I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Besides Natsume Tsuki, we also kidnapped Chiba Oni Komachi from the Chiba Sword Hall!"

"They've all been detained in Sakai-cho 4-chome..."

Qingdeng silently memorized the precise place name that the "Scarred Warrior" quickly recited.

The painstaking surveillance of Natsume Sohachiro over the past few days has finally yielded results... However, Aoto showed no sign of joy.

Besides asking about the whereabouts of Ms. Sanako and the others, Aoto had many other equally important questions to ask, leaving him no time to make any expression.

Qing Deng, without changing his expression, launched into a new series of questions:

"You're all from the Extermination Group, aren't you? Why did you kidnap Ms. Sanako and Ms. Natsume?"

Although he was already 70-80% certain that these organized, disciplined, and radical madmen were members of the Exile Group, Qing Deng still asked them anyway.

And the response from "Pockmarked Warrior" was not unexpected for Qing Deng.

After enduring Qing Deng's torment and being told where Sanako and the others were being held, the "Smallpox Warrior" seemed to have completely given up on himself.

His face, deathly pale from the excruciating pain in his foot, was visible; he nodded slightly.

"Um...we're from the Extermination Group..."

“We didn’t want to kidnap Chiba Sanako… Our initial target was only Natsume Tsuki, and we wanted to use Natsume Tsukasa to blackmail Natsume Sohachiro… Because when we officially kidnapped Natsume Tsuki, Chiba Sanako was with Natsume Tsuki, and she also drank the tea that we laced with ‘sleeping pills’… Kidnapping Chiba Sanako was purely accidental.”

At this point, "Pimple Scar Warrior" paused.

He probably realized that Qing Deng's questions had been focused on Sanako, so he quickly added:

"Chiba Sanako, like Natsume Tsuki, is treated to good food and drink by us."

“Our anti-barbarian group only bares its fangs at traitors, barbarians, and those who are forced to sacrifice themselves for the cause of expelling barbarians, so she and Natsume Tsuki are both fine.”

As if he had heard a funny joke, Qing Deng sneered:

"'Only show your fangs to traitors, barbarians, and those you have to sacrifice for the cause of repelling barbarians'... It's amazing that you can say such high-sounding words."

Under normal circumstances, Qing Deng might have had the leisure to properly refute the self-righteous rhetoric of the Anti-Foreign Group.

However, there were still some important questions that needed to be asked this "acne-scarred youth" urgently, so Qingdeng was too lazy to bother with the guy's absurd remarks just now.

"Is your demand for Mr. Natsume Sohachiro to hand over the sake that Bright ordered and was scheduled to be delivered to the residence today? What do you want with the sake that Bright ordered?"

When he asked the question, Qing Deng's tone and expression became uncontrollably serious.

Because it concerned matters related to the settlement, Kinoshita Mai, who was standing next to Aoto, also became serious at the same time.

Her best friend, Elodie, lived in the settlement... so Kinoshita Mai always paid a lot of attention to the settlement in Edo.

Upon hearing Qing Deng's new question, the "Pockmarked Warrior," who had just looked self-deprecating, hesitated once again.

Qing Deng keenly noticed the change in the "Scarred Samurai's" facial expression... He didn't say much, but silently made the motion of taking off the "Scarred Samurai's" left sock again.

Qing Deng's actions terrified the "Pockmarked Warrior," who cried out, "I'll talk! I'll talk!" and "I'll tell you everything!"

After a brief internal struggle, "Pockmarked Warrior" closed his eyes as if resigned to his fate.

"Me too... I only learned the full picture of Mr. Jinno's plan closer to evening this day..."

"Tonight, to celebrate his 60th birthday, Bright, a barbarian from the settlement, will hold a dance at his home... Most of the barbarians from the settlement will attend this dance."

“The barbarians are all gathered together... It will be very convenient to kill them.”

"We will disguise a large quantity of oil as sake ordered by the barbarian Bright from Natsume Sohachiro, and openly transport the oil into the settlement. Then, tonight we plan to wipe out all the barbarians who are participating in Bright's dance party, kill them all, burn them all, and then, incidentally, burn the entire settlement to the ground..."

That concludes the story of the "Pockmarked Warrior".

A deathly silence instantly enveloped the alleyway where they were...

……

—What did he... say?

……

Although the "Scarred Samurai's" voice was soft, his enunciation was fairly clear; at least Kinoshita Mai could hear what he was saying... But even so, Kinoshita Mai couldn't help but silently ask herself, "What did he say?"

Her beautiful eyes, perfectly proportioned to her face, were wide open, and her pupils, as beautiful as black gemstones, lost their original sparkle as her gaze suddenly became unfocused.

Kinoshita Mai felt as if a thread was hooking the back of her head... She clearly heard and understood every word the "Scarred Samurai" had just said, but her mind couldn't comprehend it... No, it was because the content of the "Scarred Samurai's" words was too terrifying, and under the influence of fear, her brain subconsciously refused to think further.

The tremor was slow and prolonged.

A strange numbness spread throughout my body, and my soul seemed to have lost control of my body. I couldn't speak or move even a finger.

Thump, thump, thump, thump... My heart felt like it was being heavily compressed from the outside, beating so fast and so hard.

Even though it was her own heart, Kinoshita Mai felt as if her heartbeat was coming from outside her body.

It was as if her soul had truly lost control of her body and was beginning to leave her body. Kinoshita Mai had the illusion that her perspective had become an overhead view, as if she could see herself standing on the ground, standing next to Aoto.

After what seemed like a short but also very long time, Kinoshita Mai felt her soul return to her body.

It was only then that Kinoshita Mai realized that her back was covered in cold sweat, which had soaked the fabric of her yukata.

My eyes are dry because I kept forgetting to blink.

One terrifying scene after another appeared uncontrollably in Kinoshita Mai's mind, then swept past her eyes one by one.

A raging fire engulfed the settlement...

Countless people screamed and scattered in all directions...

The members of the Extermination Group, like hunters hunting their prey, grinned maliciously as they chased after the fleeing people with knives in hand...

Elodie…her best friend watched in horror as the fire engulfed her and her family…

……

--don't want……

The horrifying scene caused the color to fade from Kinoshita Mai's originally fair and delicate face and alluring red lips at a visible speed.

She tried to stop these terrifying thoughts from escaping her mind, but the horrifying images kept swirling and haunting her.

These lunatics must be stopped!

Kinoshita Mai finally let out a clear shout from her heart.

However, her panic did not subside or come under control.

She was, after all, just a 15-year-old girl who hadn't experienced any major upheavals.

The plan that the Extermination Group intends to implement tonight has already exceeded Kinoshita Mai's psychological capacity.

She knew exactly what she needed to do, but her mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts.

There are so many things I want to say... so many things I want to do urgently... but my brain, which is slow to return to normal functioning, just can't sort out these chaotic thoughts.

Kinoshita Mai was flustered and terrified, completely at a loss for what to do... Natsume Sohachiro, standing to the side, also stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.

When he was being coerced into handing over the sake that Bright had ordered, Natsume Sohachiro had a vague feeling that these people were planning to do something terrible.

But he hadn't expected that these people would be so audacious, far exceeding his wildest imagination...

The silence gradually solidified, then became heavy, and the air in the entire alleyway felt exceptionally heavy, as if it had solidified into liquid.

However, at that moment, someone's voice shattered the deathly silence and heaviness.

"...When do you plan to begin burning down the settlement?"

Aoto's tone was very calm... which made Kinoshita Mai turn her gaze to Aoto in surprise. Then she saw Aoto's calm and composed face.

—Did Tachibana-kun hear what this person just said?

Because Aoto was so calm, Kinoshita Mai couldn't help but murmur in disbelief to herself.

“At dusk, at five o’clock in the evening…” he said, “the warrior with pockmarks.”

"Muwu Shi"... converted to modern time, that's 22 PM.

The current time is approximately 8:30 PM... which means there is still about an hour and a half before the Extermination Group launches its attack.

"You'd better promise that everything you just said is true. If I find out even half a lie later..."

Before Qing Deng could finish speaking, the "Scarred Samurai" hurriedly began to speak quickly:

Everything I just said is true! I'm absolutely not lying to you!

After loudly emphasizing his "honesty," the "Pockmarked Warrior" suddenly pursed his lips with a complicated expression.

Immediately afterwards, he spoke cautiously to Qingdeng in a pleading tone:

“I…I provided so much information…”

"Afterwards... could you... give me a lenient sentence...?"

This man, who had previously been arrogant and shouted things like "divine retribution," "traitor to the nation," and "only showing his fangs to traitors, barbarians, and those who had to sacrifice themselves for the cause of repelling the barbarians," was now pitifully begging Qingdeng to help him and give him a lighter sentence.

Qing Deng ignored the guy.

He glanced at the guy with a blank expression, then stood up by supporting himself on his hands and knees.

"Ms. Kinoshita."

Hearing Aoto call her, Kinoshita Mai immediately focused her gaze and attention on Aoto.

"Take these two things of mine to the North Frontier Office and tell Doshin, who is currently on night duty there, named Inoya Hanjiro: Tachibana Aoto has discovered the new movements of the Expeditionary Group. The Expeditionary Group plans to burn down the settlement tonight."

"In short, tell us all the details of the anti-barbarian group's planned attack on the settlement, so that the government can quickly organize manpower to go to the settlement."

Qing Deng removed the inro and jitte from his right waist and handed them to Kinoshita Mai.

"If they ask who you are, show them these two things and say you are my friend. As long as you say that and show them these two things, they will believe you."

Kinoshita Mai took the jitte and ingo that Aoto handed her, blinked... and a look of surprise appeared between her brows.

As for why... Kinoshita Mai now only feels that the panic and fear that had just filled her heart are melting away as quickly as snow.

Looking at Qing Deng's calm demeanor and listening to his composed voice... a strange sense of security surged within Kinoshita Mai.

The brain begins to function normally again, and thoughts are no longer chaotic.

"Tachibana-kun," she asked, "I'm going to the Northern Frontier Office...where are you going?"

Qing Deng's instructions were quite clear: he only sent Kinoshita Mai to the Northern Frontier to fetch aid, without mentioning what he himself was going to do.

"We'll split up." Qingdeng glanced at the sky. "There's still some time before the Extermination Group officially launches its attack..."