Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1579 1551. Relieved
Saito Dosan has already issued a clear order, and now even Ando Morinari can't say anything more.

Not long after, Fujiyoshiro had been busy jumping up and down, and finally stood in front of the wide-open gate of Iwamura Castle.

The azure flag with the Saito family crest [Nizuhanami] standing on the city wall was stained with a fresh splash of blood.

The blood hadn't even had time to oxidize and turn brown.

Lan En, who was riding a Qilin into Yancun City for the first time, had already attracted a lot of attention when he was waiting quietly at the city gate.

Whether he likes it or not, a lot of people have gathered on the city wall.

After he officially entered the city, everyone around him fell silent.

He himself was already accustomed to this, but these more than a thousand soldiers and swordsmiths who had just been led by him for a few days seemed to have an excited expression of pride for some reason.

It seemed as if in just these few days, he and Commander Lan had established a close bond and a sense of common honor.

Those who don’t know might think that this troop has been led by Lan En for at least a year.

"Nothing happened these past two days, Toukichirou?"

Lan En turned his head and lowered it, and asked Fujikichiro who came up to him attentively and wanted to lead the horse.

The problem was that Qilin didn't want to be led at all. He stuck out his tongue at him and spit out saliva with electric sparks.

Fujiyoshiro was not angry with Qilin, and his old-looking face was wrinkled when he smiled.

"Thanks to you~ Ah! We had a safe journey! And we all saw that you really made it so that those monsters couldn't even get a single intact weapon in their hands! The threat was greatly reduced!"

"Even if the threat is greatly reduced, they are still monsters." Wuming walked up from behind and said to Fujikichiro, "If you underestimate them, you will die."

"Ah, Wuming, you are such a spoiler as always."

Toukichirou laughed and complained about the demon hunter.

There were no further setbacks. Lan En first arranged for the reintegration of these more than a thousand people into the original troops, and then arranged accommodation for the knife makers who came from Ta'er Mountain.

These two days, Qian Zifeng accidentally saw the unsheathed blade of Aarondite on Lan En's waist, and then he became fascinated by it as if he had seen a ghost or a god.

She asked around to see if Lan En could lend it to her for a look.

Lan En didn't care much and just lent it to her to take a look. But how should she put it?

The people of the Japanese archipelago have some crazy genes. Lan En has come into contact with many powerful craftsmen and has seen craftsmen from various worlds.

Qian Zifeng's love and persistence for this craft are also among the best.

It’s not that other craftsmen, such as Berengar and the giant blacksmiths of the Fire World, don’t love their craft, but most of them don’t express it so strongly.

After "tasting" the knife up close, the one-eyed female knife maker seemed to become more and more excited.

He was still clamoring about "I must go see grandpa".

No one knew how a wandering student like her could contact her grandfather, but as soon as she entered the city, she ran to find a post station that could deliver letters.

After everything was arranged smoothly, Lan En went to the castle tower of Iwamura Castle.

However, after entering the once familiar banquet room, Lan En was surprised to find that Fujiyoshiro, who was supposed to be the least valued person in the past, now clearly stood out as a "big shot" in the atmosphere on the scene.

People who are valued by everyone present will clearly have an aura in the scene.

Ah Xiu sat next to Saito Dosan somewhat uncomfortable, like an underage girl being taken care of by her father in an exaggerated way.

Now that Saito Yoshitatsu has fallen into evil, she is the only child of Saito Dosan and Fukayoshino.

Dao San, who originally felt indebted, now loves Ah Xiu even more, and can even be described as having a kind of "nervous fear of losing her."

This Minong pit viper was sitting cross-legged next to Ah Xiu, and raised its eyes when it saw Lan En come in.

He turned around and held his daughter's hand again, pulled her hand onto his lap and patted it, as if he was afraid that his daughter would run away.

"I heard that you managed to rescue all the craftsmen in Taling Mountain?"

After Lan En sat down, Saito Dosan finally found time to speak.

"It's not a trick. It's too crude and simple. It's just a feint to the east and attack in the west." Lan En had no objection to Saito Dosan's concentration on his daughter.

After he sat down very casually, he first finished a bowl of rice with two skewers of grilled chicken before he found the time to respond.

"And not all of them were rescued. Many died before we got there."

Lan En really didn't care. After all, it was just a very simple and straightforward raid.

But the people around them didn't say anything, just looked at Ah Xiu, Dao San and Lan En with a subtle smile. In the eyes of the Saito family retainers, this might be an "intimate family interaction"?
If the master's family is harmonious, the ministers will also feel at peace.

"There is no perfect strategy in the world. The fact that you were able to rescue all the remaining people shows your ability and vision. And there is no such thing as crude or complicated strategy on the battlefield. A strategy that can get things done is a first-class good strategy!"

Saito Dosan then turned around and spoke in a critical and complimentary tone that is very common among elders in the East Asian cultural circle.

"Why, do you still want me to praise you?"

"However," he said, changing his tone and becoming much softer, "I am grateful that you are still thinking about the future of Mino at this critical moment. This makes me feel a little relieved."

While praising Lan En, Saito Dosan's eyes were always on Ah Xiu. He pulled Ah Xiu's hand to his leg and patted it gently with his palm.

The scene of a hero in his twilight years always makes the atmosphere heavy and sentimental.

The scene became slightly quieter.

"The residents in the city facing the enemy should be evacuated." Lan En started the conversation again, which made everyone relax again. "When the monster approaches tomorrow, the area of ​​​​Chang'an will be quite dark."

"I have already made arrangements." Hanbei bowed slightly to Lan En and explained, "Thanks to the help of Lord Mitsuhide, the transfer of population in the city is now going smoothly."

"I don't deserve it." Takenaka Hanbei lifted up Akechi Mitsuhide, who responded modestly and politely. "I just don't know if Your Highness Lan En has any other plans?"

"Strategies? No more." Lan En said calmly, "Monsters are not like humans. They can be influenced and confused by strategies. They are not smart, but that's why they just do it silently."

"The only weapon supply that can affect them has been cut off by me. Unless the spirit stones gathered by Yilong are destroyed, it will be difficult to have an impact on the monster army."

"Although if I think of a way, I might be able to get close to that pile of spirit stones, the worst that can happen is that I have to kill my way in. But..."

Lan En frowned and thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"The power of spirit stones is not stable. Just the gathering of spirit stones can produce monsters. If we use violent means to destroy the gathered spirit stones, let alone whether it can be destroyed technically, the huge reaction that may be caused after the destruction is scary enough."

"I thought about this method a long time ago, but in the end I felt it was inappropriate."

"And now this group of monsters are at least gathered together by the spiritual stones. If the spiritual stones suddenly disappear, these monsters will scatter into the mountains and villages of Meinong."

Having said that, although Lan En's words did not have any strong tone, just imagining this scene made the faces of everyone present become serious and heavy.

But Lan En continued his words bluntly: "The damage caused by that would probably be even more unbearable for Minong, right?"

Although it would be difficult and even tragic to fight a group of monsters together, it is obviously more unacceptable from the perspective of public security costs and the cost of conquering the monsters than to let them disperse into the vast countryside.

To be pessimistic, after being scattered and wreaked havoc by these monsters for a few years, the entire Mino might even become a monster country like in the Asuka period and the Nara period!
Having to choose between two tragic processes, the one that is less tragic, is not an easy experience for anyone.

But that's the cruel reality.

There is no need to say anything more.

Now that the monster army is approaching and is marching at a leisurely pace, no one will be able to rest peacefully tonight.

By the time daybreak came, the monster army that had been chasing them all the way from Inabayama Castle had already arrived at the city gates.
-
And outside of Iwamura, amidst what should have been busy farmlands and golden silver grass, a large group of ferocious, howling figures were now in sight.

On the side of the monster army, Saito Yoshitatsu set up his main camp.

After all, the army is an organized and commanded violent organization.

Although Saito Yoshitatsu associates with monsters, he still cannot do without the help of humans.

Most of the humans under her command now admire her former style or want to implement the samurai's loyalty to the emperor.

Even so, Saito Yoshitatsu did not dare to place the main camp in the center of the legion or in the safe rear according to the common sense of human warfare.

After all, he was leading the monsters forward. If he was placed in the center, the darkness formed by the gathering of filth would be unbearable for few people.

Moreover, if they are careless and out of control for even a moment, this main formation will probably be the first to be torn apart by the monsters.

However, if it is placed at the back, there is no way to control the scattered movements of the monsters in time.

Then it can only be placed on the side.

Although the eerie and evil aura was not as strong as in the main army, it still remained quite a bit in this camp, making people feel uncomfortable.

The light illuminated the shadows of people coming and going on the layers of curtains with family crests.

Saito Yoshitatsu, who was sitting in the middle, had two decorative horn ornaments on his helmet that were raised high into the sky, which were now naked purple-gold crystals.

It is hard to tell whether the helmet is now "worn" on the owner's head or has "grown" together with the owner.

(End of this chapter)