I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Mr. Ju, thank you for your help..."

Aoto glanced at Akutsu and smiled:

"I remember you. You must be Akutsu. It's been a long time."

When he was investigating the Phantom Pond, he met Akutsu once and even fought alongside him briefly.

"It's been a long time... I didn't expect you to still remember me..."

After saying that, Akutsu looked at Aoto with a complicated expression.

Qing Deng had clearly seen how the "bald warrior" and the "dark-skinned warrior" were killed.

An opponent whom he might not be able to defeat even in his prime couldn't even last a single round against Qing Deng...

Although Qingdeng was already very strong a few years ago, it still falls into the category of "understandable".

Now, facing Qing Deng is like a blind man touching an elephant! He has no way of figuring out the truth!

Once upon a time, he was extremely ambitious and made a grand vow to "surpass 'Nioh'".

Looking back now... while the fighting spirit was commendable, it was truly laughable.

Overwhelmed with mixed feelings, Akutsu couldn't help but show a bitter expression... Suddenly, he felt his knees buckle and he couldn't help but kneel down on the ground.

Seeing this, the old man rushed forward and helped Akutsu up.

"Akuzu, can you still stand up?"

"I...I'm fine..."

Akutsu clutched his stabbed abdomen tightly, the gushing blood staining his entire palm red. With the slightest pressure, his fingers dug into the flesh... He didn't look like he was alright at all.

"Lie down quickly, let me bandage your wound."

As the old man spoke, he forcefully pressed Akutsu to the ground.

At the opportune moment, Qing Deng tore a clean strip of cloth from his haori and handed it over.

Please use this.

"I am extremely grateful."

The old man reached out and took it, then skillfully bandaged Akutsu, just like a professional doctor.

Qingdeng, who had been silently observing the bandaging technique, couldn't help but ask:

"Teacher, were you a doctor before?"

The old man said calmly:

"Although I am very interested in medicine, unfortunately, I am not a doctor. I used to be a private tutor."

"It's just a matter of practice makes perfect. When you and your comrades are frequently in dangerous situations, you'll always learn a little bit of medical skills."

During the conversation, the old man had already tied a tight knot in Akutsu's wound with a strip of cloth.

"Fortunately, the wound is not deep. Although there was a lot of bleeding, it did not damage any internal organs."

The old man let out a long sigh of relief, a look of satisfaction on his face.

Just then, a series of strange noises, growing louder as they approached, suddenly came from the bushes to the west.

The members of the Great Salt Party all changed their expressions, instinctively tensing their entire bodies and gripping their weapons tightly.

However, Qingdeng waved his hand:

"Don't be nervous, they're our people."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shinsengumi members dressed in light blue haori emerged from the thick bushes.

The person in the lead was none other than Shintaro Tojo.

Looking at the still-safe old man and Ziyang, he could not contain his excitement.

"Your Highness! Miss Ziyang! Thank goodness! You are both safe and sound!"

Just now, Qingdeng, with his keen senses, was the first to hear the sounds of battle.

So he took Sanako and Mai, who could keep up with his speed, and rushed to this place first—Toujou Shintaro's figure was too bulky; he had plenty of strength but lacked agility.

The old man patted Shintaro Toujou on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Shintaro, I made you worry."

"It's good that Your Highness is alright. My condition is completely irrelevant."

The arrival of Shintaro Toujou and the Zero Squad filled the surrounding area with jubilation.

The sheer color of these light blue haori alone is enough to give one a great sense of security.

Shintaro Toujou wanted to say something more to the old man, but the old man interrupted him first:

"We can talk about this later. Let's leave here first."

Qingdeng nodded and echoed:

"Let's go. I have prepared excellent accommodations for you all in Otsu."

……

……

The injured and those who were exhausted were helped along, and with the escort of Qing Deng and others, the members of the Great Salt Party were finally able to catch their breath for a while.

On the way down the mountain, pursuers kept attacking.

However, Qing Deng didn't even need to take action; the members of the "Zero Squad" alone were enough to repel the pursuers with their overwhelming combat power.

About half an hour later, they arrived at a riverbank.

Once they cross this river, they will reach the place at the foot of the mountain where Qingdeng and the others have settled their horses.

Once you're on a horse (or ox), you can completely shake off the enemies behind you.

The river wasn't very deep, only about chest-deep, and fortunately the current wasn't too rapid.

Shintaro Tojo led the group across the river.

Qingdeng took the initiative to shoulder the heavy responsibility of covering the rear, guarding the riverbank for everyone and preventing the enemy from getting close.

Overall, the river crossing went relatively smoothly.

Although there were occasional slips and missteps, everyone made it to the other side without incident.

Just as Qingdeng, the last to cross the river, reunited with the others... suddenly, a deep voice came from the other side of the river:

"Oh dear, I've finally made it... no, it seems I'm a little short."

Qing Deng subconsciously thought that pursuers had arrived. As he gripped the sword at his waist, he turned his head to look, and the scene that came into view made him pause for a moment—there were only 3 people standing on the other side of the river.

Two young warriors and a fat man of unremarkable appearance.

Strangely enough, this fat man seemed to have a special aura about him, and Qing Deng couldn't help but fix his gaze on him the moment he saw him.

Looking at the Shinsengumi members led by Aoto, the fat man raised an eyebrow. Although he showed surprise, he did not appear to lose his composure.

He stood with his hands behind his back, shifted his gaze, scanned the crowd on the opposite bank, and then took a deep breath:

"I am the Yamata no Orochi, the one who punishes all evil!"

He shouted as he raised his head high.

"Ooshio Heihachiro! I came all this way just to see you!"

"We have been rivals for many years, attacking each other for more than a decade, but we have never met. It is truly a pity!"

"Please show your face! Let me see what you look like!"

In an instant, an eerie silence enveloped the opposite bank of the river...

It wasn't just because the other party called himself "Yamata no Orochi," but also because of the name he had just called out.

Oshio Heihachiro...

The leader of the "Ōshio Heihachirō Uprising" 29 years ago should have died in Osaka 29 years ago; the spiritual leader of the Ōshio Party...

Qing Deng stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief, as did Sanako, Ama, and the others.

As if by conditioned reflex, Qingdeng suddenly turned his head and cast a meaningful glance at the old man.

The old man... or rather, Ōshio Heihachirō, hesitated for a moment, then took half a step forward and stood on the riverbank, staring intently at the Yamata no Orochi opposite him.

"I am Ōshio Heihachirō! And you are the Yamata no Orochi of the Hōshūdō?"

*******

*******

It's almost the end of the month again! Readers with monthly passes, please vote for this book! (Crying leopard head.jpg) Requesting monthly passes! Requesting recommendation votes! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

Yesterday, I was really upset by "The Feathers of the Late Ming Dynasty," which affected my mood today, hence the late update. I apologize very much...

P.S.: Ōshio Heihachiro is still alive, didn't expect that, did you? (Laughing.jpg) This was actually foreshadowed long ago.

Yesterday, I played "The End of the Ming Dynasty: The Feather of the Abyss" for 50 minutes, but I couldn't take it anymore and immediately requested a refund.

Putting everything else aside and ignoring any external factors, the quality of this game alone is hardly impressive.

As a Soulslike action game, the optimization is ridiculously bad.

My 3070 graphics card can't even run high-quality graphics. It can't maintain a stable 60 frames per second. The action is choppy and the screen is severely torn. How can I play like this? I can't enjoy the thrill of combat at all!

How could I possibly serve up such an unfinished, half-finished product?

If we wait for your subsequent patches, what's the difference between that and a disguised delay?

I was so looking forward to it, and it wasted my whole day off. I'm getting angrier and angrier, which made my writing performance so bad today. I didn't get into a good mood until this afternoon, which is why today's update is so late.

I'm not asking you to have the same level of optimization as Sekiro or Sword Star; I'm not a demon.

But what exactly does this optimization mean? What's wrong with the development team's game design philosophy?

My graphics card is a 3070, you know? If this continues, the 2060 will only be able to run at 30 frames per second, and the 1060 will only be able to run at 15 frames per second. In the end, it will become a piece of garbage that only hardcore gamers can tolerate.

As an average player, I probably have to beat you. Seriously.