Chapter 479

Reaching the farthest area of the camp, Tora and Chiharu stopped in the huge cage where there were women inside . Most of them seemed traumatized with their current situation as their shoulders slightly shuddered just the sight of Chiharu .

Seeing that another woman was held captive, Tora saw the glint of pity flashed across their helpless eyes . Yet, none of them made a single noise as they had lost all hope of their future .

Every single one of them gave up on life, that’s for sure .

“Where is she?” Tora murmured . Her tone was toneless . She didn’t have a single emotion that could be discerned in her voice, which made Chiharu swallowed a mouthful of saliva .

Chiharu looked inside and sees that these women were the only ones inside . Knitting his brows, he pondered where they placed Churu’s body . After a beat, he recalled that they somehow caged a few men merchant which their master held hostage for his own reason .

“I — I think it’s on the other side . ” He stuttered lowly and led the way towards the other cage .

Soon, they reached the cage that contained a few men, three to be exact . Tora glanced at the three and she caught a figure that inflicted the most injuries .

By the looks of it, they used him as a sandbag to release the frustration of whoever was upset . He had his head hanged low yet, the bruises on his arms were evident, his disheveled hair dangled down his face, and blood smeared on his stained silk clothes .

Regardless, Tora didn’t even blink an eye as her gaze shifted to the side . There, a small figure that was covered by a cloth which made her eyes softened . By the looks of it, the beaten man used his haori as the cloth seemingly matched his kimono .

She didn’t wonder why Churu was placed in this cage and not in the female’s cage . Regardless of the reason, Tora wanted Churu’s body to be properly buried as she would set this whole camp on fire . She couldn’t let Churu’s body burned to a crisp along with her abductors .

“Huh,” Sensing the presence of Tora and a member of this damnable group, the man who was already beaten black and blue scoffed in mockery . “After you brought a dead child, now a woman? You vermin’s are truly fascinating . ” Slowly, he looked up, his lips mangled and his face was a little swollen .

Still, he was recognizable: it was none other than Suzuki Akihito .

Blazing flames lay beneath his eyes as a smirk formed on the side of his lips . Earlier, a group of men tossed a child inside their cage . Their reason? To mock them and witness how a child’s body began to decay to make them feel powerless .

In normal days, Tora would have been surprised to hear Aki’s voice . However, even after distinguishing his identity, Tora remained unfazed as her gaze locked on the small figure . Taking a step forward, Chiharu snapped as he opened the cage and let her in .

Unlike how harshly they treated their goods, Chiharu didn’t push her inside and let her in as if he was merely inviting a guest over . Since the men were shackled, he was at ease to slightly open the cage with no other member accompanying him .

Still, he remained standing outside as he watched Tora approach and kneel in front of the child’s body . Her hand trembled as she reached for the haori that was used as a cover of the body .

Tora hesitated . She had seen numerous lifeless body and yet, her heart seemed she couldn’t bear to see Churu just yet .

“Don’t look at her if you can’t . ” While she hesitated, Aki muttered while his sharpened gaze was set on Chiharu standing outside . Since Tora didn’t speak a word and her hair covered most of her face, Aki didn’t recognize her .

But he was certain that the child was Churu . The moment they tossed her inside this thick wooden cage, he recognized the little girl that was akin to a tail to Tora . He didn’t know how they abducted her or where was Tora, but he discerned that the woman who came didn’t emanate the same aura as Tora .

“Why are you still here?” Ridiculing the man by his tone, Aki scoffed . “Will it delight you to witness a grieving woman for losing a child? You animal . ” He added as his grip tightened .

For his own reason, Aki purposely let himself get captive with this group . He even found a little time to kill while being used as their frustration sandbag because he mocked them to his heart’s content . However, today, upon laying his eyes on Churu’s body, he already decided to stop his play pretend .

To him, he must return to the north to return Churu’s body, back to Tora so she could have a proper burial . Just as Aki would exert force to break the thick rope that bound his hand, he stopped upon hearing Tora’s familiar voice .

“Suzuki-Kun…” Tora murmured . She already uncovered Churu .

There was no doubt she was dead as her lips were pale, almost turning purple . Her temperature had reached the lowest point and upon checking her pulse, it wasn’t beating anymore . Hence, Tora slowly returned the cloth and covered her face again .

“Will you bring Churu with you?” Slowly, Tora stood as she looked down at the surprised Aki .

“Yamada-san?” Surprised, Aki turned his head to meet the eyes of the devil . Although her whole face was hidden under the shade of her hood, he got the glimpsed of the red gleam that glowed in her pair of eyes .

“Follow Chiharu and get out of here . ” Ignoring his shock, Tora instructed, which made Chiharu flinched .

“No, how —” Aki furrowed his brows, but she interrupted his sentence midway as she spoke .

“Shall I behead you too?” There was no sign of human emotion in her voice as she threatened him to follow her command . Still, there was no doubt she would kill Aki if he didn’t listen to her .

Truly, she was a tyrant .

Seeing that Aki didn’t speak and just stared at her, Tora turned to Chiharu and handed her hand out . As if on cue, Chiharu passed her sword that he carried on his waistband . He knew he was now a traitor to their group and helping her even more, felt like he was going deeper and deeper on his grave .

When Tora held on her samurai, she used its sharp tip and with a slight slash up, Aki’s rope fell down to the ground . “On the way, you will see my steed . He’s wounded, tend to his wounds . ” Still not done with her instruction, Tora also entrusted Kaze’s welfare to them as she knew it would take her a whole night to exterminate this whole group .