Chapter 512 Why is the executioner Yidaozhai here——?! 【Explosion 1W2】
I've kept everyone waiting for a long time. I promised to update at 14:00, but it ended up being updated at 15:30.
This is also helpless, because today’s chapter has more than 1,000 words, and today’s chapter has as many as 1,000 words!
Please vote for this book because of the hard work of the author!
If it reaches 280 votes before tomorrow, there will be another 10,000-word chapter tomorrow!
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After discovering that the "black line" as black as ink appeared on the northern skyline, Ogata and the others immediately left this "temporary hunting lodge" that Aizan had just built not long ago, and rode the radish and grape
, looking for a suitable hiding place.
The thickness, density, and color of the dark clouds were all extraordinary, making it difficult to imagine how much snow would fall from these thick dark clouds.
Ayzan is a hunter with rich hunting experience, and he naturally has no shortage of various wilderness survival skills.
Which place is easy to find a suitable hiding place - Ayzan is quite experienced in this kind of thing.
Following Aizan's instructions, Ogata rode his horse into a nearby forest, while Aimachi followed behind Ogata on a grapevine.
"Mr. Majima! Just run straight to the hill in front of you!" Aizan shouted to Ogata, who was sitting in front of him. "According to my experience, you should be able to find a big enough cave on the hill in front of you!"
"Got it!" Ogata said loudly, "Ayzan, bite the bullet! The road ahead will be very bumpy, so don't bite your tongue!"
After saying that, Ogata raised the reins of the horse in his hand, the carrot neighed, the speed increased a bit, and the hem of the scarf around Ogata's neck fluttered in the wind.
This large dark cloud not only came suddenly, but also spread quickly.
The dark clouds "attack the city" crazily, like pouring ink into a pool of clear water. The ink color spreads to all sides of the sky, the sky gradually becomes gray, the sunlight shrinks rapidly towards the other side of the sky, and darkness declares silently
Victory.
At this moment, converted into modern time units, it was only just over 3 o'clock in the afternoon, but the sky was already as dark as night.
Dark clouds completely separated the sky from the earth.
Finally - the first snowflake slowly fell.
Then came the second piece, the third piece, the fourth piece...
The snow was falling more and more quickly. It was as if all the snow in the world was concentrated on the dark cloud above Ogata and the others, and then fell together.
The snow curtain covering Ogata's eyes became denser and denser, and the visibility became worse and worse. When he raised his eyes and looked around, everything around him disappeared into a chaotic white mist, with goose feathers and heavy snow flying, and the sky and the earth merged into one color.
As the heavy snow fell, the temperature also dropped sharply, and the chill penetrated Ogata's skin through their clothes.
Strong winds kept blowing snowflakes on Ogata and the others' faces, which not only made Ogata and the others feel pain in their cheeks, but also made them unable to see clearly.
Fortunately, their radishes and grapes were both strong Don hippopotamuses. Facing this sudden and terrible snowstorm, the radishes and grapes were still in high spirits and did not show any discomfort.
Ogao glanced back - Atachi and Ashley, who was sitting behind him, were both tightening their clothes and trying to maintain their body temperature. In such a snowstorm, it became difficult to drive a horse, but Atachi remained the same.
Holding the reins tightly, he tried his best to follow behind Ogata and Aizhan.
"A-Machi!" Ogata shouted to A-Machi behind him, "Look around to see if there are any caves suitable for hiding!"
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Amachi responded loudly:
"good!"
Letting Amachi, who has far superior eyesight than ordinary people, be responsible for finding a suitable hiding place will undoubtedly get twice the result with half the effort.
Ah-Ting squinted his eyes, piercing through the thick snow curtain, and tried to look around.
Of course, Ogata would not leave all the task of finding the hiding place to Amachi.
Even though his eyesight was far less good than Atachi's, Ogata still tried his best to scan the surroundings to find a suitable hiding place.
Aizan and Ashiri, who were sitting behind Ogata and Atachi respectively, were not idle either. They were also actively looking for the cave at this time.
More and more snow fell on the four people and two horses. The people turned into snowmen and the horses turned into snow horses.
After Ogata swept away the snow falling on Radish's mane for an unknown number of times, he finally heard Amachi's excited shouting from behind:
"I saw it! I saw a cave in front of me!"
Ogata quickly looked ahead.
However, I saw nothing... only the white mist of snow.
"Did you really see the cave?" Ogata asked loudly towards Atachi behind him.
"I did see a hole! But I don't know how deep it is!"
Ogata still has great trust in Amachi's excellent eyesight.
So Ogata raised his foot and gently knocked the radish on the horse's belly.
Carrot made a low neighing sound and carried Ogata and Aizan straight forward.
After penetrating the layers of snow curtains, Ogata finally saw that there was indeed a cave ahead. However, due to the snow curtain, he could not see clearly how deep and how big the cave was.
But Ogata finally found the cave, which made Ogata feel excited enough.
Let Carrot run faster and rush to the entrance of the cave in one breath.
Aizan quickly checked the traces around the cave entrance, and then nodded vigorously towards Ogata: "There are no traces of animal habitation!"
After learning that there were no bears, wolves or other strange animals living in this cave, Ogata was slightly relieved, but he did not completely relax his vigilance.
After all - even if there are no animals living in the cave, there may be creatures more terrifying than animals: humans.
Because dark clouds have obscured the sky, the lighting is now very poor. Standing at the entrance of the cave and looking into the cave, I can't see anything at all, only darkness.
Ogata did not rush directly into the cave recklessly, but first shouted to Aizan behind him:
"Throw a torch inside first!"
Ayizan nodded vigorously in agreement.
Then they both turned over and dismounted, Ogata held the carrot, and Aizan pulled out a wooden stick from the leather bag behind him.
Both Ayzan and Ahili carry a bag made of deerskin, which is not only strong and durable, but can also hold a lot of things.
The stick Ayzan pulled out, which the Ainu people call "Sita", is a stick rolled from the bark of the Baiye tree. Because the bark of the Baiye tree contains a lot of oil, it burns for a long time.
The Inu people like to use this thing as a torch.
Ayzan placed Sita on the ground, and then took out two flints from his arms.
After Aizan took out the flint, Ogata very consciously stood upwind of Aizan and protected Aizan from the wind.
Click, click.
After Ayzan knocked the two stones in his hand against each other with moderate force, sparks flashed, and in the blink of an eye, the flames shot up to the top of the west tower.
Ayzan threw the newly lit Sita forcefully into the cave.
Snapped.
Sita hit the deepest rock wall in the cave and fell to the ground.
Then, with the firelight emitted by the West Tower, Ogata and others clearly saw the scene inside the cave - the cave was not deep, and Aizan just threw it hard, and the West Tower hit the rock wall at the deepest point of the cave.
There are no animals or people living in the cave. According to Ogata's estimation, this cave can accommodate about 10 people, which is more than enough for Ogata and others with 4 people and 2 horses.
After confirming that there was no danger in the cave, Ogata turned to Atachi and Ashley behind him and shouted:
"The cave is okay! Come in quickly!"
After saying that, Ogata took the lead in holding the carrot and strode into the cave.
After Ogata and others entered, the originally silent cave immediately became a little lively.
Ogata and Atachi placed the radish and grapes close to the entrance of the cave, and tied the reins to a thick stone pillar to let the radish and grapes protect them from the wind.
Anyway, as Don hippos, they have strong bodies, so this cold wind can only be regarded as a refreshing breeze for them.
After placing the radishes and grapes, Ogata and the others immediately began to clear away the snow that fell on their hair, faces, and clothes.
If the snow melts, their clothes will get wet.
In such a cold weather, if your clothes get wet, it is as serious a problem as not being able to find food and water.
After clearing the snow off their bodies, Ayzan took out some firewood from the leather bag he carried with him and lit a bonfire.
"Come here and warm yourself up by the fire." Aizan said to Ogata and Azachi, "The weather is bad, so we must keep our bodies warm as much as possible."
After asking Ogata and others to warm the fire in Japanese, Aizan then asked Ashiri to warm the fire in Ainu.
"In such a wilderness, there are three most important things."
Ayzan smiled and raised three fingers.
"In order of importance, these three things are: food, water, and body temperature."
"In our Qina Village, the first thing we teach children who start to learn hunting skills is to teach them how to ensure these three things in the wild."
"A person can survive 30 days without food."
"Without water, a person can last three days."
"If you can't keep your body temperature at a normal level, based on your human time unit, you can probably only last a little more than an hour."
Ayzan is good at everything, his only problem is probably that he is quite talkative and loves to talk.
He then started to introduce to Ogata and the others the "wild survival skills" passed down from generation to generation by the Ainu people.
While Aizan was doing some popular science for Ogata and the others, Ogata and Omachi had already sat silently by the campfire, warming their hands that were hard from the cold.
Needless to say, Ogata's physical fitness is like that. With 36 points of vitality, Ogata only felt that his hands were stiff, his cheeks were a little sore from the wind, and his body was slightly cold in the heavy snowy weather just now.
That's all, there is no other discomfort.
Atachi's physical fitness is not as abnormal as Ogata's, but she is a female ninja who has received strict training since childhood and can do 500 sit-ups at one breath, so her physical fitness is naturally not bad.
As Ainu people who have grown up in the Snow Country since childhood, Aizan and Ashili are also very frost-tolerant.
Sitting around the campfire, their cheeks all turned rosy in just a moment.
"What a terrible heavy snow..." Ashili whispered, "I always feel that the frequency of snowstorms has become much higher in recent years... (Ainu language)"
Aizan translated what Ashley just said to Ogata and Atachi.
After helping Ogata and the others translate Ahili's words, Aizan let out a sigh of relief and said with emotion:
"Ashley is right. I also feel that the climate in recent years has been a bit abnormal. Not only have snowstorms become more frequent, but the weather has also become much colder than before."
"This abnormal weather has also brought great misfortune to the animals."
"According to my observation, in recent years, due to abnormal weather conditions, the number of deer has been significantly smaller than usual."
"Animals are very strange. If there are too many or too few of one animal, it often affects the rest of the animals."
"The decrease in the number of deer has had a greater or lesser impact on various animals."
"The ones most directly affected are the wolves."
"Wolves feed on deer as their main food. Now there are not as many deer as before. It is difficult for wolves to find food, so wolves are now much more irritable than before."
"Wolves are very smart and know that humans are not easy to mess with, so they rarely attack humans on their own initiative."
"But because there is less food now, the number of tragedies in which wolves actively attack humans has become much more common than in the past."
After saying that, Ayizan let out a sigh of relief and said with a wry smile: "I really hope this abnormal climate can end as soon as possible!"
…
…
At this moment——
"Have you not found a suitable hiding place yet?" Matsudaira Sadanobu asked loudly outside the sedan.
As soon as he finished speaking, Tachibana's response immediately sounded outside the sedan:
"Master Lao Zhong! Not yet!"
call--!
Matsudaira Sadanobu heard an even stronger cold wind blowing outside the sedan.
Listening to the increasingly fierce cold wind, Matsudaira Sadanobu's already frowning brows became even tighter.
Matsudaira Sadanobu and his party were struggling to brave the snowstorm and slowly move forward.
Whether it is the red cavalry or the elite soldiers that Inamori sent to Matsudaira Sadanobu, the horses they ride are all Japanese horses.
Horses in Japan are very short, with their shoulder height generally only about 1.2 meters, which is completely incomparable with the Don horse, which has an average shoulder height of more than 1.5 meters.
In addition to being shorter than the Don hippopotamus, its cold tolerance and physical fitness are all inferior to the Don hippopotamus.
Faced with the sudden strong snowstorm, the horses of Matsudaira Sadanobu's guards lost the ability to carry people forward. So Matsudaira Sadanobu's guards had to dismount and lead the horses forward.
Previously, after discovering that large and terrifying dark cloud, Matsudaira Sadanobu immediately ordered: Find a suitable hiding place.
Although Matsudaira Sadanobu reacted quickly, they were really unlucky.
Until the snowstorm came, Matsudaira Sadanobu and the others could not find a suitable hiding place. To this day, they are still trudging forward in the snowfield.
In order to check the current situation, Matsudaira Sadanobu opened the sedan window halfway.
The next moment Matsudaira Sadanobu opened the window of the sedan chair, a large amount of snowflakes poured in with the wind.
The number of snowflakes has become more than before.
Looking at the increasing number of snowflakes outside the window, Matsudaira Sadanobu's expression became more solemn.
Just when Matsudaira Sadanobu was thinking about what to do now, Tachibana's excited voice suddenly sounded from outside the sedan:
"Lord Zhong! I see a forest ahead! Let's go into the woods to avoid the snow!"
Hearing Tachibana's words, Matsudaira Sadanobu was stunned for a moment, then quickly stuck his head out of the window and looked forward.
My vision penetrated the layers of snow, and I saw a large dark shadow in front of me. I could vaguely see that these dark shadows were composed of towering trees one after another.
Matsudaira nodded his head.
"Tell everyone! Go into the woods ahead to avoid the snow!"
Tachibana: "Yes!"
Matsudaira Sadanobu retracted his head into the sedan chair, closed the window, and let out a sigh of relief.
Although the most ideal hiding place is naturally a cave, the woods are barely adequate.
It is naturally better to stay in a place with many tree trunks and leaves to block the snow than to stay in a snowfield with no shelter at all.
Tachibana quickly conveyed this new order from Matsudaira Sadanobu to everyone.
After learning that a suitable place to hide from the snow finally appeared ahead, the effect of "Looking at plum blossoms to quench thirst" appeared - everyone cheered up, took a breath, and vowed to rush into the woods ahead as soon as possible.
Avoid this bastard wind and snow that can't even see things three meters away.
Tachibana was no exception, and her body, which had been a little sleepy, regained some strength.
"Go faster!" Tachibana shouted to his horse as he pulled the reins hard, "We're almost at the place where we can rest!
Matsudaira Sadanobu and his party sped up slightly.
After a while, Matsudaira Sadanobu and the others arrived at a narrow passage.
The right side of this narrow path is filled with impassable rocks.
On the left is a hillside that is not too steep.
In front of the trail is the forest suitable for hiding. If you want to go to that forest, you must go through this trail.
There are rocks on the right and hills on the left, so this trail can only accommodate 20 horses walking side by side. Although it is wide enough, for the sake of safety, Tachibana still chose to shout loudly to everyone around him:
"Everyone, be careful! Hold your horses! Be careful not to fall down the hillside on the left... huh?"
Before he finished speaking, Tachibana frowned suddenly, then turned his head and looked behind him.
For a moment just now, Tachibana seemed to hear a strange noise coming from behind their team.
After looking intently at the rear of the team, Tachibana saw thin black shadows slowly emerging in the thick snow.
Extremely fast.
It only took a moment for Tachibana to see clearly what these uninvited guests looked like.
The next moment he saw the appearance of these uninvited guests, Tachibana's pupils shrank suddenly, and then, like a conditioned reflex, he said sharply:
"The enemy is attacking! A wolf is approaching! Everyone, meet the enemy!"
These uninvited guests approaching Matsudaira Sadanobu and others from behind were actually large packs of wolves.
As if in response to Tachibana's enemy attack warning, just after Tachibana's words fell, the wolves howled one after another, and then attacked the people and horses walking at the rear of the team.
Because they were disturbed by the wind and snow, Tachibana and the others did not realize that a wolf was approaching until the wolf had bitten their butts.
These wolves that suddenly attacked were the "Ezo wolves", which are ranked as the most dangerous animals in the Ezo region along with the brown bears.
The Ezo wolf is medium in size, likes to live in groups, and is good at running fast and long distances.
Matsudaira Sadanobu in the sedan suddenly changed his face when he heard Tachibana outside the sedan shouting "Enemy attack! A wolf is approaching! Everyone meets the enemy!", and then he asked Tachibana outside in a deep voice:
"How many wolves are there attacking?"
"No, I don't know! According to current visual inspection, there are probably more than 20 of them!"
Because of the snow curtain, Tachibana couldn't see how many attacking Ezo wolves there were. He could only see Ezo wolves appearing from behind the snow curtain, and he kept hearing the screams of the guards and the neighing of horses.
"Don't panic!" Matsudaira Sadanobu said loudly, "They are just a bunch of beasts! Just fight them off! What are the knives on your waists used for?"
Tachibana, who had calmed down a little, drew his sword in his hand and shouted at the highest volume he could:
"Wolves are attacking! Everyone defends against the enemy! Don't be afraid, there are only 2 or 30 wolves attacking! Be careful not to frighten the horses!"
Tachibana's command shouted in a calm tone clearly reached the ears of everyone around him.
Being attacked by the wolf, they gradually began to fight back.
The wolf's attack frightened their horses on a large scale and had a considerable impact on Matsudaira Sadanobu's guards.
Not to mention the non-stop blowing snow and wind around them. This strong wind and snow also made their movements sluggish.
But they are the elite of the military after all.
Even if affected by various factors, 100% of their strength cannot be used at 50%, but they will not be defeated by a pack of wolves.
One wolf after another was killed, and the battle situation reversed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Looking at this great battle situation, an excited smile appeared on Tachibana's face.
But at this moment, Tachibana heard the unique heavy breathing of animals coming from the right side of the trail, and...the sound of paws tapping the ground...
He suddenly looked to the right of the trail - he saw several Ezo wolves galloping in the chaotic world that was difficult for both humans and horses to pass, heading towards Tachibana and the others.
"Ouch——!"
These wolves let out sharp wolf howls, and then pounced directly into the waist of Matsudaira Sadanobu's team.
The wolves that rushed into the waist of their team were only a few steps away from Tachibana and Matsudaira Sadanobu's sedan.
Because the distance was so close, Tachibana could even clearly see the vertical pupils of these wolves that made people shudder just by looking at them.
"Damn it! These wolves also know how to surprise others at weak defenses!" Tachibana, who is usually gentle and gentle, rarely said a dirty word at this time, "A wolf has rushed into the team! Kill them! Protect Mr. Laozhong!"
"
Tachibana no longer cared about protecting his horse. He let go of the horse's reins, held the knife with both hands, and personally escorted Lao Zhong's sedan back, away from the wolves who had launched a surprise attack.
The four strong men who were responsible for carrying the sedan for Matsudaira Sadanobu were already pale with fright from the sudden attack of the wolf. Without waiting for Tachibana's order, the four of them hurriedly carried the sedan still carrying Matsudaira Sadanobu.
, and then ran in a panic in the direction away from the wolf.
Tachibana followed the sedan chair back.
The guards responded very quickly.
The few wolves that launched a surprise attack have now been blocked by the guards.
Tachibana, who was still retreating with the sedan, looked at the wolves that were blocked and getting farther and farther away from them, and his heart that had just been hanging fell to the ground again.
"Everyone stop!" Tachibana shouted to the people carrying the sedan next to him, "No need to retreat anymore, those wolves can't be killed anymore..."
Squeak——!
As soon as Tachibana finished speaking, the strange noise sounded again...
This time, the abnormal sound was very close to Tachibana...
It came from the feet of the strong man next to Tachibana who was responsible for carrying the sedan chair.
Before Tachibana had time to lower his head to see what was going on under the strong man's feet, the strong man suddenly seemed to be stuck in a swamp, and his whole body sank directly into the snow at his feet.
Afterwards, the ground beneath Tachibana and the others quickly cracked with the strong man whose body was sunk in the snow as the center of the circle, and then - collapsed.
Tachibana yelled in horror in his heart.
——Snow cornices...!
Snow eaves: Snow flakes blown by the wind into the shape of eaves.
To put it simply, there is no land for support under the snow cornice, and it is a large suspended snow block.
Because of the blizzard that obscured their view, and the fact that they were anxious to stay away from the unexpectedly attacking wolves, neither Tachibana nor the people around them realized that the place they were standing on just now was a cornice of snow.
The snow cornice, unable to bear the weight of Tachibana and the others, collapsed, and everything on the snow cornice slid down the hillside on the left side of the trail.
With quick eyesight and quick hands, Tachibana quickly raised his hand to grab the ground that was not a snow cornice next to him, preventing himself from falling.
Also equally quick-eyed and quick-handed were the two strong men carrying the sedan chair.
As the snow cornices fell, there were only two other strong men carrying the sedan chair, and... the sedan chair still carrying Matsudaira Sadanobu.
"Lao Naka-sama——!" Tachibana, whose face instantly turned pale, shouted anxiously and with fear towards the sedan sliding down the hillside.
Due to the poor visibility, Matsudaira Sadanobu's sedan completely disappeared from Tachibana's field of vision in just the blink of an eye, leaving only a white curtain of snow in front of him...
When the snow cornice collapsed, it not only shocked Tachibana and other humans.
At the same time, it also startled the Ezo wolves that had just rushed into the waist of the team.
A certain Ezo wolf glanced at the two strong men carrying the sedan chair and the sedan carrying Matsudaira Sadanobu who slid down the snow cornice into the nearby snow slope, then let out a low hiss, turned around and jumped out of the surrounding guards.
, rushed into the nearby rocks, and soon disappeared.
…
…
After the snow cornice collapsed, Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was sitting in the sedan chair, immediately felt that the world began to spin.
His whole body rolled down the hillside with the sedan.
Matsudaira Sadanobu, who quickly realized what had happened, gritted his teeth, and quickly grabbed his own sword placed aside - Nagasone Kotetsu. After inserting Kotetsu back into his left waist, he pulled out the sword from his left waist with his right hand.
Wakizashi, left hand opened the door of the sedan chair.
If he slides to the bottom of the hillside with the sedan, the consequences will be disastrous.
So Matsudaira Sadanobu made a prompt decision: jump out of the sedan chair immediately.
After opening the door of the sedan, Matsudaira Sadanobu took a deep breath, then kicked off his feet and escaped from the sedan.
Although I haven't practiced swordsmanship for a while, my muscle memory and excellent physical fitness from practicing swordsmanship in my youth still remain.
After jumping out of the sedan, Matsudaira Sadanobu inserted his wakizashi into the thick white snow covering the hillside, using his wakizashi as a buffer to reduce the speed of his body's fall.
The reaction force transmitted along the wakizashi to Matsudaira Sadanobu's arms caused Matsudaira Sadanobu's facial features to tighten uncontrollably.
But Matsudaira Sadanobu still persisted, holding on to the wakizashi in his hand...
It's a pity that Matsudaira Sadanobu has been out of practice for a long time since he became a veteran.
After another moment passed, Matsudaira Sadanobu finally found it difficult to hold the knife due to the soreness in his arms, so he let go of his wakizashi, which was used as a body buffer.
In this heavy snow, Matsudaira Sadanobu was like a slide, sliding straight down the hillside.
…
…
"The snowstorm outside seems to have stopped." Ayizan glanced outside the cave.
"Yeah." Ogata, who was sitting opposite Aizan, nodded lightly, "It finally stopped..."
The wind and snow outside the cave finally stopped roaring, and only a few snowflakes were still falling sparsely.
"It seems that we can only spend the night in this cave tonight." Ogata said as he stood up, "I will go outside to collect some firewood for the night. You three can start making dinner first."
"Ah, let me go with you." Ayi praised.
"No, it's enough for me alone." Ogata picked up the Daishiten he had put aside and inserted it back into his left belt. "For things like collecting firewood, you don't need too many people to go with you. I'll go.
Go and come back."
…
…
"...Has the snow finally stopped..." Looking at the dark clouds above his head that finally began to slowly disperse, Grandpa Jiang showed an expression of relief.
After being attacked by the Ezos of the Red Moon Fortress and the entire gold mining team was wiped out, Grandfather Jiang has been working hard to return to Japan these days.
However, I have not been able to return to Japan until now.
On the contrary, I became more and more confused as I walked, and I became less and less aware of where I was now...
Just now, a snowstorm suddenly came.
Fortunately, Grandfather Jiang was lucky - when the snowstorm came, there happened to be a cave not far away from him, so Grandfather Jiang hid directly in the cave to avoid the snow, and has been hiding there until now.
Because the dark clouds have not completely cleared, Grandpa Jiang cannot judge the current time based on the color of the sky and the position of the sun.
But according to Grandfather Jiang's estimation, it shouldn't be long before dark.
"Pick some firewood and spend the night in the cave..." Grandfather Jiang murmured softly, then bent down and grabbed a handful of snow in front of him, stuffed it into his mouth, and then strode towards the woods ahead.
These days, grandfather Jiang Chun relies on eating snow to stay hydrated.
As for food, just let it happen.
If you're lucky, you can find some edible mushrooms or berries and have a hearty meal.
If you are unlucky and cannot find anything edible, you will be hungry first.
Before he came to gold mining, he was a bounty hunter who traveled around. Although he didn't catch any serious wanted criminals until he quit, his long years of living in the open helped his grandfather Jiang develop a powerful "iron character".
"Stomach", even if I drink snow water every day and eat every meal, I don't have any gastrointestinal discomfort.
Grandfather Jiang was like a girl picking flowers, picking up every branch on the ground that was not wet by snow.
When he pushed aside a bush in front of him and picked up some firewood from under the bush, Grandfather Jiang's eyes suddenly widened.
Because he discovered - about 400 meters ahead, there was a person lying down.
Grandpa Jiang has no other advantages. Good eyesight is probably one of the few advantages of Grandpa Jiang.
He saw clearly - the person lying on the snow 400 meters away, wearing a beautiful and exquisite kimono, was a Japanese man.
He doesn't look particularly old, probably in his 30s. He has a neatly shaved Tsukiyo head and looks quite handsome.
There are two knives stuck in his left waist.
There was no trace of the wakizashi, only the scabbard remained.
The knife was left intact on the man's left waist.
Looking at the knife on the man's left waist, Grandfather Jiang swallowed, with a look of greed in his eyes.
Based on the scabbard and handle, it is not difficult to tell that the knife on the man's waist must not be an ordinary thing.
When he first saw this man lying on the snow, his grandfather Emoto still had many doubts, such as why there was Kazuto here.
But now, grandfather Jiang only has greed in his mind.
Just when Grandfather Jiang was considering whether to walk over and steal the man's knife, the man's body suddenly moved.
Then, the man lying on the snow held his head with one hand and the ground with the other, and slowly sat up from the ground.
…
…
After sitting up from the snowy field beneath him, Matsudaira Sadanobu first looked around, then at his own body.
Body - Except for the soreness and pain in both arms, the rest of the body is fine.
Surrounding him - beside him was the snow slope he had just slid down.
——My body was not hurt at all...what a blessing.
Matsudaira Sadanobu let out a long sigh of relief.
The height of the snow slope is not too low. In addition to luck, when sliding down this snow slope, it also benefited from Matsudaira Sadanobu's use of his body height to slow down the falling speed and reduce the impact when he "jumped from the sedan chair".
Shaking off the snow from his body, Matsudaira Sadanobu slowly stood up.
Although he is alone in an unfamiliar wilderness, Matsudaira Sadanobu still maintains his composure due to the concentration he has cultivated through years of living as a leader.
——We have to find a way to join Tachibana and the others...
——But the first priority now is to find a place to stay overnight...
——I don’t know how long I have been unconscious just now. The dark clouds above my head have not completely dispersed. I don’t know if it is dark now...
When Matsudaira Sadanobu was sorting out what he should do next in an orderly manner in his mind——
Swish, swish, swish...
Suddenly there was the sound of bushes being pushed aside behind him.
Matsudaira Sadanobu, whose pupils shrank slightly, quickly turned around and faced the bushes behind him.
While turning around, Matsudaira Sadanobu quickly lowered his body's center of gravity. His left hand rested on the scabbard of Nagasone Kotetsu, the sword at his waist, and his right hand held Kotetsu's handle, ready to draw the sword at any time.
The sound of bushes being pushed aside became louder and louder.
Finally - a wolf head stuck out from behind the bushes.
It's an Ezo wolf.
After this Ezo wolf emerged from behind a bush, it bared its teeth at Matsuhira Sadanobu, revealing its sharp fangs.
"...You even chased me... It seems you are really hungry." Matsudaira Sadanobu said in a deep voice, using his left thumb to open Kotetsu's mouth, and then slowly pulled out the sword with his right hand.
Canglanglanglang...
Kotetsu was pulled out of the sheath inch by inch.
The cold light reflected from the blade pierced the eyes of the Ezo wolf in front of Matsudaira Sadanobu, causing the wolf to take several steps back in one breath.
"Leave quickly!" Matsudaira Sadanobu shouted loudly towards the Ezo wolf in front of him while assuming a standard mid-section stance.
Even in the past when he was practicing swordsmanship diligently, Matsudaira Sadanobu had no confidence that he could fight a wolf by himself.
Now that he has been training for a long time, Matsudaira Sadanobu is even less confident that he can deal with a wolf at the same time and escape unscathed.
Now he only hopes that after showing his Kotetsu, he can make the wolf feel threatened and then retreat.
Matsudaira Sadanobu's idea was a good one.
But reality is often cruel.
After Matsudaira Sadanobu drew his sword, the wolf, which had already taken a few steps back, roared lowly at Matsudaira Sadanobu again.
Then, the wolf slowly walked towards Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Matsudaira Sadanobu's face instantly turned livid.
…
…
"Okay..." Ogata nodded lightly, "Finally, we have gathered enough firewood..."
Because there was a snowstorm just now, many branches were blown to the ground, so it is not difficult to pick up branches suitable for burning fires.
Ogata tied up the collected firewood with a cane that he had picked up just now, and then prepared to carry the firewood back to the cave.
"Woo..."
"Huh?" Ogata turned to look to his left.
Just now, Ogata seemed to hear a strange hissing sound.
His eyes turned to the direction where the sound came from, but he saw nothing.
I strained my ears and listened, but heard nothing.
——Did you hear it wrong...
"Woo..."
Just when the thought "Did I hear it wrongly" came into Ogata's mind, the strange hissing sound sounded again at the right time.
This strange neighing sound didn't seem to be very far away from Ogata.
Ogata looked in the direction from which the strange neighing sound came, and narrowed his eyes slightly.
…
…
——What should I do... What should I do... What should I do now...
Grandpa Jiang, who was hiding in the bushes, was racking his brains and thinking about what he should do now while watching the "human-wolf battle" between one man and one wolf 400 meters away.
Just now I saw a middle-aged man with a valuable-looking knife hanging on his waist. Before he could go over and steal his knife, the man woke up.
Grandfather Jiang just felt disappointed, and the next scene that appeared in front of him made grandfather Jiang almost jump with fright - an Ezo wolf suddenly appeared and immediately began to attack the middle-aged man.
Based on the middle-aged man's skills, it is not difficult to see that he must also have practiced swordsmanship hard.
But his swordsmanship level is not up to the level of dealing with a wolf.
As soon as the battle started, the middle-aged man could only parry and evade the wolf's attack in a very embarrassed manner.
After seeing the wolf that suddenly appeared, his grandfather Emoto thought of running away as far away as possible.
However, as soon as the idea of escape appeared, greed emerged immediately and began to fight against the idea of escape.
A bold plan emerged in Grandfather Jiang's mind: after the middle-aged man was eaten by the wolf, he would go over and pick up the middle-aged man's knife.
This strong greed made Grandfather Jiang unable to completely make up his mind to escape even though he might be in danger of being attacked by wolves if he stayed here...
…
…
"Drink... drink... drink..."
Matsudaira Sadanobu held the knife tightly, breathing heavily, staring intently at the Ezo wolf in front of him that was approaching step by step.
From now on, unable to fight back, he has been just dodging in a panic.
Matsudaira Sadanobu has been able to maintain a healthy body through diligent exercise in his youth.
But now it's almost reaching its limit.
Matsudaira Sadanobu now felt that his legs were weak and he no longer had enough strength to avoid the next attack of the Ezo wolf.
——You can’t believe that I, Matsudaira Sadanobu, died here in the end... Heh, falling in the snow country... is not bad at all.
Although he is currently in a dangerous situation where he may die at any time, Matsudaira Sadanobu still remains calm and calm.
A cruel look flashed in Matsudaira Sadanobu's eyes.
Then - he slowly knelt down on the ground, continued to hold Kotetsu with his right hand, and started to pull the lapel of his upper body clothes with his left hand.
Rather than be killed by an animal, Matsudaira Sadanobu would rather commit seppuku and die as a samurai.
Naturally, the Ezo Wolf did not understand what Matsudaira Sadanobu was planning to do next. It just continued to follow the animal's instinct and slowly approached Matsudaira Sadanobu, looking for the best direction and opportunity to attack.
Just when Matsudaira Sadanobu was about to stab Kotetsu into his belly to show off his samurai ways——
Just when the Ezo wolf had begun to lower its center of gravity, preparing to pounce on Matsudaira Sadanobu at any time——
"Hey! You beast! Leave quickly!"
A young male voice passed into the ears of Matsudaira Sadanobu, the ears of the wolf, and also the ears of his grandfather Jiang who had been lurking in the distance.
It's a coincidence - Matsudaira Sadanobu and his grandfather Jiang both widened their eyes after hearing this voice, and then shouted the same sentence in their hearts.
Matsudaira Sadanobu/Grandfather Jiang: This voice...?!
When he shouted this sentence in his heart, Matsudaira Sadanobu only had a look of ordinary surprise on his face.
Grandfather Jiang was surprised and frightened.
Grandfather Jiang has heard this sound.
Last summer, as a bounty hunter, he rushed into Nijo Castle with the others in order to take away Ogata Issei's head.
He heard this sound in the castle tower of Nijo Castle...
…
…
After hearing the strange neighing sound, Ogata had always been concerned about it, so he decided to follow the sound and take a look.
Following the strange neighing sound through the dense woods, in just a moment, Ouri found the owner of the strange neighing sound - a wolf.
To be more precise, it's a wolf attacking humans.
The human was currently kneeling on the ground, holding a sword tightly in his hand. Judging from his clothing, he was still a Japanese.
Due to the angle, Ogata couldn't see the person's appearance clearly, and he didn't know if the person was injured.
"Hey! You beast! Leave quickly!"
Ogata roared at the wolf.
Ogata's words successfully attracted the attention of the Ezo wolf.
Ezo Wolf turned his head and looked at Ogata.
After roaring at Ogata a few times, it spread its claws and rushed towards Ogata.
Ogata's left hand continued to hold the firewood he had just picked up, and his right hand slowly pulled out the Daishiten from his waist.
"Ouch——!"
After rushing to only a few steps away from Ogata, the Ezo wolves let out the unique wolf howl of their "wolf tribe", then jumped up and pounced on Ogata.
Ogata only held the sword in one hand, assuming a normal mid-level stance, and stared expressionlessly at the wolf in front of him that was charging towards him.
A man and a wolf pass by each other.
The moment they passed each other, the swords flashed.
Sakakihara Itto-ryu·Ryuubi.
Ogata's Daishiten directly cut open the belly of the wolf, and the organs in the belly were scattered on the ground.
"Woo..."
The Ezo wolf let out a mournful cry, and its internal organs fell to the ground along with the inertia of its forward attack just now.
…
…
At this moment——
Grandfather Jiang, who was lying in the bushes, was covering his mouth and nose with both hands, trying hard to suppress his breathing and prevent himself from taking even a heavy breath.
The reason why he did this was to avoid the young man who suddenly appeared just now discovering him.
There was cold sweat on his forehead and face.
——That, that swordsmanship...! Those eyes...!
Grandfather Jiang screamed in terror in his heart.
Grandfather Jiang was very familiar with the swordsmanship used by the young man who suddenly appeared just now, and the look in his eyes when he wielded the sword.
Grandfather Jiang still remembers the scenes he saw at the Nijo Castle Castle Tower to this day. He cannot forget them even if he wants to.
——It's Ittosai...!
——It’s the executioner Ittousai——!
——Why is the executioner Ittosai here——?!
…
…
After killing the Ezo wolf with one blow, Ogata shook off the blood on the blade of the Daishiten sword, and then walked quickly towards the Kazuto who had been attacked by the Ezo wolf just now.
"You're okay..."
Before Ogata could say the last word of "Are you okay" in his nonsense sentence, his words suddenly got stuck.
The expression on his face also froze at the same time.
Because now he finally saw the face of the Kazuto whom he had just rescued.
"...It's been such a long time." Sadanobu Matsudaira, who had no expression on his face, said to Ogata in a tone that was neither salty nor indifferent, "You really made me wait, and we agreed that we would meet after the test match in front of the emperor.
, you will give me your answer, but I have been waiting for several months."
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Now, the wolves in Hokkaido, Japan (that is, Ezo Territory) have become extinct.
There are many reasons for extinction.
1: In 1876, the Hokkaido pioneer envoy offered a "reward" to expel them.
2: Farmers believed that wolves threatened their livestock, so they poisoned them with strychnine and hunted them in large numbers.
3: In 1878, due to a heavy snowfall, a large number of deer starved to death. As a result, many wolves could not find food and starved to death.
In addition, according to expert surveys, the reason why the Ezo wolf (Hokkaido wolf) became extinct may also be related to rabies and canine distemper.
[So the statement in this chapter that "the number of deer has decreased, and wolves have become irritable because they cannot find food" is not made by the author, but is based on reality. 】
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At the end of the previous chapter, the author saw that some readers were shocked by the record of the narrator Anesaki and others killing 40 bears alone. Here the author will briefly talk about this for everyone.
thing.
Anesaki and others did not say in the book why he likes to hunt alone in the mountains, but the author speculates that this should be related to the hunting culture of the Ainu people.
Ainu people generally like to hunt alone. Even if they bring friends to hunt together, the team usually does not exceed 3 people.
Therefore, "one person enters the mountain and one person brings down a bear" can be regarded as a traditional art of the Ainu people.
Anesaki and others also did not explain why the Ainu generally like to hunt alone.
However, the author thinks this may have something to do with the way the Ainu allocate prey.
According to the tradition of the Ainu people, when hunting in a group, whoever gives the final blow to the prey will own the prey.
That is to say, you and your friend went hunting, and you were half exhausted and managed to maim a deer, but it was your friend who gave the deer a finishing blow. Then the deer belongs to your friend, and you
Not even a single deer hair can be found.
The author guesses: It is probably because of this culture that many Ainu people like to hunt alone. If they hunt alone, they can save a lot of trouble in the distribution of prey.