I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Although he tried his best to act like nothing was wrong, anyone could see that the injury that stained most of his trousers red was no minor injury.

In terms of paleness, Nagakura Shinpachi was no less pale than Saito Hajime.

Perhaps not wanting his companions to worry about him, Nagakura Shinpachi changed the subject and turned to look at Souji.

"Commander, can you still hold on?"

Like Saito Hajime, Souji, who follows the "high attack, high burst" route, is not known for his physical strength.

Therefore, her complexion was also very bad – of course, her weak appearance was largely due to tuberculosis.

Souji gently shook his head:

"I am fine."

After speaking, she paused, then raised her gaze and cast a worried look at Qingdeng ahead.

"...To be honest, I think Qingdeng is the one who should be the most concerned right now."

Upon hearing this, both Nagakura and Saito wore complex expressions.

Saito Hajime nodded slightly, murmuring to himself:

"Yeah, I feel the same way..."

Nagakura Shinpachi smacked his lips:

"Mr. Tachibana's current state... is practically like he's seeking death...!"

……

……

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

The rapid breathing created an overwhelming sound barrier.

Qingdeng breathes through both his mouth and nose, extracting energy for action from oxygen.

Even though his oxygen intake was far from keeping up with his consumption, he didn't slow down his pace by even a fraction.

He doesn't give himself any rest time.

Slay, slay, and slay again!

Sprint, sprint, and sprint again!

They never stopped, nor did they rest.

This kind of reckless fighting style... Nagakura Shinpachi succinctly put it: it's like someone is intent on dying!

Even with the support of talents like "Lock Blood +7", "Primordial Yang +7", and "Iron Lung +5", it cannot withstand such consumption.

His leg muscles had been groaning in pain for a long time, and his lungs were under immense strain.

Despite the intense pain and exhaustion that gripped his entire body, Qing Deng remained as robotic as ever, his face devoid of any expression and his eyes devoid of any emotion.

In fact, it's not inappropriate to call him a robot—because he can't feel anything right now!

He felt no pain, no fatigue... even the frustration and anxiety that had been lingering in his heart vanished.

Emotions fade, memories become blurred.

All he remembered was that he was preoccupied with breaking through the enemy lines in front of him, rushing to Kanto, and becoming stronger.

The thought of becoming stronger filled every corner of his mind.

Then... in a sudden instant, he felt the world before him narrow, and he could only see the enemy in front of him.

Immediately afterwards, my hearing also started to feel strange.

Apart from his own breathing, he could no longer hear any sound from the outside world.

At this moment, Souji and the others, who had been left far behind by him, were desperately calling out to him.

The commander and others were already exhausted, but Qing Deng showed no signs of fatigue. Instead of slowing down, he went faster and faster!

As a result, the gap between the two sides is widening, and there is a clear risk of them becoming disconnected.

The commander and others raised their voices and loudly reminded Qing Deng to slow down.

Unfortunately... Qingdeng could no longer hear their voices.

Gradually, following his senses of sight and hearing, Qingdeng's consciousness entered a semi-conscious state.

In a daze, he felt as if he had become one with the world!

Despite being unable to see or hear clearly, his senses are incredibly sharp! He can perceive even the slightest movement!

This feeling... is not unfamiliar to Qingdeng.

He had been through it before.

Just a few months ago, during the Summer Campaign in Kyoto, when he personally braved arrows and stones to attack Tennozan, he had entered a similar state!

An absolutely wonderful state...

An incredibly powerful state!

Suddenly, a series of gunshots rang out in front of him—several bullets shot out from the bushes not far in front of him!

The attack happened in the blink of an eye—and so did Qingdeng's response.

His sprint continued unabated; his body, as thin as a sheet of paper, swayed lightly a few times before dodging all the bullets.

Immediately afterwards, shadows surged... Enemies rushed towards Qingdeng from different directions like a tide!

The instant the enemy group revealed itself, Qing Deng gripped the sword in his hand, his body transformed into feathers, and he soared into the air! Without hesitation, he charged into the enemy's melee formation!

The moment he jumped, the two people in front of him had their chests ripped open.

As he swept high over someone's head, the person's skull was ripped off, and a jet of blood spurted out.

Someone spotted Qingdeng's position and, before he could land, forcefully thrust out the bayonet in his hand, producing a sharp "swoosh" sound, but the tip of the blade only pierced through Qingdeng's afterimage.

The next instant, the man's head flew off and rolled to the side of another corpse—at this moment, Qing Deng was already several meters away.

It is unknown when, but Qing Deng had quietly changed to a new sword, and a wakizashi appeared in his left hand.

Qing Deng was not skilled in using the wakizashi.

He basically only had one use for this short weapon—to use it as a concealed weapon!

Before he could even warm the wakizashi in his hand, he threw it with all his might, and it struck someone squarely in the heart.

"Aa ...

"Heh...heh...heh...heh..."

"Look at the knife!"

"Die! Die! Just die now!"

"Woooo..."

From angry shouts to painful sobs.

From furious roars to hateful howls.

From slashing to stabbing to shooting.

Despite their best efforts, the members of the Special Forces were still no match for Qingdeng!

Some had their hearts pierced.

Some have completely separate upper and lower body parts.

Some had their throats cut off, leaving them to suffocate and desperately await death.

One after another, they fell to the ground... Despite such a huge sacrifice, they couldn't slow Qingdeng's pace in the slightest! It makes one wonder if their sacrifice was even meaningful!

Too easy... far too easy! Qing Deng killed them with incredible ease, as if he were playing with them in the palm of his hand!

Amidst the splattering blood, a ray of sunlight shone on Qingdeng's face.

Under the sunlight, a barely perceptible smile could be seen on his cheeks.

The right half of his face was hidden in the shadows, expressionless; the left half, however, was bathed in light, with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth revealing a joyful smile.

Her fair skin was stained with blood, yet she commanded the battlefield with ease, her eyes cold but her face smiling as she slew her enemies...

Such a appearance truly embodies... a Yaksha!

……

……

Nangong Mountain, summit, main camp of the surprise attack force—

Takasugi Shinsaku stood with his hands behind his back, staring blankly to the south.

Beside him, Masujiro Ōmura stood with a somber expression, his fists clenched tightly.

The shouts of battle drew closer... They could already faintly smell the pungent stench of blood.

"...Mr. Ōmura, please lead everyone to evacuate quickly and set up a new defensive line on the eastern slope of Nangong Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Ōmura Masujirō frowned and looked at Takasugi Shinsaku with a complicated expression.

Shinsaku Takasugi had already guessed what he wanted to say and spoke first:

"Our battle is not over yet."

"From beginning to end, we have only one mission: to buy time for Gui Jun and the others."

"As long as we can hold off the Shinsengumi... even if it's just for an hour, it's worth it."

"We will set up a new defensive line on the eastern foothills of Nangong Mountain and fight to the last man."

At this point, he drew Muramasa from his waist and took out a red pill from his pocket.

"Let's act quickly. At this moment and in this place, I'm the only one who can stop Tachibana Seiden."

"...Yes, I understand."

Ōmura Masujirō didn't say much and silently accepted the order.

"Did you all hear that?! Retreat to the eastern foothills! And act quickly!"