Chapter 301 Killing People to Establish Authority! I, Qing Deng, Killed the Nobles! [5000]

As Qing Deng stopped, all the soldiers of the third squad also stopped.

In front, Yokokura Keinosuke heard the footsteps that were more difficult than the stickiest glue in the world and could not be shaken off suddenly disappeared, and he turned his head and looked back in confusion.

Seeing that Qing Deng and others were not moving, he was stunned at first, and then his face showed ecstasy as if he had survived a disaster - he believed that Qing Deng and others must be... Correction. They must be tired! I can't catch up anymore!

He thought excitedly:

I am an old bandit who has been living with flowers, birds, insects and herbs in the mountains since I can remember, and has lived in the mountains for most of my life. After running for so long in this primitive jungle where even wild birds don't approach, I feel a little exhausted and almost out of breath. Can these stinky officers and soldiers who eat, drink and play with women in the city every day be better at running in the mountains than me?

Thinking of this, Yokokura Keinosuke felt a new power surge in his body. He took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and planned to take advantage of this opportunity to leave Qing Deng and others far behind.

But at this moment, Yokokura Keinosuke suddenly felt a dull pain in his chest. Every time he took a breath, his chest would throb with pain - this was a signal that he had over-exerted his body and his lungs were about to be overloaded.

- Hiss... It hurts...! Fortunately, fortunately, my "magic medicine" never leaves my body!

While thinking so secretly, Yokokura Keinosuke reached out his hand without thinking, took out a small porcelain bottle, poured out a pill with a very strange color - red and purple, and swallowed it into his mouth with a "ah-woo" sound, and his Adam's apple moved up and down because of swallowing.

The next moment, Yokokura Keinosuke's facial features, which were wrinkled together due to the pain in his chest, suddenly relaxed, and his face was faintly flushed with a refreshed look.

…

In just a few breaths, Yokokura Keinosuke and his subordinates disappeared from the sight of Qing Deng and others again, and their footsteps quickly moved away.

But Qing Deng completely ignored it and let the enemy chieftain, who had finally found and represented great merit, flee far away.

The young man, who was in his prime, stood still and showed a look of neither sadness nor joy.

His calm eyes swept across the faces of his subordinates from left to right.

In the fierce pursuit just now, several people accidentally kicked and stepped on uneven obstacles, hurting their bodies, or because they could not continue to run because of their physical and leg strength.

At present, only 27 team members are still in Qing Deng's sight.

Being able to hold on until now, this group of "survivors" are tenacious in both perseverance and physical strength.

There are many familiar faces in Qing Deng's eyes.

Shirazaki Heijiro, who has a rich experience and a high self-esteem, is unwilling to be inferior to Qing Deng.

Midorikawa Gosaburo, who is slick and frivolous.

Kuroba Shiro, who is eloquent and likes to flatter people.

Aoiyo, who is always unconfident and a little timid.

And Akabane Koichiro, who has a face full of flesh and often has a hint of fierceness between his eyebrows.

Aoiyo is still there and did not fall behind early - this surprised Qing Deng.

After all, to use modern popular words - Aoiyo, who is thin, white-skinned, not good at martial arts, and in charge of clerical work in the army, looks like a weak person who is easy to bully.

Such a weak scholar who can't even tie a chicken can actually overcome many difficulties and follow the big army all the way... This makes Qing Deng feel a little relieved besides being surprised.

However… although Aoi’s toughness is commendable, he paid a heavy price for it—his current condition is not good at all.

It should be said that all the soldiers who have been gritting their teeth to pursue Yokokura Keinosuke are, without exception, in worse physical condition than one another—their eyes are dull, and at first glance, their eyeballs look like dark holes; the sweat beads like waterfalls make everyone’s face shiny; the strong fatigue lingers on their faces.

Swords, bows and spears are randomly intertwined and hung in disorder, just like a dead forest with all branches drooping and trunks rotten and corroded.

Such a look, such a spirit… just like a remnant army that has just lost a battle.

“Mountain chase”… is really tiring.

Whether it is the uneven road surface or the ubiquitous high rocks and huge trees, they are far from the big city life that the soldiers are accustomed to.

Everything around them makes them feel that the square peg is in the round.

The ambition of "capturing the enemy chief alive and making great contributions" collapsed in the face of deep fatigue.

The fatigue accumulated to the limit brought about the scene in front of Qing Deng at this moment - nearly half of the team members blatantly sat or lay on the ground, ignoring Qing Deng's "pursuit" order.

They used silent actions to show Qing Deng their position: We are tired and don't want to chase anymore! Whoever wants to chase that Yokokura Keinosuke can chase him!

Aoiyo, who admires Qing Deng, is a member of the "non-disobedient party" who still stands firmly behind Qing Deng.

At this time, I don't know if it was his illusion - he always felt that the mountain wind that had been with him since entering the mountain suddenly stopped.

No.

It's not just the mountain wind.

The chirping of insects and birds... These sounds that can be heard everywhere in the mountains and fields and have been heard for a few days seem to have calmed down a lot now.

The quiet atmosphere permeated the surroundings in an instant.

This kind of completely silent environment added a strange deterrent force to Qingdeng's gaze at the moment.

Qing Deng's sight was like an invisible huge hammer, and many people, including Aoiyo, could not help holding their breath and their heartbeats accelerated.

But there was also a small group of people... not to mention Qing Deng's sight, even Qing Deng's entire person was ignored - such as Akabane.

At this time, Akabane sat on a flat big stone with his legs crossed, and his short and fat ten fingers like meatworms repeatedly rubbed the soles of his feet that were sore, with an arrogant and fearless look on his face.

Why did Akabane Xiaoyilang, who was only one level lower than Qing Deng in terms of power and official position, dare to go against Qing Deng so recklessly and unscrupulously?

In fact, the reason behind it was simple - although the Akabane family was not a powerful and famous family, it was still a hatamoto with a family salary of 800 stones.

800 stones of family salary... this is not a small number among hatamoto.

More than 90% of the hatamoto's family salaries were below 500 stones.

Simply put, in the "hatama circle" of Edo, the Akabane family is still ranked high.

The power of the family behind him makes Akabane Koichiro not inferior to Aoto, who is only one level higher than him.

What's more, Akabane Koichiro has a deep friendship with the important cadre of the "Shimizu clan": Namikawa Chishio!

Both the black and white have their backs - this is the confidence of Akabane to dismantle Aoto in public and in private.

So what if he is Nioh? So what if he is good at swordsmanship?

To get along in the officialdom of the shogunate, you have to rely on relationships and background!

Although Akabane despises Aoto, he thinks that Aoto should still have the IQ and "sense of smell" that an official should have, and know what to do and what not to do.

He expected that even if Aoto wanted to move him, he would not dare to make a big scene - such thoughts and judgments made Akabane fearless when he was against Aoto.

- What does this Tachibana Aoto want to do? Why stop? Do you want to urge us to get up and continue to chase Yokokura Keinosuke? Ha...! Naive! Really naive! Do you think we will pay attention to him? Humph!

Akabane's lips curved slightly, drawing a disdainful and confident arc. He stood still and continued to pinch his feet.

At this time, he suddenly heard a series of footsteps approaching him at a leisurely speed.

Akabane looked up - it was Qing Deng.

Qing Deng at the moment showed an elusive look.

There was no expression on his face. It was hard to guess what emotions and thoughts he was having at the moment.

His eyes were so calm that even the word "stare" seemed too intense and inappropriate.

As his hands and feet moved, he exuded a leisurely atmosphere as if he was going for a walk.

At this time, Akabane felt something was wrong.

And almost at the same time when Akabane noticed the difference... suddenly! Qing Deng suddenly raised his right hand and pressed the handle of Ding Gui Shen!

The next moment, Qing Deng's elbow suddenly bounced open like a broken string, and he pulled out Ding Gui Shen, and a loud "pop" sounded in the air!

Before Akabane could come to his senses, Qing Deng had already revealed the white blade from his left waist!

The separation speed of the blade and the sheath was so fast that even the blade light was compressed into a thin and blurred silver light like a thread!

In an instant, astonishment, panic and fear locked all of Akabane's joints like vines.

The strong cold wind blown by Ding Gui Shen swept away the sweat on Akabane's forehead, the heat and blood on his face!

It was too sudden.

Everything in front of him happened so suddenly.

It was so sudden that Akabane had a moment to doubt whether he was dreaming.

As a swordsman with the Katori Shinto Ryu Menkyo Kaiden, Akabane showed the qualities that a warrior should have at this moment.

After seeing the silver snake that sprang out from Qing Deng's left waist and pounced towards him, although his head did not have time to react, Akabane's body took action first - he instinctively stretched out his hand to his waist, ready to draw his sword to resist.

It must be said that Akabane's reaction speed is still remarkable.

But unfortunately... everything he did at this moment was just a futile struggle.

As soon as his chubby palm touched the handle of the sword on his waist, the silver-white light that approached in a graceful and swift arc had already swallowed his body.

The sword light that rose from the ground and rushed straight into the sky - this was the last scene imprinted in the depths of Akabane's eyes.

The icy blade of Ding Guishen did not enter Akabane's right armpit, and only stayed in Akabane's body for a moment before flying out diagonally from his left shoulder.

Sword Drawing Technique·Flowing Light!

Akabane's fat upper body instantly spurted blood.

A straight line of blood stretched from Akabane's right armpit to his left shoulder.

The blood line turned red and darker at a speed visible to the naked eye, and finally - the small part of Akabane's body above his shoulders fell forward like a willow branch hanging down in boredom, and then fell to the ground.

The blade that slashed with light cut Akabane in half!

On his face, which was covered with dust from falling to the ground, there was a strong shock as if he had seen something incredible - this expression that was enough to make everyone who saw it feel horrified, just bloomed in a pool of blood that gradually spread.

A few drops of blood splashed out of Akabane's body due to inertia, splashing on Qingdeng's right eye corner, left lip corner and other parts, and then followed gravity, flowing down Qingdeng's cheek, leaving several terrifying red marks - let alone blinking, Qingdeng's facial muscles did not even move.

For a long time, blood continued to spurt out from Akabane's lower body section, which was sitting still on the rock.

Silence...!

Silence all over the place!

Deathly silence!

All the people present were shocked to see Akabane being cut in half, and Qingdeng still holding his sword posture.

The expression on his face was extremely wonderful.

At this time, Qingdeng slowly stood up and released his sword posture.

"I should have made it clear, right? 'All followed'. My words... the words of the superiors are military orders. Those who disobey military orders——"

Qing Deng raised Ding Gui Shen above his head, and then swung it down heavily. The blood that fell from the blade turned into a sad and beautiful blood line at Qing Deng's feet.

"Execute on the spot!"

As soon as Qing Deng's voice fell, rapid breathing sounded around Qing Deng like a blower.

Whether it was Aoi and others who respected Qing Deng, or Shirasaki and others who hated Qing Deng. In short——at this moment, the faces of everyone present were all filled with shock that penetrated their skin and seemed to be buried in their bones.

Beheading——for a samurai, this is the most undignified and dishonorable way to die.

In order to give the beheaded a little dignity, both the Edo Shogunate and the "Three Hundred Lords" would not chop off the whole head of the prisoner sentenced to beheading, but would use a method called "holding the head".

When the knife is swung towards the neck of the prisoner, the flesh is not completely cut off, leaving a little skin on the head and neck. Because the executioner usually stands behind the prisoner, a small piece of skin on the throat of the prisoner will be retained in the end. The head, which is only connected to the body with a little flesh, often falls into the arms under the pull of gravity - hence the name "holding the head".

The same is true when serving as a kaisha for a person who is committing seppuku. The head of the person who is committing seppuku must not be completely separated.

This is why seppuku often seek swordsmen to serve as kaisha for them, in order to ensure that they can die less miserably and not end up with a sad end of their heads falling off.

Therefore, not just anyone can be the executioner or the seppuku kaishakunin.

In order to ensure that the prisoners who were ordered to commit seppuku or beheaded could die with dignity, the Edo shogunate even raised a family that had been beheading people for generations, and had been the shogunate's official sword testers and executioners for generations, and had many urban legends - the Yamada Asaemon family.

At this moment, many people present had the same thought: Does this guy know what he is doing?

Although Akabane's blatant disobedience just now was indeed a serious violation of law and discipline.

According to military law, Qing Deng was fully qualified to execute Akabane on the spot.

But, but... Akabane was a hatamoto son with a family salary of 800 koku!

The hatamoto circle in Edo... especially this kind of hatamoto circle with a rich family salary, is a huge network of relationships and interest groups woven by blood and marriage relationships, and a single move can affect the whole body.

If you offend this family today, you may be retaliated by more than a dozen families tomorrow.

This Tachibana Aoto is really crazy!

Isn't he afraid of getting into trouble?

Isn't he afraid of being found out later?

He just killed him like that? And he beheaded him directly?

Does he really think he is the incarnation of the King of Mercy?

He couldn't have known how inglorious it was for a samurai to die by being beheaded.

But he still mercilessly cut off the part above Akabane's shoulders.

This is not giving him any face...!

At this time, Aoto, holding a knife in his hand, turned his head and looked around with a calm look.

All those who had just followed Akabane in open disobedience and were still sitting or lying on the ground, shuddered after meeting Aoto's eyes.

The ground beneath them seemed to have turned into boiling magma and harsh ice at this moment.

They stood up in a panic as if they were burned or frozen. Except for the soles of their feet, they dared not let any part of their bodies touch the ground.

No one dared to disobey.

No one dared to openly say "I'm tired, I want to rest".

In an instant, the atmosphere of panic filled the surroundings.

The sound of nervous heartbeats "thump thump" became the main theme of this space.

...

Qing Deng had wanted to deal with Akabane for a long time.

He repeatedly sang against him, opposed him openly and secretly, and regarded his captain's authority as nothing.

Buddha can also get angry.

Although Qing Deng was a good-tempered person who was easy to talk to, he still felt a nameless anger in his heart after being treated so helplessly by others so many times.

However, from another perspective, Qing Deng had to thank Akabane - thanks to the existence of this beast, Qing Deng had an excellent target whose head he could use to establish his prestige!

The author visited many relatives yesterday to wish them a happy new year. Very busy, so today's chapter is a little shorter (Leopard Death.jpg)

The New Year is really full of chaos...

Although today is a bit short, I still ask for a wave of monthly tickets (Leopard head crying.jpg)

Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a recommendation ticket!