I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Gao Long, you are the leader of your team, how can you be so panicked? How can you command your subordinates in this state?"

The one-armed warrior was not alone.

In one corner of the room, a young man sat cross-legged, holding a shamisen in his arms, with two swords symbolizing his samurai status tucked into his left waist, speaking with a Choshu accent, and stroking the strings of the shamisen.

"Takasugi-kun!" the one-armed samurai cried out urgently, "How can you expect me to stay calm in this situation?! The fire-wielding thieves disguised as government officials are attacking!"

The long-faced youth paused in his playing of the zither, then looked up at the one-armed warrior.

"Fire-fighting thieves have changed... so what?" The long-faced youth smiled. "There's no other way... considering that we are all patriots who want to expel foreigners, I'll help you out this time."

After saying that, the long-faced young man put down the shamisen in his arms, stood up leisurely, and walked unhurriedly to a wardrobe next to him.

After confirming that the wardrobe's surface was sturdy enough, the long-faced young man used all his strength to remove it, then carried it slowly out of the room.

Outside the room was a corridor that was neither too long nor too short.

As the long-faced youth walked out of the room, he bumped into a member of the Seventh Division who appeared at one end of the corridor.

Due to the dim lighting and obstructed view, the team did not spot the long-faced youth.

And so, the long-faced young man stood casually in the middle of the corridor, holding the counter in one hand and slowly drawing the sword from his waist with the other.

The silver-white blade, reflecting the only light from its surroundings, has become the only "light source" in this space.

The sudden appearance of this "source of light" finally alerted the soldiers not far away to the presence of someone. They hurriedly raised their guns and pointed the dark muzzles at the long-faced youth.

At the same instant the soldiers raised their guns, the long-faced man calmly and composedly assumed a fighting stance, holding a shield in one hand and a knife in the other.

"Chōshu Domain, Yagyu Shininryu, Takasugi Shinsaku... go out into battle!"

*******

*******

In physical recovery

It just so happens that it's the end of the month now, so if you still have monthly tickets, please be sure to vote for this book!

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets!

The author got Tsuchida Masayoshi's unit number wrong in the previous chapter. Tsuchida Masayoshi is the captain of the 7th Division, while the captain of the 6th Division is "Red-Eyed Monster" Hisaka Genzo. (Leopard dead.jpg)

This chapter also reveals for the first time the strength of the Fire Thieves, the last remaining armed force that still has some fighting power.

As this book has explicitly stated countless times that "this is the last remaining force of the Edo Shogunate that still has some fighting power," it still needs a bit of prestige.

Chapter 280 Qing Deng: (Draws sword) "Leave it to me!" [7300]

"Damn, this is so boring..."

Akabane Koichiro tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and yawned widely.

"Damn it... The guys in the Seventh Division are happily making merits right now, while we're stuck standing here in the cold wind... The more I think about it, the angrier I get...!"

"Akaba, stop complaining."

Midorikawa, standing shoulder to shoulder with Akabane, crossed his arms and spoke softly.

"This is an order from above. We are required to cooperate with the Fifth Division to surround the longhouse where the traitors are located... How can we disobey?"

"Tch! Running out into the street to freeze in the middle of the night, only to end up doing all the work for the Seventh Division...! Can't our new captain be of any use?"

Akabane pursed his lips, clearly displeased.

"Couldn't that guy try harder and try to get something from his superiors? At the very least, could he get a mission with some merit to earn?"

Midorikawa smiles:

"Let's be understanding of our new captain. He's new here and has little influence; how could he possibly sway the decisions made by those above?"

"Tsk...!"

Akabane smacked his lips loudly, then raised his gaze to Qingdeng not far away.

"The more I think about it, the more indignant I feel..."

He murmured.

"Why should someone like that be our captain...?"

"I have served as a fire thief for nearly 10 years... I have accumulated numerous merits and enjoy considerable prestige within the squad. Even disregarding my achievements, if we only consider my family background, I am absolutely qualified to be the captain of the Third Division."

"If the position of captain of the third division is not given to me, but to that old man Shirasaki instead, I can barely accept it."

"Although I don't like Shirasaki, I have to admit that he is indeed very capable. Moreover, in terms of seniority alone, not to mention our Third Division, even in the entire Fire Thieves Reorganization Army, there are few people whose seniority can be compared with Shirasaki."

"And what was the result? The position of captain of the Third Division was not given to me or Shirasaki, but to a kid who had never served in the Fire Thieves and was previously just a lowly magistrate. Apart from being very strong and good at fighting, I have never heard of any other outstanding talents he has... What is this...! Where does this leave us 'old-timers' who have devoted ourselves to the cause?"

After saying that, Akabane gritted his teeth hard—his big yellow teeth crunched loudly.

"Alright, alright." Midorikawa chuckled and patted Akabane on the shoulder. "Let's save these complaints for private."

Akabane snorted coldly, clearly indignant:

"That Tachibana Aoto had better pray that he will never make any mistakes again."

"I need to keep my eyes wide open and keep an eye on him at all times."

"If I find out that he has made any mistakes in the future, I will definitely submit a report to him immediately."

"Even if we can't remove him from his position as captain immediately, we must make sure he can't live a comfortable life."

"..." Midorikawa smiled without saying anything, no longer responding to Akabane's words.

Although Akabane spoke with great passion, his tone of voice was not loud.

Logically speaking, his words shouldn't have been heard by Qingdeng, who was dozens of meters away—however, Qingdeng's ears, which had been modified by the "Sensor of the Wind," defied this "logic."

"..." Qing Deng glanced at Akabane and Midorikawa, who had finally quieted down.

His expressionless face made it impossible for outsiders to discern what Qingdeng was thinking.

Only a faint, intermittent look of contemplation could be discerned between Qing Deng's brows.

At this moment, a sudden scream interrupted Qing Deng's thoughts:

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah--!"

Startled by the sudden shout, Qingdeng paused for a moment before looking toward the source of the sound—the house in front of him.

Just as Qing Deng turned his gaze back to the front, he immediately heard another sound... no, a series of screams and wails:

"Ughh ...

"Help! Help me!"

"Keep formation! Keep formation! Don't run around! Can't you see the formation is falling apart?"

"Fire! Fire!"

"Pfft! Cough cough...! Cough pfft...!"

……

These screams were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake—the soldiers on guard outside the longhouse all looked on in astonishment.

Kimura, who had just been looking quite relaxed, suddenly changed his expression: "What happened?!"

Tsuchida, standing beside him, was also stunned by this sudden unexpected turn of events. His face was blank, and his mouth opened and closed repeatedly, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

The screams continued... Everyone could clearly hear the screams moving from the second floor to the first floor.

Even the dumbest person would know that something must have gone wrong inside.

There was no time to worry about anything else right now, Kimura hurriedly shouted to the person next to him:

"Aoi! Take your men in..."

Kimura hadn't finished speaking—

Splash splash splash splash!

The sound of footsteps, like a flood, interrupted him.

Looking around, the members of the Seventh Division rushed out of the wagashi shop in a panic, scrambling and disorderly manner.

The sight of a huge crowd rushing out of the house, as if afraid of being a step behind anyone next to them... reminded Qing Deng of the scenes from his previous life when he was in school during lunch break and when the canteen served meals.

Many of the Seventh Division soldiers who stormed out of the gate had blood still steaming on their bodies.

It's obvious—they escaped.

Seeing this, Tsuchida hurried over to his subordinates. Before he could even ask what had happened, one of his men impatiently blurted out:

"Lord Tsuchida! Something's happened! There's a very skilled swordsman inside!"

"A master swordsman?" Tsuchida was taken aback.

At this moment, Aoto and Kimura also came over, both wanting to hear what had happened in the house that had caused the originally favorable battle situation to take such a sharp turn for the worse.

"What exactly happened?" Kimura said impatiently. "Tell me now!"

Urged on by Kimura, the man swallowed hard and then began to give a detailed explanation.

The reason why the Seventh Division suddenly retreated is not complicated—after they stormed the second floor of the house, they suddenly encountered a highly skilled swordsman.

He gripped a knife in his right hand and carried a thick wooden plank in his left to conceal his figure and mislead the other soldiers.

The first team members to encounter this person immediately raised their guns and fired.

Then, an unbelievable scene suddenly unfolded in the next instant.

This person is extremely quick and agile.

He dodged all the bullets that were thrown at him.

He charged toward his men with swift, unpredictable steps.

Their footsteps were incredibly fast.

He strode across a distance of more than ten meters in the blink of an eye.

With lightning speed, he flashed to the front of the team members... and the "violence" began.

The battle between that man and his men can be summed up in two words: one strike, one kill! Like chopping melons and vegetables!