I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Jinno sighed silently, then slowly raised his head and looked up at the gate of the Bright mansion, which was blocked by a large group of men led by Jinno himself.

A look of triumphant satisfaction, as if his grand ambitions had been realized, appeared on his face.

Destroying the Edo settlement and killing all the foreigners within it—this was a long-cherished wish of Kanna before he established the Extermination Group, and it was also the first small goal in his grand plan to "expel all the barbarians in the country".

To realize this long-cherished wish, Kamino had made the most meticulous plans and mobilized the greatest extent possible long ago.

After suffering losses in previous major operations, coupled with the "elite force plan" implemented by Kamino himself to weed out the inferior and retain the good, the number of members in the Extermination Group is now far less than before.

With the limited number of people in the Extermination Group, it would be difficult to kill all the foreigners in the settlement.

After all, these barbarians also have legs and are capable of escaping. Sending people to roam the streets aimlessly to catch and kill people is simply too inefficient.

The question of how to efficiently kill the barbarians within the settlement had long troubled Kamino.

Until recently, he learned some news that instantly excited him: a guy named Bright in the settlement was going to hold a grand ball on the night of his 60th birthday, and most of the residents of the settlement would be attending.

The barbarians in the settlement have actually gathered together... This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expel the barbarians!

So, after much deliberation, Kamino decided to set the date for Bright's 60th birthday celebration, the night of the day he had been preparing his long-planned "destruction of the settlement"!

His "killing target" for tonight is very clear—to concentrate all his forces and kill everyone attending the Bright Ball tonight!

Since most of the residents of the settlement are at Bright's mansion tonight, killing all these banquet attendees would be enough to satisfy Kamino.

As for how to eliminate the attendees of the Bright Ball... Kamino's plan can only be described as cruel and vicious.

The plan devised by Shinno was to set fire to Bright's mansion, then lead his men to block the mansion's gates and other areas, preventing anyone inside from leaving. The goal was to either burn the people inside alive or kill them by hacking or shooting them if they tried to escape.

From the perspective of "guaranteeing to kill everyone in the house", this plan is undoubtedly the safest and most secure.

Shinno learned from the experience of the previous attack on the Banshu Investigation Bureau.

Sending men directly into the mansion to arrest and kill people is far too slow and makes it easy for some to escape.

In comparison, setting fire to the house and then concentrating manpower to block the main entrance and a few other exits, forcing the people inside to choose between "being burned to death" and "rushing out of the house and being hacked to death," is actually more efficient and less likely to result in missed or accidental killings.

Snap, snap, snap, snap...

At that moment, Jinno heard two sets of footsteps approaching them from the west.

They were two reserve guards carrying Minié rifles.

When the two guards arrived at the scene and saw the large group of people gathered outside the Bright mansion, they were immediately taken aback and gasped in shock.

Without any order from Kamino, a rather burly samurai immediately led several men, drew their swords, and charged at the two guards who had suddenly appeared.

These two guards were indeed very brave. Even though the enemy in front of them outnumbered them many times over, they still bravely raised their guns, ready to fight back.

However... the brutal gap in combat power cannot be bridged by mental strength alone.

These guards are fine for maintaining order in the settlement on a daily basis, but they are really not up to the task of fighting against the terrorists from the Extermination Group.

The guns they used, the Minié rifles, were among the most advanced rifles available at the time, but with only two guns, they were hardly effective against such a large enemy force.

boom!boom!

The two guards fired their guns, but both ran out of bullets...

Taking advantage of the moment when their ammunition ran out, the burly man who had led several warriors to attack the two guards immediately led his men to swarm forward.

Although the guards managed to reverse their guns and use the barrels as clubs, they were ultimately outnumbered and hacked to death.

Shinno, who had silently witnessed the entire process of the two guards' appearance and execution, chuckled coldly as he turned his gaze back to the Bright mansion ahead, then thought to himself with a satisfied tone:

These barbarians must be wondering now why there are hardly any guards coming to rescue them.

—I wonder how they would react if they found out that most of the guards here had been killed by us.

In order to minimize obstacles and reduce casualties, before setting the settlement on fire, Kamino personally led a raid on the settlement guards' post.

The surprise attack was quite successful.

The number of guards at the settlement was already small, and because they were caught off guard by the sneak attack on Kanna and her group, almost all of those who remained at the settlement were wiped out, while Kanna and her group suffered almost no casualties.

In short, the security system in the settlement is now essentially paralyzed.

Suddenly, footsteps came from the street corner next door.

However, this time it wasn't the remaining guards from the settlement who appeared, but rather the subordinates that Kamino had sent to set fires in other parts of the settlement.

"Mr. Kamino, we have successfully set the house on fire to the east!"

"Yes." Kamino nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."

If you want to destroy this hateful "barbarian settlement"... killing people won't do the trick.

Those unsightly Western-style buildings should also not be kept!

Therefore, in addition to "killing all the attendees of the Bright Ball", Jinno and his friends have set another goal for tonight: to burn this hateful neighborhood to ashes!

In order to make the most of the kerosene he had urgently purchased from Rakshasa, Kamino had previously studied in detail with his companions, who had some knowledge of architecture, how to set the fire.

Research shows that they only need to set fire to five houses in the east, south, and west directions to engulf the entire settlement in flames!

After deducting the oil needed to kill the attendees at the Bright Ball... the remaining oil was more than enough to complete this "arson mission"!

The subordinates that Jinno sent to set fires have all returned one after another, and they have all completed their "fire-setting missions" quite successfully.

Right now, the firelight emanating from all parts of the settlement illuminates the entire settlement as if it were daytime.

In order to ensure the success of tonight's "destruction of the settlement" operation, after eliminating necessary personnel such as "guardian Sanako and Natsume Tsuki", Jinno brought all his companions to the settlement tonight—a total of 66 people.

At this moment, with the return of the entire "arson squad," the 67 thugs of the Extermination Group, led by Jinno, have gathered outside Bright's mansion.

They all watched with expressions of excitement, exhilaration, and deep emotion as the Bright Mansion was gradually engulfed by the fire.

Some people were eager to see some barbarians, unable to bear the heat of the fire, rush out of the mansion, so that they could also experience the thrill of killing the barbarians.

Some people half-closed their eyes, listening with an air of enjoyment to the screams and wails that kept coming from inside the mansion.

A group of people, led by Shinno, looked around at the Crimson Lotus Hell with smiles on their faces and an air of smug satisfaction.

The firelight shone on them, casting long, ghostly shadows on the ground behind them.

The laughter of these people; the shadows exuding a chilling aura; coupled with the sounds of flames burning and screams of people now dominating the entire settlement…

This scene is like a procession of a hundred ghosts at night.

……

……

The fire at the mansion is showing signs of intensifying.

The sound of wood cracking echoed continuously from all parts of the mansion, and more and more ceilings and walls collapsed and fell, sending sparks flying into the night.

"Staying here is just waiting to die! Let's rush out together!" someone suddenly shouted.

"Didn't you see those samurai blocking the gates? Charging out like that will only lead to certain death!" (French)

"Then what do you suggest we do? Are we just going to sit here and wait for the fire to burn us to death or suffocate us?"

……

People with differing opinions argued, making the already noisy space even more chaotic and adding a sense of despair to the surrounding atmosphere.

The fire spread again.

The stench of burning wood filled the air, the wind whipped by the flames churned and carried the unpleasant creaking of the burning mansion, and sparks flew and landed on Elodie's face.

Sparks stung her skin... thick smoke irritated her eyes and nose... her throat felt like it was being burned by flames, and every time she swallowed, a foul bitter taste rose in her mouth, making Elodie cough incessantly until she could no longer care about her appearance and was about to vomit.

"Elodie! Elodie!" Anthony, his voice trembling with anxiety, reached out and wiped the sweat from Elodie's forehead.

"I...I'm fine..." Elodie took a deep breath, then tilted her head back and gave Anthony a smile that was meant to reassure him.

Hearing Elodie's weak voice and seeing the smile she was giving him... a surge of intense sorrow welled up in Anthony's heart, and he hurriedly raised his head, trying to find a safe place.

However... being in a mansion engulfed in flames, there was no longer any question of safety...

Despite Anthony's efforts to control himself, his emotions finally broke free, and waves of unease and fear surged across his cheeks.

Elodie, still held in Anthony's arms, quietly watched her grandfather.

"grandfather……"

She reached out her small hand and gently stroked Anthony's wrinkled face.

She wanted to say some comforting words to her grandfather, who was feeling very uneasy and fearful.

But after whispering "Grandpa," he couldn't say anything more...

She's... also very scared right now...

Hands, feet, lips, voice... the whole body was trembling.

I'm so scared... so scared...

This feeling of fear, which made my whole body tremble, suddenly stirred up memories of the past.

On that snowy night months ago, she was the same way, trembling with fear, dreading pain and death.

However, that man was there on that snowy night several months ago.

That... the man who saved them...

That man... who soothed the fear in her heart with his sword...

The man's tall figure appeared before Elodie's eyes.

"Mr. Orange..."

She couldn't explain why... Elodie, who was biting her lower lip, unconsciously murmured the man's name.

……

……

"It should be almost done," Kamino muttered.

In no time, the mansion before them would be completely destroyed by the flames, leaving no safe place left.

At that time, those inside the mansion who did not want to be burned or suffocated by the fire and smoke, no matter how unwilling they were, could only rush out of the mansion and throw themselves into the arms of Jinno and the others who were "waiting" outside the mansion.

Knowing that the barbarians inside the mansion were about to be wiped out, the smiles on the faces of Jinno and the others became even more pleasant and smug.

The air was filled with an air of smugness and joy.