I assembled the strongest swordsman group

“Hmm…yes.” Suehiro nodded with a slight smile. “If the caravan doesn’t move by noon…then they definitely won’t be able to reach the camp before nightfall.”

"In that case, they will inevitably have to camp out in the wild tonight."

"Yamada, please also tell everyone: Eat well today! Be prepared for battle!"

"If the convoy hasn't moved by noon, then... it'll be tonight!"

Suehiro's hands, which had been hanging down naturally, were now clenched tightly together.

Standing before him, Yamada's breathing quickened with nervousness and excitement...

……

……

The heavy snowfall didn't gradually stop until 1 p.m.

To make up for the time wasted waiting for the snowstorm to subside, Anthony immediately ordered the team to speed up as soon as the convoy was able to move again, trying to reach the camp before nightfall.

Anthony's attempt was destined to be futile.

It's easy for a carriage to speed up, but it's not so simple for people to speed up. These guards, who can only travel on foot, can't speed up much no matter how hard they want to.

Ultimately, Anthony had to abandon his unrealistic goal of "reaching the camp before dark."

After it started to get dark, I directed the convoy to park on a relatively flat open space by the East China Sea Road, set up camp, and prepared to spend the night in the wild.

"It looks like it's going to snow again..."

Aoto, who was sitting with Saito in a corner of the camp, looked up at the night sky above.

Tonight is a moonless night.

At this time, although the wind and snow had completely stopped, the thick layer of dark clouds in the sky had not yet dispersed.

Layer upon layer of dark clouds completely obscured the moon and the starry sky.

With such a thick layer of dark clouds, it wouldn't be surprising if it snowed again sometime.

The time now is... just past 7 p.m.

Camping outdoors means you won't be able to enjoy any delicacies.

Even Anthony and Elodie could only eat some dry rations and hastily finish their dinner.

After dinner, the guards, led by Komuro, began to get busy.

Some stood guard, some tended the camp, and some rested.

As for Qingdeng, who could be considered Anthony's guest, he naturally didn't need to handle these heavy and tiring tasks.

Therefore, after casually finishing his dinner, Aoto, feeling extremely bored with nothing to do, could only stay in a corner of the camp with Saito and practice his swordsmanship.

Chatting with Saito?

nonexistent!

Talking to him is no better than talking to the big rock next to you; there's no difference anyway.

After gazing at the night sky and reflecting on the weather, Qing Deng focused his mind and body, gripping his sword tightly as he practiced his Su Zhen technique—a skill he had recently developed into a daily habit, one that he felt uncomfortable if he didn't practice it every day—in front of the air.

Huff...! Huff...! Huff...!

The sound of a sharp blade cutting through the air, and his own breathing, became the only two sounds emanating from Qing Deng.

But suddenly, a childish voice broke the silence surrounding Qingdeng:

"Mr. Ju! Are you practicing your sword?"

A beautiful pale gold hue appeared in the corner of Qing Deng's right eye.

*******

*******

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Chapter 73 On the Eve of the Storm, a Great Battle Is About to Begin! (Part 2)

“Miss Angoulême?” Qing Deng turned to look at the owner of the childish female voice and stopped waving his sword.

Because the snow on the ground was quite thick, in order to avoid getting her long dress dirty, Elodie lifted the hem of her dress with both hands and hopped towards Qingdeng.

Elodie's golden hair, braided into three strands and hanging down from her right shoulder to her chest, bounced with her movements.

Since leaving Fujisawa yesterday, Elodie has stopped wearing her blue and white kimono and has instead changed into a white long dress.

Qingdeng wasn't knowledgeable about clothing and couldn't recognize the official name of the dress Elodie was wearing, but anyway, the long dress was quite pretty and suited Elodie's blonde hair and blue eyes very well.

Her maid, Leroy, no longer wore the pale yellow kimono, but instead donned a dark yellow maid's outfit, clasping her hands in front of her as she followed closely behind Elodie.

Seeing Elodie approaching, Qingdeng sheathed his gleaming sword and smiled at her:

"Good evening, Miss Angoulême."

"Good evening, Mr. Orange!" Elodie greeted Qingdeng with a smile, her sapphire-blue eyes sparkling.

If Qingdeng had to describe this 12-year-old girl in one sentence, it would be: she's a bit of a "tomboy".

To put it simply, Elodie's personality is a bit too lively.

Elodie's personality and Kinoshita Mai's personality are almost completely opposite.

Mai Kinoshita is shy and easily embarrassed. When she meets unfamiliar strangers, she can't even speak a clear and complete sentence.

Elodie, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.

She had a very cheerful personality and was not afraid of strangers at all. Despite being a wealthy Frenchwoman who enjoyed many privileges in the country, she had no airs whatsoever.

It's hard to imagine how Kinoshita Mai and Elodie, two people with completely opposite personalities, became such close friends...

Despite having only just met Qingdeng, Elodie was able to interact with him without any hesitation or restraint, as if they had known each other for years.

Ever since Qingdeng hitched a ride with their family yesterday, Elodie has greeted him very warmly every time she sees him.

At first, Qingdeng thought that Elodie was so enthusiastic towards him because he had saved her life.

But after two days of careful observation, Qingdeng discovered that Elodie's cheerful and outgoing personality was not just directed at him; she was like that with everyone.

No matter who was in the caravan, whether it was Boss Kiryu or the guards led by Komuro, Elodie was always poised and generous, without any haughty or condescending attitude.

Therefore, Komuro and the others all liked this cheerful girl.

This is probably what they mean by "the environment shapes the people."

In the Edo period, which was still feudal and placed considerable oppression on women, encouraging them to be quiet and obedient to men, women like Elodie were extremely rare.

Qingdeng quite liked Elodie's "tomboy" personality.

After all, he's not very good at interacting with women.

Compared to women whose expressions and moods are hard to read, Qing Deng finds it much more comfortable to be around girls like Elodie, who have a straightforward, tomboyish personality.

Besides her straightforward personality, Qingdeng also discovered that this girl seemed to have a rather big heart.

Just two days ago, she had a terrifying experience at Fujisawa-juku's place, being "attacked by ronin," but since yesterday, this girl has been acting as if nothing happened, laughing and playing happily...

Incidentally, Anthony seems to dote on his granddaughter quite a bit.

The day before yesterday, Elodie sneaked out of the hotel in Fujisawa-juku and almost caused a major disaster, but it seems that Anthony did not give Elodie any substantial punishment.

There was no corporal punishment, and no house arrest.

These past two days, whenever the team stopped to rest, Elodie was able to run and play freely within 30 meters of the team.

As for whether Anthony gave Elodie any verbal criticism, Qing Deng doesn't know.

But Qing Deng guessed that even if Elodie was given verbal criticism, the words used to reprimand her would certainly not be too harsh.

After all, if the words were quite harsh and Elodie was thoroughly scolded, Elodie would not have been so cheerful and lively these past two days.

After giving Qingdeng a warm greeting, Elodie glanced at Qingdeng's right leg.

"Mr. Ju, your leg injury hasn't fully healed yet, is it alright for you to practice swordsmanship here?" Elodie asked with concern.

"It's nothing." Qing Deng stood on his right leg. "My right leg only has some minor scratches."

"Don't exercise too strenuously, just make sure the wound doesn't reopen."

The medicine Kiryu applied to his wound was indeed very effective.

Although I still feel some pain when I put my right foot on the ground because the muscles around the wound are being pulled, the pain has been greatly reduced compared to the day before yesterday and yesterday.

"Hmm? By the way... Miss Angoulême, where is Miss Kinoshita?" Qing Deng looked up and around, and couldn't help but ask Elodie in return.

After casually brushing off the topic of his leg injury, Qing Deng realized that he couldn't see Kinoshita Mai anywhere in his field of vision.

This surprised Qing Deng...

For the past two days, Kinoshita Mai and Elodie have been inseparable, like conjoined twins... Wherever Kinoshita Mai is, Elodie is sure to be there, and wherever Elodie is, Kinoshita Mai is sure to be there too...

At this moment, Kinoshita Mai was nowhere to be seen beside Elodie... This made Qing Deng unable to help but ask Elodie about Kinoshita Mai's whereabouts...

"Miss Dance? Miss Dance is currently looking for a suitable place to build a snowman at the other end of the camp!" Elodie said excitedly.

"...Snowman?" Qing Deng tilted his head.

"The snow today is perfect for building a snowman!" Elodie bent down, grabbed a handful of snow from the ground, and then threw it forcefully over her head in a "snow shower." "It's wet and sticky, perfect for building a snowman!"

"Miss Wu and I have made a promise to have a snowman-building competition tonight!"

"We are now splitting up to look for suitable locations to build a snowman."

"Miss Wu went to the other end of the camp to search, while I searched in this direction!"

After saying that, Elodie added:

"Tonight, I'm going to build a giant grandfather!"

Elodie spread her arms wide and swung them forcefully, drawing a huge circle in front of her—she was probably trying to represent Anthony's big belly.

Elodie's sapphire eyes were sparkling with a beautiful light.

This is a radiance that only children with innocent minds possess.

Seeing the light in Elodie's eyes, Qingdeng subconsciously revealed a faint smile.

“Miss Angoulême, if you’re looking for a suitable place to build a snowman…” Qingdeng looked up and around, “There doesn’t seem to be a suitable place around here. The snow is either too little or too dirty… Hmm?”

Qingdeng, who was looking around, suddenly stopped.

Looking straight ahead into the distance... to the east of the camp.

"Hmm? Mr. Ju, what's wrong?" Elodie followed Qingdeng's gaze and looked towards the east of the camp with him.

"...It's nothing." Qingdeng's eyelids drooped slightly, and his eyes narrowed. "It's just that I...I think I saw a figure moving around to the east of the camp just now..."

"A figure?" Elodie was taken aback, then struggled to stand on her tiptoes and peer towards the east of the camp. She blinked a few times in confusion, "...There's nothing there."

Suddenly, Qingdeng felt a chill on the back of his neck.

I reached up and touched the back of my neck—my fingertips touched a small patch of melted snow.

"It's snowing...?" Qingdeng looked up at the sky.

Fine snowflakes drifted and danced down from the thick clouds.

It was dotted with dark, ominous clouds.

The snowflakes, fluttering like willow catkins, brought a refreshing chill.

……

……

At this moment——

North of the camp —

call……!

A sudden gust of cold wind blew up.

It stirred up the snowflakes that were falling from the clouds.