I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

It's easy to imagine that if one were to touch its blade, it would surely shatter bones and break limbs!

If it were an ordinary martial artist, they would be helpless against such a vicious move and would only be able to wait for death.

But for Qingdeng, this level of strike was still far from enough!

But Qing Deng calmly tilted his body, turning what could have been a blow that shattered a skull into a useless move that merely severed a few strands of hair.

His "dodge" was to prepare for the "counterattack" that followed.

In an instant, a flash of white light appeared, and Vairocana's blade sprang up from below, biting towards the opponent's waist.

The opponent is not just a reckless attacker; his reaction speed and dodging skills are equally impressive.

He tucked in his abdomen and stepped back, his movements fluid and graceful, managing to escape unscathed from Vairocana's effective slashing range.

Vairocana's knife tip was a little too far away, only managing to cut through the clothes and scrape a layer of skin.

Although he failed to kill his opponent, Qing Deng did not leave empty-handed—he had roughly assessed the opponent's strength.

He secretly estimated: Six more... no, five more rounds! And he could kill his opponent!

Five rounds—this isn't a long fight; it might be over in less than 10 seconds.

However, in the current environment of being surrounded by enemies, it is simply not permissible for Qingdeng to deal with a particular enemy in a leisurely manner.

At this moment, the guy who had just ambushed Qingdeng but was repelled by Qingdeng's powerful force, along with several other enemies, rushed up and joined forces to besiege Qingdeng.

A group of highly skilled samurai had gathered around Suzuki Toranosuke.

Therefore, as Aoto gradually approaches Suzuki Toranosuke, the enemies he is now facing are all formidable opponents!

Enemies were attacking Qing Deng from eight directions around him: front, left front, right front, left, right, left rear, right rear, and rear. Each attack was not to be underestimated!

Left with no other choice, Qingdeng had to halt his advance and focus all his efforts on dealing with the formidable enemy before him.

If it were a one-on-one fight, none of these people would be a match for Qingdeng.

Even the strongest among them couldn't last more than ten rounds against Qing Deng.

However, their swarming in did indeed have a good effect.

While they might not be able to defeat Qingdeng, they could at least keep him occupied and unable to move.

For Qingdeng at this moment, "movement" is his lifeline.

Only by constantly moving could he get closer to Toranosuke Suzuki and create chaos in the Mito army.

Conversely, if he stays put, Suzuki Toranosuke will escape again, and the Mito army will be able to regroup.

Just as Qingdeng was pondering how to break through the current encirclement... suddenly, in an extremely sudden instant, Qingdeng's expression changed slightly.

A look of pain flashed across his face.

Immediately afterwards, his steps became less swift, and even his knife-wielding movements slowed down slightly.

If one has keen eyesight, one can see what appears to be fresh blood seeping out from between the layers of linen on his chest...

In fact, the decline shown by Qingdeng is not very obvious.

Ordinary people, due to their limited abilities, would not be able to detect this unusual phenomenon in him.

But for the group currently besieging Qingdeng, these changes in Qingdeng's body are as clear and obvious as ink dropped into clear water.

Someone immediately shouted:

"Ju Qingdeng is already running out of steam! Just a little more effort and we can kill him!"

With that roar, an even more ferocious attack surged towards Qingdeng.

Seeing this, Qingdeng gritted his teeth and, while enduring the pain in his body, spread his arms and charged forward without flinching.

He was being extra careful, trying not to put any more strain on his body and to prevent his injuries from worsening.

However... there is no way to have it all in this world.

The more he wielded his knife, the more he fought and bled, the more he strained his muscles, which in turn aggravated his wounds...

Since just now, he has been experiencing a dull ache in his chest, shoulders, and other parts of his body.

These waves of pain can be considered a signal, reminding Qingdeng: be more careful! If this continues, the consequences will be unimaginable!

Although he knew it was a groan coming from his body, the intense battle situation did not allow Qingdeng to think about anything other than "fighting" and "winning".

Having endured this pain for so long, it has finally accumulated to the point where it can no longer be ignored.

He once optimistically thought: this body full of pain might activate the talent "Berserker +4".

As it turns out, this idea was indeed too optimistic.

Whether the talent "Berserker +4" is activated or not largely depends on the quality of one's physical condition.

To give a vivid example: when you are seriously injured and bedridden, even if you try every means possible, you cannot activate "Berserker +4", just like you can't make a car run without gas.

In any high-level battle, the key to victory or defeat often lies in the details.

Even a moment's lapse in concentration can directly determine the outcome of a battle.

The sudden, intense pain disrupted Qingdeng's offensive and defensive rhythm.

What may seem like a minor, insignificant accident has actually had a significant impact on the course of the battle!

In the blink of an eye, facing the enemy's fierce attack, Qingdeng's response became strained and hesitant.

The opposing side had already noticed Qingdeng's weakness, and their morale soared. They launched an even more ferocious attack on Qingdeng, trying to kill him.

To avoid ending up in the ridiculous situation of "the wound reopening and killing oneself," Qingdeng had to become more cautious and conservative.

This creates a vicious cycle.

With a more conservative approach to offense and defense, it becomes difficult to withstand the enemy's siege.

It's becoming increasingly difficult, so in order to protect my body, I can only adopt more conservative methods.

With this shift in momentum, the tide of battle has unexpectedly turned!

As the sounds of battle behind him faded into the distance, Toranosuke Suzuki, driven by curiosity, cautiously turned his head to look around.

Seeing Qing Deng surrounded and his attack faltering, no longer displaying its previous fierce and powerful momentum, he blinked in disbelief, then, unable to contain his excitement, shouted:

"Ju Qingdeng has no strength left! Ju Qingdeng has no strength left! Surround him! Kill him like a wild boar!"

The lack of successors in Qingdeng is already obvious to all.

Therefore, after hearing Suzuki Toranosuke's words of encouragement, the soldiers of the Mito Army were all invigorated and rushed to join the "Operation Orange Hunt," afraid of falling behind others.

Knives, pistols, and threats loomed over Qingdeng like dark clouds obscuring the sky.

Qing Deng spread his arms wide, wielding his sword with incredible speed, weaving a dark purple "net" with streaks of light to isolate himself from harm.

Thus, while they could parry, they were unable to retaliate.

Being surrounded by enemies and unable to fight back is nothing more than a slow suicide.

As physical strength gradually depletes, this "net" will eventually be torn apart.

So far in the battle, Qingdeng has successfully killed more than a hundred people.

Numerically speaking, such a record is exceptionally terrifying.

The casualties of just over a hundred people... while not entirely without impact on the Mito army at the moment, were certainly not a crippling blow.

"Kill them!"

"Don't back down! He can't fight anymore!"

"Go around him! Go around behind him!"

Amidst the rising and falling shrill cries and the grotesque faces filling his vision, Qingdeng gasped for breath, desperately squeezing out the last ounce of physical and mental strength from his body.

Suddenly, he felt a chill run down his spine—a feeling he was familiar with.

This is a concrete manifestation of the sense of crisis after being trapped in a desperate situation.

Even when facing formidable opponents like Yamada Asaemon Katsumi and Shuten-dōji, he had never felt such a strong sense of crisis.

If it were merely a matter of "life being threatened," it would not have made Qingdeng feel a chill.

But what he carried on his shoulders was far more than just his own life.

The key to victory or defeat in this war lies entirely in whether or not the Mito army can be stopped.

If he can defeat the Mito army, then there is still a chance of winning this battle.

Conversely, Qingdeng and his team are doomed to lose.

The lives of Tokugawa Iemochi, Tenshōin, and others; the future of the Shinsengumi; the future of the Hatatsu Domain; whether their relatives and friends will become "heroes" or "traitors"... all of these now rest on Aoto's shoulders!

If Edo Castle falls, then all the sacrifices that Seito and his men have made since the start of the war today... no, since the "Chōshū Campaign" will have been in vain!

In other words, what is happening now is not only a desperate situation for Aoto, but also for Tokugawa Iemochi, Tenshōin, Kazuhito, the Shinsengumi, the Hatatsu Domain, and countless others!

With this thought in mind, Qingdeng seized the opportunity to take a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and prepared to retaliate with every move, refusing to show any weakness!

He had barely cut down one enemy when more enemies surged forward to fill the void left by the dead.

clang!!

An exceptionally swift slash forced Qing Deng to abandon offense and switch to defense, raising his Vairocana sword to meet the attack head-on.

Although he managed to parry the attack, his stance became unstable due to the hasty defense.

Immediately afterwards, several more threatening attacks advanced toward Qingdeng in quick succession.

Qing Deng calmly parried each attack, but when he deflected the last one, he was a little too slow, and the tip of the opponent's blade grazed his neck.

Fortunately, the cut was shallow, only scratching the skin and causing some bleeding, without affecting the old wound.

Although it was a minor injury that was not worth mentioning, it was a great encouragement to the soldiers of the Mito Army!

This is the first time they have injured Niou since the start of the fight!

That alone was enough to exhilarate them.

In an instant, the morale of the men of Mito soared to new heights.

Qingdeng now faces even more enemies... and they are even more ferocious!

For a moment, his stance became unsteady again.