My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 532: Chapter 179: The Bull-Riding Niō Charges Toward the Battlefield

”Settlement? Battlefield?”

Still holding Nakamura Tsuki, Chiba Sonako raised her gaze and cast a surprised look towards Aoto.

Aoto, as if having anticipated that Sonako would look at him this way, smiled faintly.

...

...

Time rewound to not long ago—

Seeing that the ”Scarred Warrior” still refused to say anything, Aoto, without any hesitation, once again stabbed the wakizashi into the gap beneath his toenail.

This time, Aoto used a new stabbing technique.

Instead of thrusting the blade tip all at once,

he gently and slowly, with an exceptionally ”soft” movement, inserted the wakizashi’s tip bit by bit into the Scarred Warrior’s toenail gap, significantly increasing his agony.

”Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh——!”

Sure enough—the ”Scarred Warrior’s” screams turned even more piercing, another toe becoming a bloody mess, and his body convulsed even more violently.

”Besides Nakamura Tsuki, have you also kidnapped Chiba Sonako? Where are the people you abducted being held?”

Like an emotionless robot, Aoto repeated his question for the third time, then moved the wakizashi, aiming it at the Scarred Warrior’s third toe.

Given the urgency and lack of more formidable interrogation tools at hand, ”stabbing the gap beneath the toenail” was the most painful interrogation method Aoto could think of.

This was Aoto’s first time interrogating someone... and using such cruel interrogation methods.

Therefore, without any prior experience, Aoto couldn’t help but feel some discomfort in his heart.

However, after briefly recalling the conversation between Nakamura Chouhachirou and the ”Scarred Warrior” that he and Kinoshita Mukiwa overheard, any slight discomfort quickly dissipated, replaced by resolute determination.

...

(I have followed your instructions and handed over to you the donkey cart containing the sake ordered by Mr. Bright to be delivered to the settlement today! Now return Ayue to me!)

...

Aoto still vividly remembered what Nakamura Chouhachirou had just said to the ”Scarred Warrior”.

Aoto had heard of this Mr. Bright—just a few days ago, he heard about him from Elodie.

According to Elodie, this elder, who is highly esteemed in the Edo Residence and extremely fond of Japanese sake, was going to hold a grand ball on his 60th birthday, with most foreigners from the residence, including Elodie’s family, attending.

And the day of the ball... was tonight!

Organizing and executing kidnappings and sending people to mete out Celestial Punishment to Nakamura Chouhachirou; such radical methods... made Aoto inevitably think of the organization whose name had become inextricably linked with his life recently: the Anti-foreigner Group!

A few days ago, Aoto and others had captured the Dutch doctor Hada Qilang and the three archers led by the ”bearded middle-aged man”, who remained detained at the prison compound, subjected to interrogation by the professional team of action officers there.

Under relentless, harsh interrogation methods that left no room for them to breathe, the three archers quickly confessed—they admitted they were members of the Anti-foreigner Group!

The Anti-foreigner Group, which had remained dormant after an attack on the Foreign Language Research Institute, reappeared once more...

Having finally and long-awaitedly captured members of the Anti-foreigner Group, it was unfortunate that these three archers seemed to be only lower-tier members and didn’t possess any valuable information.

Whether asked about their frequent contact with Hada Qilang or the locations of their bases, these three knew nothing.

The only piece of valuable information they revealed was about a commonly used base... And just as Aoto previously anticipated, the base they disclosed was not far from the alley where he had faced 18 Anti-foreigner Group members.

Except for this frequently used base, the three collectively claimed ignorance about other bases.

The Magistrate’s Office promptly organized a team to proceed to the base exposed by the three, only to find it deserted upon arrival, with nothing to be gained... Presumably, they vacated the base immediately upon the capture of the ”bearded middle-aged man”, leaving nothing useful behind for the authorities.

Overall—besides confirming that the ”bearded middle-aged man” and the others were members of the Anti-foreigner Group, no more valuable information was extracted from these three.

Compared to the ”bearded middle-aged man” and the others, the unarmed and powerless Dutch doctor Hada Qilang unexpectedly displayed great perseverance.

Though the others confessed to being part of the Anti-foreigner Group, he steadfastly maintained his innocence.

The reason for Hada Qilang’s perseverance... is not hard to understand.

Under the Edo Shogunate’s strict crackdown on the Radical Anti-foreigner Faction, if any undisclosed transactions with the Anti-foreigner Group were uncovered... a death sentence would not be out of the question.

Thus, driven by a desire for self-preservation and wishful thinking, it was unlikely Hada Qilang would admit any connection to the Anti-foreigner Group until all options were truly exhausted.

Having only recently interacted and fought with members of the Anti-foreigner Group, Aoto was now particularly sensitive to anything related to them.