I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

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I have something to tell you all. Today, I'm accompanying my mother to the city hall to handle some retirement procedures and also to buy her some new clothes for the New Year. So, I'll probably be posting something lately. (Leopard dead.jpg)

Chapter 287 Qing Deng: "I'll take on 60 of you!" The Third Division's Martial Arts Tournament! [6300]

Although the voice was not loud, it penetrated into the ears of everyone around with unparalleled clarity.

The One-Armed Party is a remnant of the Expeditionary Forces.

For their so-called "great cause of expelling foreigners," they committed murder, arson, and all sorts of atrocities.

They were even capable of the heinous act of trafficking women in order to raise funds for the so-called "expelling the barbarians."

The Fire Thieves finally found a precious opportunity to gather and annihilate them tonight after much effort.

Even so, tonight's operation was still full of surprises—a Choshu Domain samurai suddenly appeared, carrying two guns and possessing superb swordsmanship, who routed the Seventh Division, sending them fleeing in disarray.

If someone were to say something like, "The One-Armed Gang is nothing special," the soldiers of the Fire Thieves would simply scoff.

Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to talk such nonsense? Do you even deserve it?

The officers and soldiers viewed those who could utter such words with contempt—this in itself is not problematic. It is both reasonable and justifiable.

But—the person who said those words… was Qing Deng.

This makes the situation a little different.

There's a saying that goes something like this: the same words and actions, spoken and performed by different people, can achieve extraordinary results.

In the entire Edo... no, in the whole world, no one could be more qualified to be the owner of this statement than Seito!

First of all, the feud between Qingdeng and the Anti-Yi Group, and the confrontation between the two sides, has a long history.

The two sides engaged in a total of three direct confrontations.

The first time, they repelled a large force that came to kill the Angoulême family.

The second time, they rushed to the aid of the attacked Tibetan scribes' office.

The third time, they rescued the Westerners' settlement that was surrounded by fire. This time, Qing Deng directly destroyed the Extermination Group, wiping out a large number of cadres and members, including its leader, Jin Ye.

When it comes to fighting against the anti-foreign groups, Qing Deng is an indisputable veteran.

He has reason, and absolutely right, to despise the mere remnants of the Extermination Group!

Secondly, Qing Deng's series of heroic actions just now won over the hearts of the vast majority of officers and soldiers present.

Breaking into the enemy camp alone, killing all the enemy soldiers, freeing the hostages, and escaping unscathed—the above 16 characters and 4 sets of words represent an extraordinary achievement that is difficult for ordinary people to accomplish.

However, Qing Deng achieved all four of these goals, and did so quite well.

Moreover, Qing Deng also repelled the Choshu Domain samurai who had been among the first to enter the house, the Seventh Division, and suffered a crushing defeat.

A master who the entire Seventh Division couldn't defeat was repelled by Qing Deng with almost no injury—this achievement makes Qing Deng's battle exploits all the more remarkable and precious.

To add to that, what deeply impressed the surrounding officers and soldiers was not only Qingdeng's dashing words, but also his expression.

Qing Deng squinted, his face expressionless and indifferent.

If it weren't for the fact that Qingdeng was covered in the blood of his enemies, an uninformed person might have thought that Qingdeng had just returned from fishing.

He uttered such shocking words with a calm expression.

He acted as if he had only done a trivial little thing.

He seemed to think, "This little achievement isn't even worth my attention."

As the saying goes, the same words and actions, spoken and performed by different people, can achieve extraordinary results.

If someone else were to display such a calm and composed demeanor after experiencing a major battle or achieving a remarkable feat, it would indeed be considered quite pretentious.

But if Qingdeng is switched to be the one carrying out this task, then things are a different story.

Who is Qingdeng? What storms hasn't he weathered? Would an elephant be proud of stepping on an ant?

Even the leader of the Extermination Group died by his sword! The few remaining members of the Extermination Group would be no different from insects that he could crush with his bare hands!

Some people with particularly vivid imaginations have even come up with this idea—

It's perfectly understandable that Tachibana Seiden wouldn't think much of the achievement of "annihilating the remnants of the Exile Group"!

Yes! It was just killing a few "victorious underlings who managed to survive"!

This small achievement is incomparable to the great feats that Tachibana Seiden has made in the past!

Not getting emotional over doing something so trivial is not a common occurrence, is it?

Thinking of this, the gazes of those around him changed once again.

The gazes fixed on Qingdeng quickly intensified.

Powerful, confident, composed, and unperturbed by honor or disgrace... Qingdeng's image leaps into the minds of many.

In some people's eyes, Qingdeng's image suddenly became majestic.

For example, Aoi Osamu, one of the subordinates of Aoto, one of the forces of the Third Division, and often bullied by Akabane.

Aoi, who was rather short and hidden among the rest of the Third Division, quietly raised his eyes and stared at Aoto with a gaze full of emotion.

Having gathered so many burning gazes, Qing Deng became the origin of this space—as if everything around him revolved around him.

Ironically, none of the people present knew that behind Qing Deng's calm expression lay a fierce and turbulent inner struggle.

……

……

—Great! You've successfully shown off!

—Wow, what I just said was really cool!

—It's a pity that Mai and Sanako aren't here, otherwise I really want to show them how handsome I look now.

Noticing the increasingly intense gazes directed at him, Qing Deng chuckled inwardly with delight.

Although he was secretly laughing to himself, Qing Deng maintained a calm and composed expression on the surface—all thanks to the talent he had copied from Tokugawa Iemochi: "The Art of the Emperor."

The effect of this talent is to "enhance the control of facial muscles".

At first, Qingdeng didn't understand why a talent that improves facial muscle control could be given such a cool name.

Later, through a little practice, Qing Dengcai finally understood why.

A leader of an organization often needs to have excellent self-control. In order to better manage his subordinates, he cannot easily show his emotions on his face, even if he feels happy or angry.

Therefore, Su Xun, one of the "Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song," once left behind this famous saying: "The way of a general is to first cultivate his mind. If Mount Tai collapses before him, he will not change his expression; if a deer runs past on his left, he will not even blink. Only then can he control advantages and disadvantages and be ready to face the enemy."

Improved control over facial muscles means better control over facial expressions; with a little practice, one can easily remain expressionless.

This talent... it's practically a weapon for showing off!

Although Qingdeng was currently laughing heartily, he used this talent to forcefully control his facial expression and maintain the image of a calm and composed master.

Qingdeng has never been the kind of person who likes to put on a big show.

So why did he suddenly do this?

The reason is simple—to establish authority over the Fire Thief... especially in front of the members of the Third Division.

As a newly arrived "parachuted leader," if Qing Deng wants to quickly subdue the various "local bullies" and gain control of the Third Division as soon as possible, then it is quite necessary for him to establish his authority among his subordinates and make them respect him.

Qing Deng's reputation is indeed very high right now, having won the swordsmanship competition held by the Marquis of Aizu and performed many outstanding feats.

However, even if you hear about Qingdeng's many great achievements a thousand or ten thousand times, it will never be as good as seeing with your own eyes why Qingdeng was able to achieve such great feats.

Tonight's operation is a great opportunity to demonstrate my capabilities to my subordinates and colleagues.

Wouldn't it be a waste not to make good use of this opportunity?

The brilliant rescue operation in Qingdeng has planted a "seed" in everyone's hearts.

With just a little more effort, this "seed" can sprout and grow—for example, shamelessly showing off... ah, no, displaying one's divine power in front of others.

Qingdeng thought to himself: Trying to project the image of a supreme master who is "one-armed? Hmph, to me, it's no different than killing a nest of insects." This should definitely help me establish authority in front of the soldiers who were converted from fire-fighting thieves.

Judging from the current situation, the results are very encouraging, and Qingdeng has achieved his goal—his outstanding "performance" has successfully fooled many people.

Of course, besides wanting to establish his authority, another reason why Aoto suddenly put on airs was to mock Kimura, who thought he had tricked Aoto.

Qing Deng subtly tilted his eyes, searching for Kimura's figure.

Because the uniform of the squad leader was very different from that of the ordinary squad members, Aoto quickly found Kimura's whereabouts—he happened to be standing to Aoto's side and slightly in front of him.

When Qing Deng looked over, he saw Kimura displaying the expression he had just expected—his face was a deep purplish-red, his eyes were wide open, his lips were tightly pressed together, and he looked indignant and incredulous.

Qing Deng thought to himself: Kimura must be feeling really frustrated right now. He tried to trick me, but ended up helping me achieve fame and success instead.

In fact, Aoto was right—Kimura's current mood could not be adequately described by the mere word "frustration".

Kimura was so angry he wanted to grind his teeth to powder.

From the moment he started, Kimura kept blinking frantically and pinching the flesh on his thigh, trying to confirm whether he was still in reality.

However, no matter how many times he checked, he couldn't change the reality unfolding before him.

Not only did Qingdeng not mess up the mission as he had hoped, but he also completed it brilliantly—all by himself.

Has he become the biggest contributor to Qingdeng's new great achievements?

Thinking of this, and seeing so many people now looking at Qingdeng with respect and admiration, Kimura suddenly felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath, and almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Master Kimura..."

Tsuchida, who was standing next to Kimura, noticed his current poor condition and said softly in a cautious tone.

But as soon as he spoke, he realized it was best not to disturb Kimura for the time being, so he wisely and quickly shut his mouth and said no more.

At that moment, Qingdeng heard light, soft footsteps beside him.

Turning around, he saw that they were the girls he had rescued.

Five girls, all around 20 years old, wearing long haori (traditional Japanese kimonos) given to them by someone unknown, ran to Qing Deng with small, quick steps.

Although they looked somewhat haggard, without exception, their eyes were bright and spirited—their pupils radiated the excited light of "escaping the tiger's den and being reborn."