Driven by the desire to survive, everyone burst out with extraordinary physical strength and ran from Seongshang County to Shishi County in the south.

After running wildly for a whole night, these lucky survivors all became extremely embarrassed.

Not to mention sweating profusely, the clothes on his body were stained by sweat and blood and lost their original color.

In addition, due to the intense consumption of physical strength and the long period of not eating rice or water, everyone including Yoshimura Torataro was visibly weak, their complexions were extremely pale, and their dry lips looked like they had been for a long time.

Drought-cracked fields.

Several people were even on the verge of collapse, as if they would fall to the ground at any time.

At first glance, they no longer look like a group of warriors who have dedicated their lives to the Zunzheng Movement. Instead, they look more like a group of pitiful beggars. When people see them, they can't help but throw a few copper plates to reward them.

Yoshimura Torataro stretched his neck and looked to the north with trepidation.

The light green haori is not visible.

No rapid hooves or footsteps could be heard.

——It seems that we should be safe for now...

Yoshimura Tontaro thought for a while and nodded:

"Well... let's rest for a while."

As soon as these words came out, everyone at the scene was immediately relieved, and in the next breath, they fell to the ground in confusion.

"Hey, do you have water?"

"I drank it all long ago."

"So thirsty..."

"Well... I'm so hungry..."

Yoshimura Tontaro found a flat stone at random and sat down with a dejected look on his face.

Suddenly, Matsumoto Kuitou's voice sounded from beside him:

"Yoshimura-kun, I still have some water left... take it and drink it."

Matsumoto Kuitou held an old gourd in his hand and limped towards Yoshimura Torataro.

Although he suffered a disastrous defeat in which he even lost his underpants, fortunately, his two closest confidants - Teishi Fujimoto and Keitou Matsumoto - are still alive.

Yoshimura Tontaro glanced at Matsumoto Kuitou's dry, white lips, and shook his head gently:

"No, I'm not thirsty yet. You can drink it yourself."

"This, how can this be done! Yoshimura-kun, don't refuse, drink now!"

The two of them just declined back and forth.

In the end, Matsumoto Keitou couldn't defeat Yoshimura Torataro.

He licked his lips vigorously, then his eyes glowed green, and he drank the few sips of water left in the bottle with a "gurgling, gurgling" sound.

His ferocious posture is like that of a whale sucking cattle, as if even if Lake Baikal is in front of him, he can still drink it all.

While the other party was drinking water, Yoshimura Tontaro asked aloud:

"Matsumoto-kun, how many troops do we have left?"

When he finished speaking, Matsumoto Kuitou just put down the empty gourd.

"Including the two of us, there are only 86 people left who can move freely..."

Although he had been mentally prepared accordingly, after hearing these harsh numbers, Yoshimura Tontaro couldn't help but feel his heart trembling violently.

Within half a day, there were only 86 people left in the 3,000-strong army...

Basically... no, the entire army was completely wiped out!

Yoshimura Tontaro closed his eyes in pain, turned his back to the sky, and took several deep breaths.

Looking like this, it seems that he is holding back his tears and forcing them to flow back.

Matsumoto Kuitang hesitated for a while, then stammered and asked:

"Yoshimura-kun... we... what should we do next?"

"..."

Mr. Yoshimura remained silent and did not respond for a long time.

At this moment, a loud shout came from not far away.

"What should we do? Is there any need to say that? Of course we have to fight to the end!"

Yoshimura Tontaro opened his eyes suddenly and turned to look at the speaker.

The person who came was a tall, thick-set man with messy hair and dark skin, about 35 years old.

This man's name is Nasu Shingo, a native of Tosa.

To describe this man in a few words - in the eyes of those with lofty ideals, he is truly an outstanding warrior!

Whether it was a knife, a gun, or an iron cannon, he used them all to perfection.

He advocated the idea of ​​respecting and resisting, and in his early years he joined the Tosa Kinnobu Party of Banheita in Takeshi.

It is said that he participated in the assassination of Yoshida Toyo.

Toyo Yoshida - a former political official of the Tosa Domain, who vigorously promoted the modernization reforms of the Tosa Domain, and was considered a man of great talent and vision.

On a rainy night in April of the second year of Wenjiu (1862), he was assassinated on his way home.

The real culprit who killed Toyo Yoshida has not yet been determined, at least.

However, according to the theory of "whoever benefits the most, is the murderer"...the murderer is undoubtedly Takeichi Hanheita!

Toyo Yoshida, whose political stance favored Samu, had always been at odds with Takeichi Hanpeita.

Under the suppression of Yoshida Toyo, Takeichi Hanheita never got ahead.

Therefore, Takeichi Hanheita assigned Nasu Shingo and others to brutally kill Yoshida Toyo, clearing the obstacles for his promotion.

It is said that after killing Toyo Yoshida, in order not to cause trouble for the organization, Nasu Shingo and others withdrew from the Tosa Kinnoir Party under the arrangement of Takeichi Hanheita, and escaped from the Tosa Domain and became a ronin.

After several twists and turns, he is now a member of the Tenchu ​​Group.

Because of his outstanding strength and reputation, Nasu Shingo served as military supervisor in the Tenchu ​​Group.

Nasu Shingo walked up to Yoshimura Torataro in a swaggering manner and said in a loud voice:

"Yoshimura-kun, have you forgotten our ideals?"

"Why are we gathered here?"

"Isn't it just to resist the shogunate and realize the great cause of respecting the king and repelling the barbarians?"

"Can it be said that just such a small setback has made you completely lose your fighting spirit?"

"Even if this is a losing battle, we will fight to the end! Showing our heroic spirit of respecting those with lofty ideals!"

As Nasu Shingo's words fell, Yoshimura Tointaro's eyes gradually revealed a brilliance with special meaning.

Nasu Shingo's loud voice attracted the attention of everyone present.

Everyone looked at Yoshimura Torataro eagerly, looking forward to his response.

Yoshimura Tontaro pursed his lips and thought deeply to himself...it was extremely quiet all around.

Suddenly! A male voice that was extremely unfamiliar to everyone present suddenly came from not far away:

"Ah, I found it, I found it! You are here!"

Suddenly, the faces of Yoshimura Torataro and others changed color.

"Who?!"

Nasu Shingo was the first to lower his body weight, put his hand on the saber on his waist, and turned around to stare at the source of the sound.

The rest of the people also stood up one after another, raised their weapons, and looked like they were facing a formidable enemy.

No wonder they are so nervous.

From the sound of Shicai's voice, it seemed that the speaker was very close to them.

However, none of them heard anyone approaching them just now!

It’s scary to think about it!

"Don't panic, I'm a friendly force."

At the same time as he finished speaking, the grass not far away made a rustling sound - a... doll-like samurai appeared in front of Yoshimura Tointaro and others.

The reason why this person is called a "doll" is because he is very petite, only about 5 feet tall (1.5 meters), and his skin is as fair as that of a young girl who has not yet left the palace.

If you were blind, you might have mistaken him for a girl.

Because my body is so petite, I have an awkward feeling of "a child wearing adult clothes".

Nasu Shingo stared at this person closely and asked again word for word:
To be continued...