I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

P.S.: Leopard's tenosynovitis seems to be recurring... His left wrist is aching slightly... (Leopard in pain.jpg)

Chapter 1167 The First Clash Between Qingdeng and Ōtakemaru!

Just before Sagawa Kanbei and his men launched their feint attack—

A tent within the Northern Expeditionary Army's main camp—

"Cough! Cough cough cough! Cough cough cough cough!"

A series of rapid, hoarse coughs dominated the tent.

Inside the tent stood a candle, its dim light casting a soft glow on the face of the eight-headed serpent, making its features appear and disappear.

The eight-headed serpent lay in the bedding, its face as pale as paper, its chest rising and falling rapidly in an unnatural rhythm. With each breath, it made a "hoarse" sound, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

Tamamo-no-Mae, Ōtakemaru, and Ōtakemaru's sister, Rin, sat around the Yamata no Orochi.

It's worth mentioning that their expressions were all different.

Tamamo-no-Mae remained calm.

Ah Ling looked worried.

As for Ōtakemaru... one would expect to describe his current expression as "calm," but that's not entirely accurate.

His expression was not simply calm or indifferent, but rather a kind of... detachment from worldly affairs. There was no emotion in his cheeks or eyes, making it impossible to fathom his inner thoughts.

"Cough cough cough cough cough cough cough—!!"

Suddenly, the Yamata no Orochi's cough intensified, as if it were coughing up both of its lungs.

Ah Ling seemed to have long been accustomed to this situation.

She deftly brought over the wooden basin beside her and handed it to the mouth of the Yamata no Orochi.

The Yamata no Orochi quickly propped itself up, turned its head to the side, buried its face in the wooden tub, opened its mouth, and spat out dark red phlegm with a "whoosh".

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

After spitting out the phlegm, Orochi's complexion improved slightly, and its breathing became much smoother.

As Ah Ling put the wooden basin back in its place, she cast a concerned glance at the Yamata no Orochi.

"Lord Orochi, would you like some water?"

Orochi shook his head with a wry smile:

"Let me catch my breath... I don't have the strength to drink water right now..."

He said he lay down again, closed his eyes tightly, and greedily inhaled large gulps of oxygen.

After Yamata no Orochi fell ill, his close associates, such as Tamamo-no-Mae and Shuten-dōji, sought out renowned doctors, from traditional Chinese medicine to Western medicine, accepting all comers.

Ultimately, Tamamo-no-Mae found a highly skilled German doctor.

After conducting a thorough physical examination of the Yamata no Orochi, he delivered a devastating diagnosis: the Yamata no Orochi had a tumor growing in its lungs.

Because it involved complex medical information, they were unaware of the specific details, only knowing that it was an incurable disease and that they could only slowly wait to die.

As the condition worsened, Yamata no Orochi's symptoms, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, and coughing up blood, became increasingly severe.

Nowadays, whenever the illness flares up, he suffers unspeakable pain, so much so that he doesn't even have the strength to stand up and can only lie in bed breathing with difficulty.

That's why he cherishes the time he can "breathe freely".

"...Orochi, if you are in too much pain, why don't you go back to Koshu and rest for a while?"

Suddenly, Tamamo-no-Mae opened her almost disappearing lips—the lips of an elderly person always become thinner—and admonished Orochi in a calm and unhurried tone.

"The air on the battlefield is thick and pungent, and the acrid smell of gunpowder will put a heavy burden on your lungs."

“Your condition is getting worse and you should rest quietly in a place with fresh air.”

"I can take full charge of the battle against Tachibana Seiden."

The Fa Zhu Party has a secluded and quiet secret residence in Jiazhou, which is specifically for the Yamata no Orochi to recuperate.

The eight-headed serpent rolled its eyes, met Tamamo-no-Mae's gaze, and smiled slightly:

"Tamamo-no-Mae, thank you for your concern. But I'm fine."

"This battle is a decisive one against Tachibana Seito... We have staked everything on victory."

"I cannot be absent from such an important battle."

"Whether it is Tachibana Seiden's defeat or our demise, I want to witness it with my own eyes."

"Besides... I don't have much time left. Even if I rest and recuperate, I won't live to see this winter... I'm too lazy to put in any more effort to gain a mere one or two months of life."

Orochi spoke casually, as if discussing the life and death of others, seemingly not taking his own illness or life seriously at all.

In contrast, Ah Ling was not so carefree.

As soon as Orochi finished speaking, she lowered her head, an overwhelming sadness appearing on her face.

Just then, Ōtakemaru, who had been motionless like a statue since the beginning, suddenly opened his eyes wide and turned to look outside the tent.

His sudden action drew the attention of everyone inside the tent.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

Before Ōtakemaru could respond, the rumbling thunder outside answered for him.

As if sensing something, Ōtakemaru's usually emotionless face suddenly broke into a smile.

In the blink of an eye, he grabbed the sword at his side, then strode out of the tent...

……

……

Qingdeng swung his spear like a cannonball, blasting away one Northern soldier after another.

Anything touched by its spear tip would have its bones, blood, and internal organs "shattered" or even "vaporized," splattering all over the ground.

By this day, the Shinsengumi cavalrymen have accumulated considerable combat experience.

After following Qingdeng into the enemy camp, they took it upon themselves to wield their katanas, slaying all enemies within their blades and destroying all facilities along the way.

Tents, campfires, battle flags... everything was smashed to pieces.

Their attention was completely drawn to the feint attack from the west, so when Qingdeng launched his general offensive from the east, they were unsurprisingly thrown into chaos.

Qingdeng turned his gaze, scanning everything around him.

Frightened faces, terrified faces, pained faces... Looking around, there was no effective resistance to be seen.

Despite possessing advanced firearms, they were chased and beaten like pigs and dogs, failing to unleash the lethality expected of a "firearms unit".

This performance is exactly what Qing Deng had guessed about the actual combat strength of the "Northern Army".

In his vision, the "Northern Army" should behave in this way, even if it is equipped with new equipment, its core is still a feudal army with limited combat power.

Where are the British troops?

As Qingdeng pondered, he swung his long spear, blasting several more northern soldiers into the air.

Just then, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Qingdeng's "wish" to "find the British army" came true.

After storming into the enemy camp, Qingdeng kept his ears perked up, collecting every sound around him.

With the blessing of the talent "Wind Perception +18", he can clearly distinguish even the most chaotic noises and murmurs.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of synchronized footsteps.

At a time when the northern soldiers were being routed and fleeing in disarray, the sound of their footsteps was all too clear.

Qing Deng immediately looked in the direction of the sound—to his diagonal front, rows of Western soldiers with tall eyebrows and deep-set eyes stood in neat formation, raising their dark gun barrels, the bayonets below the barrels gleaming coldly.

Qing Deng's eyes had already caught the action of "grabbing the trigger".

At the same time, his talent "Foresight +26" caused the hairs on his body to stand on end as he sensed danger!

In the blink of an eye, the barrage of comments arrived!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Countless bullets flew out, churning the air and engulfing Qingdeng and the cavalry behind him!

There were more than a dozen bullets that Qing Deng could see with his naked eye that would hit him and Luo Bo!

The spear was too big and too long, so its speed was limited and it was simply not fast enough to intercept the bullets.

Therefore, Qingdeng quickly hung the long spear back on the saddle, then spread his arms and drew the Vairocana and Wakizashi from his waist, smashing all the incoming bullets at the last second.

Unfortunately... he could protect himself and Luo Bo, but he couldn't save the lives of others.

Instantly, screams erupted behind him.

The rider, struck by a bullet, collapsed to the ground, kicking up a light dust.

The horses that were hit threw their riders off their backs.

The originally strong momentum of the charge was immediately interrupted!

This single volley of fire alone demonstrates the strength of these Western soldiers.

Their actions were decisive and swift, displaying a high level of discipline and tenacity that was visible to the naked eye, and their shooting accuracy was exceptionally high, which was terrifying!

If Qingdeng hadn't possessed the ability to "ignore the barrage of comments," he would have been riddled with bullets by now, even though he was at the forefront.

Although the accuracy and density of these bullet comments were truly alarming, Qing Deng was already used to it, so he didn't even flinch.

At this moment, Qing Deng was shocked to discover that even more Western soldiers were gathering ahead.

No, they should be called "British soldiers".

Squads of British soldiers rushed out of their tents and quickly formed neat ranks, creating a stark contrast with the fleeing Northern troops around them.

"Second team, advance! Third team, prepare!" (in English)

Instructions in English with a distinct British accent reached Qingdeng's ears one after another.

Qing Deng quickly turned his gaze and estimated the number of British soldiers—at least two thousand, and their total number should be around three thousand.

This should be the actual force sent by the British government to aid the "Southern Dynasty".