I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 957 Qing Deng's tough relatives! The Qianye sword masters attack! [5500]

“Damn it…! Are we too late…!”

Looking at the Akasaka Gate that had become a ruin, Chiba Shigetaro gritted his teeth and couldn't help but curse.

Chiba Michisaburo standing by also had a gloomy face and an unpleasant expression.

"Juutarou, Michizaburou, don't be impatient."

Chiba Eijiro pricked up his ears as he spoke.

"Listen, there are shouts of killing."

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked westward, towards the direction of Edo Castle.

"The enemy has entered Edo Castle."

Upon hearing this, Shigetaro's expression froze, and he said loudly without hesitation:

"Brother Rong, let's go and provide support!"

Chiba Eijiro smiled:
"It's natural, let's go!"

After saying that, he staggered and rushed away like the wind!

Shigetaro and Michisaburo followed closely behind, one on the left and one on the right.

After hearing the horrifying explosion, Chiba Eijiro has been worried ever since.

His intuition told him: something bad has happened! Something must have happened at Akasaka Gomon!

After just a moment's thought, he made up his mind: Go to Akasaka Gomon's rescue!

Of course, it is absolutely unrealistic to lead all the defenders of Kohinata Gomon to rescue Akasaka Gomon.

After weighing the pros and cons, he asked Chiba Sadakichi and Chiba Tamon Shiro to stay in Kohinata Gate.

As for reinforcements, only three people would be enough: himself, Shigetaro and Michisaburo.

The three of them are enough to match an army of a thousand people! It is more than enough to support other battlefields.

The reason why the oldest and the youngest were left behind might be considered as a selfish motive on the part of Chiba Eijiro.

It remains to be seen how fierce the battle will be and what kind of terrifying enemy will be waiting for them at Akasaka Gate.

Chiba Eijiro couldn't bear to let the oldest man and the youngest brother in the family go into danger personally.

His ideas coincided with those of Shigetaro and others.

Just like that, the three of them hurriedly said goodbye to Chiba Sadakichi and rushed to Akasaka Palace.

Kohinata Gate is located to the north of Edo Castle, far from Akasaka Gate, which is located to the west of Edo Castle.

They quickened their pace along the way, but... they were still half a step slower.

When they arrived at Akasaka Gate, they saw only dilapidated ruins and the smoke of gunpowder that had not yet dissipated...

Fortunately, they didn't arrive too late.

Soldiers from both armies were engaged in a fierce battle at San-no-maru in Edo Castle.

Although we failed to save Akasaka Gomon, there is still hope to save Edo Castle!
Led by Chiba Eijiro, the three of them turned west without hesitation and rushed into the battlefield. Soon they saw a dense group of enemies.

The enemies of the Edo Castle defenders, who were busy fighting and focused all their attention on the situation in front of them, lacked the most basic psychological preparation for being attacked from behind.

The noisy sounds of the battlefield masked the footsteps of Eijiro and others.

It was not until the three of them were within 5 steps that the enemies finally reacted.

"Be careful! Someone is coming from behind!" (Russian)

"How many people are here?!" (Russian)

"Three, three people...!" (Russian)

"Only three people? Hahahaha! What? I thought it was a large enemy force attacking!" (Russian)

"Haven't you suffered enough? In just a short while, have you forgotten about those three old men? There are many skilled people in the enemy army! Don't be careless!" (Russian)

"Tsk! You are too cowardly! The three old guys just now were just exceptions! I don't believe these three guys can have any... what, what?! How did they suddenly come to me! Help, help... coo!" (Russian)

"Run! These three guys are just like those three old men, they are all monsters!" (Russian)

"I recognize them! The leader is 'Edo's Strongest' Chiba Eijiro!"

"It's the swordsmen of the Chiba family!"

"Damn it! We just defeated a 'Sword Saint' and now here comes 'Edo's Strongest'!"

"Edo is home to many hidden talents and experts. It is really too difficult for us to attack Edo with our current lineup...!"

"Stop complaining! Go and meet the enemy!"

……

From a certain perspective, there is nothing wrong with continuing to call Chiba Eijiro "the strongest in Edo."

Qing Deng had left Edo long ago and settled in Otsu.

Without Aoto, Chiba Eijiro is undoubtedly the strongest swordsman in Edo!
"Juutarou! Michizaburou! Follow me!"

Chiba Eijiro shouted briefly and swiftly swung the Zhenyue Changguang in his hand. The blue blade arc flashed repeatedly in the air, splashing out handfuls of blood mist.

Shigetaro and Michisaburo have always had complete and unconditional trust in this reliable brother!
Chiba Eijiro rushed to the front, while Shigetaro and Michisaburo protected his left and right wings respectively.

At first glance, the three of them formed a small wedge-shaped formation.

Although it is just a "small nail", it can easily penetrate into the enemy group and tear open the enemy formation!

Just now, the desperate attack by Seiichirō Otani and others made the enemy so frightened that they almost suffered psychological trauma.

Therefore, after witnessing the bravery of the Qianye sword masters, the enemy immediately felt terrified! It was as if some sequelae were triggered, and the morale quickly fell!
Chiba Shigetaro closed his mouth and concentrated on chopping down every enemy that came within his range.

At this moment, he suddenly heard a familiar voice:
"Eijiro! Jutaro! Michizaburo!"

He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Shimada Kai.

Although the time was not long, the experience of "escaping the pursuit of the enemy army and the hunt, and retreating back to Edo together" made them a life-long friendship.

Shigetaro noticed Shimada Kai's pale face and slightly trembling legs, and asked quickly:
"Shimada-kun! Are you okay?"

Shimada Kai responded quickly:
"I'm fine! I'm fine! Shigetaro! You've come just in time! Three powerful enemy generals have entered Ninomaru! Please go and stop them! Leave the enemies here to us!"

At this moment, Shimada Kai sincerely realized what it meant to "a foal emerges from a gourd" and what it meant to provide timely assistance.

【Note: A colt appears in a gourd: A Japanese idiom. It refers to an unexpected person appearing in an unexpected place. It is said to have originated from Zhang Guolao, one of the Eight Immortals, who put a donkey into a gourd.】

He was worried about not being able to spare any troops to intercept Shuten-doji and others.

Just at this moment, unexpected reinforcements arrived, and they were the most powerful reinforcements in Edo Town at that time!
In this case, it is no wonder that Shimada Kai is so excited.

Whether they can stop Shuten-doji and others, and whether they can defend Edo Castle, all depends on these three young swordsmen!
After hearing this, Shigetaro was stunned for a moment, then his face turned serious and he nodded vigorously:

"I understand!"

Then he turned his head and looked at Chiba Eijiro beside him.

“Brother Rong!”

Before he could finish his words, Chiba Eijiro said calmly:
"Yeah, I heard it. Juutarou, Michizaburou, let's go!"

After saying that, he quickly changed his tactics. He was no longer obsessed with killing the enemy, but aimed at the front - outside the enemy formation, behind the friendly forces, in the direction of Ninomaru - and launched a charge!

They slid forward, swords flashed, and the enemy group was scattered!

It was as if it were a replica of the scenes just now.

The only difference is that just now it was the demons of the Dharma-Slaying Party who killed the defenders of Edo Castle, but this time it was the swordsmen of Chiba who killed the Dharma-Slaying Alliance!
After a while, the three of them broke through the enemy lines and joined forces with their friendly forces.

Under the instructions of Shimada Kai, the defenders promptly separated to the left and right to make way.

Chiba Eijiro and his men did not stop for a moment, passing through the friendly forces and heading towards Ninomaru and the depths of Edo Castle.

Shimada Kai stood still, silently watching the three people's rapidly receding backs, muttering:
“I’m counting on you guys…!”

……

……

Edo Castle, Ninomaru——

"Ya ...

Umibozu yelled, and struck out from his waist, swinging his sword from left to right. With just one strike, he cut off the bodies of the four soldiers! The four men turned into eight pieces!
At the same time, Sukuna on the side stepped forward, and the two swords in his hands weaved a large silver net in the air, covering every soldier in front of him.

Anyone who gets close to this big net will have their limbs broken and will die beyond death.

Shuten-doji scolded without even turning his head:

"Sukuna! Umibozu! Save your energy! Don't use such strenuous moves!"

He said this while demonstrating with his own hands.

It was as if he had transformed into three or five persons, able to adapt to the situation, counter the opponent's moves, and change his sword skills deftly.

His sword used the least force and traveled the shortest route to accurately hit the enemy's body.

Moreover, he does not seek to kill his opponent outright.

As long as he can temporarily incapacitate his opponent, he will "quit while he's ahead" and move on to the next opponent.

If you can "injure", you won't have to waste any extra energy on "killing".

This control of strength... is breathtaking.

If there is someone proficient in swordsmanship here, he will definitely be able to see that Shuten-doji's swordsmanship is full of roughness.

Most likely, he never joined a proper school, but relied entirely on his own to study and practice swordsmanship, and gradually mastered his own style.

This kind of swordsmanship can be called "my style" if you put it nicely, or "unconventional style" if you put it bluntly.

However, although he is not a professional, his basic skills are very solid.

Take the most basic "downward chop" as an example.

The force of his chop is no less than that of the Shinto Munen-ryu, Shikken-ryu and other schools that pursue "great force to create miracles"!

It is sufficient to conclude that his "Su Zhen" power is absolutely extraordinary!
[Note: Suzhen: A training method that involves repeatedly swinging the sword at an imaginary opponent. Similar to the bare-knuckle practice in boxing training] With superb power control and profound attainments in swordsmanship... his attack speed is far superior to Sukuna and Shuten-doji!
As a result, the two of them had to frequently remind Shuten-doji to slow down his attack and wait for them.

While launching the "physical offensive", Shuten-doji did not forget to launch the "psychological offensive".

While swinging his sword, he shouted loudly:

"Get out of my way! I am not interested in your lives. I only want Tokugawa Iemochi's head! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

His words really had a significant effect.

Many of the rats were frightened by their bravery. They dropped their weapons, raised their hands high, and knelt on the ground tremblingly.

For those who surrendered, Shuten-doji fulfilled his promise and let them go. Without even looking at them, he ran past them quickly.

They must try every possible means to reach Tokugawa Iemochi as quickly as possible.

To this end, they would try to avoid any fighting that could be avoided.

Although the defenders of Edo Castle had superior military strength and a unique geographical advantage, they were still unable to withstand the swift offensive of the "Three Demons".

In just a short while, they advanced to the depths of Ninomaru, killing gods and Buddhas who stood in their way.

Of course, it would be wrong to say that their attack was smooth sailing.

Although there were a large number of cowards among the defenders, there were also many brave men who fought bravely.

Suddenly, a soldier rushed out from the side and rushed towards Shuten-doji with a knife in hand.

"Come and die!"

Shuten-doji caught the man's position and behavior out of the corner of his eye.

Unfortunately, the knife in his hand was now stabbing into the body of another soldier, and he had no time to pull it back.

Shuten-doji was well prepared for this kind of danger - the armor he wore was not just for good looks.

He just turned his body slightly, used his left shoulder armor to block the blow, and then slashed back with the sword, sending the opponent to death.

Shuten-doji is able to escape danger time and again with his extraordinary skills.

On the other hand, the two people behind him don't have this ability.

"Well……!"

Suddenly, Sukuna cried out in pain.

Shuten-doji didn't have time to turn around and look, so he could only ask loudly:
"Sukuna, are you okay?"

"I'm fine...some guy just scratched my left leg, nothing serious."

Shuten-doji said in a deep voice:
"Be careful, we are still in Ninomaru and haven't even passed the main gate of Honmaru. It's not time to fall yet!"

Sukuna grinned:

"I know this kind of thing without you telling me."

"Now that you know this, then show some more energy!"

The three of them cheered up and chopped down every enemy soldier that appeared in front of them like crazy.

Only those who kneel down and beg for surrender in time can be lucky enough to save their lives.

They tore through layer of defense and broke through one position after another.

Although they were no match for their opponent, their progress was inevitably delayed.

Before they knew it, they had climbed a steep slope.

Perhaps the defenders in the rear did not have time to come forward to reinforce, so there were no enemy soldiers around them for the time being, so they could breathe a sigh of relief.

However, before they could relax——

boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!
The sound of gunfire dominated their eardrums.

These gunshots did not occur in front of or behind them, but from their sides!

Gun barrels protruded from the shooting ports nearby, spewing out blinding flames.

This is the classic structure of Japanese castles: there are rows of shooting holes carved on the side of the road or on the top of the slope. The defenders can hide behind these shooting holes and shoot the enemy soldiers on the road without restraint, and the enemy soldiers can do nothing about these shooters.

Looking throughout the entire Edo Castle, there are many similar insidious designs, and if you are not careful, you will fall into the gutter.

Shuten-doji reacted extremely quickly. He lowered his body in time at the same moment the gunshot occurred, and bullets flew past him.

Again, he has a way to dodge the same attack, but the two companions behind him may not be able to dodge it.

“Uh uh…!”

This time it was Umibozu who screamed.

"Umibozu, you were shot?"

"It's okay... the bullet didn't penetrate the body, it just grazed the chest..."

"Run! Everyone, run! As long as we cross this road, these musketeers will be helpless against us!"

Even someone as strong as Shuten-doji couldn't do anything to these musketeers hiding behind the firing holes.

He couldn't just chop down the entire stone wall.

Under the personal leadership of Shuten-doji, they poured all their strength into their legs and increased their running speed to the maximum.

Perhaps it was because the skills of these musketeers were too low, or perhaps it was simply luck, they managed to cross this road and break through the musket formation without any danger.

Shuten-doji looked around—and didn't see any defenders yet.

So he immediately said:
"Sukuna, Umibozu, drink some water while you can."

As he spoke, he took off the water bottle from his waist, unscrewed the cap, and drank it down with his head tilted back.

Sukuna and Umibozu followed closely behind, taking out the water bottles they carried with them and drinking water to replenish their energy.

The cool water flowed through their mouths, moistening their dry throats... They immediately felt refreshed all over, and even their strength was restored a little.

Even when they were drinking water to restore their strength, they did not stop and continued to move towards the main castle.

After drinking his fill in one breath, Shuten-doji threw away the empty water bottle, turned his head and looked at Sukuna and Umibozu behind him.

"Are your medicines still effective?"

The medicinal effect he was referring to was naturally the effect of "Juezhandian".

In order to fight against the "Sword Saint" Otani Seiichirō, Sukuna and Umibozu both took "Decisive Battle Yodo".

The duration of the drug's effectiveness depends entirely on individual constitution and there is no fixed time.

Sukuna twitched the corner of his mouth:
"My 'drug' is still effective, I can hold out for a while longer."

Umibozu took over the conversation:
"Me too."

Looking at the two companions behind him, Shuten-doji gradually revealed a complicated expression.

Anyone with eyes could see that both of them had reached their physical limits.

His face was terribly pale, his lips were chapped, and his forehead was covered with sweat.

To capture Edo Castle with the strength of three people - this sounds heroic, but it is extremely difficult to actually put it into practice.

As a "famous city in the world", the area of ​​Edo Castle alone is astonishing.

While running at full speed, a bloody battle broke out... With such a high-intensity battle, not to mention Sukuna and Umibozu, even Shuten-doji gradually felt exhausted.

Just when Shuten-doji was about to say something to boost morale, an unexpected change suddenly occurred.

"Ok?"

He lowered his eyelids and stared straight behind them.

With his extraordinary eyesight, he saw three figures running towards them.

"somebody is coming!"

Upon hearing this, Sukuna and Umibozu immediately turned their heads back.

As soon as Sukuna turned his head, his brows furrowed.

"Oh no...it's Chiba's swordsmen!"

Shuten-doji's expression changed slightly:

"Chiba? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. I have seen the swordsmen of Chiba with my own eyes when I was training in Edo before."

Having said this, he paused and looked at the person coming from behind again.

"If I'm not mistaken, the leader of the three people running towards us is 'Edo's Strongest' Chiba Eijiro, and the other two are Genbukan teacher Chiba Michisaburo and Kochiba Kendani teacher Chiba Shigetaro."

Umibozu smacked his lips vigorously, and muttered half in self-mockery and half in helplessness:
"Tsk, in just half an hour, I fought against the 'Sword Saint' and the 'Strongest in Edo'... I really have become more capable."

The solemn expression on Shuten-doji's face became even more intense:
"Is the person who came Chiba Eijiro?... This is really difficult to deal with."

If the person coming was someone else, it would be easier to deal with.

But the person who came was the famous Chiba Eijiro... He had no choice but to take it seriously!

How to deal with this sudden attack from powerful opponents?
Should I ignore it, or...

Before Shuten-doji could think of a countermeasure, Sukuna suddenly interrupted his thoughts:

"...Shuten-doji, please go ahead. Umibozu and I will stop Chiba's swordsmen for you!"

Shuten-doji was stunned for a moment, and then subconsciously cast a surprised look at the two people behind him.

Facing his gaze, Sukuna smiled slightly:
"As you can see, Umibozu and I can no longer run."

"If I continue to follow you, I will only hinder you and slow you down."

"In that case, we might as well stop moving forward and intercept the powerful enemy for you!"

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