I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

……

Edo, Mount Atago, the main camp of the Edo garrison—

Military intelligence reports from various sources kept pouring in and were continuously sent to Katsura Rintarou.

Katsura Rintaro was already overwhelmed with the task of processing and analyzing this military intelligence.

Despite his meticulous preparations before the war, the frequent occurrence of unexpected events threw his battle plans into disarray.

Upon hearing that Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin had personally led their guards to reinforce Akasaka Mitsuki, and that Akasaka Mitsuki had been destroyed by enemy explosives, he was so shocked that he almost fell to the ground.

There is no doubt that the enemy has positioned its main force at Akasaka-mitsu.

The Akasaka Mitsuki has been reduced to ruins, which means that the Thirty-Six Mitsuki—this crucial defensive line—has been breached.

The gates of Edo Castle are wide open; the enemy must have already stormed the castle!

After regaining his senses, Katsura Rintaro kept muttering to himself:

"Reinforcements...we must send reinforcements...!"

Despite his extreme anxiety, he had nothing to do but pace around aimlessly like an ant on a hot plate.

In order to defend Edo, he had already made the most of his already limited forces.

He had absolutely no reserves available!

With no reinforcements to send... in desperation, he even picked up his sword, preparing to personally lead more than ten guards to reinforce Edo Castle.

Just as he was racking his brains for a countermeasure with a grim expression, a messenger rushed over and stammered to Katsura Rintaro:

"Lord Sheng! Lord Sheng! Something's happened! Something's happened!"

Upon hearing this, Katsura Rintaro's expression immediately changed, and he urgently asked:

"What's wrong now?"

He subconsciously assumed it was bad news again and was mentally prepared for a major blow.

Unexpectedly, the messenger brought good news this time—and exceptionally good news at that.

"Lord Sheng! Reinforcements are coming! Reinforcements are coming from the west! I see the Cheng (诚) flag!"

Katsurin Taro stood there, frozen in place, as if petrified.

Of course, this "petrified state" is only temporary.

About three seconds later, he managed to lift his feet off the ground.

Once you take the first step, the rest is pretty straightforward.

He moved with lightning speed, quickly reaching a spot with a good view, and looked out to the west.

In the wilderness west of Edo, wisps of dust surged like waves.

This is dust kicked up by the horse's hooves.

An astonishingly large cavalry force is rushing toward Edo, toward the battlefield!

With his keen eyesight, Katsura Rintaro clearly saw the light blue clothes, the conspicuous banner with the character "诚" (sincerity), and the young samurai riding an ox and carrying a spear.

"……Ha ha."

Suddenly, Katsura Rintaro laughed.

He grinned, letting out a silly laugh, laughing and crying at the same time, with tears of emotion welling up in his eyes.

"You finally arrived, kid...!"

……

……

Edo, Edo Castle, Sannomaru—

After Shuten-dōji and the others went into battle, only Katsura Kogoro remained to take on the main responsibility.

Now, all hope of victory rests on Shuten-dōji.

Katsura Kogoro's current task is to command his troops to hold off the garrison at Sannomaru and prevent them from retreating, so as to avoid hindering Shuten-dōji and the others.

"Don't give up! Grit your teeth and hold on! Now it's all about perseverance!"

To boost morale, he drew his sword Muramasa from his waist and went to the front lines in person.

At that moment, he suddenly heard a muffled rumbling sound.

At first glance, it sounded like muffled thunder. Katsura Kogoro subconsciously looked up at the sky, and all he could see was a pale and distant sky. Although the weather was bad, it didn't look like it was going to rain.

Rumble rumble rumble...

The rumbling thunder continued, and it seemed to be getting closer.

—Could it be...?!

He suddenly realized a possibility, his face turned pale, and cold sweat began to appear on his forehead.

Driven by an instinctive desire to escape, he tried to convince himself that "it's impossible," that "they couldn't have gotten here so quickly and in such a timely manner."

With his resilient spirit, he was able to maintain his composure—but just because he could does so doesn't mean others can.

Before long, more and more people heard this strange sound.

"Hey, is that some strange noise?"

"Is that... the sound of horses' hooves?"

"What a loud commotion! It's a large cavalry force! There's no mistake! It's a large cavalry force!"

"Cavalry? How could there be cavalry?!"

"Could it be...?"

"Shut up! That's impossible!"

An atmosphere of panic was spreading... After hearing the dull sound that resembled a "cavalry charge," many people guessed the reason.

However, influenced by fear, no one dared to voice that possibility.

At this moment, someone mustered up his courage and climbed to a high place, looking west in the direction of the sound—the next moment, he let out a terrified scream.

Then, he shouted out that name that terrified countless loyalists:

"A light blue haori... the Seijin flag... the Shinsengumi! It's the Shinsengumi!!"

……

……

Edo Castle, Honmaru—

Shuten-dōji ran quickly toward the castle tower while tightening the cloth around his neck.

This strip of cloth was something he had just casually torn from his clothes.

The current battle situation doesn't allow him to leisurely stop the bleeding and treat the wound; at most, he can only tear off a strip of cloth to wrap the wound tightly.

The injury was on the neck... It just so happened to be in such a troublesome location that the bandage couldn't be tied too tightly.

If the rope is tied too tightly, he will suffocate before he can kill Tokugawa Iemochi.

As a result, fresh blood kept leaking out, and soon the cloth strips were stained dark red.

—Just one more step... just one more step...!

He raised his gaze and stared intently at the approaching castle tower.

In a little while, he will be able to kill Tokugawa Iemochi!

Once Tokugawa Iemochi dies, the "Amanuma Spear"... this great battle that swept across half of Japan will be a great success!

Although this is only one step in a long journey, after killing Tokugawa Iemochi, there are still countless battles waiting for them, and they will have to go through countless hardships to build the ideal world in their hearts. But being able to kill Tokugawa Iemochi is undoubtedly a great step forward!

Just as he was envisioning the future and encouraging himself, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he stopped in his tracks.

"..."

The next moment, he silently turned his head and looked into the distance—his back was to the west.

His gaze seemed to pierce through layers of space, seeing the massive cavalry charge galloping across the wilderness.

He pursed his lips, his eyes flashing with rapidly changing emotions.

After a moment, he bit down and muttered to himself:

"Everything is going wrong..."

……

……

Soon, the streets and towns of Edo came into view for Aoto and the others.

Aoto divided the cavalry into five squads—one of which he personally led, and the other four were commanded by Harada Sanosuke, Nakazawa Koto, Matsubara Soji, and Sagawa Kanbei, respectively, to attack Edo from different directions!

Qingdeng's mission for them was simple: kill any enemy they encountered!

Thanks to Katsura Rintaro's prior widening of the streets and alleys of Edo, they were able to flood into the streets and alleys of Edo without any hindrance.

In the blink of an eye, Qingdeng encountered the first wave of enemy soldiers.

More than ten enemy soldiers stood in the middle of the street, looking in horror at Qing Deng and his men who suddenly appeared as if they were divine soldiers descending from the sky.

Qingdeng silently steadied the long spear in his hands.

The moment they made contact, the grown spear swept out! A single strike severed two heads!

He wielded the long spear with ease, effortlessly slicing out arcs of blood.

At the same time, the carrot under his crotch was also killing enemies.

"Eyes! Eyes!"

Radish let out a low growl, lowered its head slightly, and then forcefully flicked upwards, sending the unlucky guy flying and landing on the roof of a building on the side of the street.

Qingdeng's fierce attack was just the beginning—his large cavalry force behind him was the real killing move!

Rumble rumble rumble rumble!