I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Ironclad warships were ultimately not designed specifically for transporting troops; their troop capacity was quite limited.

Even if you take away the non-combat personnel, mainly sailors, Mael's private army would not exceed seven hundred men.

Six hundred against seven hundred... the numbers are similar, so being prepared to fight the unprepared is a great opportunity!

For this night raid, Qingdeng's orders were very simple: penetrate as deep into the enemy camp as possible before being discovered, and inflict maximum casualties on the enemy!

It's a pity that Qing Deng didn't bring the ninjas from the Ninth Division with him on this trip. When it comes to stealth and assassination, they are true experts.

Although the members of the Second and Eighth Divisions are not good at this kind of "sneaky" fighting style, thanks to the protection of "favorable timing", at least so far there have been no problems.

The enemy had difficulty spotting Qingdeng and his men, while the latter were not at all at risk of losing their way—because their target was very conspicuous, there was no risk of them getting lost!

Just by looking up, you can see those two huge ironclad warships with their cabins gleaming!

Qingdeng didn't know where Mael was, but his intuition told him that the other party was most likely in the flagship's cabin.

In any case, capturing the enemy ships first is definitely the right thing to do!

Thus, under the leadership of Qing Deng, Yongcang Xinba, and others, the soldiers dispersed into small teams and carefully infiltrated the enemy camp. If they encountered guards, they would try to bypass them or kill them directly.

Such a large-scale stealth operation could not be sustained in the long run.

Suddenly, a rapid tolling of a bell came from not far away—

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The tolling of the bells, punctuated by mournful cries, shattered the tranquility of the camp.

Perhaps a squad was accidentally exposed, or perhaps the body of a guard was discovered; in any case, the entire camp erupted in chaos.

"Enemies!"

Where?

"Night raid! Another night raid!"

Even the cacophony of the storm couldn't drown out the increasingly loud and dense shouts and footsteps.

The presence of enemies could be felt from all directions... Qing Deng and his group could no longer operate in secrecy.

Now that we've been discovered, there's no need to keep sneaking around!

Qing Deng straightened up abruptly, drawing his sword:

"Charge with me! Kill the enemy on sight!"

After roaring, Qingdeng set an example by rushing forward and smashing through the layers of rain.

He hadn't run two steps when he ran head-on into a seven-man squad.

"I've found them! They're here!"

"shot!"

"Damn it! The musket won't fire!"

"Don't bother! The flint's been soaked, how can it possibly make a sound! Fix bayonets!"

Another major reason why Qingdeng insisted on taking action tonight was that the storm could weaken the enemy's firepower advantage.

Although modern firearms have undergone numerous improvements, and Mael's private army uses the most advanced rifled rifles available at the time, they are still essentially flintlock muskets.

The firing principle of a flintlock musket is that flint strikes the edge of the touch hole, producing sparks that ignite the gunpowder and fire the musket.

If the flint gets wet, it will naturally be unable to produce sparks, let alone ignite the gunpowder.

In fact, not only firearms, but also swords are very vulnerable to rain.

Rainwater will seep into the handle and wet the blade; if left unattended, it will rust quickly.

After this battle, all the swordsmen, including Qing Deng, had to disassemble their swords and carefully clean every inch of them.

Of course, such minor matters can be dealt with later in the war and will not affect the current battle.

The current "firearms malfunction" situation is perfect for the Shinsengumi members to make use of their close-combat advantages!

Qing Deng quickly scanned his vision, searching for enemy figures.

Such terrifying rain even limited Qingdeng's vision.

However, the other side made a mistake by shouting and yelling randomly.

While they were yelling and screaming because their muskets had malfunctioned, Qingdeng had already located their position by sound.

Qing Deng lowered his waist slightly, placed the knife on his left shoulder, and then swung the blade fiercely as if a bowstring had snapped.

If time were paused, one could see the dark purple blade cutting a smooth, slender notch through the thick rain curtain.

In a world of pure white, rain-soaked white, only this tiny space is dry... as if the whole world has been cut in two!

The next moment, the following rainwater joined the previous rainwater, the gap was closed, and the wound reopened.

With a single swing of his sword, Qing Deng fell three members of the seven-man squad.

As he swung his knife again, two more people were cut down to the ground.

The remaining two men were not mentally prepared and mechanically extended the bayonets in their hands.

Qing Deng twisted his body like an eel, dodging the attack with practiced ease. He then swung his third and fourth swords, adding two more corpses to the ground.

The continuous rain poured down on Vairocana's sword, washing away the remaining bloodstains.

As Qingdeng slaughtered the enemy like ants, a group of soldiers behind him ran past him on both sides, charging into the depths of the enemy camp with overwhelming momentum, and towards the two enemy ships not far away.

……

……

The Napoleon, Mael's room—

Upon hearing the bells, Mael's eyes widened as if he were waking from a dream.

He dashed to the window next to him and looked outside.

Despite the extremely poor visibility, where he could see almost nothing, he could still vaguely make out groups of dark figures charging and fighting within the camp, advancing with unstoppable momentum.

Mael felt a chill run down his spine, initially startled, then annoyed, and finally terrified.

At this time and at this point in time, there's no need to guess the identities of these attackers!

"Damn it...! How did these guys in blue clothes find their way here?"

He cursed under his breath in exasperation, his face turning red and then white.

The recent "night raid on Hakodate Bay" was a terrible defeat, resulting in the direct loss of an ironclad warship (Sun King Maru), which caused him considerable pain for a long time, to the point that he now has a significant psychological shadow on the terms "Nioh" and "Shinsengumi".

If he had a choice, he would never want to see that person or that unit again in his life.

After grinding his teeth, he gradually calmed himself down.

After a moment of deep thought with a solemn expression, he turned around and ran to a large cabinet in the corner of the room. He took out a huge thing from it—a weapon destined to leave a strong mark on the history of war, a weapon that would allow nomadic peoples to sing and dance from now on.

……

……

The main objective of this battle was to capture Mael.

Therefore, Qingdeng, who has a clear goal, does not waste his time and energy on low-level subordinates.

He charged straight toward the two enemy ships, clearing away any obstacles in his way without wasting a single second.

There are only two enemy ships, while he only has one... which means Qing Deng has to choose between the two. If he chooses wrong, he might miss out on Mael.

The current battle situation is extremely chaotic, with both sides locked in fierce fighting. It is not impossible that Mael could escape in the chaos.

Qingdeng didn't know which ship was the flagship Napoleon and which was the Joan of Arc—they were the same model—so he could only act on intuition.

However, whether it was due to keen intuition or simply good luck, the enemy ship he chose happened to be the flagship Napoleon, where Mael was stationed.

He charged to the ship's side, leaped over the boarding ladder, rushed onto the deck, and stormed into the cabin... Qing Deng was like a mad boar, violently destroying everything in his path, and no one could stop him.

As he charged to a certain part of the cabin, he was surprised to find an exquisite and imposing door panel, through which light was shining.

Just by looking at the style of this door panel, you can tell that this is not an ordinary room.

While regulating his breathing, Qingdeng moved to the front of the door.

Just as he reached for the door, he suddenly sensed danger—

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Accompanied by gunfire that sounded like a storm outside, the exquisite door was smashed to pieces.

Inside the room, Mael, his face contorted with rage, was manipulating a large firearm with six barrels.

*******

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Chapter 1088 "The Best Stallion 13"! Qing Deng is promoted to "Grand Stallion"! [6000]

Just before the machine gun unleashed its flames, Qingdeng's talent "Foresight +9" activated instantly, sensing immense danger.

As he instinctively dodged to the left, a dense barrage of dozens of bullets shattered the wooden door panel.

Instantly, the air was filled with the stench of gunpowder.

Looking at the shards of the door scattered on the ground, Qing Deng's gaze narrowed slightly.

Such a thick door panel was torn to shreds as easily as paper... It's not hard to imagine what would have happened if Qing Deng had acted a little slower.

Ordinary rifles would never have such astonishing destructive power.

Thinking back to the gunfire he had just heard, which was even more intense than a storm, Qing Deng immediately thought of a weapon.

"machine gun……"

As Qingdeng murmured to himself, he carefully turned to the side, peeking half of his head over the door frame into the room.

This was a lavishly decorated room, and at the far end, directly opposite the door, a middle-aged man was handling a huge gun.

This gun is like a cannon, with wheels on both sides to increase its mobility. The six barrels are tightly bound together, and smoke is still billowing from the dark muzzle.