I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

While Hijikata Toshizo's physical abilities cannot be compared to Aoto's, they are still far superior to those of ordinary people.

In his eyes, this little bit of hard work was nothing to worry about.

In contrast, Ichimura Tetsunosuke is not known for his physical strength or fighting skills, so he was not as adept at handling the situation.

However, he truly deserves to be the good boy whom Hijikata Toshizo spotted at a glance and promoted to his junior position.

Even though it was tough and tiring, he never complained and persevered through it all.

After three days and three nights of frantic running, Hijikata Toshizo felt that the surrounding scenery was becoming more and more familiar.

Hachioji is adjacent to Tama.

To put it bluntly, these two places are basically one entity!

As a farmer's son from Tama, Hijikata Toshizo had been to Hachioji many times since he was a child, and this place was basically his second hometown.

Therefore, looking at the increasingly familiar scenery around him, he was certain in his heart: we are almost at Hachioji!

The master and servant trekked for quite a distance, one after the other, until they entered an unnamed forest... Suddenly, something strange happened!

Da, da, da, da, da, da!

Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps sounded ahead of them.

A group of militiamen armed with muskets—about a dozen or so—emerged from the bushes and stood on the main road, instantly blocking the two men's path.

This group of militiamen was not running around or wandering aimlessly.

After taking over the road, they quickly formed a line, standing in two rows. The first row squatted down while the second row stood up.

Immediately afterwards, they all raised their muskets, the dark muzzles pointing directly at Hijikata Toshizo and Ichimura Tetsunosuke!

Seeing this, Hijikata Toshizo quickly tightened the reins and stopped his horse, and Ichimura Tetsunosuke followed suit.

At the very moment the master and servant reined in their horses, one of the militiamen shouted a question:

Who are you people?!

Faced with this sudden change and the terrifying gun barrel so close at hand, Hijikata Toshizo remained calm and fearless.

He calmly raised the banner bearing the character "诚" (sincerity) and responded loudly:

"I am Hijikata Toshizo, the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi!"

"By order of General Tachibana, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, I have come to assist the thousand men of Hachioji in uniting as one!"

"May I ask if you are all soldiers of one heart and mind?"

Although he used the question form, his tone was affirmative.

In fact, Hijikata Toshizo saw through their true identities at a glance as soon as the militiamen showed up.

Upon hearing that the visitor was the infamous "Demon Vice-Commander," a considerable commotion immediately broke out among the militia.

They looked at each other, their eyes meeting, and they all saw surprise and delight on each other's faces.

At this moment, someone exclaimed:

"Huh? Are you Hijikata?"

Hijikata Toshizo looked in the direction of the voice, staring intently at the other person's face. After a moment of thought, a look of sudden realization dawned on him:

"Are you Niu Sanlang?"

"That's right! It's me! I didn't expect you to still remember me!"

"Of course I remember! After all, we're friends from the same 'miscellaneous dormitory'!"

Miscellaneous fish quarters – one of Hijikata Toshizo's favorite activities before.

Simply put, this is an activity widely practiced in rural Japan, where the entire village, young and old, crowds into the same room and works up a good sweat.

The young man, whom Hijikata Toshizo called "Gyuzaburo," put down his musket and called to his companions to quickly lower their guard.

"Quick! Put down your muskets! Don't hurt your own men! The enemy is indeed Hijikata Toshizo, the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi!"

Seeing the huge "Sincerity" flag in Hijikata Toshizo's hand, and having been personally verified by Ushisaburo, the militiamen had no doubts, breathed a sigh of relief, put down their muskets, and lifted their guard.

Thus, the slightly tense atmosphere completely dissipated.

Ushiro rushed over to Hijikata Toshizo with a mournful face, taking three steps at a time:

"Toshizo... Ah, no, Vice Commander! We've been waiting for you all this time! We've been waiting for General Tachibana's reinforcements!"

Hijikata Toshizo calmly said:

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Who is currently in charge of commanding the Thousand People United? Take me to him immediately!"

With the war raging, Hijikata Toshizo had no time for casual conversation with old friends and went straight to the point.

Although Niu Sanlang was an illiterate peasant, he still knew what he should and shouldn't do.

He nodded vigorously, and then, at Hijikata Toshizo's instruction, mounted his horse, sat behind him, and led the way.

The other militiamen remained in the area to continue guarding it.

The horses, which had just stopped, galloped off again.

"Vice Commander! After we leave this forest, run a short distance and you'll find our main force of a thousand men!"

He paused here, then adopted a meaningful tone:

"Vice Commander, you might not believe it!"

"The person currently in charge of commanding our thousand people is neither an elder from the village nor a high-ranking official sent by the shogunate."

"It's that blonde girl who came to check the accounts a while ago!"

Upon hearing this, Hijikata Toshizo was stunned.

"Goldilocks?"

He tilted his head slightly and asked a question, as if to confirm whether he had misheard.

Niu Sanlang nodded vigorously:

"That's right! It's her!"

"This girl is really amazing! No wonder she's General Tachibana's apprentice!"

"Thanks to her, we were able to stabilize morale!"

……

……

A few days ago——

Hachioji, a private house—

Click, click, click, click, click...

The monotonous sound of turning the abacus beads dominated the entire room.

Elodie bent over her desk, working intently. On the desk were the account books of the Thousand People United over the years. She manipulated the abacus with one hand and wrote and scribbled with a brush in the other.

After working continuously for an unknown period of time, she gradually felt tired and her concentration became noticeably weak.

Therefore, she silently put down her calligraphy brush, then stretched vigorously, and immediately the crisp "crack" sound of her bones stretching rang out.

As she relaxed her body, she turned her head to look at the sky outside the window—the bright sunlight spread across the earth like silk.

—Since we're taking a break anyway, let's go for a walk outside.

And so, she slowly rose, and with great interest, took light steps toward the entrance.

As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw a tall and imposing figure—Shimada Kai, who had been standing outside the door, straightened up and respectfully announced in a loud voice:

"Director, have you finished your work?"

Elodie shook her head with a wry smile:

"Not yet. How can the accounts accumulated over the years by the unity of a thousand people be checked so quickly?"

"It will take at least another 7 days to complete the task."

"I was a little tired, so I came out for a walk to relax."

Shimada Kai nodded:

"I see. Then, Chief, please allow me to accompany you!"

Elodie smiled helplessly:

"Well, this is your job after all. Let's go."

She was about to take a step when she spoke.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned her head and looked at Shimada Kai's left arm:

"By the way, how's your arm?"

Shimada Kai chuckled and stretched out his left arm in front of Elodie.

"It's alright now!"

Seeing that the other party didn't seem to be putting on a brave face, Elodie smiled with relief:

"That's good! I'm so sorry to have put you in such a boring task. With your abilities, you should be making a name for yourself on the Long March battlefield."

Upon hearing Elodie's words, Shimada Kai hurriedly said:

"Please don't say that! The position of 'Chief of the Protection Division' is such an important task! I am extremely honored to be able to take full charge of this task!"

The two talked as they walked toward the fields not far away.

Judging from the actual results, Shimada Kai is indeed an excellent bodyguard. He did not disappoint Qing Deng's expectations and carried out the duty of "protecting Elodie" to the extreme.

While Elodie was working in the room, he waited outside the door the whole time, strictly prohibiting any unauthorized personnel from entering.

He always stayed by Elodie's side whenever she went for a walk or went somewhere else.

No matter when or where, his left hand is always pressed against the scabbard of the sword at his waist, while his right hand is slightly raised—any expert would know at a glance that this man is always in a "ready-to-fight" state! If things go wrong, he will immediately draw his sword to fight!

Such a sharp-tongued person would be someone anyone with a modicum of sense would know better than to approach Elodie and cause her trouble.

In fact, Elodie did not suffer any unfair treatment after arriving at Hachi-oji.