As the Final Battle Reaches Its End

"In that case, it's not impossible, after all, rice can be made into dry rations," Shirou said.

"Dry rations, rice balls, huh...?" Tawara Toda asked.

"There is also an ancient food called 'hou,' which is said to be a cooking method passed down by the ancient Qin people from the pre-Qin period. Rice and vegetables are placed in the sun to dry until they eventually form a block. Soldiers in the Warring States period thousands of years ago ate this kind of dry ration."

"Is it delicious?" Tawara Toda asked curiously.

"This one tastes a bit worse," Shirou said.

"But that's made of white rice, isn't it?" Tawara Toda said.

"Yes, that's how it is for now." Shirou nodded.

"That's delicious enough!" Tawara Toda asked, looking at the people around him.

"Mmm-hmm." The surrounding villagers drooled and nodded repeatedly.

Inside a cave, two hungry girls, who had even forgotten about fighting, sat shoulder to shoulder on the ground, lost in thought.

"Speaking of which, when I ran away, I forgot to bring the snacks I left in the room," Nobu said dejectedly.

Soji touched the package behind him and exclaimed with great surprise, "Ah! That's right! Luckily, my package didn't fall out!"

"What?" Nobu tilted his head in confusion and asked.

"Ah! There are four more. Here! I'll give you two." Soji untied the package and handed it to Nobu.

"Oh, it's a rice ball. Well, at this time..." Nobu picked up a rice ball. "Hey! What! What is this thing!?"

"These rice balls were made by Shirou using the super delicious vegetable stew he made yesterday. Everyone ate several big bowls of them. They were so good, right? I could eat them for a week straight and I wouldn't feel any adverse reactions," Soji said with a smile, biting into a rice ball.

"Hey hey hey?! What's going on? Have you been eating this good stuff every day since I left?!" Nobu roared in frustration.

"No... it was just one meal yesterday..." Soji waved his hand and said.

However, at this moment, Nobu, blinded by anger, was no longer listening to anything.

"Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!!! That wicked Nobu actually tied me up here while she enjoys this kind of food every day? Heh heh heh...! So cunning! So incredibly cunning! That wicked Nobu! I must defeat her!"

Whether it was because Nobu had regained some of her power or because of the power of the food, the girl, whose emotions were fluctuating wildly, regained control of magic, and inexplicably, infernal red flames erupted behind her.

The blazing demonic flames ignited, illuminating the girl's entire body.

"Ah! The exit! The exit! We've found it!" Soji pointed above the demon flames, where two long ropes could be seen hanging down from the ceiling.

This is exactly what Nobu encountered when he fell from that mechanical bed. To get out of here, you need to climb up using two ropes and activate the mechanism.

At this moment, thanks to the infernal flames emanating from behind Nobu, the cave was illuminated and finally revealed. However, the ropes on the ground were touched by the flames behind Nobu and immediately burst into flames.

"Waaaaah! It's on fire! It's on fire! The rope's going to burn out!" Nobu cried out in panic, jumping around.

The rope on the ground was lit and quickly burned out, continuing to burn upwards. Because the flames were vertical, it would soon reach the same height as Nobu's head.

"Three-Stage Thrust of Ignorance--!!!" Soji stomped his feet on the ground and instantly arrived at the rope. With a single slash, he cut the two burning sections of the rope away, which smashed into Nobu's face.

"Ouch! It's so hot!" Nobu covered her face, rolling on the ground until she extinguished the flames on the rope before stopping. However, she wasn't angry; instead, she looked at Soji seriously, extended her right hand, and said:

"Let us out! Let us punish that traitor Nobu, who acts only for her own selfish desires! Let our swords tell her! It is absolutely unacceptable to eat alone!"

"Ah, this is the first time since I came to this world that I completely agree with your idea!" Soji nodded and reached out to shake his hand.

"Whoa whoa whoa!!!" The two girls raised their swords high and clashed them together.

"Then... from this moment on!" Soji and Nobu swore in unison.

"Okita nobu Alliance--"

"Oda Soji Alliance--"

"Huh?!" The two girls exchanged glances, both seeing in each other's eyes that neither would back down, and then shouted, "That's enough! The Gudaguda Alliance is officially formed! Our goal is to defeat the evil Nobu!"

Chapter 238 At the End of the Final Battle

Led by samurai responsible for defense, the villagers fought desperately against the rampaging bandits. After many days of training and with a renewed resolve, encouraged by the samurai, the villagers, as warriors protecting their village, mustered the courage to resist even the horned monsters.

It is only natural for them to protect their own village.

However, because the Soji is no longer here, the previous plans have been disrupted, and changes have to be made.

Shirou takes the center position as commander, while Yukino uses her agility to act as a messenger, communicating between Shirou and the other guards.

At the bridge, the villagers used axes to dismantle the wooden bridge connecting the upper and lower villages and carried it to the riverbank to serve as a barrier.

"Gahhh!" The demonic bandit, whose mind had been controlled, fearlessly emerged from the water and tried to climb ashore.

A sharp arrow whistled past and pierced the center of the demon bandit's forehead, causing him to fall directly into the stream and remain motionless.

It turned out that these horned bandits were not untrainable, and the surrounding villagers finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The man in question was a blue-haired man Tawara Toda, who was holding a longbow. He was filling in for Okita Souji and had to take care of both the adjacent back mountain and the bridge area at the same time. Fortunately, he could make up for the energy and time wasted by running back and forth by using the advantage of long-range shooting with his bow and arrow.

Tawara Toda nodded to Shirou was also carrying a bow, and then walked to the other side. Meanwhile, under the big tree in the center of the village where Shirou was stationed, someone ran out and shouted loudly to the surrounding villagers.

"Don't be afraid! They're not that tough except for being stronger! Just use your bamboo spears to stab them, whether it's their heart or their head! Aim for vital organs!"

"Yes!" The villagers, their morale boosted, answered loudly.

At the village's front entrance, a group of bandits, knives in hand, stepped forward and began hacking at the wooden wall, seemingly about to smash open a new hole through the crack.

"Waaaaah! Die! You damned monster!" The villagers inside rushed forward through the gap and thrust out their spears.

With the bamboo spear pressed against the animal hide, the bandit seemed oblivious to the pain. Relying on his immense strength, he pressed his chest against the spear and walked forward, forcing the villager holding the spear to drag his feet along the ground and retreat continuously.

Two bamboo spears pierced the bandits' abdomens. The villagers gritted their teeth, their faces flushed red, but they still couldn't stop the bandits' advance.

At that moment, a long spear thrust out, its shaft spinning, leaving a hole in the bandit's throat. Then, the bandit's head was sliced off by the specially made sickle-like blade of the spearhead.

"Well done! Keep defending. As long as we don't let them in, the village will be safe," said Houzoin Inshun.

Suddenly, a blur of motion struck.

Several kunai were thrown at the monk, aiming straight for his shoulders and feet, seemingly to cripple the powerful tendons in his shoulders and pin his sturdy feet to the ground.

At the same time, on the other side, a sharp sickle flew straight towards Houzoin Inshun's neck.

At the same time, she had to face attacks from five directions, especially the sickle hook connected to the chain, which was wrapped around the attacker's ninja girl's hand. It was as venomous as a snake, able to change direction at any time, as if it would fly over and bite even if its head was cut off.

"Drink!!!" Houzoin Inshun leaped up, dodging two kunai, and at the same time swept the tip of his spear, sending the kunai flying toward the attacker's face.

"Ugh..." Mochizuki Chiyome endured the pain, the marks on her body becoming even more pronounced. Her small body seemed to be squeezed, and even her bones groaned. At that moment, the giant snake phantom behind the ninja girl opened its ferocious maw, transforming into a bizarre creature between reality and illusion, and bit at Houzoin Inshun's head, as if it wanted to crush it and swallow it whole.

At that perilous moment, Houzoin Inshun, wielding the Jumonji Kama Yari, was as if possessed by a Vajra Arhat, impervious to all evil and fearless of any demons or monsters. With a twist of the spear, he swung it down, sending the girl flying with tremendous force.

"Tch!" Seeing that she couldn't defeat the monk-spearman, Mochizuki Chiyome thrust her kunai into the wooden wall, used it to climb over, and escaped. Thanks to her agility, the sharp wire wrapped around it couldn't hinder her in the slightest.

After that, the village remained unconquered for a long time. A sharp whistle rang out, and Mochizuki Chiyome Chiyo put a leaf to her lips, whistled, and ordered the bandits to retreat.

From noon until now in the afternoon, this first engagement has finally been successfully defended.

Yukino ran around asking about the battle results, then ran back to the center of the village to report to Shirou.

"At the village's front gate entrance, His Highness Prince Yinshun killed one."

"Tawara Toda shot one, and Kojiro also killed one."

"Miss Nobu also directed the villagers to defend the other side of the field."

Yukino reported with a delighted smile, "No one in the village was injured."

"Very good!" Shirou agreed approvingly. He had previously drawn 40 circles on the map, and now 23 of them had been crossed out. They had finally killed so many bandits that only 17 remained.

But the real battle has only just begun.

After a day of fighting, these three locations remained unconquered, so the battle in the back mountain officially began.

At this time, Tawara Toda, who was in charge of patrolling, also joined the guard team on the back mountain.

Each charge was not intended to let the entire enemy army rush in, but rather to let a portion of them in to trap them like turtles in a jar.

First, the men lying in ambush on both sides remained still, but when two bandits rode past on horseback, they ran out to block the entrance.

"Charge!!" Tawara Toda brandished his ancestral golden broadsword and led the villagers wielding bamboo spears out from the left, while Kojiro led the other villagers out from the right, instantly blocking the path leading into the village from the back mountain.

The sharp bamboo spearheads blocked their way. Even the fearless mountain bandits on horseback, upon seeing these, cried out in alarm and stopped.

At that moment, the leader of the two bandits who rushed in lost his footing and his Riding sank into the ditch that had been dug earlier.

The person behind had taken precautions and dodged, but unexpectedly, a tripwire suddenly appeared in front, causing the horse to lose its balance and fall over.

Without anyone else needing to lift a finger, Shirou drew his bow and shot an arrow, striking the bandits in the head before they fell from their horses and collapsed to the ground, ending their lives.

"Excellent archery!" the villagers cheered loudly.

The villagers, who had already practiced the traps many times, handled them methodically and led the horses away.

"One more time!" Shirou ordered Yukino.

"Yes!" Yukino skipped over and ran quickly.

Once again, Tawara Toda led the charge at the forefront to hold off the enemy, but this time the enemy was also prepared.

"Hahaha!" A blue-gray-haired ronin sitting on the back of the horse jumped down and slashed at Tawara Toda.

Tawara Toda quickly raised his golden sword above his head to block the man's attack.

In that instant, a Black Shadow suddenly darted out from under the horse, and with a wave of his hands, Hidden Weapon flew towards the undefended Tawara Toda.

Unable to dodge in time, blood dripped onto the ground.

"Drink!!" With Tawara Toda, Mototo cut off the horse's head with a single stroke, then followed up by cutting the bandit on horseback in half at the waist.

"Lord Taiko! Drink!" Kojiro in alarm and anger, swinging his sword and forcing the enemy troops back.

But at that moment, Tawara Toda felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, and his body went limp as he collapsed to the ground.

In the center of the village, Shirou, having dealt with two more bandits, saw a girl running back with a sorrowful expression.

"His Tawara Toda ... His Tawara Toda ..." Yukino ran over, tears welling in her eyes.

"What!" Shirou rushed over.

At this moment, Tawara Toda had already collapsed to the ground, with a gash in front of him from which a strange blood mixture of black and red was flowing. The area around the wound was an eerie purplish-black color and emitted a putrid odor.

"Damn it, it's poison!" Shirou slammed his fist on the ground.

Sasaki Kojiro, standing nearby, said, "It's that female ninja's deadly poison. I didn't expect that besides the crazed bandits and ronin over there, there was also a female ninja hiding behind them. The venom released by the demonic snakes moving on her body is like a curse; there's no cure now."

"Ah, it's deadly poison. Looks like I'll have to make my exit. It's such a shame I didn't get to enjoy your victory feast! Don't die, General! Ah, come to think of it, I'm actually already dead, haha. I should say we'll meet again someday..." Even on his deathbed, Tawara Toda didn't forget to joke. He uttered his last words through his bleeding mouth before losing his breath.

The group concealed their grief and were forced to confront the harsh reality that lay ahead.

"Whether it's that ronin or the ninja, we have to take one of them out now, otherwise it's too dangerous to leave them together. I'll take care of one of them," Shirou said.

"No! Leave it to me. I'll rest for a bit, then set off and take care of him before the battle begins."

After Kojiro finished speaking, he took his sword, went to a secluded spot, sat down against the wall, and closed his eyes to rest.

Everyone was used to it; unless he encountered a worthy opponent or a beautiful woman, this man always maintained the demeanor of a taciturn master.

However, no one disturbed him. Everyone understood that when the man opened his eyes, it would be the moment he wielded his sword to kill his enemy and bring the battle to a close.

The sky began to darken.

Kojiro opened his eyes, set off alone, and walked into the dense forest.

Night deepened.

But Kojiro still didn't return.

As the moon passed behind the center, and it was nearly dawn, rustling sounds came from the bushes, and the swordsman in the blue samurai robe finally returned. He looked somewhat disheveled, but his eyes still retained the imposing aura of a great swordsman.

"I have fulfilled my mission. I have cut off the samurai's head." Kojiro sheathed his sword and leaned against the earthen wall next to Shirou to sleep.

"Very good!"

"Oh, oh, oh! The samurai is the best!"

The villagers cheered; even they knew that by defeating a powerful enemy, they were one step closer to victory.

"Tomorrow is the decisive battle, so let's all take turns going home to see our families tonight before coming back!" Shirou said.

Upon hearing Shirou's words, the villagers exchanged glances and then returned home.

After that, all I saw was a villager carrying a tray with an opened wine jar on it, two wine bowls next to it, and a plate of dried, smoked meat.

"What's this?" Shirou asked in surprise, seeing both wine and meat.