Bandit Demon Attack

"Explain yourself! What happened to Soji? I can't just abandon my comrades! If it were Nobu, you would be injured here too, and I wouldn't abandon you either!" Shirou shouted earnestly.

'Hmm!! To say something so delightful at a time like this...' The black-haired, red-eyed girl was none other than the Demon Nobunaga, widened her eyes in surprise, thinking to herself, 'But no, I have to make him stay willingly.'

"Okita killed several bandits in the battle, but when the enemy's strongmen surrounded him and forced him to the edge of a cliff, he jumped off," the black-haired, red-eyed girl replied, feigning sadness.

"Cliff...she sacrificed herself, damn it..." Shirou said through gritted teeth. Sure enough, in this world of samurai, everyone's physical defense is only at the level of an ordinary person. Humans are just too fragile.

Even so, wars will continue to break out, because reconciliation is too difficult, while killing is far too easy.

"This is war. Sacrifices are inevitable. It's really not worth wasting your precious life just for those villagers," said the black-haired, red-eyed girl.

At this moment, rustling sounds came from not far ahead, followed by the shaking of many bushes, indicating that the bandits had already searched this area.

"Shirou, there's no other way. Let's surrender. If we can see Nobunaga, the bandit king here, I can beg her to let us live," said the black-haired, red-eyed girl.

"No! Even if it means fighting to the very end, I won't let these guys here harm the villagers below," Shirou said resolutely.

"No, Shirou, even if it's a matter concerning the village, we can negotiate with Demon Nobunaga, right? As long as I grant her wish, she won't attack the village anymore," said the black-haired, red-eyed girl.

"No, now that Soji is already sacrificed, there's nothing more to talk about. Nobu, you run! I'll hold them off, ninjas or samurai. I'll take care of one of them, and the rest of the battle is up to you."

"If you don't want to fight, you can leave then. Just pass on a message for me: tell Tawara Toda that he will take over the leadership of the army!" Shirou drew his blade, and with his other hand, he pulled out a shuriken from his body, ready to fight to the death.

"Aaaaah!!! You idiot, you incomprehensible fool! If you die, you'll have nothing left! Things that are important, things you want to protect, you won't be able to protect anything anymore! Run! I'll go with you!" The black-haired, red-eyed girl grabbed Shirou's collar and yelled.

The black-haired, red-eyed girl unleashed her magic, raised her musket, and fired bullets, forcing back the bandits who peeked out from the bushes to give chase!

"They've retreated! I have a musket, they won't dare to chase after us easily!" The black-haired, red-eyed girl grabbed Shirou by the collar and lifted him up, saying.

"I understand!" Shirou unpacked the package and scattered sharp iron spikes on the path that the pursuers were bound to take to deter them.

"What's going on, Chief? What's that all about?" the bandits who had caught up asked curiously.

Okada Izou simply sheathed his katana and said, "Well, since the leader has something he wants to do, we'll cooperate. We'll catch up slowly, but not too closely. Without the leader's intervention, you two alone can't defeat that man."

"Yes!" the bandits replied.

The bandits pretended to chase for a while, but when they reached the road with iron spikes, they retreated.

Okada Izou stood silently under the moonlight. He wasn't in a hurry; tomorrow was the day to lead the attack. There were still 20 bandits left, and with him and the ninja, that was enough. The reduced forces would allow him to fully enjoy the battle with the samurai!

At that moment, the man's single exposed eye widened, radiating a terrifying madness.

Shirou and Nobunaga escaped from the forest, cut through the camp's fence, ran back to where they had parked their horses, cut the ropes binding their horses, jumped onto their mounts, and galloped down the mountain. Since the bandits seemed to have given up the chase, they escaped easily.

They had arrived as a trio Riding three horses, but now there were only two of them, with the mare at the very back following leisurely behind the Shirou was riding.

The black-haired, red-eyed girl riding ahead on horseback had a blazing fire of anger in her eyes; her plans had been completely disrupted.

Demon King Nobunaga thought to himself with a heavy heart: 'Hmm... indeed, talented and handsome men are too dangerous. Male beauty is truly a great enemy. Whether it's Mori Ranmaru or Shirou, it's the same. If I hadn't spoiled Mori Ranmaru so much back then and ignored the Yandere Hikari, then... oh dear, being popular is really a headache!'

Originally, Demon Nobunaga intended to ambush Shirou during a night raid here and capture him in one fell swoop. As for Soji, he originally only planned to injure and tie them up, and put them in a room with Nobu. As long as they weren't disturbed, he wouldn't mind releasing them later.

Although she is willing to kill for her own purposes, she will not waste her energy creating bloodshed for no reason.

But unexpectedly, Soji jumped off the cliff. And if things had continued as they were going, Shirou would have rushed up and died in battle.

She originally intended to infiltrate the village, gather intelligence, and then coordinate with the bandits to seize it. However, she found life in the village so pleasant that she unexpectedly fell in love with it.

Handsome and stubborn guys are such a hassle, yet that's precisely what makes them so desirable.

Shirou is exactly the kind of man I've always dreamed of; it would be such a shame to let him go.

For Nobunaga, the Demon Nobunaga's ideal life was to fulfill his ambitions, use the Holy Grail to create bombs from its fragments, and then conquer the world. After achieving fame and success, he would retire and spend each day leisurely with the handsome man of his dreams.

The black-haired, red-eyed girl couldn't help but imagine herself in a Japanese-style castle, living with an ideal man whose face was blurred—a man who seemed to embody all the charming men she had ever met in her life. She would live with such a perfect man, and she would make the best matcha with ninety-nine eggplants and a pot made from a spider, and savor it with her ideal, handsome man.

Then it was mealtime... The face of the ideal person in my imagination became clearer and clearer, and finally he completely became Shirou. He would make delicious and heartwarming family meals, and the whole family would chat and laugh together, savoring the deliciousness infused with love.

"Hey hey hey! Oh no! I'm daydreaming..." Demon Nobunaga snapped out of his reverie and quickly wiped the drool from his mouth with his sleeve.

"Nobu..." Shirou saw the black-haired, red-eyed girl raise her sleeve and assumed she was wiping away tears. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as well.

'Yes, Soji and she joke around every day, they must have a very good relationship. Even though she says tough things, she's definitely hurt inside.'

After all, the Soji of this world will never be seen again...

Just as the body he is currently using belongs to Muramasa, he is in a state of possession and has borrowed the other's body, but in some ways he is also influenced by Muramasa.

If he were to die in battle, his soul would likely return to his original world, but the owner of that body would likely perish.

He asked Muramasa about this in his Inner World, but the other party just smiled and said that he had died a worthy death and did not care.

In fact, at that moment, two figures were locked in a fierce battle inside the cave at the bottom of the cliff.

Soji lunged at Nobu, yelling, "You bastard Nobu! You might as well just die!"

"Okita! Is this how you treat your savior?!" Nobu retaliated, pinning Soji down.

"You were so arrogant at first, but now you can't find the exit! This cave is where the bandit leader hides his treasure; there's no other way out. And you've even forgotten where you came in from! Even if I don't fall to my death, I'll be trapped here and die!" Soji yelled in a fit of rage, pushing Nobu off him and jumping on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! It's not my fault. It's so dark here that I can't find anything, so there's nothing strange about it! I just remember opening the lid, jumping down, and then something long that I couldn't grab onto, and then I fell down and my butt got all bruised!" Nobu grabbed Soji's cheeks with both hands and pulled hard as he shouted.

Soji, her eyes blurred with tears from the pain, refused to admit defeat and reached out to pinch Nobu's cheek, shouting, "No! If I kill you now, maybe bad Nobu will die too! When I was summoning him, Master Komachi mentioned a green-skinned alien that could expel evil thoughts from its body—that's the kind of concept!"

"Coo coo coo..."

"Coo coo coo~"

The rumbling of their stomachs seemed to attract each other, rising and falling in turn, one stomach rumbling once, followed by the other, in an endless cycle.

The two girls stopped fighting, released their grip on each other's faces, and slumped weakly to the ground...

Outside the cliff, all was silent, save for the occasional sound of the wind. The cool night breeze blew, some of it passing through the cave entrance and entering the cavern, producing a clear, melodious sound that was quite desolate...

Chapter 237 The Mountain Bandits and Demons Attack

The moonlight cast a long, lonely shadow of the man riding on horseback.

Not far from the cliffside cave, on a mountainside, the man, seemingly unaware of the multiple knife wounds, sat on horseback, his eyes fixed on the cliff face, silent for a long time.

"Shirou, let's go, let's hurry back to the village." At this moment black-haired, red-eyed girl riding on another horse spoke to Shirou.

"Yes! Let's go back!" Shirou nodded, concealing the sadness on his face, and said firmly, "I will definitely protect the village."

Shirou pulled on the reins, and the stallion beneath him, sensing the rider's will, quickened its pace and galloped forward.

In fact, he was prepared from the beginning. The memories within his body clearly told him that this was a brutal war, and war meant death.

Even if they don't die in this battle, some will still die in the subsequent defense of the village.

In this war where seven samurai led a village against forty bandits, a samurai was considered to have made a profit if he could exchange five bandits for one.

Everyone was aware of the danger of this battle, which is why they joined the team.

Although he fought dozens of battles throughout his life, he never won...

He had fought for his lord, seeking a true ruler, or perhaps a decisive battle to end the war. But regardless of victory or defeat, he had never felt happy or satisfied with the outcome.

This time, fighting for the farmers, he lost another friend, and it seemed that from this moment on, he had already lost everything.

However, if he didn't continue, more people would become unhappy, so he had to pull himself together.

Shirou rode the stallion ahead, never looking back, because the noisy girl was no longer on the mare following behind.

'Oh dear, I've really chosen a difficult path,' Nobunaga thought to himself, sighing helplessly as he began to reconsider his options.

'However, now that Soji, who was difficult to deal with, has been dealt with, everyone else can be handled with sheer numbers. The only ones I really need to be wary of are probably Kojiro and Houzoin Inshun. I'll use my Noble Phantasm's barrage to create distance and take them down!'

"No matter what, I, who possess the Holy Grail and the body of Servant, have the advantage. The one who will ultimately win will definitely be me!" Having made up his mind, Demon Nobunaga grinned maliciously, opening his palm forward as if to take Shirou into his hand.

The journey down the mountain was faster than the journey up. Shortly after daybreak, Shirou rode his horse back to the village via the path behind the mountain.

The children who first heard the sound and saw the horse jumped and shouted excitedly.

Upon hearing the commotion, the samurai and villagers rushed out to greet him. Shirou, back in the village, calmly recounted the results of the battle.

People noticed the strange expression on the faces of the two returning individuals and seemed to understand what had happened.

The samurai girl who often played with the children did not return for a long time, and then they discovered that three horses had returned.

Although people didn't want to believe it, they had no choice but to accept this reality.

At the highest point of the hill in the village's communal cemetery, a small mound was formed, with a pit dug next to it. Even though they didn't bring back the body, the villagers still spontaneously built a grave for the fallen warrior and placed the girl's cups, bowls, chopsticks, and other daily necessities in a wooden box.

Another child was crying so hard that tears and snot were falling to the ground, but she carefully raised her hands so as not to get the thing she was holding dirty—a long scarf.

Because she was physically weaker than the other children in the village, she could only stay in front of the house and silently watch the other children play.

Only the samurai girl would come over and pull her to play. Since she couldn't do anything strenuous, they taught her to play with string figures.

When she noticed that she was coughing and had a runny nose from time to time, Soji wrapped her scarf around her neck and gave it to her.

Now everything is returned to its rightful owner.

The long scarf was placed in the box, the lid was closed, and soil was shoveled up to cover the box.

Burning paper money, villagers clasped their hands together and bowed in mourning before the graves.

The samurai stood silently at the back, while only Yukino stood beside Shirou, quietly wiping away her tears.

As a warrior, the death of comrades is unavoidable and an inevitable part of life. The girl who aspires to become a mature samurai has gained another important experience from this day forward and will soon grow up.

The younger children in the village were still completely bewildered, not understanding what was going on. In their minds, they probably just thought that the older sister who used to play with them had left the village and gone somewhere else.

So I just watched curiously, and then my parents took me away.

Yukino walked back into the house alone, took out a long piece of cloth with something dyed on it, put it on a bamboo pole, then walked to the big tree in the center of the village directly opposite the hill, climbed up, and tied the bamboo pole to the very top of the tree.

A gust of wind blew by, and the long cloth fluttered in the wind. It was a flag, with seven moons of different shapes drawn on it, from crescent to full moon, representing seven warriors. Below the moons were several square stripes, representing the village and farmers here.

This is one of the items made by her master, Shirou, before. It is the banner of this village defense battle, a symbol of the spirit in war, a banner that unites everyone as one.

Yukino prayed, hoping that the flag representing all of them could take in everything on behalf of Miss Okita.

The military flag, originally intended to be displayed at the start of the war, will now serve as a substitute for the Soji, guarding this village and witnessing the war reach its final moment.

After everything is settled and the aftermath is over.

Shirou nodded to Tawara Toda, then stood on higher ground and shouted to the crowd, "Now is not the time to wallow in sorrow!"

"Thanks to Okita Souji's valiant efforts, last night's raid eliminated more than ten bandits. However, the bandits who were provoked will likely arrive after noon today! Everyone must be prepared!"

"Silence! You are fighting for the village, and for yourselves! The previous training has already shown you what to do! Move! Run! Don't let Okita's sacrifice be in vain!"

"Yes!" the villagers steadied themselves and answered loudly.

After that, all the villagers went back to their homes to get their weapons, bamboo spears, and then, according to the previously assigned teams, each warrior went to their respective post to guard the position.

In the forge, Shirou sharpened the blade of his katana, restoring it to its best condition. He then took out a special ore, picked up a hammer and other tools, and began modifying his weapon with a series of clanging sounds.

Around noon, Yukino, who was standing next to the flag on the roof, looked towards the direction of the mountains and saw a cloud of dust rising. She quickly jumped down, used her nimble body to do a 360-degree turn in the air, and then landed in the center of the village, ringing the alarm bell.

The bandits have finally arrived! They first began to wander in three directions, excluding the back of the mountain.

The villagers quickly dismantled the bridge connecting the upper and lower villages, while Kojiro and Houzoin Inshun hurried over from the other two sides.

The bandits riding down the mountain on horseback, their eyes gleaming with ferocity, used the Holy Grail to give these inferior, demonized bandits a hint. At this moment, the horns on their heads grew thick and ferocious, their eyes turned blood red, and as they lost their reason, they became ferocious, brave, and incredibly strong monsters.

It looks like it might pounce at any moment!

"Roar!!!"

"Don't panic! Just stab them with your bamboo spear!" Shirou's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He took a step forward, slashed down the demonized mountain bandits who were rushing towards him, and shouted loudly.

"Yes!" The villagers fought back fiercely, knocking down the bandits who tried to climb up.

Even so, the intense concentration required for the battle left the militiamen looking exhausted.

Separated by the railing, everyone was frozen in a state of tension.

"General, tell me about the delicious food you know," said Tawara Toda at this moment.

Shirou then chimed in, "There are so many kinds of food that can be made from rice. I can think of dozens just by looking. Besides the most common ones like sushi, rice balls, and mochi..."

The most basic steamed white rice can be eaten with any food. It can be soaked in soup, steeped in tea, pan-fried, stir-fried, braised, or even drizzled with curry sauce. It will never get boring.

It can also be used to cook fragrant and easy-to-eat rice porridge, fish-flavored porridge, taro and crab porridge, old duck porridge, and preserved egg and lean pork porridge, all of which are quite delicious.

Rice can be ground into flour to make various kinds of noodles. If it is pressed into thin sheets and cut into strips, it becomes rice noodles. Whether boiled or stir-fried, it is very fragrant and delicious.

You can also use the aroma from directly sautéing rice to make rice candy, rice cakes, or even to boil sugar.

Although the militiamen around had never eaten it before, they couldn't help but swallow hard after hearing Shirou's vivid description.

"Oh, General, the two of us together can form an army! Taking over the world isn't impossible!" Tawara Toda said with a laugh.