I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"What? Leave? I haven't had enough of the fireworks yet!"

"I've only just arrived, and I haven't even had a chance to see the fireworks yet!"

"What happened? What kind of madman is this?"

……

To avoid causing panic, the officials used the euphemism "a dangerous madman" instead of explicitly stating that he was a terrifying figure carrying a large gun and killing people indiscriminately, who had already caused the deaths of many.

"Master, Master," Elodie said anxiously, glancing at the chaotic crowd around her. "What's going on? Is it the anti-foreign faction killing people again?"

The brutal actions of radical anti-foreigners in recent years have almost caused both foreigners like Elodie and ordinary Edo residents to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Whenever they hear of a disturbance, they instinctively assume it is the work of radical anti-foreigners.

An unexpected accident suddenly occurred... Ignoring the chaotic scene between Mai and Zuo, Qing Deng smiled slightly at Elodie and comforted her:

"Don't be nervous. I, Okita-kun, Mai, and Sanako-san are here. No matter what happens, there's nothing to be afraid of."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qingdeng suddenly heard a series of metallic clanging sounds coming from afar.

The sound was very faint... and you could easily miss it if you weren't paying attention.

Qingdeng quickly closed his eyes and focused all his attention on his ears, carefully sensing all the sounds carried by the wind—"Gathering Spirit" and "Wind Sensor" were activated.

A tremendous sound of wind being cut... It must be the sound of some giant weapon being wielded... A spear?

Many sounds of swords being swung... The dense sound of swords being swung was mixed with many very familiar shouts... It was the voices of Kondo and the others!

“…Elodie, get down for a moment.” Qing Deng looked up without changing his expression and said to Elodie, who was straddling his neck.

"Hmm? Okay, okay."

Qing Deng put Elodie down and then handed her to Kinoshita Mai.

"Ah Wu, I'll leave Elodie in your care for now."

"Huh?" Kinoshita Mai was taken aback. "Seito, where are you going?"

"I heard Kondo and the others fighting with someone... I need to go check it out."

Having said that, Qing Deng, supporting the Ghost-Stabilizing Armor at his waist, hurried off toward the direction from which the sounds of battle were coming.

Upon seeing this, Souji and Sanako were stunned for a moment, then quickly followed.

The closer one gets to the source of the sound, the more one can hear the intense clanging of metal, a sound that makes one's teeth ache, along with a series of terrifying roars and shouts.

After a frantic rush, Qingdeng finally spotted those familiar figures.

Ahead, on a street littered with blood and mangled limbs, Tada Kōemon's long spear arced through the air, its long, sharp tip using its length to repel Nagakura and Tōdō who were trying to approach him from his left.

As he swung his sword again, Saito and Inoue, who were trying to approach him from the right, were forced back.

Immediately afterwards, Tada Kōemon thrust his spear forward, aiming at Hijikata and Harada, who were positioned directly in front of him, but Hijikata parried it with his sword.

In the blink of an eye, a burly figure seized the opportunity and flashed to Tada Kōemon's side... It was Kondo!

Having successfully broken through the blockade of the large spear and gotten close to Tada Kōemon, Kondo slashed down fiercely with his sword.

Kondo's slash did not cause Tada Kōemon any panic. He neither defended nor dodged—he simply took a small step back calmly, generously offering his chest to Kondo's attack.

Clap!

Kondo's attack was undeniably powerful... but the result was merely a scratch on Tada Kōemon's armor.

Not only did he fail to break through the defense, he also damaged the sword – a nick appeared on the blade of Kondo's sword.

"Haaah!"

A loud shout accompanied the gun barrel as it pressed down on Kondo.

Kondo had no choice but to retreat, quickly moving back to a spot where Tada Kōemon's spear could not hit him.

"Not bad! You rebels! Come on! Let me see what else you've got up your sleeves!"

Tada Kōemon let out an arrogant laugh and shouted.

At this moment, Kondo, who had retreated to a safe area, noticed Aoto, Souji, and Sanako, who had just arrived and were now standing not far from him.

"Yo, Tachibana, Souji, you're here."

Kondo grinned, revealing a bitter smile tinged with helplessness and resentment.

"I have never felt so sincerely that the spear is truly the 'king of the battlefield' and why civilians are not allowed to possess armor."

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It's almost the end of the month again! Readers who still have monthly passes, please vote for this book! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

One of my favorite manga, *Bleach*, was illustrated by Tite Kubo, the original author. He recently released an illustration of the original Gotei 13, and it's so cool! I absolutely love it, and I have to show it to everyone. When I have the money, I'm definitely going to hire a top-notch artist to draw a group photo of Aoto, Souji, and the others, using the same cool poses shown in this picture. →→→

Readers familiar with Japanese history should be able to guess who this person is when they see the name "Mr. Ōshio" mentioned earlier.

This person is a historical figure; those who are interested can learn more about him on Baidu.

Chapter 246 Kinoshita Mai and the Bizarre Physical Body [4800]

"Kondo-kun, what's going on?" Aoto asked quickly.

“I don’t know the specifics either,” Kondo replied in a deep voice. “On our way to Ryogoku Bridge, we ran into this madman. This madman claimed to be a descendant of Tada Mitsuyori, one of the ‘Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda,’ and was carrying a big gun and killing people indiscriminately.”

"Takeda's Twenty-Four Generals? Tada Mitsuyori?" Seido raised an eyebrow.

The so-called "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda" is a collective term used by later generations to refer to 24 outstanding generals under Takeda Shingen, a famous warlord during the Sengoku period (1467-1615).

The Warring States period, a rare era of great division and chaos in the country, gave birth to many popular stories and anecdotes, as well as a large number of figures that have inspired people to create names for them.

Giving people all sorts of weird nicknames...that's a traditional Japanese skill!

Besides giving nicknames like "Sixth Heaven Demon King," "Tiger of Kai," and "Dragon of Echigo" to leaders of forces such as Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen, and Uesugi Kenshin, later generations also gave their subordinates all sorts of fancy nicknames.

What about the "Four Heavenly Kings of Oda", the "Seven Spears of Shizugatake", the "Sixteen Divine Generals of Tokugawa", the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda"...

The titles they came up with were all incredibly impressive.

Their records were increasingly poor.

In order to make up catchy numbers like "4", "7", "16", and "24", a lot of people with unremarkable achievements were added... or even people whose achievements are impossible to find.

For example, Aoto had never heard of this Tada Mitsuyoshi.

Because Japan is a country that places great importance on class and lineage, it is quite common to introduce oneself by saying what one's ancestors are or what kind of people one is a descendant of.

However, this is just like Liu Bei claiming to be a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan and a member of the Han imperial family—he said that, but whether it was really true or not...who knows.

Samurai valued face and reputation above all else, so many of them would put on a show of wealth and status, falsely claiming to be descendants of some famous person from hundreds of years ago in order to elevate their own status and lineage.

Aoto belongs to the Genji clan with the surname Tachibana, so if Aoto likes it, he can try to claim that his family is a branch of the Seiwa Genji from the Heian period, and claim to be a descendant of "Shana-o" Minamoto no Yoshitsune, just to indulge in some boasting—after all, no one can find out whether their ancestor was actually Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

Just as Aoto and Kondo were exchanging information, Tada Kōemon opened his bloodshot eyes wide and slashed his sharp gaze at Aoto, Souji, and Sanako.

"Good! Another new traitor has arrived! Hmm? And there's a woman with him?"

The moment his gaze fell upon Sanako, perhaps startled by her beauty, Tada Koemon's eyes regained a sliver of clarity—but this clarity was fleeting.

"Hmph! Even such a delicate woman has become a traitor? Your ability to bewitch people is far more impressive than I imagined!"

—He really is a crazy person with a screw loose…

Qing Deng's eyelids drooped slightly, and his right hand touched the hilt of the sword that could quell ghosts and gods.

This person's speech was incoherent, filled with accusations of being a traitor and a rebel, making no sense whatsoever.

At that moment, Kinoshita Mai and Elodie arrived.

Because they were carrying Elodie and their speed was slowed down, the two figures, one in red and one in yellow, had only just caught up with Aoto, Souji, and Sanako.

Even while they were still on their way, Kinoshita Mai had already smelled the strong stench of blood.

Realizing that what awaited them was something no small matter and that the young Elodie absolutely could not see, Kinoshita Mai silently pressed Elodie's head down, burying Elodie's face in her "robust" bear-like muscles.

Although Kinoshita Mai had mentally prepared herself when she smelled blood, she was still shocked when she saw the street stained with blood.

The horrific state and the shock of the corpses struck by heavy weapons like the large spear far surpassed that of those struck by swords and blades.

At this moment, Kinoshita Mai was extremely grateful for her foresight in blocking Elodie's eyes with a "face wash" beforehand, preventing Elodie from seeing this hellish scene that even adults might not be able to bear.

Kinoshita Mai silently increased the pressure of her hand on Elodie's head, burying Elodie's pretty face even deeper into her bear-like muscles, determined not to give Elodie any chance to peek at the outside world.

"..." Elodie, whose vision was obscured by the indescribable spherical object, remained silent.

She's seen quite a lot in her life.

The snowy night more than half a year ago, the residence more than two months ago... She was repeatedly attacked by radicals, so the taste of blood was not unfamiliar to her.

Therefore, based on the strong smell of blood mixed in the air, Elodie could roughly guess what a terrible sight she would see if she looked up.

Terrified of such bloody scenes, she wisely chose not to see, hear, or speak of them...

Upon hearing the commotion of Kinoshita Mai and Elodie arriving, Qing Deng immediately turned to look at the two women.

"Ah Wu...!" Qing Deng called out softly, drawing the attention of the woman in red.

After making eye contact with Kinoshita Mai, Aoto gave her a wink.

Get Elodie away from here quickly—that was the message Qingdeng conveyed in his eyes.

Kinoshita Mai, who understood the meaning in Qing Deng's eyes, nodded her little head vigorously, then carried Elodie and quickly returned along the original path, retreating to a place outside the battlefield where she could no longer see any movement from this place.

At this moment, Tada Kōemon let out another angry roar.

As soon as he let out this roar, the atmosphere in the air changed dramatically!

"How many of your companions do you have? Bring them all in! I'm going to have a good slaughter today! Take this! Let me see what you newcomers are all capable of!"

After shouting, Tada Kōemon took a big step forward, twisted his waist to generate force, and thrust his spear toward Aoto's head.

A tiny, cold glint, like the tip of a tassel, instantly filled Qingdeng's entire field of vision!

Seeing this, Qing Deng, without changing his expression, flicked his left thumb, which had been supporting the scabbard of the Ding Gui Shen sword, forward, pushing the blade out of the scabbard by more than an inch, and then drew the sword with a "whoosh".

The moment his right palm firmly gripped the sword that had been used to calm the spirits, Qing Deng used a sword strike to diagonally attack the spearhead, which was much longer than his entire forearm.

The deafening clang and sound waves expanded in the blink of an eye—Qing Deng's precise strike successfully deflected Tada Kōemon's large spear.

At that moment, Souji and Sanako, who were standing on the left and right sides of Aoto respectively, moved almost simultaneously.