I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Ii's platoon... finally arrived at their designated battle location!

Seeing this, Mori Gorokuro, who had been standing inconspicuously by the roadside and shouldered the heavy responsibility of leading the attack, raised his hands to his lips, breathed hot air into his palms, and then kicked through the snow on the ground as he ran towards the front of the Ii line.

"This humble subject pleads! This humble subject pleads!" Mori Gorokuro pulled out a "petition for redress" from his pocket. "Please, Your Excellency, redress my grievances! Please, Your Excellency, redress my grievances!"

Ii's group was abruptly brought to a stop by Mori Gorokuro, who suddenly blocked their path.

"Hmm?" Ii Naosuke frowned and asked towards the outside of the sedan chair, "What happened?"

"My lord," Kawanishi Tadazaemon, the deputy captain of the guard standing by the sedan chair door, replied in a deep voice, "a ronin has blocked the front of the procession, saying he has a grievance to report."

"A wrongful conviction?" Ii Naosuke's brows furrowed even more.

It was not uncommon for samurai or commoners to suddenly block the carriage or procession of a high-ranking official, pleading with him to redress their grievances.

In the Ii line, Kusakabe Saburoemon, the "offering head" who was in charge of handling such matters, quickly stepped forward and ran to Mori Gorokuro, who was kneeling at the front of the line.

"What grievance do you have...?"

Before Kusakabe Saburoemon could finish speaking, Mori Gorokuro threw the "petition for redress" into the air.

At the same time, his straw hat and haori were also flung into the sky.

Beneath the haori was a garment with the sleeves already bound together with a sash!

Before anyone in the Ii formation could react, in the blink of an eye, Mori Gorokuro's crimson glint of ferocity flashed out along with the cold glint of his blade!

Mori Gorokuro, a master of swordsmanship, suddenly drew his sword, the blade flashing and carving a long, thin gash in the snow, severing Kusakabe Saburoemon's throat. Kusakabe Saburoemon swayed a few times before crashing heavily to the ground.

Scalding blood gushed out from the tip of Mori Gorokuro's sword, splashing onto the ground and turning into alluring red plum blossoms on the snow.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"Protect the adults!"

……

The once orderly queue suddenly erupted into chaos.

Mori Gorokuro, in one fell swoop, flashed to the nearest guard and cleaved his chest with a Kesa-zaki.

Inside the palanquin, Ii Naosuke, who had been admiring the snow scene outside and pondering the lyrics of the new song, was startled upon hearing the increasingly urgent cries of "Enemy attack!"

Then, a color slowly appeared in his eyes and brows... a color that defies description...

Seeing Mori Gorokuro, who had already brilliantly accomplished the task of "attracting attention," Kurosawa Tadazaburo felt all the blood rushing to his head.

He gritted his teeth, raised the revolver in his hand, aimed it at the sedan chair not far away, and frantically pulled the trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...

Kurosawa Tadazaburo emptied the gun chamber of all the bullets in one go.

Of the whistling bullets, only two successfully struck Ii Naosuke inside the palanquin.

The only two bullets that hit Ii Naosuke... one hit Ii Naosuke's thigh, and the other hit Ii Naosuke's lower back.

"Ugh!" Ii Naosuke, who was feeling a sharp pain in his lower back, felt a sweet taste in his throat.

As soon as he opened his mouth, drops of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

He tried to move his feet, but his lower body had completely lost sensation...

A fierce wind is blowing!

Snowflakes fluttered down, merging the sky and earth into one color.

The view was blocked by snow, and everything around disappeared into a vast white snow curtain.

Kurosawa Tadazaburo threw away his empty revolver and drew his sword, Pakawa Nishichuemon, from his waist.

"Heavenly Punishment—!" Kurosawa Tadazaburo shouted, then took the lead and rushed to the battlefield!

"Aaaaaaahh ...

All the patriots on both the left and right flanks sprang into action.

The right-wing members who had been sitting around the tea stall dressed as country samurai threw down their teacups, drew their swords, and joined the fight.

"Heaven will punish us! Heaven will punish us!"

"Execute the traitors!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

……

The tea stall owner and the girl working at the tea stall were so frightened by the strange change that they lost all color in their faces. They didn't even bother to pack up their stall and hurriedly fled the battlefield that had been turned into a bloody grinder.

Because of the heavy snowfall, all the guards of the Ii family had put hilt covers on their swords, and the scabbards were wrapped in scabbard bags made of oiled paper, which was done to protect them from the snow very carefully. If the rope on the hilt cover was not untied, the sword could not be drawn.

Many people were hastily removing the sheaths when they were inexplicably hacked to death by the patriots.

Some guards, in their haste, simply didn't remove the hilts and drew their swords, scabbard and all, directly from their waists, using them as clubs.

The deputy captain, Kawanishi Chuemon, who was standing guard beside the sedan chair, hurriedly unsheathed the hilts of his twin swords while shouting sternly at the sedan chair bearers, "Take the master back to the mansion at once!"

The shouts of battle were deafening, and blood and shattered limbs flew everywhere.

The patriots launched a frenzied attack, slaughtering all the Ii guards who stood in their way.

Koibuchi, who was in charge of the rear guard, and Hasuda Ichigoro and others witnessed this increasingly intense battle and were filled with excitement.

Koibuchi ordered his men to throw away their oil-paper umbrellas, tear off their haori (traditional Japanese clothing), draw their swords, and join the battle.

"Heavenly Punishment!" Li Yuan ordered someone to slash the back of the head of a guard who was fighting with his companion from behind.

However, just after he killed one of the Ii guards, he was accidentally attacked on the forehead by someone next to him, and a large gash was slashed open.

(Once the war begins, simply move forward. Aim at the direction of Ii Naosuke's palanquin and stride ahead.)

The words that Kurosawa Tadazaburo had just said to him suddenly flashed through Arimura Jizaemon's mind.

"Wa ...

--forward……

After breaking through the two people's blockade, Arimura Jizaemon felt as if someone had slashed his left shoulder.

I was stabbed, but strangely, I didn't feel any pain at all.

The tension and fear that had been troubling him disappeared completely after the battle began.

At that moment, only one thought remained in his mind.

He strode forward, aiming at the direction where Ii Naosuke's palanquin was located.

forward!

Arimura Tsujizaemon swung his sword back and cut down another guard who was blocking his way.

--forward……!

He charged forward with the speed of a raging storm, his blade flashing and killing! Flashing again and killing again! Blood instantly stained his blade and clothes.

A splash of hot blood landed on Arimura Jizaemon's left eye, but he couldn't free his hand to wipe it away, so he continued to fight the enemy using his only remaining right eye.

--forward!

A guard slashed Arimura Jizaemon's right cheek.

Unaware of the pain, Arimura Tsujizaemon let the blood gush from the wound on his right cheek, then with a backhand stroke, he killed the guard who had disfigured him.

--forward!!!

Gathering his strength and charging forward, Arimura Tsujizaemon then realized that he had already penetrated deep into Ii's ranks.

Ii Naosuke's palanquin... was just 3 meters away from him!

Kawanishi Chuzaemon, the vice-captain and a master of dual swordsmanship, stood like a gatekeeper, wielding his two swords and fiercely guarding the palanquin behind him.

The sedan chair bearers responsible for carrying the sedan chair had either been killed or had fled in panic; the sedan chair had fallen onto the snow.

The first to break through the heavy defenses and enter the vicinity of the palanquin was Inada Shigezo on the right wing.

Inada Shigezo swung his sword at Kawanishi Chuzaemon, but Kawanishi Chuzaemon blocked the strike with his left-hand wakizashi, controlling Inada Shigezo's sword. Then, Kawanishi Chuzaemon swung his right-hand katana, striking Inada Shigezo's vital point.

After swaying a few times, Inada Shigezo's body leaned back and fell to the ground, lifeless.

Kawanishi Chuzaemon, who was able to serve as the vice-captain of the Ii Guard, must have been a highly skilled swordsman.

However... the patriots also had no shortage of masters with superb swordsmanship.

The second to break through the defenses and reach the palanquin was Hirooka no Jiro.

His blade traced a sharp arc, approaching Kawanishi Chuzaemon's neck, but Kawanishi Chuzaemon raised his sword to intercept.

At that moment, Arimura Tsuzuemon arrived!

Seizing the opportunity, while Kawanishi Chuzaemon was entangled in a fight with Hirooka Kojiro, he lunged forward and slashed at Kawanishi Chuzaemon's vital points.

Kawanishi Chuzaemon narrowly avoided the fatal attack, but his left shoulder was still accidentally slashed by Arimura Jizaemon.

The fourth patriot who had rushed to the side of the sedan chair—Kurosawa Tadazaburo—arrived at that moment.

Arimura Tsujizaemon, Kurosawa Tadazaburo, and Hirooka Kojiro attacked Kawanishi Tadazaemon from three different directions.

Kawanishi Chuzaemon, unable to withstand the combined might of his two fists and six hands, finally succumbed to a fatal blow.

But before he breathed his last, he mustered the last of his strength and launched a final counterattack, slashing vertically from Hirooka Kojiro's forehead all the way to the corner of his mouth, the sound of bones shattering making one's teeth ache.

Hiroka no Kojiro let out a piercing scream, collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably.

Arimura Tsujizaemon was too preoccupied to check on his companions.

After finally killing Kawanishi Chuzaemon, Arimura Tsuzaemon gritted his teeth, kicked off the ground with both feet, and rushed toward the palanquin like an arrow!

"Heaven will punish you—!"

Arimura Tsuzuemon focused all his strength on the sword in his hand and thrust it into the palanquin.

The sharp sword tip pierced through the body of Ii Naosuke, who was now covered in cold sweat and unable to move due to a spinal injury.

"Cough, cough, cough!" Blood flowing from Ii Naosuke's mouth and nose had already stained most of his body red. "Is this... the end...?"

"Get out here! Traitor!"

Arimura Tsujizaemon reached into the sedan chair, grabbed Ii Naosuke by the collar, and pulled him out of the chair.