Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1577 1549. Approaching
"Perhaps for a long time to come, I will have to rely on the blessing of Master Dao San. Please rest assured, I am still very confident in iron smelting and forging. From now on, please treat me as the local knife maker!"

Qian Zifeng said this in such a humorous way, and Lan En had no objection.

After all, in this situation, driving her away would seem to be no different from killing her directly.

Moreover, those who dare to travel and study in these days are generally leaders in their field, or simply some kind of ruthless people.

But after Lan En confirmed it in a tacit manner, Qian Zifeng did not leave at ease. Instead, he approached again with some caution and hesitation, and spoke in a low voice.

"Well, Lord Lan En, I am going to be a swordsmith for the daimyo in Mino. Did you see anything strange after you defeated the monster at the big forge?"

"Strange things?" Lan En asked back with his head down. "What exactly?"

"That's right." Qian Zifeng gritted his teeth and lowered his voice even more. "A magatama? A magatama that can bring higher heat! I've heard that the big forge in Mount Ta'er actually uses a magatama of the god of fire to maintain that high temperature easily and cheaply!"

"I came to Mount Taling this time to see how this thing maintains the forging furnace, but I didn't expect to encounter something like this."

Lan En didn't really listen to Qian Zifeng's other complaints, but he admired his pursuit of new and unknown technologies.

"You mean to say that with the Fire God Magatama, the things you can forge will be of better quality?"

"Absolutely! The basis of forging is ore and flame temperature!"

"Then leave it to you."

The fiery red magatama that Lan En had obtained from Yan Yanluo was taken out from the gap between the leather belt and the armor and thrown to Qian Zifeng.

Magatama is a ritual instrument in Japan, and its function can only be demonstrated in ceremonies.

He was busy enough studying his own [Five Directions and Five Elements Body Light] and spell system, and had little energy to devote to ritual knowledge.

If you meet someone who knows the business, you won’t feel sorry after handing it over to them.

He had never seen Qian Zifeng's forging skills, so he was quite curious about it.

"You're just leaving it to me like that?" Qian Zifeng looked overjoyed and surprised, but he immediately put away the Kagami Magatama, "Don't worry! I will definitely make good use of it!"

After leaving the village of Ta'er Mountain, the knife makers, like war refugees, quickly returned to the woods at the foot of Ta'er Mountain under the leadership of Lan En and came to the rear of the army attacking Ta'er Mountain.

Ten minutes after the knife makers arrived at the scene, the army, which had already penetrated the first line of defense of Ta'e Mountain with strong firepower and fierce momentum, suddenly retreated.

The orderly and agile posture even made the defenders in Ta'er Mountain more nervous.

In his opinion, this might be the enemy accumulating strength, preparing to charge with even more terrifying troop size and firepower.

Although the defenders of Ta'er Mountain could not understand how such a large-scale army could arrive at the foot of Ta'er Mountain silently and unnoticed by anyone.

But there is no other way at the moment, so let’s learn the lesson of stubborn resistance first.

Even if you are defeated afterwards, at least you will have a decent explanation.

However, the defending general cheered up, granted official titles and made promises to his foot soldiers and samurai, and gave them large amounts of copper coins and silver before the battle, which stabilized and even improved the morale of the soldiers. He also urgently transferred all the monsters that were originally distributed in various places in Mount Tataraku to the front line.

But now, blood had been shed and orders had been given, but after two hours, the enemies at the bottom of the mountain did not rush up again.

It was as if the fierce attack that lasted only half an hour was an illusion.

But on the first line of defense at the Ta'an Mountain, the stench of gunpowder, the smell of human blood, and the feather arrows that littered the ground... everything seemed absurd.

"Have they withdrawn?"

The guard heard faint discussions coming from the people below.

He subconsciously began to maintain military discipline: "Silence! No noise allowed!"

But when he turned around, he seemed to suddenly remember something and whispered something to the warrior beside him.

Soon after, one team of foot soldiers led the way to the large forge on the second floor of Mount Tatara, while the other team began to move cautiously down the mountain.

But as early as two hours ago, the attacking troops had already been transferred and evacuated under Lan En's command.
-
Two days after the attack on Mount Tadashi, in Iwamura Castle.

Although the army that set out from Sagiyama Castle was in a more backward position than Saito Yoshitatsu's monster army.

However, because of human's organizational ability and legion-level movement speed, they are still far superior to the chaotic monsters.

So under the leadership of Akechi Mitsuhide, they followed the route map obtained by Lan En in a previous reconnaissance and avoided the distribution area of ​​the scattered monsters from the side.

Then he was one step ahead and arrived at Iwamura Castle, where he met up with Saito Dosan in the castle.

But they are only one step ahead.

Standing on the wooden arrow tower that was built higher up on the city wall, Fujiyoshiro's palms began to sweat. The arrow tower built with solid wood and the city below the arrow tower, built with stones and rammed earth, seemed to have lost their ability to provide people with a sense of security.

I don’t know if it’s because of the strong evil spirit in Mino Province, but the weather has not been very good recently.

The light at dawn and dusk both appear an ominous blood-red, and the sun at its zenith is often accompanied by dark clouds.

There were no dark clouds today, but in front of Iwamura Castle, a huge "Eternal Darkness" formed by a large group of monsters gathered together was advancing towards here step by step, scattered and slowly, but in the same general direction.

The black and white curtain that dyed everything in the world into a gloomy one made people feel even heavier in their hearts.

There is a field of Miscanthus outside the city of Iwamura. This withered yellow Miscanthus emits dreamy golden and fine reflections under the sunlight at dusk.

This is considered to be a symbol of the spiritual power of the Miscanthus plant, and the dusk is called the "moment of the devil."

There are indeed no clouds today.

But when the sunlight shines on the Miscanthus, the reflected fine golden light does not bring the warmth and peace of mind of the sun, but only makes people feel gloomy and deep.

And now, Fujiyoshiro is not the only one who is in panic in Iwamura Castle.

Inside the castle tower, in the hall where Lan En was once entertained, the castle lord Ando Mamoru was drinking with his former lord Saito Dosan in a depressing atmosphere.

The drinking party was not held because the two of them were still drinking and enjoying themselves at this critical moment, but was held to welcome the reinforcements coming from Lushan City from the perspective of etiquette and boosting morale.

It’s a pity that there is no general in the city now.

Akechi Mitsuhide, Fujikichiro, and Takenaka Hanbei, who were supposed to be present at the meeting, had to first properly arrange the stationing and defense of the reinforcements in Iwamura Castle before they could attend the meeting later.

Now there are only two old guys left, which naturally looks desolate and boring.

"Master Dao San." Ando Mamoru raised his head and drank a mouthful of wine, as if complaining under the influence of alcohol, "You are really worse off. You should take advantage of the first few days to see if you can withdraw. Now you are completely blocked here."

Saito Dosan, who was sitting in the seat of honor, still looked as heroic as he did when he met Lan En more than two months ago.

A steel-needle beard, a bald head, and a strong body.

But if you look closely, you can see that there are already some white spots in his beard.

Hearing the old friend's words that seemed to be under the influence of alcohol, Saito Dosan raised his eyelids slightly under the cover of the wine glass and glanced at him.

It was just this one glance that made Ando Mamoru suddenly come to his senses. All the effects of alcohol disappeared immediately and he knelt down properly.

After a moment of awkward and tense silence in the hall, Saito Dosan swallowed his drink before speaking.

"Don't be stupid, Ando."

A sinister and sharp atmosphere like a snake enveloped Ando Morinari. In his invisible field of vision, the White Viper had already coiled around Saito Dosan.

"You thought your Iwamura Castle could be saved if I had just fled in disgrace when I still had the chance a few days ago, you old miser?"

After all, Saito Dosan had been working with Ando Mamoru for decades. This guy was blaming him for missing the opportunity to retreat, and he seemed to be worried about his safety.

In fact, they were just blaming him for bringing the war to his own city.

"Yitung, she has already risked the world's disapproval and started to control the monsters. After killing me, she will definitely subdue the entire Mino area. You can avoid one wave, but you can't avoid two waves."

Saito Dosan said with a sarcastic smile.

"Otherwise, you can just submit to her. Become a colleague of the monsters? And then lose your reputation as a samurai and your place of foothold in the entire Japanese archipelago?"

The first half of the sentence had a teasing tone, but the second half turned into a harsh scolding!
The Wu family values ​​family name more than bloodline.

Saito Dosan's rebuke of Ando Morinari is completely in line with this value. To be honest, it can even be called a "wake-up call".

Immediately, Ando Mamoru dared not speak anymore and could only bow down.

And what Saito Dosan scolded Ando Morinari for was exactly the reason why he did not break out and escape when he had the opportunity a few days ago.

If he were alone, it would be easy for him to escape.

But the troops and attendants around him were his last team after his retirement, and their final loyalty.

Now Yoshitatsu has rebelled and joined forces with the monsters. If they cannot even keep this last bit of loyalty, how much confidence and determination will the other families in Mino have to return their power to Saito Dosan, the retired head of the family?

Escaping with one's life was never difficult for Saito Dosan with his skills.

But for the sake of a life, he gave up his ideals and obsessions, and the fruits of his years of hard work. Which hero in troubled times would not be so courageous?
(End of this chapter)