I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Grenade!"

In an instant, grenades flew out from the back of the carriage.

Because the "rock wall" was very high, only a small portion of them successfully landed on top of the "rock wall".

Even so, it was enough to cause chaos among the enemy forces.

A series of explosions followed, and smoke and screams filled the air from the "rock wall".

As if in retaliation, the next moment, grenades began to fall from above the "rock wall".

Throwing it from above... there's absolutely no problem of "not having enough strength to throw it."

Therefore, all the grenades thrown by the surprise troops landed around the carriage.

Just then, a grenade fell at Yamanami Keisuke's feet.

He swiftly picked it up and threw it back with force—with a bang, the grenade vanished into a fleeting spark in mid-air two seconds after leaving his hand.

"Don't be afraid! These grenades won't explode so quickly! If a grenade falls near your feet, just throw it back! If you don't have time to throw it back, just lie down!"

Keisuke Yamanami shouted the warning at the top of his lungs.

However, his words were immediately drowned out by the cacophony of gunfire and explosions.

How to deal with hand grenades—this is one of the "required courses" for the new electoral group.

Logically speaking, even without Yamanami Keisuke's reminder, the team members should have been able to handle the grenades falling straight at them with ease.

Unfortunately... "peacetime" and "wartime" are completely different situations.

There are plenty of people like this who are fine in normal times but fail in times of war.

In fact, we really can't be too harsh on them.

This was the first time the Shinsengumi members had fought such a bloody battle, a direct clash of firearms.

Looking back at previous battles, they were basically one-sided crushing victories. When had we ever tried to exchange fire with the enemy at such close range, or throw grenades at them?

The constant sounds of gunfire and explosions create a psychological pressure far exceeding that of the clanging of swords.

In such an environment, it's perfectly normal to feel helpless, dizzy, or have your mind go blank, and to forget everything you've been training in. It's just human nature.

To avoid this situation, when selecting soldiers to participate in the battle, Keisuke Yamanami specifically chose veterans with practical combat experience.

Even so, some people were still stunned by the attack.

Yamanami Keisuke looked up and saw several people standing there dumbfounded and slow to react. They saw a grenade fall at their feet but neither threw it back nor lay down, resulting in them being injured by the explosion. He felt both angry and anxious.

The train carriage could stop bullets, but it couldn't stop the explosion of a grenade.

A grenade landed in one of the carriages with a loud bang. Although the carriage was not blown apart, its structure was damaged, and it kept making creaking noises, as if it would fall apart at any moment.

"Don't stop! Keep going!"

After shouting, Yamanami Keisuke leaned forward, steadied his flintlock pistol, and forcefully pulled the trigger, facing the dense gun barrels on the "rock wall" and the countless grenades flying in mid-air.

……

……

On the side of the "rock wall," in a corner—

The sounds of gunfire and explosions, rising and falling, reached Qing Deng and the others' ears even from a great distance.

The commander looked in the direction of the sound with great concern:

"...The battle has begun over there."

"Xiao Si, don't get distracted."

Qing Deng said without any sadness or joy.

"Kei-suke is fulfilling his duties. Now, it's our turn."

The commander's expression hardened, and he nodded vigorously.

As he finished speaking, Qingdeng looked up at the towering "rock wall" that was nearly 20 meters high in front of him.

A key factor in conquering this "rock wall" lies in the mobility of the "surprise troops".

Bringing too many people will make the team look bulky and slow down the process.

Therefore, Aoto selected the best swordsmen from the first and third divisions, and ordered Souji, Saito Hajime, and Niimi Nishiki to accompany him, totaling about a hundred people.

It's no exaggeration to say that almost all of the Shinsengumi's strongest swordsmen are here!

After giving the "rock wall" a cursory look, Qing Deng turned to look at the commander and the others behind him.

"The enemy's commander-in-chief is Takasugi Shinsaku, one of the 'Three Heroes of Choshu,' and his strategist is the famous 'Rare Strategist' Ōmura Masujirō."

"Given their abilities, it's impossible that they wouldn't have anticipated our 'feint attack' strategy."

"I find it hard to imagine that they won't retaliate."

"In other words, I don't think our surprise attack will go smoothly."

"So, everyone, be on your guard and be extra careful."

Having said that, Qingdeng said no more, turned back to face the "rock wall", grabbed the protruding rocks on the "rock wall" with both hands, and climbed up using both hands and feet.

The crowd followed closely behind.

The group clung tightly to the rock face like ants, moving in an orderly fashion.

Although the "rock wall" was very high, fortunately there were many protrusions to hold onto.

Even Qing Deng and others who had never learned rock climbing were able to climb successfully.

The commander and the others kept Qing Deng's instructions firmly in mind, keeping their eyes and ears open and paying close attention to everything.

At first, everything was very calm, and there was no sign of the enemy.

But just as they climbed to a height of 10 meters, in the middle of the "rock wall"... a sudden change occurred!

Qingdeng was the first to notice the anomaly.

His ears twitched slightly, and he looked up—large and small dot-like shadows rained down on them!

"Falling rocks! Take cover!"

As luck would have it, at this very moment, there were no protruding stones above Qingdeng's head.

In other words, these falling stones could hit Qingdeng squarely on the head!

At this critical moment, Qingdeng caught a glimpse of a narrow slit in the distance with the corner of his right eye.

Above this narrow crevice protrudes a large, sturdy rock, which can completely withstand falling rocks.

However... this slit is less than half an inch wide, barely enough to fit half a finger.

This doesn't look like a place to grab at all.

Nevertheless, Qing Deng's body had already taken action before his consciousness could!

He gathered strength in his waist and suddenly leaped to the right.

In that instant, as he moved to the bottom of the narrow crevice, he raised his right arm high and gripped the crevice tightly with his index, middle, and ring fingers.

Thus, his entire weight was pressed down on those three fingers!

Talents "Skillful Hands +6" and "Nine Oxen and Two Tigers +3" activated!

Although it was a bit of a struggle, and the knuckles of three fingers turned white from the excessive force, he managed to get to safety before the rain of stones fell, narrowly escaping the storm.

The soldiers that Qingdeng brought were indeed carefully selected elite troops.

Upon hearing Qingdeng's warning, they immediately scattered and hid as if by reflex.

Thanks to Qingdeng's timely warning, only two unfortunate souls perished.

One of them was struck squarely on the top of his head by a stone; blood mixed with brain matter gushed from the wound, killing him instantly.

The other person was hit on the hand, lost their balance, fell, and crashed heavily to the ground.

This wave of rockfalls is just the beginning.

One pile of stones after another fell from above the "rock wall," crashing down with a loud thud, seemingly without end.

Above the "rock wall," more than fifty members of the elite squad shouted excitedly:

"Mr. Ōmura was right! The Shinsengumi really did come from this place!"

"Smash! Smash them hard! Smash them to death! There are plenty of stones!"

"You pigs and dogs of the Shinsengumi! Die!"

Nangong Mountain may not have much else, but it has all kinds of hard rocks.

To deal with people who are climbing and whose movement is restricted, there is no need to use guns or cannons; stones alone are enough to keep them from lifting their heads.

Qingdeng further issued instructions:

"Move to the steeper areas! Don't stick your head out! Stay as close to the rock face as possible! Hide under protruding rocks!"

The commander glanced down:

"How insidious... They deliberately waited until we climbed to the middle before throwing the stones down. Falling from that height, even if we were lucky enough to survive, we would be seriously injured."

Qing Deng and Souji were at the very front of the line, so the enemy soldiers on the "rock wall" spotted them quickly.

"I see them! It's Niou and the Heavenly Sword!"

"Keep a close eye on them! These two are the only ones we need to be extra careful with!"

"Given the abilities of Renwang and Tianjian, it wouldn't be surprising if they managed to break through even under the rain of stones. We must not be careless!"

After the exact locations of Qingdeng and Souji were discovered, countless stones poured down.

With such a heavy rain of stones... let alone continuing to climb, even just surfacing would be extremely difficult.

Even someone as strong as Qingdeng would find it difficult to cope with the constant rain of rocks while rock climbing.

Moreover, he is currently under intense scrutiny and unable to move an inch.

Because they had anticipated that the surprise attack would not go smoothly and had made adequate mental preparations, neither Qingdeng nor the others were too panicked.

Souji and the others clung tightly to the rock face, hiding under protruding rocks, quietly awaiting Aoto's instructions.