Chapter 558 Taidao VS Japanese sword! (1) [6000 words]
Red Moon Fortress, rescue area——
"Kunoa! This guy is about to die! Come and save him quickly!"
"Kunoa! Several more people who are about to die have been sent here..."
"Kunoa..."
…
"I know!" Kunoya, who had always treated everyone's injuries calmly during this period, rarely showed an expression of impatience, "Take it slow one by one! No matter how great I am, I can't do it even once.
You can only heal one person!"
As the person with the best medical skills in the Red Moon Fortress, Kunoya naturally shoulders the heaviest responsibility and the hardest work.
Although Kunoya is a "non-combatant" who is not responsible for facing the battle, at this time, she also inferred based on the number of wounded today that was nearly double that of the previous two days - I am afraid that today's battle will
It is extremely difficult...
After finishing treating the young man in front of her who had broken an arm, Cunoa shouted to the two assistants beside her - two young girls who were already tired and looked tired:
"Okay! Bandage this guy's wounds!"
After leaving this order, Cunoa ran towards another injured patient who was in urgent need of treatment without any rest.
While running towards another injured patient who was in urgent need of treatment, Cunoya couldn't help but turn her head and look at the inner city wall to the south not far away.
"That Chanup guy... what on earth is he doing... why are there so many injuries today..." She muttered softly in an unhappy tone.
…
…
At this moment——
Red Moon Fortress, inner city wall——
"...In short, that's it." Lin Ziping spoke in fluent Ainu while scanning Chanup and others in front of him, "Compared with the Japanese army outside the city, our biggest advantage is
, it’s the superb archery skills cultivated through years of hunting.”
"According to my observation these days, there are not many archers in the army outside the city."
"Today's warriors are generally in bad shape. Most warriors would rather spend their energy on the women in the flower street than on practicing martial arts."
"Nowadays, there are very few warriors who have the ability and the willingness to devote themselves to learning archery."
"So there are not many archers in the army outside the city, which is what I expected."
"And we also have the advantage of the 'city wall', so when it comes to 'counter-shooting', we actually have a slight advantage."
"In war, there are two 'rules' that must be observed."
Lin Ziping raised two fingers.
"Concentrate your forces as much as possible, use more to attack the less. And - use your own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses."
"You are not good at close combat. If you engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese troops outside the city, it will become the most stupid way of 'attacking the enemy's strengths with your own shortcomings.'"
"So if we want to compete with the Aizu Army, our best solution is to further strengthen the number of archers on the inner city wall and suppress them with arrow rain."
"...Aren't there any powerful tactics that can be used to deal with that Aizu army?" At this time, someone asked.
Lin Ziping shook his head: "Tactics are just 'making it easier for people to fight'."
"My current defense configuration is already the optimal deployment under the current situation where we lack weapons to defend the city."
"There is no more powerful tactic to deploy."
"If I want to compete with the Aizu Army, I can't think of any other way besides increasing the combat effectiveness of the soldiers as much as possible."
Having said this, Lin Ziping turned to look at Retannoe.
"Mr. Retannoe, are all the newly stripped armors painted with our colors?"
Retannoe nodded: "Everyone has been painted and some people have been put on."
"That's good..." Lin Ziping said softly.
These days, in order to make up for the disadvantage in equipment, Chanupu and the others have been picking up the armors and weapons of the Japanese generals left on the city wall, and then turning them into their own use.
Although the armors they picked up were basically ashigaru armors that were not much better in terms of protection, they were still better than nothing.
In order to avoid accidentally injuring "our own people wearing the enemy's armor", the chest of each set of armor that was pulled off was painted red with the characteristics of their Red Moon Fortress.
After confirming the "equipment recycling" situation with Retannoe, Lin Ziping looked around at the people in front of him.
"Does anyone else have any questions?"
No one answered.
"Since there is no doubt, let's disband and go down to rest." Lin Ziping said, "There will definitely be another hard battle this afternoon."
"While there is still time now, let's all take a good rest."
"Especially you - Mr. Chanup."
Lin Ziping turned his attention to Chanup who was standing next to him.
"You haven't had a break since the battle started this morning. It seems like you haven't even had lunch, right?"
"I think you'd better take a rest now. Otherwise you'll collapse from exhaustion, which will be terrible."
"Haha." Chanup chuckled a few times, "The way you persuade me to go to bed early, you really look like my daughter..."
Chanupu scratched his long hair.
"Don't worry. I'm not a fool who doesn't know how to rest."
"I had planned to go back to my home and rest for a while after this meeting."
…
…
Red Moon Fortress, Chanup’s home——
Tang Shen, who had been sitting in the corner with his eyes closed and concentrating, heard very familiar footsteps outside the house - he recognized who it was without opening his eyes.
"You're back." After saying this, Tang Shen slowly opened his eyes and looked at the door of the house, looking at Chanup who had now passed through the door and entered the home.
Chanup, who looked tired, was holding his pipe in his mouth and puffing away at it.
After entering his home, he first looked around.
"Where are Aisuma and Otunpui?"
"Haven't seen either of them since this morning."
"That's it..."
Chanup didn't say anything more, he just continued to smoke his cigarette, walked to Tang Shen, and sat down cross-legged.
After Chanup sat down in front of him, Tang Shen looked at Chanup several times with hesitant eyes, then as if to cheer himself up, he took several deep breaths, and then asked Chanup softly
road:
"The battle this morning... was quite fierce... the shouts of killing were so loud that I could hear them clearly. Was the battle today difficult?"
Chanup took the pipe out of his mouth and nodded gently: "It was quite a blast this morning..."
Chanup briefly informed Tang Shen of the battle situation this morning.
"The Aizu army is coming..." Yugami's eyes widened, "No wonder the battle today is so fierce..."
"Although I had long expected that the Aizu Army would be extremely powerful." Chanup smiled bitterly, "But I didn't expect that it would be this strong."
"This afternoon, we will strengthen the archers."
"I hope our shooters can suppress the Aizu army a little bit..."
After finishing speaking, Chanup raised his pipe and took several puffs.
"... It's rare that we both have time at this time, and there are no outsiders here, so - let's talk about your affairs now." Chanup puffed out two big smoke rings, "Tang... no, Shendu
, what are your plans in the future?"
"I asked you and Mr. Majima to break out of the encirclement and leave here together before, but you refused because you thought it was dangerous."
"In the past few days, he has been huddled in my house every day, either eating or in a daze. He neither helped us nor made any move that seemed like he wanted to escape."
"What exactly are you going to do next?"
Facing Chanupu's burning eyes, Tang Shen silently lowered his gaze, and then remained silent.
Looking at the silent Tang Shen, Chanup shrugged: "It doesn't matter if you don't tell me. I can probably guess what you want to do."
"You probably want to wait for the city to be broken and then take advantage of the chaos to escape secretly?"
Chanup said this sentence in an affirmative tone, which was clearly a question.
As soon as Chanup finished speaking, Tang Shen's body shook slightly.
"...I was worried about offending you, so I refused to tell you my plan." Tang Shen's expression was helpless and a bit bitter, "How did you guess this of mine?
planned?"
"You and I are friends of life and death." Chanup said slowly, "Based on your usual way of thinking, it is not difficult for me to guess your intentions."
"What's more, besides taking advantage of the city's destruction and using chaos as a cover to escape, I can't think of any other way for you to leave here."
Chanup raised his cigarette and took another puff.
"You actually don't have to worry about offending me or anything."
"It's understandable that you want to survive. I don't have the position to accuse you of anything."
"However, Shendu. As your old friend, I feel I still have an obligation to remind you - your method is not very safe."
"After all, you are old. I don't believe that when you are old, your skills will still be as strong as when you were young."
"If you were the young person who could sneak into other people's villages without anyone noticing, take off other people's heads, and then leave the village without anyone noticing, I still believe that you have the ability to take advantage of the city's destruction.
Chaos, the ability to escape here safely.”
"As for you now..."
"...I know." Tang Shen nodded, "I know that this kind of thing is quite difficult for me now that I am old."
"But apart from this method, I have no other way to leave here. I can only give it a try."
After hearing what Tang Shen said, Chanup put down his cigarette and cast a complicated look at Tang Shen in front of him.
"...Shendu. No matter what...you are not willing to help me? With your help, we will have the power of a thousand people..."
Tang Shen raised his eyes and looked at Chanup.
He didn't speak, only nodded slightly with a gloomy expression.
"...Haha." Chanup suddenly let out a few chuckles, "I just realized now that this situation is similar to the scene when we first met when we were young."
"I beg you hard, hoping that you can help my father avenge me. No matter what I say, you are unwilling."
"It wasn't until I was willing to 'teach you the hunting techniques that my family has passed down from generation to generation' that you finally agreed to be my 'killer'."
"But that time was completely different from this moment." Tang Shen suddenly said, "At this moment, no matter what kind of reward you say, I will not help you."
After saying that, the dark color on Tang Shen's face became darker.
"...Chanup. Let me make it clear today."
He said slowly.
"Although it is extremely dangerous to 'leave here while the chaos after the city is broken'."
"But no matter how dangerous it is, there is no danger of 'helping you defend the city'."
"'Leaving here while the chaos after the city is broken' is a narrow escape. But 'assisting you in defending the city' is a narrow escape."
"I can't think of any chance of helping you."
"And now...I don't want to die..."
The more Tang Shen talked, the lower his head dropped.
"Chanup, what I'm about to say may make you laugh."
"But you can laugh if you want."
"There is no complicated reason why I don't want to help you, it's just because - I'm afraid of death."
"I'm...very afraid of death now. Quite afraid of death."
"When I was a 'Shendu Bu Jing Zhai', I had to wield a sword in order to get ahead, and I had to wield a sword to gain fame. I faced death every day, and lived a life where it would not be a surprise to die any time."
"But - since I learned the hunting skills passed down from generation to generation in your family from you, and made a living by selling pets, I have finally lived a peaceful life that I have been away from for a long time..."
"Although I am not rich or wealthy, for me who is tired of a life where I may lose my head every day, this peaceful life is like a treasure."
"I have become accustomed to and fell in love with this peaceful life. I want to live, and I want to continue to live such a life."
"Chanupu, just understand me as 'a bear who is used to a comfortable life and whose teeth and claws have been blunted'."
"I am no longer the 'Shendu Bu Jing Zhai' who can face strong enemies and death. I have also long since lost the ambition to achieve fame even if I die."
"Now there is only the 'Old Man Tang Shen' who has become philistine and fearful of death because he is used to living a peaceful life. I just want to live now... I don't want to do anything that may cause me to die."
"When I think about facing those ferocious Japanese soldiers and thinking that I will die in an unknown way, I am so scared...I am so afraid that my hands are shaking."
Tang Shen raised his hands and showed his slightly trembling hands to Chanup in front of him.
"So... Chanup, please understand me, an old man whose ambition and spirit have long been blunted..."
Chanupu had been listening quietly to Tang Shen's self-narration. Because he was so focused on listening to the lecture, he didn't even take a sip of his cigarette, and didn't even notice that the cigarette had been extinguished.
It wasn't until Tang Shen's words completely fell and his consciousness returned to the real space that Chanup realized belatedly that his cigarette had gone out.
"...Shendu. There is something I don't understand." Chanup showed a meaningful smile while adding new tobacco to the pipe in his hand.
"You said that you don't want to do anything that might get you killed... Then after you learned that the shogunate was going to use troops against me, Heye Zhe, why did you go to all the trouble to come and inform me?"
"And he still stayed here, trying to persuade me every day to leave here and escape for my life, causing me to miss the best opportunity to leave here."
After hearing Chanup's question, Tang Shen's expression was stunned, his lips tightened, and a look of confusion and confusion appeared on his face.
Chanup ignored Tang Shen, whose expression and expression changed drastically. After refilling the pipe with tobacco and lighting the fire, Chanup took a long puff of the cigarette and said slowly:
"Shendu. I understand what you just said."
"How should I put it... I can understand your fear of death."
Having said this, Chanup put down the pipe in his hand and took on a sigh of relief.
"Because I am used to living a peaceful life, my fighting spirit has been flattened and I have become afraid of death... Shendu, why am I the same?"
"Shendu, let me tell you something... something I have never told anyone else before - before the army came to the city, I actually seriously considered surrendering."
Tang Shen suddenly raised his head and cast a shocked look at Chanup.
"Just like you are used to living a peaceful life - after this Heyezhe was built, I have lived a peaceful and prosperous life for 10 years."
"You don't have to worry about food and clothing. You have status and fame. You have a son and a daughter, and my daughter is a very upbeat daughter. These 10 years of peaceful and prosperous life have not only made my belly swell."
Chanup touched his slightly sizable belly.
"At the same time, it also smoothed my mind."
"After I learned that the Japanese army was coming, I was actually quite scared... and seriously considered surrendering to save my life."
"But fortunately - at the most critical moment, I returned to my younger self."
Chanup raised his hand and patted the ground in front of him.
"This Heyezhe is not just a new home that we have built with great pains."
"At the same time...it's also my dream."
"Dream...?" Tang Shen's eyes widened as if he recalled something.
"This is also something that can be discussed for a long time if explained in detail."
Chanup smiled, then continued with memories on his face:
"Tang Shen, regarding our great southward migration 10 years ago, you have heard more or less about how difficult it was, right?"
"During that migration south, I also experienced despair several times."
"In the midst of despair again and again, a 'ridiculous' idea appeared in my mind several times: It would be great if there was a 'shelter'."
"If there was a 'shelter' that could save us, so many people wouldn't have to die..."
"Although I had been looking forward to the emergence of a 'sanctuary', until the end, this 'sanctuary' did not appear."
"However, after finding this Lucian fortress and building a new home here, a new 'absurd' idea appeared in my mind - since there is no such 'shelter',
Then I will build a 'shelter' myself."
"And this 'ridiculous' idea gradually turned into... my dream."
Chanup turned his head and smiled at Tang Shen.
"I dream of building a 'shelter' that can help my compatriots in critical moments."
"I have been working hard on this for the past 10 years."
"Working hard to build a 'sanctuary' and trying to do our best to help our compatriots."
"After 10 years of hard work, my dream finally came to fruition. The village of Kapasi was exiled due to the defeat, and the village of Qina was targeted by the Lucians... These villages all died with my help.
Got a new lease of life.”
"However... just when my dream was a little bit successful, He Jun came..."
"So - whether it's for our home or for my little dream, I don't want to compromise in front of Kazuto."
"Even if it costs you death."
"People are just weird."
Chanup shrugged.
"Whether it's a man or a woman, they will always risk their lives for something that others can't understand... huh? Shendu, what's wrong with you? Are you in a daze?"
Only then did Chanup realize that Tang Shen looked strange.
Tang Shen looked at Chanup blankly, as if he was in a daze.
His lips moved, and he whispered in a tone that even Tang Shen himself might not be able to hear.
“To risk one’s life for something that no one else can understand…”
Tang Shen didn't notice that his eyes were filled with memories.
He didn't even notice that his hands were not shaking much anymore.
…
…
At this moment, outside the city, the Third Army (Aizu Army), the main formation——
Pu Sheng raised his head, and while predicting the time based on the current sky color, he said slowly:
"It's almost time."
"The armies can launch attacks at any time now." A close aide beside Pu Sheng added in a timely manner.
Pu Sheng nodded: "Then don't waste time. Send an order to the whole army - prepare to attack the city again!"
"At the same time, inform the entire army that I will charge personally this afternoon!"
…
…
woo woo woo woo--!
The sound of the conch, like sharp arrows, pierced the ears of Chanup and Tang Shen.
"Are you here..." Chanup looked calmly, looking to the south where the sound of conch shells came from, "It's much earlier than our expected attack time..."
After saying that, Chanupu turned his attention back to Tang Shen in front of him.
"The Japanese army is attacking again. I have to go back to the city wall."
"Today at noon, we had a long talk after a long absence."
"When there is time and opportunity later, the two of us can talk slowly."
Chanup's tone was so relaxed that it was hard to imagine that he was going to a bloody battlefield next.
After saying that, Chanupu stopped talking to Tang Shen, didn't stay any longer, and left quickly from Tang Shen.
Tang Shen did not get up to see him off, nor did he watch Chanup leave.
He just continued to sit cross-legged and stared blankly at the air in front of him.
He looked like he was in a daze.
But it's a bit like thinking.
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I originally wanted to write a big chapter of 8000+ words today, but when I reached 6000 words, my wrist felt weird again, so I stopped in time...
The author has nothing to ask for, he just wants some monthly votes for comfort (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)