I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Mr. Inoue and I fought our way here without even realizing it."

Yamanami Keisuke paused for a moment, then his expression turned serious:

"Ju, you're right. The other side's tactics are very insidious. They're focusing their efforts on the 'Hunter Captain,' and they definitely want to break your 'wings' and isolate you."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng lowered his eyelids.

"...As expected."

For the Southern Army, the biggest challenge in this battle was undoubtedly "how to deal with King Ren".

An unstoppable combat unit that can easily shake the course of the battle!

Looking across the entire "Southern Army," the only person who could challenge Qingdeng in a one-on-one fight was Ōtakemaru of the Fazhu Party.

Conversely, the only person on the Shinsengumi side who could rival Ōtakemaru was Aoto.

Therefore, since the start of the war, Qingdeng has remained vigilant and kept a close eye on the movements of the Fazhu Party.

However, to this day, Qing Deng has not encountered any members of the Fa-Zhu Party, nor has he received any eyewitness reports.

Therefore, Qing Deng suspected that the Fazhu Party was not here, but rather on the northern front, cooperating with the "Northern Army" to deal with the Aizu Army.

If this conjecture is true, then the Aizu army's swift defeat becomes even more plausible.

Without sending out Ōtakemaru, the only way to hold off or even defeat Aoto is to use sheer numbers to slowly wear him down.

Therefore, it is necessary to try to isolate Qingdeng.

The captains, led by Hijikata Toshizo, are the backbone of the Shinsengumi. If anything were to happen to them, the Shinsengumi's combat capability would be reduced by more than half!

If you put yourself in Qingdeng's shoes, he would also adopt the strategy of "first eliminating the captain, then annihilating Renwang".

This morning, Qingdeng specifically warned all the captains to be careful and cautious, not to underestimate the enemy and advance recklessly, and not to act alone, so as not to give the enemy any opportunity to take advantage.

Of course, even with the utmost caution, there is still a possibility of encountering misfortune.

The battlefield is ever-changing; even the most invincible top experts can be caught off guard and suffer unexpected setbacks.

"There's never a moment's rest..."

Qing Deng brandished his sword again, then took another step. Target—the summit of Autumn Mountain!

Yamanami Keisuke and Inoue Genzaburo consciously followed closely behind.

……

……

"Drink up! Drink up!"

Nagakura Shinpachi shouted and brandished his sword, his feet exuding the aura of a pouncing tiger.

Suddenly, someone shouted from the side:

"That person is Nagakura Shinpachi!"

"We've finally found him!"

"Quick! Cast the net!"

Before Nagakura Shinpachi could react, fishing nets appeared out of thin air and rained down on him.

In the blink of an eye, he was covered up completely, like a fish.

Immediately afterwards, rows of muskets were raised and pointed directly at him...

……

……

"It's Captain Saito Hajime of the Third Division!"

"Don't get close to him! Deal with him slowly and deliberately!"

In a matter of seconds, countless bullets pierced the atmosphere, heading towards Saito Hajime from different directions.

Saito Hajime rolled away with a swift but unsightly motion, dodging to the side as bullets flew after him, hitting the ground and kicking up clouds of dust and specks of mud.

The opposing team relentlessly pressed Saito Hajime with continuous fire, forcing him to take cover behind a large tree.

……

……

"Huff...huff...huff...huff...huff..."

Kondo Isami leaned on his sword, trying to catch his breath as fast as he could.

He stood atop a vast mountain of corpses, with the bodies of Southern soldiers at his feet and their bloodstains all around him.

Even after such a fierce battle, he, who was full of energy and particularly skilled in group combat, couldn't help but feel tired.

However, before he could catch his breath, a new battle cry suddenly broke out.

Kondo Isami raised his head, looked at the numerous enemy soldiers charging towards him again, and twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a half-smile:

"Oh dear...did I rush too far ahead?"

……

……

The longer it drags on, the more likely something unexpected will happen.

After all, "unexpected things happening as expected" is a common occurrence in the world.

Qingdeng kept swinging his sword without stopping. For a long time, the blade of Vairocana had not returned to its "solid form" and remained a blurry, almost transparent afterimage.

Despite the best efforts of the soldiers led by Yamanami Keisuke and Inoue Genzaburo, it was still difficult for them to keep up with Aoto's speed.

Because the terrain is too complex, with a depression here and a protruding tree root there, even the tightest formation will become loose.

"Huff...huff...huff...huff...huff..."

Inoue Genzaburo stretched his nostrils to their limit, greedily inhaling oxygen, trying to calm the throbbing pain in his chest.

Due to his advanced age (37 years old), Inoue Genzaburo has never been known for his physical strength.

The fatigue that has been building up since the day before yesterday is gradually becoming apparent, like the receding tide on the shore.

While the younger generation was still handling things with ease, he already felt his legs getting heavy, his chest aching, and his reaction speed slowing down a bit.

That's why... when he noticed the musket hidden in the bushes not far away, pointing directly at him, his reaction was a beat slow.

boom!

The bullets that flew out overlapped with the figure of Inoue Genzaburo!

At this critical moment, Inoue Genzaburo's fighting instincts saved his life—he instinctively turned to the side, and a scorching bullet grazed his left leg, scraping away some flesh, but at least he was not in mortal danger.

However, the burning pain caused him to cry out uncontrollably, lose his balance, and fall heavily to the ground.

Not far away, Yamanami Keisuke immediately noticed Inoue Genzaburo's strange behavior and kept calling out:

"Mr. Inoue!"

His shout drew Qingdeng's attention back.

Qing Deng, who was fighting on the front lines, changed his expression slightly and then quickly turned around to look for Inoue Genzaburo's figure.

Inoue Genzaburo covered the bloody, mangled wound on his left leg with his left hand, enduring the pain as he struggled to stand up.

Just then—

call!

With the sound of clothes fluttering, a dark shadow pounced on him like a large bird!

This "big bird" was very strong. In the blink of an eye, he revealed "bird claws" from his waist—blades that gleamed with a cold light!

Before he could think further, Inoue Genzaburo raised his sword to meet the attack.

clang!

In the instant the steel blades clashed, countless sparks flew.

Inoue Genzaburo's attack was not a simple defense; he used considerable force in an attempt to knock the opponent's sword away.

Unexpectedly, the opponent's knife didn't budge at all! Instead, his palms were jolted painfully by the force of the rebound!

Separated by two steel blades, Inoue Genzaburo squinted and glared at his opponent:

"...You do have some skills."

The other party smiled slightly:

"You must be the captain of the 6th Division of the Shinsengumi? I am Nakamura Hanjiro, nice to meet you."

Genzaburo Inoue's pupils shrank:

"Half-Man Slayer... Hmph, I've heard so much about you."

Nakamura Hanjiro – a renowned Satsuma swordsman and a master of the Jigen-ryu style.

He was known as "Hanjiro the Man-Slayer" for assassinating many important figures in the shogunate, and was as famous as Okada Izo, Kawakami Gensai, and Tanaka Shinbei.

choke!

In an instant, the two steel blades, close to each other, slid past each other, ending their struggle.

Inoue Genzaburo quickly adjusted the blade and swiftly swept it towards Nakamura Hanjiro's waist and abdomen.

At the same time, the latter also swung his blade, making the same horizontal sweep, and slashed at the opponent's waist and abdomen.

At first glance, it was difficult to tell which of the two was faster at wielding their swords.

But... what followed clearly proved that Nakamura Hanjiro's knife was faster!

His knife tip grazed Inoue Genzaburo's side, drawing out a string of blood beads!

If Inoue Genzaburo hadn't instinctively twisted his body, causing Nakamura Hanjiro's knife tip to move a little further away, he would have already been disemboweled!

*******

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