Swallow Return

Shigeharu Takenaka nodded and said, "At noon today, the main force launched a strong attack from the front. We need to approach the back gate at sunset, when the battle is at its fiercest. An inside agent will try to disguise Miss Oichi and her three children and send them out. At that time, we will escort them back to camp safely. There is no need to try any other actions."

Liu Yun asked suspiciously, "Since the inside agent is so capable, why not just launch a coordinated attack from the inside and outside to break through the city, and then escape through the back door?"

Kinoshita Tokichiro's eyes widened immediately: "Brother, that's Miss Oichi! You could say she's more precious than a mere small town like Dani Castle! Alas, you joined the Oda family too late and haven't seen her in person, so it's understandable that you have this question."

Liu Yun neither agreed nor disagreed, but inwardly he was rather skeptical.

Takenaka Shigeharu speculated: "I suspect that perhaps Lord Asai Bizen (Nagamasa) of Odani Castle was also aware of the inside job, but simply allowed Miss Oichi to leave."

Kinoshita Tokichiro immediately agreed, revealing a fanatical expression: "That makes sense! Even the most ruthless person couldn't bear to see someone like Miss Oichi die in the war. Not to mention, Asai Bizen (Nagamasa) was her husband."

The way she speaks is just like Queen Helen from Homer's Iliad or Princess Xiangxiang from The Book and the Sword.

Do women in the world really exist who can influence the minds of others with their beauty?

Although this is a supernatural world, Liu Yun remains skeptical.

But he wisely didn't say anything to Kinoshita Tokichiro, this "brainless fan," and instead raised another question: "If the defenders tacitly allow the inside man to escape with Miss Oichi, then helping her out of the city should be a very simple task. There's no need to go to such lengths, is there?"

“It’s not that simple.” Kinoshita Tokichiro frowned and shook his head. “Even if it’s tacit approval, it’s not public permission. Public permission would be too damaging to the morale of the defending troops. So we agreed with the inside man that we must leave through the most hidden back gate after sunset. That means we have to cross this deep valley. And I’ve heard that there are monsters in the valley.”

Liu Yun looked up at the deep valley between the peak and the back gate of Xiaogu City, but couldn't sense any movement.

Shigeharu Takenaka picked up a piece of rotten wood, cast a small spell, and sent the wood flying above the deep valley.

Then, a howl like that of a hungry wolf came from the bottom of the valley, and an extremely swift figure leaped out and tore the rotten wood to shreds.

The city's garrison must have heard something, because they immediately increased their vigilance. Dozens of men, armed with bows and arrows and cannons, stood on the city wall and carefully patrolled the area. After half an hour, when there was still no movement, they withdrew.

Shigeharu Takenaka further explained, “There were four of those monsters at the bottom of the valley. It is said that several decades ago, there was still a pier on the back mountain of Odani Castle, which was difficult to cross. The ancestors of the Asai family summoned four monsters as a means of defense to prevent surprise attacks. As for now, it seems that due to the passage of time, the method of controlling the magic circle has been lost. Because the monsters that Haku summons are all out of control, the back mountain has become increasingly desolate.”

Seeing this, Liu Yun understood: "We need to protect Miss Ashi and the three children so they can escape through the back door and avoid being harmed by this monster. At the same time, we need to be as quick as possible so that the monster doesn't attract the attention of the guards, otherwise we'll be in danger. It seems that it's not as simple as it seems."

"This is truly remarkable!" Kinoshita Tokichiro sighed, "To be honest, if it weren't for Brother Ryuun joining my team, I wouldn't have been confident in taking on this mission. In that case, it would have been more suitable to leave it to Shibata, Takikawa, and Akechi. Although I really wanted to do it myself, I was more worried about not being capable enough and hurting Miss Oichi! But now that Brother Ryuun is here, I believe we can definitely rescue Miss Oichi successfully. Please! I will be eternally grateful after we succeed!"

As he spoke, Kinoshita Tokichiro was extremely excited, his face showing both excitement and worry. He even solemnly bowed to Ryuun in a gesture of respect.

Liu Yun felt a little awkward and said half-jokingly, "Lord Kinoshita, have you considered what Madam Ningning would think if she knew how much you care about another woman's safety? Don't let things get complicated at home!"

Upon hearing this, Kinoshita Tokichiro paused for a moment, then revealed a somewhat lewd smile and said in a boastful tone, "Brother Ryuun, you don't know, Nene doesn't care about these things... Her only requirement for me is that I don't interfere with the samurai's work. Whether I bring many concubines home or drink with women, as long as it doesn't affect my duties, Nene doesn't care at all."

"I see..." Liu Yun didn't know what to say. It was too rare for a husband and wife to have such a relationship.

"Hehe!" Kinoshita Tokichiro said smugly, "In this respect, others can only envy me!"

"Mmm..." Liu Yun gave a perfunctory reply, but she didn't actually feel particularly envious.

It's certainly nice to have a harem that's free from constraints, but it's a bit disappointing that the wife doesn't seem jealous at all.

It's like a political marriage with absolutely no emotional foundation.

At this moment, Hachisuka Masakatsu, who had been resting on the ground for half a day, interjected, "I think Asai Bizen (Nagamasa) is determined to die rather than surrender. If Miss Oichi is rescued today, she will probably shave her head and become a nun, remaining a widow forever. Lord Kinoshita, you shouldn't think too much about it; there's no chance..."

"Of course I know there's no chance!" Kinoshita Tokichiro glared at him irritably and said, "If anyone in the Oda family has a chance, it's Shibata. His wife just died, and he's the only one who's single... But I won't let him succeed no matter what!"

Chapter 128 Miss Oichi's Odani Shiro Escapes

On the mountain peak behind Xiaogu City, Liu Yun and his group briefly discussed their next move.

When smoke rises ahead and shouts of battle gradually come from ahead, you know that the battle is already very intense.

You can even faintly smell the blood in the wind.

Logically speaking, this shouldn't be a particularly difficult siege. The Oda army had already isolated Asai for over a year, so the garrison's food and supplies must have been very tight, and the fighting capacity of underfed soldiers would definitely be greatly affected.

The real problem lies with the back door.

About an hour and a half later, the sun set and darkness fell, but the shouts and smoke from the battle ahead did not cease.

At that moment, a bright red lantern suddenly flew out from the back gate of Xiaogucheng.

Kinoshita Tokichiro's eyes lit up, and he immediately slapped his thigh, saying, "The time has come!"

Takenaka Shigeharu took out a bronze mirror, concentrated on casting a spell, and maintained his focus, so that the situation several hundred steps away could be clearly displayed on the mirror, and it even shimmered brightly, so that it could be clearly seen even at night.

Everyone was used to his extraordinary abilities and was not surprised; they simply made their own preparations.

After a while, as night approached, the back gate of Xiaogu City was slowly opened a crack in the bronze mirror. Two warriors dressed in Wu clothing but without armor escorted a woman dressed as a woman out quietly, one in front and one behind. They tiptoed out cautiously.

Two warriors each held a small child, while the woman held an infant in her arms.

This must be Miss Oichi and her three children!

At that moment, the group quickly took action.

A pile of stones was thrown towards the valley floor, and the flat valley floor was disturbed. In an instant, several ferocious monsters appeared, howling and expressing their absolute unwillingness to welcome outsiders.

Kinoshita Tokichiro grunted, his muscles swelled up, and his body grew to four or five times its original size, becoming a half-human, half-ape figure. The stick in his hand also grew several times thicker and longer. With a loud shout, he led the charge towards the bottom of the valley, swinging his stick.

Hachisuka Masakatsu also followed with fourteen other elite warriors.

At the bottom of the valley dwell four evil demons, all resembling jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, yet exuding an aura of death, like strange creatures such as skeletons and zombies.

After Kinoshita Tokichiro transformed into a "monkey-faced samurai," he fearlessly and bravely blocked one of them.

With one person on each side protecting him, Hachisuka Masakatsu managed to stop one of them.

The remaining six people formed a group, with Tomonori Oto and Mitsuji Miyata each leading one of the six.

Meanwhile, while his teammates drew the monsters' aggro, Ryuun spread out a pair of dove-like wings, and Takenaka Shigeharu summoned a crane-shaped shikigami. The two flew directly across the valley and arrived at the back gate of Odani Castle.

In such an urgent situation, there's no need for pleasantries; just making eye contact is enough to know why someone has come.

Without saying a word, Takenaka Shigeharu took the two young children and helped them onto the crane-shaped shikigami.

This was agreed upon earlier; his crane-shaped spirit has limited carrying capacity and cannot carry adults.

While the wings on the back of the Flowing Cloud make it fly with slightly less endurance, they have stronger explosive power.

Liu Yun immediately said "Excuse me" and held Miss Ashi and the baby in her arms in a princess carry.

It then took off and returned.

The two escorting samurai, clearly not entitled to the same treatment as those on airplanes, wisely drew their swords and rushed to the bottom of the valley to join the battle against the monsters.

At this moment, Liu Yun felt strangely calm and not nervous at all.

He even had the leisure to take a look at the appearance of the person he had saved that day.

The two children on Shigeharu Takenaka's crane-shaped spirit, one about four or five years old and the other about two or three years old, were exquisitely carved and very cute. They didn't cry or make a fuss and seemed very sensible.

The baby in the swaddling clothes was too small to tell anything.

As for the one who was being held in Liu Yun's arms in a princess carry—

Is that Miss Oichi?

She has dignified features and long hair that falls to her shoulders. She is pretty, but not stunning. What is most noteworthy is her pair of bright eyes that make her look particularly innocent. She is the kind of girl next door who is admired by many young men in the throes of puberty. You would never guess that she is already a mother of three.

In terms of figure, it's only so-so. The parts that should be upright aren't upright enough, the parts that should be fuller aren't full enough, and the parts that should be slender aren't slender enough. Overall, she's overly thin, with unclear curves, like a naive young girl. Is Asai Nagamasa not trying hard enough?

In short, compared to Iori and Saeko, with whom she had already interacted, and Asahi Igawa, with whom she had not yet interacted, Miss Oichi's appeal seemed less strong.

However, for no apparent reason, Liu Yun felt an intense protective instinct welling up within her, experiencing a kind of affection that transcended physical desire and was purely spiritual.

I don't know why, but I subconsciously felt that I couldn't let this Miss Oichi get hurt in any way.

However, they didn't have much desire to possess or plunder.

This feeling is similar to the tender, budding romance of a young boy, sudden and without warning.

Moreover, Liu Yun did not feel any signs of his mind being infected by supernatural forces.

This Miss Oichi seems to have the ability to make men forget their base desires and fall into a Platonic love.

That's pretty amazing... No wonder Kinoshita Tokichiro acted so exaggeratedly.

Liu Yunfei, who was flying in the sky, was slightly distracted when he suddenly heard a crisp sound.

Looking down, they saw four monsters at the bottom of the valley. One of them, which looked like a jackal, had already killed four or five people and then leaped up, smashing Takenaka Shigeharu's crane-shaped shikigami!

Takenaka Shigeharu himself was alright; he quickly recited a spell in mid-air and calmly and slowly descended.

The two children fell down, and things looked bad.

Miss Oichi let out a desperate scream.

Without hesitation, Liu Yun accelerated and swooped down, skimming through the air. With her left arm, she embraced A-Shi and the swaddled baby, while with her right arm, she tucked one child under her arm and grabbed the other, protecting the two children in her arms.

But he couldn't free his hands to draw his sword.

Faced with the monster's sharp claws and fangs, one can only try to avoid it, but taking care of an adult woman and three children is too much of a strain, and in no time, several more wounds appear on her back.

Instant, excruciating pain shot through me, and blood gushed out.

The injuries inflicted by the jackal-shaped monster seemed rather strange; even with the use of "healing power," the wounds healed extremely slowly.

Fortunately, Takenaka Shigeharu finally managed to free his hand and float in mid-air. He quickly summoned a dog-type shikigami to fight and then unleashed a lightning attack with a flick of his finger.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Liu Yun quickly flew to a safe area, put down Miss Ashi and the three children, and then took a breather and rested for a while.

In that short time, the situation at the back gate of Xiaogu City was discovered. A group of soldiers climbed onto the city wall, and upon seeing the chaotic scene outside, they immediately opened fire without hesitation.

The powerful bows and cannons fired simultaneously, the whooshing sounds of gunpowder piercing the air and the banging of gunpowder exploding, targeting both the monsters and humans at the bottom of the valley.

Logically speaking, the people Kinoshita Tokichiro selected today are all elites, so they shouldn't be afraid of the ordinary soldiers in the city.

However, given the high vantage point and the lack of cover outside, the advantages and disadvantages were too obvious.

Kinoshita Tokichiro shouted, "The people have been rescued, retreat!"

He remained in the posture of a monkey-faced warrior, wielding a large club to cover their retreat.

Hachisuka Masakatsu and the others hurriedly ran back.

Ryuun and the others, whose back injuries had eased slightly, helped cover for them along with Takenaka Shigeharu.

Of the seventeen people who came, five died and four were injured, and they fled back in a panic and disarray.

Fortunately, the mission was completed.

Kinoshita Tokichiro immediately bowed to Ms. Oichi and explained the situation.

Miss Oichi didn't show any emotion, only giving a polite smile.

But that was enough to excite Kinoshita Tokichiro.

Takenaka Shigeharu then spoke with the two accomplices who were escorting Oichi and the three children out of the city, and learned that they were father and son; the father's name was Katagiri Naosada, and the son's name was Katagiri Katsumoto.