I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Nakajima Noboru (second division vice-captain), who was standing nearby, also peeked out from behind the cover, cautiously observing Goryokaku while tentatively offering a guess:

"Could it be that they've run out of ammunition?"

Nagakura Shinpachi shook his head without hesitation:

"Impossible. Wulingguo is the largest fortress in the north, and it is full of supplies. How could it have run out of ammunition so quickly?"

In the meantime, more and more people noticed the abnormality in Wulingguo, and feelings of confusion and doubt spread among the various bunkers.

Although the specific details are unclear, one thing is certain—an unexpected change is taking place inside Goryokaku!

……

……

Mael provided a large number of guns and cannons to the "Ainu coalition" free of charge.

Apart from the "volunteers" who joined later, the "Ainu Alliance" can be roughly divided into two parts: the tribesmen from Shiribomoshid and the tribesmen who were not from Shiribomoshid.

Before forming the "Ainu Alliance", Xilika was the village chief of Xilipomo Xili (the land of sunshine).

In other words, the people of Shiribomoshidari were the most direct descendants of the Shilika.

It is common sense in the world that elite troops enjoy special privileges, and there is nothing strange about it.

With the deliberate favoritism of the Sheikh, the people of Shiribomo Shidachi possessed the best equipment and the most comprehensive training, achieving complete "firearmization".

Judging from their performance in battle, the people of Shiribomo Yudachi did not disappoint Cyrilka's favoritism—they displayed the demeanor expected of a core force when the shogunate army attacked!

Despite lacking the guidance and command of French instructors, they still demonstrated remarkable combat skills.

Loading shells, aiming, firing, cleaning the muzzle... everything was done in an orderly manner. Although it wasn't particularly sophisticated, it was still quite good.

Considering they were previously "savages" who ate raw meat and drank blood, it is truly remarkable that they could perform like this; they must have put in a lot of effort to learn.

When the three ships returned fire, the area inside the Goryokan was filled with screams and screams:

"What...what is this?"

"It's artillery shells! Artillery shells are coming at us!"

"What should we do now?"

"Don't run around! Don't shout! Do what we tell you to do!"

Although only a very small number of shells hit the city wall and landed inside, the terrifying whistling sound and the occasional explosions still terrified many people.

Before the Mongol army launched its charge, everyone except the gunners had nothing to do but silently dodge the cannon fire and wait quietly.

At this very moment, on a gun emplacement on the south side of the city wall, five gunners are operating a cannon as massive as a pillar.

They couldn't remember how many shells they had fired; all they knew was that their bodies were terribly exhausted, and their eardrums were almost numb from the continuous shelling, leaving them only with a buzzing sound.

Even though the suffering was unbearable, they dared not stop.

They had a strong intuition: as soon as the shelling stopped, a tidal wave of Japanese soldiers would rush over!

The thought of this sent chills down their spines and made their bodies tremble uncontrollably.

After a new flash of light erupted from the muzzle, the five-man team quickly sprang into action to prepare for the next shot.

As the loader turned to move the shells, he caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar figure out of the corner of his eye—a tall, slender man in a black robe suddenly appeared not far away.

The man was wearing a long black robe, with a headscarf wrapped around his head and a face mask covering his face, revealing only his eyes, making it impossible to see his features clearly.

The loader frowned, half wary and half annoyed, and threatened:

"Hey! Who are you! What are you doing here! Didn't anyone tell you? Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from approaching the fort!"

The man in black ignored the loader's warning.

He slowly spread his arms, revealing his hands hidden beneath his black robe—they gleamed coldly—he held a katana and a wakizashi in each hand!

The unidentified man in black robes and the two gleaming knives... This scene caused the expressions of everyone on the gun platform to change drastically.

They had no time to fire their cannons; they quickly pulled out various weapons, such as hunting bows and short knives.

Although we don't know the details of this man in black, it's always right to strike first!

"Go! Take him down!"

With a roar from someone, they took the initiative and surrounded the man in black!

Those wielding hunting bows shot arrows, while those wielding short knives leaned in to attack.

Before him stood a group of enemies exuding murderous intent, yet the man in black robes remained completely calm.

He casually slung his katana over his shoulder, muttering to himself:

"This kind of thing suits me better than secretly gathering intelligence."

Having said that, he took a deep breath, then slowly raised the two swords in his hand, and whispered in a voice only he could hear:

"Selfless Dual-Sword Style"

"Ogata Hayate"

"Come on."

The moment he finished speaking, he vanished from the spot.

Those on the gun emplacement could only vaguely see a phantom afterimage passing by them.

They were startled for a moment, then quickly turned to look at Ogata—who was already behind them and had run far away.

"What is this guy trying to do?!"

"Who exactly is he? Is he even human? How did he get in here?!"

"Never mind! Let's kill him first! Hurry up and chase... cough! cough! cough cough!"

Before he could finish speaking, the remaining words were swallowed back down his throat by an uncontrollable cough.

It wasn't just one person; everyone on the gun emplacement started coughing violently!

They felt something rise in their throats—the taste of iron.

What followed was a gradually intensifying pain in my neck.

They instinctively raised their hands to touch their necks—wet, slippery—their hands were covered in blood!

They were hacked to pieces!

I don't know when, but they all got slashed in the neck!

Blood lines appeared on their necks, like seashells, growing deeper and redder. What started as a few scattered drops of blood quickly turned into gushing streams of blood that couldn't be stopped!

An overwhelming sense of terror filled their faces.

Not only because death was imminent, but also because of the intense bewilderment—when exactly were they hacked to pieces?

The other party simply passed by them quickly without stopping at all. Was such a short time difference enough for him to swing his knife?

Even if he swung his knife swiftly in those split milliseconds, why didn't they feel any pain? Why didn't they feel the sensation of being "cut"?

The person who was stabbed felt nothing at all; even the onset of pain was delayed, as if the pain receptors in the human body had been deceived... What a terrifying sword technique!

The massive blood loss and indescribable fear turned their faces as pale as paper.

As their strength rapidly dissipated, the last thing they could do before they breathed their last was to cast a horrified and fearful glance in the direction Ogata had left.

……

……

Ogata sped along the Goryokaku Castle walls, his black robe fluttering in the wind.

This black robe wasn't actually clothing; it was just a piece of black cloth he grabbed and haphazardly draped over himself. He didn't want others to see that he was wearing clothes embroidered with the patterns of Shikon Kala.

He jumped from one gun emplacement to another, from one pillar of blood to another!

Every time he passed a fort, he would thoroughly "clean" it up.

He didn't know much about military affairs, but he knew that these cannons were one of the biggest obstacles to Qingdeng's recapture of Wulingguo!

If we can render it powerless, it will definitely provide tremendous assistance to Qingdeng.

To save time, he increased his running speed to the maximum, and at the same time, he spared no effort in using his superb swordsmanship, which he had honed for nearly a hundred years.

To swing a knife in the blink of an eye as people pass each other, and the person being stabbed has no idea "I've been cut" until several seconds later when they start to feel the pain... This is an indisputable divine skill!

Throughout the entire world, perhaps only the "Eternal Sword Saint" possesses such swordsmanship!

Under his rapid attack, the artillery positions fell silent, and the intensity of the artillery barrage quickly diminished.

With such a commotion, it's impossible to go unnoticed.

More and more people noticed the strangeness on the city wall, and the dark figure that seemed to be chasing the wind and lightning like a ghost.

"What's going on! Why has the shelling stopped?!"

"Hey! Who's that?!"

"Look! He's holding a knife!"

"Waitsu? The Waitsu have broken in?! How many Waitsu have come?!"

"No! It's impossible for the people to break in!"

"He...he seems to have no accomplices, he's all alone!"

"one person?!"

"Never mind that! Let's take him out first! If he keeps killing like this, all our gunners will be wiped out!"

To protect the precious gunners and to defend the fortress, wave after wave of brave Ainu people caught up with Ogata and formed a vast encirclement.

Ogata remained completely calm, not even flinching – he was used to seeing and experiencing similar scenes!

In the blink of an eye, swords flashed – he swung his left hand with the Great Freedom, slashing several times and knocking down several arrows flying towards him.

At the same time, he raised his right hand, Da Shitian, upwards. Although it was a simple, unremarkable slash, it felled three people in one go.

The next instant—

Ogata leaped into the air like a roc, flying towards the enemy group not far away.

Just as he leaped, a dozen arrows whizzed past him.