I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As he spoke, he slowly stood up.

As he stood up, he slowly and deliberately drew his katana from his waist.

"After I took up the high position of General of the Expedition, I secretly vowed: I will never let the title of General of the Expedition be disgraced!"

"I will fight to the very last moment."

"Bring it on!"

Upon seeing this, Shuten-dōji's lips curled slightly, and his expression became solemn.

"In that case, I'd like to learn from you!"

Bang!

The moment he finished speaking, he kicked off with his hind legs and leaped forward, directly pouncing on Tokugawa Iemochi!

He did not enter the state of "selflessness".

On the one hand, he felt it was unnecessary.

On the other hand, he wanted to conserve his energy and save it to fight the Shinsengumi!

He knew he could not escape death.

Since death is inevitable either way, we might as well weaken the Shinsengumi's fighting strength as much as possible before we die!

Their battle to eliminate the party is not yet over.

After killing Tokugawa Iemochi, their battle to eliminate the party had only just begun!

Therefore, as one of the three major cadres of the Law Extermination Party, he has an obligation to do his best to share the burden for Lord Orochi and for the living while he still has breath in his body.

In any case, weakening the new electoral group as much as possible is always a good idea.

Although he hadn't reached the state of "selflessness," his blade was still not easy to block.

Its blade moved with lightning speed, leaving only a trail of afterimages in mid-air.

In a split second, the knife had already landed on Tokugawa Iemochi's head.

In the blink of an eye, all three weapons were swung at once, positioned diagonally above Tokugawa Iemochi's head.

clang!

A katana, a tachi, and a naginata—the three weapons crossed each other, weaving a rough net that blocked Shuten-dōji's slash!

With the combined strength of the three, they managed to block Shuten-dōji's slash!

Seeing his attack blocked, Shuten-dōji raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise crossing his face.

Although it was a difficult task, Shuten-dōji's sword was indeed unable to advance an inch.

The three gritted their teeth and exerted force together—with a clang—they successfully deflected Shuten-dōji's sword.

In the next instant, in order to distract the opponent, the three of them stepped forward together and unleashed their full offensive power.

All three were martial artists who had practiced martial arts. Their skill level might not have been particularly high, but it was still far superior to that of ordinary people.

When they attacked together, the sheer scale of the attack was truly impressive.

Elodie unleashed her full swordsmanship.

Upward slash, downward chop, horizontal slash, vertical slash... one move after another.

Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin, standing beside him, did the same, swinging their weapons with no restraint.

Unfortunately... the combined attack of the three couldn't even touch a corner of Shuten-dōji's clothes.

He nimbly shifted his footing, dodging left and right, thus neutralizing all three attacks.

"Haaah!"

With a sharp cry, Elodie aimed at Shuten-dōji's crown, raised her sword overhead, and cleaved down with force.

Shuten-dōji merely glanced sideways, aimed at Elodie's sword path, and then held his sword diagonally overhead, blocking Elodie's slash perfectly.

Separated by the two swords held together, Shuten-dōji carefully examined Elodie's face.

"Blonde hair, blue eyes... You're Alice de Orléans, right?"

Although he used the form of an interrogative sentence, his tone was that of an affirmative sentence.

Upon hearing this, Elodie's face darkened, and she ignored him.

Shuten-dōji continued speaking to himself:

"I noticed you just now."

"You actually found out here... This really puts me in a difficult position."

"This is really difficult to handle."

"While killing Tokugawa Iemochi, we also need to be mindful of capturing you alive."

Not only did they know her real name, but they also said "capture her alive"... Upon hearing this word, Elodie seemed to realize something, first paused, and then her expression became extremely ugly.

In that instant, she had countless questions she wanted to ask Shuten-dōji.

However, she pursed her lips, swallowed all the words that were about to come out, and asked nothing—the tense situation at the moment did not allow her to make any distracting moves!

*******

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Chapter 963 The Black Blade is Drawn! Qing Deng vs. Shuten-dōji [6200 words]

Shuten-dōji had just boasted that he could take Tokugawa Iemochi's life in just three seconds.

In retrospect, his plan has undoubtedly failed.

The combined attack of the three was far more troublesome than he had anticipated.

Looking at the man and two women in front of him who were not so easy to deal with, he slightly straightened his face and became serious.

In the next instant, the knife in his hand drew a breathtaking arc in mid-air, sweeping diagonally towards Tokugawa Iemochi's skull.

Upon seeing this, Tokugawa Iemochi's pupils contracted slightly, and he instinctively raised his sword to parry.

clang!

Two steel knives clashed in mid-air.

Although he managed to block it, the immense force transmitted back along the blade made Tokugawa Iemochi lose his balance.

Clutching the knife that had been thrown back, he staggered back several steps before barely managing to regain his footing.

Shuten-dōji glided forward, preparing to press his advantage—Tokugawa Iemochi had not yet regrouped, and if he were to get close at this moment, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Fortunately, at this critical moment, Elodie and Tenshōin stepped forward in time to stop them.

The two used their relentless and sharp attacks to force Shuten-dōji to retreat, finally turning the tide of the battle.

Before they could catch their breath, Shuten-dōji regrouped, assumed a fighting stance, and charged forward once more.

As it turns out, the gap in strength between the two sides was simply too great.

Shuten-dōji used just a little of his true skill to overwhelm the three of them.

If this continues, they'll be wiped out in less than 10 rounds...

Seeing the increasingly unsustainable battle and the formidable enemy before her, Elodie gritted her teeth—for some reason, in that instant, images flashed before her eyes.

The fierce battle of the Eighth Prince's Siege...

The rubble and broken tiles of Akasaka Mikado...

Kondo Shusuke, who was bringing up the rear...

Chiba Eijiro, who rescued her, Hijikata Toshizo, and Shimada Kai from the "Rakubusha-garrison," is now possibly dead...

It's him...

This is the guy right in front of me!

He killed countless comrades-in-arms, either directly or indirectly!

At this thought, intense anger and hatred welled up on Elodie's face.

In an instant, these countless thoughts merged into a single idea: I must do something to avenge the dead!

However... she had already given it her all.

Ignoring the fatigue in her arm muscles, she swung the knife wildly.

But the other party is like an eel; the harder you try to grab it, the more likely it is to slip away from your grasp.

She had exhausted all her knowledge and used every move she knew, but she was still helpless and unable to harm her opponent in the slightest.

Without a doubt, if things continue like this, they will only suffer a crushing defeat.

The more critical the moment, the more important it is to think calmly—she suddenly remembered Qingdeng's teachings, so she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

After she calmed down a bit, she asked herself:

—What are some ways to catch an agile enemy?

The next moment, as if struck by inspiration, she immediately thought of a method... a very bold and radical method!

She made up her mind almost without hesitation—to use this method to turn the tide of the battle!

Just then, Shuten-dōji's slash came again.

He steadied himself and launched an attack with the Blue Eyes stance, thrusting towards where Elodie was standing.

call out!

The blade sliced ​​through the air with a sharp "whoosh" sound.

Anyone who has studied swordsmanship can see that this move is not a killing move; it lacks power and speed, and is merely an attempt to force Elodie to retreat.

Given Elodie's skills, dodging this attack wouldn't be difficult.

However, something unexpected happened—Elodie not only didn't dodge, but instead stepped forward! She used her own body to take the blow from Shuten-dōji!