I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Given your current condition, if you take another 'Final Battle Pill,' you'll surely die!"

Shinsaku Takasugi smiled calmly:

"Among our troops, I am the only one who has the potential to hold off Tachibana Seito."

"Therefore, I absolutely have to go!"

"I am a patient suffering from hemoptysis."

"Since we're going to die anyway, we might as well die in a more meaningful and valuable place."

"When I was stationed at Sekigahara, I was already prepared to be buried in a foreign land and die in battle at Sekigahara."

"Let me have my wish!"

He paused here, then adopted a serious and solemn tone:

"Omura-kun, after this battle, you should go and serve Katsura Kogoro wholeheartedly!"

"Although I am somewhat unwilling, I have to admit that Gui Jun's talent far surpasses mine."

"He is well-versed in the 'art of communication' and the 'art of compromise'."

"He is far more capable than I am in governing a country."

Masujiro Ōmura listened quietly and nodded gently:

"...Yes, I understand."

Takasugi Shinsaku turned his head to look at Ōmura Masujirō, their eyes met, and he smiled, revealing his teeth.

"Omura-kun, although we haven't spent much time together, you've really had a tough time these past few days."

Omura Masujiro said slowly:

"Likewise. Mr. Takasugi, I enjoyed the time I spent assisting you."

After a brief farewell, Takasugi Shinsaku said no more, turned his gaze away, gripped the Muramasa in his hand tightly, and strode forward.

Suddenly, Masujiro Ōmura called out to him from behind:

"Mr. Takasugi!"

Takasugi Shinsaku stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him.

"May you have great success in your military endeavors."

He said this, word by word.

Shinsaku Takasugi responded with a calm smile and gave him a fist bump.

Under Masujiro Omura's unwavering gaze, Shinsaku Takasugi withdrew his eyes and clenched his fists, continuing on his way, disappearing into the snowstorm in the blink of an eye.

……

……

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Thief! Die!"

"Those who deserve to die should die!"

"Don't stop! We must decide the winner today, no matter what!"

……

Similar shouts of battle were heard incessantly.

A bloody battle... a truly bloody battle!

For both sides, today's battle is a decisive one that cannot be retreated from or lost!

For this reason, the soldiers of the Shinsengumi and Kiheitai unleashed astonishing power! Fearless and charging forward!

Qingdeng, as always, took the lead.

Holding his familiar treasured sword, he was able to unleash his full potential!

Where the blade flashes, none who stand in its way are ever defeated!

Just then, Qingdeng's gaze suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure.

Snap, snap, snap, snap...

Shinsaku Takasugi appeared before him, his feet sinking into the snow.

*******

*******

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Chapter 939: Kill Takasugi Shinsaku! 【4600】

"Ju Qingdeng, you look much more normal today than yesterday."

"Yesterday you were like a bloodthirsty, hungry beast, making me wonder if this was really the Tachibana Aoto I knew?"

Faced with Takasugi Shinsaku's mockery, Aoto retorted without backing down:

"Takasugi Shinsaku, you look much weaker today than yesterday."

"You're covered in wounds, yet you still insist on going to the front lines. It must have been tough for you."

Takasugi Shinsaku smiled calmly:

"Some battles are unavoidable—I'm sure you understand that feeling."

After saying that, he took out the red pills he had prepared earlier.

Seeing this, Qing Deng said calmly:

"It seems you've already resigned yourself to certain death."

Last night, Keiji Kageyama, who had been captured by the Shinsengumi, clearly told Seito and the others: "Decisive Battle Lake" will cause great harm to the human body! If taken continuously in a short period of time, it may cause sudden death!

Based on his opponent's performance yesterday, Aoto was certain that Takasugi Shinsaku had taken "Decisive Battle Elixir" yesterday, which gave him the ability to fight him.

"Oh? Judging from your tone, you seem to already know what this thing in my hand is."

Although Shinsaku Takasugi wore a surprised expression, his tone showed no surprise whatsoever.

As Sima Qian said, "Death is inevitable for everyone; it may be as weighty as Mount Tai or as light as a feather."

"We are warriors who are born with swords and die for swords; death is always with us."

"Since we're all going to die sooner or later anyway, we might as well die more spectacularly and meaningfully."

At this point, Shinsaku Takasugi suddenly lowered his head and bent over, raising his left hand to cover his mouth and nose.

"Cough! Cough cough cough! Cough cough cough cough cough!!"

Accompanied by violent coughing, drops of bright red blood trickled down between his fingers.

Qing Deng has a wealth of experience in dealing with injuries.

He immediately realized that the coughing up of blood was not caused by internal injury.

Strangely enough, despite being in the very center of the battlefield, with the enemy's commander-in-chief right in front of him, Qing Deng felt no tension whatsoever. Instead, he asked:

"Are you seriously ill?"

Shinsaku Takasugi wiped the blood from his mouth and chuckled softly.

"Heh...you figured it out."

"It's 'blood cough.' A red, incurable disease."

"Only when a person is nearing death do they truly understand what they want—I am ashamed to admit that I only realized this truth after I was diagnosed with 'blood cough'."

"God has been kind to me."

"Not only did they set up such a magnificent battlefield for me."

As he spoke, he kicked the snow at his feet.

"And they've even prepared the best opponent for me!"

He raised his eyes and cast a fiery gaze at Qingdeng.

"At this moment, my heart is filled with gratitude!"

The moment he finished speaking, he unhesitatingly stuffed the "Decisive Battle of Dian" into his mouth.

Seeing the astonishing aura emanating from Takasugi Shinsaku, Aoto said no more.

He gripped the blade of the Ghost-Slaying Blade tightly with his left forearm, wiped away the remaining bloodstains, and then tilted his chin to the right.

Shinsaku Takasugi nodded knowingly.

Immediately afterwards, as if they had agreed beforehand, they both moved towards an open space not far away.

After being blanketed in heavy snow, this open space was now covered in a blinding white.

As they shifted positions, they remained facing each other and staring intently at one another.

The two people's feet left two long tracks on the white snow.

A short while later, after arriving at the center of the open space, they stopped in their tracks and steadied themselves.

Qingdeng spread his legs apart, raised the tip of his sword that could subdue ghosts and gods, and adopted the posture of Caixia Duan.

"Natural Flow of Mind"

"Orange Green Dew!"

Takasugi Shinsaku lifted Muramasa high, assuming the eight-pair stance.

"Shinto Wu Nian Ryu"

"Takasugi Shinsaku!"

The moment after they shouted out their names, two handfuls of snow splashed out—they pushed off the ground and charged at each other like cannonballs!