I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Hijikata Toshizo has taken over full command of the thousand-man unit—a fact they were already aware of.

"That's fine too."

Shuten-dōji curled the corners of his mouth and slowly said:

"I want to see just how capable Hijikata Toshizo and Hachioji really are."

"Pass down the order: deploy the artillery and prepare for shelling!"

……

……

Rolling around... Rolling around... Rolling around...

The sounds of adjusting the cannon muzzle filled the air.

One by one, the menacing, dark muzzles of the cannons rose upwards, pointing diagonally to the sky and towards the distant position where a thousand men were united.

Among them were cannons from both the Special Forces and the "Slavic Legion," totaling more than a hundred—the terrifying power of which is not hard to imagine.

Shuten-dōji, who was stationed at the main camp, raised his telescope and carefully examined the position of the thousand men united as one, muttering to himself:

"Wow...this trench is quite well-constructed."

At this moment, the wet woman moved to his side and said in a deep voice:

"All cannons are in position!"

Upon hearing this, Shuten-dōji put down his binoculars, a smirk playing on his lips, and with a look of glee, issued his cold command:

"Fire! Bomb Heihachiji!"

A moment later—

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The shells soared high into the air and plummeted down!

In the blink of an eye, the position where a thousand people were united was covered by waves of flames.

Under the command of Hijikata Toshizo, the soldiers had taken refuge in the pits they had dug beforehand.

Rumble... Rumble... Rumble... Rumble... Rumble...

Terrifying tremors and horrifying sounds continuously reached into the pit, and the ground beneath our feet surged and rolled like a turbulent sea.

The soldiers hiding in the pit waited silently for the barrage of artillery fire to stop, each with their own feelings and postures.

Some people are eager to try and are itching to get started.

Some people plugged their ears, looking annoyed.

Others clutched the miniature Buddha statues in their hands, chanting "Amitabha" repeatedly.

"..."

Hijikata Toshizo sat calmly, observing a young man opposite him with an expressionless face.

The man had his eyes closed, his body curled up, his shoulders tense, clutching the musket tightly to his chest, his face pale, and his teeth grinding together.

Suddenly, the man opened his eyes, stood up abruptly, and strode out.

As if he had anticipated this, Hijikata Toshizo stood up and stepped forward to block the other's path.

"Wait, where are you going?"

He had been watching this person for a long time.

This symptom was described in detail by Hijikata Toshizo to the Shinsengumi's gunnery instructors—Asai Moriyasu, the "Dual-Skilled Man" of the Gourd House, and Shimada Kanichi, the "Thunder Slasher."

Not everyone can withstand the terrifying sound of cannons.

Hiding in a dark and cramped pit would greatly intensify this fear.

In such an environment, some people with weaker psychological resilience may break down and stubbornly develop the urge to "get out".

Even though it was still pouring rain outside, and even though people tried to persuade and stop him, he remained unmoved.

Sure enough, the man stared with cloudy eyes and said indistinctly:

"I want to get out... I need to get out... I can't stay here..."

Hijikata Toshizo patiently persuaded him:

"Calm down, these shells aren't scary, they'll be over soon. As long as we stay here, we're safe."

His words restored the other person's vision—however, it was only temporary.

In the blink of an eye, he returned to his original state, staring with his cloudy eyes again, and without saying a word reached out to push Tsuchikata Toshizo.

It's obvious that a mere militiaman is hardly capable of fulfilling the role of a ghost's deputy commander.

When talking about the "powerful swordsmen of the Shinsengumi", people always mention Aoto, Souji, Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime, and others.

Therefore, some people forget that before displaying his military talent, Hijikata Toshizo was known as a brave and skilled "thorny villain"!

Hijikata Toshizo took a step back, effortlessly dodging his opponent's hand, and then swiftly pinned him to the ground.

"I already told you to calm down."

"No! Let me out! I want to get out! Leave me alone!"

This person was spitting and flailing his limbs vigorously, just like a fish coming ashore, displaying complete madness.

Left with no other choice, Hijikata Toshizo punched him in the backhand, knocking him unconscious with a purely physical means to silence him.

This small incident reveals a larger truth... Sending these militia members, who lack practical combat experience and military skills, to face a ferocious enemy head-on was clearly too much of a stretch...

Upon realizing this, Hijikata Toshizo couldn't help but frown.

At that moment, the cannon fire outside suddenly stopped.

The moment the world returned to silence, Hijikata Toshizo immediately gave the order:

"The artillery barrage has stopped! The enemy is about to attack! Everyone out! Hold the trenches!"

The soldiers, who had long been fed up with the darkness and cramped conditions, eagerly filed out.

After being bombarded by a hail of cannon fire, the world outside the crater had changed completely.

Everywhere there were burning flames, everywhere there was flying dust, everywhere there were pits of all sizes.

Fortunately, this level of shelling was not enough to fill the trenches.

The thousand soldiers, united as one, took their positions and guarded key points in the trenches.

Looking westward, they saw a large group of musketeers forming two long, orderly columns, marching slowly toward them in perfect unison.

Without exception, all of these people had white faces—they were the “Slavic Legion” secretly formed by the Fascist Party!

Hijikata Toshisada shouted:

"Prepare to meet the enemy!"

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

Gunshots rang out one after another.

Flintlock muskets were extended forward, mounted on the trenches, and aimed directly at the approaching "Slavic Legion".

"Keep calm! Don't fire until you receive my order!"

Hijikata Toshizo stared intently at the enemy troops opposite him, carefully calculating the distance.

A chilling tension permeated every corner inside and outside the trenches.

Despite Hijikata Toshizo's earnest advice not to fire without authorization, his soldiers were not mindless robots who would obey his orders without a second thought.

Suddenly, someone, in a moment of extreme tension, accidentally pulled the trigger—

boom!

The piercing gunshot shattered the silence, triggering a chain reaction!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

In an instant, gunfire erupted! Smoke filled the air!

The soldiers were already very tense, their nerves taut.

Gunshots suddenly rang out beside them... Startled, they instinctively pulled the trigger!

The barrage swept across... but due to the distance, it failed to inflict effective damage on the enemy, with only a few people being shot and falling to the ground.

Seeing this, Hijikata Toshizo gritted his teeth:

"Damn it...! Load the ammunition now!"

Even without Hijikata Toshizo's instructions, the soldiers knew things were going badly, so they hurriedly put away their muskets and frantically reloaded them.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the enemy advanced recklessly, closing the distance in one fell swoop.

"Halt! Raise your guns!" (Russian)

The enemy troops stopped... Now it was their turn to raise their guns and fire loudly.

Thousands of guns were pointed diagonally at the trenches.

"Fire!" (Russian)

The next instant, a storm of bullets covered the trenches!

The closer proximity, coupled with considerable military skills... the combination of the two led to a bloodbath!

"Ughh ...

"Ouch! I got shot!"

"Don't move! Don't let the mud get on your wound!"

Along with the flying debris, there were also screams of agony.

The three major drinks of the year:

"Don't panic! Open your eyes and look carefully! The enemy's gunfire isn't that terrible! We have trenches for protection! Not that many people have been hit! Return fire immediately!"

Hijikata Toshizo's voice slightly dispelled the chaos.