I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Looking around, the soldiers were all filled with fear, like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow.

Gazing upon the horrific scene of battle, Shuten-dōji murmured gravely:

"Everything is going wrong... This battle is getting harder and harder to fight."

Although they have successfully broken through the "Thirty-Six Appearances," clearing the last obstacle to attacking Edo Castle, and eliminating the major threat of "Sword Saint" Otani Seiichiro, for the Faki coalition, unless they cut off Tokugawa Iemochi's head, this battle cannot be considered a victory!

At this moment, Katsura Kogoro stepped forward and said to Shuten-dōji in a deep voice:

"Shuten-dōji, time is of the essence, quickly order the advance!"

Shuten-dōji came to his senses.

Katsura Kogoro is right, every second counts!

Because of the delay caused by Otani Seiichiro and the others, Tokugawa Iemochi had nowhere to go.

We must pursue them immediately! Kill them!

As Shuten-dōji sheathed his sword, he shouted in a loud and clear voice:

"March! Capture Edo Castle!"

Katsura Kogoro nodded slightly, then stepped back to prepare to reorganize the remaining forces of the Special Forces.

After Katsura Kogoro left, Shuten-dōji remained silent for a long time.

A moment later, he turned his head and looked at Su Nuo.

"Su Nuo, go and get some wine."

Upon hearing the word "alcohol," Su Nuo immediately realized something, and his expression changed slightly.

The expression on Umibozu's face also changed.

Shuten-dōji, with a solemn expression, continued speaking on his own:

"With this army that has been weakened by the 'Sword Saint' and has lost all morale, it's hard to say when it will be able to completely conquer Edo Castle."

"At this point, we have no choice but to adopt the 'final solution'."

Upon hearing this, Su Nuo and Umibozu both wore complex and indescribable expressions.

"……Understood."

Su Nuo took a deep breath and adopted a firm and resolute tone.

"I'll go get the wine right away!"

……

……

Edo Castle, Sannomaru—

Tenshōin and Elodie helped the injured Tokugawa Iemochi retreat quickly towards the citadel.

They planned to use the main citadel's Ōhiromaru as their headquarters to unify command of all troops within Edo Castle.

Suddenly, they heard fierce shouts of battle coming from behind them—not far away.

Edo Castle's defense system can be roughly divided into three layers: the third tier, the second tier, and the main tier.

Because there is only one road leading to the main citadel, the attacking side must successively breach the third and second citadels in order to reach the center of Edo Castle, namely the main citadel.

The remaining garrison troops who retreated from Akasaka-Mikado were all deployed in various parts of Sannomaru, forming the first line of defense for Edo Castle together with the rest of the garrison.

Upon hearing the shouts of battle not far from them, Tenshōin and Elodie both froze, their steps faltering.

The sound is so close... which means the enemy has already entered Edo Castle.

Now that the enemy has entered the city, it only proves one thing—the desperate charge by Ootani Seiichiro, Kondo Shusuke, and Kubota Kiyone has failed…

"..."

Elodie bit her lower lip so hard it almost drew blood.

She wanted to cry, but a strange "numbness" lingered in her heart, preventing her from shedding a single tear.

To try and cheer herself up, she gave a few forced laughs and said in a nonchalant tone:

"How tragic... The enemy has already breached Edo Castle after only half a day of fighting..."

She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth.

She intended to make a self-deprecating joke to ease the tension.

But her words sounded like they were demoralizing her own side and boosting the enemy's morale.

She was about to apologize, but Tenshōin spoke first:

"Yes, it's terrible... Now, the only hope for a turnaround is that Sheng Qing and his Shinsengumi can arrive in time."

"However... unless a miracle occurs, it is absolutely impossible for Sheng Qing to arrive in Edo today."

Elodie thought her self-deprecation was already quite depressing, but she didn't expect Tenshōin's self-deprecation to be even more effective.

"'Miracle'……"

Elodie chewed on the word softly.

As she muttered to herself, she subconsciously reached for the knife on her back—Vairocana lay quietly on her back.

Ever since she took on the important task of "guarding Vairocana", she has always carried Vairocana on her back.

The purpose was to be ready at any time to return the knife to Qingdeng.

Suddenly, Tensho-in turned to her and asked:

"Elodie, do you believe in miracles?"

Elodie paused for a moment, then replied without hesitation:

"I believe!"

Tenshōin smiled and curled his lips:

"Coincidentally, I believe it too."

*******

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Chapter 956 With only three men, they conquered Edo Castle! [5400]

"Do you have any last words? If so, you'd better say them now, otherwise you won't have the chance later."

As he spoke, Shuten-dōji filled the three wine cups in front of him with wine.

Umibozu shook his head:

"I have nothing to say."

Su Nuo said softly:

"Me too."

Suddenly, Katsura Kogoro's voice came from the side:

"Shuten-dōji, what are you doing?"

Shuten-dōji turned his head and looked toward Katsura Kogoro, who was walking toward him, following the sound.

Katsura Kogoro glanced at the three of them, then looked at the three wine cups filled with sake in front of them.

Drinking on the battlefield... There's only one explanation Katsura Kogoro can think of.

He hesitated for a moment, a puzzled expression on his face:

"Are you... having a farewell drink?"

Shuten-dōji shrugged:

"That's right, exactly."

Katsura Kogoro pressed on, asking:

Are you planning to go into battle?

"Yes and no. What we're about to do is not an ordinary 'battle'."

At this point, Shuten-dōji turned his head to look at the majestic Edo Castle not far away.

"Gui Jun, you must have noticed it by now, right?"

"The 'Sword Saint's' relentless attacks have cost us a lot of manpower, and have also significantly impacted our morale."

"With this greatly weakened force, even if we eventually succeed in capturing Edo Castle, who knows when that will take?"

"Both our side and the Mu side are now exhausted."

"At this point in the battle, it all comes down to which side has more perseverance."

"We must speed things up; we can't afford to waste even a second."

"Once the time frame is extended, there's no telling how many variables will be added."

"In that case, why not take advantage of the fact that most of the garrison of Edo Castle is engaged in a fierce battle with our troops at the Third Maru, and send out a small but elite mobile force to directly breach the Third Maru and take through the Second Maru and the main Maru in one fell swoop!"

Upon hearing this, Katsura Kogoro belatedly revealed a look of sudden realization.

"Shuten-dōji, you...!"

His gaze swept across the faces of Shuten-dōji, Sukuna, and Umibōzu in turn.

Shuten-dōji smiled slightly:

"With the combined strength of the three of us, we will make history by 'conquering Edo Castle'!"

"This is our 'final plan'."

"When the battle is at a stalemate and our troops are no longer able to advance, we rely on our individual martial prowess to break the deadlock."