I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"What else can we do? Load the cannons with gunpowder and they'll all explode! We can't leave them to the Shinsengumi!"

"Such a good cannon, it's such a waste to blow it up!"

"Is this the time to worry about these things?! Human lives are worth far more than cannons! Enough talk, just blow up all these cannons!"

The vanished banner, the rapidly spreading bad news, the sudden order to retreat... all of these things were like heavy hammers, striking the Southern soldiers' heads one after another, leaving them dizzy and disoriented.

What followed was entirely predictable—the retreat of the Southern soldiers could be aptly described as an "avalanche."

The Shinsengumi's relentless attacks had already caused them immense suffering.

The sudden news of the defeat snapped the tension in their minds, leaving them with no will to fight and only a desire to escape the battlefield as quickly as possible.

The contagious nature of emotions can either unleash soldiers' strength a thousandfold or amplify their fears infinitely.

Those who had originally wanted to fight to the end were now at a loss and could only follow the main force in a bewildered retreat.

Sticking close to the defeated enemy and relentlessly pursuing them—this has always been the classic tactic of the Shinsengumi.

Since the founding of the army, there has never been a battle that did not follow this approach.

In a matter of seconds, the Shinsengumi caught up with them.

Aoto, Hijikata Toshizo, and the others had crossed the summit of Mount Aki and began their attack to the west—that is, towards Toba.

As for the troops of Sanako and others who were slightly behind, they have now broken through the enemy lines and joined the pursuit of the southern soldiers.

"This is the last battle of the day! Everyone who can still move, follow me!"

After roaring, Nagakura Shinpachi ripped off his blood-soaked, heavy shirt, revealing his strong and muscular body.

Not far away, Saito used a strip of torn haori cloth to tightly bind his left palm to the sword in his hand—by now, his strength was almost exhausted, and his hand holding the sword was about to lose feeling; if he didn't do this, he would lose his grip on the sword.

Hijikata Toshizo poured a full bamboo tube of water onto the back of his neck. The cool water flowed over his body, which slightly roused him.

Kondo Isami asked him to stay, saying this with a serious expression:

"You can't even hold a knife properly! Stay right where you are!"

Before he could finish speaking, Hijikata Toshizo quickly replied without hesitation:

"Now is not the time to consider personal gains and losses! Although I am no longer able to wield a sword, as long as my figure appears before the soldiers, it can boost their morale to some extent. I want to see who dares to back down in front of the 'Demon Vice-Commander'!"

In the blink of an eye, Aoto, Souji, and Yamanami Keisuke, who were at the forefront, had already engaged the enemy.

Since just now, members have been falling behind due to exhaustion. Currently, only about twenty members are still able to keep up with Qing Deng and Zong Si.

There were only so many of them, yet they still managed to chase and beat over a thousand people!

Twenty or so people chasing and killing more than a thousand people... If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would probably have scoffed at it.

Qingdeng raised Vairocana.

The commander waved the chrysanthemum-shaped character Norimoto.

They tore through the Southern soldiers' rear lines with their cold blades, thus beginning the pursuit!

One side pressed its advantage and pursued the enemy, while the other side fled in panic.

The former charged forward, roaring and attacking.

The latter, the fleeing ones, howled and died.

An urgent, urging call to action.

The footsteps that shake the earth.

A blade gleaming with a cold light.

Guns that spit fire.

Bullets whistling through the air.

The protective gear clanged loudly.

The battle flag fluttered in the wind.

All of the above combined to form an unstoppable "force," crushing across the autumn mountains and the battlefield!

From the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain, everywhere was filled with hacking, shooting, fighting, and life-or-death struggle.

The "Sincerity" flag flooded Satsuma's "Maru Cross" flag and Choshu's "Ichimonji Sansei" flag...

The resistance from the Southern soldiers was practically nonexistent.

They simply fled in panic, letting the scales of the battlefield tip in favor of the Shinsengumi.

Some of the southern soldiers mustered their courage and cautiously looked back.

What came into their view were ferocious faces with bloodshot eyes, blood-soaked blades, gun barrels emitting smoke, and light blue haori (traditional Japanese jackets).

Light green—a refreshing color reminiscent of a clear summer sky—etched a deep fear into their minds!

They were terrified, so horrified that many of them were confused, frequently mistaking the green leaves and grass around them for the Shinsengumi's haori, thinking that the Shinsengumi's pursuers had arrived, paralyzing themselves in fear, or kowtowing and surrendering to the slender grass at their feet.

The Southern soldiers fled faster and faster, became increasingly agitated, and resorted to increasingly unscrupulous means.

Many people did not hesitate to step over their fallen comrades.

Some even went so far as to drag their comrades to the ground, just to buy a little more time.

Disorder, chaos... This can no longer be called a "retreat"; it would be more accurate to call it a "rout".

Fortunately, just as the situation was on the verge of collapse, the few remaining elite troops sent by Saigo Kinosuke arrived.

They faithfully fulfilled their duties, bravely stepping forward to confront the Shinsengumi's advance, fighting and retreating, managing to barely slow down the Shinsengumi's pursuit and giving the retreating Southern soldiers a chance to catch their breath.

However… with the outcome already decided, there's very little they can do; they simply can't completely stop the Shinsengumi's fierce attack. The idea of ​​a comeback is utterly absurd.

About half an hour after Aoto cut down the "Southern Army" banner, the Shinsengumi's cannons arrived—the Eleventh Division, with their weapons and equipment, successfully arrived at Akiyama.

Following Hijikata Toshizo's instructions, they spared no effort in pulling all the cannons to Mount Aki.

The dark cannon muzzles were aimed at the small branch bridge west of Qiuzhi Mountain. After spreading out their formation, they immediately launched a saturation bombardment from their high ground!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless shells rained down on and around Xiaozhi Bridge, and the Southern soldiers stationed there were blown to pieces.

Several bridges, including Koji Bridge, are important passages across the Kamo River and away from Toba.

In other words, if the bridge could be blown up, the main force of the "Southern Army" could be left east of Toba!

At that time, with the Kamo River blocking their way to the west and the Shinsengumi pursuing them to the east, all the southern troops left east of Toba would be annihilated!

Therefore, Qingdeng specifically ordered: Aim at the bridge body of Xiaozhi Bridge and shoot! Break Xiaozhi Bridge!

And so, under the cover of artillery fire and personally led by Aoto, the Shinsengumi soldiers charged out of Akiyama with the force of tigers descending the mountain, rushing headlong towards Koji Bridge!

The pursuit is intensifying, the fighting is escalating, and the death toll is rising!

……

……

At dusk —

"Gah—! Gah—! Gah—! Gah—!"

Countless crows circled above the bird's feathers, rising and falling intermittently, emitting a continuous stream of piercing cries.

The Shinsengumi's fierce attack continued until sunset before finally stopping.

The dim, golden afterglow bathed the earth, adding rich, oil-painting-like colors.

From the east of Mount Aki to the west of Toba, the air is thick with the scent of blood on this vast battlefield!

Clashing swords and spears, damaged cannons, shattered battle flags, and countless corpses littered the entire field, stretching as far as the eye could see!

Amidst this vast sea of ​​corpses, one could frequently see Shinsengumi members, their faces etched with exhaustion. Many had to use their weapons to brace themselves against the ground to maintain their balance, otherwise they would surely collapse to the ground due to their weak legs.

Despite being extremely exhausted, they were all in a state of high spirits, their eyes shining with excitement.

Both as a celebration and to vent their pent-up emotions, they cheered and shouted incessantly:

We won!

"The 'Southern Army' has been driven back!"

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh—!"

"Damn bandits! Now you've seen how powerful the Shinsengumi are!"

As if in response, the flock of crows in the sky also emitted louder and more piercing cries at the same time.

The crows were extremely excited, and as soon as the people cleaning up the battlefield left, they immediately swooped down to have a feast.

Of course, Qingdeng wouldn't give them the chance to "feast".

If the corpses scattered throughout the mountains and valleys are not properly disposed of, a plague could very likely break out.

Toba is very close to Aoto's base (the Hatazu Domain), so if an epidemic breaks out, it will be no laughing matter.

Therefore, Qingdeng specially organized a group of people to clean up the battlefield.

Our own corpses were carefully collected and disposed of, while the enemy's corpses were buried on the spot, ensuring that no potential threat of plague was left behind.

As the soldiers cheered, Qing Deng, carrying the blood-dripping Vairocana, stood somewhere on Toba Street, gazing expressionlessly at the battlefield stained with the glow of sunset and the color of blood.

As Souji dragged her Kikuichimonji Norimune along, she slowly approached him and asked, half-jokingly:

"Qingdeng, what's wrong? Why do you look so down?"

Qing Deng twitched the corner of his mouth:

"Not at all, I'm overjoyed. I'm just... a little surprised. I never imagined we'd achieve such a brilliant victory today."

In terms of the number of enemies killed, this dense sea of ​​corpses, so dense that there was hardly any room to step, truly exceeded Qingdeng's expectations!

Because of the slightly greater distance, the Eleventh Division's shells could not accurately hit the bridge structure of the small branch bridge.

Left with no other choice, they could only unleash a hail of bullets at Xiaozhi Bridge!

After firing countless shells, they finally succeeded in blowing up the small bridge, cutting off the most important passage for the "Southern Army" to retreat westward.

As a result, a large number of southern soldiers were stranded east of Toba... They had no choice but to turn north and south and take other bridges to cross the Kamo River.

Aoto's envisioned pursuit plan has come to fruition—with the Kamo River and the Shinsengumi "encircling" them, a natural slaughterhouse has been formed!