I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The impact caused the lance to bend abruptly, forming a slight arc—the deformation was only temporary.

In the next instant, the spear shaft snapped straight, releasing the momentum of Radish's charge, Qing Deng's own strength, and the potential energy stored in the spear shaft all at once!

The man was thrown off his feet as if he had been hit, flying like a cannonball. He flew a long way, and the blood spurting from his body had already landed on the ground, but he was still "flying" in the air.

For Qingdeng, this was just an insignificant battle on the way to the charge, and he forgot about it in the blink of an eye.

Compared to "stabbing", "sweeping" is more efficient!

He swung his long spear in mid-air, from right to left, and rested it on his left shoulder. Seeing that an enemy had entered his attack range, he swept the spear forward, tearing the three people's bodies to shreds with overwhelming force!

Immediately afterwards, he swept out another arc in the opposite direction, and two more bodies were torn to pieces.

Qingdeng did not charge around recklessly or fight blindly.

From the very beginning, he had his eye on Kijima Matabei.

To shoot a man, first shoot his horse; to capture a thief, first capture his king—an unchanging principle.

Although he didn't know exactly what Kijima Matabei looked like, at just one glance, he was certain that the middle-aged man in the beautiful armor was Kijima Matabei—not only did the age match, but his attire was also so flamboyant! There was no doubt about it!

While ravaging the enemies he encountered along the way, Qing Deng relentlessly pursued Kijima Matabei.

It must be said that Kijima Matabei's horsemanship was indeed quite good.

Although Qingdeng tried his best to catch up, he was unable to close the gap any further.

However, this was not a difficult task for Qingdeng.

With swords at close range, spears in the middle, bows and arrows in the distance, and pistols after discarding all formalities—this is Qingdeng's fighting style.

He seized the opportunity, hung the long spear in his hand back on the saddle, and then quickly untied the precious bow from the saddle.

Nocking the arrow, aiming, releasing the arrow... Qingdeng's actions were almost simultaneous, flowing smoothly like water.

In the blink of an eye, the power gathered in his arm was released! The arrow shot out!

The arrow ripped through the air, passed between several remaining soldiers, and finally struck precisely the rump of the horse beneath Kijima Matabei.

The arrow Qingdeng shot, especially one fired from a precious bow of this caliber, was exceptionally powerful.

The arrow struck the horse's rump squarely, like piercing tofu, and only stopped when it reached the fletching.

The pain involved is unimaginable.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa—!"

The horse immediately reared up and let out a mournful cry.

After struggling for a moment, it collapsed to the ground like a rag doll, throwing off the horse, Kijima Matabei.

Caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events, Kijima Matabei saw the emerald green earth rushing straight towards him.

Immediately afterwards, a shattering pain spread throughout his body, his vision went black, and it was as if countless golden stars were flying in front of him.

As an outstanding martial artist who once studied under the "Seven-Foot Peerless" Da Shi Jin, despite his aging body, he still possesses all the qualities of a martial artist.

Just before he was about to fall, he instinctively twisted his body to avoid injury to his head, lumbar spine, and other vital areas.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough.

Otherwise, such a heavy fall would either kill you or leave you half-dead.

However, even with the damage minimized, it still caused Kijima Matabei excruciating pain, with half of his body feeling numb and as if he had lost consciousness.

It took him quite a while to finally recover and struggle to stand up.

At that moment, a huge black shadow emerged from behind him and enveloped him.

In an instant, Kijima Matabei's expression changed as he sensed an immense crisis, and his hair stood on end.

He mechanically turned his head to look behind him—the pale blue haori flying high and the long, sharp spearhead—this was the last scene he would ever see in his life.

Qing Deng thrust his spear straight forward, the tip piercing through the neck of Kijima Yubei.

Then, he secretly exerted a fierce force, and with a horizontal thrust, severed his head.

[Ding! Talent detected]

Successfully copied the talent: "Endure Pain +2"

[Talent Introduction: Greater pain tolerance than the average person]

[Ding! Detected that the host already possesses a talent of the same type]

[Ding! Initiating talent fusion]

[The "Endure Pain +6" ability is upgraded to "Endure Pain +8"]

Qing Deng raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself:

—It actually copied the talent?

Aoto had thought that the talent wouldn't be copied, as he had instantly killed Kijima Matabei.

It seems that the system starts counting time from the moment of "archery".

"Matsuhara!"

Qing Deng turned his head and shouted.

Matsubara Tadashi hurriedly rode over.

"exist!"

"Raise the head of Kijima Matabei and announce to both armies: The enemy soldier Kijima Matabei has been killed by me!"

"Yes!"

In fact, displaying Matabei's head to the public would be meaningless.

The Choshu army has already suffered a crushing defeat, abandoning its armor and weapons. The outcome of the battle is now decided.

Aoto then turned to look at Harada Sanosuke and Nakazawa Koto:

"Drive the remaining enemy forces toward Yamazaki!"

Achieving an overwhelming victory on the battlefield of Fushimi—this was only the first step in Aoto's plan.

Now that this objective has been achieved, it's time to move on to the next one—pursue the fleeing enemy! Drive the remaining enemy forces northward and attack the enemy forces on the Yamazaki battlefield in the southwest!

Thus, under Qing Deng's personal command, the cavalry units of the 7th and 10th Divisions continued their operations.

The remnants of the guerrilla force, along with the ronin, peasant soldiers, and various independent units who had fled earlier, were caught up one after another and driven northward like sheep.

This is a long and tedious process.

Time passed without anyone knowing how much time had gone by... Just then, a person suddenly jumped into Qingdeng's sight.

Qing Deng took a closer look: the newcomer was none other than the second division vice-captain, Nakajima Noboru.

"My lord! My lord! We've finally found you!"

Nakajima Noboru shouted urgently as he rode swiftly to Aoto's side.

Qing Deng frowned slightly:

"Nakajima, what are you doing here?"

The second, third, fourth, and fifth divisions were deployed to the Yamazaki battlefield and placed under the command of Hijikata Toshizo. How did Nakajima Noboru, the vice-captain of the second division, end up in this desolate place?

Nakajima swallowed hard to moisten his parched throat, and hurriedly said:

"My lord! The rebel army on Yamazaki's side has suffered a crushing defeat thanks to the brilliant strategy of the vice-commander and that Ryūemon Ijichi! The rebel army is collapsing! However, we lack manpower, especially cavalry, making it difficult to launch a further pursuit! Please go and reinforce us immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng immediately showed a look of surprise.

The Choshu army on the Yamazaki side was actually defeated?

This was truly unexpected!

Of course, despite his surprise, Qing Deng quickly regained his composure and asked in a deep voice:

"Where are the enemy troops? Take me there quickly!"

"Yes! Please follow me!"

*******

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Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

P.S.: Speaking of which, Sanako and Ama are both about to give birth, and I still haven't decided what to name Aoto's offspring... If anyone has any good names, please share them here! Leopard is going to copy them all! Both boy and girl names are welcome! (Leopard goofball.jpg)

Chapter 847 Surprise Attack on Tianwang Mountain! The Decisive Battle of Tianwang Mountain! [4500]

Qingdeng divided the cavalry into two parts.

A portion of them, under the command of Harada Sanosuke, continued to drive the remnants of the Fushimi battlefield northward.

Another part was personally commanded by him, Nakazawa Koto, and Matsubara Tadashi, who marched rapidly to the Yamazaki battlefield.

The battle situation in Fushimi has been completely settled, and the Choshu army will no longer be able to cause any trouble in Fushimi.

If that's the case, it would be a waste to keep such a large fighting force of the commander-in-chief in the rear.

Therefore, Aoto sent someone to inform the commander-in-chief that she should also go and reinforce the Yamazaki battlefield.

As for the subsequent tasks of cleaning up the battlefield and eliminating the remaining soldiers, Shimazaki Kai was put in charge.

While traveling, Aoto learned the details of the Yamazaki battle from Nakajima Noboru.

Compared to the open terrain of the Yamazaki battlefield, the battlefield was much narrower.

Yamazaki is nestled between Mount Tenno to the west and the Kamo River to the east.

Choshu's 6000-strong army and Hijikata and Satsuma's 3500-strong allied army—nearly 10,000 troops in total—laid out their positions and began a standoff in this cramped area.

After observing the battlefield situation, the Satsuma army's strategist... that is, Ijichi Ryūemon, with Saigō Kichinosuke's permission, immediately went to the Shinsengumi's main camp, found Hijikata Toshizo, and said:

"Vice Commander Hijikata, I have devised a plan to defeat the enemy. If all goes well, we can crush the enemy army in just half a day! May I ask what you say?"

Hijikata Toshizo raised an eyebrow and said:

"Appreciate further details."