I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 942: The Big Crisis of the Blond Loli! [Leopard Update 7K1]

A dense forest somewhere east of Hachioji——

"Ha...ha...ha...ha...ha..."

Elodie gasped for breath and used her knife to support herself, trying to keep herself steady so as not to fall.

She was so exhausted that she couldn't even stand up straight.

The scene before her eyes seemed to be shaking, and overlapping afterimages appeared faintly... This was the first time that Elodie had experienced being so tired.

After her breathing became more even and her physical condition improved, she turned to look at Shimada Kai behind her.

"Mr. Shimada, are you okay?"

Shimada Kai, who was not far behind her, grinned widely:
"Don't worry, Director! I'm very strong! This little bit of hard work is no problem for me!"

Although his words were beautiful, anyone could see that his face looked very ugly, with no color in his cheeks and lips.

Looking at Shimada Kai who was pretending to be fine, Elodie pursed her lips and said nothing more, without exposing his bravado.

Suddenly, she raised her eyes slightly and looked at the man carried on Shimada Kai's back.

"Is Mr. Hijikata still alive?"

Shimada Kai turned his head and glanced at Hijikata Toshizo on his back:

"Yes, he's still breathing. But... his condition is very bad. If we don't send him to a safe place for treatment, he will definitely die...!"

Hijikata Toshizo was seen lying on Shimada Kai's back, his eyes closed and his face as pale as paper.

The gunshot wound on his waist and abdomen was wrapped in thick linen, and Elodie and Shimada Kai performed simple hemostasis for him.

Shimada Kai tore his light green haori into strips and tied Hijikata Toshizo and his body together.

This way, Hijikata Toshizo could be prevented from slipping and falling to the ground, and Shimada Kei could also free his hands.

Looking at Hijikata Toshizo who was still alive, Elodie's facial lines relaxed slightly, and a look of "relief" appeared on her cheeks.

When she recalled the thrilling scenes that had just happened, she still couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

It was a close call...

Just a little bit...really just a little bit! They and Hijikata Toshizo will be separated forever!
Just as the enemy soldiers rushed forward and were about to deal a fatal blow to Hijikata Toshizo, Elodie and Shimada Kai arrived in time!

The two of them were fighting not far away from Hijikata Toshizo.

After discovering that Hijikata Toshizo was surrounded by twenty or thirty enemy soldiers, they immediately rushed to support him.

Although it was very dangerous, they managed to reach Hijikata Toshizo before he was killed.

The first person to arrive was Elodie.

She swung the Yamato-no-kami Yasunari in her hand and killed three people in one breath, causing chaos in the enemy group.

Soon afterwards, Shimada Kai arrived and joined the melee.

Both Elodie and Shimada Kai believed that Hijikata Toshizo's life was far more important than theirs.

In order to rescue Hijikata Toshizo, they all displayed their extraordinary strength!
Swords flashed and blood flowed.

With the joint attack of the two, the enemy's offensive was thwarted and the encirclement was torn apart.

The head of Hijikata Toshizo is certainly valuable and tempting.

But if you lose your life, no matter how much money you give, it will be useless!
The remaining enemy soldiers had no courage to fight anymore and fled in panic, not even daring to look back.

After repelling the enemy soldiers' attack, Elodie and Shimada Kai immediately treated Hijikata Toshizo's injuries.

It would be fine if it was any other part of the body, but it happened to be the waist and abdomen.

As we all know, there are many important internal organs in the human abdomen.

Being shot in this part...it's no exaggeration to say it's a "narrow escape"!
Fortunately, Hijikata Toshizo was a warrior with a strong physique, so he was able to hold on to a little life and not die on the spot.

The two of them quickly stopped the bleeding of Hijikata Toshizo, and then led him to retreat while fighting.

Elodie couldn't remember what happened after that.

Memories become blurry from exhaustion and stress.

All I remember is that they kept retreating eastward, constantly repelling the pursuers.

Before they knew it, they retreated to this unknown forest.

Although it was unclear where this place was, fortunately, judging from the current situation, they had managed to shake off their pursuers.

The united organization of thousands of men has been completely broken up. The generals cannot find their soldiers, and the soldiers cannot find their generals.

Fortunately, Shuten-doji, Katsura Kogoro and others had no intention of pursuing the remnant soldiers of the thousand-man army.

Their goal was clear from the beginning to the end: to capture Edo and destroy the shogunate!
Therefore, after completely defeating the Thousands of People and clearing the obstacles before them, they quickly reorganized their army and marched eastward!

Thanks to this, many soldiers, including Elodie, were able to save their lives.

If the French and Qi coalition forces continue to pursue relentlessly, their casualties will probably rise even more...

Shimada Kai licked his dry lips, looked up and asked Elodie:

"Director, where are we going next?"

At present, the deputy commander Hijikata Toshizo is seriously injured and unconscious.

In this way, according to the rank, the command power naturally falls into the hands of the head of the department, Elodie.

The rank of "head of department" is higher than that of "deputy captain of the first team", so Shimada Kai naturally obeys Elodie, not the other way around.

Faced with Shimada Kai's serious questioning, Elodie did not show any fear.

She wiped the sweat from her face, thought for a moment, then turned her head to look east.

"Let's go to Edo!"

"Mr. Hijikata is in urgent need of medical treatment."

"If there's any good doctor anywhere around here, it's in Edo!"

"Besides...the enemy is about to arrive at Edo Castle. Edo needs our help!"

After saying that, she tightly grasped the Yamato-no-kami Yasunari in her hand.

Although the Hachioji offensive and defensive battle ended in defeat, she did not intend to give up.

She can still move, she can still swing her sword, she can still fight!

Even though her power is very small, she wants to go to Edo and continue to contribute to the fight against the Faqi coalition!

To Elodie's decision, Shimada Kai's response was quite simple—he nodded vigorously to show his agreement.

Just as they were preparing to set off and head east, the two of them seemed to sense something and their faces changed.

The next moment, they all raised their knives, got into position, and scanned the surrounding woods as if facing a powerful enemy.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Accompanied by bursts of subtle noises, figures emerged from the woods.

They appeared from all directions and surrounded Elodie and the others as soon as they appeared.

Roughly speaking, there are about sixty people.

I saw that these people had pale faces and ragged clothes.

Patches are piled on top of each other, and it is impossible to tell which ones are the original fabrics of the clothes - and this is already considered to be the better outfit among this group of people.

Some people's clothes can't even be called clothes, they are just pieces of rags hung on their bodies.

They held sharp weapons such as swords and bamboo spears in their hands, and some of them even wore chain mail, foot armor and other protective gear.

The gleaming blades of knives and tips of guns were pointed directly at Elodie and the others.

Also directed at Elodie and the others were cold and greedy gazes.

Elodie frowned slightly, a hint of confusion appearing in her beautiful eyes.

She originally thought that the people coming were pursuers from the French and Qi coalition forces.

Unexpectedly, they turned out to be a group of uninvited guests of unknown identity.

Judging from the appearance of these people, they don't look like pursuers from the French and Qi coalition forces.

Instead, he looks more like...an ordinary farmer.

Compared to Elodie, who came from a foreign country and lacked in-depth understanding of Japan, Shimada Kai was obviously much more perceptive.

He immediately saw the identities of these people, his expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice:

"'Falling Warrior Hunt'...!"

Hunting lone warriors - as the name suggests, hunting lone warriors.

The exact time of its rise is no longer traceable, but what is certain is that it reached its peak during the Warring States Period.

Faced with groups of warriors, the peasants trembled and obeyed submissively.

But if it is a lone warrior, the situation will be very different!

As long as there is a war, there will always be winners and losers.

The victor will pursue the enemy and chase them back to the north, while the loser will abandon his armor and weapons.

The armor, clothes and weapons of the warriors are all valuable and good things.

Thus, a new way to get rich was born!

Whenever a warrior was defeated in battle and fled or was left alone, he would become a "fat sheep" in the eyes of the farmers.

If the bamboo is sharpened, it can become a light and easy-to-use weapon that is powerful enough to kill the samurai!
Unless he is a rare warrior, no matter how powerful a warrior is, he will have a hard time escaping death when facing a dozen or even dozens of peasants armed with bamboo spears.

In order to hunt these lone warriors, farmers even formed professional teams.

Some people are responsible for collecting intelligence, some are responsible for scouting, some are responsible for making weapons, some are responsible for attacking, and some are responsible for selling stolen goods.

When they heard that a war was going on somewhere, they would immediately run to the vicinity of the battlefield, lurk silently, and hunt down those fleeing or lone warriors.

Akechi Mitsuhide, who murdered his lord Oda Nobunaga and created the idiom "three-day world", died at the hands of peasants' bamboo spears.

In 1582, Akechi Mitsuhide fought a decisive battle with Toyotomi Hideyoshi at Tennozan and retreated in disgrace after being defeated.

When passing through Yamashina Ogurisu Village, he was killed by local farmers with bamboo spears. Even his head was chopped off and sent to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's military camp as a reward.

The fact that a great hero died in such a funny and tragic way is truly a model of black humor.

This way of death is similar to Li Zicheng's death in Jiugong Mountain.

Hunting warriors... look cruel, but it's not the farmers' fault for being too cruel.

Compared with the evil done by the samurai, the ruling class, these actions of the peasants are really not worth mentioning.

In the Warring States Period, it was not uncommon for the samurai lords to raise taxes to "nine officials and one civilian"... that is, to forcibly seize 90% of the people's income.

As for forcibly abducting women, killing innocent people to claim credit, and burning farmers' houses for lighting, these were even more common.

Peasants are the most cunning, they appear honest but are the best at lying. Peasants are the most stingy and cunning, but it is the brutal warriors who force them to be like this.

Shimada Kai never expected that there is still a "Falling Warrior Hunt" today, and they happened to run into it...

Presumably, the nearby farmers learned that Hachioji was at war, so they picked up this long-abandoned "traditional art", mobilized their manpower early, and lurked here, preparing to make a fortune.

"'Falling Warrior Hunt'...?!"

As soon as Shimada Kai finished speaking, Elodie began to mutter and droop her face.

Although she didn't know much about Japanese history, she had heard of this traditional art of Japanese farmers.

At this moment, both Elodie and Shimada Kai had complicated expressions on their faces.

No wonder they do this.

This is the Kanto area.

In other words, these people were all farmers from Kanto.

Why did they fight with thousands of other people for five days and nights in Hachioji?
In order to stop the attack of the French and Qi coalition forces!

This is to buy time for the Edo defenders to deploy their defenses!

This is to buy time for the people of Kanto to evacuate!
They fought bloody battles, suffered countless casualties, but in the end they were hunted down by the farmers in Kanto...

The complexity of their feelings at the moment is difficult to describe with specific words.

At this time, a thin young farmer with sunken cheeks came forward with a katana in hand. He should be the leader of the group. He licked his lips and said loudly with excitement:
"Kill those two men! Leave the woman behind! Don't hurt her!"

After saying this, he stared with greed on his face at Yamato-no-kami Yasusada in Elodi's hand and Izumi-no-kami Kanesada on Hijikata Toshizo's waist.

Anyone with a keen eye can see that these two knives are definitely not ordinary items.

In addition to the two knives, the other object that was also examined repeatedly was Elodie herself.

A bunch of licking gazes wandered all over Elodie's body.

Although Elodie is a Westerner and her appearance does not conform to the current Japanese aesthetic, who can blame her for being a woman? In the lower class society, women are an extremely important resource.

Putting aside her appearance, Elodie's fair skin alone was enough to make these farmers salivate.

In ancient Japan, fair skin was considered beautiful for women, and one of the important criteria for measuring a woman's appearance was whether her skin was fair or not.

Such a woman with skin as white as snow and cream stood in front of them... It was rare that they didn't pounce on her immediately.

Their undisguised lustful looks made Elodie, who was used to "talking and laughing with great scholars and associating with all common people", feel very uncomfortable and goose bumps appeared all over her body.

Seeing that these guys were about to attack, Elodi immediately got into position, raised the middle of his sword, and instantly entered combat mode.

However, just as she raised her sword, Shimada Kai's voice came from beside her:

"Director, wait a minute."

Although Shimada Kai was born into a samurai family, he was not from a prominent family. He had endured many hard times and often came into conflict with the lower classes of society, so he understood and sympathized with the suffering of the farmers.

It is purely the harsh living environment that has forced them into this state.

Therefore, facing this group of farmers who were obviously coming to hunt them, he did not show any contempt or hatred.

Both he and Elodie were covered in wounds and exhausted.

Not only that, he was carrying Hijikata Toshizo on his back, who was dying and in urgent need of quiet healing.

Under such circumstances, it is irrational to conflict with these farmers.

Shimada Kai did not doubt Elodie's ability, but he was well aware that she lacked experience in dealing with farmers.

So he took the initiative to step forward and start negotiations.

He held his head high, looked around fearlessly, and said in a loud voice with full energy:

"Everyone! I am Shimada Kai, vice-captain of the Shinsengumi's First Division!"

Shinsengumi - upon hearing this title, the farmers who were ready to make a move just a second ago, all froze in place.

Niou's troops, the shogunate's strongest force, the strongest swordsman group... The reputation of the Shinsengumi has long spread far and wide, even in remote areas.

Seeing that the daimyo of the Shinsengumi had successfully intimidated these people, Shimada Kai immediately perked up and raised his voice a few degrees higher:

"We just happened to pass by here and don't mean to disturb you!"

"If this is offensive, please forgive me!"

"We don't want to argue with you! Please let us go!"

"We just want to leave this place safely, we have no other evil intentions!"

After saying this, he raised his hand and grabbed the collar at his chest, pulling it hard, tearing open the stitches and revealing the interlayer of the collar - three small gold coins were hidden inside.

This was a habit he developed when he was still working in the market before joining the Shinsengumi.

Sew money into the lining of your shirt for emergencies.

This approach has many benefits.

First of all, it is not easy to be stolen. Secondly, you don’t have to check your money frequently to see if it is there. The skin on your chest can always feel the presence of the coins.

"Here are three small gold coins. Just consider them as a bribe!"

One small gold coin is equal to one tael of gold, and three small gold coins are equal to three taels of gold.

Three taels of gold...although it is not a huge sum of money, it is already a large sum of money for the poor farmers.

First he mentioned the name of the Shinsengumi, then he bribed them with money... He used both kindness and force. Shimada Kai was not a professional lobbyist, he was better at doing things than talking, and this was the limit of what he could do.

It turned out that his combination of punches was effective.

The peasants, who had been aggressive until just now, now became much more docile.

They looked at each other, their eyes full of hesitation, fear and worry.

They were not moved by the money in Shimada Kai's hands, they were mainly moved by the reputation of the Shinsengumi... to be more precise, they were shocked by Qing Deng's reputation!
Aoto made his fortune in Edo.

Whenever Qingdeng accomplished something great or achieved something, the people of Guandong were the first to know about it.

For this reason, Qing Deng enjoyed a very high prestige in Kanto, and many scholars and civilians in Kanto respected Qing Deng very much.

Because they knew about Qing Deng's deeds, they knew very well how terrifying Niou's fighting power was!
Those who touch "Nioh"... they have to consider the cost behind it.

Unfortunately, their hesitation was short-lived.

After a short while, shouts and curses were heard:

"Don't try that on us!"

"That's right! You want to bribe us with just three taels of gold? Who are you looking down on?!"

"Kill you, and everything on your body will belong to us!"

"Don't use the Shinsengumi to pressure us! If we just kill you all, God knows who did it!"

These shouts basically come from young people in their teens or twenties.

As young men full of vigor and vitality, they looked down upon everyone, including the mighty Nioh.

After their encouragement, the fear and hesitation quickly dissipated.

Emotions such as greed and lust once again took control of their expressions, making their demeanor return to its ferocious state.

Shimada Kui saw this and immediately frowned. He put away the carrot and took out the stick:

"If you don't let us pass, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

"Although we are covered in wounds, no matter what, we are still the swordsmen of the Shinsengumi!"

"If we really want to fight, I can assure you that I can reduce your numbers by more than half before I die!"

Shimada Kai intended to continue the negotiations, however... the other party no longer intended to give him this opportunity.

"Stop talking to him! Kill him now!"

Someone's shout announced the breakdown of the negotiations.

Those young men rushed forward and thrust out the bamboo spears in their hands with all their strength!
Elodie never let her guard down.

Even when Shimada Kai's negotiations began to show results, she remained on guard.

Seeing the peasants launching an attack, she swiftly ducked and dodged to the right.

At the same time, Shimada Kai stepped back to the left and hid in an empty space.

He reacted quickly, however... because he was carrying Hijikata Toshizo on his back, his movements became particularly slow and he was unable to dodge all the bamboo spears that were stabbing at him.

A bamboo spear grazed his thigh, leaving a bloody cut.

"Mr. Shimada! Follow me!"

After saying that, Elodi waved the Yamato-no-kami Yasunari in her hand, cutting out shining silver rays in the air and forcing back the surrounding farmers.

Shimada Kai had to distract himself by taking care of Hijikata Toshizo on his back, and his own strength was seriously affected.

Only Elodie, who was light on her feet, could fight with all her strength.

It is no exaggeration to say that whether they can survive this difficult time depends entirely on her performance!
"Yes!"

Shimada Kui responded, moved, and followed her closely.

Elodie knew very well that in their current exhausted state, they were simply unable to fight against this group of farmers.

So she broke out to the east and refused to fight.

Her intention was too obvious. In the blink of an eye, several farmers moved and blocked her way.

"Don't hurt this woman!"

"Hey, hey! I'd know it even if you didn't tell me!"

They did not thrust out the bamboo spears in their hands, but instead swept the spears left and right, like sticks, towards Elodie's lower limbs.

Their intention was obvious: they wanted to knock Elodie to the ground so that they could capture her alive.

Because of their horny desires, they were unwilling to harm Elodie's life - this was actually good for Elodie!

She has no scruples about "not wanting to kill".

In an instant, she stood up, jumped up like an onion in dry land, and leaped into the air like a flying swallow, avoiding the bamboo spears that were sweeping towards her legs.

Her leap was part of her attack - she leaped forward, flew over the heads of the two farmers in front of her, and the knife in her hand struck out like lightning, slicing off the tops of their heads.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, she quickly launched her next attack, slashing with her backhand and knocking down another farmer beside her.

Her attack was truly unstoppable, and several people were killed or injured immediately by her knife.

But at this moment, her body suddenly lost balance and fell to the left - she suddenly felt her left foot go weak and she couldn't stand.

It wasn't because she stepped into a mud puddle or was attacked, but because her left foot was too tired and the muscles began to lose control.

Up to now, she was still working hard to escape the pursuit of the Fach coalition forces, with almost no time to rest, and unimaginable fatigue had already accumulated in her body.

In this case, it is only natural that such accidents would occur.

It is difficult to avoid being discovered with such an obvious flaw.

In the blink of an eye, a farmer jumped out from behind a tree and stabbed with a spear.

Perhaps realizing that Elodi was not a good person, the farmer didn't dare to show mercy anymore. He didn't hold back and stabbed Elodi directly in the chest.

Her posture was unstable and her attack distance was not enough... She had no choice but to swing her knife diagonally to chop off the opponent's bamboo spear.

Compared to ordinary spears, bamboo spears with hollow interiors are much easier to chop.

With just one strike, Elodie reduced the opponent's bamboo spear to only a small half.

After all, farmers are just farmers, not well-trained elite soldiers.

Seeing that the weapon in his hand was broken, he didn't dare to move forward. He screamed "wow wow" and fled backwards in a panic.

Before Elodie could breathe a sigh of relief, a new crisis suddenly arrived!

Whoosh!

Suddenly, she heard a whirring sound of wind behind her head!
Elodie's pupils shrank slightly, and her body took action before her consciousness.

She used her left foot as the axis and spun backwards, swinging the Yamato-no-mori Yasudasa in her hand backwards with the help of centrifugal force.

clang!
The two steel knives collided in the air.

The attacker was a young man armed with a knife.

His sword-swinging movements were very standard and his force-generating posture was also very accurate, so he probably had a certain foundation in swordsmanship.

In terms of strength, the almost exhausted Elodie was far inferior to the other.

After realizing that his power had the upper hand, he smiled grimly, stomped his feet against the ground, and used all his strength, intending to suppress Elodie in one breath.

There was no expression of sadness or joy on Elodie's face, and she wasn't panicked at all - from the very beginning, she had no intention of fighting with the other party with knives or strength.

Thanks to the fierce battle with the Faqi coalition, she quickly grew into a seasoned fighter.

She eagerly absorbed nutrition and experience on the battlefield of Hachioji.

Today, her attack methods are no longer limited to "swinging the blade".

In a flash, she released her left hand, spread out her index and middle fingers, aimed at the other person's eyes, and poked them hard.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa——!”

With a pig-slaughtering howl, the other party let go of the knife in his hand and covered his eyes with both hands. Bright red blood flowed out from between his fingers and flowed onto the back of his hand.

Elodie wanted to throw a knife to kill the opponent, but... a new enemy attacked.

Looking at the ferocious faces and greedy expressions before her, Elodie finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted:
"This is totally unreasonable... This is totally unreasonable!"

"We fought desperately in Hachioji! All we want is to protect you! Let you take shelter as soon as possible!"

"I don't expect you to be grateful, but you blame me instead!"

“This is totally unreasonable!!”

Elodie's venting words did not resonate with the farmers.

As soon as she finished speaking, someone raised his voice and shrilly said:

"Stop talking about these high-sounding principles! We don't care who will rule the world!"

"Whether the world belongs to Tokugawa, Mori, or some other family, it's none of our business!"

"No matter who owns this world, we have to pay the taxes and live through these hard times!"

"Since we have to pay taxes and live a hard life in the end, it doesn't matter which tax we pay to?! It doesn't matter where we live a hard life!"

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