I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Yaikong, I am very happy to see you here. With your sharpshooting skills, I feel as if I have gained the strength of a hundred men!"

Yaikong shook his head:

"Sylica, you think too highly of me."

“I’m not young anymore, and my arrows aren’t as fast or accurate as they used to be.”

"Moreover... although I am not involved in worldly affairs, I know that this is no longer the age of bows and arrows."

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at the soldiers who were practicing with guns and cannons not far away.

Xilika pursed his lips and said in a deep voice:

"Gun and artillery are powerful, but bows and arrows should not be overlooked."

"When we run out of ammunition and our guns are useless, we will fight the enemy to the last moment with our traditional Ainu weapons!"

Ya Yikong gave a bitter laugh and murmured softly:

"To make a last-ditch effort with a bow and arrow... I hope that scene will never happen."

Xilika did not respond, only revealing a serious expression.

Just as the two were in silence—

"Sylica, may I ask you a question?"

The sudden question startled both Xilika and Yayikong.

Silica turned her head and looked at Ogata, who had suddenly interrupted, with surprise.

Although taken aback, he did not ignore Ogata, but nodded in a very friendly manner:

"go ahead."

Ogata didn't mince words, gesturing with his chin towards the red-scabbard katana in Sherika's hand, and asked directly:

Why do you always carry a knife with you?

Perhaps because this question had been asked so many times, Cialis seemed unfazed and answered without hesitation:

"This is called a tachi. I once learned the tachi technique from the Japanese, so I specifically chose the tachi as my sword."

Ogata raised an eyebrow:

"You actually studied Japanese katana techniques?"

Cialis nodded slightly:

"I not only use swords and knives as weapons, but I am also very good at speaking human language."

Ogata switched to a half-joking tone:

"To be honest, I thought you were the kind of person who hated people so much that you would rather die than have anything to do with them."

Xilika twitched the corners of his mouth—he seemed to be very bad at smiling, and every time he twitched the corners of his mouth, it was hard to tell whether he was really smiling or faking it.

"Although I regard the Hoh people as my mortal enemies, I know better than anyone that the Hoh people are much stronger than us Ainu people."

"They can forge swords that can cut through iron like mud, while we don't even know how to smelt iron."

"They can build massive fortresses that are as big as small mountains, while we can only build thatched huts."

"If you don't even understand your enemy, how can you defeat them?"

"To defeat the He people, we can only study them and learn from them."

"So I learned human language, I learned human swordsmanship... There are still many things I want to learn."

Ogata lowered his eyelids, looking thoughtfully at Cyril... After a moment, he asked softly:

"I don't really know how powerful Kazuto is. Since you dare to wage war against him, you must be confident of victory, right?"

Faced with this incredibly sharp question, Xilika did not respond immediately.

Silence descends... At this moment, the distant birdsong sounds exceptionally clear and melodious.

About 10 seconds later, meeting Ogata's gaze, he slowly began to speak:

"...We are confident of winning."

"The people are in the midst of a massive internal conflict, splitting into two major groups, East and West, who are locked in a fierce struggle."

"In order to deal with the civil war that could break out at any time, they absolutely cannot spare enough troops to attack us."

"There is no better time than this... We must seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and take back our ancestral land in one fell swoop!"

"At the very least, we must defend this fortress! The people of Reiwa will never be able to set foot on this land again!"

As he spoke, Xilika stomped his foot hard, stepping on the city wall beneath his feet.

"I have no other wish in this life. If I can reclaim the land of my ancestors, I will die without regret!"

Towards the end, his tone became exceptionally impassioned, almost roaring.

After calming down a bit, he raised his gaze and gave Ogata a deep look.

"...Your name is 'Ilanqili', right?"

"Yes."

"..."

"..."

The two stared at each other silently, their eyes meeting.

Sirika's eyes were sharp, but Ogata showed no fear.

Judging from Xilika's expression, he seemed to have a lot to say.

But in the end, he only uttered this sentence:

"...We will win. We Ainu people will definitely win."

After saying those words, he said no more, silently turned and left, leaving behind a lonely, receding figure.

After Cyrilka had walked away, Aykon turned her head and looked helplessly at Ogata, whispering:

"The eye contact you two just now was terrifying... I almost thought you were going to fight."

Ogata smiled but remained silent.

Aykon glanced at Ogata, then at the direction Cyril had left in:

"...Akonru, what do you think of Sirika?"

After pondering for a moment, Ogata said calmly:

"He's a true hero."

"It seems that he genuinely wants to reclaim the Ainu's old territory, rather than seeking personal gain."

“I don’t care about the historical grievances between the people and the Ainu, so I don’t have any ill feelings towards him.”

"But... should we call him optimistic, or should we call him foolish?"

"He understands the current situation very well, and people are indeed mired in the quagmire of civil war."

"If you want to take advantage of the chaos, now is indeed a once-in-a-century opportunity."

"However, he misjudged the strength of the Mu army... or rather, he misjudged the strength of Tachibana-kun."

"He thought that Tachibana-kun was too busy to deal with the war in the north, but little did he know that Tachibana-kun only needed to spare a little bit of his strength to defeat it."

"If he truly wants the Ainu people to live a better life, he should not act recklessly and start wars without proper planning."

"He's just gambling recklessly—risking the lives of countless young people to participate in a game he can't win."

At this point, Ogata paused, then adopted an unquestionable tone, calmly adding:

"He should come to his senses when Tachibana-kun leads the Shinsengumi in a massive attack."

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Chapter 1071 Qingdeng's [New Era] and Alchemy [5000]

The following night—

Aomori, the main camp of the punitive expedition—

Qingdeng stood with his hands behind his back outside the tent, gazing northwards.

"Qingdeng, why aren't you asleep yet? What are you looking at?"

Suddenly, Katsurin Taro appeared from the side and moved to stand in front of Aoto.

"I've always needed little sleep, so it doesn't matter if I go to bed a little later. Rintaro, what about you? Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Katsu Rintarou coughed twice, his expression strange.

Before he could respond, Qingdeng smiled slightly and said to himself:

"Let me guess, tomorrow is the day the war starts, so you're too nervous to sleep and wanted to get some fresh air, right?"

Katsurin Taro was taken aback for a moment, then a bitter smile appeared on his face:

"Haha, you guessed right... This is my first time doing this, and it would be a lie to say I'm not nervous."

Qingdeng spread his hands:

"It's normal to feel nervous. Even someone as seasoned as me can't help but feel nervous right now."

"Hmm? Even the mighty 'Nioh' feels nervous?"

Katsurin Taro cast a surprised look at Aoto.

Qingdeng chuckled to himself:

"Although everyone reveres me as a 'god,' please don't actually treat me as a 'god.' I am, after all, just a mortal with flesh and blood, and I have all the emotions that normal people have."