I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 956: Conquering Edo Castle with Only Three People! [5400]

"Do you have any last words? If so, you'd better say them now, otherwise you won't have the chance later."

As Shuten-doji spoke, he filled the three wine glasses in front of him with wine.

Umibozu shook his head.
"I have nothing to say."

Sukuna said softly:
"Me too."

At this moment, Katsura Kogoro's voice suddenly came from the side:
"Shuten-doji, what are you doing?"

Shuten-doji turned his head and looked at Katsura Kogoro who was walking towards him.

Katsura Kogoro looked at the three of them, then looked at the three wine glasses filled with wine in front of them.

Drinking on the battlefield... There was only one explanation Katsura Kogoro could think of.

He hesitated, with a puzzled look on his face:
"Are you guys...drinking wine to celebrate your departure?"

Shuten-doji shrugged.

"Yes, that's right."

Katsura Kogoro asked:
"Are you planning to go out?"

"Yes, and no. What we are going to do next is not an ordinary 'field march'."

Having said this, Shuten-doji turned his head and looked at the towering Edo Castle not far away.

"Kui-kun, I'm sure you've figured it out, too?"

"The flaming attack of the Sword Saint and his group caused us to lose a lot of troops, and also greatly affected our morale."

"With this greatly reduced force, even if we succeed in capturing Edo Castle, we don't know how long it will take."

"Both our side and the Majutsu side are now exhausted."

"The battle has come to this point. Now it's a matter of which side has more perseverance."

"We must speed up and not lose even a second."

"Once the time is extended, I really don't know how many variables will be added."

"In this case, why not take advantage of the fact that most of the defenders of Edo Castle are fighting with our troops in Sannomaru and send out a small and elite guerrilla force to force their way across Sannomaru and penetrate Ninomaru and Honmaru in one fell swoop!"

After hearing this, Katsura Kogoro belatedly realized something.

"Shuten-doji, you guys...!"

His gaze passed over the faces of Shuten-doji, Sukuna, and Umibozu in turn.

Shuten Doji smiled slightly:
"With the power of three of us, we will create the first history of 'capturing Edo Castle'!"

"That's our 'final plan.'

"When the battle is at a stalemate and our troops are no longer able to advance, we have to rely on our own martial arts to break the situation."

Sukuna on the side interrupted:
"We were originally going to add Niu Gui and Nu Nu. Unfortunately, things didn't go as we wished and they left us too early."

"..."

Katsura Kogoro pursed his lips, said nothing, and looked back and forth at Shuten Doji and others with a complicated expression.

After a while, he said in a low voice:
"…Count me in."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and gently stroked Muramasa on his waist.

"I don't think I need to explain my strength."

"With my help, your chances of winning will definitely increase greatly."

Although the "final plan" of Shuten-doji and others is reckless, it is not impossible to implement.

In fact, Katsura Kogoro also realized the tense situation of the current war.

While most of the defenders of Edo Castle were attracted to Sannomaru, sending an elite commando team directly into the heart of Edo Castle... This might be a brilliant plan to reverse the situation!
After explaining his determination in concise language, Katsura Kogoro took out a "Decisive Battle Pond" from his arms.

Looking at the red pill in his hand, a layer of darkness appeared on his cheeks.

He always carries this "Decisive Battle Sediment" with him.

The purpose is to use it at the "most critical moment".

And now, the "most critical moment" has arrived!

In response to Katsura Kogoro's initiative, Shuten-doji responded without hesitation - he laughed out loud, as if he had heard some funny joke.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Gui-kun, I admire your bravery."

"But you better stay here obediently."

Katsura Kogoro frowned upon hearing this, looking puzzled:

"Why? Do you think I'll hold you back?"

Shuten-doji shook his head and explained patiently:

"Kui-kun, you misunderstood."

"I don't despise you."

"To be honest, if conditions permit, I would be happy to fight alongside you."

"Who would complain about having too many reliable comrades around them?"

"It's just that it's too early for you to die here."

Having said this, he turned his head and raised his chin towards Sukuna and Umibozu beside him.

"After we attacked Nobi and set out on the road to Edo, we had no intention of returning home alive."

"To put it bluntly, our lives are not valuable enough to warrant our death."

"As long as we can successfully kill Tokugawa Iemochi, it will be worth it even if we all have to sacrifice ourselves."

Neither Sukuna nor Umibozu showed any disgust at Shuten-doji's words.

They had no expression on their faces, remained silent, and tacitly agreed with Shuten-doji's statement.

Shuten-doji's voice continued:
"Anyway, Lord Orochi, Lord Tamamonomae, and Lord Otakemaru are all still alive, and the Law-Extermination Party will not perish with our death."

“Although it will be a serious blow to the economy, it won’t be a complete shutdown.”

"But you are different."

"Now, you are the last leader left in the Choshu domain who can command the support of the people."

"Takasugi Shinsaku's life or death is unknown... maybe he is dead now."

"If something happens to you, Changzhou will be leaderless."

"For the sake of the future, if you die a little later, you can gain more value."

After saying this, Shuten-doji took half a step forward and patted Katsura Kogoro's shoulder hard.

"Kui-kun, live well."

"I am sure that the next changes in the world will be very exciting!"

"Katsura-kun, I wonder if you have ever thought carefully about what would happen to the world situation if Tokugawa Iemochi died?"

"Why do you think we went to such great lengths, even sacrificing the lives of several officers, to defeat Tokugawa Iemochi?"

Before Katsura Kogoro could respond, Shuten-doji continued on his own:
"Only by killing Tokugawa Iemochi can we arouse the ambitions of 'those guys'!"

When referring to the nickname "those guys", Shuten-doji emphasized his tone and his expression became intriguing.

Faced with Shuten-doji's persuasion, Katsura Kogoro stood there in a daze, with strong hesitation tugging back and forth on his cheeks.

In a moment, he made a decision - and slowly lowered his hand that was on the hilt of the knife.

Seeing this, Shuten-doji smiled slightly:
"Very good, thank you for your understanding."

"After the three of us rush into Edo Castle, the main camp will be handed over to you."

"The 'Slavic Legion' is no longer useful."

"I have already ordered them to 'attack with all their might and not retreat', so you don't need to worry about them."

"Just focus on managing your special forces."

"Always pay attention to the situation on the battlefield."

"Once you feel that it's time to retreat or that the situation is not right, you should lead your special forces to retreat via Zhongshan Street or Riguang Street in a timely manner."

Katsura Kogoro nodded vigorously with a serious expression:
"Yes, I know."

Thus, the two ended their brief conversation.

Katsura Kogoro quietly stepped aside.

Shuten-doji turned his head and looked at Sukuna and Umibozu:

"Did you all get your drinks?"

Sukuna replied:
"Yeah, I got them all."

Shuten-doji smiled and nodded:
"Very good! Then without further ado, let's drink our last glass of wine in this life!"

The three of them stood in the shape of a Chinese character "品", facing each other, with three wine glasses held in the air, all filled with wine.

Suddenly, Umibozu said in a low voice:
"It feels so dull just drinking like this."

Sukuna said unceremoniously:
"Why? Are you going to invite eight or ten geishas to play music and see us off?"

Umibozu shrugged.

"If there are really ten or eight geishas here, that's fine."

At this time, Shuten-doji took over the conversation:
"Umibozu is right. It's really boring to just drink like this."

He paused, then offered a suggestion:

"Let's sing 'Atsumi'."

Sukuna raised his eyebrows:

"Atsumori? You want to emulate Oda Nobunaga."

Shuten-doji changed his tone to a half-joking one:
"Why not? It would be great if we could successfully emulate Oda Nobunaga."

"Atsumi" is a famous piece of "Kowaka Dance", a type of traditional Japanese drama "Noh".

At the end of the Heian period, the two major samurai clans, the Minamoto and the Hei, launched a desperate war, which is known in history as the "Genpei War."

The Taira clan was unable to contend with the powerful Minamoto clan and gradually lost the battle.

In 1184, the two armies fought the famous Battle of Ichinotani.

Taira Atsumori, a young general of the Taira clan, died in this battle at the age of 16. Taira Atsumori was a handsome young man with a beautiful appearance and many talents, especially music, and he was good at playing the flute.

It is said that even enemy generals were impressed by his beauty.

As we all know, good-looking people are always treated preferentially.

People felt very sympathetic towards this beautiful young man who died on the battlefield at such a young age.

As a result, his tragic story became widely circulated and was adapted and absorbed into various literary and artistic forms including poetry, novels, and operas.

As time passed, the Kowaka Dance named "Atsumori" gradually spread to later generations and was warmly loved by people from all walks of life and has been passed down to this day.

When talking about Atsumi, the most famous story related to it is the Battle of Okehazama in the Warring States Period.

In 1560, Imagawa Yoshimoto, the "number one archer in Tokaido", led 4 troops to Kyoto, aiming at the capital.

Oda Nobunaga's territory - Owari, which stood between Tokaido and Gyeonggi Province - became an obstacle to Imagawa Yoshimoto's advance.

If the Imagawa army wanted to go to Kyoto, they had to destroy the Oda clan first.

At that time, the Oda clan governor Oda Nobunaga could mobilize less than 2000 troops.

The difference in military strength was so huge... Imagawa Yoshimoto didn't take Oda Nobunaga seriously at all.

In order to win, Oda Nobunaga decided to take an unconventional approach - to launch a surprise attack on the main camp of the Imagawa army and kill Imagawa Yoshimoto!

Before going into battle, he danced a song called "Atsumi" by himself, chanting the famous lines from the song: "The fifty years of human life, compared with the eternity of heaven and earth, are like a dream and an illusion; those who are born once, how can they not die?"

After the dance, he jumped on his horse, whipped his horse, led the troops, successfully found the main camp of the Imagawa army and carried out a surprise attack, winning a great victory.

From then on, "Nobunaga chanting "Atsumori" before the battle" became a story that will be passed down through the ages.

As a result, "Atsumi" also has a more mythological color.

Chanting "Atsumi" before heading to the battlefield to risk your life... this is indeed a good omen.

Sukuna pondered for a moment:

"...Okay. But let me make it clear first, I don't know how to sing."

Umibozu echoed:

“I don’t know how to sing either.”

Shuten Doji smiled slightly:
"Let me sing it."

Umibozu gave him a surprised look.

"Master Shuten-doji, would you like to sing?"

"Oh? Umibozu, have you forgotten? Before I joined the Hozuku Party, I was a Kabuki actor."

[Note: Haiyou: an artist who performed music, dance and comedy in ancient times]

When talking about his past life, a hint of darkness flashed in Shuten-doji's eyes, as if he was recalling some sad memories.

After calming down a little, he took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

Suddenly, he seemed like a different person, his aura changed drastically.

His demeanor became solemn, and even the look in his eyes became completely different.

After a while, he opened his lips and a melodious song came out of his throat.
"Life is fifty years,

"Compared with the heaven and earth for a long time,

“Like a dream and an illusion;

"If one is born once, how can one be immortal?"

The sound of his voice is lingering, pleasant and powerful... It is not difficult to hear that he has very solid singing skills and is definitely not an amateur.

Perhaps they were infected by the singing, Sukuna and Umibozu both frowned and looked solemn.

The moment the song stopped, the three of them simultaneously held out their wine glasses.

With a bang, three wine glasses collided heavily in mid-air, splashing a lot of wine.

After clinking their glasses, the three of them drank the wine in their glasses heroically, and then threw the empty glasses heavily at their feet! The fragments of the three glasses were scattered all over the ground!

"Sukuna, Umibozu, let's go!"

Shuten-doji wiped his mouth, strode forward, and slowly drew the sword at his waist. Sukuna and Umibozu followed closely on his left and right.

Looking at the Edo Castle in front of him, Shuten-doji spoke in a focused voice:
"Let every inch of soil in Edo Castle be soaked with blood!"

……

……

Edo Castle, San-no-maru——

"Don't panic! Look! The enemy is exhausted! Now it's all about perseverance!"

While leaning on his sword, Shimada Kai carefully observed the details of the battlefield and gave precise instructions from time to time.

On the way to retreat to Edo Castle, Shimada Kai woke up.

As soon as he regained consciousness, he struggled to get up and returned to the battlefield, completely ignoring his own injuries.

However, he was no longer able to go to the front line and could only stay in the rear to provide support.

The remnants of the Akasaka Palace's defenders joined forces with those of Edo Castle to block the enemy.

Relying on Edo Castle's extremely sophisticated defense system, they successfully blocked the enemy's fierce attack.

The two armies fought fiercely, and it was difficult to tell who was better...

Shimada Kui saw this and encouraged himself secretly:
——We can do it...! As long as nothing unexpected happens, we can definitely kill the enemy...!
Judging from the current situation, the enemy will have to spend a lot of effort to capture Sannomaru.

Even if Sannomaru is eventually lost, it doesn't matter.

After all, if Sannomaru is lost, there is still Ninomaru, and if Ninomaru is lost, there is still Honmaru... It's like peeling an onion, one layer on top of another.

Shimada Kai and others can simply block the enemy layer by layer and wear down the enemy!

As long as nothing unexpected happens, it won’t be a problem to hold on for several days!

There are definitely sufficient supplies in Edo Castle.

Shimada Kai was full of confidence... However, he ignored a truth in the world.

In life, "nothing unexpected happens" is rare, while "accidents happening without any surprises" is the norm.

Suddenly, Shimada Kui suddenly saw three figures running towards him from a distance.

In a split second, the three men approached the front of the battlefield and swung their weapons.

In an instant, blood splattered like heavy rain!
The sudden attack by Shuten-doji and his men caused heavy casualties to the defenders.

The effect of Sukuna and Umibozu's "Decisive Battle at Yodo" has not yet worn off.

In this way, their offensive will naturally be unstoppable!
In just a moment, they broke into the depths of the battlefield and were about to break through the defenders' defense line.

This scene and this situation made Shimada Kai's expression change drastically:
"Stop them!"

If he hadn't been seriously injured and his body wasn't under his control, he would have stepped forward to intercept them personally.

Even without his order, the defenders spontaneously stepped forward and tried to intercept Shuten-doji and others.

Unfortunately...their efforts are doomed to be in vain.

Their obstruction was like an ice cube hitting lava - it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

No matter how hard Shimada Kai and others tried, they could only watch Shuten Douji and others break through their defenses!
After breaking through the layers of blockades by the defenders, the three men did not stop for a moment, and regardless of the friendly troops still fighting behind them, they continued to move forward at a rapid speed! Heading deep into Edo Castle!
Looking at Shuten-doji and his companions who were getting farther and farther away and difficult to catch up, Shimada Kai was extremely anxious but helpless - the large number of enemy troops in front of him had not been dealt with yet, and he could not spare any troops to send back for support!

……

……

Edo Castle, Ninomaru——

The defenders of Sannomaru were concentrated on the front line to block the enemy.

For this reason, the defense inside Sannomaru was extremely weak.

Shuten-doji and his companions crossed the San-no-maru without any effort and advanced to the Ninomaru.

After arriving at Ninomaru, the area around them immediately became lively.

"What's going on with these three people?!"

"What are those guys guarding San-no-maru doing?! How did the enemy get in?!"

"Stop talking nonsense! Fight back!"

"mom, Mom, Mom!"

The main force guarding Edo Castle was the famous "Three Groups", namely the "Kosei Group", "Shoin Group" and "Oban Group".

These three troops could be regarded as the personal guards of the Shogun. Their members were selected only from the hatamoto with higher family status. Their daily tasks were to guard Edo Castle and serve as the guard of honor when the Shogun traveled.

In terms of loyalty and combat effectiveness, the "Triple Group" is slightly better than the ordinary direct sergeants... Of course, only slightly better.

Seeing Shuten-doji and his men approaching, the defenders of Ninomaru picked up their weapons and stepped forward to meet the enemy.

Looking at the "Third Division" soldiers attacking from all directions, Shuten-doji let out a hissing breath, then slowly raised the sword in his hand.

……

……

Edo Castle, San-no-maru——

Shuten-doji and others came suddenly and left suddenly.

Although they had left, their participation in the battle gave a significant boost to the enemy's morale.

The already fierce battle became even more intense.

——This is terrible... We can’t let those three get close to Honmaru...!
Shimada Kai did not know Shuten-doji, he only knew Sukuna and Umibozu - he had fought against these two people during the Battle of Hachioji.

On the surface, it seemed like a small problem for only three people to break into Edo Castle.

But Shimada Kai's intuition told him that he must stop these three people! Especially the handsome young man in the armor!

Just as Shimada Kai was racking his brains to think of a countermeasure, a new strange noise attracted his attention.

In the distance - outside Edo Castle - three more figures appeared.

There were three young men holding knives in their hands.

As the three young men appeared, Shimada Kai heard excited shouts from beside him:
"It's the swordsmen of the Chiba family!"

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PS: Shuten-doji was a kabuki actor before - when he first appeared, Leopard emphasized his handsome face, which was a hint of his background. Throughout the ages, those who can play kabuki are all top-notch handsome guys.