I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1062 Mr. Ogata, Please Be an Undercover Agent [5200]

"Excuse me, can I have a smoke?"

The village chief took out a cigarette box like a magician.

Qing Deng raised his hand and made a "please" gesture.

"Well, please."

After getting Qingdeng's consent, the village chief deftly took out the pipe from the cigarette box, stuffed it with tobacco, lit it, and took a few deep puffs, with wisps of smoke swirling up.

The village chief seemed to be trying to calm down with tobacco.

After taking a few long puffs, the irritability and annoyance on his face slowly dissipated and he gradually calmed down.

After a moment, he suddenly asked:
"...Mr. Tachibana, are you here to retake Goryokaku?"

Qing Deng didn't hesitate or lie, he nodded directly.

The village chief took another puff of his cigarette:

"In that case, Mr. Ju, I have an unwelcome request."

"Please say."

"Mr. Tachibana, please recapture Goryokaku as soon as possible and defeat Silica as soon as possible."

Qing Deng raised his eyebrows, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Village Chief, do you hate Xilika very much?"

The village chief shook his head.

"No, I don't hate him."

"Although I don't like him very much, I have to admit that he is indeed a very powerful man."

"He actually formed the 'Ainu Coalition' and successfully captured Goryokaku."

"Although I am not familiar with the affairs of the people, I know that Goryokaku is the most advanced and strongest fortress newly built by you people."

When Qing Deng heard this, he couldn't help but slightly curl up the corners of his mouth, revealing an imperceptible arc of helplessness, and secretly laughed in his heart.

It is true that Goryokaku is the most advanced and solid fortress they and others have recently built.

However, the fall of Goryokaku was mainly due to the incompetence of the defenders rather than the weakness of the fortress.

If his Shinsengumi were to guard Goryokaku, even if the attacking Ainu defenders were ten times more numerous, they would still end up returning in defeat.

Qing Deng kept his complaints to himself and continued to listen without interrupting the village chief.

"I can be prejudiced against Xilika, but I can't deny his talent."

"However, the so-called 'Yamato conquest' is ultimately just an unrealistic delusion."

"There's no way he's going to make it."

"Since you're here, that means Kazuto's expeditionary force has arrived, right?"

"Even if he survives your attack this time, what about the next time? And the time after that?"

"I started a war without authorization that was impossible to win and meaningless except for the loss of lives... This is what I cannot forgive Xilika for the most."

The village chief began to smoke faster, and puffs of thick smoke gushed out one after another.

"Young people are ignorant and think that war is a fun game, but they don't know how terrifying the battlefield they are about to go to is."

"I don't want young people to die meaninglessly."

"So... Mr. Tachibana, I'm counting on you."

Having said that, the village chief put down his pipe and knocked the tip of the pipe hard on the cigarette box to shake off the burnt ashes, making muffled "dong" and "dong" sounds.

"Defeat Xilika's army, wake up the young people, and put an end to this ridiculous farce."

……

……

Qing Deng and Ogata walked out of the village chief's house together.

The sun had already sunk below the horizon, and countless stars were spread out across the sky like a picture scroll.

Qing Deng looked up at the starry sky and murmured:
"Defeat Xilika as soon as possible..."

He would have done so even if the village chief had not made the request.

He wanted to defeat Xilika as soon as possible more than anyone else so that he could return to Gyeonggi Province as soon as possible.

Although he had elite generals such as Hijikata Toshizo and Yamanami Keisuke stationed in the capital, as the general-in-chief of the Shinsengumi and the actual ruler of the "Southern Shogunate", if he left the center of power for a long time, there was no guarantee that no emergencies would occur.

Especially after learning the important information from the village chief that "the strength of the Ainu coalition forces is increasing", his goal of "recapturing Goryokaku as soon as possible" became more urgent.

With his military achievements in conquering Goryokaku, Silika invited all tribes to join his "Ainu Coalition".

I believe that many young and strong people have arrived in Goryokaku and joined his army.

The longer the time drags on, the stronger the enemy's forces will become... This will undoubtedly have an adverse impact on the recovery of Goryokaku.

We must achieve a quick resolution!

Suddenly, Qing Deng seemed to have thought of something, his eyes fixed, and then he raised his gaze and looked at Ogata, who was half a step faster than him and walking right in front of him...but his eyes seemed to be thoughtful and meaningful.

At this moment, a sudden shout interrupted Qing Deng's thoughts:

"Akonlu! Akonlu!"

Qing Deng and Ogata both stopped and looked in the direction of the sound - a burly man was rushing towards them with big strides.

Ogata was startled, then showed an excited expression:

"Ayikon? Long time no see, how are you?"

The strong man whom Ogata called "Aikoon" ran up to Ogata and laughed heartily:

"Everything remains the same except that the belly is bigger!"

After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Ogata turned his head and introduced Qing Deng:
"Tachibana-kun, his name is 'Aikon', which means 'arrow and strength'. He is my best friend in Murokonkara, and also Menashi's father."

Qing Deng raised his eyes and looked carefully at the burly man in front of him.

Arrow and Strength... Should we say that the Ainu people are very good at naming, or is it just a coincidence? The opponent's majestic appearance is indeed suitable for this name.

Although his belly was slightly bulging and his arms exposed outside his sleeves were full of fat, Qing Deng could tell at a glance that he had the typical "fat wrapped in muscle" body, with extremely solid muscles underneath the fat!
He is as tall as Qing Deng (1 meters), with a sturdy body of fat and muscles, and his shoulder-length messy hair makes him look like a bear.

Aikong turned his head to look at Qing Deng and said in stiff Japanese:

"Nice to meet you. My name is Yayikon."

Qingdeng raised his eyebrows:

"My name is Tachibana Aoto, can you speak Japanese?"

"Hahaha! Akonglu taught me before. Akonglu, have you had dinner?"

"Not yet. We are going to have a quick meal at the village chief's house later."

"Since you haven't had dinner yet, why don't you come to my house? I hunted a lot of squirrels today! I'll make sure you guys have a great meal!"

……

……

That night--

Yaikon's House——

At the cordial invitation of Aikon, Qingdeng and Ogata came to his home to receive the warm hospitality of his family.

Qing Deng didn't understand the tribal culture of the Ainu people, but based on his observation, the Yaiko family should belong to the upper class of Murokonkara.

Since they are a fishing and hunting nation, they must believe in the concept of "the strong are respected".

Whoever is more powerful and can hunt more prey will have more say and a higher status.

Just by looking at Yaiko's physique, one can feel the aura of a strong man from him.

His house was large and had a rich variety of furniture. Even if he was not upper class in Sri Lanka, he was definitely wealthy.

At this moment, Yaiko, Menashi, and Menashi's mother - a beautiful wife with remaining charm - were busy around the firewood, preparing dinner in an orderly manner.

"Alas, those bastards of Tunanon are such cowards! They actually launched a sneak attack when the warriors of our village were out hunting down Unkamuyi!"

"If I could come back earlier, I could teach them a lesson!"

"Akonlu, Mr. Tachibana, thank you so much! Thanks to you, our village was spared from disaster!"

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore."

"Although I didn't catch any Unkamuyi today, I caught a lot of squirrels."

"You're welcome. Eat as much as you want tonight! Plenty of squirrel meat!"

As he spoke, Yaikoon picked up the dead squirrel beside his legs and unscrewed its head as easily as unscrewing a bottle cap.

By this time, there were more than a dozen headless squirrel corpses piled up around his legs.

Qing Deng looked at the dead squirrels scattered all over the ground and couldn't help asking:

"There are so many squirrels... Can we eat them all?"

Yayikon laughed loudly:
"Eat it all! Akonlu and I both have big appetites! Considering that you are a Japanese, you may not be used to many of our Ainu dishes, so we are going to make all this squirrel meat into 'Chita Tapu'!"

"What is 'Chitatap'?"

Ogata smiled and explained:
"'Chitatap' literally means 'what we cut up' and it is a traditional Ainu dish where the meat is minced by pounding it with a knife."

"Oh, it's just meat filling."

"You can say that. However, the Ainu people often eat Kitatapu raw."

"……What?"

Qing Deng's eyes widened, as if he heard a terrifying devil's voice.

Ogata added calmly:

“Since it is eaten raw, only fresh prey can be made into Chitatap.”

"...Mr. Ogata, can you tell them that I can't eat raw meat?"

Aikon understood Japanese, so he responded first: "Mr. Tachibana, don't worry! We know that people are not used to eating raw meat, so we will roll all the squirrel meat into meatballs and pour it into the soup to boil!"

After hearing this, Qing Deng breathed a sigh of relief.

"Meatball soup? That's okay."

However, the second half of Yaikoon's words made his heart, which had just been relieved, hang in the balance again.

"However, I strongly recommend that you try the squirrel brain! Squirrel brain can be eaten raw, and it is very delicious!"

Without waiting for Qingdeng to respond, Yaikoon picked up a squirrel head beside his leg, took out a knife, and pried open the skull like opening a bottle cap, revealing the white brain.

"Come! Have a taste!"

He stuffed the split squirrel head in front of Qing Deng.

At the same time, Menashi silently handed over a small spoon from the side.

Qing Deng raised his hands stiffly and took the squirrel head and the spoon.

He had no intention of looking down on Ainu cuisine.

But... eating a squirrel's brain raw was the first time for him.

Looking at the white squirrel brain in his hand, he felt his lips, tongue, teeth and stomach were all protesting strongly.

But considering that the other party was very enthusiastic, he really couldn't afford to offend him.

So, he silently opened the system list, confirmed that he did have the talent "Taotie +2", and with the mentality of "the wind is whistling and the Yishui River is cold", he resolutely grasped the spoon, dug out the squirrel's brain, and put it into his mouth heroically.

[Note: Taotie +2: Not prone to gastrointestinal diseases]

At first, because he couldn't get over the psychological barrier, his tongue seemed to be tied up and he couldn't stretch it out to taste the squirrel brain.

It was not until he chewed it carefully and the flavor spread in his mouth that his facial expression gradually brightened.

I have to say, after completely breaking through the psychological barrier, the squirrel's brain is really delicious, with a special taste, just like eating a piece of salty tofu.

Yayikong had been observing Qingdeng's expression.

Seeing his expression full of surprise at how delicious it was, he laughed happily “Hahahaha”.

"Mr. Ju, how is it? I didn't lie to you, did I? Squirrel brains are very nutritious. You can eat them as a snack later!"

After saying that, Yayikong retracted his gaze and continued to focus on the squirrel feast in front of him.

The three members of their family had a clear division of labor: Yaiko was responsible for removing the squirrel's head, Menashi was responsible for cleaning out the internal organs, and Menashi's mother was responsible for skinning the squirrel.

After processing all the ingredients clean, Yaikoon placed them one by one on the chopping board. Holding a kitchen knife in each hand, he took turns swinging the knife like beating a drum, and with the sound of "dong dong dong", he cut each ingredient into minced meat.

This is a strenuous job.

However, Yaikoon relied on his extraordinary physical strength and muscle power to turn more than a dozen ingredients into top-quality meat fillings by himself.

The next step is very simple. Just roll the minced meat into meatballs and pour them into boiling water.

While cooking meatball soup, Aikon enthusiastically introduced the Ainu culinary culture to Qingdeng.

"Mr. Tachibana, when cooking meat-related dishes, you can try adding dried safflower. Of all the wild vegetables, safflower goes best with meat and can make the taste twice as delicious."

As he spoke, he grabbed a handful of two-wheeled grass from a clay jar and sprinkled it into the pot like salt.

As a guest, Qing Deng enjoyed the privilege of "no need to help, just wait for the meal to be served".

Because there are three members of the family working together, the cooking speed is extremely fast.

In just half an hour, an enticing aroma wafted out.

When Yaikoon lifted the lid of the pot, the thick hot mist accompanied by a rich aroma spread out and filled the air, making one's mouth water just by smelling it.

The pot was filled with meatballs, dotted with yellow-green weeds. It looked simple and delicious just by looking at it.

"Come! Please enjoy your meal!"

Yaikoon spread his hands and made a "please" gesture, indicating Qingdeng and Ogata to start eating first.

Ogata was his old friend, so he didn't bother to be polite. He grabbed the bowl and chopsticks and started to scoop the meatballs into the pot.

Qing Deng also gratefully accepted the other party's kindness and filled his bowl with meatballs in the blink of an eye.

Just smelling the aroma, it tastes delicious.

After tasting it, Qing Deng discovered that it was much more delicious than he had expected!
With a light bite of the teeth, rich juice will splash out.

The meat was rich in aroma and had a long aftertaste. Qing Deng's eyes sparkled with surprise.

"Mr. Ju, is it delicious?" asked Yaiko.

Qing Deng nodded: "Yeah, very delicious."

Qing Deng didn't say anything polite and admired sincerely.

Because it is an extremely fresh ingredient, the meat is of excellent quality and tastes great.

There is no seasoning, but there is no fishy smell.

Qing Deng is not a professional gourmet, so he cannot use professional and precise words to evaluate it.

All he could say was that it was delicious, very delicious!
As expected of a fishing and hunting people, they do have some unique experience in meat cooking. Qing Deng thought to himself as he wolfed down the food.

Qing Deng could see that Aikon had a special pride in Ainu cuisine.

Seeing Qing Deng eating with relish, he was so delighted that the corners of his mouth almost reached his ears.

"Don't worry! There are still a lot of meatballs! Eat as much as you want!"

……

……

Yaiko is a man with a forthright personality.

He told jokes and shared interesting stories from time to time to liven up the atmosphere.

Thanks to him, the atmosphere in the house was particularly lively and both the guests and the hosts were having a great time.

Just as the dinner was about to come to an end, Qing Deng suddenly asked:
"Mr. Yaiko, do you know about the Ainu Alliance of Xilika?"

Yayikong was startled, then chuckled and replied in a joking tone:

"This is the hottest news in recent days. It's hard not to know about it, right?"

Qingdeng asked:
"Mr. Yaikong, are you familiar with Xilika?"

Yaiko answered without hesitation:

"To be honest, I'm not familiar with it."

"He and I didn't get along. We only met a few times."

"He said he really wanted a warrior like me to fight alongside him."

"But I am not interested in 'conquering the Yamato' or 'taking back our ancestral territory'."

"I know my ability very well, which is that I have no ability."

"I'm just a hunter. I have no skills other than hunting. I just want to be an ordinary hunter."

"Whether I die peacefully in my bed, or fail in a hunt and get eaten by a bear, wolf or some other animal and become feces scattered in the mountains, I am happy to accept both ways of death."

"Honestly, I prefer the latter."

“I have caught and eaten a lot of prey in my life. I have constantly taken from the mountain, but I have never given anything in return.”

"It would be a blessing to be able to become one with the mountains! Hahahaha!"

After laughing, Yaiko raised the broth in his hand and drank it all in one gulp.

……

……

After eating and drinking, Qingdeng left Yaikoon's house on the pretext of "going to the toilet".

He did want to go to the bathroom, but after finishing his job he did not go back immediately. Instead, he stayed outside, gazing up at the starry sky thoughtfully.

Suddenly, Ogata's voice sounded behind him:
"Jujun, what are you thinking about?"

"Mr. Ogata? Why are you here?"

Qing Deng turned his head to look at Ogata behind him.

Ogata held the sword at his waist and slowly walked towards Qingdeng.

"When I left the village chief's house, I noticed that you looked very worried, as if you were thinking about the ultimate mystery of the universe."

Qingdeng laughed dumbly:

"Nothing, I just suddenly thought of a brilliant plan that could take Goryokaku in one fell swoop."

Ogata raised his eyebrows:

"Oh? Can you tell me about it?"

"Of course you can listen. Because this brilliant plan cannot be implemented without your assistance."

"Wow, then I'm more interested in listening to you."

As Ogata spoke, he tilted his head and pointed his left ear towards Qing Deng, pretending to listen attentively.

Qing Deng stared at Ogata and asked word by word:

"Mr. Ogata, can you go undercover in Goryokaku?"

For a moment, Ogata was stunned, and then blinked several times.

"Undercover? Me?"

"That's right. Silika has invited all tribes. Any Ainu who is interested in the 'Yamato Conquest' can join his team."

After hearing this, Ogata finally understood Qing Deng's intention.

"I see... I understand. You want me to disguise myself as an Ainu and sneak into Goryokaku."

Qingdeng nodded lightly.

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