The Ancestral Legacy Begins in the Wild West

Chapter 126 [The Ancient Mirror Cardinal] Bloodline Awakening Mechanism

Inside a side hall on the west side of Nijo Castle, chaos had reached its peak.

This place has already been bombarded three or four times. Given the strength of Japanese buildings at that time, it's fortunate that those were small field guns, otherwise this building would have collapsed a hundred or eighty times already.

However, judging from the thoughts of the people inside, they might actually hope that the place would be completely destroyed.

Inside the large research room in the side hall, documents were scattered all over the floor, tables and chairs were overturned, and copper and iron experimental equipment was rolled everywhere.

Several researchers in white coats, carrying stacks of documents, staggered back and forth as they fled.

In the corner, a dozen or so people, tortured beyond recognition, huddled in an iron cage. Some were still convulsing under the influence of drugs, while others stared blankly at the ceiling, unresponsive to the chaos around them.

"Hurry up! Everyone hurry up!"

Ogata Koan stood in the center of the hall, his gray beard trembling slightly in the firelight.

He was dressed in a dark-colored suit with large stripes, the wide sleeves rolled up to reveal his lean arms, and his body beneath the clothes was unusually muscular. He was directing several assistants to pack documents into wooden crates.

"All that data! The supplementary manuscript to 'General Theory of Pathology'! And the experimental records from the last three months—take it all!"

A young assistant rushed out of the inner room, carrying a thick stack of booklets, his voice trembling: "Sir, they're about to break in! We have to run!"

"I know." Ogata interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over the people in the iron cages, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes.

"Ignore them. Do as I say. Burn everything else that you can't take with you, except what I told you to!"

'

"But sir—"

"Get to work!"

His voice was undeniably ruthless. The assistant dared not speak again and turned to carry out the order.

Ogata Koan, also known as the father of modern medicine in Japan, was the founder of the Shikijuku and a master who trained three thousand students, including Fukuzawa Yukichi and Ōmura Masujirō.

Speaking of status, one of his disciples, Fukuzawa Yukichi, has his portrait printed on the Japanese yen banknote.

But neither Fukuzawa nor he can really be considered a good person.

As a medical researcher, Ogata held a very influential belief that medicine should serve the military. Later, a group of bastards who ravaged the northeastern part of Kyushu in the Great Celestial Empire were deeply influenced by him.

"We've just made a breakthrough with the machines, so the losses here are negligible." He said to his bespectacled assistant beside him, "Take the core data, and have Takeda and the others take the divine book! We'll retreat through the back door! We'll find another place, restart the experiment, and as long as the Yamato people aren't all dead, and we still have the bloodline passed down from ancient times, we can definitely make a comeback!"

He spoke with great enthusiasm.

"boom!"

At that moment, the wooden door of the side hall was kicked open. The door panel flew out and smashed on the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

At the same time: "Pfft!" A researcher was suddenly pierced through the mouth and down to the back of the head by a sharp blade.

The firelight from the artillery fire outside poured in through the door, illuminating a face that was usually carefree but now etched with seriousness.

Tachibana Seiran, his kimono stained with dust and blood, clutched the plain long sword in his hand, which he had just pulled from the researcher's mouth. Blood was still dripping from the tip of the blade.

Behind him, the bodies of fallen foot soldiers and burning pillars could be vaguely seen.

"Bang!" The researcher's body fell to the ground, and everyone in the hall was stunned.

Many researchers, clutching their data, stared blankly at the unexpected visitor at the door.

Ogata Koan's gaze fell on him, and his brows immediately furrowed.

"You—" He turned his head and looked at the corner of the room.

There were many people there, chained or locked in iron cages, some of whom were also connected to certain instruments, their expressions pained and ferocious.

But Ogata and his group had no intention of taking these people with them before leaving, or even of turning off the equipment before the fire completely engulfed the place.

Xiaoju's gaze swept over the iron cages, the people inside, and the documents and equipment scattered on the ground before finally settling on Ogata's face.

"Mr. Ogata." Tachibana gritted her teeth.

Ogata's expression changed. "You—you're still alive?"

Xiao Ju didn't answer, but just gripped the knife in her hand tighter.

In the distance, the sounds of artillery fire grew closer, and shouts of battle rose and fell. Xiao Ju's arrival meant that the second wave of rear troops had completely broken in. This place would soon be surrounded.

The researchers became extremely nervous as a result, and some began to throw the data into the fire indiscriminately, regardless of its content.

Some people didn't want to do anything anymore and just wanted to escape immediately, but they didn't dare to make any rash moves because of Xiao Ju standing at the door.

Ogata Koan's face was also ashen. Veins bulged on his usually calm and emotionless face as he grabbed the huge long table next to him.

"Crack!" He swung the heavy solid wood table, which was more than two meters long, with one arm and smashed it down on Xiao Ju.

Koan Ogata died in 1863, and it seems that, in addition to studying others, he also did something to himself.

"Get out of the way!"

The long table came rushing in with tremendous force.

But Xiao Ju simply lowered her body and slid under the long table like a nimble cat.

At the same time, he slashed upwards with his long sword with a "whoosh!"

A flash of light.

Ogata Koan's right arm was severed at the elbow, and blood gushed out.

Ogata screamed, clutching his severed arm with his left hand and staggering backward. But he didn't fall; instead, his coat tore, revealing muscles bulging beneath, and he suddenly raised his other hand to grab at Tachibana.

But Xiao Ju's body had already changed direction.

He sidestepped the grabbing hand, and thrust the long sword in his hand forward in the process.

"Thud!" The blade sliced ​​into Ogata's throat, instantly severing his neck.

Ogata's body stiffened.

His eyes widened, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but only a mouthful of bloody foam came out.

"Pfft!" A large amount of blood gushed from his neck. His burly body quickly fell backward, crashing to the ground, motionless.

Blood spread from beneath him, staining the scattered documents red.

Xiao Ju sheathed her sword and slowly walked towards the interior amidst the surrounding flames, completely ignoring the researchers screaming and running away.

Now, only the sound of wind, the crackling of flames, and the faint shouts of battle can be heard in the distance in the side hall.

Xiaoju didn't look at Ogata again. He walked to the long table and pulled out a stack of booklets that hadn't been destroyed yet from the pile of scattered documents.

The paper was covered with dense writing, the ink still fresh.

His gaze swept across the first page.

"[The Ancient Mirror Cardinal] Bloodline Awakening Operation Process —"

He whispered those words.

The firelight reflected on his face, and something flickered in his eyes.

In the distance, another explosion occurred.

The roof of the side hall shook, sending up clumps of dust.

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