I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Qingdeng quickened his pace slightly, shaking off the nightingale who had come forward to provoke them.

"Haaah...!" Harada reluctantly turned his gaze away and yawned widely, then asked Aoto in a clearly tired tone, "Mr. Tachibana... how long are we going to patrol?"

"We will patrol until we find the Expeditionary Force or the Enforcer informs us that the operation is over," Qing Deng replied calmly.

Nearly two hours have passed since the operation officially began.

For the next two hours, Qingdeng and his team patrolled their assigned area continuously, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity.

Two hours passed, and the area under Qingdeng's command was as still as a mirror. Not only did they not see any members of the Expeditionary Force, but they also did not see a single person with suspicious behavior.

At the beginning of the operation, Nagakura, Harada, and the others were full of anticipation and eager to try.

But after two hours of tedious patrolling, the novelty wore off, and the anticipation on Nagakura and his men's faces gradually turned into exhaustion.

"We still have to keep patrolling..." Harada's lips twitched. "I'm getting a little sleepy."

After saying that, Harada yawned quite appropriately.

"Mr. Orange, can we chat for a while? If we chat, I won't feel so sleepy."

"No." Qing Deng rejected Harada's request to chat without hesitation. "Chatting will distract you and make it impossible to concentrate on the mission. If you are really sleepy, I remember there is a stream nearby. You can go and wash your face in that stream."

"Alright... if we can't chat, then forget it..." Harada sighed, then shut his mouth and stopped talking.

In the Edo period, which was still an ancient society, there was naturally no rich nightlife for people to enjoy.

Even in Edo, the largest city in the country, all areas become deathly quiet once night falls, except for Yoshiwara, Edo's only legal red-light district.

The utter silence was indeed quite soporific, and Qingdeng himself found it difficult to concentrate.

Leading his men through another quiet street, Qingdeng suddenly spotted some lights ahead—lights were still shining from inside a large mansion not far away.

Only this one spot on the entire street was lit, and against the backdrop of the surrounding darkness, the few lights inside the mansion looked like a few fireflies flitting about on a summer night, appearing all alone.

Qingdeng knew this residence; it was the famous Foreign Documents Investigation Office.

For those who admired Western learning or wanted to rely on advanced Western learning to revitalize the country, the Foreign Languages ​​Institute was a sacred place.

Therefore, the Foreign Languages ​​Institute was never short of people who had a deep love for and motivation to learn Western studies.

A large group of people voluntarily stayed at the Foreign Books Translation Bureau to work overtime, translating foreign books or studying foreign subjects from dusk till dawn—this was one of the most common scenes at the Foreign Books Translation Bureau.

Because the Foreign Documents Investigation Office happens to be located within the defense zone that Qing Deng is in charge of tonight, Qing Deng and his men have passed by the entrance of the Foreign Documents Investigation Office countless times tonight.

Whenever they passed by the gate of the Foreign Documents Investigation Office, there were always lights flickering inside.

Seeing this, Qing Deng couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion: Don't these people at the Foreign Affairs Bureau who are working overtime need to take a break?

After glancing around the seemingly unremarkable Foreign Documents Investigation Office, Qingdeng and the others passed through its gate and turned into the next deserted street.

—Why hasn't the Extermination Group taken any action yet...?

Qingdeng turned his head left and right, looked around, and frowned slightly.

If the Extermination Group is found in Ryogoku Hirokoji or anywhere else, Usui and Atsukawa, who are currently stationed at the Hokuban-sho, will immediately dispatch messengers to convey the message "The Extermination Group has been found" to various groups scattered throughout Edo.

However, Qingdeng has yet to see the messenger who was supposed to deliver the order to him... This indicates that everything else is also calm and peaceful, and no trace of the Extermination Group has been found.

—Did the Expeditionary Force discover that we had already known their plans for tonight for the third time, so they backed down and canceled their plans for tonight...?

—Or perhaps… it's not yet time for them to begin their planned operation…?

Qingdeng's brows furrowed more and more.

For no apparent reason, he'd had this uneasy feeling ever since...

……

……

At this very moment—

Edo, Ryogoku Hirokoji Street—

The "three-times" from the Nanfan Bureau lurked in the dark alleys of the two countries' wide alleys, holding their breath and staring intently at the street outside.

In terms of hardship... the Nanban Station, which was responsible for defending the Hirokoji Road of the two countries, was probably even more arduous than the Hokuban Station, which was responsible for defending various parts of Edo.

At least the people from the Northern Garrison could still patrol and move around, while the people from the Southern Garrison could only stay hidden in the dark alleys, unable to move or make any noise.

Many people are now unable to endure this intense physical and mental torment, resulting in mental exhaustion, tired appearance, and drooping eyelids.

But at that moment—the streets of Ryogoku Hirokoji, which were otherwise empty except for the night breeze that occasionally swept through the alleys, were suddenly broken by a series of footsteps!

Startled by the sound of footsteps, the people from Nanfan were immediately alerted and looked out of the alley towards the direction from which the footsteps came—the eastern intersection of Ryogoku Hirokoji.

Twenty or thirty figures emerged furtively from the shadows at the east intersection.

They formed a disorganized queue and hurriedly rushed into the narrow path between the two countries.

After shaking their heads and glancing at the shops neatly arranged on both sides of the street, they scattered and split into more than ten "groups," rushing towards the surrounding shops!

Upon closer inspection, one can see that each "group" has one person holding a huge wooden mallet. These people raise their mallets high, posing as if they are about to smash open the tightly closed shops.

The "three-times" members of the Nanfan Police Station, who have been lurking in the dark alleys until now, are all feeling a mix of emotions.

The intelligence was correct!

The anti-foreign group really intends to rob Ryogoku Hirokoji of his money tonight!

After enduring so much hardship in the damp and dark alley, it was all worth it!

Now that the Extermination Group has revealed itself... there's no need to remain hidden any longer!

"Follow me!" One of them drew his shikigami from his waist and charged ahead onto the street of Ryogoku Hiroshima.

Immediately afterwards, the rest of the people also rushed out from their respective hiding places.

The members of the anti-barbarian group were all astonished when they saw the officials who suddenly appeared.

"Run! Run!"

"Why are the officials from the magistrate's office here?"

"Never mind that! Let's run!"

……

The group of guys who had been so aggressively trying to smash up the shop suddenly dropped their sledgehammers and other tools and tried to break through the encirclement.

But they were caught off guard by the officials' encirclement and suppression, and they were no match for the Nanfan Bureau, which had made thorough preparations.

The people from the Southern Barbarians' Office began to divide and surround the Expeditionary Barbarians' Group from different directions, and one member of the Expeditionary Barbarians' Group after another was knocked to the ground.

"Don't run!" One of the comrades pinned down a young man with many black moles on his face. "You bunch of scum from the Extermination Group, surrender now!"

"The Extermination Group...?" The young man looked at Tongxin in surprise, then exclaimed in panic, "Wait, wait a minute! We're not from the Extermination Group! We're not from the Extermination Group!"

*******

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

Can any readers guess what the Extermination Group is planning to do?

Chapter 120 "Don't underestimate the elderly!"

"You've arrested the wrong person," "I'm not XXXX," "I'm an innocent citizen"... These are the kinds of lines that the officers of the magistrate's office, who deal with criminals all year round, are tired of hearing.

"Shut up!" Tong Xin punched the young man who kept shouting "I'm not a member of the Extermination Group" with extreme brutality. "How many times do you think I've heard something like that before?"

Faced with a vastly superior number of officials from the Southern Barbarian Garrison, most members of the Expeditionary Barbarians Group had no will to fight.

They fled in panic, only to be captured one by one by the officers who had surrounded them.

The few who were more aggressive and drew their swords, ready to fight to the death, were quickly suppressed by the officers who had an absolute advantage in numbers and equipment.

In less than 10 minutes, the group of thieves who had broken into the narrow alley between the two countries and attempted to rob the shops there were all captured and none of them escaped.

Yu Li, who had temporarily returned from the Southern Barbarians, looked smugly at the thieves who were being pinned to the ground in various positions, a look of relief on his face.

He raised his gaze and looked around at the shops.

If it weren't for someone tipping them off, allowing them to obtain the relevant information in advance, these merchants on the two sides of the road might have been in trouble tonight.

Thinking about this, Yu Li couldn't help but feel a wave of fear.

"Hmph!" Yu Li turned his gaze away from the surrounding shops and let out a contemptuous laugh at a middle-aged man in front of him who was still being held down on the ground and whose body was tied up like a dumpling. "What 'Exterminate the Barbarians Group'... It's really laughable. The name sounds nice, but in the end, you are no different from those 'anti-barbarian patriots' who often cause trouble everywhere."

"Under the banner of 'expelling the barbarians,' they do nothing but despicable things that only bully their own people."

Yu Li originally thought that after hearing his sarcasm, the middle-aged man would show a resentful and angry expression, and then raise his head to "argue with him" - after all, Yu Li had seen similar scenes too many times.

As soon as you question the so-called "great cause of expelling foreigners" practiced by certain "patriots," they immediately become furious like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, shouting things like "What do you know?", "Everything we do is for this country," and "You lackeys of the government can't understand the lofty aspirations of us patriots"...

But to everyone's surprise, after hearing Yu Li's harsh sarcasm, the middle-aged man revealed an expression that Yu Li had never expected.

The middle-aged man... raised his head with a bewildered expression, casting a surprised look at Yu Li: "The Extermination Group...? Wait, wait a minute! You've mistaken us for someone else! We have absolutely nothing to do with the Extermination Group! We're from the Tianzhong Party!"

“The Tianzhong Party…?” Yu Li frowned.

Yu Li's mocking words also reached the ears of several thieves who were being pinned to the ground nearby.

These people then raised their heads and shouted in a shrill voice:

"That's right! We're not part of the Extermination of Barbarians Group!"

"We have absolutely no connection with the Extermination Group! We are loyalists of the Heavenly Loyal Party! Loyalists of the Heavenly Loyal Party!"

……

If someone claims they are not a member of the Extermination Group, Yu Li will only consider that person as making excuses and will not pay them any attention.

But so many people were using the same rhetoric, claiming that the organization they belonged to was the "Tianzhong Party," which they had never heard of before, and had nothing to do with the Extermination Group... This made Yu Li a little suspicious.

Yu Li's brows furrowed more and more, and a look of confusion and bewilderment slowly crept onto his cheeks...

……

……

Edo, somewhere—

"...Mr. Kamino."