I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Hozoin-ryu, Captain of the 10th Division of the Shinsengumi, Harada Sanosuke, proceed!"

He announced his home address and shouted "Let's go!" like a Kabuki actor, as he ran towards the back door. Matsubara Tadashi chased after him.

"Gu brothers, you stay and guard the front gate!"

The Tani brothers—Tani Sanjuro and Tani Mantaro.

"Serizawa, Niimi, Nakazawa, come with me!"

Nakazawa Sadaki nodded vigorously.

Serizawa Kamo and Niimi Nishiki silently drew their swords.

With a whoosh, Hijikata Toshizo drew Izumi no Kami Kanesada from his waist, his momentum high.

"on!"

He held Izumi no Kami Kanesada across his chest, assumed the Kasumigata stance, and strode through the front door into the Ikedaya.

Serizawa Kamo, Niimi Nishiki, and Nakazawa Sadayoshi entered in single file.

Upon entering Ikedaya, a strong, nauseating stench of blood assaulted the senses.

Since the establishment of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toshizo, Serizawa Kamo, and others have participated in every major and minor battle—from the "Battle of Iga" to quell a civil unrest to the "Battle of Yamato" to eliminate the Tenchugumi.

Therefore, they were already used to such bloody scenes.

On the other hand, Nakazawa Sadayoshi didn't adapt very well.

The new contingent that he and his sister, Nakazawa Koto, had previously joined was merely at the level of a "security brigade," and they had never fought any major battles, hard-fought battles, or bloody battles.

For this reason, he couldn't help but furrow his brow, hold his breath, and turn slightly pale.

The group passed through the entrance hall and arrived at the stairs without incident—only then did they finally encounter a few living people.

Two young women—they were the steles of the Ikedaya family—sat frozen beside the stairs, huddled together, trembling. They were completely terrified, their eyes glazed over, their expressions stiff, like clay or wooden sculptures.

Hijikata Toshizo glanced at them, then looked away, ignoring them, and continued on his way.

Once you climb the stairs and reach the second floor, the view suddenly changes.

The so-called "utter devastation" and "river of blood" are nothing more than this!

The first thing that catches the eye is the ground littered with corpses! There's almost nowhere to step!

lunging forward; turning to run away; with a mournful face; twisting their facial features... all sorts of postures and bizarre expressions.

Judging from this scene of "mountains of corpses and seas of blood," it is not difficult to imagine how brutal the battle was.

Just then, Hijikata Toshizo and the others suddenly heard heavy breathing:

"Huff...! Huff...! Huff...! Huff...!"

A samurai leaned against the wall not far away, his head drooping.

If it weren't for the fact that his chest and shoulders were still rising and falling, this person would really look like he was dead.

Because of the dim lighting and the fact that the person was covered in blood, Hijikata Toshizo and the others took a closer look before they could recognize that the person was wearing a light blue haori.

Soon, they could see each other's faces clearly.

"Uncle Yuan!"

Hijikata Toshizo, who is usually known as a "cold-faced demon," showed a rare expression of shock and worry after seeing Inoue Genzaburo's miserable state.

Ignoring the corpses and pools of blood scattered on the ground, he rushed forward and steadied Inoue Genzaburo.

"Uncle Yuan! Uncle Yuan!"

"Stop shaking me... I feel really uncomfortable right now... If you shake me any more, I'm going to throw up all over you."

Inoue Genzaburo slowly raised his head—his face was covered in blood, with hardly a clean spot.

"Hijikata, you've finally arrived..."

"Uncle Yuan, are you alright? Are you injured?"

"I'm mostly fine... Thanks to this chainmail, I wasn't seriously injured, just... exhausted... so exhausted I feel like throwing up... Sigh... what a waste of my sword..."

As he spoke, he turned to look at the knife beside his leg—the one that Aoto had given him, Oshu Shirakawa Sumitomo, was in terrible condition.

The blade is covered with slits of various sizes, turning it into a saw-like shape.

Fortunately, the blade was not twisted or deformed, and it was not yet beyond repair.

Once the blade is sharpened, it can still be used.

However, the lifespan of this knife has been greatly reduced, and if it suffers such severe damage again, it will be beyond repair.

Anyone who has wielded a sword knows that when wielding a sword to kill someone, the front half of the blade is mainly used.

The front half of his sword was stained dark red with blood and grease, as if it had been splashed with red ink.

Those layers and layers of grease... if you scraped them off, you could probably stir-fry a whole dish!

It's hard to imagine how many people Inoue Genzaburo actually killed in tonight's battle...

"Hijikata, I don't have the strength to move..."

"Go quickly and check on the young master's condition..."

"He's facing Miyabe Teizo and his bodyguards all by himself... it certainly won't be an easy fight..."

Tu Fang Sui San nodded vigorously.

"Okay, I understand. Uncle Yuan, you should get some rest. Leave the rest to us!"

After ordering Niimi Nishiki to carry Inoue Genzaburo out of the Ikedaya, he led Serizawa Kamo and Nakazawa Satagiri deeper into the second floor.

Before long, they successfully reached the deepest room, the room where Miyabe Teizō, Katsura Kogoro, and others were meeting.

The level of bloodshed inside the room was even greater than that outside.

Knife marks of varying lengths and depths covered every corner of the room.

Hijikata Toshizo only needed to glance around to spot the familiar figure—

"Ah Sui...you guys...you're all so late...what have you been doing?"

Kondo Isami sat on the floor with his back to the windowsill, covered in blood. Moonlight shone from behind him, barely illuminating the smile on his face.

"We rushed here, so please forgive us."

Seeing that Kondo Isami was still alive and had all his body parts intact, Hijikata Toshizo breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Let me make this clear beforehand... I'm not injured... I just have... a small cut on my right leg... all the blood on me is from the enemy..."

Suddenly, a hoarse voice came from the other corner of the wall:

"You... are all... short-sighted... insects...!"

Hijikata Toshizo and the others turned their heads to look—this corner was piled high with corpses, forming a small mountain.

On this "small hill," a middle-aged man, barely alive, struggled to sit up and glared angrily at Hijikata Toshizo and his men.

"Ah Sui, this guy is Miyabe Teizou... He's just a weak scholar, I took him down with a single slash... But his bodyguards are quite skilled..."

No one saw Kondo Isami's battle just now... This is truly a pity.

He single-handedly fought against several martial arts masters whose strength was on par with Inoue Genzaburo and Todo Heisuke, and ultimately won... Such a record is worthy of the title "Fourth Head of the Tennen Rishin-ryu Main Family"!

For Miyabe Teizō, the unexpected events of the night were both unforeseen and filled him with grief and indignation.

The intention was to use tonight's meeting to keep Katsura Kogoro here and prevent him from hindering the grand plan to "burn down Kyoto".

But who would have thought... that he, the "mantis," would be eaten by the "oriole"!

His eyes were bloodshot with rage and grief.

"Behold... history... will be written by us...!"

Hijikata Toshizo calmly said:

"I don't know who will ultimately write history, but it certainly won't be you, my defeated opponent."

Serizawa Kamo glanced at him and asked casually:

"Do we need a second?"

Serizawa Kamo's "goodwill" was like a needle, deeply piercing Miyabe Teizo's pride.

He, who should have been on his last breath, suddenly unleashed a burst of power—

"Aa ...

He raised the broken sword in his hand and lunged at Kondo Isami with a howl.

Hijikata Toshizo was about to raise his sword to intercept, but Kondo Isami sprang up faster and swung his sword, striking Miyabe Teizō squarely in the side of his neck.

Under normal circumstances, Kondo Isami's strike would have been enough to behead Miyabe Teizo.

However, due to his current exhaustion, his knife only cut an inch into his neck.

However, such injuries could be fatal.

Miyabe Teizou collapsed to the ground instantly, his body twitched a few times, and then his eyes widened as he fell lifeless.

Hijikata Toshizo glanced at Miyabe Teizou's corpse, then looked away with disdain and instead surveyed his surroundings.

"Asheng, where are Xiaosi and Nagakura? And where is Saito, who arrived earlier?"

Kondo Isami's face instantly darkened.

“I’ve been focused on dealing with Miyabe Teizō, so I’m not entirely clear on the specifics…”

All I know is that they are working together to fight a powerful enemy.

"I vaguely heard them complain that the corridor was too narrow, so they moved to the roof..."

Upon hearing this, Hijikata Toshizo was taken aback, and then immediately perked up his ears—indeed, a faint sound of metal clashing came from the direction of the roof!

They quickly climbed out the window and moved to the roof.

There was no one on the roof of the Ikedaya.

Hijikata Toshizo looked around before finally finding Souji and the others—on the roof of a shop about 20 meters away, four figures were repeatedly colliding and intersecting!

While holding his sword, Hannya quickly scanned the three people surrounding him in a triangular formation: Souji, Nagakura Shinpachi, and Saito Hajime.