The ravine where Hayato's village is located has a lot of flat terrain, so it's not difficult to find a suitable place to camp nearby.
After running around all day in the hot summer, most people are actually so tired that they are covered in sticky sweat and don't want to worry about it, so they plan to just fall asleep. When they heard that they were heading to the village, the Ashigaru breathed a sigh of relief. Even among the senior samurai, there were many who were looking forward to finally being able to sleep in a decent house for a night.
The cold gap between imagination and reality aggravated the irritability caused by being tired but unable to rest. The usually harsh samurai vented their anger on the ashigaru who made many mistakes due to fatigue, and used a mean and sarcastic attitude to find fault with the eggs. them. With the heavy weight of class on their shoulders, the Ashigaru still had to set up camp despite even more serious fatigue. Their stomachs were also full of suffocation, but they could only nod and bow in apology, for fear of aggravating the dissatisfaction of the samurai and resulting in death.
One of the younger ashigaru couldn't help it anymore. He stiffened his neck and was about to turn around to argue. The team leader next to him slapped him in the face, grabbed the hair on the back of his head and forced him back.
The one-sided loud quarrel to vent their dissatisfaction was so loud that it spread from the village entrance to the village, causing the Hayabusa people to further close the door. After experiencing this news, people who were not aware of it all now knew that there were uninvited guests at their doorsteps. The sound of discussion that was deliberately suppressed came far away from the village in the quiet forest in the evening, and then turned quiet again, as if a child who was afraid of a monster outside the quilt huddled up in it and did not dare to say a word, hoping to make the other party leave.
"..." The sage stood quietly at the entrance of the pocket-shaped village and looked in, while Narumi, who was a head shorter than him, stood beside him and had a clear view of everything that happened.
"It seems that we are the same as evil ghosts, no, even more terrifying." The blue-haired senior warrior's tone did not have much fluctuation, because this situation was not necessarily an accident to him.
But even if it is something that is expected, it still creates ripples in my heart when I experience it personally.
The knights on horseback behind him were still arguing. Yajiro was so angry that after setting up his tent, he went in and secluded himself without talking to anyone. The great god and Lao Qiao were directing the structure of the camp and the placement of supplies. Narumi shook his head and walked back.
"How unbecoming!" Rarely, the usually calm samurai captain yelled this loudly at the senior samurai who vented their dissatisfaction by blaming others. The sage did not look back, shrugged his shoulders invisibly, and continued to observe the appearance of the village.
The pocket-shaped Hayato Village is located at the bottom of a ravine, backed by endless mountains. There are highlands on all sides, the terrain is steep, and the woods are very dense and difficult to enter. Even the road the group came on actually took one roundabout after another instead of going straight through.
If you don't go directly into the ravine, you will definitely not be aware of the existence of this village. Because of the surrounding mountains, the smoke from the fire they made to cook and keep warm would not be noticed by the outside world.
The price of such concealment is naturally the relative lack of resources. Even in the dim light of evening, Henry's excellent eyesight is still unobstructed, allowing Henry to easily capture the neat fruit trees behind the village. The low herbaceous plants next to it look like some kind of medicinal herbs. Considering the use of requiem by Archie and others, it is estimated that these are probably the main crops of this village.
There are at least a dozen small piles of rocks at the door of every house. Judging from the wooden sticks stuck on them, the climbing vines and wide leaves, they are yam root plants. There is no way to cultivate farmland in the mountains, so this is their staple food. In addition to the chickens raised in the fence, maybe some rock trout could occasionally be caught in the nearby mountain stream, and the man would go out to hunt. Without regular contact with the mainstream society of Yamashita Kazuto, it would be fine for this land to support the dozens of households in the village that can be seen with the naked eye, but their lives would probably not be too wealthy.
The land of Crescent Continent lacks high-quality iron ore, but without iron tools, many things would become very difficult. Most Hayatos may be good at making iron tools, but a clever woman can't make a meal without rice, so they must still need to make some deals with someone even if they don't want to.
The clothes the children were wearing were obviously made of cloth, and cotton thread had to be purchased; the chickens raised in the fence were not something that could be easily caught on the mountain; plus iron ore - this village must regularly contact people who could supply these. Communicate with people in villages or small towns.
The items for sale can be herbs from the mountains, animal skins, or your own skills in making iron tools.
——Why do sages do such things?
It was only natural for Hayato to observe and reason on his own when it was obvious that there was a gap between Hayato and them and it was difficult to obtain information through verbal communication. Based on these factors visible to the naked eye, combined with the fact that only women and children appeared, it is possible to guess what happened.
Midsummer is the time when animal activity is most frequent. Even if the wild beasts in the mountains are not as rich in hair and grass as in autumn and winter, the cubs born last year will almost follow their mothers out by this time. Live young beasts are the favorite playthings of wealthy bureaucrats and merchants everywhere. In addition, there are various other commodities such as excellent tail feathers suitable for making arrows, combined with the fact that cows and horses have become uneasy near the only exit road. , apparently the young adults in the village were attacked by evil spirits on their way out to attend a gathering in exchange for needed supplies.
——So, what can be inferred from these messages?
First of all, this attacking evil spirit is strong enough to stand up to at least a dozen young and middle-aged hunters who often walk in the mountains with excellent physical fitness and superb archery skills. It is also fast enough and cunning enough to catch one of these keen hunters. Caught off guard.
Quick, powerful and brutal. He would not flinch in the face of more than a dozen opponents, and at the same time he was smart enough that by the time the hunters noticed it, it was already too late.
These characteristics are obviously contrary to the previous mountain ghost who was just huge in body, but actually had brute strength, low intelligence and clumsiness - no, this is something new.
Secondly, and more closely related to their current situation, is that the direction of the evil ghost's attack was very close to their current camp.
To a certain extent, the samurai had fulfilled their half-hearted promise, and they indeed stood guard at the gate of the village. As the only way, if the evil ghost attacks, it will definitely alert the samurai camped outside first - although this presupposes that the evil ghost can walk well like humans.
The physique and physical abilities of the ghosts allow them to rush directly through dense forests that are difficult for humans to walk. They can also rush directly through steep slopes that are very difficult for humans to walk.
Even the samurai are still at a disadvantage against such a being.
Tonight's defense must be carefully considered, especially when most people are exhausted and impetuous.
Subtle and familiar voices of conversation came from the nearby forest. The moment Henry turned his head, Mira, Ling and Galeva emerged from the woods with a "swish". Archie followed them, lowering his head in a muffled voice, not resisting as Mira thought.
"He wants to follow us temporarily?" The Luoan girl asked the second half of the statement in a questioning tone. After the sage nodded, she led Archie to the camp where Rigar and his party lived - —This was built by the missionaries, Sakura and Lulu who stayed here.
A series of messy episodes followed one after another. The samurai's previous temper tantrums against Ashigaru were withdrawn under Narumi's suppression, without making things more confusing.
After all, the last thing they need now is internal strife and anger.
This is something that outsiders are more likely to notice, but the samurai who live in the class society of the Moon Country will always forget it unconsciously. Ashigaru are human beings too. Even if they dare not contradict the samurai openly, their private grudges will only be more detrimental to the team in the long run.
Although the entire team was vaguely divided into three groups: the Ashigaru, Rigar and his party, and the samurai group from the very beginning, the samurai have always treated the ashigaru in this way. But now we are away from home after all. The people at the bottom who were angry before had a home to return to. The samurai and the ashigaru only get along with each other during training, and when they were in Qingchi Town, they didn't do much besides training, patrolling and maintaining weapons. A tiring experience.
Now we are thousands of miles away from Qingzhi, and most of the work along the way has been done by the Ashigaru people. Not to mention these low-level soldiers during the day and night, even Rigal and his party saw more samurai riding horses akimbo and talking and criticizing rather than rolling up their sleeves and working. This experience naturally inadvertently increased the inner dissatisfaction of the ashigaru.
But the embarrassing part is that Rigal and his team, even the sages who are now very respected by the warriors, are only guests, and this kind of thing should not be overstepped.
The timing of mentioning it is very important. If you mention it too early, people may be disgusted with you; if you mention it too late, it may be too late.
Fortunately, Narumi is a clear-minded person after all. His anger at the samurai means that he has realized that the words and deeds of the samurai will affect the enthusiasm of Ashigaru and the coordination of the team.
So taking the opportunity to tell what he had observed, Henry also pointed out some things in this regard to the three samurai leaders and the young master Yajiro at the rear.
The samurai leader was never an enterprising person. After a brief silence, he learned his lesson, and then ordered the senior samurai to maintain their armor, swords, guns, bows and arrows by themselves today to reduce the work of the ashigaru.
He didn't boil the frog in warm water directly, and acting too hastily would always lead to a slippery slope.
Two flowers bloom, one on each side.
While those in the leadership discussed, made plans, and corrected some practices, the ashigaru below also took care of everything in the camp.
Taking advantage of the long summer days, they lit a fire and started preparing dinner. Many exhausted people were sweating and sitting on the ground around the camp. Ashigaru armor and armor were placed haphazardly on the ground, and weapons were also leaning on nearby trees.
This kind of behavior would have attracted criticism and abuse from the senior samurai, but now that Narumi has strictly ordered them not to speak harshly, these people can only endure it and continue to sit in their tents because they hate iron. I sipped some wine and checked the equipment.
The samurai on horseback were just exhausted from the heat, and they recovered much faster than the ashigaru who had to work on their own feet. Therefore, under Henry's suggestion, the main force of tonight's vigil will naturally be senior warriors.
When the cook team started cooking, the sage and the Luoan girl took Lulu, Sakura and Ayaichi with them and took some items to the nearby mountains and forests. They used the elasticity of the small trees and ropes to make some simple Interfering tripwire. Because there were Hayato villagers nearby, they deliberately adjusted the weight required for triggering based on the sage himself.
Henry, who is 195 centimeters tall, is still much inferior to the ghosts, but he is still enough to outshine ordinary people.
Using him as the standard can ensure that the trap will not be accidentally triggered.
These things can be regarded as early warning measures at best. One of the chain traps is also tied with arrows carved from the horns of the screech ox. It is tied to the end of a highly elastic treetop. Once other traps are triggered, the branch will rebound at a high speed when the tenon is released, which is comparable to the speed of a fired arrow. Therefore, it can also meet the demand of making the sound of the sounding arrow.
On clear nights without rain, cattle, horses and baggage can be placed outside the tent. Feeling uneasy about what Henry said, Narumi thought about it and ordered various wooden boxes to be placed according to rules, and he also pulled the ox cart to the outside, forming a wall to protect the camp to a certain extent.
But although such a bunker can block the attacks of human enemies, it is still a bit weak when faced with the two hundred kilograms of ghosts.
No matter what, it's better to have it than not.
But when all this was dealt with and Henry and his party returned, as night officially fell, a row of torches suddenly lit up in Hayato's village.
"Be prepared." Narumi, who didn't know what the opponent's intention was, asked the unarmed samurai to also pick up their weapons. Although rationally thinking that it would be useless for Hayabusa to raise weapons against them, if Henry's guess is correct, After all, these people have lost an opportunity to go to the market to exchange for necessities in the summer, and a large number of young and middle-aged laborers are at least disabled.
Although they are fully armed warriors, they are also pulling gold mountains of baggage.
The poorer the people, the more desperate they become, the less we should have too high expectations for human kindness.
"Samurai, Lord Samurai -" Following this stiff and old voice, the face of a trembling old man with a long white beard appeared in front of the group of people. Judging from the crowds of people around him, it was obvious that he was the leader of this village.
Next to him were two young men with crutches and bandages on their heads. Although they were very weak, their strong bodies were still there. They were obviously the young adults with the best health in the entire village.
Except for these three people, the remaining ten people are all women - they all hold containers such as wooden basins or earthen pots in their hands.
You don't need to be a sage to guess the general development. The news of the arrival of their group of uninvited guests has become an established fact. The women in the village may think that just closing the door tightly is enough, but the more experienced village chief must know the various reasons. After comparing the combat power of both sides, it is obvious that he came here to please the samurai.
"Please, please enjoy." He ordered the women in the village to bring something to them. There was a scent of aroma coming from the firelight. It was obviously washed and steamed chicken.
The aroma and color of fresh chicken lifted the spirits of many warriors in the rear, and the fact that the village chief could speak to people also made communication much easier.
Narumi nodded and let his men take the tub. The women's expressions were a little gloomy, but they didn't say anything.
"Beware of poisoning, check first." The samurai leader still remembered Archie's previous use of Anshen Incense. Although it was a flattering move, he did not relax his vigilance.
The samurai used silverware and other testing methods to confirm that there was no problem with the chicken before taking it into the camp. The Hayabusa people watching all this knelt down in front of them under the leadership of the village chief.
"I, I and others deserve to die for our sins, but please understand clearly, sir, that we are really forced by life." The village chief kowtowed several times in fear: "A, the evil spirits nearby have done evil, and the young and middle-aged people have been seriously injured. It's true, it's true. Please forgive me for not being able to provide better hospitality to the samurai-sama.”
With such a low posture and show of goodwill, even the warriors who were previously full of resentment became harmonious and harmonious. On top of this, the village chief said some good words one after another, praising their bravery and generosity, thanking them for coming to fight against evil spirits, and other clichés.
We don't know whether it is sincere, but at least most of the samurai are very useful.
"Then, let's say goodbye." Hayabusa presented ten steamed chickens and turned around to return to the village, but at this moment Yajiro, who had been silent and autistic before, suddenly spoke.
"Wait." After saying this, he whispered and ordered his subordinate warriors to move some things out.
"This is a return gift."
"grown ups?"
"Not accepting it would be disrespectful to me." As the young master gradually matured, he also became very good at using his identity.
"Thank you so much." The women of the Hayato clan took the things given by Yajiro from the samurai's hands. The heavy things were rice and other rations distributed from the team - their expressions softened. He stood up, and despite the language barrier, the gratitude in his tone became sincere.
"Hey." The oiran glanced at the young master.
"I've read in books that common people raise chickens in order to obtain daily eggs. They kill them directly and send them up. In short -" He turned his head awkwardly.
"We will never forget the kindness of eating. The evil ghost will definitely be defeated." After saying these words, Yajiro ran back to his camp without looking back.
"Thank you very much." The village chief bowed deeply again and walked towards the village with the others with a more generous return gift than what they sent.
"Archie." Archie's mother was also in the queue. She waved and called a few times, and the boy finally walked out.
"Go." Miss Doctor nodded to him, and Archie trotted up to hold his mother's hand, and helped her get some gifts from Yajiro.
"Everything is fine." The Luoan girl watched the figures of Hayabusa gradually disappear, rubbed her hands and turned around.
Rice Ball Exploration
"Can we start eating?"
