How come I, who has the physique of a succubus, was pushed back by the ship girl?

He put away the smile on his face for a second, made a beautiful sword flower with his hand, and then put the sword into the scabbard.

The sounds of ping-pong are the collision between the sword blade and the scabbard. At the end, there is also a fierce collision between the metal stopper and the mouth of the scabbard, which best reflects people's hearts.

Izumo frowned.

"Didn't I tell you, Ibuki? Don't come and disturb me when I'm training."

"My apologies, Lord Izumo. Please forgive my presumptuous behavior."

"Please understand that if it weren't for an urgent matter, I would never dare to come and bother you."

"Here are two letters I just received. Please have a look."

To be honest, I'm not that angry, but the military order is so majestic that Izumo has to emphasize it.

Seeing her explain the reason as concisely as possible and seeing two letters clearly in her hands, she instantly relaxed her frown and asked.

"who?"

"It's signed from the central government, written by Lady Mikasa."

Ibuki stopped talking here, and seeing her pause, Izumo asked again.

"What about the other one?"

Ibuki rolled his eyes, hesitating for a while before speaking.

"The other one came from Iwate Prefecture. It was signed by a strange man named Zhou Xuan, whose identity is currently unknown."

Because of the intrusion of a stranger, Izumo was also stunned for a moment, his suspicious eyes wandering back and forth between Ibuki and himself.

After a long time, he waved his hand.

"Don't think too much, just read it."

"I see."

When the time came to carry out the order, Ibuki no longer hesitated.

She moved quickly, tearing open the letter in a few seconds, and told Zumo the contents written by Mikasa herself, which came down from the center, exactly as they were.

What she got in return was a shock that seemed to have broken through her bottom line.

"What did you say?"

"Mikasa sent reinforcements, but ended up sending less than 10,000 troops? How can these 10,000 troops help change the situation?"

"And they also said that Kyoto needs to be guarded to ensure its safety."

"What nonsense! If we can stop Amagi here and annihilate them on the spot, is there any need to defend Kyoto?"

Chu Yun was furious and his face fell, completely destroying the extraordinary demeanor he had just accumulated.

He kept mumbling on and on for a long time before he stopped.

"Calm down, Lord Izumo. It is not appropriate to meddle in other people's affairs. Perhaps the court really has their own considerations. Don't worry."

Yes, one should not meddle in matters that are not within one's jurisdiction. Everyone is in a different position. It would have been better if Ibuki had not said this. But after he said it, it aroused Izumo's sadness.

It immediately turned into a harsh sarcasm, muttered in her mouth.

"Hehe, considering..."

"Now it seems that neither Mikasa nor Musashi considers us as their own people. It's really funny..."

"Well, let's talk about another letter. Let me see what kind of surprise this strange writer can bring me."

Ibuki nodded, then twisted Mikasa's letter into a messy ball and stuffed it into his pocket, freeing his hands to open the letter sent by Zhou Xuan.

After seeing the handwriting clearly, he recited two sentences as well, and then paused at the end.

He didn't dare to read further. He just looked around to make sure it was safe and then handed the letter to Izumo.

"What are you doing? You're being secretive. That's not like you."

Confused and a bit surprised, Izumo looked at Ibuki in front of him, the always capable assistant, and joked.

However, this time too, the smile on her face still couldn't stay on her lips for too long.

Her expression took a sharp turn for the worse, and began to transition into one of high regard.

Even though she had finished reading Zhou Xuan's letter, its contents still remained in her mind, especially his last sentence.

Let's meet. Some things can only be discussed in person.

Izumo sneered, but his overall expression was much better than before.

"If I remember correctly, the location on the letter is less than two kilometers outside of Miyagi Prefecture. Zhou Xuan is really bold."

"Isn't he afraid of my ambush? Really, should we say he is very courageous or short-sighted?"

That being said, Ibuki seemed to be able to see some other emotions through Izumo's face. Somehow, it was always positive. She also laughed, alternating between cold and hot.

"So are you planning on going, Izumo-sama? If so, I'll go make some preparations."

"No need." Izumo stopped her.

"Just you and I can go together. Since they dare to choose outside your base camp, it proves that they have enough confidence."

"In that case, then go and see it for yourself. I'll write him a reply. Let's meet at noon."

"After all, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later, isn't it~"

Chapter 304: Private Meeting with Izumo

Something bad is likely to happen sooner or later.

It was the first time that Ibuki heard such a cold joke, and it came from the mouth of the master she served. It was so awkward.

A soldier's duty is to obey. Since Izumo said so, she didn't say anything else. She took the initiative to grind ink for her and asked someone to deliver the letter.

After receiving the reply and confirming the time, he followed Izumo out of the city gate, rode his horse and whipped it, arrived at the agreed place, and met the person he wanted to meet.

"My dear, this is Izumo. Like Akagi, she is also a daimyo of her own fiefdom and has a distinguished status."

"This is Ibuki, Izumo's lieutenant. He was one of the more difficult opponents in the past."

Before he got close, Tiancheng introduced the identity of the visitor to Zhou Xuan from a distance, and he could hear every word.

What shocked the two of them the most was Tiancheng's address to Zhou Xuan. The word "husband" really broke into their hearts, stirring up a huge wave of shock.

"Amagi, you...you are married?" Izumo was very surprised.

She would never have thought that this young man named Zhou Xuan was not a temporary helper found by Tiancheng, but her lifelong partner. It was hard to understand.

Logically speaking, this has never happened before and shouldn't happen.

However, Tiancheng admitted it frankly. She withdrew her hands that were originally wrapped around his right arm, and walked towards them with a dignified and calm manner.

"Yes, thanks to you, he and I got married during the time you were out of the army."

"Zhou Xuan is my husband, and I am the wife he married into his family through a formal matchmaker."

The wife followed the husband's lead. In order to ensure that Tiancheng's words would not go in vain, Zhou Xuan also followed her steps and nodded towards Izumo as a signal.

"hehe."

The smile was stiff, almost forced out of Izumo's mouth. Even when he let his mind go and concentrated, he could still vaguely hear the sharp sound of teeth grinding.

"You're welcome! Just consider those 20,000 soldiers as the share of money I prepared for you in advance!"

The implication is that it will have to be repaid sooner or later.

Zhou Xuan could naturally hear the unhappiness in her words, but they didn't come here to quarrel, so he could only pretend that he didn't understand.

"I've long heard that Lord Izumo is a straightforward and generous person. Seeing him today, I'm sure his reputation is well-deserved."

"He wrote off the past in a casual conversation. This is truly heroic. I admire him."

Izumo is from Sakura City, and people from Sakura City have always valued being reserved. How could she have heard such flattery in the style of a martial artist? Her original resentment was cleverly resolved with just a few simple words.

Not only that, she was also elevated to an unrealistic level, leaving her in a state of confusion, neither being able to speak nor being scolded, just like her depressed mood, stuck there.

It took me a while to think of breaking away from the logic of his language and changing the subject.

"Okay, enough small talk, now it's time to tell me why you're here. Let me hear what else you have to say."

At least Zhou Xuan’s idea was correct. Izumo no longer focused his attention on Tiancheng, but turned to look at him.

"As both an official of the Sakura Empire and a member of the Keiwa government, has Izumo never thought about the reasons behind the Akagi Rebellion?"

"I remember that in your memories, you were comrades who had gone through mountains of swords and seas of blood together. Based on your understanding, do you think Akagi would really betray you?"

The human heart is unpredictable. People in high positions gradually go against their original consciences. Such things can be found everywhere in history books.

From this point of view alone, Izumo didn't think there was anything wrong with Akagi's betrayal.

However, she also realized it.

"You mean to say that Akagi decided to raise the banner of rebellion for the sake of His Majesty Nagato because he discovered some unspeakable secret in the court, right?"

"Just like what she said, to eliminate the treacherous people around His Majesty Nagato, such as Musashi?"

"That's right." Zhou Xuan nodded and gave an affirmative answer.

"And what about the evidence?"

"These are all what Akagi told me personally. She also went through untold hardships to escape from Musashi and return to her own fiefdom."

"I think that should be enough to explain it, right?" In order to add enough weight to Zhou Xuan's words, Tiancheng spoke slowly.

The two stood side by side, and one could tell from the appearance that they were a perfect match. If one felt it with one's heart, one could feel the raging momentum, which was quite dazzling.

There was nothing to say. Facing Zhou Xuan and his wife alone, Izumo looked a little depressed and could only respond in silence.

Eager to save the situation and fearing that his lord would fall into a disadvantage, Ibuki also joined in after Amagi.

"So, the two of you came here today to win over our strength and persuade us to join your team?" Yes or no, Zhou Xuan shook his head.

"If that's what you mean, then it's not wrong to say that. We do mean that."

"As for the final outcome, everything depends on your choice. Whether it is war or peace, it is up to you to decide."

“What if we don’t make a choice?”

"So there's nothing to talk about?" Zhou Xuan shrugged and interrupted them without waiting for them to say more.

"Yes, the road of life cannot be smooth sailing."

"But apart from that, we have also prepared other plans. It depends on whether you two can handle them."

"Are you threatening me? Can I take it that way?"

Izumo narrowed his eyes like a wolf or a poisonous snake, and his expression became dangerous in an instant.

The vicious gaze stayed on Zhou Xuan, as if he wanted to tear him apart at any time.

Ibuki beside him did the same, and his actions were even more radical. His slender hands had already rested on the scabbard, ready to pull it out and kill the enemy with one blow.

No matter how strong you are, the breeze will blow across the hills.

Zhou Xuan was not afraid and ignored Ibuki. He responded to Izumo's vicious gaze calmly, like a modest gentleman, and said with a smile.

"You can think of it this way, or you can just think of me as using courtesy before force."

"If courtesy is no longer effective, then let's just decide the outcome on the battlefield. Amagi and I are always waiting."

Waiting all the time for his needs, Tiancheng also took action after hearing this.

She tightly grasped the red paper umbrella that was always hanging around her waist. She pulled the umbrella handle and a sword with a slender blade appeared in her hand.

There were flashes of cold light, heading straight towards Izumo.

Amagi has been soaked in the water of Zhou Xuanchun. Even if she can't remember everything, as a ship girl, she still has a soul network in her body.

As soon as she met Zhou Xuan, she felt like a fish in water and had found her home. On their wedding night, she completely merged with him.

In other words, the strength of Tiancheng has been greatly improved today.

When it comes to deploying troops, Izumo is not as good as her, and when it comes to fighting one-on-one, she may not be her opponent.

What's more, there is Zhou Xuan, who is ignorant of his own limitations and is watching her covetously behind her. In this case, what else can Izumo say?

No matter how reluctant she was, she could only join forces with Ibuki, try her best to suppress her anger, and return her attitude to its previous state.

"I am still an important official of the imperial court. It is my duty to be loyal to the emperor. I will investigate the specific situation and whether it is true."