I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 958: Edo's Strongest vs. Shuten-doji [5500]

Sukuna looked calm, as if he was talking about something that was a matter of course and very easy.

The same was true for Umibozu standing beside him.

Although he didn't say anything, judging from his calm expression, he undoubtedly agreed with Sukuna's proposal.

"..."

Shuten-doji did not respond immediately, but just looked at the two of them deeply, his lips tightly pursed and his eyes complicated.

Although it was cruel, it was undeniable that Sukuna was right.

He and Umibozu were exhausted, their legs felt heavy as lead, their running speed gradually slowed down, and they were no longer able to keep up with Shuten-doji.

In this case, why not just stay and help Shuten-doji intercept the powerful enemy!
They all made up their minds to die, and then they resolutely launched an attack on Edo Castle.

They are all going to die anyway, the only difference is dying earlier or later - Sukuna and the others probably held this thought in mind, so they volunteered to stay behind to cover the rest.

After a while, Shuten-doji finally spoke:
"...I wish you good luck in fighting."

He didn't say anything inflammatory.

After offering a calm blessing, he withdrew his gaze and looked forward again.

Then, he suddenly increased his speed! In the blink of an eye, he had distanced himself from the two people behind him!

Since he didn't have to worry about Sukuna and Umibozu, he could move forward with all his strength.

Sukuna shouted at Shuten-doji's back:

"Shuten-doji-sama, I'll leave everything else in your hands!"

After saying this, he and Umibozu stopped at the same time, turned around and faced the Chiba swordsmen who were gradually approaching.

"Umibozu, Chiba Shigetaro is in your hands! I will deal with Chiba Eijiro and Chiba Michisaburo!"

"Which one is Chiba Shigetaro?"

"The burliest guy!"

"You want to deal with 'Edo's Strongest' and the second-generation head of the Hokushin Ittoryu clan all by yourself? Can you do it?!"

Sukuna grinned:

"You have to go even if you have to!"

In the blink of an eye, the two groups had met!
When the distance between them was still far, Chiba Eijiro and others had already discovered Sukuna and Umibozu who were no longer moving forward and were standing still.

Chiba Shigetaro said softly:

"The last one... you're really brave."

Chiba Michisaburo added:

"One person did not stop, he continued to go to the main castle of Edo Castle."

Chiba Eijiro said in a deep voice:

"No matter what, there is only one thing we have to do: kill all enemies."

As soon as these words came out, the three of them raised the blades in their hands in unison.

Looking at the Chiba swordsmen who were already attacking them, Sukuna and Umibozu tensed their nerves and raised their swords to meet them.

In a split second, the five swordsmen collided heavily!

The clang, clang, sound of metal hitting each other was deafening.

Umibozu took the initiative to face Chiba Shigetaro, raised his eight swords and chopped down at the opponent's body.

Chiba Shigetaro raised his sword to block, deflecting Umibozu's attack with pure brute force.

The fierce attack and defense between the two strong men was like two mountains colliding with each other.

Sukuna on the side stretched out his arms and attacked Eijiro and Dosaburo one by one with his sword.

The sword in his left hand slashed at Michisaburo, and the sword in his right hand slashed at Eijiro.

Eijiro and Dosaburo calmly got into position, raised their swords and chopped at each other head-on, cutting each other with their swords.

The three men's swords collided in the air.

The outcome of this round of sword fighting was decided in an instant.

Sukuna's face changed drastically, and then he retreated violently as if he was flung away. His legs plowed two long marks on the ground, and he "flew" about 5 meters before he just stopped.

He single-handedly withstood the attacks of Eijiro and Dosaburo, and not only did he not die, but the sword in his hand also did not get bounced away... To be fair, such a record was enough for him to establish his transcendent position in the world of swordsmanship.

Before Sukuna could recover, he suddenly felt his vision darken - the hem of a high-flying haori blocked his vision.

Dosaburo pounced forward like a tiger and killed Sukuna.

"Brother, please chase after the man who ran away! If the information is correct, that man must be the general of the enemy army! Leave this to me and Shigetaro!"

In just a moment, Dosaburo calculated the pros and cons.

First of all, if Eijiro were here, three people against two, the obvious difference in numbers alone would be enough to give them a significant advantage.

But if we do this, wouldn't that allow Shuten-doji to act freely?

It was obvious that Sukuna and Umibozu had no intention of living anymore, so they guarded this place firmly and decisively.

This kind of reckless daredevil is the most difficult to deal with and should never be taken lightly.

God knows how much time it will take to completely defeat these two people?

Besides, this place is quite close to the Honmaru of Edo Castle.

If Shuten-doji successfully broke into the Honmaru and found Tokugawa Iemochi while they were fighting with these two men... the consequences would be unimaginable!
Therefore, the best solution at the moment is to let Dosaburo and Juutarou deal with Sukuna and Umibozu, and then let the strongest Eijiro chase Shuten-doji.

Eijiro immediately understood what Dosaburo meant and nodded vigorously:
"Well, please!"

After saying this, he relaxed his fighting stance, turned to the left, and prepared to bypass Sukuna.

Seeing this, Sukuna immediately moved sideways, trying to intercept Eijiro.

"Don't even think about leaving!"

As soon as he took a step forward, he was met with Dao Sanlang's sword.
"You think you can stop the two sword masters of the Chiba family by yourself. Aren't you too confident?"

Dosaburo swung the two swords in his hands, and the two swords released different moves respectively. The sword in his left hand chopped vertically downwards, and the sword in his right hand swept horizontally, blocking all of Sukuna's dodging space.

Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Sukuna could only grit his teeth, gather strength at his waist, and take Dosaburo's attack.

With two loud "clang" and "clang" sounds, the two swords in Dao Sanlang's hands were bounced away.

Sukuna didn't bother to pay attention to Dosaburo and was busy chasing Eijiro.

But before he could even turn his eyes, Michizaburo rearranged himself and lunged at him once more.

Dao Sanlang clung to Sukunu tightly, leaving him no time to care about anything else, and he seemed to be unyielding.

Both of them are rare dual-sword swordsmen... From this perspective, they are truly a perfect pair of opponents.

While Dosaburo was holding Sukuna back, Eijiro ran past Sukuna and chased after Shuten-doji.

Soon, his figure disappeared from the sight of everyone at the scene, leaving only a trail of smoke and dust.

Seeing that there was no hope of catching up with Eijiro, Sukuna gritted his teeth in hatred, his expression dominated by intense regret.

Even though he was extremely unwilling, he could only pray for Shuten-doji in his heart, and then concentrate all his attention on the opponent in front of him.

"Come on, Chiba Michisaburo, let me see your world-famous 'North Star Two Swords Style'!"

Dao Sanlang said calmly:

"Then open your eyes wide and take a good look."

In an instant, four knives slashed out, slicing the air into pieces! It was terrifying!

On the other hand, the battle between Chiba Shigetaro and Umibozu can be described as a "duel between two fierce beasts"!
Both of them are tall and strong men.

Although Shigetaro is the legitimate descendant of Hokushin Ittoryu, his fighting style does not resemble Hokushin Ittoryu very much. Instead, it is closer to Shinto Munen-ryu or Shiken-ryu!
He repeatedly raised the knife above his head and then chopped it down with force - the Kaibouzu on the opposite side also used the same fighting method.

They used their full strength in every attack.

Therefore, every time their swords collided, the strong shock wave would cause the dust and smoke around to float and scatter, and fragments of the blade would fly out from time to time.

Such a scene makes one wonder: with the way they fight, will their physical strength be exhausted first, or will the swords in their hands collapse first?
……

……

After breaking into the depths of Ninomaru, the figures of the defenders reappeared in front of Shuten-doji.

"He's the only one left!"

"We must not let him go any further!"

"We have been receiving salaries from the shogunate for nearly three hundred years! It is time to repay the shogunate's kindness!"

Perhaps because it is close to the heart of Edo Castle, the defenders here are unusually brave.

Their skills and training levels may not be outstanding, but their bravery in the face of powerful enemies is remarkable.

Looking at the defenders rushing up again, Shuten-doji lowered his eyelids and exhaled a breath.

There were no companions around him... To be honest, he had never felt so lonely as he did at that moment.

For some reason, at this moment, he seemed to understand the mood of Seiichiro Otani who had just charged into the battle alone.

Whether he can take Tokugawa Iemochi's head depends entirely on his next performance.

"Amano Spear" - this huge plan that has been prepared for many years, the hope of its success now depends entirely on him.

This pressure made him anxious...but it also made him excited!

“Get out of my way…!”

A dull roar emanated from his throat.

The next moment, he slightly bent his knees, then jumped up like a spring! He shortened the distance in one breath and plunged into the defenders!
Rays of knife light shot out.

Clouds of blood mist gushed out and splashed.

A strange light flashed in Shuten-doji's eyes.

The carved Shuten-doji looks like a killing machine without any emotions, who only knows how to swing a knife!
He swung his knife accurately and continuously, reaping lives one after another.

Suddenly, a splash of blood blurred his eyes, and he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his eyes.

The left eye temporarily lost its vision and could only see a black stain of blood.

The right eye was slightly better, but half of the vision was still blocked by blood.

Eyes covered with blood, vision limited... In battle, this was undoubtedly an extremely thrilling accident!
If it were an ordinary person, he would probably be at a loss what to do because of this sudden change.

In fact, even Shuten Doji couldn't help but be stunned at this moment.

However, he quickly recovered and continued to kill the enemy without stopping!
Rather than affecting his vision, limited vision actually aroused his ferocity!
By now, his five senses had been stretched to their limits.

Smell, hearing, intuition... With these senses, he can accurately identify the position of each soldier.

Cut, cut, and cut again!
Kill, kill, and kill again!

The solid feeling of the blade cutting into the human body was continuously transmitted to his palm.

Am I injured?
Where am I now? How far is it from Honmaru?

How many enemies are there?

He no longer had time to think about these problems...or rather, he was simply unable to think about them.

His mind was blank, without any thoughts, and he just monotonously and mechanically drove his body to swing the knife and kill people!
Through his blurry vision, he could vaguely see faces.

Angry face.

The face of hatred.

Annoyed face.

The face of fear.

The defending soldiers in front of him expressed all kinds of negative emotions.

Looking at these faces with different expressions, somehow he suddenly recalled the past.

This happened a long time ago.

At that time, he was still a Kabuki actor.

At that time, his biggest hobby was to perform on stage and carefully observe the expressions of the audience below the stage after the performance.

Excited face.

Excited face.

Expecting face.

Uplifted face.

Whenever he saw these faces expressing genuine joy, he would feel extremely gratified and all the fatigue in his body would disappear.

Suddenly, the scene before my eyes changed drastically.

The scene in my memory disappeared.

Those excited and leaping faces disappeared.

Instead, his face was distorted by anger and fear.

He returned to the real world.

The beauty of the past is ultimately just a passing cloud.

At this moment, he suddenly felt that the view in front of him was very wide - the densely packed defenders disappeared.

He looked around blankly and raised his hand to wipe his eyes, trying to remove the blood stains.

As his vision returned, he gradually came to understand his current situation.

I raised my head and looked forward—there were no defenders in front of me.

I looked back—the ground behind me was covered with densely packed corpses.

He destroyed all the layers of defense line one by one without leaving a single survivor!

Then he noticed where he was.

There is a bridge under my feet, and under the bridge is a bottomless river.

Shuten-doji recognized it at a glance—this was the second moat of Edo Castle.

Edo Castle has two moats, one outside the San-no-maru and the other between the Honmaru and Ninomaru.

Since the river under our feet is the second moat of Edo Castle, then...

Shuten-doji slowly raised his head and looked at the tall city gate in front of him without any sadness or joy.

"Oh my... we're at Honmaru..."

……

……

Edo Castle, Honmaru, somewhere——

"Ho...! Ho...! Ho...! Ho...!"

Tokugawa Iemochi gasped heavily.

"Jia Mao, are you okay?"

Tian Zhangyuan, who was supporting him, immediately cast a worried look at him.

"I'm fine..."

Tokugawa Iemochi stroked his forehead with his hand and looked around.

Perhaps he had regained some consciousness, his eyes became much clearer.

"Mother...where is this...?"

Tianzhangyuan answered succinctly:

"Honmaru, I'll take you back to Ohiroma to heal your wounds first."

Tokugawa Iemochi was silent for a while, then raised a new question:
"Mother... Akasaka Mikado... how is it...?"

"..."

Tianzhangyuan did not answer.

In fact, her silence was tantamount to an answer.

Tokugawa Iemochi gritted his teeth, his expression slightly gloomy.

Just as Tian Zhangyuan was about to say something to cheer him up, her expression suddenly changed.

Another person who changed his expression was Elodie who was standing next to him.

The next moment, they all turned their heads back in no particular order—a young man in heavy armor suddenly appeared in their sight.

When Shuten-doji appeared, both Tenshoin and Elodie were frightened.

To describe it as "covered in blood" seems too mild and inappropriate.

There is no place on his body without blood!
Needless to say, the entire piece of armor was stained with blood, and its original color could not be seen.

His hair was clumped into clumps because it was soaked in blood.

The exposed skin on his face, wrists, etc. was also covered in blood, as if he was wearing a thick mask, making it difficult to make out the specific shapes of his facial features.

Shuten-doji turned his eyes woodenly, taking in everything within his sight.

Soon, his eyes were fixed on Tokugawa Iemochi.

The moment he discovered Tokugawa Iemochi, he was stunned for a moment, and then, as if reacting instinctively, he rushed forward without hesitation!

He is extremely fast!

In just a blink of an eye, he closed the distance by several meters!
Elodie had never seen Shuten-doji, let alone fought with him.

But she could tell at a glance that this person was no ordinary person! He was definitely not an opponent she could handle!

Suddenly, a strong sense of fear arose.

Although he was so fearful, the first thought that came to his mind at this moment was "I want to fight him! I want to stop him!".

Strangely enough, she did not have a deep friendship with Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshoin, nor was she their retainer, so she had no reason to protect the mother and son.

But she just wanted to stay and cover the rear, to buy time for the mother and son to escape.

This has nothing to do with friendship.

She simply felt that she couldn't let this mother and son die here!

Without further ado, she pulled out the Yamato-no-kami Yasutsu from her waist and said loudly:

"Your Highness Tianzhangyuan, hurry up and leave! I'll stop him!"

Tian Zhang Yuan was stunned, and then he said quickly, half in anger and half in worry:
"Don't be silly! You can't stop him!"

Elodie replied without hesitation:

"I know! Although I am no match for him, I can at least buy some time! If we don't do something, we will be caught up soon!"

What she said was true.

Shuten-doji's speed is far superior to theirs.

If this continues, it will only take three minutes at most for his blade to fall on their heads.

Tian Zhangyuan was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to refute Elodie.

Elodie was absolutely right.

Letting her stay behind to cover their retreat and buy them time to escape is undoubtedly the best solution at the moment.

However... however... she really couldn't bear to let a little girl face a powerful enemy alone!
Fortunately, just when they were at a loss and gradually felt desperate, a new change - a change that was favorable to them - suddenly occurred!
Whoosh!
A sound of breaking wind suddenly came from behind Shuten-doji.

Shuten-doji's pupils shrank slightly, and he subconsciously dodged to the right - with a click, a katana was inserted into the place where he had just stood.

Not far behind him, the figure of Chiba Eijiro suddenly appeared!
Chiba Eijiro held Zhenyue Nagamitsu in his mouth and repeatedly threw the katana in his hand.

These katanas were picked up from the corpses on the ground while he was chasing Shuten-doji.

He picked up more than twenty katanas in one go because he thought they could be put to good use - and they turned out to be of great use when he carved them.

He used these katanas like darts, throwing them at Shuten-doji one after another.

Although it cannot hurt the opponent, it can effectively affect his movements and stop him!

Chiba Eijiro took the opportunity to increase his speed.

After closing the distance to about ten steps, he threw away the katana in his arms that he had not yet thrown, took out the Zhenyue Changguang from his mouth, and then jumped up like pulling up an onion in dry land, leaping towards Shuten Douji.

The knife was raised above his head, and with the help of the potential energy of its fall, he chopped it hard at Shuten-doji's head.

Shuten-doji had no time to chase after Tokugawa Iemochi, so he had to stop and raise his sword to block Chiba Eijiro's attack.

clang! !

The huge crash made Elodie and others feel ear pain even though they were several meters away.

The two men stared at each other across their swords.

Chiba Eijiro said calmly:

"I finally caught up with you. You're quite a runner."

Shuten-doji said in a deep voice:
"'Edo's Strongest' Chiba Eijiro..."

Chiba Eijiro responded calmly:
"I've said similar things many times. I'm no longer 'the strongest in Edo'."

The moment he finished speaking, he exerted force with both arms and deflected Shuten-doji's knife.

There was no greeting, nor any formalities like introducing one's name.

The two of them immediately started a fierce confrontation!

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