I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

What exactly just happened?

What exactly did Ogata do?

No one can say for sure... and they don't want to delve into it...

Just recalling the terrifying pressure they had just endured made them shiver involuntarily, and the cold sweat they had barely managed to stop broke out again.

Whatever the reason, their crushing defeat is a fait accompli.

Dozens of men, equipped with a large number of guns and bows and arrows, were overwhelmed by the enemy's imposing manner! They watched the enemy leave without firing a single shot or a single bullet!

If Ogata had wanted to, he could have easily gone on a killing spree! He could have slaughtered them like chopping vegetables, and they wouldn't have been able to put up any decent resistance!

How do you teach them to fight back under that terrifying pressure?

At this moment, many people turned to look in the direction Ogata had left, their faces full of confusion... After a short while, they seemed to have made up their minds and struggled to stand up.

However, they did not pursue Ogata, nor did they head towards the southern front; instead, they fled north, far from the shogunate forces.

……

……

Wulingguo, the southern city wall—

"Heisuke! What are you dawdling for?! Hurry up and clear the path!"

Nagakura Shinpachi complained to Todo Heisuke, who was not far away, with a dissatisfied look on his face.

Heisuke Todo replied helplessly:

"The enemy is fighting desperately! A direct assault would result in heavy casualties; we have to proceed slowly!"

The stairwells at the bottom of the city wall are very narrow, only wide enough for four adults to walk side by side at most.

Thus, a small force was enough to hold the stairwell, preventing the Shogunate army from advancing an inch.

All the skilled archers and musket users of the "Ainu Allied Forces" seemed to have gathered here, using their bodies as walls and shields to desperately block the advance of the shogunate army. The barrage of arrows and bullets made it difficult for the shogunate army to show itself.

In this way, the melee soldiers, with the Second Division at their core, could not even get close to the stairwell. They would die after taking only a few steps. Even if sword masters such as Nagakura Shinpachi, Nakajima Noboru, and Oishi Kuwajiro were to fight, they would only take a few more steps than the average person.

The only option is to use ranged units to deal with ranged units; the Eighth Division needs to break the deadlock.

Despite the fierce resistance from the Ainu Alliance, the Eighth Division held the upper hand overall.

Because the shogunate army had successfully captured the southern wall, the members of the Eighth Division could crouch on the top of the wall and fire their guns down into the stairwell.

However, just as Todo Heisuke said, the enemy was fighting desperately.

No matter how hard the Eighth Division fought, they could not break through the enemy's lines.

One soldier fell, another came; one squad died, another came... The tenacity and bravery of the "Ainu Allied Forces" deeply moved the soldiers of the Tokugawa army.

The soldiers, led by Nagakura Shinpachi, had to admit that they had indeed underestimated the Ainu people.

In retrospect, their capture of Goryeo was not entirely due to luck.

Shinpachi Nagakura was well aware of Heisuke Todo's predicament, but the long-standing stalemate had made him extremely anxious.

Having finally made it to the top of the city wall, how could we not be able to get down?

Just as Nagakura Shinpachi was pondering whether to divide his forces to capture the eastern and western walls of Goryokaku and attack the castle from the flanks, a gentle voice suddenly sounded behind him:

"Shinpachi, Heisuke, you two seem to be having a lot of trouble."

Nagakura Shinpachi was startled and quickly turned to look at the person who had come from the outside.

"Mr. Tachibana?"

Qingdeng led Elodie and leisurely moved to Nagakura Shinpachi's side.

At the same time, Toudou Heisuke, who was not far away, noticed Aoto. After a moment of surprise, he apologized with a look of regret:

"Mr. Ju, we're sorry to disappoint you. We've already breached the city walls, but we're blocked by the enemy outside the stairwell."

Qingdeng gently shook his head:

"No need to apologize. You've already done a very good job."

"The city walls were breached faster than I expected."

"To be honest, I was mentally prepared that if we couldn't break through after a long time, I would eventually have to step in myself."

Upon hearing this, Todo Heisuke showed an expression that was half joy and half guilt, and Nagakura Shinpachi, who was standing next to him, had the same expression.

They were well aware that their ability to capture the southern wall of Goryokaku on schedule was all thanks to the sudden appearance of Ōishikujirō.

If it weren't for Oishi Kuwajiro's incredible, unstoppable assault on the wall, opening up a "climbing point" for the entire army, they might still be outside the wall, completely lost.

Todo Hei helped to calm down and said quickly:

"Mr. Ju! Please give us a little more time! Give us just 30 more minutes... no, just 20 minutes! We'll open the passage directly into the city!"

Under Aoto's initiative, the captains of the Shinsengumi have gradually become accustomed to the Western-style timekeeping system.

Qing Deng said calmly:

"I don't doubt your abilities. It's just that it's getting late."

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at the sky.

It was already 4 p.m., and the sun was setting heavily in the west. In just over two hours, the deep night would fall.

“I wish to spend the night at the Goryokaku Magistrate’s Office tonight, so… all of you may leave.”

Having said that, Qing Deng pulled out a sash from his bosom and skillfully and neatly tied the sleeves of his haori.

As Niou prepared to go into battle, cheers erupted from all around.

The anxiety that had been building due to the stalemate on the front lines vanished at that moment.

Aoto is absolutely right; the Shinsengumi is now too reliant on Niou.

From another perspective, as long as Niou takes action, the morale of the Shinsengumi will increase exponentially!

An atmosphere of exhilaration began to fill the air... It is worth mentioning that Nagakura Shinpachi remained rational and was not affected by it.

He quickly grabbed Qingdeng:

"Mr. Ju, please wait! The enemy's firepower is very strong! You must not venture in!"

Qingdeng smiled slightly:

"Don't panic. I'm not stupid enough to charge straight into the enemy's 'archer and spear formation'."

The enemy deployed an astonishing number of archers and musketeers in the narrow stairwell, creating a terrifying density of arrows and bullets.

Even Qingdeng wasn't confident he could get through this level of dangerous formation.

With the support of talents such as "Eagle Eye +7" and "Godspeed +7", he can indeed cut through oncoming bullets, but to achieve such a divine skill, two conditions must be met: "the enemy's bullet barrage is not dense enough" or "the field is very open".

Otherwise, he would still be knocked to the ground because "his slashing speed is not fast enough to keep up" and "there is not enough room to dodge".

Qingdeng already had an idea on how to break through the enemy's hold on the stairwell.

"Come forward, everyone!"

Qing Deng shouted this without turning his head.

Immediately afterwards, four samurai rushed up behind him.

Heisuke Todo didn't recognize the two men, but Shinpachi Nagakura had seen them before.

Nagakura Shinpachi stared wide-eyed in surprise, muttering to himself:

"You are... the 'Seven Spears of Immortal Continent'?"

These four were none other than Koichi Date, Shinji Date, Shozo Hashimoto, and Bunshiro Nakamura, the "Seven Spears of Senshu".

They stood respectfully on either side of Qingdeng, their former arrogance completely gone.

In order to express the Sendai Domain's subservience and loyalty to Aoto, Date Yoshikuni, the lord of the Sendai Domain who had been thoroughly defeated, actively responded to Aoto's call to launch a northern expedition.

Not only did he send a thousand soldiers to assist in the battle, but he also appointed four of the "Seven Spears of Senshu"—Koichi Date, Shinji Date, Shozo Hashimoto, and Bunshiro Nakamura—to lead the troops.

In addition, Date Yoshikuni also lent out their Sendai Domain's "ultimate weapon of war," namely the enormous matchlock gun that Date Koichi and others were holding in their arms.

All four "giant matchlock guns" were lit and ready to fire at any moment.

Upon seeing this, Todo Heisuke couldn't help but murmur:

"Big barrel...!"

The term "large cannon" can be understood as a large firearm.

It can refer to cannons or those oversized muskets.

After firearms technology was introduced to Japan, due to various reasons such as resource scarcity and limited technological level, the Japanese developed a strange technological path: making matchlock guns extremely large!

This enormous matchlock gun has a common name: the "big barrel"!

With a single shot, the bullet was as big as a cannonball, essentially making it a primitive rocket launcher!

During the Warring States period, the large cannon was an absolutely vital national treasure.

The Sendai Domain, still conservative in its ways, had not yet been influenced by advanced Western science, and thus still regarded the large bamboo tube as a treasure.

To support Aoto's northern expedition, the Sendai Domain provided four large cannons in one go—a fact that Nagakura Shinpachi and Todo Heisuke were aware of.

However, they all subconsciously ignored it.

The reason is simple—the large-caliber cannon is just too outdated!

Heavy, slow rate of fire, poor accuracy, weak power... No matter how you look at it, this outdated weapon is not suitable for the current battlefield.

Qing Deng suddenly took out the four large cannons that the Sendai Domain had lent out... which really took Nagakura Shinpachi and the others by surprise.

While they were still in shock, Qing Deng silently gave an order to Date Kouichi and the others behind him:

"Stay close to me."

The moment he finished speaking, he strode out and rushed straight into the stairwell, which had become a "meat grinder"!

Date Koichi and his group followed closely behind.

Without turning his head, Qing Deng reached to his left, grabbed Hashimoto Shozo's large cannon from his left side, aimed at the area below the stairwell, at the enemy positions holding the stairwell, and pulled the trigger—

boom! !