I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Whether we can successfully weaken the enemy ships' combat power will affect... no, it will determine the outcome of this battle! Of course, I must step forward to hold the line."

Qing Deng paused for a moment, then put on a calm smile:

"When Niou appears at the front of the battle, his thousands of troops will naturally follow him with all their might."

"But...you just returned from Ezo, don't you need to rest a little longer?"

As he spoke, Katsurin Taro unconsciously glanced around, taking in Aoto's clothes, which were covered in mud and dust.

Qingdeng waved his hand:

"Don't worry, I'm in great shape right now. As long as I have a good meal, take a shower, and take a nap, I'll be back to my peak condition!"

With the added benefits of his innate "Sleep God" and "Strong Essence +8", his recovery ability is simply incredible! Fatigue that would normally take 10 hours to relieve for a normal person only requires him to rest for 1 or 2 hours!

"Katsurin Taro, go and make the arrangements for me. In addition to the 11th Division, the 2nd and 8th Divisions will all be mobilized!"

"Let the soldiers rest well and organize their equipment. We will begin the operation at 10 PM tonight!"

Katsura Rintaro straightened up and responded loudly:

"Yes, I understand!"

……

……

That night--

Hakodate, Goryokaku, a certain barracks—

"Phew... the wind is really chilly tonight."

"It's normal to feel cool here since it's close to the sea."

"Hurry up, everyone. I want to get back to rest as soon as possible."

A patrol team hurried through the corridor.

Their patrol methods... to put it nicely, were crude; to put it bluntly, they were terrible!

To put it bluntly, the vast majority of the soldiers in the "Ainu Alliance"—especially those "righteous men" who joined later—had poor military skills, and many of them had no military skills at all.

At this moment, most of the patrol teams responsible for inspecting the fortress were just strolling around, listening and looking, and could hardly be called patrols.

This flawed defense is more than enough to warn ordinary people, but it's insufficient to stop a true master of ninjutsu.

As the patrol team passed through the corridor, the ceiling behind them suddenly began to move strangely—a tall figure separated from the shadow of the ceiling and landed steadily like a cat, without making a sound.

Ogata stood on tiptoe, stretched his shoulders, and muttered to himself with a sigh:

"I never thought that after all these years, I would still have the opportunity to use ninjutsu..."

Just now, he hooked his fingertips into a gap in the ceiling, hanging steadily on the ceiling and narrowly escaping the patrol team.

People only know Ogata as a master of swordsmanship, but they don't know that he was also a master of ninjutsu!

He can break through walls of bronze and iron that ordinary people cannot! He can find information that ordinary ninjas cannot find!

After Ogata, Aikon, and the others successfully entered Goryokaku today, everything was peaceful and they did not encounter any accidents.

They were simply asked to check into the barracks and settle their luggage, and told to have a good rest today and that they would be given their official missions tomorrow.

After nightfall, Ogata pretended to go to bed, but when the night was deep, he quietly crawled out of bed and transformed into a silent and invisible ninja to begin his stealth!

Since he was tasked with "destroying Goryokaku from within," he naturally had to gather intelligence and figure out the layout of Goryokaku's buildings, at least knowing the locations of important facilities such as ammunition depots and officers' quarters.

For Ogata, Goryokaku's defenses were full of holes, like a sieve, allowing him to come and go as he pleased!

Wulingguo is a professional military fortress, complete with barracks, warehouses, stables and other facilities, providing ample hiding places and making it an excellent place to practice stealth skills.

Although it had been decades since he last used his ninja skills, he was still as sharp as ever. Whether climbing high walls or moving silently across the ceiling, he handled it all with ease and showed no signs of rust.

The place Ogata most wanted to find was undoubtedly Sherika's bedroom.

In reality, Ogata was more concerned with the so-called "immortality" than with whether or not Goryokaku was recovered; that was why he came.

If conditions allowed, he wouldn't mind tying up Xilika, carrying him to a dark room or somewhere else, and slowly interrogating him to find out the truth about his "immortality".

Using the "shadows" as his base, he sprinted and leaped among them, advancing like a ghost into the depths of Wulingguo.

He was not familiar with the layout of Wulingguo's facilities, so he could only proceed step by step.

Just then, with his extraordinary senses, he suddenly heard a familiar language.

—Japanese?

Ogata was taken aback.

In this fortress where Ainu people lived in large numbers, Japanese could be heard... Ogata immediately sensed something was amiss and followed the sound.

Judging from the sounds, it seems to be a conversation between two people.

Soon, Ogata found the source of the sound—a barracks.

Judging from the size and decor of this barracks, it must have been the dormitory of a high-ranking officer.

Ogata walked around most of the barracks and was very lucky to find an open window.

He looked around, and after confirming that no one was around, he folded himself up through the empty window like origami and rushed inside.

……

……

Dust, cobwebs... all sorts of filth that are common on the ceiling rained down on Ogata's head.

Neither dust in his eyes nor spider silk hanging on his head could make Ogata raise an eyebrow.

He clung to the ceiling like a gecko, crawling forward quickly and steadily.

Despite his large and fast crawling movements, he made no sound whatsoever, which was truly astonishing.

Before long, he arrived directly above a room—the one from which the Japanese conversation he had been hearing was coming.

Because of the ceiling, Ogata could not see the scene inside the room and could only listen through the ceiling.

He lowered his head, pressed his ear against the ceiling, closed his eyes, and his hearing was heightened to its most acute state.

"I need more 'Berserker's Water'."

That voice... there's no mistake, it's the voice of Xilika, whom he met just a few hours ago!

Thanks to the brief speech the other party gave at the time, Ogata remembered his voice.

Ogata tried hard to imagine the scene in the room under the ceiling—

Xilika sat cross-legged, his red-scabbard katana placed beside his legs.

He was sitting opposite someone, and the two were engaged in a heated conversation.

At this moment, apart from these two people, there was no one else in the room.

Just as Ogata was imagining this, a low, strangely accented Japanese voice came from under the ceiling—the person who was talking to Cialis had spoken:

“I’m very sorry, 'Berserker’s Water' is quite precious, and I don’t have much left.”

After a long silence, Xilika said in a cold voice, enunciating each word clearly:

“…Hey, Mael, this isn’t what we agreed on beforehand. You said you would fully support our ‘Yamato Conquest’.”

Mael—upon hearing this name, Ogata slightly opened his eyes, his gaze hardening.

His name is "Mael," and he has an awkward Western accent... He's most likely the Mael de Orléans that I've been looking for!

When entrusting him with the important task of "keeping an eye on Mael," Aoto specifically introduced Mael to Ogata.

He is Elodie's biological father, a powerful arms dealer, and has ties to the Fatah Party...

Combining the information he currently possessed, various thoughts raced through Ogata's mind:

—Was the Ainu uprising orchestrated by the Fatah Party...or was the Fatah Party not involved, and was Mael the instigator?

A secret meeting between Sherika and Mael; an unknown substance called "Berserker's Water"... Ogata vaguely senses that a great harvest is to come tonight!

He held his breath, not wanting to miss a single word or phrase he was about to hear.

……

……

In fact, the scene Ogata imagined was very close to the actual scene inside the room.

Xilika sat cross-legged, his red-scabbard resting on his lap.

Opposite him, Mael sat upright, exuding an elegant and unhurried demeanor.

“Sharika, your Japanese is getting better and better. You can now pronounce ‘Berserker Water’ accurately.”

Being praised for his "improving Japanese" did not bring joy to Cilica; instead, it made him frown.

“Mael, stop interrupting! Stop with this nonsense that has nothing to do with the main point! Answer my questions! I need more ‘Berserker’s Water’! That’s what you promised me!”

Mael smiled calmly:

"If I have any stock, I'd be happy to share it with you."

"However, 'Berserker's Water' is not like the sugar water you can find anywhere on the roadside; its production is extremely low."

“I have given you all my stock, not a single bottle left. I did not lie. I am willing to place my hand on the Bible to prove my innocence.”

“I understand your anxiety, and I know that with the battle imminent, we urgently need more ‘Berserker’s Water’ to counter the approaching Mu army.”

"But I'm not a magician, I can't conjure up 'Berserker's Water' for you out of thin air, please forgive me."

The more Cilica listened, the darker his face became, as if he might suddenly leap up, draw his katana, and smash Mael's head with it at any moment.

Mael sensed the change in the atmosphere and noticed Cilica's increasingly unpleasant expression, but he remained unperturbed and continued calmly:

"I would never hand over more 'Berserker's Water' immediately."

"However, I can assure you that once the new batch of 'Berserker's Water' is successfully refined, I will deliver it to you immediately."

"My alchemists are racing against time to speed up the process."

"I assure you, in three days... no, in two days, you will be presented with a mountain of 'Berserker's Water'!"

……