I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The man in the couple... the young man being supported by the woman, had bloodstains on his forehead and was groaning incoherently.

The girl who was supporting the young man looked like she was about to cry.

She tried her best to move forward, wanting to walk even a fraction faster.

However, given her slender figure and thin arms and legs, she already found it quite difficult to help the young man walk.

Trying to help a young man run briskly... is an impossible task.

The young man must have been injured by a collapsed ceiling or something while escaping from the burning house or running through the street... Sanako guessed.

The education she received from childhood, along with the pride of being a samurai's daughter, made Sanako turn around almost without thinking when she saw the couple struggling to move forward. She hopped on one foot to the side of the radish and climbed onto the cow.

"Ju-kun, can I borrow your cow for a moment?" she murmured.

"I'll do my best to do what I can right now..." Sanako said softly to herself.

"Radish! Let's go!"

"Moo~~"

Spurred on by Sanako, Radish, mooing "moo moo moo," carried Sanako as they ran toward the couple.

"Hey!"

Sanako called out to the couple.

"Mount up... ah, no, mount up the oxen! I'll take you to see a doctor!"

……

……

To reduce conspicuousness and increase escape efficiency, Kamino ordered everyone to "split up" and escape separately.

At this moment, under the strategy of "breaking up into smaller groups", Kamino, who only had 3 subordinates left, walked north along the quiet street where there wasn't even a stray dog.

"Mr. Kamino! It seems like no one is chasing us anymore!"

One of Jinno's subordinates, who was standing to his left, suddenly shouted this at Jinno.

The shout from his subordinate made Kanno turn his head to look back.

Indeed... there was nothing behind me except the street surrounded by moonlight and the thick darkness of night.

But just to be on the safe side, Kanno did not stop, but continued to flee north, away from his settlement.

"Oh shit……"

As soon as he turned his gaze back to what was in front of him, Kamino muttered a curse under his breath.

Looking back on tonight's operation... it was a complete and utter defeat!

A crushing defeat that couldn't be worse!

The only goal to be accomplished tonight is to successfully burn down the settlement.

But this small success is utterly insignificant compared to the enormous failure of "suffering huge casualties but failing to kill Tachibana Seiden"!

For Kamino, the failure to kill Tachibana Aoto was enough to erase all the glory of the night.

Filled with resentment and anger, Kamino felt his hands trembling slightly.

—Never mind...let's calm down first...

Kamino silently told himself to "calm down" several times and took several deep breaths in one go.

His previously cloudy eyes gradually regained their clarity.

—Although the casualties tonight were heavy, as long as we spend some time patiently, we can gradually make up for the losses tonight.

There are countless people with the ambition to expel the barbarians.

—After that… we have to make that hateful Tachibana Aoto the first target we must deal with!

If Jinno gained anything tonight... it was discovering just how much of a threat Aoto posed to their Exile Group.

He can no longer be simply regarded as an official who carries out the "three returns".

With such strength and such a rapid growth rate, it's impossible to overemphasize its threat level.

Having regained his composure, Jinno began to consider how to take revenge on Qing Deng and how to kill Qing Deng, whose strength was now not to be underestimated.

Just at this time.

Just as Kamino was still contemplating the grand plan ahead, he suddenly heard two somewhat lonely footsteps behind him.

Footsteps... This is the last sound that Shinno wants to hear right now.

He twisted his neck, which was slightly stiff from the sudden tension in his nerves, and looked back... He saw two figures, one tall and one petite, running straight toward them in the heavy moonlight and darkness behind them.

These two figures were none other than Qing Deng and Kinoshita Mai!

Jinno's expression changed drastically.

"Have they caught up with us...?" Kamino squeezed out the words through clenched teeth.

The three subordinates following closely behind Kanna also noticed Aoto and Kinoshita Mai chasing after them, and their expressions immediately became just as ugly as Kanna's.

Led by Jinno, they turned into a small alley on the right, hoping to shake off Aoto and Kinoshita Mai by moving through the complex terrain.

Speed... that's Aoto and Kinoshita Mai's forte.

The legs still retain considerable strength due to the "strong muscles".

Thanks to the "leading the way" talent effect, Jinno and the others not only failed to widen the gap with Qing Deng and the others, but the distance between them actually got closer and closer.

If this continues, they will be caught up by Aoto and Kinoshita Mai sooner or later... After realizing this, the three subordinates next to Jinno exchanged glances, and then all showed resolute and determined expressions.

"Mr. Jinno, you go first!" someone shouted. "We'll help you hold off that traitor and that woman!"

These three men were utterly loyal to Kanna, regarding him as "an indispensable figure in accomplishing the great cause of expelling the barbarians," and were willing to give their all for Kanna's safety.

When faced with the request from his loyal subordinate to cover the rear, Jinno's response was to nod in agreement without hesitation.

"Okay! I'm counting on you!"

Kamino left behind only this indifferent remark... without even glancing back at his subordinates who had stopped and remained in place.

"Traitor! Prepare to die!"

"Heaven will punish you!"

……

The three who stopped to buy time for Shinno's escape drew their swords and went to meet Aoto and Kinoshita Mai.

These three are not strong at all; Kinoshita Mai alone could probably knock them all to the ground.

Therefore, under the combined fierce attack of Aoto and Kinoshita Mai, this extremely fragile "blocking position" was quickly torn apart.

However—these three people cannot be considered to have sacrificed themselves in vain.

Their desperate delay bought Aoto and Kinoshita Mai a few seconds.

Those few seconds were enough for Kanno to run to a place beyond the sight of Aoto and Kinoshita Mai.

"Tachibana-kun, that Kamino is going to run far away!"

As Kinoshita Mai anxiously shouted those words, Jinno's figure had already shrunk to almost disappear from their sight.

Kinoshita Mai was about to give chase, but Aoto called out to her first.

"Wait, Ms. Kinoshita. Don't go this way! I know a shortcut that goes around to the front of Tatsugoro Kanno!"

At this moment, Qing Deng suddenly realized that this neighborhood was one of the neighborhoods he was responsible for patrolling on a daily basis as a member of the Sadomachi Kaidoshin.

Memories of the neighborhood's architectural layout, road conditions, and other details quickly surfaced in Qing Deng's mind.

After stopping Kinoshita Mai, he called for her to catch up, then led her to turn left and onto a path covered with fallen leaves.

……

……

With those three subordinates choosing to stay behind, Jinno is now completely alone.

With no subordinates left around, Kanno moved alone as far as he could through the inconspicuous alleyways.

Splash splash splash splash...

Suddenly, the sound of flowing water reached my ears.

The surrounding light gradually began to brighten... A pale blue light shone from the alleyway ahead.

After rushing out of the alley in one go, Kanno immediately felt a sense of enlightenment.

On both sides of the alley are wide streets, and directly in front is a short, narrow wooden bridge spanning an unnamed river.

Moonlight, river, small bridge... these three elements create a charming and beautiful scene, but Kanno was not in the mood to appreciate these natural landscapes.

Without daring to linger for even a moment, he walked straight ahead and stepped onto the narrow wooden bridge that creaked when stepped on.

The moment Jinno stepped onto the bridge, the situation occurred.

Creak, creak, creak, creak...

Jinno heard the sound of footsteps on the bridge coming from directly in front of him... and there were at least two of them.

His expression froze immediately, and he looked up.

His vision was quite blurry due to the darkness of the night... but he could still vaguely make out two figures, one large and one small, running towards him from the opposite bridge.

These two figures were tinged with red light for completely different reasons.

One of the figures was wearing a bright red yukata.

The other figure... was covered in a large amount of blood that had not yet congealed.

Jinno silently paused, stopping in his tracks.

At the same time, Qing Deng on the opposite side also stopped in his tracks.

The dark clouds in the night sky had already dispersed.

The clear blue moonlight, unobstructed by any dark clouds, shone through the sky and fell upon the bridge and the shoulders of the two swordsmen.

Under the moonlight and in the darkness of night, two swordsmen met on this wooden bridge!