I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

……

Rewind to before the start of the match—

"Our overall strength is far weaker than that of the Chiba Sword Hall."

"With Inoue Genzaburo and Hijikata Toshizo, our two main forces, missing out on victory, we need to use unconventional tactics and surprise tactics!"

"I have divided my plan into two steps."

"Step 1: Hold the line. Set up a defensive line that can block and hold back the main force of the Chiba Kendo Hall."

"Part Two: Counterattack. While the main force of the Chiba Kendo Academy is tied up by our defenses, send out a surprise force to attack the poorly defended Chiba Kendo Academy's 'main camp,' shatter their commander's porcelain bowl, and win the match."

"Regarding this defensive line that is holding back the main force of the Chiba Kendo Academy, I plan to design it like this: deploy 6 people on each of the left and right sides."

"Then……"

Aoto looked up and cast a serious glance at Kondo.

"Kondo-kun will guard the middle lane alone."

"The 'surprise troops' responsible for the surprise attack on the Chiba Sword Hall will be Okita and me."

“Okita and I will stay at the main camp and wait for the best opportunity to counterattack.”

"All along, because Okita-kun is too strong, the Chiba Sword Hall has only been able to effectively keep an eye on Okita-kun by sending out their strongest siblings, the Chiba siblings."

"So when they see that we have placed Okita-kun in the rear, in order to guard against Okita, their Chiba siblings will not dare to make any rash moves. They will only send other people besides the Chiba siblings to participate in the attack."

"They will inevitably concentrate as many forces as possible to launch a fierce attack on the middle lane, which is defended by only Kondo."

“Once they concentrate their forces to launch a fierce attack on the middle lane, there certainly won’t be many people available to attack the left and right lanes.”

"In this way, by deploying heavy forces on both the left and right flanks, we can gain an advantage in numbers. Even though the overall strength of the students from the Chiba Sword Academy is superior to ours, they will find it difficult to break through our left and right flanks in a short period of time due to their numerical disadvantage."

"Therefore, whether our defensive line can hold off the main force of the Chiba Sword Hall depends on whether Kondo-kun, who is responsible for guarding the middle, can withstand the fierce attack of the Chiba Sword Hall."

"If Kondo-kun can hold them off, then everything will be much easier."

"Looking back, in every 'Red and White Battle', Chiba Sword Hall always dominated our Shiei Hall."

"It would be impossible to say that none of the apprentices at the Chiba Sword Academy had any contempt for our Shiei-kan."

"Therefore, once the match begins, the Chiba Kendo Club will be at its peak and will definitely feel that they will win today's match."

“When faced with an enemy they believe they can easily win, their morale and fighting spirit are often easily shaken.”

"Once our defensive line, which they thought could be easily breached, actually stops their offensive, their will will be shaken to some extent."

"At that time, it will be time for me and Okita-kun's 'surprise force' to launch a counterattack."

"Chiba Sword Hall probably never imagined that our commander-in-chief would be so reckless as to personally take to the field, disregarding the danger."

"After they launched a fierce attack on our defense, the Chiba siblings were mostly left to defend the midfield and backfield of the Chiba Kenkan."

"Those two siblings could only manage a draw against Okita-kun."

“If they deal with both me and Okita at the same time, the two siblings will definitely be at a disadvantage.”

"Okita and I will break through the Chiba siblings' defenses as quickly as possible, before the main force of the Chiba Kondo Academy gets rid of your entanglement, and storm into the Chiba Kondo Academy's 'main camp,' and shatter the porcelain bowl on their commander's head."

"That's my plan."

Does anyone have any objections?

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, the people from the Examination Hall who were gathered around him immediately looked at each other in astonishment.

"Wait, wait a minute, doesn't your plan seem a bit too unreliable?" someone said quickly. "You're actually letting the young master guard the middle lane all by himself?"

"I'm not denying the young master's abilities."

"But the swordsmen of the Chiba Sword Hall are no pushovers. It's too much of a stretch to let the young master handle an attack from several of them all by himself!"

“…Kondo-kun is capable of withstanding the fierce attack from the Chiba Sword Hall,” Aoto said.

—Because he has a talent called "Lone Wolf," which means that the more enemies he faces and the stronger they are, the more powerful he can unleash!

Qing Deng naturally couldn't reveal his true feelings.

So he could only start rambling:

"Given that our overall strength is inferior to that of the Chiba Sword Hall, if our defenses are to hold off their main force, we can only try to have as few people as possible deal with as many opponents as possible."

"Although I haven't been with the Shieikan for long, during the time I've been practicing swordsmanship with you all there, I've noticed that Kondo-kun is a person with a very strong character, and the more adversity he faces, the more determined he becomes."

"Therefore, entrusting such an important task to Kondo is the most appropriate thing to do."

Kondo, upon hearing what Aoto said, made no comment.

He pursed his lips, lost in thought.

"Let's set aside whether the young master can hold the middle. If it's just you and Okita-kun charging into the enemy lines, won't there be too few people? What if the Chiba Sword Hall leaves more people besides the Chiba siblings to guard the midfield and backfield?"

"Yes, isn't your plan a bit too much of an uncertainties?"

……

Everyone voiced their concerns.

Qingdeng listened quietly to the concerns expressed by the crowd with his eyes half-closed.

After the questioning from the crowd subsided, Qingdeng slowly opened his eyes, which had been half-closed:

"...You're right. I admit that my plan involves too much gambling and requires extremely good luck to have any chance of winning."

"I won't hide it from you anymore."

"Just now, when Okita and I went to a nearby dessert stall for dessert, we encountered some...unpleasant things."

Qing Deng recounted his and Okita's encounter at the squid stand to everyone in detail.

Upon learning that some of the participants from the Chiba Kendo Gym had said such unpleasant things, everyone's faces instantly showed righteous indignation.

"To be honest—up until just now, I never dared to dream that we, as the underdogs, would defeat the Chiba Sword Hall in this match. I was just thinking about doing my best." As everyone was feeling indignant, Qing Deng continued, "But after what just happened, my thoughts have changed."

"Right now, I want to win this game!"

Qing Deng slowly moved his gaze, his eyes sweeping over the faces of the people surrounding him.

His words were spoken slowly and deliberately, each syllable distinct and forceful.

"What those people said was true, but after hearing them talk about Shieikan, who had been kind to me, I still felt it was hard to swallow my anger."

"But if you want to get back at them, it's pointless to just argue with them."

"Without concrete achievements that can make them look at us with new respect, even if you are eloquent and can leave them speechless, you cannot completely change their true inner thoughts."

"So—I really want to win right now."

"Win this match that's about to begin today!"

"Compared to our original 'desperate attack' tactic, I personally believe that my strategy has a greater chance of success."

"I want to use this strategy to deal with the Chiba Sword Hall. Even if the chances of winning are slim, I am determined to go for it."

"And what about you? What are your thoughts?"

Qing Deng shifted his gaze again, scanning the solemn faces of everyone present.

"Are you willing to fight alongside me to the very end using this strategy, which has only a slightly higher chance of success than the 'fierce attack tactic'?"

After speaking, Qingdeng shut his mouth.

We await everyone's response.

The people at the test hall looked at each other in bewilderment once again.

Compared to when they first heard Qingdeng's somewhat reckless plan, the light in everyone's eyes had changed slightly—a new sense of determination and resolve had appeared in everyone's eyes.

Kondo, who had been silent until now, was the first to respond.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them and looked at the apprentice who had originally been designated as their commander-in-chief.

"Asai, hand over the commander-in-chief's battle robe to Tachibana-kun."

……

……

After listening quietly to how Qingdeng devised this battle strategy, the expressions on everyone's faces underwent a fascinating transformation.

A group of apprentices from the Little Chiba Sword Hall, led by Chiba Jutaro, Sanako, and Yamanami, pursed their lips and silently savored the entire process of how Aoto had devised his plan, and reviewed their defeat just now, recalling how they had acted step by step according to the "script" set by Aoto and ultimately suffered a defeat.

Chiba Tamon Shiro stared at Aoto with a complicated expression after having a minor disagreement with him this morning.

Zhou Zhu and A Bi showed pure joy.

Kiryu gave a strange smile and stared at Aoto with a thoughtful look.

“…Hahaha.” Chiba Sadakichi was silent for a moment before laughing out loud, “As expected of a hero who could defeat more than two hundred ‘anti-foreign' thugs with only twenty-odd samurai…”

"A brilliant strategy."

"Our Chiba Kendo Club deserves to have lost this match."

"You flatter me." Qingdeng smiled slightly and said modestly, "The reason why our Shiwei Hall was able to win is largely due to our good luck today."

At this moment, no one noticed that Kinoshita Mai, who was standing behind Kiryu, was staring blankly at Aoto with a dazed expression.

This was the second time she had witnessed Qing Deng turn the tide and win against all odds.

The last "snowy night battle" was fought in the dark, when visibility was poor. In addition, there was no time to pay much attention to Aoto's fighting spirit. Therefore, Aoto's figure, who led the samurai to break through the enemy and led Saito into battle, did not leave a clear or deep impression on Kinoshita Mai's mind that night.

Today, sitting in a safe and comfortable audience seat, she witnessed the entire process of Qing Deng leading the swordsmen of Shieikan to defeat the Kochiba Sword Hall.

The image of Aoto calmly waiting in the "main camp" for the best opportunity to counterattack; the heroic figure of leading Okita into the fray and breaking through several people from the Chiba Sword Hall when the time came; the way Aoto casually explained why he devised such a plan... These scenes related to Aoto kept replaying in Kinoshita Mai's mind.

Kinoshita Mai, who had been staring intently at Aoto's face, suddenly had a bright light slowly emanating from her eyes.

Two faint blushes rose to her cheeks.

……

……

That evening—

Edo, a certain hotel—