I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"You'd better regard him as your greatest enemy in this life, and fight him with all your might. Never let your guard down."

"Otherwise, you will lose, and lose miserably."

Xilika remained silent.

It's unclear whether they were silently processing Mael's advice or expressing their disdain for it.

Mael said no more, straightened his clothes, and made as if to leave.

However, at that moment, both of them were startled by a strange noise.

Xilika raised her head, perked up her ears, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes:

"...It's in the direction of Hakodate Bay!"

Upon hearing this, Mael's expression changed drastically.

The two jumped up one after the other and rushed out of the room.

After moving to an area with a wider view, they all looked towards Hakodate Bay in unison—the port, which should have been quiet and deserted, was now unusually "lively".

Although the distance was far and the sky was dark, it was still possible to vaguely see that there were more ships in the port—in addition to the three ironclad warships under Mael's command, there were also three old-fashioned warships that should not have been there in the first place.

The six warships were positioned close together, and the flashes of gunfire flickered like fireflies.

Upon seeing this, Mael instantly understood what was happening, his face turned pale, and his expression became extremely ugly.

He cursed in French and then shouted at Cilicia:

"Syracuse! It's the Shogunate Navy! They've launched a surprise attack on Hakodate Bay! Return fire immediately!"

……

……

The firepower of Wulingguo was undeniably fierce.

It's no exaggeration to say it was like a downpour! One shot after another, with almost no gaps!

The Ainu Alliance had only recently occupied Wulingguo, yet they were already able to skillfully operate the artillery emplacements and unleash such a fierce barrage of fire... This truly exceeded Qingdeng's expectations.

This became another major gain tonight—clarifying the extent of the "Ainu Alliance's" control over Goryeo, which is quite valuable intelligence.

Faced with the continuous bombardment from Goryokaku, Qing Deng couldn't worry about the situation of the Hamrin Maru and the Kanko Maru for the time being. He only knew that the Fujiyama Maru he was currently on was indeed in a perilous situation.

On several occasions, the cannonballs, accompanied by a piercing sound, flew past the hull of the Fuji Maru, scaring the crew so much that they nearly collapsed to the ground.

Driven by the will to survive, the crews of the Fujiyama Maru... no, the Kanrin Maru, the Kansai Maru, and the Fujiyama Maru all put in their utmost effort! They desperately squeezed the ships' potential, pushing their speed to the maximum! And leaving shell after shell behind!

The perilous nature of the process is beyond description.

Finally, they successfully withdrew outside the range of Goryokaku's artillery fire and entered the deep waters far from Hakodate Bay before the enemy ships could catch up.

Presumably, the enemy ships would not dare to pursue too deeply in such pitch-black conditions.

Indeed, that was the case; of the three enemy ships, only two remained operational.

They chased for a short distance before stopping, not daring to go any further, for fear of being ambushed.

At this moment, apart from the sound of the surging waves, Qingdeng heard no other sounds.

Just minutes ago, the incessant sound of artillery fire was deafening; now, all is calm and peaceful... This stark contrast is almost dreamlike.

After a while, the officers and soldiers of the three ships looked at each other, gradually recovering from the tension and fear, and replaced by excitement and exhilaration.

Did we win?

"Nonsense, of course we won."

"I just saw a shell fly right over my head, and I almost thought we weren't coming back..."

Similar conversations could be heard throughout the decks of the three ships.

Qing Deng turned his head to face the stern of the ship, looking in the direction of Hakodate—both Hakodate Bay and the majestic Goryokaku had been left far behind them and were no longer in sight.

To be honest, Qing Deng was also very surprised by tonight's brilliant performance.

Although this was not his first time fighting at night, it was his first time launching a night attack on enemy ships by boat.

In his mind, successfully destroying even one enemy ship would be a very successful victory.

No definitive battle statistics have been received yet, but during the withdrawal, Qing Deng glanced at them briefly—the enemy ships under the command of the Hamrin Maru and Fujiyama Maru had both suffered considerable damage.

Two of the three invaluable ironclad warships were damaged... The enemy commander must be heartbroken.

What is remarkable is that while inflicting heavy damage on the enemy, none of our three ships suffered serious damage!

Not a single shell hit the hull; the ships were merely splashed with seawater and returned safely to Aomori.

This was partly due to Katsura Rintaro's skillful military leadership. Although the Shogunate Navy was still in its early stages, it did possess basic military skills. Whether approaching enemy ships or withdrawing from Hakodate Bay, the officers and soldiers of the Shogunate Navy performed exceptionally well.

On the other hand, it was due to luck and timing (the pitch-black night).

Having escaped the enemy's pursuit and artillery fire, the officers and soldiers of the three ships returned in great victory, feeling exhilarated as if they had survived a calamity.

Having won such an undisputed great victory, there is no reason not to celebrate it to boost morale.

So, Qing Deng dashed to the bow of the Fujiyama Maru, surveyed the deck, and then shouted loudly:

"Gentlemen! You did a fantastic job!"

"In this battle, the enemy ships suffered heavy damage! The arrogance of the rebel army was thwarted!"

"This battle is destined to be recorded in history!"

"This battle is a joint victory for both the Navy and the Shinsengumi!"

The moment he finished speaking, the soldiers of Fujiyama Maru raised their arms and fists, cheering loudly.

The resounding cheers reached Hamrimmaru and Kōkanmaru, not far away.

Immediately afterwards, the soldiers on both ships, also infected by the cheers, burst into enthusiastic shouts.

Tonight's battle is the first battle of this Northern Expedition.

A resounding victory in the first battle, and such a magnificent one at that, is worthy of celebration no matter how enthusiastically it is celebrated.

Amid the celebrations, the soldiers also sang praises of Qingdeng, vividly recounting his heroic feat of cutting down a mast with a single stroke.

"Long live Niou! Long live Tachibana no Taisho!"

"I saw it with my own eyes. My lord assumed the iaido stance and then severed the enemy ship's mainmast with a single stroke!"

"What's so special about that? Don't you all know? Besides well-known titles like 'Niou' and 'Strongest Swordsman of the Shogunate,' Admiral Tachibana has another title: 'Ship Slayer'! Back when the British fleet was approaching Edo Bay, he took advantage of the night to row his small boat close to the British flagship and cleaved its hull with a single slash! He intimidated the British!"

"That's right! He can cut down warships as easily as slicing meat! What's a mere mainmast to him!"

With the blessing of the talent "Wind Perceiver +4", Qing Deng heard all the excessive praise from the crowd.

Qing Deng naturally couldn't help but smile wryly at this.

When he intimidated the British fleet, he merely left a glaring slash mark on the bow of its flagship.

After being spread several times, it became known that "Nioh can cut through the hull of a British warship with a single stroke" and "Nioh can easily slice through warships like cutting a steak"! That's ridiculous!

He cut off the mainmast of the ironclad warship tonight, and who knows how this deed will be distorted in the future... Qing Deng felt helpless at the thought.

Although he disliked excessive praise from others, Qingdeng was too lazy to correct him.

Over the years, he had long been accustomed to the saying "three men can make a tiger."

He can silence one or two people, but not the people of the world; let them be.

Moreover, from a utilitarian perspective, the more people deify him, the more it helps him enhance his prestige and win over the hearts of the people.

Bathed in the festive atmosphere, Qingdeng did not return to his cabin to rest, but stayed on the deck, leaning against the ship's railing, resting and seemingly deep in thought.

At that moment, Todo Heisuke came over and sat down next to Aoto.

"Mr. Orange, are you hurt?"

"No. Apart from being very hungry, everything is fine. Heisuke, how's your left shoulder injury?"

"To be honest, it hurts a lot. When I was busy killing enemies, I didn't notice anything unusual; but when I stopped, I suddenly felt a burning pain in my wound, like a ball of fire was burning inside. I've already applied some ointment, and I'll have a professional doctor treat my wound when I get back to Aomori."

At this point, he paused, pursed his lips, and looked hesitant, as if he had something to say to Qingdeng but didn't know how to begin.

After a short while, he said quietly to Qingdeng:

"Mr. Ju, I never imagined that the 'immortality' was actually real..."

Heisuke Todo also fought against that group of elusive "blue-clad men."

The human abdominal cavity contains a large number of vital organs, making it a vital area. Despite its importance, it lacks the protection of strong bones, allowing even an unskilled swordsman to easily slice through the soft skin and severely injure his opponent.

Many swordsmen with extensive combat experience like to strike people in the stomach; Todo Heisuke had a habit of "cutting people in the stomach."

He sliced ​​open his opponent's abdomen, spilling out his internal organs, yet his opponent did not fall... At that moment, Toudou Heisuke was so shocked that he could not recover for a long time, and his worldview suffered an extremely severe shock.

While the "decisive battle" of the Fa-ju Party was equally miraculous, it was still within the scope of Todo Heisuke's understanding.

During the Edo period, pills with miraculous effects were not uncommon, and similar pills were sold at Yotsuya in Edo.

[Note: Yotsuya was a very famous sex shop in Edo, located in Ryogoku Province. Its best-selling products were "longevity pills" and "woman's pleasure pills," which were very popular among men.]

Harada Sanosuke once boasted to Todo Heisuke about the changes in his body after taking "Nyo-yomi-maru"—"I feel like I've been reborn!"—that was his exact words.

But the "blue-clad man's" vitality, which was clearly beyond reason, really baffled him.

Qing Deng smiled and asked in a half-joking tone:

"What? Heisuke, you also think they are demons?"

Without hesitation, Todo Heisuke shook his head.

"If they were demons, how could they be killed with ordinary iron swords? Without a doubt, they are human. But... their terrifying, seemingly indestructible appearance truly resembles that of demons..."

Like many of the Shinsengumi soldiers, Todo Heisuke was a very superstitious person.

Therefore, it's no wonder he made such an unpleasant expression.

Aoto glanced at Toudou Heisuke, then looked up at the night sky and said calmly:

"I bet those guys ate some weird medicine or drank some weird water to become like this."

"Can simply taking medicine and drinking water turn you into this inhuman, ghost-like state?"

"The world is so big, there are all sorts of wonders."