death of hope

Chapter 896: "Wild Growth" (310) "Death Madness"

Kondo Isao's rage lasted for more than five minutes. The old man used foul language to curse the ancestors of those allies who remained inactive.

During this period, Kyokushin group leaders, samurai, and retainers kept coming in and out of the castle tower.
The sound of gunfire coming from downstairs became clearer and clearer. The Sanwangkai commandos had already captured the first and second floors of the castle.
The situation was not optimistic. Some people even prepared their wakizashi short blades, looked for an kaishakunin with superb swordsmanship, and prepared to commit suicide by seppuku.

Kondo Isao was tired of scolding, panting and sat down on a small stool to sulk.
(Note: Xiaowu stool; a small folding wooden stool similar to a Ma Zha during the Japanese Warring States Period, usually hung on the saddle. When the generals were in formation, they sat on the Xiaowu stool to supervise the battle and bear the weight of the armor to relieve fatigue.)
As the old man adjusted his breathing, he finally came to his senses, and his scolding became quieter and quieter, gradually becoming calmer.

"No matter what the final outcome is, I will face it as the head of the Kondo family with the honor and dignity of a samurai, and will never bring shame to our ancestors."

Seeing their master calmly accept his fate, the most loyal leaders also let it go. One of them stepped forward and bowed, saying:
"My Lord, the Sanwangkai commandos have already attacked the fifth floor of the castle. Some of our lackeys died, some fled, and only a hundred or so loyal men are left to resist stubbornly.
The great event is over, everything is over, please take care, Master, and I, your subjects, will accompany you to the end."

·
"Well, having you here is enough. I feel much more at ease." Kondo Isao nodded and asked:

"What are Otani Ichiro and Higashihira doing out there?"

A loyalist leader snorted and said in a contemptuous tone: "Those cowards said they were too nervous and wanted to go to the bathroom, but in fact they went to surrender to the young master of the Sanwang Society."

"Hahaha, what a bunch of idiots!" Kondo Isao laughed:

"It was these people who planned and carried out the assassination of the Yamagami hero and ambushed Chen Yideng Ruotou. How could Yamagami Tetsuya forget such a blood feud? How could he accept their surrender~"

"Indeed, just as the head of the family said, the cowards Otani and Tokai were shot dead by the snipers of the Sannokai as soon as they went out with the white flag."

"Haha, you deserve it!" The old man laughed heartily upon hearing the news of the traitor's death.

At this time, a panicked henchman ran to the castle tower to report: "Master, the Sanwang Society has attacked the 6th floor! And also..."

"Hold on, speak slowly. Look how scared you are. Your face has turned green~"

"Master... your concubine, Mrs. Matsui Aoyun, your jester Sugimichi Yanosuke, and Mr. Chambers, the electronic warfare expert you hired, and more than a dozen others raised their hands and surrendered. They were riddled with bullets. The stairs were covered in blood. It was so tragic..."

"Oh? Even those people were not spared?" Kondo Isao's eyelids jumped:
"I didn't expect that brat Yamagami Tetsuya could be so cruel... It seems he doesn't want to leave anyone alive."

·
When these words came out, the concubines, servants, and laborers in the castle tower were all horrified.
They thought that the gangsters would not harm outsiders, but they were so cruel and killed anyone they saw. Unlike the samurai nobles who swore allegiance to the Kondo family, they were all civilians. They came to this castle mansion to work to earn money to support their families, but they didn't want to lose their lives for this bad-tempered nouveau riche old man.

Seeing the servants' terrified expressions, Kondo Isao felt compassion and raised his hand to point to a corridor:
"There is a secret passage behind the bookshelf in my bedroom. By turning the "Art of War" and "Analysis of Miyamoto Musashi's Swordsmanship" at the same time, the entrance to the secret passage can be opened.

That secret passage leads directly to the outside of Matsui Street, and should not be discovered by the Sanwang Society. You are not samurai, so just take some valuables and run for your lives. This is the severance pay I, Kondo Isao, pay for you."

As the saying goes, when a man is about to die, his words are good.

A large group of concubines, servants and laborers all knelt down to thank their master, and then ran towards the secret passage to escape.

Kondo Isao glanced at the people who remained in the castle tower and said, "Anyone who wants to leave can leave at will. I won't give orders to stop you."

A group of mercenaries, representatives of allied gangs, and the lower-level leaders of the Kyokushin Group knelt down to express their gratitude and left.

"If you want to escape, you will have no chance if you don't leave now."

"We are all willing to accompany you to the end, my lord."

"Make tea, serve the food, and let's wait for the last moment to come."

·
At this time, there were only about thirty loyal warriors left in the castle tower, waiting for the master.

Kondo Isao was born into a samurai noble family. The old man was unwilling to flee in disgrace, and even more unwilling to tarnish the family's honor. The carefully built secret passage was meaningless to him.
From the moment of defeat, death was inevitable. Kondo Isao calmly stood up and took out an old book and placed it in front of him. The cover was printed with "Hagakure no Sho".
"The way of the samurai is to see through death."

Kondo Isao opened the book with a bookmark and said to everyone:

"If you are crazy about death, nothing is impossible.
Such words pierce the heart of nobles like us who were born as samurai, strong and simple. "

The loyal subordinates nodded after hearing this, understanding their master's idea;
At the age of seventy, Kondo Isao is determined to fight to the death in this castle tower to defend his honor as a samurai.