I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"But if the Party is allowed to seize power... God knows what kind of consequences that will cause."

"Therefore, after a brief discussion with the organization's senior management, we have unanimously decided to cooperate with you once again and fully support you in defeating the combined forces of Fa Zhu Changzhou."

"First, crush the wolfish ambition of the Party to eliminate the Party, and then we can talk about other things."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng's face showed a look of understanding.

After a half-amused, half-helpless laugh, he switched to a teasing tone:

"Thank you for your kindness."

"I never imagined we would be able to work together again."

"It seems that I do have a rather strange connection with your Salt Party."

"Speaking of which, your Great Salt Party's intelligence gathering capabilities are indeed impressive."

"Up until just now, I was completely in the dark and knew very little about the enemy."

"But you've even figured out the enemy's exact details."

Miss Violet smiled demurely:

"'Intelligence gathering' is the only strength that our Big Salt Party has left."

"If we lose even this skill, then we might as well disband as soon as possible to avoid making any more pointless struggles."

"Moreover, you flatter me."

"Our understanding of the enemy is far from being at the level of 'knowing every detail'."

After exchanging a few casual words, Qingdeng refocused his attention on the important matter at hand.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he hurriedly asked:

"Miss Jin, do you know through what channels the Fazhu Party purchases warships and hires mercenaries?"

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Chapter 913 The Blonde Valkyrie! [6300]

"The faction of the French must have considerable connections in Europe, given that they can acquire steam warships and hire a large number of Slavs for their own use."

Faced with Qingdeng's question, Miss Jin remained silent for a moment, then shook her head:

"We're sorry, we haven't received any relevant information yet."

"However, Aki, I agree with your point of view."

"They acquired advanced steam warships and formed a 'Slavic Legion' of over two thousand men. Without the assistance of capable people from Europe, it would have been impossible to accomplish these two things."

"Based on my personal speculation... the French Extermination Party is very likely cooperating with a European arms dealer."

"If that's the case, then everything makes sense."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng raised an eyebrow and muttered to himself:

"Arms dealers..."

For some reason, upon hearing the word "arms dealer," the image of Elodie's biological father, Mael de Orléans, came to mind.

The reason I suddenly thought of this person is because Elodie said that her father made his fortune in the arms business!

Qing Deng clearly remembered that Elodie once commented on Mael: If he had traveled all the way to Japan to win back his daughter, it was really not something Mael would do.

Thinking of this, Qingdeng subconsciously frowned, thinking to himself:

—It can't be such a coincidence..., can it...?

Just as her thoughts were wandering, Miss Violet spoke again, pulling her back to reality:

"Aki, this is all the information we, the Great Shio Party, currently have."

"If we obtain any new information in the future, I will have Shintaro Toujou convey it to you."

Qingdeng straightened up slightly and replied solemnly:

"Miss Jin, thank you so much for your generous help. You have been a great help and I will never forget it."

Miss Jin smiled gently:

"You're too kind. We're just doing what we need."

At this critical juncture, Qingdeng was naturally pleased to have a powerful ally come to his aid.

Qing Deng had no doubt about the intelligence-gathering capabilities of the Great Salt Party.

The information Miss Jin just provided is basically consistent with the information he currently has.

Earlier reports indicated that the Choshu army, which marched directly into Kanto, included a significant number of Westerners.

Judging from their appearance, these Westerners must be the "Slavic Legion" that Miss Jin just mentioned.

After pondering for a moment, Qingdeng said quietly:

"The Choshu Domain and the Hoju Party are in cahoots... what a troublesome combination."

"However... from another perspective, this may be a valuable opportunity to solve the problem once and for all."

These words instantly caught the attention of Ms. Sumire and Shintaro Toujou.

Meeting the questioning gazes of the two, Qingdeng explained calmly:

"The Special Forces are the last elite force in Changzhou."

"Once the elite troops are eliminated, Choshu will be reduced to a sick tiger that has lost its claws and teeth."

"Similarly, that 'Slavic Legion' should be... no, it must be the trump card that the Fashi Party has been holding all along!"

"No matter how many connections or abilities a party has, it is ultimately just an association."

"Even with the support of arms dealers or other forces, the money required to maintain a mercenary legion of two thousand people is an astronomical figure."

"Such a large sum of money is definitely not something that an organization can easily afford."

"I dare say that the 'Slavic Legion' was a precious force that the French Extermination Party painstakingly built up by selling everything they owned and spending countless hours and effort."

"In fact, the reason they were able to successfully launch a surprise attack on Nobi was simply because the timing of their attack was perfect; they cleverly took advantage of the window of opportunity during our westward expedition to Chang and Zhou."

"In order to conquer Choshu, we mobilized troops from the Kinai and Nobi domains, leaving the two regions extremely weak in terms of military strength, which allowed them to take advantage of the situation."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we'll only have this one chance!"

"For Choshu, this is a surefire way to revive the domain."

"For the Fazhu Party, this is a precious opportunity they have been waiting for to completely eliminate the shogunate."

"Therefore, from the moment they set foot on the Nobi coast, Choshu and the Fazhu Party had no way out."

"Either win the battle or be defeated and die!"

"In such a battle where victory is not an option and defeat is not an option, and once missed, it is unknown how long one will have to wait, the Fazhu Party has no reason not to send out all its fighting force!"

"In other words, in the upcoming battles, I am very likely to encounter important members of the Fazhu Party, such as Ōtakemaru and Shuten-dōji, or even their leader, Yamata no Orochi!"

"Therefore, this battle is not only my decisive battle with Changzhou, but also my decisive battle with the Fazhu Party!"

"With this one battle alone, we will crush Changzhou and execute the party!"

Hearing Qing Deng's bold words, Miss Jin blinked blankly, then a faint smile appeared on her face:

"To crush Changzhou in one fell swoop and to exterminate the party... you certainly have a big appetite."

"However, now that you mention it, it doesn't seem impossible."

"Let's leave aside the matter of Changzhou for now."

"If you were to successfully eliminate the 'Slavic Legion' and kill Orochi, Ōtakemaru, Shuten-dōji, and others, it would indeed wipe out the Fazhu Party completely."

"Haha, just thinking about this makes my heart beat a little faster."

At this point, she raised her head and puffed out her chest, staring intently at Qingdeng, her tone shifting to a mix of teasing and seriousness:

"In that case, Aki, I wish you a resounding victory! You must wipe out the Fazhan Party in one fell swoop!"

Qingdeng responded with a smile:

"I will do my best!"

……

……

Hachioji area——

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

The horses galloped, panting heavily, sweat splattering everywhere, and dust billowing in the air.

With one hand holding the "Sincerity" flag high and the other gripping the reins tightly, Hijikata Toshizo remained unmoved no matter how strong the headwind was.

Suddenly, without turning his head, he shouted loudly:

"Tetsunosuke, hang in there a little longer! We'll be there soon!"

Ichimura Tetsunosuke, who was half a step behind him, responded loudly:

"Mr. Hijikata, you're overthinking it! I'm perfectly fine! I could ride all the way to Matsumae Domain in one go without any problem!"

Matsumae Domain—the hometown of Nagakura Shinpachi—is located at the southernmost tip of Ezo (Hokkaido), which was the northernmost point of Japan during the Edo period.

Hijikata Toshizo glanced sideways at Ichimura Tetsunosuke behind him.

Looking at the other person's slightly trembling back and legs, he couldn't help but feel secretly amused.

However, he did not expose the other party, but silently withdrew his gaze and focused on the road ahead again.

After leaving Otsu, Hijikata Toshizo immediately—in a physical sense—headed straight to the Hachioji region.

When one horse got tired, they would switch to another, because they had a total of eight horses, so they didn't have to worry about the horses' strength.