Soon, after walking through a not-too-long dirt path and steps, everyone saw a Japanese-style mansion.
The Shuichuan Patriarch and his daughter seemed to be talking about something not far from the entrance.
Behind them were several samurai, one of whom, with purple hair, was the plot character Jiuzhi Laiqi, who had appeared in the story.
He was a highly trusted high-ranking samurai of Shuichuan, and his role in the plot was not small.
If I killed him, I could probably get a lot stronger using the system's functions, since people are much easier to kill than Kabaneri.
Li Ge narrowed his eyes slightly, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, pondering.
Just then, a booming sound echoed in everyone's hearts.
Standing near the main residence, which was on higher ground, one could clearly see the walls of Xianjin Station exploding.
The out-of-control train, filled with Kabaneri, smashed through the wall and flew into this station city.
Dense swarms of Kabaneri were thrown from the train like dumplings, landing on the ground, struggling for a few moments, then standing up and biting anyone they saw.
For a moment, after the train flew in, the fire and roar of the boiler explosion, along with the screams of the crowd, echoed through most of the city.
The once peaceful and serene city instantly turned into a living hell.
"The plot has begun," Li Ge released the hilt of his sword, gripping the Steam Gun in his hand, and reminded them softly.
Gulp.
Looking at the hellish scene below, Zheng Zha swallowed hard.
His hands and feet seemed to be trembling.
Zhan Lan, beside him, was much the same; her beautiful face was completely drained of color.
"Damn it, how could this happen?" The samurai leading the way cursed under his breath, then was the first to run to the Shuichuan Patriarch nearby and asked, "Patriarch! What should we do now?"
The Shuichuan Patriarch looked like an elderly man, but he seemed quite robust, and his spirit was good.
He looked at the group of samurai who had just arrived, and was about to give some orders, but then he saw his daughter, who was a bit shocked and disbelieving, and changed what he was about to say.
"Xianjin Station has fallen; abandon this place and prepare to evacuate immediately."
The Shuichuan Patriarch looked at the samurai and Zhang Jie and the others behind him and said, "Zhang Jie, right? You and your people protect my daughter!"
"Laiqi, go call out all the samurai in the main residence and have them escort me to Kōtetsujō to observe the situation there and set up a defensive line. If it's safe there, I'll send a signal for you and my daughter to come and meet up."
"Yes, Patriarch."
Jiuzhi Laiqi scrutinized Zhang Jie and Li Ge and the others behind him, feeling that the quality of this group was somewhat uneven, and he frowned slightly, but still obeyed the order.
He turned to the main residence to gather his subordinates, who were called samurai but were actually close guards.
Zhang Jie also nodded, motioning for Li Ge and the others to come to Ayame's side, having them pretend to protect her.
Li Ge wasn't particularly scared, just a little nervous.
The Main God would not issue a mission that was guaranteed to result in death. According to the plot, as long as they honestly stayed by this young lady's side, it was basically the safest course of action for now.
Of course, if they sought death by actively proposing to go with the Shuichuan Patriarch to Kōtetsujō, they would be doomed.
After all, a side quest would definitely be triggered then.
Who told this Shuichuan Patriarch that in the original plot, he was just extra food for the Kabaneri?
It was already a near-death situation, and with the Main God's increased difficulty for side quests, if a newcomer could survive, Li Ge would eat a lump right then and there.
But, there were precisely some people who wanted to seek death.
That little fat man and the middle-aged woman, along with Mu Gang.
These few who hadn't heard what Li Ge said about the plot seemed to be failing to recognize their own situation.
After the Shuichuan Patriarch gathered nearly a hundred samurai, based on his own judgment, he felt that it was clearly safer over there.
As for Ayame's side, with only a dozen people, it looked very dangerous no matter how you saw it.
Plus, there was the temptation of being able to complete the main quest immediately.
Following the Shuichuan Patriarch meant potentially boarding Kōtetsujō at the first opportunity, so they were naturally very tempted.
So, before the Shuichuan Patriarch left, the little fat man, thinking himself clever, took the initiative to say, "Patriarch, can I go with you to form the defensive line?"
"Me too," Mu Gang said after a moment of thought.
As for the middle-aged woman, she also stepped forward.
Just as Zheng Zha and the others were also somewhat moved, Li Ge subtly moved a little further away from Mu Gang's side, which immediately made them sober up.
They decisively remained silent, swallowing their original words.
Li Ge glanced at Zhan Lan and Zheng Zha, as well as Li Xiaoyi, who showed no unusual reaction.
They reacted quite quickly, understanding with just one movement.
However, Zheng Zha seemed to be about to cause trouble.
After Zheng Zha saw Li Ge's small movement, he subconsciously shut up, but then he subconsciously wanted to remind Mu Gang and the others.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, Li Ge unhesitatingly moved closer and gave him a kidney punch!
Ugh!
The intense pain prevented Zheng Zha from even making a sound. If Li Ge hadn't propped him up with his body, he would have collapsed to the ground by now.
Li Ge's movement wasn't big, so the Shuichuan Patriarch didn't notice anything unusual.
He just glanced at the three people, Mu Gang, and nodded, saying, "In that case, you can come along."
As his words fell, the three people who had just spoken seemed to stiffen for a moment. It seemed the Main God had assigned them a mission.
But now, even if they regretted it, it was useless.
When the rules were explained earlier, it was said that being deducted points into the negative would result in eradication, and if they didn't complete this mission, the Main God would deduct their points, and they would die in the end anyway.
So Mu Gang and the others could only follow the team with pale faces and anxious hearts.
However, the Shuichuan Patriarch saw that there were far fewer people protecting Ayame on Li Ge's side, so he sent a dozen more attendants to protect her.
Afterward, he hurried in the direction of Kōtetsujō, protected by nearly a hundred samurai.
At this time, Jiuzhi Laiqi also returned to Ayame's group and said to Ayame, "Young Lady, let's wait here for the Patriarch's signal."
Ayame hesitated, her gaze fixed on the city, and finally shook her head, saying, "As the young lady of Shuichuan, at a time like this, we must protect the civilians seeking refuge and support the samurai still fighting outside."
Upon hearing this, Jiuzhi Laiqi wasn't too surprised, as he had long known the young lady's character.
However, the faces of the other Reincarnators, except for Li Ge, darkened.
They were probably cursing this young lady in their hearts for being a meddling busybody with a saintly complex.
After all, it wasn't her who was going to fight on the front lines; a single sentence from her was putting their lives at stake.
"Don't worry, it won't be too dangerous for now; just hold on for a bit."
Li Ge lowered his voice and comforted Zhan Lan and the others.
As for Zheng Zha, he hadn't fully recovered yet, only glaring at Li Ge, as he felt he had been punched for no reason.
However, his glare was ignored by Li Ge.
According to the plot, as long as they held on for a bit, the female protagonist, Mumei, would take action and lure away all the Kabaneri in the city.
At that point, it would be much safer.
Hearing Li Ge's voice, everyone also breathed a sigh of relief. Although they didn't know the plot, fortunately, they had someone who had seen it.
Since Li Ge said so, they wouldn't be too scared.
Sifang Chuan Changpu
