I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

He saw through the weakness of the Hui-Salih coalition – their lack of coordination.

Aizu and Satsuma were ultimately a hastily formed alliance, and they were not familiar with each other.

This makes it difficult for them to coordinate their actions.

At first glance, they looked menacing.

In reality, they were fighting entirely on their own, with each side fighting its own battle.

The enemy we are facing is not a large army of 3000 men, but an army of 1000 men and an army of 2000 men!

This statement may seem like stating the obvious, but there is actually a very clear difference between the two.

In this way, Katsura Kogoro made full use of the gap between the two sides, flexibly changing his offense and defense, and slowly retreating whenever he could find an opening.

For example, when he saw that the Aizu army's attack pace had slowed down and that the Satsuma army had formed a situation of "one in front and one behind", he decisively concentrated his forces to attack the Satsuma army that had "emerged".

For example, when the Satsuma army and the Aizu army became separated, he personally led a suicide squad and resolutely inserted himself between the two armies, causing a great disturbance and launching a brilliant counterattack.

During this period, the 30 flintlock muskets left behind by the main force played a significant role.

Katsura Kogoro occasionally ordered his musketeers to launch counterattacks.

The gunshots kept ringing out, "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

Even the Aizu and Satsuma armies, renowned for their combat prowess and rigorous training, would involuntarily tremble and feel fear when faced with the dark muzzle of a gun.

Whenever the Huisa coalition launched an offensive, the continuous gunfire would cause them to lose most of their momentum.

In addition, the pitch-black sky was a great help to them.

Without lighting, the movements of the Huisa allied forces were naturally extremely inconvenient.

Countless people accidentally stepped into empty spaces or tripped over roadside stones, which prevented the attack from proceeding.

Thus, with the support of the aforementioned factors, the allied forces of Kyoto stretched their battle lines to an extremely long length, with the battlefield extending from the southern suburbs of Kyoto to the western suburbs of Kyoto.

Some units are engaged in a fierce battle with Katsura Kogoro's rearguard.

Some troops remained in the southern suburbs of Kyoto, failing to keep up with the pace of the offensive.

Katsura Kogoro's decisiveness, wisdom, and bravery are truly admirable.

But... his quick wit and cleverness were not enough to bridge the huge gap between the two sides!

With overwhelming numerical superiority, the Huisa allied forces relentlessly pursued the rearguard.

Katsura Kogoro tried to shake off the pursuers but failed.

His comrades fell one by one beside him...

The original strategy of "fighting and retreating" gradually turned into "retreating again and again"...

After fighting countless hard battles, Katsura Kogoro finally gained a respite from the enemy's attacks... ah, no, correction, it should be said that there was a temporary respite from the enemy's attacks.

He and the remaining troops slipped into a dense forest.

The area is lush and green, with trees and bushes everywhere that block out the view.

Thanks to this dense forest, they were able to temporarily escape the pursuit of the Huisa coalition.

Taking advantage of this precious opportunity, Katsura Kogoro untied the water bottle from his waist and greedily drank it down, quenching his parched throat, which seemed ready to crack at any moment.

By now, he was covered in blood!

From head to toe, every part of his body was covered in sticky bloodstains.

As for the katana in his hand, he had to replace it several times due to the fierce battles.

The knife he was holding was one he had just snatched from the enemy.

"Mr. Gui! This won't do! We need to retreat! If this continues, we'll all be wiped out!"

A samurai beside him, also covered in blood, said this anxiously.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Katsura Kogoro asserted firmly!

"No! We can't retreat any further!"

"If we retreat any further, we'll run into the main force!"

"No matter what, we must stop the current downward trend!"

At this point, he raised his gaze and looked around at the surrounding trees.

"This grove is excellent; it's a superb location."

"From this moment on, we will rely on this forest as our base and launch a step-by-step resistance, holding out for at least one hour!"

Upon hearing this, all the rearguard soldiers present showed solemn expressions.

The main force hadn't gone far, and they really couldn't retreat any further.

If they continue to retreat or are defeated, the Huisa allied forces will surely press their advantage and catch up with the main force of the Changzhou army, inflicting a brutal blow on them!

Katsura Kogoro casually tossed aside the empty water bottle in his hand, turned to the man from before, and asked:

How many men do we have left?

The man looked pained.

"There are only about 80 people left who are able to move freely and haven't fallen behind..."

Upon hearing this, Katsura Kogoro immediately frowned and his face darkened.

A force of 300 was reduced to only 80 men... a casualty rate of nearly 70%!

The intensity of the battle and the sheer number of casualties are evident!

Fortunately, those who stayed with Katsura Kogoro were all determined and resilient individuals.

Otherwise, faced with such terrifying battle losses, they would probably have already fled.

Suddenly, Katsura Kogoro's ears twitched slightly, and his expression changed immediately.

"They're here! Prepare to meet them!"

At the very moment he spoke—

"found it!"

"They're here!"

"Kill them!"

"That handsome fellow is Katsura Kogoro, one of the 'Three Heroes of Choshu'!"

"Quickly! Kill him! Whoever takes Katsura Kogoro's head will receive a reward of 1000 taels of gold!"

……

Looking around, hundreds of infantrymen swarmed towards Katsura Kogoro!

The battle resumes!

Under the personal command of Katsura Kogoro, the rearguard attacked relentlessly.

Katsura Kogoro charged left, right, and forward with unstoppable ferocity! Several people died or were wounded instantly under his gleaming blade.

The soldiers of Huisa present were all terrified upon seeing this and dared not step forward.

Suddenly! Katsura Kogoro's body tilted and fell to the side.

It turned out that his left foot had accidentally stepped into the mud, causing him to lose his balance and nearly fall to the ground.

Although he managed to steady himself at the last second, he exposed a fatal flaw!

How could the soldiers of Huisa around him miss this golden opportunity?

Someone jumped out from behind a tree in front of him and slashed at him with a knife.

He narrowly parried the approaching blade overhead, then followed up with a diagonal slash, killing the attacker with a single blow.

However... because his sword-wielding posture was too forced and awkward, he was unable to control the force of his strike, and the sword in his hand slashed deeply into the tree trunk in front of him, the blade completely embedded inside.

Pulling the knife back is not difficult.

However... it's obvious that in the midst of a fiercely competitive battlefield where things are changing rapidly, how could he calmly pull back his blade!

No sooner said than done, another person attacked Katsura Kogoro with a knife.

Left with no other choice, Katsura Kogoro had to discard the sword in his hand, slide forward, and while dodging the opponent's attacks, he extended both hands, his left hand reaching under the opponent's armpit and his right hand grabbing the opponent's neck, firmly clamping the opponent's upper body, and then using his superb jujitsu skills to pin the person to the ground.

No sooner had one problem been solved than another arose—another person had already charged in from behind Katsura Kogoro!

The new attackers were armed with pistols.

The gleaming spear tip was pointed directly at Katsura Kogoro's back!

At this moment, Katsura Kogoro's hands were still firmly pressing down on his opponent.

Given this situation, no matter how you look at it, Katsura Kogoro's chances of survival are slim!

"Mr. Gui! Watch out!"

Damn it!

Even the people of Changzhou around them couldn't help but exclaim in surprise and grief.

At this critical moment...

puff!

The sound of blood splattering.

puff.

The sound of a severed head falling to the ground.

The gunman who was attacking Katsura Kogoro stood frozen in place five steps away from him—no wonder he was stunned.

After all, his head was gone.

Its head rolled "rolling" to Katsura Kogoro's feet.

Before he could react, another streak of silver light flashed across his field of vision.

puff!