I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Please, I'm counting on you...!"

……

……

Edo Castle, Ninomaru—

"Aa ...

Umibozu shouted, drew his sword from his waist, and swung it from left to right, severing the bodies of four soldiers in a single strike! The four men were reduced to eight pieces!

At the same time, Su Nuo stepped forward, his twin swords weaving a large silver net in mid-air, enveloping every soldier in front of him.

Everyone who gets close to this net suffers broken limbs and is utterly dead.

Shuten-dōji rebuked him without turning his head:

"Sukuna! Umibozu! Conserve your energy! Don't use such energy-consuming moves!"

He said he would set an example by doing his own words.

He seemed to transform into three or five people, adapting to the situation, responding to each move, and skillfully changing his sword techniques.

His knife strikes the enemy's body with minimal force and along the shortest path.

Moreover, he does not seek to completely kill his opponents.

If he can temporarily incapacitate his opponent, he will "quit while he's ahead" and move on to attack the next opponent.

If you can "injure" someone, you won't waste any effort trying to "kill" them.

That control of force... is truly breathtaking.

If someone skilled in swordsmanship were here, they would definitely be able to see that Shuten-dōji's swordsmanship is full of a rough and unrestrained aura.

He mostly didn't join any formal schools of swordsmanship, relying entirely on his own efforts to figure out and practice swordsmanship, gradually mastering a style unique to him.

Such swordsmanship, to put it nicely, is "my own style," but to put it bluntly, it's "unorthodox."

However, although he is not formally trained, his basic skills are very solid.

Take the most basic "downward chop" as an example.

The force of his downward strike was in no way inferior to that of schools of thought like Shinto Munen-ryu and Shigen-ryu, which pursue "miracles through brute force"!

It is clear that his "Su Zhen" skill is absolutely extraordinary!

[Note: Suzhen: A practice method involving repeatedly swinging a sword at an imaginary opponent. Similar to bare-handed punching drills in boxing training.]

With his superb mastery of power and profound swordsmanship, his attack speed far surpasses that of Sukuna and Shuten-dōji!

As a result, the two had to repeatedly remind Shuten-dōji to slow down his attack and wait for them.

While unleashing his "physical offensive," Shuten-dōji also launched a "psychological offensive."

Taking advantage of a lull in the swordplay, he shouted loudly:

"Get out of my way! I have no interest in your lives, I only want Tokugawa Iemochi's head! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

His words really had a significant effect.

Many of the scoundrels were so intimidated by their bravery that they dropped their weapons, raised their hands, and knelt down tremblingly.

Shuten-dōji kept his promise to let those who surrendered go, not even glancing at them, and quickly ran past them.

They had to do everything they could to get to Tokugawa Iemochi's side as quickly as possible.

Therefore, they try to avoid any battles that can be avoided.

Despite having superior numbers and a favorable geographical location, the defenders of Edo Castle were still no match for the swift offensive of the "Three Demons".

In just a short while, they advanced deep into the Ninomaru, killing anyone who stood in their way.

Of course, it wouldn't be accurate to say that their advance was smooth sailing.

Although there were many cowards among the defenders, there were also many brave men who fought bravely and relentlessly.

Suddenly, a soldier rushed out from the side, brandishing his sword and lunging at Shuten-dōji.

"Give me your life!"

Shuten-dōji caught the man's location and behavior out of the corner of his eye.

Unfortunately, the knife in his hand was now stabbing into the body of another soldier, and there was no time to pull it back.

Shuten-dōji was well-prepared for this dangerous situation—his great armor was not just for show.

He slightly turned his body, using his left shoulder armor to block the slash, and then retaliated with a backhand strike, sending his opponent to the underworld.

Shuten-dōji was able to escape danger time and again thanks to his extraordinary skills.

On the other hand, the two people behind him didn't have that ability.

"Well……!"

Suddenly, Su Nuo cried out in pain.

Shuten-dōji, not having time to turn around to look, could only ask loudly:

"Su Nuo, are you alright?"

"I'm fine... I just got a scratch on my left leg from someone, it's nothing serious."

Shuten-dōji said in a deep voice:

"Be careful! We are still in the Ninomaru, and we haven't even broken through the gates of the Honmaru yet. It's not time for us to give up!"

Su Nu grinned:

"I know this without you telling me."

"Since you know that, then put in more effort!"

The three men roused themselves and, in a frenzied manner, hacked down every enemy soldier that appeared before them.

Only those who kneel down and beg for surrender in time are lucky enough to save their lives.

They tore through layers of defenses and broke through one position after another.

Although they had no equal, their progress was inevitably delayed.

Before they knew it, they had climbed a steep slope.

Perhaps the garrison behind them was too late to come forward to reinforce them, and there were no enemy soldiers around them for the time being, so they could catch their breath.

However, before they could relax—

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

Gunshots rang out one after another, dominating their eardrums.

The gunshots didn't come from in front of or behind them, but from their sides!

Gun barrels protruded from the firing ports on the side, spitting out blinding tongues of fire.

This is a classic structure of Japanese castles: rows of firing ports are carved into the sides of roads or the upper part of slopes, allowing the defenders to hide behind these ports and shoot enemy soldiers on the road with impunity, while the enemy soldiers have no way to deal with these archers.

Throughout Edo Castle, there were many similar insidious designs; one careless move could lead to disaster.

Shuten-dōji reacted extremely quickly, ducking his body at the exact moment the gun fired, bullets flying past him one after another.

As I said before: he can dodge the same attack, but his two companions behind him may not be able to.

"Ugh...!"

This time, it was Umibozu who let out a scream.

"Umibozu, you've been shot?"

"It's nothing... the bullet didn't penetrate my body, it just grazed my chest..."

"Run! Run! Once we get across this road, these musketeers won't be able to touch us!"

Even someone as powerful as Shuten-dōji couldn't deal with these musketeers hiding behind firing ports.

He couldn't very well just chop down the entire stone wall.

Under Shuten-dōji's personal guidance, they channeled all their strength into their legs, maximizing their running speed.

Perhaps these musketeers were too incompetent, or perhaps it was simply luck, but they crossed the road and made it through the musket array unscathed.

Shuten-dōji looked around—he had not yet spotted any of the guards.

So he immediately said:

"Sukuna, Umibozu, take this opportunity to drink some water."

As he spoke, he took off the water bottle from his waist, unscrewed the cap, and tilted his head back to gulp it down.

Sukuna and Umibozu followed closely behind, each taking out their water bottles to drink water and replenish their energy.

The cool water flowed through their mouths, moistening their dry throats... They immediately felt refreshed, and even their strength was restored somewhat.

Even while they were drinking water to regain their strength, they did not stop and stubbornly continued their march toward the citadel.

After drinking his fill in one go, Shuten-dōji casually tossed aside the empty water jug, turned his head, and looked at Sukuna and Umibōzu behind him.

Are your medications still effective?

The medicinal effects he was referring to were naturally those of "Jue Zhan Dian".

To fight against the "Sword Saint" Seiichiro Otani, Sukuna and Umibozu both took the "Decisive Battle Elixir".

The duration of the drug's effect depends entirely on individual constitution; there is no fixed time.

Su Nuo twitched the corner of his mouth:

"My medication is still working, so I can hold on for a little longer."

Umibozu picked up the conversation:

"Me too."

Looking at his two companions behind him, Shuten-dōji gradually revealed a complex expression.

Anyone with eyes could see that they had reached their physical limits.

His face was terribly pale, his lips were chapped, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.