A samurai who doesn't want to be a daimyo is not a good onmyoji

Chapter 117

Not far out of the city, Asai Nagamasa was caring about Axiu to see if she had been injured in the previous battle, and then they all heard footsteps coming from behind.

When he turned around, he saw a man and a woman, one tall and one short, walking towards them side by side.

Among them was a tall man carrying a few bloody ugly rat heads, looking at him with a smile on his face. It was Maeda Keiji who had a drink with him not long ago.

Moreover, Maeda Keiji was holding a horse in his hand, which was the one given to him by Miyabe Tsugujun as a gift. Although he did not fully participate in the civil strife of the Oda family, Maeda Keiji was not idle either. In addition to chopping In addition to a few escaped rat demon ninjas, he actually rescued his war horse.

As for that short figure, it was Ning Ning, but her current dress surprised Asai Nagamasa, and at the same time, she was full of surprises, because she was carrying large and small bags, which were her salutes!

"Hahaha, Nagamasa, from today on, your name will be famous all over the world!"

Maeda Keiji casually threw the rat demon's head to the side of the road, looking at Asai Nagamasa with unabashed appreciation and admiration, and at the same time a proud fighting spirit.

Such an outstanding warrior was worthy of his friendship with his uncle regardless of his objections!
Asai Nagamasa smiled: "I would also like to thank Keiji, if I didn't have you, I might have let these rat monsters escape."

I don’t know how many rat demons disguised as humans have sneaked into Qingzhou City today, and many of them are clearly ninja-type rat demons.

The physical fitness of these rat demons is stronger than that of humans. After learning human skills, they become even more powerful. Therefore, even if they are surrounded by a large army and hunted down by him and Axiu, there are still many problems. Less successful escapes.

Before, Asai Nagamasa chased after him and chopped off a few heads, Ning Ning secretly attacked and killed a few heads, and the rest seemed to have been killed by Maeda Keiji.

Although he was unwilling to participate in the internal strife of the Oda family due to his own special circumstances, he was certainly obliged to kill monsters.

Maeda Keiji kicked the head of the ferocious rat demon that was still visible on the ground even though it had been dead for a long time. His face was full of emotion: "Haha, this is a legendary monster."

"Ordinary people can't even see him, but I killed several of them today. Just because of this, I should have a few more drinks tonight, hahaha!"

It could be seen that he was in a very good mood, and Asai Nagamasa noticed that after killing these rat demons one after another, there was no trace of any scars on his body. Although there was some blood, one look at the color showed that it was not him. Yes, obviously these rat demons didn't let him use his full strength at all.

Asai Nagamasa could naturally see that even if the opponent did not have any guardian spirit and no energy at all, his outstanding talent and years of painstaking training were enough for Maeda Keiji to easily deal with these monsters.

What an astonishing power. If such an excellent warrior is paired with a powerful guardian spirit, he may not be able to defeat a thousand warriors at once.

After chatting for a few more words, looking at Maeda Keiji who was in great spirits and said that he would not get drunk tonight, Nagamasa Asai couldn't help but persuade him: "Keiji, you'd better restrain yourself today, after all, Qingzhou City The loss is not light, and your uncle, who is a few years younger than you, also made a great contribution today."

Maeda Keiji immediately calmed down a lot after hearing this: "Tsk, is it that guy from Matazaemon? I'm not surprised at all."

He had a total of two uncles who were prominent among the many retainers of the Oda family. His biological uncle was Takigawa Kazumasu, a master of iron cannons, and his nominal uncle was Maeda Mataemon Toshiie, known as the "Gun no Mataza".

Unlike him who didn't want to be an official, the guy from the Maeda Toshi family had been following Oda Nobunaga since he was a child. After so many years, he had already become the most loyal subordinate of the other party, even imitating every word and deed.

Oda Nobunaga, Maeda Toshiie, and Maeda Keiji are the three most famous admirers in Kiyosu City and even in the entire Owari territory.

Outsiders often thought that His Highness Nobunaga influenced his younger uncle and then influenced him, but he himself knew very well that this was not the case.

The reason why I show arrogance is just because I don't want to waste my time on incompetent people, but I will sincerely interact with outstanding samurai like Nagamasa.

However, the arrogance shown by His Royal Highness Nobunaga is a disregard for all etiquette, rules, and even life. When the teacher of the other party tried to persuade him with death, he still went his own way and hardly changed. Already understood.

Therefore, he refused to serve as an official and decided never to serve in the Oda family.

He loves fighting, and he also loves life. Even though they have never had any formal communication with each other, he knows that he and Oda Nobunaga will never be on the same path.

However, Asai Nagamasa didn't know that he had thought so much in the blink of an eye. He just continued to remind: "His Royal Highness Toshiya is now the number one pen of the Red Mother Clothes. In the long run, I am afraid it will be detrimental to you Keiji, unless you choose He became an official and surpassed His Highness Toshiya with his military exploits."

The Red Mother Clothes and the Black Mother Clothes are the two most elite bodyguard cavalry under Oda Nobunaga. The total number is about 40. All members are Owari's most outstanding samurai. Maeda Toshiie became a famous warrior with his force and military exploits. The first among the red mothers.

Even though Maeda Toshiie does not yet own any village or city of his own, and his salary is only one or two hundred guan, everyone knows that he is definitely an important minister in the entire Oda family, and his future is limitless.

And what Asai Nagamasa said was not false. The current situation is indeed very unfavorable to Maeda Keiji.

Because Keiji's father, the current governor of the Maeda family, was in very poor health and was unable to fight on the battlefield as a samurai.

It happened that when the internal fighting between the Oda family did not result in a clear winner, the Maeda family chose to place their bets separately. Some samurai chose to join the rebel Oda Nobuyuki side today. Only Maeda Toshiie stood unswervingly. Behind Oda Nobunaga.

Although in troubled times, betting on different forces is the best way to preserve the family, but now Oda Nobunaga, a man with a completely different personality from ordinary daimyo, has won a comprehensive and complete victory. In Maeda Toshiie While his military exploits are getting higher and higher, how long can Oda Nobunaga continue to tolerate the Maeda family?

Changing the place, if it were Asai Nagamasa himself, he would probably take action.

It would not be possible to completely wipe out the Maeda family, but it is still very much in line with the current interests of the Oda family to allow Maeda Toshiie, who is close to him, to take the position of head of the family.

Maeda Keiji became calmer after hearing this, and he began to think about the rationality of this matter.

In fact, his uncle Takigawa Kazuyoshi reminded him from the side before, but he didn't take it seriously at the beginning, but now it seems that the possibility of this happening is indeed very high.
But then Maeda Keiji couldn't help but burst into laughter: Maeda Keiji was born bohemian, never afraid of any hardships, and would never accept any threats, not to mention that he and His Highness Nobunaga would never be the same person, even if It is for the continuation of the Maeda family, and he will not bow down to the other party!

"Thank you Nagamasa for the reminder. Unfortunately, this is probably a dilemma that can never be solved for me." Even so, there was no regret on Maeda Keiji's face, but only carefreeness and a little guilt. .

It was guilt for his father.Although he was not related by blood at all, he enjoyed everything he could in the Maeda family. His father did not even scold him for refusing to become an official. If the position of governor of the Maeda family changes hands, perhaps the saddest thing is Let him go.

Asai Nagamasa smiled slightly: "No, Keiji, your horizons need to be broadened. Who said the Maeda family can only stay in Owari forever?"

This was his real purpose. Before, he had only sincerely made friends with the other party, but he didn't show the slightest intention of soliciting him. However, after showing his strength and pointing out the potential crisis of the other party, he felt that the time was ripe.

Although he still doesn't know why Maeda Keiji is so disgusted with Oda Nobunaga, this is a good opportunity for him.

Maeda Keiji was stunned for a moment, and he quickly understood the other party's intention. However, this time he unexpectedly did not have any dissatisfaction. Instead, he laughed again: "Very good, if it's you Nagamasa, I will definitely You can protect my Maeda family."

Although the other person now seems to be just a ronin who doesn't even wear a family crest and travels alone, Maeda Keiji is completely convinced that the other person must have a great future. The only difference is how far he can go.

Is he the lord of a country, the overlord who unifies the north and south of Omi, or is he a true hero who wants to conquer the world and even reach Luo Luo?
After laughing three times again, Maeda Keiji bowed his hands towards Asai Nagamasa, wanting to say goodbye here. He knew that when the two sides meet again next time, the other party will definitely be stronger than now, but at the same time, he also We can't waste any more time!
However, Asai Nagamasa stopped him: "Keiji, sometimes we may not be able to defeat the enemy with our own strength alone. For example, this time the monster has three eyes and eight sides. We still need to find more power."

Maeda Keiji suddenly scratched his head: "Well, Nagamasa, you have seen it before. Although I am very interested in magic and other things, I don't have any talent."

He mistakenly thought that Asai Nagamasa wanted him to continue learning spells and so on. Although the martial arts he was proud of did not seem to be of much use when facing the big monster today, those spells were not what he wanted to learn. You can learn it easily.

But Asai Nagamasa shook his head: "No, I mean, if there is a chance, you may be able to accept some power from the outside, such as a guardian spirit."

He raised his hand slightly, and Maeda Keiji suddenly felt that the nearby space became much hotter. Then with a bird song, the shadow of a strange bird with one wing and one eye flashed over Asai Nagamasa's body.

He was sure that this was definitely not an illusion.

"Guardian spirit?"

"Yes," Asai Nagamasa nodded and continued to explain: "Guardian spirits are the embodiment of various beautiful emotions, such as kindness, justice, bravery, etc., to name a few. They are born from these emotions, even if they are not human-shaped in appearance. , but they are naturally fond of us humans, and once they choose to reside in someone's body, the host can gain some special powers."

"For example, my bird has characteristics of fire, wind, and the art of flight that I have not yet mastered."

Although Maeda Keiji does not have any guardian spirits yet, with his outstanding ability, it is only a matter of time before he attracts a guardian spirit, especially in this special period when guardian spirits appear extremely frequently.

According to Abe Seimei's records, in peaceful times, it is often difficult to find traces of guardian spirits. Even if no guardian spirits have been found for decades, it is not impossible.

But in troubled times where heroes emerge in large numbers, the frequency of guardian spirits appearing will greatly increase. Those heroes who have brilliant achievements in history and shine like the sun often have guardian spirits.

However, there is one rule that is almost an iron law, that is, in an entire era, there will almost never be more than single-digit guardian spirits existing at the same time.

But this time it was completely different.

Ever since Asai Nagamasa left Otani Castle, he has encountered guardian spirits too frequently along the way.

First, there were the Ise blacksmiths Senko Muramasa, Monkey Tokichiro, Ahide, and Takenaka Hanbei. There were already four. Then Oda Nobunaga and the Oda City brothers and sisters took over four more, plus Maeda Toshiie and Shibata Katsuie, this has already exceeded single digits.

And he suspected that Nohime might have a guardian spirit on her body. It couldn't be that the guardian spirits of this entire era were all gathered in the area of ​​Owari and Mino by coincidence, right?
Combined with the recent increase in the frequency of monsters appearing, Asai Nagamasa couldn't help but make a bold speculation. This may not be a pure accident or coincidence, but due to some special power that makes them appear one by one.

Is it a resurgence of spiritual energy, or is there someone behind the scenes guiding and controlling all of this?
But no matter what, Asai Nagamasa is almost certain that in the same era recorded by Abe Seimei, it was difficult to have more than single-digit guardian spirits at the same time, and it will soon be declared invalid.

Let alone single digits, even if dozens or even dozens of guardian spirits appeared in the entire Nibon at the same time, Asai Nagamasa felt that he would not be too surprised, but would take it for granted.

Because we may be facing an unprecedented chaotic world.

When it came to wind and fire, Maeda Keiji was not very interested, but when it came to flying, he could no longer hide his surprise: "Flying? Can you really do that?"

After receiving a positive reply, Maeda Keiji couldn't help but nodded vigorously: "Keiji has learned a lesson. If there is a chance, I will try my best to seize it."

"By the way," Asai Nagamasa seemed to suddenly remember something, "I felt the breath of fire on His Highness Toshiie, but I'm not sure yet."

"Flame?" Maeda Keiji was stunned at first, and then he suddenly realized: "Damn it, let him be one step ahead. I knew he was hiding something when he was competing with me, but I never expected that it would be like this."

"Haha, but just like this, I am more motivated!"

Asai Nagamasa thought for a while, then took out a few thin books and handed them to the other party: "Keiji, I copied this down in the past few days. I don't know if you will like the military law in it."

Nibon and Cathay come from the same origin, but they are not the same. For example, swords and swords are indistinguishable, and for example, when Nibon talks about the art of war, it actually refers to martial arts, and military law is the art of command.

Looking at the fresh handwriting on it, Maeda Keiji felt that his mood was suddenly a little uncontrollable.

How many years have passed since I felt this warmth from a second person besides my uncle Takigawa Kazumasu?
After taking the book of war, he stuffed it directly into his arms, cupped his hands slightly, and Maeda Keiji turned around and left: "Nagamasa, I'll take the first step. The next time we meet, I will definitely let you see my progress. of!"

If he didn't leave, he was afraid that he would lose control of his eyes.

At the same time, he secretly made up his mind: Look, Changzheng, I will never let you down when we meet next time, I will surprise you!

(End of this chapter)