"The Sage and the Maiden ()"!
After confirming the alliance and cooperation goals, Sakura and Kenye conducted a detailed inspection of the wounded. Thanks to the sufficient supplies and the witches' rich experience in wound treatment, most of the wounded were still injured but could barely move. But they cannot withstand severe bumps, so planning the route is one of the difficulties. If they encounter pursuers, it will be difficult to escape at high speed.
Combined with the fact that there were 11 ghosts among the injured - their special physiological mechanisms and the runes on their bodies made these warriors support the escort witches and their party to this small village even when they were seriously injured, but after ensuring safety, they Falling into a protective sleep, like the hibernation of a bear or a cold-blooded animal, reducing the body's consumption to maintain life.
With a huge physique of nearly 3 meters in height, a broad frame and strong muscles, the body weighs more than 200 kilograms. These 11 ghosts weighed more than two tons in total. The only feasible solution for transporting such wounded people was to improvise a large carriage and set up bunk beds inside for them to lie down in.
The load of more than two tons may include nursing staff and medicines, and the four Rigar packhorses obtained from Ryunosuke can be hauled together. However, there are very high requirements for wheels, axles and road surfaces, which obviously cannot be achieved in a short time.
Their carriage was completely destroyed in a battle with the three-headed dog-like monster, and they had to reluctantly abandon the axles and other recyclable parts in order to travel lightly. But at that time, they did not expect that there would be such a demand again. Now it is obviously impossible to go back across 500 kilometers to find it. They can only use their brains to think and start with what they have.
Fortunately, the sage noticed that there was a waterwheel mill on the edge of the local river. Because the impurities in the river water were high and the wood was seriously worn, the local carpenters were quite experienced in axles and wheels. Old Qiao, who went to inquire about it, came back and said that he was there. There are semi-finished products, and if you give me enough money, they say it can be completed in two days.
This is a great blessing, because time is what they lack most.
In addition, coupled with the carriage body that is three and a half meters wide, four and a half meters long and raised to two and a half meters high, such a thing made in a hurry is enough to make a small town carpenter look embarrassed. After collecting enough money, he invited relatives, friends, neighbors, and neighbors to come together, promising that the project would be completed as soon as possible.
The finished frame was completed early on the third day after the alliance was confirmed, because it was only relatively large in size and all parts were spliced with standard parts, and the group did not have any requirements for detail refinement and engraving, as long as it was strong.
At first glance, the carriage looks quite large and requires three rows of six wheels to bear the pressure. In order to avoid the inconvenience of turning due to the long body, under Henry's guidance, the front two wheels cleverly designed a vertical pivot to connect with the horses in front. The drawbar is connected so that the front wheels can turn independently, adding some flexibility.
This method is not common in Rigar, because such a huge carriage is quite rare, but for a sage who has gone through a long journey, he has still experienced the rarest things.
But such a huge space immediately became cramped after bunk beds were placed. Once all the wounded were laid down in it, the space would be so narrow that the nursing staff could only move carefully against the tarpaulin.
There are two extra-wide bunk beds arranged in a length of four and a half meters. On average, each ghost has less than one meter of width to lie on. Because there are eleven people, there are fewer people lying on the second floor, but the extra space, including under the bed, is intended to be used to store related supplies.
The witches were quite worried about safety issues while moving - mainly because the unconscious ghosts lying on the huge carriage were an easy target, and the tarpaulin was obviously difficult to withstand arrows.
However, adding a hard body shell will not only increase the labor hours, but also increase the weight of the entire vehicle. If the axles, wheels or horses pulling the carriage are overwhelmed, they will not even be able to move.
Because it was the first time to make a carriage, the carpenter in the village also used the existing wheelbarrow to make a small two-wheeled experiment. After communicating and discussing with Henry, Narumi decided to buy it too for a special purpose. This, coupled with a four-wheeled carriage pulled by two horses carrying the injured miko and some weaker personnel and supplies, formed their means of transportation in the future.
After squeezing all the carpenters' stocks in the village and even making them stay up late at night to continue processing until they were miserable, and giving them a sum of money as compensation, Henry and his party went to find the blacksmith again.
When the sage arrived, he wanted to ask the other party to make some reinforcements and shields for the carriage, but for a blacksmith in a small village who only made nails for agricultural tools, his request only made the other party frown more and more. tight.
"This great master of the Southern Barbarians, even if I think about it, this material -" Crescent Continent is quite short of iron ore. For blacksmiths, metal needs to be accumulated slowly over a long period of time. He asked for too much at once, and it was not convenient for him. It is difficult to obtain materials in the first step.
But fortunately the sage was prepared for this.
Some of the battle-damaged armors of the ghosts can still be repaired, while other parts such as shoulder armor and other minor parts can be removed to fill in key points such as breastplates and helmets. Those that were too damaged to be repaired became the materials for this production.
But more important than this is the shock-absorbing steel part of the Rigal heavy carriage. This arched material made of steel acts as a buffer between the axle and the body. It can not only alleviate road bumps to a certain extent, but also It can also avoid excessive pressure caused by the body directly pressing on the axle, thereby enhancing the load-carrying capacity in disguise.
And the materials to make this.
It is a sword obtained from the Platinum Swordsman.
As long as the high-quality Otolo steel is carefully heated and reshaped, it can barely achieve the purpose they need. The advantage of the raw materials that Crescent Continent is even more lacking is that craftsmen will be more cautious when using it. Therefore, the average professionalism level of the blacksmiths in the Moon Country can be said to be Much taller than Rigal. Of course, the lack of raw materials also means that most of their operating experience will be relatively less.
The sage did not put too much pressure on the cautious and careful blacksmith, but the things could still be completed in time. Because he gave the blacksmith something more important than money - the remaining high-quality raw materials could be left to the blacksmith to deal with.
Few true craftsmen would refuse such payment.
Preparations were in full swing, and the arrival of their group brought vitality to the entire village in just a few days. Almost everyone was discussing the things they made and the money they gave.
Naturally, such heat could not escape the attention of the local lords.
On the fifth day of preparations, most of the preparations had been made, and the group was already thinking about how to move the wounded onto the carriage without causing secondary injuries and tearing the wounds.
An unexpected guest has arrived.
The small village that was originally injected with vitality and bustle suddenly became quiet due to the arrival of the Chinese in power. It was like a mouse meeting a cat. Many people stayed behind closed doors.
Mira frowned. This was the first time she had seen a lord so feared by his subjects, even in the country of the Moon where classes were strict.
But then she realized why.
50 ashigaru, 20 samurai and 9 followers came in with full force and power.
The leading samurai wore a set of exquisite but not overly decorated armor. A fine sword hung on his waist. All the straps were tight and well-fitting. He then took off his helmet and handed it to the attendant next to him with great skill.
Although most of the samurai in the directly-governed states still undergo traditional training, this one is obviously a martial arts sect among them, and is closer to the practices of the 'old antique' feudal samurai.
but.
Is it necessary to display this virtue in front of the people?
"Fans, Southern Barbarians." At a glance, he caught sight of the Qingtian family and Henry who were making preparations. The young Chinese man twitched his nose and showed disdain.
"Uninvited guests have arrived in my territory, but they don't know how to come to visit. Is it because there is no such thing as basic etiquette in the place where you come?" His attitude was very cold, and the great witch behind him came out at this time after hearing the commotion.
"They are my guests. The situation is urgent. Please forgive me, Lord Naomi." The great miko explained, and the young Chinese named Naomi said nonchalantly: "Yes. If the great miko says so."
He didn't show enough respect, but the great witch didn't care about such details with him. She responded calmly: "What's the matter, Naomi-sama? If you are worried that we are occupying too many resources here, we are going to get up now." left."
She said, but the other person shook his head: "No, that might be a bit difficult."
"Your Excellency, you understand the current situation. There are some things that are inconvenient to explain." Kazuto's unique ambiguous communication method made Rigar and his party confused even if they could understand the words. But after thinking about it for a moment, the Luoan girl reacted.
——This is probably the samurai who even killed his own people in order to block the news.
Judging from the way he entered the village fully armed to intimidate his own people, it was obvious that this man was capable of such a thing.
"Your Excellency Naomi, you want to thwart Xinjing's will?" The great witch bluntly revealed her identity in response.
"Of course no, I don't look like a ignorant traitor to the vassal." His words were thorny. The younger and more energetic A Yong and others wanted to rush forward after hearing this, but were restrained by the three sergeants. .
"But I also have my own considerations. For the safety of all the witches, I am afraid that staying here and accepting my protection is the best option."
"More like detention." Mira whispered, and even though the great witch was calm enough, she couldn't help but frown at this time.
"What if I insist on leaving?" she replied.
"As far as a weak woman can go, just stay here." The lord said with almost obvious ridicule, looking down at her.
The national conditions of Xinyue Continent are beyond imagination. In terms of status, the great witch is obviously far more noble than local Chinese like him, but in aristocratic families, the status of men is much higher than that of women.
Even though he couldn't express his disdain directly due to her status, there was still a sense of looking down on others between the lines.
But this series of words and deeds by this man is obviously not only due to these social traditions.
"This guy, when Teruyuki and the others were still unconscious, they didn't dare to speak like this to the great miko." The miko who followed next to him whispered with gritted teeth.
He was fully armed and walking around in a peaceful village with murderous intent; he belonged to the ranks of warriors from a state directly under the central government, most of whom were unfamiliar with martial arts, but they were proficient in martial arts; combined with this, he was assigned to be the ruler of a small, barren village. .
This is obviously a troublesome and showy prick. The people above are afraid that he will cause some problems, so they are thrown into such a small frontier place.
He's afraid.
I am quite happy to see the current situation of Jeju.
I'm afraid that in my heart I laughed loudly at the samurai who lost to the domain army, and I was extremely proud of my 'foresight and unremitting efforts'. Even when he used force to kill the mob and also killed the people under his command, he felt that he was very powerful and powerful.
So he didn't dare to say anything while the ghost guards were still awake. He showed this disdain now that he had ensured that warriors with weapons far exceeding his own were put to sleep.
Even if the witches still had their magic talismans left and could use the divine thunder, maybe he wouldn't dare to do this. The Qingtian family's equipment level and number of people were weaker than Naomi's, so they felt that they had absolute control over their power.
He swelled.
But what is even more inflated may be the words of others.
"I remembered!" A male voice that seemed familiar sounded from the side.
"The battle in Swamp Village was a disgraceful defeat!" The male scholar who came out was someone he had seen at the border in the past.
"There are rumors among the people that there are Nanman people and vassal warriors involved."
A scholar who boasts about armchair tactics, Your Excellency.
"The prodigal dog still has the face to show up!" He waved loudly to Henry, Narumi and others, because there was no conversation at the beginning, and the group just listened to his boastful remarks and enjoyed the praise as they passed by. This was the first time this person had interacted with him today. The group met.
Perhaps feeling that his side had an absolute advantage, he accused loudly until the sage, who had been silent, stopped checking the wheels and stood up.
"Hiss--" Like a duck being strangled by the neck, he immediately breathed out when he saw the tall Henry standing up.
"Of course, I don't know many of the situations I encountered during the battle, so -" The scholar whose voice softened suddenly became hesitant.
"Your Excellency, you don't have to be humble. It is the plan you gave me that can help me maintain the stability of the village. So there is no doubt about your strength." Naomi complimented him, which was obviously better than those who had done nothing before. He benefited more from people's praise.
But the Luoan girl frowned.
"Wait, was it your idea to block the news?"
"Including the use of force?" She had always been a straightforward character, so she directly asked in fluent Kazuto language.
"This Nanman girl is quite good at talking." Qing, who was confirmed by Zhi Shi, replied with a proud face: "Exactly, the detailed border patrol plan ensures safety."
"The use of force can only be said to be unfortunate." He said, and then added: "At least they will not feel any pain if they die by my sword."
Mira glanced around. He seemed to be less ambiguous when he boasted about his superior martial arts. However, the people around him were hiding because of their appearance. Otherwise, they would have blocked the news, and even the fact that he had killed someone was exposed.
Extremely conceited idiots, two of them, together.
She was weighing whether to rush forward and punch her, but a big hand held her shoulder.
Mira raised her head and Henry winked.
"You won't let us go, right." He said in his usual steady voice.
"Exactly, it's safest to stay here." Qing nodded and spoke before Zhishi.
"You think that strong force means the authority to speak, right." Henry glanced back, and after meeting the eyes of the great witch, the latter sighed and nodded.
"What's the matter, do you, a southern barbarian, think that you are tall and strong and can withstand swords? Haha." With a "Clang--" Zhishi pulled out the sword from his waist in front of everyone: "This is the product of the Fuso swordsmith. , the quality is extremely good! Blow out your hair!”
"Bang." The sage picked a piece of wood that was handy, weighed it, and then took a step forward under the crowd's watch.
"Hey! You southern barbarian, don't you understand? I said, you want to die -" "Bang -"
In an instant, the distance was shortened.
Including Narumi and the others, no samurai saw his move clearly.
And the runes on Henry's body didn't even light up.
"Ah--" The great miko covered her mouth, and others looked at Henry in a daze as he knocked Naomi off the horse.
"Crack--" The luxurious sword fell to the muddy ground, and the warriors watched in stunned silence as their master fell off his horse and fell to pieces.
The smooth and stable wooden board stayed in the air without shaking. The sage's precise control of distance and force was like a top-grade, tightly-joined handicraft.
He made the attack in a very short time, hit it accurately, and even kept his hand accurately.
The other party suffered a nosebleed and fell off his horse. He was dizzy and his cheeks were swollen, but it was not fatal.
"You, you, you, you, you, do you know what you did?" Qing's hand was shaking as if he was having an epileptic seizure, pointing at him.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand your language." Henry replied in a polite and human language.
"I still need to prepare for departure, so."
"Let's go together." He ignored the ashigaru and looked at the remaining dozen samurai.
