nucmednet Chapter 333: A Trip to the Gates of Hell
Chapter 333: A Trip to the Gates of Hell
Shimazu Chiyo had already witnessed the complete annihilation of the female arquebusiers she had personally trained. If she failed to assassinate Liu Ye in the end, all her efforts would be in vain, and all these sacrifices would be for nothing. Thinking of this, Shimazu Chiyo roared, abandoned her defensive stance, and leaped up recklessly, lunging towards Liu Ye. She slashed down at him through several people with unstoppable force, seemingly intent on cutting down any obstacle in her path. The assassins and samurai behind her followed closely, helping to relieve the pressure on both sides.
Although the guards weren't as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as Qin Tian's special forces members and couldn't gain the upper hand against these Japanese samurai in close combat, their assassination attacks after forming a battle formation were no joke. A forest of bayonets thrust out, forcing several assassins back or stabbing them in the chest, while the remaining samurai were also blocked. Only Shimazu Chiyo, after being stabbed in the left arm, didn't lose momentum. In mid-air, she switched from a two-handed grip to a one-handed grip on her sword, blood dripping from the wound, yet the direction of the strike remained unchanged, as if the injured arm wasn't her own.
This frenzied momentum stunned even the battle-hardened guards. In addition, bayonets are not as flexible as other cold weapons. No matter how fast they are thrust out and pulled back, they cannot keep up with the speed of Shimazu Chiyo's lunge. It seemed that this strike was about to turn the impossible into possible and injure Liu Ye through several people.
At this moment, the soldiers around Liu Ye didn't have time to make a thrusting motion. They could only stand in front of him and take the blow with their own flesh and blood. The soldier in the middle had a long wound cleaved from his neck to his chest, and blood gushed out from his carotid artery. Shimazu Chiyo was covered in blood, even her eyelashes were covered in blood. Her vision was obstructed, and she couldn't see her target for a moment.
Just when everyone thought the attack was over, Shimazu Chiyo didn't even wipe the blood off her face. Her left hand fell limply to her side, her right hand gripped the knife, and with her eyes closed, she thrust it straight at the spot where Liu Ye was standing, as she remembered. The speed seemed slow, but the angle was tricky, perfectly bypassing the gap left by the fallen soldier and aiming at Liu Ye's chest.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The surrounding soldiers' first reaction was to rush forward to block the knife, but they were just a hair's breadth away; the knife was already at Liu Ye's chest. Liu Ye instinctively tried to back away, but guards were on both sides and behind him. There was nowhere to retreat. The barrier that had protected him had now become an obstacle to his survival. His hands and feet went cold. Was the foundation he and Liang Xiaoming had painstakingly built since their accidental travel to the late Ming Dynasty about to be lost? He was now filled with a feeling of resentment and despair, yet also a sense of helplessness.
At that moment, Yan Guang, who was standing to his left, shouted and lunged forward, catching Liu Ye in his arms. The katana passed right through Liu Ye's shoulder blade from behind and emerged from his ribs. The tip of the blade touched Liu Ye's left chest, tearing through his clothes, but it was blocked by Yan Guang's body and could not go any further.
As if a slow-motion scene in a movie had ended, everything around returned to normal speed. The guards rushed forward one after another, ignoring Shimazu Chiyo, and densely surrounded Liu Ye, bayonets raised, the crowd forming a "hedgehog" of bayonets. Under such circumstances, even if Shimazu Chiyo had three heads and six arms, she couldn't harm Liu Ye in the slightest.
Shimazu Chiyo acted decisively. Missing her first strike, she released the hilt of her sword, pushed off with her feet, and leaped backward out of the circle, escaping danger. Even then, she didn't have time to wipe the blood from her face, and her eyes remained closed.
Lin San, who had been waiting for his chance to strike, finally found it. He took down his rarely used powerful bow, drew an arrow, and released it in one fluid motion. Almost at the same moment Shimazu Chiyo leaped backward, the arrow was already flying in front of her. At that moment, Shimazu Chiyo had just regained her footing and had no way to dodge. It looked like she was about to be pierced through the heart by the arrow.
Although her eyes were closed, Shimazu Chishima, with her rich combat experience, heard the sound of a powerful arrow piercing the air and knew that it was an arrow shot from a powerful bow, with the force to pierce stone. Even with sufficient preparation, it would be difficult to avoid, let alone in the instant after being injured and landing backward.
Unexpectedly, retribution came so quickly. Shimazu Chiyo sighed softly, gave up dodging, and prepared to die like a true samurai, with dignity in her death.
The Japanese have never lacked the courage to face death. Seemingly unwilling to be outdone by the other's loyalty in protecting their lord, two assassins rushed forward from the left and right, trying to help their lord block the arrow that could not be avoided.
But arrows are much faster than knives. The two assassins only had time to stick their heads out before they were pierced by arrows. The arrows went through the face of the first man and came out through the back of the head of the second man, just like a string of candied hawthorns with human heads. Their faces were covered in blood, and they looked both comical and terrifying.
No matter how gruesome his death, he ultimately shielded Shimazu Chiyo from the arrow. After escaping death, Shimazu Chiyo wiped the blood from her face, opened her eyes, looked at the heavily armed enemy formation opposite her, and then at the few remaining samurai on her side. Without hesitation, she uttered a soft shout: "Tete dai (Japanese for retreat)!" and quickly disappeared around the street corner with her remaining men.
Liu Ye finally came to his senses; he had just narrowly escaped death again. He looked at Yan Guang, who was pale and unconscious, then at the narrow street, let out a long breath, and ordered, "Lift Mr. Yan up, stop the bleeding, and return along the same route to Amagasaki Hyosuke's place."
He didn't order a pursuit of these lunatics from the Satsuma Domain; who knew what traps lay ahead? Safety was the most important thing right now. Surely that madwoman, Shimazu Chiyo, wouldn't dare to openly attack the residence of an official from the Hizen Domain?
Amagasaki Hyosuke's mansion.
The fat man, who was always smiling like a Maitreya Buddha, now knelt on the ground like a frightened rabbit, enduring Liu Ye's anger.
"Just now, the Satsuma Domain launched a brutal attack on me on the main street, injuring dozens of my personal guards. My trusted confidant was also seriously injured and is on the verge of death. I myself almost lost my life. This happened on the territory of your Hizen Domain. If your lord cannot give me an explanation, I will go to Edo and demand an explanation from Tokugawa Iemitsu. This matter must be resolved!" Liu Ye angrily waved his fist and almost roared at Amagasaki Hyosuke.
Upon hearing Liu Ye address the third shogun by his given name, Amazaki Hyosuke's face twitched, but he dared not say anything, only offering apologetic profusely: "I am truly sorry for what happened. I will definitely report this and give General Liu a satisfactory answer!"