I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The enemy soldiers retreated... Logically speaking, this should be a good thing.

Even a temporary retreat can buy them a moment to catch their breath and adjust their condition.

However... faced with this scene, Elodie did not feel happy or relaxed.

Including the previous battle for the Eighth Prince, she has already fought two battles with the Faki coalition.

Elodie had a clear understanding of how formidable these enemies were.

Her cunning and resourcefulness made every bit of her joy tinged with an ominous premonition.

For some reason, at this moment, she suddenly recalled the scenes of the Goryeo Gate on the verge of falling.

The enemy forces also retreated...

The enemy also stopped launching attacks...

As if fate were deliberately playing a trick on her, at the very moment her heart began to beat with an uneasy rhythm—

Rolling around and around...!

Suddenly, a rapid, approaching sound of wheels came from outside the gate!

In an instant, Elodie's pupils constricted to pinpoints.

She rushed to the edge of the gate and looked out—a full twelve large handcarts were rushing toward them!

Everything was exactly as it had just been.

Each handcart was loaded with wooden barrels... Perhaps they were too lazy to hide it anymore—in fact, there was no need to hide it anymore, Elodie and the others all knew what these wooden barrels were—so the handcarts were no longer covered with straw mats.

Looking at this convoy, which was even larger than before, Elodie immediately felt a chill spread from the bottom of her heart to her limbs and then straight up to the top of her head!

The next instant, as if by conditioned reflex, she shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Quick! Stop them! Those are bombs! We can't let those bombs get near the gate!"

Upon hearing the word "bomb," the expressions of Tokugawa Iemochi, Tenshōin, Otani Seiichirō, and others immediately changed.

They immediately realized that these wooden barrels were the culprits that turned Akasaka Mikado's Goryeo Gate into ruins.

The enemy still had so many bombs... From this perspective, they really went to great lengths and put in a lot of effort to capture Edo.

Kondo Shusuke launched into a tirade:

"Damn it! How many bombs do they have?!"

Unlike before, this time, Elodie and her companions had two skilled archers.

In the blink of an eye, Tenshōin and Kubota Seine stepped forward simultaneously without saying a word, drew their bows and nocked arrows, and sniped at the enemy soldiers who were pushing the vehicles.

Their archery skills were indeed superb.

Even at a considerable distance, and even with the enemy soldiers hiding most of their bodies behind the vehicles, they still hit their targets every time!

Arrows shot out one after another through the air.

One by one, enemy soldiers fell to the ground and died.

However... the enemy forces were simply too numerous!

Each handcart was pushed by at least four enemy soldiers.

Even if Tenshōin and Kubota Seine pulled their bows so hard they sparked, it would be a drop in the ocean.

Although other soldiers picked up muskets and bows and arrows to provide support, their archery (and spearmanship) skills were far inferior to those of Tenshōin and Kubota Seine, and they were unable to accurately hit the enemy soldiers. In the end, they only served as a "momentum group".

Then, a new unexpected situation occurred.

Tenshōin fired a new arrow, felling another enemy soldier.

As the enemy soldier leaned forward, he accidentally crashed into the vehicle in front of him.

The vehicle wobbled a few times, and several wooden barrels rolled off.

When these wooden barrels fell to the ground, they immediately bounced several inches high, making a crisp "thump" sound.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense knows that a full wooden barrel wouldn't bounce that high or make such a crisp sound.

Tenshōin immediately understood what was going on, and his expression turned extremely ugly:

"Some of the handcarts were not loaded with bombs!"

Upon hearing this, a sense of astonishment and frustration immediately filled the room.

The enemy's tricks were obvious.

They deliberately brought a bunch of handcarts without bombs to confuse Elodie and the others, making the defense more difficult!

Misfortunes never come singly… Suddenly, a soldier let out a piercing scream:

"New vehicles have appeared!"

At the end of the street directly opposite the gate, 12 more large handcarts arrived!

Elodie simply couldn't believe the enemy had so many bombs.

The vast majority of these vehicles were definitely carrying only empty wooden barrels.

Only a handful of the cars actually contained bombs.

They were already severely understaffed.

In this unfavorable situation, one also has to be distracted by distinguishing which vehicles are safe and which are dangerous...

At this moment, although no one said it outright, they all had the same thought in their hearts: the crossing gate is in danger!

At this critical moment, Tokugawa Iemochi suddenly spoke up:

"Retreat! Abandon the crossing gate!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their heads and cast surprised glances at the other person.

Tokugawa Iemochi recited Takeda Shingen's famous quote rapidly without pausing:

"People are the city, people are the walls, people are the moat!"

"Where there are people, there is hope!"

"Abandon the gate! Retreat immediately!"

Abandoning Watarimon... This gate was the last gate for Akasaka Mikado.

This move is tantamount to completely abandoning Akasaka Mikado!

This would create a huge, unfillable hole in the "thirty-six attached" defense line!

However, since the General of the Expedition had given the order personally, no one dared to disobey.

The soldiers hurriedly retreated, running swiftly and efficiently down the imperial gate to safety.

Tokugawa Iemochi did not leave with the soldiers, but stayed behind to cover the rear.

He insisted that others leave first, and only after all the soldiers had withdrawn was he willing to leave.

Those who remained behind the palace gates included Elodie, Kondo Shusuke, Otani Seiichiro, and other leaders.

Tenshōin and Kubota Seine remained stationary, continuing to fire at the enemy soldiers pushing the carts, trying to slow down the advancing convoy.

For a moment, both sides' sense of time became strange.

It felt like an eternity, even though only a dozen minutes had passed.

Finally... under the watchful eyes of countless people, the handcarts arrived directly beneath the ferry gate.

At the same time, all the guards on the gate had withdrawn.

Of those who had not yet left, only Tokugawa Iemochi, Elodie, and a few others remained!

"Your Highness! Let's go!"

Ootani Seiichiro shouted, then escorted Tokugawa Iemochi back to the rear.

As the evacuation began, Tokugawa Iemochi turned to Tenshōin and shouted:

"Mother! Come with me quickly!"

Seeing that the evacuation was nearing completion, Tenshōin and Kubota Kiyone finally put away their bows and left their firing positions.

Elodie and Kondo Shusuke followed closely behind.

Just as they were hastily escalating their retreat... outside the gate, Shuten-dōji once again raised the Japanese bow in his hand.

The rocket mounted on the bow was burning fiercely.

With lightning speed, he adjusted the position of the arrowhead, aimed at the barrels of gunpowder, and drew the bow to its fullest extent.

Then, he softly recited another slogan that the Japanese often shout when setting off fireworks:

"Key~house~(ka~gi~ya~)"

In the next instant, the power accumulated between his arms was released suddenly.

Whoosh!

The rocket shot out and hit a powder keg squarely.

In an instant… in the very instant the burning arrowhead sank deep into the barrel—

Boom!!!

A mushroom-shaped cloud of fire rose into the sky!

The explosion this time was even greater than before!

The surging flames swept over most of the ferry gate in the blink of an eye!

Just as the explosion occurred, Elodie and her group had left the palace gate.

Although they stepped off the gate, they were not completely out of the blast radius.

In fact, they only needed to take a few more steps forward to reach safety.

If Tokugawa Iemochi had ordered the retreat a little earlier...

If the convoy had approached at a slightly slower speed...

If Shuten-dōji had slowed down his arrow-shooting motion even a little...