novelraw Chapter 724 [Chapter 4] 147
Chapter 724 [Chapter 4] 147
...Actually, this is knowingly asking.
Of course Liu Quan knew that at this time, Hijikata had probably led the rest of the Shinsengumi away from Aizu and headed north to Sendai.
Only Saitou stayed.
Although the one who stayed here was not the one who left her with tears in Aizu City and promised to buy her endless sakura pancakes when they met again, but the unforgettable farewell at that time is still engraved in her heart. depths of memory.
Now, where is that person?What about the one who stays behind to do his best for Aizu, hold high the last signpost of the samurai, and fight to the end for his beliefs?
Liu Quan was not worried that the person in front of him would call Saitoichi here to confront her face to face.
Because Aizu at this moment is too weak to refuse any possible helper.Even if she has ulterior motives, even if she lied about her origin... Even if Saito here recognizes that she is not the real "Shinsengumi Ichiban Team Member Kiyohara", as long as she is willing to stay here as the last fight, she can stay.
After breaking up with Xiaoyi in tears, after such a long time, can she finally stay, stay in the dilapidated city of Aizu, do her best at the time, and fight side by side with him?
The dark clouds slowly dissipated as the time-traveling army was annihilated, but the sun did not return to the earth——Liu Quan discovered at this moment that the setting sun was hanging weakly in the western sky, and the twilight dyed half of the sky red.
Considering that it was already afternoon when they entered the city, and after a fierce battle, it is not too much now that it is sunset.
However, the answer given by the person in front of them who questioned them surprised Liu Quan!
The man stared at the armband on Liu Quan's arm, as well as her natural attitude and expression, and finally seemed to accept her statement with hesitation; but when he faced her question, he just shook his head, his expression almost blank mechanically. replied:
"Mr. Hijikata has led the rest of the Shinsengumi's subordinates to follow the training team north to Sendai."
Liu Quan's expression moved slightly, showing a surprised expression at the right time.
"How could...?! The shogun, how could you give up Aizu...?!"
Hearing such a surprised reaction, the man's rigid expression finally produced a wave.
"...Because," he wriggled his lips, as if trying to force a stiff smile on his face that had been unresponsive for a long time, but failed.
"...Those great people are already desperate..."
Liu Quan's face froze slightly.
The man who looked like a military officer finally squeezed out a wry smile, but because he had been tortured by the cruel war for too long, even that wry smile looked very rigid—to be honest, his black-stained Ashes and gunpowder-smoke-smeared face seemed to have lost any real emotional fluctuations, and any expression seemed to be a forced polite response rather than a real emotional projection—he swallowed, and spoke more embarrassingly. "Because they think that Aizu will fall sooner or later."
For a moment Liu Quan didn't know what to say.
Although she knew that this was the truth of history, and she should not change this historical fact, but faced with such deep despair and sadness, she felt that she had to say something; but what should she say?Language is useless at such moments.
"...Yes." She finally squeezed out a little sound from her throat.
He didn't deny what the young officer said.
The officer's eyes moved slightly, but he didn't even show anger. He just stared at her stiffly, as if waiting for her to say something more rude.
"Master General has given up on many people along the way..."
Liu Quan took a deep breath, feeling that his voice was a little hoarse.
"Not only the Aizu clan, but also the Shinsengumi," she said.
In the past years, she had thought this way so many times that she was even extremely calm when she said it now.
"The Shinsengumi was assigned to fight in Kofu at that time, but in fact it was to die. Whether Director Kondo or Deputy Director Hijikata, everyone knows this."
The officer finally pulled the corners of his lips slightly, showing a bit of genuine surprise.
...Perhaps it was her lines at this moment that accidentally proved her claim that she was a member of the newly selected team.
Liu Quan watched him calmly.
"But we have come so far. We have worked hard for every battle... Now, what we are fighting for is probably no longer the word 'Master General'..."
After she said outrageous words, there was a slight smile on her face.
"...it's belief," she said.
"For Aizu's 300 years of loyalty, there must be someone who is willing to stay and do his best to fight side by side with Aizu...until the last moment."
"People like that... are just like you, true warriors."
Her voice fell, and the cold and numb expression on the officer's face was like a mask, and cracks slowly formed; then, the cracks became wider and wider, and finally, one could see that the layer was covered with long and hard work. The real expression under the mask shaped by the battle was shaken, and the officer sighed silently.
"...If you still want to join the Shinsengumi team, then go out of the city." He said simply and directly.
"Although the large troops have already left with the training team, your team leader Saito stayed with a dozen people and said that he would guard Aizu with us."
He paused.
"...Indeed, just as you said. Yamaguchi-kun... no, Saito-kun, a real samurai."
There seemed to be a touch of unbearable look in his eyes, but that weak expression disappeared in just a moment.He looked directly at Liu Quan's face, his voice seemed to erase all personal emotions, and he said very bluntly: "Now, they have left the city to go to Tathagata Hall."
Liu Quan was taken aback for a moment.
"Tathagata Hall?!"
This place name is a bit familiar.However, before she thought about why she had such an impression, the officer said: "...you understand, right? You still have time to go to them now."
... Tathagata Hall raid! !
It was during the Battle of Aizu, when the new government army took advantage of the night to attack the members of the Shinsengumi who were guarding the Tathagata Hall. Under such a dangerous situation, almost no one survived the tragic battle!
This historical term finally jumped out from the depths of Liu Quan's mind, turning into an alarm bell, buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, blasting in her brain.
She suddenly understood the original meaning of the officer's last words.
If you go to them now, you'll still have time to see them alive... If you go too late, you'll have to bury their remains—isn't that right? !
Liu Quan's face suddenly sank!
"...I'll go right away." She said briefly, without even saying goodbye to the other party, she turned and left.
The officer stared at the back of the young man who claimed to be "Shinsengumi Ichiban Team Member Kiyohara".
He was wearing a neat and well-fitting men's suit, and the lower half of his slender legs were wrapped in a pair of knee-length black leather boots. He was of medium height for a man, and he had a baby face that was a bit too delicate, but his aura But it is inexplicably powerful—that kind of aura seems to be produced by his experience and his deep belief in his swordsmanship; in such a dead end, his awe-inspiring self-confidence is like a kind of support for him and The strong will of those around him to keep going.
This kind of dazzling belief is like sparks dancing in the dark; he has also seen it in others before - in the leader of the third group of Shinsengumi who has led the last remaining subordinates out of the city to Tathagata Hall. I have seen it on Fujiichi.
At this moment, those youths and teenagers who had just repelled the strange monsters, all of them holding knives instead of rifles, silently gathered from everywhere they stood, and followed the newly elected Behind the group of young soldiers, walked towards the city gate.In the direction they were heading, the deep twilight had already hung down from the sky, as if it was about to descend on the earth and envelope the world.
As if realizing that this was probably the last figure he could see of them, the officer slightly closed his eyes, and then opened them again. He had been solidified by countless times of life and death into an expressionless face like cast iron. Looking up, he showed a wry smile again, and murmured: "Ah... is this the 'Wolf of Mibu' from back then...?"
No one answered him.The fan soldier who had escaped from death just now stood aside in a daze, looking around the dilapidated street with a dreamy expression on his face - but the monsters that almost took his life are now completely invisible; there are not even corpses Leave.
Looking at his bewildered subordinates, the officer slowly put away the wry smile on his face.
"... Back then, the 'Mibu wolf' that roamed the streets of Kyoto probably looked like this." He said to himself.
As for his evaluation, Liu Quan certainly didn't know.
She was leading the six fusangshen who followed her to run in the field outside Aizu City.
As soon as she heard the place name "Tathagata Hall", she immediately realized that the key to this mission must be here.After all, in history, on September [-]th of the fourth year of Qingying, the most famous and important event that happened in Aizu should be the surprise attack on Tathagata Hall.
Although she only had a vague impression of the term "raid attack on Tathagata Hall", for example, the new government army sneaked into Tathagata Hall at night. Many people were injured or killed in battle, but miraculously, a few people were able to escape from the encirclement and survived. Among them was Saito Kazu who was seriously injured, but still escaped from the encirclement of the enemy, and finally survived.
Right now, the time retrograde army has roughly two options.One is to assist the Shinsengumi to turn defeat into victory and annihilate the incoming new government forces—this idea is too difficult, and there is probably no possibility of implementation; the second is to kill the surviving members of the Shinsengumi against historical facts, such as——Aizu The actual leader of the Shinsengumi, Saito Kazu!
Yes.Saito is the key figure.Liu Quan thought.
It is meaningless to attack the other ordinary cadres who survived by chance or the ordinary cadres who stayed in Aizu in the Shinsengumi.Only Saitoichi, the leader of the Shinsengumi [-]rd Division, Saitoichi who replaced Hijikata in Aizu and led the Shinsengumi, is the target of the time retrograde army, no doubt!
Although he knew that Saito here was not the Xiaoyi who bid farewell to him outside Aizu City, and said that he would buy her endless sakura pancakes when they reunited next time; Didn't lose a cent.
Whether it's due to emotion or reason, whether it's for the sake of the task, or for the sake of favor...it's impossible to sit idly by, right? !
A stern look appeared on Liu Quan's face, and he turned his head and shouted to the Fusangshen: "We will rush to Tathagata Hall immediately! We must ensure that the important members of the Shinsengumi who should have survived the 'Raid on Tathagata Hall' tonight The safety of their lives! The time-traveling army is most likely to attack them. After all, the current Aizu City still has the strength to fight, and it is not a place that can be captured in advance—"
Before she could finish her sentence, she heard a sneer from ahead.
There are farmlands and wild fields on both sides. At this moment, they are stepping on a field path that is not much wider than the ridge.
And at the end of the road, stood a slender figure.Behind that figure, there were also six Fusangshen gathered there.
Liu Quan slowed down until he stopped completely a few steps away from the figure.
For a moment she felt that she should be a little surprised.Yet it felt like he wasn't surprised.
She stopped, her chest heaved up and down due to the sprint just now, and she was panting slightly, only a pair of eyes were extraordinarily bright because of anxiety and anger, looking directly at the figure blocking her way.
"What are you trying to do, Miss Kanna?!" She raised her voice and asked awe-inspiringly.
On the other side of her, Kanna Rinne's face slowly burst into a bright and hypocritical smile.
"What do I want to do?" She slowly repeated Liu Quan's question, and then her smile became brighter.
"...I want you to die." Her voice suddenly became cold, which didn't match the smile on her face at all.
"I want you to be like my mother-in-law Xiangzi—"
She suddenly raised the sword in her hand.The edge of the blade flashed coldly, and the tip of the blade pointed directly at Sanri Yue Zongjin who was standing behind Liu Quan.
"...in his arms, just swallowed his last breath, and died pitifully!"
The author has something to say:
February 12:
Well, so the last few chapters have been Xiaoyi's home field [Big Fog!
hhh In fact, there may be a subtle and strange sugar (?).
Reminder, there are red envelopes for 100-character messages before the New Year
Today, the author is also a person who does not have sada sauce [.
The war-expanded e4 is simply inhuman [mud]
PS. The Aizu officer in this chapter calls Xiaoyi "Yamaguchi-kun", actually because Xiaoyi has already used the pseudonym "Yamaguchi Jiro" at this time.