"Let's go. Majima, Atachi." Aiyaka said to Ogata and Atachi behind him, "Let's start with those people who have a good relationship with me."
"Yes." Ogata nodded, "Sorry to trouble you."
…
…
at this moment
Qina Village, the village chief’s home
The village chief of Qina Village is named "Chepke", a 72-year-old man.
Chepke was currently sitting on the floor of his home, looking up and down at the red-haired stranger sitting cross-legged in front of him.
This foreigner with red hair is none other than Skulucci.
Skulucci does not speak Ainu and only speaks Japanese, so he and Chepke need a translator to communicate smoothly.
Fortunately, Qina Village is also a village that often cooperates with Heshang, so there is no shortage of people in the village who can listen and speak Japanese.
The person in charge of the translator, and the combatants who were on guard against various emergencies were sitting around Chepke.
Skulucci followed Chepke's request and only brought two of his men into the village, while the rest of his men were waiting outside the village.
The two subordinates he brought were named Avger and Lev.
Avjie is the freckle-faced young man who caught 6 fat rabbits for everyone a few days ago.
He was once the best hunter in his hometown, and among all the men under Skulucci, he was the best at using muskets.
And Lev is one of Skulucci's old subordinates. Although he is not good-looking and neither fat nor thin, he is a ruthless man who has mastered the "Chasik knife skills" passed down from generation to generation by his Cossacks.
people.
Among Skulucci and his group, only Skulucci could be Lev's opponent in terms of swordsmanship.
The reason why Skulucci brought these two combatants under his command was to facilitate the preparation of any unpleasant things that might happen.
Skulucci had just introduced himself to Chepke.
After introducing himself, Chepke asked Skulucci directly:
"Stranger, you said you have something very important to talk to us about. Now tell us about what you said is very important. (Ainu)"
The young man in charge of the translation translated the words that Czepke just said into Japanese word for word.
After listening to the interpretation of the young man in charge of the translation, Skulucci smiled and shrugged.
"Actually, it's nothing."
"It's just that there is a group of strangers from the far west like me who are bored and want to start doing the same business they used to do, robbing money and robbing women."
"So I just want to remind you that when you sleep, remember to sleep with your weapon in your arms."
As soon as the translator finished translating Skulucci's words, Chepke and others looked shocked.
"Are there strangers planning to plunder everywhere? (Ainu)" Chepke frowned, "How do you know? (Ainu)"
"Because those guys just came to me a few days ago and planned to recruit me into their group." Scrulucci tugged on a hair with many split ends on his forehead, "I have no interest in this kind of thing. So I refused.
them."
Although Scrooge was born in Scotland, his hair is not the curly hair that Europeans often have.
His red hair is straight, more like the hair of yellow people.
"...Since you are from the same race as the group of strangers who are planning to plunder, why did you reject them? Why did you come to tell us this?"
"Didn't I just say that? I have no interest in things like robbery."
"As for you asking why I came here to tell you this..."
Ayaka let out a sneer.
"I didn't come here specifically to tell you this."
"I don't know which village those guys plan to plunder."
"They may attack your village, or they may attack other villages. Of course, they may also attack many villages, including yours."
"I just happened to pass by your village with my men."
"I feel that we are so destined, so I kindly came over to give you a heads up."
"Okay, that's all I want to say."
After saying that, Scrooge stood up.
Avger and Lev, who were sitting behind him, also stood up.
"Bless yourselves."
"It's up to you whether you want to be ready to fight at any time, or whether you want to take the whole village and flee temporarily."
"But my advice to you is to flee as soon as possible."
"Escape to the deep mountains and wild forests for a while."
"If they choose your village as a target, you alone will not be able to defeat the Cossacks."
Skulucci's words directly caused everyone's expressions to change, including Chepke's.
"Hey! (Ainu)" A strong man shouted directly at Skuluch, "Do you think we are incapable of repelling the foreigners who are coveting our village? (Ainu)"
As soon as the strong man finished speaking, Scrooge nodded.
"Well, that's right. If those guys set your village as an attack target, you won't be able to repel them with just your bows and arrows."
"...Don't underestimate us, strangers." Another thin middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "It's not like we have never encountered such a thing as an attack on the village."
"Just a year ago, there happened to be a group of desperate Kazuo people who attacked our village. But we were able to repulse them easily."
"Don't underestimate our fighting power."
"This is our hometown. How can we just run away without firing an arrow? This will be laughed at by other villages. (Ainu language)"
Since the "disappearance" occurred, the villagers of Qina Village have become very sensitive to all matters involving the dignity of the village.
Because they are too afraid that people from other villages will bully them.
"...Strangers." At this time, Chepke, the village chief, finally spoke, "Don't treat us as idiots who don't understand anything."
"We don't know anything about you white-skinned people from the far west."
"I know you use a weapon called a 'musket'."
"You just think that our bows and arrows are no match for muskets. (Ainu language)"
"Oh?" Scrooge raised his eyebrows, "You actually know about muskets?"
"I know that muskets are very powerful, but that's all." Chepke continued, "Your muskets can only fire one shot at a time, and it will take a long time to reload the projectiles after firing one shot."
"And the accuracy is not good either. It can't hit anything too far away."
"In comparison, our bows and arrows are superior."
"In terms of shooting speed and accuracy alone, our bows and arrows are stronger than your muskets."
"So you don't have to worry about us."
"If it is true as you said, someone attacks our village."
"We will repel them beautifully. (Ainu)"
Skulucci has been listening quietly to Chepke's remarks.
After Chepke finished speaking, the corners of Skulucci's mouth turned up slightly.
As if he heard something interesting, he showed a meaningful smile.
"...Chief, let me guess you have never been attacked by someone with white skin before, right?"
Chepke: "...So what? (Ainu)"
"What you just said is so damn outdated."
"The muskets of the past were indeed inferior to bows and arrows."
"But times have changed now. Muskets are evolving rapidly, but bows and arrows remain unchanged."
Scrooge patted the Kentucky long rifle on his back.
"Today's bows and arrows are no longer a match for muskets."
"If you insist on defending the village and use bows and arrows to fight muskets, then I won't say anything more."
"After all, I'm just a passerby who came here to report a message."
"The decision of what to do next is in your hands."
"Let's go now. Wish you good luck."
After saying that, Skulucci waved his hand and led Avger and Lev to turn around and walk towards the door not far away.
But before he had gone a few steps further, Skulucci suddenly stopped, then turned to Chepke who was not far away and asked:
"Chief, it's getting dark now."
"For the sake of my kindness in reporting the news to you, please allow me and my subordinates to camp next to your village."
"We'll leave early tomorrow morning."
"...As long as you and your men don't cause trouble and don't enter our village casually, you can do whatever you want. (Ainu)" Chepke said.
"Thanks"
Skulucci waved his hand again, and then led Avger and Lev away completely.
Chepke winked at the two middle-aged men beside him and motioned them to take Skulucci out of the village.
After receiving the meaning from Chepke's wink, the two middle-aged men nodded, and then quickly followed Skulucci out of the room.
…
…
After Skulucci and others left, the rest of the people sitting around Chepke said indignantly:
"That stranger dares to look down on us. Do you really think we are idiots who don't understand anything?"
"It's not like we haven't seen such things as muskets before."
"If there are people with white skin who really want to attack our village, we will repel all the people with white skin just like we did with those gold diggers a year ago!"
Most people were filled with indignation and made impassioned speeches.
Only an old man who was about 60 years old sitting next to Chepke calmly asked Chepke:
"Chepke, what are we going to do now? Do we believe what the stranger said just now?"
"...If what the stranger said is true, then we really have to make preparations early." Chepke sighed lightly.
"I think that foreigner is very suspicious." A younger middle-aged man said, "What if there is really a group of white-skinned people who want to plunder everywhere."
"Then the stranger just now was one of their compatriots."
"Then why did the stranger betray his compatriots and tell us the news that his compatriots planned to plunder everywhere?"
"...Let's put these things aside for now." Chepke said solemnly, "Let's just believe what the stranger said just now."
"I'd rather work in vain."
"You cannot be attacked by aliens because you are not prepared."
"You go and tell the whole village now."
"Tell them: There may be a group of white-skinned aliens coming to attack our village in the future. Let everyone be prepared and be careful when leaving the village in the future."