I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1069: Niou can chop a ship like a steak! [6300]

Qing Deng smiled and joked:
"This is 'Nioh's job'."

Upon hearing this, Fujido Heisuke showed a helpless expression, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Left alone on the deck of the enemy ship, with a bunch of bullets chasing him... Fujido Heisuke saw clearly that Qing Deng almost fell into the arms of death several times just now!
If Qing Deng had been slower or more delayed, he would never have been able to come back!

Fujido Heisuke didn't know whether other people were sweating or not, but his own clothes were already soaked with cold sweat.

Fujido Heisuke increasingly felt that fighting alongside Aoto was a very test of his heart.

This leader always rushes into dangerous situations and lives close to death. He has no courage at all. It's really hard to work with him!
Although the process was scary, fortunately the result was satisfactory.

Thanks to Qing Deng's rear guard, the soldiers retreated to Fujisan Maru smoothly.

Seeing Qing Deng return safely, cheers rang out on the deck of Fujisan Maru.

"Admiral Tachibana is back! Launch the ship! Launch the ship!"

Because they were busy evacuating, after receiving the "retreat" order, the crew of Fujisan Maru immediately made preparations for sailing, some hoisted the sails, some shoveled coal, and some started the steam engine.

As soon as Qingdeng returned, the two ships separated quickly. After a while, there was a distance of about 5 meters between them, leaving the enemy ship behind.

The soldiers of the Eighth Division were not idle. They all rushed to the side of the ship and poured bullets on the enemy ship, suppressing the enemy soldiers and guarding against the enemy's counterattack.

boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!
Suddenly, a shocking explosion attracted the attention of Qing Deng, Fujido Heisuke and others.

Qing Deng turned his head and looked in the direction of Goryokaku, muttering:
"Goryokaku fought back..."

But in the distance, Goryokaku was flashing with flames, and shells were rolling and roaring one after another.

The sharp sound of "wooooooo" breaking wind reached Hakodate Bay in a matter of seconds.

Because it was dark and visibility was poor, all the shells missed their target and hit the sea, splashing countless water.

In just a blink of an eye, the splashing sea water wet the deck, and Qing Deng and others were all drenched.

Qing Deng wiped the water drops from his face and shouted loudly:
"If you don't want to be blown away by the shells, get this ship moving!"

His order was totally unnecessary.

Even without his orders, the crew of Fujisan Maru acted consciously, running the steam engine at full capacity and increasing the sailing speed to the maximum.

The navy is a branch of the military where "we live together and die together". Once a ship is sunk, everyone on the ship will be doomed!

Even if it is just for the sake of their own lives, the crew will do their best and will never treat it as a joke.

boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!
The shelling of Goryokaku continued and became increasingly fierce.

At the same time, the enemy fleet - except for the one with the destroyed steam engine - was spewing black smoke, whistles blaring, preparing to launch a pursuit.

Bathed in a hail of artillery fire and flying seawater, the three ships, Kanrin Maru, Kanko Maru and Fujisan Maru, staggered towards a horizon where no lights could reach.

……

……

Hakodate, Goryokaku——

"That's a deal. I'm going to see what I want in two days."

There was a sense of unquestionableness in Xilika's tone.

Maher smiled slightly:
"Don't worry, I won't let you down."

"In that case, I will wait for your good news. That's all I want to say. You can leave now."

"Xilika, wait a minute. There is something very important that I must tell you in person."

Mael paused and changed his tone to a solemn one:

"I have received accurate information - 'Niou' Tachibana Aoto has arrived. He is leading the expeditionary force to recapture Goryokaku. You must be careful."

Xilika had obviously heard of the name "Nioh".

His brows trembled slightly and his face darkened.

“…No matter who he is, I will defeat him!”

As he spoke, he swung his fist hard, hammering the tatami beside his leg.

Maher shook his head, and the solemnity on his face became even more intense.

"Xilika, don't underestimate 'Nioh'."

"I have studied Nioh for a long time, and I can tell you with certainty that Nioh is the strongest warrior among the Japanese!"

"He is truly one-of-a-kind, as powerful as a demon or a god."

"I'm not trying to scare you, but... 'Nioh' is indeed a formidable enemy beyond your imagination."

"No matter how well prepared you are to fight him, it will never be enough."

"You'd better treat him as your greatest enemy in this life, do your best, and never take it lightly."

"Otherwise, you will lose, and lose miserably."

Xilika remained silent.

I don't know whether he was silently digesting Mahel's advice or expressing contempt for it.

Maher said no more, straightened his clothes, and made a gesture to leave.

However, at this moment, both of them were startled by hearing strange noises.

Xilika raised his head, pricked up his ears, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes:
"…It's in the direction of Hakodate Bay!"

Upon hearing this, Mael's expression changed drastically.

The two of them jumped up at the same time and rushed out of the room.

After moving to an area with a wide view, they all looked towards Hakodate Bay in unison - the port, which should have been silent, suddenly became unprecedentedly "lively".

Although the distance was far and the sky was dark, one could vaguely see that there were more ships in the harbor - in addition to the three ironclad ships under Maher's command, there were also three old-fashioned warships that should not have existed.

But the six warships were seen sticking together in pairs, and the flames from their guns flickered repeatedly like fireflies.

When Maher saw this, he instantly understood something, his face turned pale, and his expression became extremely ugly.

He cursed in French and then shouted to Xilika:

"Silica, it's the Shogunate Navy! They attacked Hakodate Bay! Fight back quickly!"

……

……

The firepower of Goryokaku was extremely fierce.

It's no exaggeration to say that it really is like rain! One shot after another, almost without a break!

The "Ainu Coalition" had just occupied Goryokaku not long ago, but they were able to skillfully operate the artillery and launch such a fierce firepower network... This was truly beyond Qing Deng's expectations.

This became another major gain of tonight - finding out the extent of the "Ainu Coalition"'s control over Goryokaku, which is quite valuable information.

Facing the continuous bombardment of Goryokaku, Qing Deng could not care about the situation of Kanrin Maru and Kanko Maru for the time being. He only knew that the Fujisan Maru he was currently on was indeed surrounded by dangers.

Several times, the shells with a shrill sound almost flew past the hull of the Fujisan Maru, scaring the crew so much that they almost collapsed to the ground.

Driven by the desire to survive, the crews of the Fujisan Maru... no, the Kanrin Maru, Kanko Maru, and Fujisan Maru all worked extremely hard! They squeezed the potential of the ships and increased the sailing speed to the maximum! They threw shells behind them one after another!

The difficulty of the process is hard to describe.

Finally, they successfully retreated out of the range of Goryokaku's artillery fire, and entered the deep sea far away from Hakodate Bay before the enemy ships chased them.

I'm sure the enemy ships would never dare to pursue too deep in such a dark situation.

In fact, this was true. Only two of the three enemy ships were still able to move.

After chasing for a short distance, they stopped, not daring to go any deeper for fear of being ambushed.

At this moment, apart from the sound of the surging waves, there was no other sound in Qing Deng's ears.

A few minutes ago, there was an endless sound of artillery fire; but now, everything is calm and peaceful... This huge contrast gives people a dreamy feeling.

At this moment, the officers and soldiers of the three ships looked at each other, gradually recovering from their state of tension and fear, and replaced by emotions such as excitement and excitement.

"Did we win?"

"Nonsense, of course I win."

"I just saw a shell fly over my head. I almost thought we couldn't come back..."

Similar conversations were heard on and off the decks of the three ships.

Qing Deng turned his head to the stern of the ship, looking in the direction of Hakodate - both Hakodate Bay and the majestic Goryokaku had been left far behind them and were no longer visible.

To be honest, Qing Deng was also very surprised by tonight's brilliant performance.

Although this was not his first time fighting a night battle, it was definitely his first time to attack enemy ships at night by boat.

In his expectation, being able to successfully destroy an enemy ship would be a very complete victory.

The exact statistics of the battle results have not been received yet, but when evacuating, Qing Deng took a quick glance - the enemy ships in charge of Xianlin Maru and Fujisan Maru had suffered considerable damage.

Two of the three extremely precious ironclad ships were damaged... The enemy commander must be so heartbroken that he must be vomiting blood.

What is commendable is that while inflicting heavy damage on the enemy, none of our three ships suffered serious damage!

None of the shells hit the hull, which was merely wetted by the splashing sea water, and the three ships returned to Aomori safely.

This was partly due to Katsurintaro's good military management. Although the Shogunate Navy was still in its infancy, it did possess basic military qualities. Whether approaching enemy ships or evacuating Hakodate Bay, the officers and soldiers of the Shogunate Navy performed quite well.

On the other hand, it was due to luck and the weather (the dark night).

After escaping the enemy's pursuit and artillery fire and returning with a great victory, the officers and soldiers on the three ships were all in high spirits, as if they had survived a calamity.

After winning such an indisputable victory, there is no reason not to celebrate to boost morale.

So, Qing Deng rushed to the bow of Fujisan Maru, looked around the deck, and shouted loudly:

"Everyone! You did a great job!"

"In this battle, the enemy ships suffered heavy damage! The enemy's arrogance was thwarted!"

"This battle is destined to go down in history!"

"This battle is a joint victory for the Navy and the Shinsengumi!"

The moment he finished speaking, the soldiers of Fujisanmaru raised their arms and fists and cheered loudly.

The long-lasting cheers reached Xianlinmaru and Guanguangmaru not far away.

Soon after, the soldiers on the two ships were also infected and burst into high-spirited cheers. Tonight's battle was the first battle of this Northern Expedition.

The first battle was a victory, and it was such a beautiful victory. No matter how enthusiastically we celebrated, it would not be excessive.

While celebrating, the soldiers also sang praises to Qing Deng, vividly describing his heroic feat of cutting the mast with one stroke.

"Long live the King of Ni! Long live General Tachibana!"

"I saw it with my own eyes. My lord assumed the stance of Iai, and then cut off the mainmast of the enemy ship with just one sword!"

"What's the big deal? Don't you know? In addition to the well-known names such as 'Niou' and 'The Strongest Swordsman of the Shogunate', Admiral Tachibana also has another title, called 'Ship Slasher'! When the British fleet approached Edo Bay, he rowed a small boat to approach the British flagship at night and destroyed its hull with just one sword! It shocked the British army!"

"That's right! He can chop up a warship as easily as cutting a steak! What's the big deal about a mere mainmast!"

With the blessing of the talent "Wind Perceptor +4", Qing Deng was completely inaudible to everyone's excessive flattery.

Qing Deng naturally couldn't help but smile bitterly at this.

When he intimidated the British fleet, he only left a glaring cut on the bow of its flagship.

After being spread several times, it was spread that "Nio destroyed the hull of the British warship with one sword" and "Nio could cut the warship as easily as cutting a steak"! It was outrageous!
He cut off the main mast of the ironclad battleship tonight. God knows how this deed will be modified in the future... When Qing Deng thought of this, he felt helpless.

Although he didn't like others' excessive flattery, Qing Deng was too lazy to correct it.
Over the years, he has become accustomed to the saying that three people make a tiger.

He can silence one or two people, but he cannot silence all the people in the world, so let them be.

Moreover, from a utilitarian point of view, the more people deify him, the more it will help him enhance his prestige and rally the people's hearts.

Bathed in the festive air, Qing Deng did not return to the cabin to rest, but stayed on the deck, leaning against the side of the ship, resting and thinking.

At this time, Fujido Heisuke came over and sat next to Qingdeng.

"Mr. Orange, are you hurt?"

"No. Apart from being very hungry, everything is fine. Heisuke, is your left shoulder injury okay?"

"To be honest, it hurts a lot. I didn't feel anything when I was busy killing the enemy, but when I had some free time, I suddenly felt the pain in the wound, as if there was a fire burning. I have just applied ointment, and I will let a professional doctor treat my wound when we return to Aomori."

Having said this, he paused, pursed his lips, and looked as if he had something to say to Qing Deng but didn't know how to start.

After a while, he said to Qing Deng quietly:
"Mr. Ju, I never thought that 'immortality' was actually real..."

Fujido Heisuke also fought against the difficult-to-kill "blue-clad men".

The human abdominal cavity contains a large number of important organs, which is truly the most vital part. Although it is such an important part, it has no hard bones to protect it. Even an unskilled swordsman can easily cut open the soft belly and severely injure the opponent.

Many swordsmen with rich combat experience like to hit people in the stomach. Fujido Heisuke has the habit of "cutting people in the stomach".

He ripped open his opponent's belly, and even his internal organs flowed out, but his opponent did not fall down... At that time, Fujido Heisuke was shocked and couldn't recover for a long time, and his worldview suffered an extremely serious impact.

Although the "decisive battle at Yodo" of the Dharma Punishment Party was equally magical, it was still within the scope of Fujido Heisuke's understanding.

In the Edo period, pills with magical effects were not uncommon, and similar pills were sold at Shimokiya in Edo.

[Note: Shimokuya: A very famous sex shop in Edo, located in Ryogoku, Edo. Its best-selling products are secret medicines such as "Changming Pills" and "Nyoryue Pills", which are very popular among men.]

Harada Sanosuke once boasted to Fujido Heisuke about the changes in his body after taking "Nyoetsu Pill" - "I feel like I was reborn!" - these are his exact words.

But the "man in blue"'s vitality, which was obviously beyond common sense, really puzzled him.

Qing Deng smiled and asked half-jokingly:

"Why? Heisuke, do you also think they are demons?"

Fujido Heisuke shook his head without hesitation.

"If they are demons, then how can they be killed with an ordinary iron sword? There is no doubt that they are human. However... their horrible appearance that makes them difficult to die is indeed like that of demons..."

Just like most of the Shinsengumi soldiers, Fujido Heisuke was also a very superstitious person.

In this case, it is no wonder that he showed such an ugly expression.

Qing Deng glanced at Fujido Heisuke, then raised his head to look up at the night sky above his head and said lightly:

"I guess those guys probably took some strange medicine or drank some strange water, which is why they became like this."

"Just by taking medicine and drinking water, can you become like this, neither human nor ghost?"

"The world is so big and full of wonders."

Qing Deng sat up straight and said this with a serious expression:
"Tonight's harvest is very rich."

"Not only did we destroy the enemy ships and test Goryokaku's firepower, but we also came into contact with the enemy's 'Undead Force'."

"Their 'immortality' is nothing special. They are not truly immortal. As long as the wound is severe enough, they will still die."

"but……"

Qing Deng paused, his face slightly gloomy.

"Since they have a way to turn ordinary people into this 'half-human, half-ghost' appearance, I am very worried that they may have other cards hidden..."

……

……

Hakodate, Hakodate Bay——

Mael stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the fleet in the port with a grim face.

Xilika stood quietly beside him, holding his red scabbard sword.

After a while, a middle-aged man in a royal blue uniform ran up to Mahel in two steps.

He didn't waste any words and directly reported the damage to the three warships:

"Sir, the steam engine of the Sun King has been damaged and is difficult to repair."

"The arsenal of the flagship 'Napoleon' was detonated, all ammunition was lost, and the hull was damaged."

"The Joan of Arc was not seriously damaged, but many crew members were killed."

After saying that, the middle-aged man quickly lowered his head, stared at his toes, and prepared himself to withstand the "storm".

The expected "storm" did not come immediately, but the rapid breathing like an exhaust fan was heard first.

Although he had prepared himself mentally, Maher still felt dizzy after hearing the detailed damage report.

Although he didn't vomit blood, he felt a tingling sensation in his chest from the pain.

These are not two guns or two cannons, these are two ironclad ships!
Ironclad ships were the most advanced type of ships at the time, and their cost was far beyond the reach of muskets and cannons.

Even the omnipotent Mahel had to spend astronomical amounts of money and mobilize almost all of his connections before he could finally put together these three ironclad ships.

Unexpectedly... in just one night, two of the three warships were severely damaged, and one of them was his flagship!
The more Maher thought about it, the more indignant he felt. All the blood in his body seemed to rush to his head in those few seconds, and his face turned black red.

The middle-aged man quietly raised his eyes and observed the changes in Maher's expression, then continued with a stiff upper lip:
"Sir, I, I have something else to report."

Maer took several deep breaths, forced himself to control his emotions, and said in a hoarse voice:
"what's up?"

"According to the crew's report, the incoming enemy is very elite. Among them is a very young warrior who is incredibly strong! Even rifles can't do anything to him. Any bullets that get close to him are smashed to pieces by him!"

After hearing this, Maer was startled and subconsciously asked back:
"What did you say? Breaking bullets?"

The middle-aged man nodded:
"The decks of the Sun King and Napoleon were littered with bullet fragments... I'm sure this is true."

Xilika doesn't understand French, but he has eyes.

He could see all the changes in Maher's expression.

He and Maher were not close friends, and they did not know each other very well.

However, in this limited interaction, he knew very well that Maher was a person who did not show his emotions on his face, and rarely showed such drastic emotional fluctuations as he did now.

Driven by curiosity, Xilika couldn't help but ask:

"What did he say?"

Maer said with a cold face, word by word:
"…among the incoming enemy forces there was a samurai who could shatter rifle bullets with the blade of his sword."

Xilika was stunned for a moment, staring at Maher, indicating with his eyes "Are you kidding?"

Mael's expression remained stern as he responded to Xilika silently.

After a moment, he slowly raised his head and glared towards the south - the direction of Aomori - gritting his teeth:
"…It must be Nioh! Only he has such ability!"

Nioh - this was the second time Xilika heard this name tonight.

Xilika silently turned his gaze and looked in the direction of Aomori, with a noticeable cloud of gloom gradually gathering between his cheeks.

"…Mael, forget about Nioh for now, let's solve the problem at hand. Can you repair your ship?"

To be fair, Xilika didn't like Maher.

He always regarded the other party as an outsider, and some of the other party's temper also made him dislike.

Under normal circumstances, Silik would be happy to see Mahel suffer misfortune.

However, this time, he really couldn't be happy.

The damage to Mael's fleet means that Hakodate's defense force has been weakened!

These three ironclad warships were one of the biggest reliances of the "Ainu Coalition" to defend Goryokaku and repel the invading army!

In this case, Xilika couldn't help but be nervous.

Maher thought for a moment, and his facial expression became even uglier:
"The Joan of Arc is in the best condition of the three ships."

"The Napoleon's weapons depot was detonated and the ship's hull was damaged. If it is repaired urgently, it can still be used."

"The 'Sun King' is a bit more troublesome... the destruction of the steam engine means the loss of power."

"If the steam engine can't be repaired, the 'Sun King' will have to stay in the harbor and be used as a cannon!"

After hearing this, Xilika was stunned.

Regret, anger... a series of emotions flashed quickly in his eyes.

After a moment, he opened his mouth, as if wanting to blame the other party.

"It's obviously such an important warship, why didn't you be more vigilant?", "What are your subordinates doing? Why did you let the enemy ship break into the port so easily?"... These sarcastic words have already come to his lips.

But in the end, he said nothing - they were now in the same boat, and there was no point in blaming each other.

The two remained silent for a long time, and a suffocating atmosphere permeated between them.

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