I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Okay, please go ahead."

After obtaining Qingdeng's permission, the village chief deftly pulled out a pipe from his tobacco box, stuffed it with tobacco, lit it, and took a few deep drags, the smoke curling upwards.

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

After taking several deep drags, the irritability and frustration on his face gradually dissipated, and he became calmer.

A moment later, he suddenly asked:

"...Mr. Tachibana, you've come here to reclaim Goryokaku, haven't you?"

Qingdeng nodded without hesitation or lying.

The village chief took another puff of his cigarette:

“In that case, Mr. Tachibana, I have a request.”

"Please speak."

"Mr. Ju, please reclaim Wulingguo as soon as possible and defeat Xilika quickly."

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

"Village chief, do you hate Cialis that 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 capable man."

"He actually formed the 'Ainu Alliance' and successfully captured Wulingguo."

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

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng couldn't help but slightly curl the corners of his mouth, revealing a barely perceptible arc of helplessness, secretly amused.

It is true that Wulingguo is the most advanced and fortified fortress they and their people have recently built.

However, the fall of Wulingguo was mainly due to the poor performance of the defending troops, rather than the weakness of the fortress.

If his Shinsengumi were to defend Goryokaku, even if the attacking Ainu garrison numbered ten times larger, they would only end up defeated.

Qingdeng kept his complaints to himself and did not interrupt the village chief, continuing to listen.

“I may be prejudiced against Cilicia, but I cannot deny his talent.”

"However, the so-called 'Yamato Conquest' was ultimately just an unrealistic delusion."

"He can't succeed."

"Since you've appeared here, it means the punitive expedition against the people has already arrived, right?"

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

"Initiating a war that is impossible to win and has no purpose other than to bury lives... This is what I cannot forgive Cilica for the most."

The village chief started smoking faster again, and thick plumes of smoke billowed 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 is."

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

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

At this point, the village chief put down his pipe, struck the tip of the pipe hard on the tobacco box, shook off the burnt ash, and made a muffled "thump" sound.

“Let’s crush the army of Silica, wake up the young people, and end this ridiculous farce.”

……

……

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

The sun had long since sunk below the horizon, and countless stars spread across the sky like a scroll painting.

Qingdeng looked up at the starry sky and murmured:

"Defeat the Sharp Card as soon as possible..."

He would do this even if the village chief hadn't made the request.

He wanted to defeat Silica as soon as possible, more than anyone else, so that he could return to the capital region at an early date.

Although he had elite troops and generals such as Hijikata Toshizo and Yamanami Keisuke stationed in the capital region, as the commander-in-chief of the Shinsengumi and the de facto ruler of the "Southern Shogunate," it was hard to guarantee that no unexpected situation would occur if he were to be away from the center of power for an extended period of time.

Especially after learning the important intelligence from the village chief that "the strength of the Ainu allied forces is increasing," his goal of "recapturing Wulingguo as soon as possible" became even more urgent.

With his martial prowess in conquering Wulingguo, Xilika invited all tribes to join his "Ainu Alliance".

Presumably, many young men have already arrived at Wulingguo and joined his army.

The longer the battle drags on, the stronger the enemy forces will become... This will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the recapture of Wulingguo.

We must act quickly!

Suddenly, Qing Deng seemed to have thought of something. His eyes narrowed, and he raised his gaze to look at Osamu, who was half a step ahead of him and walking directly in front of him... His eyes seemed thoughtful and meaningful.

Just then, a loud shout interrupted Qing Deng's train of thought:

"Akonru! Akonru!"

Aoto and Ogata both stopped and looked in the direction of the sound—a burly man was striding towards them.

Ogata was taken aback for a moment, then his face lit up with excitement:

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

The burly man, whom Ogata called "Aiko," rushed up to Ogata and burst into hearty laughter:

"Except for my belly being a bit bigger, everything is the same as before!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Ogata turned his head and introduced Qing Deng:

“Tachibana-kun, his name is ‘Aykon,’ which means ‘arrow and strength.’ He is my best friend in Shikonkara, and also Monahi’s father.”

Qing Deng raised his gaze and carefully examined the burly man in front of him.

Arrows and strength... Is it that the Ainu people are all good at naming things, or is it just a coincidence? The other person's heroic appearance certainly matches this name.

Although his belly was slightly protruding and his arms, which were exposed outside his sleeves, were also covered with fat, Qing Deng could tell at a glance that he had the typical "fat-covered muscle" physique, with incredibly solid muscles beneath the fat!

He was as tall as Qingdeng (1.75 meters), with a muscular build and shoulder-length messy hair, making him look like a bear.

Aykon turned to look at Aoto and said in broken Japanese:

"Nice to meet you, my name is Yaikong."

Qingdeng raised an eyebrow:

"My name is Tachibana Aoto. You speak Japanese?"

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

"Not yet, we're just planning to grab a quick bite at the village chief's house later."

"Since you haven't had dinner yet, come to my house! I hunted a lot of squirrels today! I'll make sure you eat your fill!"

……

……

That night--

Yaikun's Home

At Aiko's warm invitation, Aoto and Ogata went to his home to receive a warm welcome from his family.

Qingdeng did not understand the tribal culture of the Ainu people, but based on his observations, the Yaikun family should belong to the upper class of Shikongka.

Since they are a fishing and hunting people, they must believe in the concept of "might makes right".

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

Just by looking at Yaikong's physique, one can feel the aura of a powerful figure emanating from him.

His house was large and furnished with a wide variety of furniture; even if he wasn't from the upper class of Shiconcarra, he certainly belonged to the wealthy class.

At this moment, Yaikong, Monaxi, and Monaxi's mother—a still charming and beautiful woman—are busy around the firewood, preparing dinner in an orderly manner.

"Alas, those bastards of Tunanong, what a bunch of cowards! They actually launched a sneak attack while our village's warriors were out hunting Unkamui!"

"If I had come back sooner, I could have taught them a lesson!"

"Akonru, 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 Uenkamui today, I caught quite a few squirrels."

"Don't be shy, eat your fill tonight! There's plenty of squirrel meat!"

As Yaikong spoke, he picked up the squirrel carcass beside his leg and easily twisted off the squirrel's head as if it were a bottle cap.

In a short while, more than a dozen headless squirrel corpses had accumulated around his legs.

Qingdeng glanced at the squirrel carcasses scattered on the ground and couldn't help but ask:

"Wow, so many squirrels... Can we eat them all?"

Yaikong laughed heartily:

“We can finish it all! Akonru and I both have big appetites! Considering that you are a Kinu, you probably won’t be used to many of our Ainu dishes, so we’re going to make all this squirrel meat into ‘Chitatapu’!”

What is 'Chitatapu'?

Ogata explained with a smile:

"'Chitap' literally means 'what we chop up,' and it is a traditional Ainu dish made by pounding game into pieces with a knife."

"Oh, it's just minced meat."

"That's one way to put it. However, the Ainu people often eat cittatapu raw."

"……What?"

Qing Deng stared wide-eyed, as if he had heard a terrifying demonic sound.