I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

At first glance, it appears peaceful and serene.

only……

With his "Sharp Eyes +5" buff granting him exceptionally keen eyesight, Qingdeng astutely noticed rows of birds taking flight from the mountains to the southeast. As if startled by something, they fluttered and soared into the distant depths of the sky...

"..."

Qing Deng narrowed his eyes, a solemn expression settling on his face.

Pat, pat, pat, pat, pat, pat...

Suddenly, a series of rapid hoofbeats rang out from beside Qingdeng, growing louder as they approached.

As the horses drew near, a knight from Aizu hurriedly tumbled off his horse and rushed to Aoto's side.

"Nioh Dai..."

He had barely begun to speak when Qing Deng interrupted him:

"No need to say anything more."

Finally, he added:

“I have already sensed it.”

……

……

Suddenly, a cloud of dust rose from where the sky and earth met in the southeast.

The cloud of smoke seemed to be alive, expanding at a visible speed.

The upper part is dark yellow, gradually obscuring a small patch of sky.

As for the second half... as time went on, an indescribable scene slowly came into view.

Beneath the dark yellow smoke and dust lay a layer of chaotic, mixed colors.

Jet black, dark brown, light green, dark red... these unsightly colors form countless tiny, layered dots.

If you look closely, you'll find that these little dots are actually living, breathing human beings!

Disheveled and filthy bandits, dressed in dirty clothes, surged into the Ueno Basin in a tightly packed column, resembling a line of ever-moving ocean waves!

……

……

Qingdeng stood on a mound of earth made from the soil shoveled up when digging the trenches, his hands on his waist, staring expressionlessly at the large band of rebel troops below the mountain.

He had changed back into a light blue haori, and his chainmail, gauntlets, and foot armor were all on.

"Lord Niou!"

The shouts of a messenger rang out behind him.

"What's the matter?"

Qing Deng asked back without turning his head.

The messenger was about to speak when someone beat him to it.

"Get out of the way! Let me speak!"

Sagawa Kanbei hurried over to Aoto's side and excitedly said:

"Lord Tachibana! Aizu requests permission to fight! The enemy has just arrived and has not yet established a foothold. This is the time to give them a crushing defeat! Please allow me to lead all of Aizu's iron cavalry into battle! We will make the enemy know the might of the samurai!"

No sooner had Sagawa Kanbei finished speaking than Qing Deng replied calmly without hesitation:

"No, this bandit army is a bit strange, we can't attack them rashly."

*******

*******

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Chapter 641 The Aizu Cavalry Takes to Battle! They Clash with the Musketeers! A Crushing Defeat! [4700]

Upon hearing this, Sagawa Kanbei's expression immediately changed.

He first raised an eyebrow, then his face fell.

"'Strange'? Lord Tachibana, what do you mean by that?"

Qing Deng said calmly:

"This is my personal intuition; I have a bad feeling about this band of bandits. In short, without my order, neither the Shinsengumi nor the Aizu Army are allowed to attack!"

"..."

Sagawa Kanbei remained silent.

He turned his head to the side and glanced at the large-scale bandit army moving in the distance, a glint of something unfathomable flashing in his eyes.

After a moment, he lowered his head, his expression hidden in shadow, and softly replied without any joy or sorrow:

"...Yes, I'll take my leave now."

……

……

From a distance, the bandit army surging into the Ueno Basin looked exactly like ant swarms pouring out of their nests after they were destroyed.

This is truly the best interpretation of the phrase "swarming like bees and ants".

Before long, they were seen carrying wood blocks, dry grass, and other materials from the forest and beginning to "build their nest".

Gradually, fences, watchtowers, tents... buildings sprang up at a visible speed.

About half an hour after the enemy army approached the city, Qing Deng issued a "summoning order," ordering officers of the rank of squad leader and above to come to the main camp for a meeting immediately.

Shinsengumi camp, main camp—

Qingdeng's right hand rested naturally on his thigh, his left hand rested on his waist, and he sat upright with a commanding presence, overlooking the entire tent from his seat of authority.

His two swords—Vairocana and Dingguishen—lay quietly on the sword rack behind him.

Beside the sword rack stood the large purple bow that Tenshōin had given him: Isezaburiro.

In front of him was a long table, on which lay the fruits of his recent labor: a topographical map of the Ueno Basin.

The commander and others sat on the left and right sides of the long table in order of their rank and status.

Everyone present had changed into armor and light blue haori, ready to go.

All the generals of the Shinsengumi have arrived, but Sagawa Kanbei, who came as a guest general to lend his support, is the only one missing.

The commander-in-chief frequently turned his head, stretched his neck, and looked outside the tent.

The fact that Sagawa Kanbei had not yet appeared had already made her pretty face show impatience.

"Why isn't Sagawa-kun here yet... He's so slow..."

Harada Sanosuke jokingly remarked:

"Could it be that he fell into the latrine while taking a dump?"

Nagakura Shinpachi shrugged and joined forces with Harada Sanosuke in a monologue:

"If that's the case, then he's doomed. That pit is filled with thick layers of poison. Once he falls in, even if he doesn't drown, he'll never be able to face anyone for the rest of his life."

Heisuke Todo joins the conversation:

"Speaking of which... does Mr. Sagawa dislike us? I always feel that he has a stern face on weekdays."

Hijikata Toshizo snorted coldly and immediately launched into a tirade:

"Hmph! I don't care if he likes us or not, I've never liked him. This guy always has this detestable attitude of 'I am a noble Aizu person, what right do you country bumpkins have to fight alongside us?' It's really annoying!"

At this moment, Yamanami Keisuke lowered his eyelids, as if he was thinking about something.

After a short while, he slowly said:

"I heard... that Mr. Sagawa is very dissatisfied with Tachibana-kun..."

He had barely finished speaking when he was immediately met with a question from Harada Sanosuke:

"You're very dissatisfied with Mr. Tachibana? Why?"

Keisuke Yamanami added:

"To be precise, his malice was not directed at Tachibana-kun, but at the 'Gyeonggi Garrison Commander'."

Serizawa Kamo, who usually clashes with Aoto and the "Shieikan faction," is now unusually on the same side as everyone else.

He crossed his arms and said:

“There are quite a few people in the Aizu Domain who are extremely hostile to the Governor of the Capital Region, like Sagawa Kanbei.”

"I can understand their thinking quite well."

"The current situation in Kyoto is a complete mess."

"The Changzhou vassal state held the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords, and rallied heroes from all over the land to rise up and repel the barbarians."

"'Expelling the barbarians' became a banner that no one was allowed to question."

"The shogunate, which opened the country's doors and signed a series of treaties with foreign barbarians, became the target of everyone's criticism."

"Under such unfavorable circumstances, if the Aizu Domain, which is in the pro-shogunate camp, were to plunge headlong into the cesspool that is Kyoto, it would surely end up covered in stench."

"Our lord took on enormous risks, disregarding life, death, and reputation, and resolutely led his troops to Luoyang."

"The people of Aizu have devoted so much effort to the shogunate and the Tokugawa family for an ancestral precept of 'swearing to be loyal to the Aoi crest to the death' from more than two hundred years ago."

"As a result, the shogunate still had to be wary of us at every turn, and set up some kind of 'Kyoto-garrison commissioner' to take away the lord's power."

"The creation of this new position has directly reduced the power of the Kyoto Guardian, leaving them only with the tasks of protecting the Imperial Court and monitoring Satsuma and Nagato."