Yamata no Orochi swayed a few times and was about to fall to the ground.

Otakemaru, who was closest to him, seemed to have predicted in advance that he would fall ill, and helped him with quick eyes and hands.

Regarding Yamata no Orochi's sudden illness, although the cadres around him looked worried, they all seemed not surprised.

"Really... Lord Orochi, you are too willful. I have already said that the deck is very windy and the sticky sea breeze is very bad for your health. You should not stay for a long time. Look, am I right?"

Shuten-dōji spoke mercilessly while taking out a bamboo tube from his waist, unscrewing the lid of the tube, leaning down, and feeding the Yamata-no-Orochi with water with ease.

Katsura Kogoro stood quietly by the side, silently observing Yamata no Orochi and the others.

Based on the way they got along, he could roughly tell the close relationship between Yamata no Orochi and his cadres.

Umibozu, Su Nuo, Ushiki and Ruonyo all respect Yamata no Orochi. The four of them have always been respectful in front of each other, and it seems that they just have an ordinary superior-subordinate relationship.

In comparison, Otakemaru, Shuten Doji, and Otakemaru's sister Suzu, the three of them often showed a peaceful and casual side when getting along with Yamata no Orochi.

Just like just now, Shuten Doji was able to complain about Yamata no Orochi in front of everyone.

Others didn't say anything after hearing this, as if they were used to it.

Even Yamata no Orochi himself was not angry because of this.

Shuten Doji once told Katsura Kogoro that the Otakemaru siblings were orphans adopted by Yamata no Orochi.

Since the relationship is between adoption and adoption, it is not difficult to understand the extremely close relationship between the brother and sister and Yamata no Orochi.

On the other hand, Shuten Doji...he himself has never revealed what kind of bond he has with Yamata no Orochi.

At this thought, Katsura Kogoro felt a little curious: What is the relationship between Yamata no Orochi and Shuten Doji? What kind of past events do they have?

After drinking the wine and swallowing the water fed by the boy, Yamata no Orochi's demeanor improved a lot, and his violent coughing stopped.

"Hehe... It is precisely because I am a willful person who goes my own way that I have been able to build my great career today."

After saying this in a half-joking tone, he struggled to stand upright and turned to look at the group of Westerners not far away.

"Shuten Doji, how long will it take for our 'Slavic Legion' to be completed?"

Shuten Doji replied without thinking:

"It will take about 20 minutes."

Yamata no Orochi nodded slightly, then turned to look at Katsura Kogoro and Takasugi Shinsaku.

"Kui-kun, Takasugi-kun, what about you? How long will it take for your team to be completed?"

Takasugi Shinsaku turned his head and glanced at his companions who were still getting off the battleship:

"It will take about 20 minutes."

"20 minutes... 20 minutes... it's really nerve-wracking."

Yamata no Orochi curled up the corners of his mouth, his facial expression became intriguing, his eyes shone brightly, and he didn't look as weak as he had just been sick and about to die.

"I really want to march in as soon as possible."

"We have worked hard for countless years for this day."

"On the contrary, I felt anxious and unbearable in the last 20 minutes."

At this time, Shuten Doji walked forward unexpectedly and said to Yamata no Orochi:

"Orochi-sama, there is still some time anyway, please say a few words to boost morale."

"Oh? To boost morale? Me?"

Shuten Doji nodded solemnly:

"Yes. Your words are powerful. At this time, it is even more appropriate to say something inspiring!"

After hearing this, Yamata no Orochi was speechless and laughed.

Then, with his hands behind his back, he slowly turned around and faced everyone.

Seeing that Yamata no Orochi was about to give a short speech, Shuten Doji, Umibozhu and other officials all cheered up and stared at each other intently, with a hint of fanaticism in their eyes.

The only exception is Otake Maru.

Perhaps because he was born deaf and mute, he was not good at expressing emotions. Katsura Kogoro had never seen him show any expression other than "expressionless".

"...Everyone, as I just said, we have worked hard for countless years for this day."

Yamata no Orochi's calm voice reached everyone's ears clearly.

As he spoke calmly, he slowly rolled his eyes and scanned the faces of everyone present - Gui and Takasugi among them.

"To put it bluntly, our army is completely pieced together."

"Not only are the sources of troops complex, but the number of troops is also small."

"The 2,000 troops of Changzhou's surprise troops, and the 2,000 mercenaries of the 'Slavic Legion' that we managed to form with the help of Mr. Orleans, total 4,000 troops."

"'With this little force, do you still want to overturn the situation?' - This was the first sentence Takasugi-kun blurted out after hearing the full story of the 'Amanuma Spear' plan."

"His question was so sharp that I couldn't refute it."

"Even if you are as optimistic as I am, you can't be shy and say, '4,000 troops are more than enough to bring down the curtain.'"

"However, although it is extremely crazy and dangerous, this is the limit of what we can do at present."

"From that dilapidated association that was almost disbanded, with only me and Tamamo-mae remaining as members, it has come to this point today... the many twists and turns involved, just thinking about it makes me feel so sad that I almost shed tears."

"It is true that we are a patchwork army, but so what?"

"We have the same goals."

"We all hated the Edo shogunate."

"We all want to get rid of it quickly."

"That's enough!"

"We are gathered here because of our common interests, and we are willing to put aside all barriers for the sake of 'falling the curtain' - based on this alone, we already have strong power!"

Speaking of this, Yamata no Orochi suddenly raised his right hand and opened his five fingers toward the void, as if he wanted to grasp something.

"Everyone, don't worry, use all your strength to leave a shocking reputation!"

"Go and wake up those who are still sleeping soundly and don't want to wake up!"

"Tell them: 'The Tokugawa era is over! The days when you rested on the merits of your ancestors and waited to die are gone forever'!"

"From today on, a new era is created by you and me!"

…

…

Changshu Domain, Zhou Fangguo, somewhere——

After capturing Zhounan without any blood, Ayoto left some troops to guard the area as usual, then commanded the remaining troops and began to march northwest, preparing to attack Yamaguchi and open the door to Nagato Country.

As Qingdeng expected, all the villages along the march became "uninhabited villages", with not a single villager in sight.

In order to escape the military disaster, the villagers ran away and hid, taking away all the food rations and valuables in their homes.

Qingdeng has never thought about robbing people, so he not only does not feel sorry for these "uninhabited villages" where there is no "oil and water" to squeeze out, but he also feels a little lucky.

It's better if all the people run away to avoid accidental injuries.

However...some generals actually proposed to him: Set fire to the village! Burn everything in the village that can be burned, so that the people of Changzhou will deeply remember the fate of those who sinned against the shogunate!

Obviously, these people wanted to please Qingdeng and become familiar with him, so they came here to offer advice.

Unfortunately, they obviously didn't understand Qingdeng, and their flattery ended up on the horse's hooves.

Naturally, Qingdeng would never agree to this kind of animal behavior that was useless and purely for venting.

Not only did he refute these suggestions, he also publicly angrily criticized those who made them.

Facing Niou's stern rebuke, these guys were so frightened that their faces changed, their whole bodies became weak, and they almost collapsed on the ground, begging for mercy.

Time passes...

In the blink of an eye, seven days have passed since the army broke through Yizhoukou.

After seven days of marching, the legion had penetrated deep into the hinterland of the Choshu clan.

Today, there is another "uninhabited village" lying across the march of the legion.

The village is very large, with three to four hundred houses scattered inside and outside the village.

Probably because all the villagers had already fled, there was a desolate smell in the air of the village.

Because it happens to be located on the route that the legion must pass through, all troops have to pass through it.

Pat, pat, pat, pat, pat...

The sound of horse hooves broke the silence of the village.

Groups of cavalry cautiously crossed the village entrance and entered the village - it was the former army led by Hijikata Toshizo, Shannan Keisuke, Harada Sanosuke and others.

The main responsibility of the front army is to clear the way for the following large forces, find supplies, study the terrain, detect the enemy's situation, and track the enemy's traces.
To be continued...