I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 941: The "Last" of "Demon's Vice-Captain" Hijikata Toshizo

Hijikata Toshizo did not finish his words:

"In Tama Hino, there is a man named 'Sato Hikogoro'. He is my brother-in-law and is well-known in the local area. You can find his residence by asking around."

"This is a difficult task, please."

Ichimura Tetsunosuke stared in amazement at the photo and hair that Hijikata Toshizo handed over.

"Mr. Hijikata, you, what are you doing..."

He stammered and took a long time to recover.

While he was still in a daze, Hijikata Toshizo smiled slightly - he rarely showed such a gentle smile.

"Tetsunosuke, thank you for your help all along. It was the right choice to choose you as my nickname. Thank you for your hard work."

Ever since he was taken in as a pet by Hijikata Toshizo, Ichimura Tetsunosuke's intelligence and ability have been obvious to all.

He managed Hijikata Toshizo's daily life in an orderly manner, allowing Hijikata Toshizo to focus on official duties.

After following Hijikata Toshizo to Hachioji, his performance still did not disappoint anyone.

Because he was too young, Hijikata Toshizo did not allow him to go to the front line.

So he did everything he could in the rear.

Boiling hot water, carrying the wounded, transporting weapons and ammunition...even the most picky and ruthless people cannot deny his hard work and contribution.

At this moment, Ichimura Tetsunosuke finally reacted:
"Mr. Hijikata! Please take back your order!"

He said this as he knelt on the ground with a sincere look on his face.

"I won't leave! Please let me stay! I want to fight with you until the last moment!"

The battle line is unsustainable... Everyone knows that today is the "last day".

It is obvious that Hijikata Toshizo's move was to give Ichimura Tetsunosuke a way out.

They said they wanted him to deliver something, but in fact they just wanted him to escape from the battlefield.

"Don't be silly, you won't accomplish anything by staying here."

"Even so, I want to stay and fight! I can swing a sword! I can fight!"

Hijikata Toshizo's tone gradually turned cold:

"Article 1 of the Shinsengumi Code: All actions shall be subject to orders. Those who disobey orders shall be executed."

After saying that, he raised his left hand, pressed the opening of the scabbard of Izumi-no-kami Kanesada on his left waist, pressed his thumb against the sword guard and pushed forward, and with a "click" the red copper latch that clamped the scabbard was exposed.

Looking at Izumi-no-kami Kanesada who had already unsheathed his sword, a hint of fear flashed in Ichimura Tetsunosuke's eyes.

But even so, he still refused to give in:
"Mr. Hijikata, please... let me stay. As a samurai, how can I run away..."

"This isn't running away. You're just following my orders."

"But...but..."

"Tetsunosuke, you have more tasks to do than just delivering things for me."

Upon hearing this, Ichimura Tetsunosuke subconsciously raised his gaze in confusion.

Hijikata Toshizo continued in a calm tone:
"In order to save the people of Edo, we held out here for five full days and nights, intimidating both our enemies and ourselves."

"We cannot let this epic battle be buried."

"How a thousand men united to fight in Hachioji."

"How did the 'Demon Vice Captain' Hijikata Toshizo, the First Division Vice Captain Shimada Kai, the Shinsengumi Chief Elodie Angouleme and others gallop on the battlefield?"

"I hope you can spread these stories and let the world know."

"Who else can I entrust with such an important task except you?"

Hijikata Toshizo's tone was powerful and full of unquestionable meaning.

Ichimura Tetsunosuke's eyes gradually became moist.

He opened his mouth and seemed to have something to say.

But facing Hijikata Toshizo's determined gaze, he couldn't say anything.

Finally... he bit his lip, lowered his head, and nodded vigorously with sobs.

"Yes...I...I understand..."

Seeing Ichimura Tetsunosuke finally nodding in agreement, that gentle smile appeared on Hijikata Toshizo's cheek again.

"Let's set off quickly before the enemy army attacks us."

As he spoke, he handed over the photo and the hair in his hand again.

Ichimura Tetsunosuke wiped his tears, stretched out his hands, took it respectfully, then stood up and bowed solemnly to Hijikata Toshizo.

When he turned to leave the bullet shelter and walked to the entrance, he suddenly stopped, turned his head, and looked at Hijikata Toshizo reluctantly.

Hijikata Toshizo nodded at him:

"Bon voyage, Tetsu-nosuke."

He bit his lip again, pretending to be carefree:

"Mr. Hijikata, I wish you good luck in martial arts."

After saying this, he bowed deeply again… After doing all this, he pulled his gaze back, pulled his feet that were stuck to the ground, and left quickly.

Hijikata Toshizo silently watched Ichimura Tetsunosuke's back.

Only after the footsteps faded away did he slowly withdraw his gaze.

"..."

He stared into the void before him, silent, not knowing what he was thinking.

After a moment, he chuckled, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and there was a hint of relief in his smile.

At this time, Shimada Kai shouted from outside the cave:
"Deputy Captain! Deputy Captain!"

After a while, Shimada Kui rushed into the cave, followed closely by Elodie.

Just like Hijikata Toshizo, the days of fierce fighting left them in a very disheveled and bloody state.

Even Elodie's beautiful blond hair had lost some of its luster.

However, there is one thing about them that has never changed: the fighting spirit in their eyes has never faded!

Shimada Kai reported concisely:

"Deputy Captain! The enemy troops are attacking!"

Hijikata Toshizo nodded slightly:

"Well, I see."

He said this and stood up calmly.

At this moment, he seemed to remember something and turned to look at Elodie beside him.

"Elodie, although it is a bit tactless to ask this question at this point, I still want to confirm with you: Do you really want to fight with us to the end?"

Elodie tilted her head and smiled:
"If I flee from the battlefield, it would be a disgrace to my identity as 'Renou's disciple'."

After saying that, she deliberately raised the Yamato-no-Kami Yasudasa in her hand.

Seeing this, Hijikata Toshizo responded with a look of respect and conviction.

The next moment, with a "clang" sound, he suddenly pulled out Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada from his waist and shook out his long windbreaker:

"Let's go and carve our bravery into the history books of the future!"

……

……

The Fage coalition, main camp——

Shuten-doji stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the battlefront of a thousand people in the distance.

Suddenly, he murmured:

"Amazing, they were able to hold us off for five days... I admire you so much. I underestimated them."

Although the generals of the Fach coalition did not look down on the thousands of people who were united, they did not think they were a major threat.

It is true that Hijikata Toshizo is a talented person who is feared by all, but what can he do alone?

Including Shuten Douji, Katsura Kogoro and others, all of them were optimistic: it would only take three days at most to break through the defense line of a thousand people! Capture Hachioji!
Unexpectedly... Hijikata Toshizo and his thousands of soldiers relied on their iron will to hold them off for five days!
For such a battle record, for the tenacious will of thousands of people, and for the excellent command of Hijikata Toshizo, even a proud man like Shuten Doji had to give extremely high praise.

As soon as Shuten-doji finished speaking, Katsura Kogoro, who was standing next to him, said calmly:
"It is truly admirable that Hijikata Toshizo was united with thousands of people. What a pity... it ends here."

Shuten-doji nodded slightly in agreement:

"Yeah, that's it."

In front of them, they saw a large number of soldiers rushing towards the position of thousands of people like a tide.

The "last day" of the Hachioji Battle begins!
……

……

"Hurrah! Kill them all!" (Russian)

"Fight them!"

"They can't hold on any longer! Come on! Come on!" (Russian)

"We're going to die anyway! Drag a few more people to take the blame!"

……

Along with roars and screams, colorful blood splashed and fell repeatedly.

The blade cut through flesh.

Bullets pierce through life.

The opponent of the thousand-man army is not only the Faqi coalition in front of them, but also the fatigue accumulated in their bodies.

Their blades were already full of notches.

Their clothes were tattered and ragged.

Their legs felt heavy as lead.

Their spirits are at their limit.

Their bodies were covered in scars.

But despite this, they were still unwilling to give in, allowing the brutal decisive battle to continue!

The soldiers here chopped off the Russian soldiers' heads.

The Russian soldiers there shot through the bodies of the soldiers.

The soldiers here pulled the triggers in unison, disrupting the formation of the special forces.

The special forces there worked together to restrain the soldiers' movements and pierced their bodies with bayonets.

This is what is called "tragic".

Up to now, for the thousands of soldiers who have united as one, the battle before them is no longer limited to "adhering to the promise made by their ancestors to guard the Eight Princes for generations."

The thousands of soldiers who were united in purpose were all villagers living in the same village and were related to each other.

In other words, they are basically "father-son soldiers", "brother soldiers", and "brother-in-law soldiers".

In the past five days, too many of their relatives and friends have been killed by the enemy.

In order to avenge their relatives and friends, and to prove themselves, they voluntarily transformed themselves into Shuras!

Who cares about Edo, who cares about the agreement made by our ancestors! Let’s kill them first!
What can we do...spiritual strength cannot make up for material disadvantages.

The five-day-long fierce battle resulted in a sharp increase in the strength of the two sides.

The huge gap in training levels resulted in thousands of people being exhausted, while the Faqi coalition was still able to handle it with ease.

Under the oppression of the French and Qi coalition forces, the thousands of united soldiers were defeated one after another.

The current battle situation has become irreversible...

At this moment, amid the deafening shouts and cries of killing, a remarkable scene took place somewhere in a corner of the battlefield.

A young man who was at most in his early twenties faced the attack of more than twenty members of the Special Forces alone.

All his companions were killed in the battle, and he was left alone to face the enemy.

He held the knife tightly in his palm, his face full of fear, and his hands shaking violently, as if he was holding a live fish, but he still held the knife very, very tightly.

The enemy soldiers opposite them, that is, the members of the Special Forces, slowly narrowed the encirclement with a leisurely gait. They did not take the young man seriously at all, and looked as relaxed as a cat playing with a mouse.

"Go! Kill him!"

At the commander's command, the enemy soldiers rushed forward, ready to kill the young man.

The young man clenched his teeth, a fierce look flashed in his eyes, and his hands stopped shaking. He was determined to find someone to take the blame for him.

Suddenly, a tall figure rushed in from the side!

He stood in front of the young man, spread his arms and swung the sharp blade in his hand.

Flash once, flash again, flash three times.

The white blade flashed in the air three times, and every time it flashed, one or more enemy soldiers would be chopped down to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, the rough encirclement was broken! Those who were lucky enough not to be hit by the cold light retreated quickly, keeping a distance from each other, and looked at the man in black who suddenly attacked with fear on their faces.

Hijikata Toshizo wiped off the blood on the blade and said to the young man behind him without turning his head:
"You go support other places, leave this to me."

Looking at the back of Hijikata Toshizo, the man who saved him from danger, the young man's expression was dominated by strong excitement. He did not disobey Hijikata Toshizo's order, nodded vigorously, turned around and left.

At this moment, the enemy soldiers in front of him spontaneously formed a fan-shaped formation and confronted him as if they were facing a powerful enemy.

Hijikata Toshizo rolled his eyes and scanned the area with a wolf-like gaze, calculating the position of each enemy soldier.

Wherever his eyes swept, the enemy soldiers there felt as if they were falling into an icy cave, and a strong sense of uneasiness arose in their hearts.

The commander stared at Hijikata Toshizo in panic, hurriedly drew the sword from his waist, and held it forcefully in front of him, as if this would give him enough sense of security.

He stammered:

"Who are you?!"

Hijikata Toshizo slowly raised Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada in his hand and said calmly:

"The deputy leader of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toshizo."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly changed.

The enemy soldiers all changed their expressions and subconsciously took several steps back. The fan-shaped formation became messy and unstable.

Hijikata Toshizo seized this opportunity and leaped out like a tiger! He leaped into the middle of the enemy group!
He slashed the first man in the chest with a sideways strike, then slid forward, penetrating deeper into the enemy group and further disrupting their formation.

At the same time, two streaks of knife light were left behind him, and the second and third men's bodies shook a few times before falling to the ground with a bang.

He pulled the knife back to his hand. This action of "retracting the blade" was also an attack. It swept across the fourth man's neck, and a terrifying column of blood spurted out of the wound.

Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada is indeed a great master! He can cut iron like mud!

Anyone who is hit by its sharp blade will either die or be injured!
In a matter of seconds, the area around Hijikata Toshizo's feet was filled with dead bodies.

After he chopped down the 11th man, the enemy soldiers' morale and order completely collapsed.

The survivors no longer dared to challenge the man who bore the name of "ghost". They fled in fear, fearing that they would fall behind the others, and only blamed their parents for not giving them an extra pair of wings.

Hijikata Toshizo did not pursue them, but allowed them to escape - he wanted to save his remaining little physical strength to support the various battlefields.

“Hoo…! Hoo…! Hoo…! Hoo…!”

He gasped for air, greedily swallowing oxygen and regulating his breath while wiping his sweaty face.

Since the Fauci coalition launched the general attack, he has been playing the role of "fire captain", running back and forth on the huge battlefield.

He would go to help wherever there were many enemies or where reinforcements were urgently needed.

Even though he knew he was doomed to fail, he was unwilling to give up.

All he can do now is to try his best to delay the process of defeat.

He raised his eyes and looked around.

Enemy soldiers were everywhere, death was everywhere, and defeated troops were in desperate need of support everywhere... These scenes were despairing just by looking at them.

Even if we divide the earth into ten parts, it still cannot be saved.

It is worth mentioning that Shimada Kui and Elodie are not far away.

Like Hijikata Toshizo, the two of them are also wielding their swords relentlessly and fighting the enemy without hesitation!
Shimada Kai is a veteran, a master of swordsmanship, and the vice-captain of the first squadron. Apart from Hijikata Toshizo, he has killed the most enemies.

As for Elodie, her performance in the past few days has been amazing. She doesn't look like a newcomer on the battlefield at all.

Brave, decisive... one can't help but praise her: she is worthy of being Tachibana Aoto's apprentice!

Whenever she took up her sword and went into battle, and whenever her dashing and heroic figure came into the eyes of the soldiers, it would greatly inspire their morale: if even a half-grown girl like this went into battle and fought, what reason do we have to retreat?
Although his own breath had not yet completely stabilized, the current battle situation was urgent and he could not afford to take a rest.

Just as Hijikata Toshizo was about to tighten his grip on Izumi-no-kami Kanesada and prepare to continue his fight, a loud shout rang out from in front of him:

"Found it! It's the Shinsengumi's vice-captain, Hijikata Toshizo!"

"Quick! Kill him! Mr. Gui said that whoever takes his head will be rewarded with 5,000 taels!"

"It's this guy in the long black trench coat! The boss said that if you kill him, you will get a lifetime reward!" (Russian)

"Hurrah! He's mine!" (Russian)

"Get out of the way! This reward belongs to me!" (Russian)

A large group of enemy soldiers - about twenty or thirty of them - rushed towards Hijikata Toshizo.

Where there is a big reward, there will always be brave men... A huge amount of money is enough to turn humans into greedy and fearless beasts.

Hijikata Toshizo could not understand Russian.

However, he heard the words "five thousand taels of gold" clearly.

In the Edo period, five thousand taels of gold was an absolutely huge sum of money!

As long as you don't squander it, this money is enough to support a whole family to live a carefree life.

Looking at this group of aggressive enemy soldiers, Hijikata Toshizo curled his lips and taunted mercilessly:

"Five thousand taels of gold? Isn't that too much of an insult to me, Hijikata Toshizo?"

After saying this, he fearlessly raised Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada in his hand and got into position.

If he was in his prime and the enemy was only equipped with cold weapons, he would naturally not be afraid of just twenty or thirty people.

However... at this moment, after a series of fierce battles, his physical strength has run out, his lungs are aching slightly, and the muscles in his limbs are groaning.

It is not difficult to imagine how difficult it would be to fight against an enemy group armed with a mixture of cold and hot weapons in such a state.

Hijikata Toshizo no longer had time to think about so much.

In a flash, nearly ten musketeers stepped forward and crouched, holding their flintlock rifles steady, and aimed at Hijikata Toshizo in unison.

Seeing this, Hijikata Toshizo rolled to the left.

boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!
All the bullets hit where he had just been standing.

While the musketeers had run out of bullets and had not yet had time to reload, Hijikata Toshizo took the initiative and rushed towards the enemy group.

"Watch out! He's heading your way!"

"Stop him! Stop him!"

"Uh ah ah ah ah ah!"

Hijikata Toshizo launched an attack like a violent storm. The sword in his palm cut out cold silver rays in the air, and the enemies fell to the left and right one by one.

He knocked down ten enemy soldiers effortlessly.

The eleventh man, perhaps because he was good at hand-to-hand combat or what, threw away the sword in his hand, opened his arms like a bear, and pounced forward.

Hijikata Toshizo would not give this guy a chance to get close to him.

He calmly took a half step back, slightly widened the distance between them, and struck the opponent's neck with the knife in his hand like lightning.

The feel of the chop is very good.

The other person's head was only connected to his body by half of the neck.

Suffering such serious injuries, the man's remaining life can only be measured in seconds.

Unexpectedly... he actually relied on his last breath and rushed forward with unabated momentum, throwing himself on Hijikata Toshizo, wrapping his arms around his waist and hanging on Hijikata Toshizo's waist like a koala - only after doing all this did he die completely.

His desperate hug did play an extraordinary role.

With a living person hanging on the waist, no one can move freely.

The twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth men keenly seized this opportunity and attacked Hijikata Toshizo from different directions.

As it turned out, they underestimated Hijikata Toshizo after all.

The dignified "Deputy Captain of Ghosts" is definitely not someone that these little pawns can easily deal with!
He swung Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada in his hand like a windmill, deflecting all the attacking katana and bayonets.

The next moment, he pulled Izumi-no-Kami Kanesada back to his side and cut down all three of them.

Then, he raised his knee and knocked the guy hanging on his waist away, thus averting the crisis without any danger.

However, as soon as one shock subsided, another one arose.

Click...

Suddenly, he heard the peculiar metallic sound of a rifle being held.

Just behind him, a Russian soldier squatted on the ground, raised the flintlock in his hand with experienced movements, and aimed the black muzzle directly at his body.

As luck would have it, at this moment, all kinds of "accidents" happened to Hijikata Toshizo.

My physical strength was exhausted and my reaction speed slowed down.

It just so happens that the current posture is not conducive to dodging.

Just when he was about to push the enemy off his waist, his old strength was exhausted and his new strength had not yet been generated.

It is precisely these many coincidences that have created the horror of the present moment!

boom!
puff!

The bullet flew out, and then there was the sound of the bullet entering the body.

This scorching bullet cut through the atmosphere and hit Hijikata Toshizo squarely in the waist and abdomen!
In an instant, Hijikata Toshizo felt a heart-wrenching pain centered on the wound and instantly spread throughout his body.

The pain penetrated my bones but I couldn't scream. It seemed as if all the strength in my body was leaking out through the wound.

After shaking a few times, his body fell on the ground with his face up, and the vast sky filled his vision.

Looking at the blue sky and the dazzling red sun, he suddenly recalled the strange dream he had a while ago: he stayed in the same place, his friends left him, and he tried his best to chase them, but he could not catch up.

Then he thought of many people.

Familiar faces flashed before his eyes.

I thought of my honest and reliable brother Kondo Isami.

I thought of my cute and lively sister, Okita Souji.

He thought of his brother-in-law Sato Hikogoro who had always taken good care of him.

I thought of Kondo Shusuke, who treated him like a son.

Finally… he thought of Qing Deng.

Compared to others, his relationship with Qing Deng is the most complicated.

To him, Qing Deng was not only his close friend, but also his lord with whom he could confide in; he was not only his brother-in-law with whom he lived in harmony, but also his loyal comrade-in-arms.

Recalling these faces, Hijikata Toshizo did not show any fear of death, and a calm smile appeared on his cheek.

"Is this my...'last'..."

It seemed as if a long time had passed while describing Hijikata Toshizo's inner thoughts in such detail.

In fact, everything happens in just seconds.

Seeing Hijikata Toshizo fall down, the surrounding enemies immediately burst into excited shouts.

They couldn't wait to run towards Hijikata Toshizo, fearing that they would fall behind others even a step.

In their eyes, Hijikata Toshizo was no longer a formidable opponent at this time, but a piece of fat meat, a lamb to be slaughtered, and a huge military achievement that symbolized glory and wealth!
Hijikata Toshizo subconsciously wanted to stand up and resist, but he could no longer control his body and could only watch the enemies approaching from all directions.

He did not show any resentment or anger at such a scene and such an ending. He slowly closed his eyes with an expressionless face.

The moment before he closed his eyes, an emotion called "regret" was faintly visible in his eyes...

……

……

The Fage coalition, main camp——

Even without a telescope, one can see that thousands of people are retreating together.

The current battle can no longer be considered a "battle", it can only be called "pursuing the remaining enemies."

Looking across the entire battlefield, there were only a few scattered places where thousands of united soldiers were still resisting.

Katsura Kogoro looked around the battlefield with an expressionless face:

“It’s such a tough fight…”

Shuten-doji nodded slightly without commenting:
"We have to hurry up."

"According to the intelligence currently known, Navy President Katsurintaro is fully responsible for the defense of Edo."

"Among all the shogunate officials, Katsurintaro is a rare capable person."

"The thousand men were holding back for five days. During this time, Katsurintaro must have raced against time to strengthen Edo's defenses and increase the strength of the garrison."

“There is no doubt that Edo’s current defense capabilities will far exceed our prior expectations.”

"Oh, this is really a curse. Our good luck only lasted until we captured Sunpu Castle. After that, everything went wrong."

Like Takasugi Shinsaku, Katsura Kogoro also dislikes the Fazhu Party.

In the past, after hearing Shuten-doji say such self-deprecating words, Katsura Kogoro would most likely echo them in a sarcastic tone.

But now, he remained silent and did not mock Shuten-doji.

It’s the same old saying - they, Changzhou and the Fazhu Party, are like grasshoppers on the same rope. They prosper together and suffer together!
At this critical juncture, we must remain united and advance and retreat together!

Shuten-doji's words were not yet finished:
"If we want to destroy the Edo Shogunate ourselves, this is our only chance."

"If we miss it, we will have to give the chance to 'eliminate the shogunate' to other forces."

When talking about the word "other forces", Shuten-doji somehow emphasized the word.

Having said this, he casually spread out his feathered armor, turned around, and gave the order majestically:

"Move east! Conquer Edo! Destroy the shogunate!"

*******
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PS: In historical facts, Shimada Kai fought with Hijikata Toshizo until the very end - that is why I specially arranged for Shimada Kai to come to Hachioji to guard Hachioji together with Hijikata Toshizo.