I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"His identity is suspicious, his behavior is suspicious... he is a mystery, and no one can guess what he is thinking."

"Weapons, instructors, 'Berserker's Water'... any one of these things would cost a lot, but he gave them to us for free."

"Anything that is free must come at an incredibly high price."

"There is no doubt that he absolutely wants to use us."

"Although I really don't want to deal with him, there's no denying that we desperately need him right now."

Upon hearing this, He Poyi pursed her lips, her expression grave.

Sillyka quietly continued the conversation:

"We need his guns and cannons, we need his warships, we need his instructors, we need his 'Berserker Water'."

"Without his help, the 'Yamato Conquest' would forever remain a beautiful but unreal dream if we relied solely on our own strength."

“He’s definitely using us—but it doesn’t matter, I don’t care, it’s no big deal.”

"I'm not afraid of being used; I'm only afraid of being useless."

"He's using me, and I can use him too; we each get what we need."

"We just need to maintain the status quo with him."

"Do not distance yourself from him, but do not get too close either. Always be vigilant in case he does anything detrimental to us..."

At this point, Xilika paused, raised his hand, and made a "beheading" gesture at his neck.

Upon seeing this, the confidants, led by Hepoyi, all wore solemn expressions and echoed his sentiments.

……

……

When Cyril returned to his bedroom, the ceiling of the hallway behind him suddenly began to move strangely—Ogata slid down from the ceiling and landed silently and steadily back on the ground.

Cilica probably never expected that just now, his fate was entirely in Ogata's hands!

If Ogata had the will, he could have easily kidnapped Shrek, and even if his confidants were present, they wouldn't have been able to stop him.

However, after much deliberation, Ogata decided to let Cyril go.

Firstly, now is not the best time to kidnap Rhino.

Secondly, Cialis is not the key to solving the mystery of "immortality"—Mael is!

As Ogata recalled the conversation he had overheard, he murmured to himself:

"'Berserker's Water'..."

Berserker is a name with a distinctly Western flavor.

Ogata secretly guessed that the "immortality" of the "Ainu Alliance" must be related to this so-called "Berserker's Water"!

Therefore, kidnapping Xilika is completely useless, as he probably doesn't know the details of "Berserker's Water" anyway.

The person he should be looking for is Mael, who can produce "Berserker's Water"!

At that moment, Ogata seemed to remember something, his eyes flickered slightly, and he muttered to himself:

"'water'……"

Since it's water, it must be a liquid... For some reason, Ogata suddenly recalled the legend of the "Baccano!" he had heard many years ago.

……

……

The next day—

Hakodate, Goryokaku —

"Stop dawdling! Move all these stones to the city wall!"

"Wait, wait, wait! We're here to fight! Why are we being made to keep moving stones?"

"What do you know? We're preparing for war! These stones are important weapons! When the enemy climbs the walls, we can use them to throw at them! If you find it too hard, then please leave! We need strong warriors, not babies who haven't been weaned yet!"

As soon as the sky began to lighten, Wulingguo was filled with anxious shouts, hurried footsteps, and all sorts of other sounds.

To protect morale, Xilika blocked the news, preventing the bad news of the "fleet's crushing defeat" from spreading. They only said that the continuous shelling last night was an exercise.

Last night, when Cyril and Mael went to Hakodate Bay to check on the battle situation, Ogata did not go with them—it was easy for him to run away, but it wouldn't be so easy for him to come back.

Although Ogata was not clear about the specific details of last night's "Battle of Hakodate Bay", he knew with his own eyes that it must have been Aoto's doing.

Before the two armies even clashed, they gave the enemy a taste of their own medicine... very much in the style of Qingdeng.

Today, Ogata, Aiko, and the others finally received their task: to move baskets of stones to the city wall.

Stones are the best weapon for defending a city.

Firstly, they are numerous and easy to collect; secondly, they are powerful, capable of knocking someone unconscious or killing them with a simple toss.

Never underestimate a stone. The renowned swordsman Miyamoto Musashi had a dark history of being knocked unconscious by a stone as soon as he entered the battlefield.

Xilika sent a large number of people to collect stones outside the city, and then transported these stones back into the city and carried them up the city walls.

In addition to collecting stones, Xilika also sent many people to hunt and store food and collect firewood.

It seems he is prepared for a protracted war with the Mongol army.

The task was to "move stones up the city wall"... which suited Ogata's wishes perfectly.

In this way, one can openly move around and observe the current state of Wulingguo.

While working methodically, Ogata continued to observe everything inside the fortress.

He was struck by the fact that only a small number of people were equipped with guns and cannons and received the most advanced military training—Ogata guessed that these people were mostly the core troops of the Silica.

Later "volunteers" like them could only do odd jobs such as reinforcing the fortress and moving weapons.

It's unclear whether Xilika intentionally favored his own faction, or whether there weren't enough guns, cannons, and instructors to enable all soldiers to be "firearmed."

At this moment, Ogata and Aiko were standing side by side on the south wall, neatly stacking baskets of stones.

Aikoon cautiously scanned his surroundings, and after confirming that no one was around, he subtly turned his head and whispered to Ogata:

"Akonru, when does Mr. Tachibana plan to launch the final offensive?"

"I don't know. I guess it should be very soon, no more than 5 days, when Tachibana-kun will lead his army to recapture Goryeo in one fell swoop."

"I think he'd better launch an attack as soon as possible. The longer it drags on, the better the fortress's defenses will become."

As Yaikong spoke, he frowned slightly, looking solemnly at the piles of stones in front of him.

It seems that all the stones within a five-mile radius have been gathered here.

Yaikong only knew how to hunt, not how to fight, but he also knew that if the attackers wanted to capture Wulingguo, they would have to climb the city walls. The defenders only needed to throw stones down to inflict heavy casualties on the attackers.

With so many stones... it wouldn't be a problem to squander them for a year or two.

Besides stones, the Ainu coalition also stockpiled other defensive equipment, such as logs, oil, and the classic "golden juice"—boiled excrement.

In this era of limited medical technology, Jin Juice was undoubtedly a "deadly weapon"—contact with it meant certain death!

Boiling fecal water can scald a person to death. Even if the person doesn't die on the spot, the bacteria in the fecal water can enter the body through the wound and cause a very serious infection.

Those who survive being poisoned by the golden liquid are truly the "chosen ones".

The Ainu people, who don't even own cities, could never possibly know how to defend them.

It's not hard to guess that it was taught by those French instructors.

Looking at the vast array of defensive equipment filling the city, Ya Yikong couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

If they were to engage in a direct confrontation, the Shogunate army would absolutely suffer an incredibly heavy price!

Just as Ya Yikong was secretly sweating for Qing Deng, a cold voice suddenly rang out from behind him:

"Yayikong! Long time no see!"

Aykon was taken aback, and Ogata, who was standing next to him, was also stunned.

A familiar voice... The next moment, the two turned around at the same time—and saw Xilika carrying his red-scabbard katana, striding towards Yaikong.

The sudden appearance of the Supreme Leader caused everyone around to stop what they were doing and look at Xilika with reverence.

Xilika waved his hand, signaling everyone to continue their work and not to worry about him.

He quickened his pace slightly and stopped in front of Yaikun.

The surprise on Yaikong's face was fleeting, quickly returning to its calm state as she replied indifferently:

"Syneek, it's been a long time."

"Yaikong, I didn't expect it to really be you."

Xilika twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a faint smile.

"When I learned that 'Yikun of Shikonkara' had come to help in the battle, I could hardly believe my ears. No matter how much I tried to persuade you, you were unwilling to fight alongside me."

Yaikong smiled:

“I’ve changed my mind. I originally thought your ‘Ainu Alliance’ was an unrealistic fantasy, but I didn’t expect you to actually make it a reality. I suddenly feel that the ‘Yamato Conquest’ is not impossible, so I came to help you. I tried to raise the call in the village, but unfortunately, the people in my village don’t like fighting and just want to live a peaceful life, so only a few people are willing to fight with me. Please forgive me.”

"It's alright. I won't force anyone to go to the battlefield. People forced into battle are unreliable and will only hold us back. I only welcome those who volunteer."

At this moment, Cyril noticed Ogata next to Aikon—Ogata's clothes had patterns unique to Murokonka.

"Yayikong, who is this?"

Yaikundi explained:

"This is my friend from the same village, named 'Ilanchili' (a powerful warrior)."

Sirika scanned the area, scrutinizing Ogata closely, a hint of doubt appearing between his brows:

"Ilanqili? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

Ogata smiled slightly and answered as if he had already prepared:

“I’m a rather solitary person. I’m either at home or out hunting every day. Every time you come to visit Shikongkala, I happen to be out hunting, so we never get to meet.”

Xilika and Shikongkala did not have a deep relationship, and Shikongkala was a large village with a large population, so it was impossible for Xilika to remember the appearance and name of every able-bodied man in Shikongkala.

Therefore, he had no doubts, nodded to Ogata, and then fixed his gaze on Aikoon again.