I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The timely warnings did not work.

Although the four enemy soldiers facing Serizawa Kamo were on high alert, they were still no match for Serizawa Kamo's superb swordsmanship.

Serizawa Kamo swept his sword across the battlefield, instantly taking the lives of two enemy soldiers.

Immediately afterwards, he swung his knife in the opposite direction, cutting down the remaining two men as well.

Not far away, Niimi Nishiki, known as the "Lion of Mito," also bravely took the lead, charging back and forth among the enemy ranks.

Even enemy soldiers who had taken "Decisive Battle Elixir" would find it difficult to match the captains of the Shinsengumi.

Taking advantage of the brief respite, Serizawa Kamo raised his head and surveyed the battlefield.

Thanks to the timely arrival of the Fifth Division, Shimotoriba, which was originally in dire straits, has been stabilized and is no longer in danger of falling.

It's worth mentioning that the 12th Division in the back has finally become somewhat presentable.

This battle marks the first time Soma Kazue (captain of the 12th Division) has participated in a battle as the "commander of a division".

After the initial tension and chaos, he finally adjusted his state and began to command the members of the Twelfth Division to carry out orderly support in a methodical manner.

At this moment, Nishiki Shinmi escaped from the chaos of battle and returned to Serizawa Kamo's side.

"Serizawa, the enemy is no longer able to attack and will likely be defeated soon. Should we pursue them?"

Serizawa Kamo shook his head without hesitation:

"No need, just drive them away."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats from behind—a messenger from the Ninth Division was riding a fast horse straight towards them.

Upon seeing Serizawa Kamo and Niimi Nishiki, he hurriedly tightened the reins in his hands and then shouted succinctly:

"Captain Serizawa! Captain Niimi! Retreat! Retreat!"

The unexpected order startled both of them.

A moment later, Shinji Nishiki, looking completely bewildered, quickly retorted:

"Why are we retreating? What happened?"

The messenger's expression was grave:

"Koeda Bridge has fallen! The vice-commander has ordered the abandonment of the 'Toba Line'! Retreat to Fushimi!"

Upon hearing this, Shinji Nishiki's face turned pale and then red.

Anyone with even a little military knowledge knows the importance of Koji Bridge to the Toba Line.

Losing the small bridge is tantamount to cutting the "Toba Defense Line" in half! The enemy can launch a pincer attack on both Toba and Shimotoba from the south and north at any time!

In other words, Serizawa Kamo, Niimi Nishiki, and others are currently in a very unfavorable situation!

Shinji Nishiki gritted his teeth and turned to glare resentfully at the direction of the small bridge.

"What are Nagakura and Inoue doing! They've made such a huge mistake less than half a day into the war! Could it be that they've been careless and underestimated their enemy?"

Unlike Nishiki Nishiki, Serizawa Kamo was not excited; instead, she remained very calm.

Although he is rough and gives the impression of being "thoughtless", Serizawa Kamo is actually a person who is shrewd despite his rough exterior.

After only a moment's thought, he retorted in a deep voice:

"...No, it's definitely not because Nagakura and Mr. Inoue were careless or underestimated their opponents; they wouldn't make such a basic mistake."

"It's most likely that the 'Southern Army' deployed their top elite troops to seize Xiaozhi Bridge while the Second and Sixth Divisions were exhausted."

Shinji Nishiki frowned deeply:

"Even so, we shouldn't have lost so quickly! There's no reason for us to lose to the mere 'Southern Army'!"

As he spoke, he forcefully tugged at the hem of his light blue haori robe.

Serizawa Kamo gave him a cold glare.

"Jin, don't be so arrogant. Your kind of thinking is dangerous."

"We are not invincible."

"The Southern Army is not an easy target either."

"Leaving aside the severely weakened Choshu and the slow-developing Tosa, both the Satsuma and Hijikata domains began to promote reforms and train new armies before the 'Black Ships Incident' (1853) broke out."

"Therefore, it is not surprising that they possess no matter how elite their troops are."

After saying that, Serizawa Kamo forcefully shook the knife, wiping away the remaining bloodstains on the blade.

"Now that Xiaozhi Bridge has fallen, the enemy could come from the north to encircle us at any time."

"So, let's chat later."

"I'll cover the rear; you organize the retreat."

"We need to act quickly; every second counts right now."

Shinji Nishiki, who had just been scolded, looked somber.

"...I understand. Serizawa, be careful in everything you do."

The rear guard position was a difficult and extremely dangerous task... Nishiki Shinmi couldn't help but cast a worried glance at Serizawa Kamo.

Serizawa Kamo twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a calm smile:

"Who do you take me for? Saying I'm 'covering the rear' is no different from what I've always done—just kill all the enemy soldiers who dare to approach me!"

……

……

"Toba Defense Line", Koji Bridge —

"Vice Captain Nakajima! Are you even able to stand still?"

A teammate reacted quickly and caught Nakajima Noboru, who was about to fall.

Nakajima Noboru gave a wry smile:

"I'm sorry... I made you laugh..."

After saying that, he took a deep breath and tensed the muscles in his legs to regain his balance—his legs were shaking uncontrollably from overexertion.

After Inoue Genzaburo resolutely issued the order to "abandon Koshibashi and retreat with the entire army", Nakajima Noboru took the initiative to shoulder the heavy responsibility of "covering the rear".

He selected 50 members from the Second Division who still had plenty of energy.

In addition, Inoue Genzaburo transferred 100 skilled archers from the Sixth Division to Nakajima Noboru's command.

The rearguard force of 150 men—Nakajima Noboru—led this small squad in a retreat, fighting as they went.

The 100 archers that Inoue Genzaburo lent him proved invaluable during the retreat.

When the distance is far, use a musket to repel them; when the distance is close, use a melee weapon to force them to retreat.

In this way, the enemy's attack was successfully delayed, buying precious time for the main force to retreat.

The attacking enemy force numbered over two thousand, the vast majority of whom were skilled musketeers, while a small number—about five hundred—were pure swordsmen.

Although the number of these swordsmen was small, their combat power was absolutely terrifying.

The reason is simple... In the recent melee, the Second Division, known for its swordsmanship, was actually suppressed by them!

After a brief observation, Nakajima Noboru was shocked to discover that all the swordsmen used the same swordsmanship—without exception, they were all Jigen-ryu!

For this reason, the sharp, distinctive scream kept going on and on.

One manifestation-style swordsman is noisy enough.

More than five hundred Manifestation Style swordsmen gathered together... Just imagining it makes my eardrums and head ache!

Even if you were surrounded by ducks, it wouldn't be any different.

Since they are all Jigenryu swordsmen, it is obvious that this powerful "swordsman group" is the army of the Satsuma Domain!

Looking at the ferocious Satsuma swordsmen before him, whom he couldn't completely repel, Nakajima Noboru kept muttering to himself:

"The fierceness of 'Satsuma Hayato' is truly well-deserved..."

[Note: Satsuma Hayato: a colloquial term for men from Satsuma.]

Since the Kamakura period, the Satsuma people have been known for their barbarity and belligerence.

This is because, besides the local customs, another major reason is that Satsuma is too poor.

Satsuma was a powerful domain with a staggering 77 koku of grain—yet this did not diminish its poverty.

Due to various reasons, such as the extremely high proportion of samurai in the total population (about 20%-25%, while other domains usually have 5%-10%), Satsuma's finances were on the verge of collapse for a long time, and at one point it owed a huge debt of 500 million ryo.

It wasn't until reforms were implemented by outstanding figures such as Hiroto Tsushiro and Nariaki Shimazu that Satsuma's finances were finally somewhat alleviated.

Because they were so poor, the lower and middle-ranking samurai and commoners of the Satsuma Domain had no choice but to risk their lives to get ahead!

In terms of results, Nakajima Noboru's rearguard action was outstanding.

The enemy launched wave after wave of attacks, but they were never able to cross the line.

However, the enemy's fierce fighting skills had pushed Nakajima Noboru and his men to their limits.

Now, all the soldiers in the rearguard are wounded and covered in blood, and they are holding on by sheer willpower.

Nakajima Noboru secretly calculated that the time they had gained so far was far from enough, as the main force led by Inoue Genzaburo had not yet retreated to a safe area.

Therefore, it's not time to relax yet!

While he was pondering, a new wave of enemy soldiers had already attacked him!

"Ya ya ya ya ya ya ah ...

"Ah ...

"Wa ...

Strange screams rose and fell, filling the air.

Nakajima gripped the knife tightly in his hand, his face contorted with impatience as he hissed:

"Damn it, shut up! I'm going to chop off every single one of your heads! So you'll never scream again!"

Once you get used to the shouts of the demonic stream, the other person's shouts will no longer intimidate you; they will only make you feel extremely annoyed.