"My lord, Ogata-kun." Tobiru, who was walking in front with a lantern, suddenly turned around and said to Ogata and the other two, "We are almost at the Sakakibara Sword Hall."
Ogata looked forward.
In the darkness, there was a large blurry shadow.
With just one glance, it was easy to recognize that this large blurry shadow was Ogata's second home in the Edo period - Sakakihara Kenkan.
Looking at the Sakakihara Kenkan, which was already close at hand, Ogata's mouth corners involuntarily pulled down, revealing a wry smile, and said to himself:
"I'm so late...how should I apologize to my master and brothers..."
Ogata was nearly an hour late.
Being late for so long made Ogata afraid to step into the Sakakibara Sword Hall...
The family elder laughed a few times after hearing Ogata's soliloquy.
"Ogata-kun, don't worry. If your master and your brothers want to blame you, I will intercede for you."
"There's no need to beg for mercy... huh?"
Ogata's brows furrowed.
He discovered a... strange place...
That is - why is there no light in the sword hall?
Hanbei and his brothers should be having a banquet in the sword hall now, and there should be a lot of candlelight coming from the sword hall...
However, the sword hall at this time was completely dark...
The moment Ogata frowned, Tobiru also frowned.
"This is..." Fei Yuan said solemnly, "The smell of blood...?"
"The smell of blood?" Kuronaga asked, "Himon, where does the smell of blood come from?"
Tobiru sniffed vigorously.
Then, the expression and look on Fei Yuan's face quickly became complicated...
Holding the sword on his left waist, Ogata ran towards the Sakakihara Kenkan.
Ogata had walked this section of the road countless times. Even without the illumination of a lantern, Ogata could accurately find the door of the Sakakihara Kenkan and rush in.
After passing through the gate of the sword hall, an unpleasant pungent smell rushed toward Ogata like a wave of waves.
Ogata has smelled this smell before...
It was exactly the same as the smell that wafted from Yuan Shan when he killed Yuan Shan in the God Sacrifice Competition more than a month ago.
The ominous premonition in his chest reached its peak. Ogata suppressed his inner uneasiness and rushed towards the dojo in the sword hall...
…
…
After Ogata ran away, Kuranaga and Tobiru followed belatedly, missing Ogata by about 7 steps.
After entering the sword hall and then arriving at the gate of the dojo, Kuranagi and Tobiru saw Ogata standing blankly at the gate of the dojo.
Because Ogata's back was turned to them, neither Kuronaga nor Tobiru could see Ogata's current expression.
And the concentration of the smell of blood in the air has reached its peak...
Kuranagi, who vaguely guessed what happened, walked slowly to Ogata's side and looked into the dojo.
The scene that appeared in front of Kurunaga made Kurunaga almost sick.
Inside the dojo - the original brown wooden floor can no longer see its original color.
The floor was covered with dead bodies and soaked in blood.
Kuronaga didn't dare to look at Ogata next to him...
I don’t dare to look at Ogata’s expression now…
"Flying Monkey!"
Kurunaga turned around and shouted to Tobiru behind him, who also looked shocked.
"Go and get Xuan An... no, call all the doctors you can!"
"Yes Yes!"
…
…
"Everyone……"
Looking at the corpses on the ground, Ogata felt as if his body was floating.
He vaguely heard Kuronaga and Tobiru behind him seeming to be talking about something.
But he couldn't hear anything clearly anymore.
Ogata moved his feet and stepped into the dojo that was soaked in blood.
Looking around, Ogata found the corpses of familiar people one after another.
"Hey! Is anyone still alive?! Anyone can do it, just give me a shout!"
Although Ogata tried his best to conceal it, the words coming out of his mouth were still trembling.
"Um...is it...Ogata-kun...?"
"Mikami-senpai!"
Ogata immediately recognized the voice that emerged from the pile of corpses not far away. It was Mikami's voice.
Ogata ran quickly and found Mikami among the corpses.
Due to the darkness of the venue, Ogata could not clearly see Mikami's face and the extent of his injuries.
But he could feel that Mikami was very weak at this time.
"Mikami-senpai! Hold on! Master! Please go and ask the doctors to come over!"
"I just asked Fei Yuan to leave for a doctor! He will bring the doctors here soon!"
"Ogata-kun..." Mikami whispered in a voice that was so low that it seemed like it might cut off at any moment, "Leave me alone...go and see how the others are doing..."
"Ogata-kun." Kuronaga stepped forward and squatted next to Mikami, "I will take care of him! I also have some medical skills! Go and see if there are any other survivors!
"
Seeing what Mikami and Kurunaga said, Ogata did not hesitate or show any pretense, and began to look through the corpses on the field one by one, looking for survivors.
However... no survivors were found, only acquaintances who had turned into cold corpses one after another...
…
…
"master……"
At Ogata's feet, there is a body...or two corpses...
These two corpses are none other than Ogata's master, Sakakihara Hanbei.
Even though he was cut in two by a sword, Hanbei still held the sword tightly in his right hand, with his hands on the ground, as if he wanted to stand up...
…
…
"Makino, Sawamura..."
Makino lay on the ground.
And under Makino is Sawamura, the youngest disciple of their Sakakihara Sword Hall.
A sword penetrated the chests of Makino and Sawamura, pinning them directly to the ground.
It is not difficult to tell from the positions of the two bodies that Makino intended to keep Sawamura under his body and protect him.
But how could a mortal body be able to block the sharp blade...
Even though Makino protected Sawamura tightly, the sharp blade still pierced their bodies mercilessly and nailed them to the floor.
…
…
"Lord! I'm back with the doctors!"
In less than half a stick of incense, Tobiru led a group of doctors headed by Xuan An back to Sakakibara Kenkan.
After seeing the horrific scene in the dojo, the doctors headed by Xuan An covered their mouths and noses with horror on their faces. Some doctors with less experience simply retched.
Ogata and Kurunaga were squatting in a corner of the dojo.
In front of the two of them was Mikami, who was leaning against the wall in the corner of the dojo, and his air intake was no longer as much as his air output.
Mikami is the only survivor in this dojo...
"Xuan'an!" Cang Yong shouted towards Xuan'an and others, "Please! Please save this person!"
"yes!"
After receiving Kurunaga's order, Xuan'an and others immediately carried his medicine box, crouched around Mikami, and began to treat Mikami.