I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

He had given his all, only to receive such a tragic result... His face was filled with grief and indignation.

On his deathbed, his last remaining emotion was intense bewilderment—how could Niou move so nimbly while wearing such heavy armor?

Thus, faced with Qingdeng's fierce attack, the Southern soldiers could only offer passive resistance.

When Qing Deng got close enough to him, he went berserk and swung his knife wildly, trying to force Qing Deng back.

If Qingdeng is far away, he will remain on the sidelines and will never take the initiative to attack, much less think about supporting his companions.

With the name "Nioh" now awe-inspiring, there are very few people left who dare to confront Aoto, or who harbor wishful thinking that they can kill Aoto by "picking up the scraps".

Now that things have come to this, anyone who dares to confront Qingdeng is either a gambler who's thinking "what if?" or an arrogant madman!

One by one, their comrades fell, and handfuls of blood splattered across the walls of the corridor... By now, the Southern soldiers had completely lost the will to resist.

The remaining Southern soldiers retreated hastily, until they had nowhere left to go.

This is an L-shaped corridor.

The remaining Southern soldiers gathered at the horizontal line of the "L" shape, caught in a dilemma.

Qingdeng was slowly walking along the vertical line of the "L" shape.

Some of the southern soldiers, because they were slow to retreat, remained on that line and fought against Qingdeng, like cornered beasts.

"Damn it! I'll fight you to the death! I'll show you the spirit of the Satsuma Hayato! Yaa ...

"Help me! Anyone will do! Please help me!"

"Wait! Please allow me to recite a farewell poem!"

"Ho...hoho...!"

Silence returned to the scene shortly afterward.

No more shouts came out... only the eerie sound of treading water gradually approaching the horizontal line remained.

Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap...

The identity of the person making those footsteps, and the nature of the "water" they were stepping on, is self-evident.

The Southern soldiers gathered at that horizontal line stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with terror, at the corner of the "L"-shaped corridor.

Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap...

……

……

Shimada Kai (the vice-captain of the First Division) led over a hundred members of the First Division, waiting quietly outside the restaurant.

Their mission was very simple: to surround the restaurant and prevent the Southern soldiers inside from escaping.

In retrospect, the mission was pointless—not a single Southern soldier escaped successfully.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the entrance of the ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurant).

Shimada Kai quickly perked up and looked up solemnly... and saw Aoto stride out of the restaurant.

As he wiped the grease off the blade with a piece of paper—shaking the blade could remove the blood, but not the grease—he said expressionlessly to Shimada Kai:

"Let's go. The enemy soldiers here have all been wiped out."

Upon hearing this, Shimada Kai couldn't help but swallow hard.

There were at least a hundred enemy soldiers who stormed into the restaurant.

It's unbelievable that he wiped them all out in such a short time by his own efforts!

Shimada Kaiya was also a highly skilled martial artist, so he could clearly sense that Qing Deng's strength had increased dramatically and terrifyingly compared to a few months ago!

Putting everything else aside, his aura alone is completely different from before.

Upon realizing this, he couldn't help but echo the sentiments of Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime, and others: Was that "Nioh Martial Arts Tournament" really that effective? Could it have brought about such a transformative change in our lord?

At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly turned his head to look southwest, his brows furrowing slightly:

"It's so noisy in Mikicho, is there a fierce battle going on over there?"

Upon hearing this, Shimada Kai quickly composed himself and said in a fast voice:

"That's right. The Fifth Division, which is guarding Miki-cho, is in dire straits. My lord, should we go and provide support?"

Qingdeng nodded almost without thinking:

"Well, let's go."

After issuing a brief instruction, he took the lead and headed straight for Miki-cho.

Shimada Kai turned his head and shouted to the soldiers behind him:

"Follow my lord!"

Under Shimada Kai's command, more than a hundred people hurriedly followed behind Aoto.

The Shinsengumi soldiers all wore chainmail, arm armor, leg armor, and other protective gear. Although their defensive capabilities were not high, they were lightweight and easy to carry.

In contrast, Qing Deng, in addition to the standard equipment of the New Senju such as chainmail and arm armor, also wore a set of exquisite contemporary gear.

[Note: "Tōse Guzuku" refers to the Japanese term for so-called "contemporary armor." This term first appeared in the Edo period, when armor worn before the Edo period was called "Kogozuku," while armor worn during that period was called "Tōse Guzuku."]

It looks imposing, but it also looks bulky.

Despite this, Qing Deng's movements were not affected by the armor at all.

Shimada Kai and the others were trying their best to catch up, but they couldn't keep up with Aoto at all! The distance between them was not only not getting closer, but was actually getting further and further apart!

This armor was a gift from Tokugawa Iemochi to him a long time ago.

Prior to this, Qingdeng had no habit of wearing armor.

Firstly, in this era of rising guns and cannons, armor is no longer of much use.

Secondly, the heavy armor would severely restrict their movement.

But now, the latter is a thing of the past.

The reason for this is that Qing Deng's physical fitness has made a leap forward in the previous "Niou Martial Arts Tournament"!

Iron Waist +29, Steel Bones +38, Elephant Core +26... Just looking at these amazing numerical suffixes, it's not hard to imagine how incredible Qing Deng's physical abilities are right now!

For him now, it makes no difference whether he wears cloth or armor—it's all very light!

*******

*******

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

PS: Leopard is in a fragile state again today... He seems sleepy... I'm very sorry, that's all for today's update (crying leopard head.jpg)

Chapter 1147 The Shinsengumi's Heroes Take the Field, the "Southern Army's" All-Out Attack! [4800]

When Aoto arrived in Mikicho, he looked perfectly normal, without even breaking a sweat.

About 10 seconds later, Shimada and the others caught up with him, panting heavily.

As expected of the elite First Division, if it were any other division, they would probably have been left far behind by Qing Deng long ago.

While waiting for Shimada Kai and the others to arrive, Aoto quickly scanned the battlefield.

As Shimada Kai had just said, the fighting in Mikicho was extremely fierce and had reached a stalemate.

The unit stationed here is the Fifth Division.

Looking up, there were about two hundred Southern soldiers attacking the area.

Just by looking at their spirit, you can tell they are the elite of the "Southern Army".

Not only were they highly motivated, but they were also well-equipped, with everyone wearing armor and possessing more than a hundred muskets.

They formed a circle, with the musketeers positioned on the outer edge.

Viewed from above, the circular formation resembles a vibrant chrysanthemum, with the rows of muskets held horizontally around the circumference as its petals.

The swordsmen wielding steel blades stayed inside the circular formation.

When the members of the Fifth Division stepped forward to attack, the musketeers on the perimeter pulled the triggers and repelled them with a barrage of bullets.

If the Fifth Division soldiers launch an attack while the musketeers are reloading, the inner swordsmen will rush out to meet them and fight hand-to-hand.

Once the musketeers had finished loading their weapons, the swordsmen retreated to the inner side of the circle... and so on.

Although it is a very simple tactic, it is exceptionally effective, insufficient for counterattacks but sufficient for self-defense.

The members of the Fifth Division launched wave after wave of attacks, but they were unable to break through the circular formation.

It would be far too difficult for the mediocre Fifth Division to deal with this elite group of Southern soldiers.

After confirming the battle situation, Qingdeng drew his Vairocana sword from his waist and strode towards the enemy lines.

Following closely behind, Shimada Kai deliberately shouted in a loud voice:

"Make way! Our lord is here!"

That shout was like a magical incantation... its effect was to boost the morale of one's own side!

The moment he finished speaking, the Shinsengumi members on the scene erupted in cheers!

"What? The lord has arrived?"

"I see him! It really is Lord Niou!"

"Great! We've got this in the bag!"

"What are you all standing there for? Get out of the way!"

Up until now, the members of the Fifth Division all looked worried due to the fierce battle.

Now, they all have smiles on their faces, each one more excited than the last.

The excitement on this side only served to highlight the fear on the other side.

"Damn it... it's 'Niou' Tachibana Aoto...!"

"Is it really him?"