I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

However, no matter how rusty his skills were, he was still more than capable of killing with a single arrow at this distance.

Every arrow he fires takes a life! Never missing a shot!

Such terrifying killing efficiency is even more chilling than slashing with a gleaming blade!

Although the enemy group had already dispersed and were seeking cover, their slow pace was no different from being stationary in Qing Deng's eyes.

In no time, the enemy below the gate tower was riddled with bullets by Qing Deng, leaving behind a field of corpses.

Although some escapees remained, Qingdeng was too lazy to bother with them anymore.

"This kind of inferior bow is really hard to use..."

With that, he threw away the bow and arrow in his hand, turned around, jumped down from the gate tower, crossed the Ote Gate, and ran towards the Ninomaru Palace.

Takatorijo Ninomaru, breakthrough!

……

……

Takatori Castle, Black Gate (the main northern gate).

"Damn it...damn it...what's the situation inside the city?"

"Who knows!"

"Never mind all that! Let's just stick to our posts!"

Qing Deng's sudden invasion and his unstoppable onslaught plunged Gaoqu City into chaos.

The city's defenses were turned into a complete mess.

In order to resist Qingdeng, except for strategic locations like Heimen that must not be touched without authorization, the guards of other places were transferred to provide support.

Although the guards of the Black Gate were ordered to "stay put and keep a close watch on the city gate," the unpredictable battle situation inside the city made them very worried, and their morale was severely impacted.

They had thought that relying on the fortified castle of Takatori would at least cause some trouble for the Shinsengumi.

Unexpectedly... that Tachibana Aoto actually broke in like that, and the attack went extremely smoothly, as if he were walking on flat ground!

The natural defenses of Gaoqu City couldn't stop him at all!

The defensive system that was thought to be a major headache for the Shinsengumi was broken through and destroyed by Tachibana Aoto all by himself... Is there any point in resisting such a monster?

Thinking of this, the guards of the Black Gate grew increasingly depressed.

On the gate tower of the Black Gate, a burly man with a stubble beard earnestly spoke to his companion behind him:

"Don't be afraid! Kawakami Hikosai is here at the citadel!"

"That Kawakami Gensai is quite a monster!"

"You might not believe it, but I've personally witnessed Kawakami Gensai's swordsmanship!"

"His knife strikes are incredibly fast!"

"First comes the slash, then the sound of the blade!"

"He had already killed the enemy, and the others had only just heard the sound of him drawing his sword!"

"In short, as long as Kawakami Gensai is there, and with the cooperation of others, we will definitely be able to defeat Tachibana Aoto!"

"Hey, are you even listening to me? Why haven't you said a word all this time?"

As he spoke, he turned his head back with displeasure—only to see his companion, who had just been chatting with him, now lying on the ground, silent, his neck twisted unnaturally.

"Hey you……"

The burly man, who had just uttered a single syllable, was horrified when he suddenly smelled an extremely pleasant aroma.

A fragrant breeze wafted through the air—two small hands reached out from behind his head, one covering the other's mouth, while the other pressed against the back of his neck.

With a twist of the two small hands, like unscrewing a bottle cap, the strong man's vision suddenly reversed 180 degrees, and he could suddenly see the scene behind him.

A beautiful, pretty girl dressed in a black ninja outfit... This was the last sight the strong man ever saw in his life.

*******

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A new month has arrived! Readers with monthly passes, please be sure to vote for this book!

Today we have 5,000 leopards! We haven't regressed to 4,000! Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

P.S.: You might be wondering: How did Kinoshita Mai manage to push open the castle gate all by herself?

It's actually very simple: don't try to apply the concepts of Chinese city gates to Japanese city gates.

The gates of most castles in Japan are the type that can be opened by pushing open the door handle; in simple terms, they can be understood as large courtyard gates.

Chapter 745 "Man-Slayer" Qing Deng vs. "Man-Slayer" Yan Zhai! A duel between man-slayers! [6000]

At the foot of the mountain to the north—

Squads 1, 3, and 6 are ready to go.

Standing at the front of the line, Souji, Saito Hajime, and Inoue Genzaburo all craned their necks, eagerly awaiting the promised flame.

Finally... a bright orange-red flame suddenly ignited on the mountaintop, illuminating the night sky.

Gazing at the finally appearing flame, Saito Hajime silently raised his left hand, grasped the Settsu lord Ikeda Onijimaru Kunishige at his waist, and said in a deep voice:

"Okita-kun, Mr. Inoue."

Souji nodded vigorously, then swiftly and decisively drew Kaga Kiyomitsu from his waist:

"Follow me!"

In an instant, the three squads roared and surged forward, seizing all the roads leading into the mountains and heading straight for Takatori Castle!

……

……

"Hey! What's going on? What's that ball of fire?!"

"That seems to be the direction of the Black Gate!"

"Is the Black Gate on fire?"

"Something's wrong! It's not that the Black Gate is on fire, it's that the Black Gate has been opened!"

"What?! How is this possible?! Why was the black door opened?"

"Never mind that! Let's go check it out!"

Seeing that something was wrong with the black gate, the nearby guards rushed over to check.

Upon arriving at the scene, they saw that the straight-lined top of the black door had been removed and carelessly discarded on the ground.

The two large doors, each over 3 meters high, were wide open in a figure-eight shape.

Right in the center of the entrance, a beautiful figure dressed in a black ninja outfit... Kinoshita Mai stood proudly, staring fearlessly at the newly arrived enemy soldiers.

In this day and age, ninjas are a thing of the past.

The ninja outfit that blends into the night exists only in people's imaginations; almost no one has ever seen the real thing.

Upon seeing this female ninja who seemed to have traveled from the Warring States period, the guards who arrived at the scene were all stunned and stood frozen in place.

Of course, the shock and disorientation were only temporary.

Compared to the existence of this female ninja, the loss of the Black Gate stirred their emotions even more.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense understands the consequences if the Black Gate were opened at this critical juncture!

as predicted--

"Kill her! Take back the Black Gate!"

Someone let out a roar.

Immediately afterwards, they charged at Kinoshita Mai with reckless abandon, attempting to reclaim the Black Gate!

The female ninja silently spread her legs, lowered her center of gravity, and assumed a fighting stance.

Suddenly, a katana slashed diagonally toward the top of her head.

Ironically, although Kinoshita Mai adopted a rather imposing fighting stance, she did not engage in a direct confrontation with the enemy group in front of her.

She lightly leaped upwards, effortlessly dodging the incoming blade.

The next moment, as her delicate body began to fall, she extended her right leg, and like a dragonfly skimming the water, her small toes lightly touched the back of the katana that had missed its target and had not yet been retracted.

The back of the knife was only half a finger wide, and it was already quite difficult to even brace it with the toes of one's feet. It didn't look like it could be used for leverage at all.

However... it was as if there was no gravity around Kinoshita Mai!

She landed lightly on the back of the knife, then leaped up again, returning to mid-air.

A person was standing on the knife... Although Kinoshita Mai quickly got away, the sudden increase in weight was enough to give the knife-wielder a hard time.

"Ahhhh!"

The knife-wielder screamed, staggered a few steps because he couldn't control his balance, and then fell face-first into the dirt.

Similar scenes were playing out repeatedly at the event.

Ah! There she is!

"Stab her with a gun! Quickly, stab her with a gun!"

"No way! She's too fast! I can't keep up!"

Kinoshita Mai moves nimbly, making full use of her agility.

She sometimes stepped on other people's heads, and sometimes on their shoulders.

She sometimes leaps through the air, and sometimes runs on the ground.

It repeatedly uses leverage, jumps, and shuttles, much like a butterfly flitting among flowers.

The guards were left in a sorry state by her antics, and the scene descended into chaos.

They said it was a battle... more like catching a mischievous, cunning cat.