I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Witnessing Mizushima Ninzaburo's actions, Kanazawa Tadatsugu closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

When he reopened his eyes, a bright light shot out from the depths of his pupils, as if he had figured out a difficult problem or had suddenly gained enlightenment.

He turned around to face the main force behind him:

"Kazama-kun! Lead your Eighth Division and escort the wounded soldiers down the mountain!"

"Everyone else, follow me and Tachibana-kun!"

"Wherever I and Tachibana go, you have to follow! Understand?"

The soldiers exchanged glances, then raised their weapons high, their expressions excited as they echoed in unison:

"oh oh--!"

The high morale, fueled by the recent victory, transformed into thunderous shouts.

At that moment, Mizushima Ninzaburo raised his Bizen Osafune high above his head again, pointing it diagonally to the sky:

"Hey—! Hey—!"

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh—!"

Swords, spears, bows, and cannons clashed together, producing a crisp, dense clang.

Kanazawa Tadashi smiled and raised his sword overhead:

"Hey—! Hey—!"

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh—!"

Qingdeng felt the corners of his mouth turn up. He raised his hand to touch them, and sure enough, they were.

Influenced by the current heroic atmosphere, Qing Deng's emotions also began to surge.

He imitated Kanazawa Tadatsugu and Mizushima Ninzaburo, raising the sword high and pointing the tip of the blade towards the sky!

"Hey—! Hey—!"

"Ooo ...

……

……

"What happened? What happened?!"

"What are those damn soldiers yelling about?"

"They wouldn't be thinking of..."

……

The bandits, scattered haphazardly along the mountain path like scattered beans, all turned around nervously upon hearing the deafening roar behind them.

If they hadn't turned around, all would have been fine, but once they did—their hearts were nearly shattered with fear.

That "thundercloud," dominated by uniformly black clothing and composed of gleaming swords, guns, bows, and cannons, is back again!

The king, tiger, and dog still serve as the spearheads of the attack.

The pursuing army, led by these three fierce generals, arrived amidst billowing dust.

The upper half of the army was stained a dark yellow by the dust kicked up by their trampling, while the lower half remained the jet black of their uniforms.

The pursuing army, imposing yet orderly, marched in formation as neatly as a surging wave.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

"Damn it! Damn it! The government troops are coming!"

"Run! Run!"

"Damn it! Don't these damn soldiers ever get tired?!"

……

In an instant, the rugged mountain path was filled with a chilling atmosphere and the sound of wind howling.

In the blink of an eye, Qing Deng, who was at the forefront and the fastest, leaped out like a ferocious beast descending a mountain, pressing down on the slowest and closest bandit. The bandit didn't even have time to cry out before his skull was smashed open.

Kanazawa Tadatsugu and Mizushima Ninzaburo quickly followed, enduring the discomfort caused by exhaustion, squeezing out the last bit of strength in their bodies, and slashing the enemy in front of them with their swords.

Qing Deng seemed to split into three, five, and eight people. Ding Guishen was wielded with the effect of three, five, and eight swords.

He moved quickly and used his footwork flexibly, pushing his leg and waist strength to the limit.

Sometimes it leaps and bounds.

Sometimes he would suddenly turn around and appear beside a certain bandit.

Sometimes, he would use skillful footwork to weave his way among the bandits.

The blade thrusts straight, slashes horizontally, cuts vertically, and strikes diagonally, like a ravenous beast devouring all the flesh and blood in its path.

On the rugged mountain path, there was chasing and fleeing; charging and defending; fighting and being killed.

The punitive expedition pursued them relentlessly, tearing the already crumbling morale of the bandits to shreds.

Some people fled desperately without even looking back, wishing their parents had given them an extra pair of legs or wings.

Some of them, still full of fighting spirit, turned red in the eyes, gritted their teeth, and shouted things like "I'll fight you to the death!" They grabbed their weapons, turned around, and bravely charged towards the "black waves" behind them.

Two groups of people, one wanting to escape and the other wanting to fight back, collided on the mountain path, each cursing at the other for obstructing the other's path.

Some warriors who successfully shook off their companions and charged at Qingdeng and the others were swallowed up by the "torrent" in an instant, barely making a splash.

At this moment, the second and fourth divisions under Kanazawa Chusuke and Mizushima Ninzaburo all unleashed a high fighting spirit and fierce combat power that was completely different from the fifth and seventh divisions that Aoto had seen before!

On everyone's face was etched the weariness of having nowhere left to cut.

Almost everyone is now relying on willpower and mental strength to sustain the fight.

Of course—if we're talking about who's the most exhausted right now…it's definitely Qingdeng.

As the one who has made the most contributions and achieved the greatest merit in battle today, Qing Deng's physical strength has long been exhausted.

Even with "Primordial Yang", "Strong Muscles +1" and the recently evolved "Iron Lungs +1", he's still this exhausted. You can imagine how terrifyingly high Qing Deng's current consumption and fatigue levels are.

Just then, a gust of wind blew towards Qing Deng and the pursuing troops of the punitive expedition, bringing wave after wave of the stench of blood, mixed with a strong smell of burning and a faint smell of excrement and urine. It was as if the smell of blood and the smell of a toilet were mixed together, making Qing Deng feel nauseous and want to vomit.

No.

Yes, he has already vomited.

Qingdeng let out a painful gagging sound.

My physical condition wasn't good to begin with, and I was running and panting heavily. Then, this unpleasant smell stimulated me, and I instantly felt a surge of air rising in my stomach, rushing down my esophagus and into my mouth.

Even so, Qingdeng did not let his steps stop or slow down even for the slightest.

He kept running forward, heading in the direction where the bandits were, while gagging with his head down!

The reason Qingdeng dared to defy public opinion and insist on launching a large-scale pursuit and annihilation of the fleeing bandits was not because he was so confident in his proposal.

It was simply because... after capturing the first checkpoint and witnessing the bandit army's rout, a voice inexplicably resonated deep within him.

The voice echoed in his heart and deep within his mind, repeatedly telling him: Chase after them! Chase after them! If not now, when?

As if by some kind of magic, upon hearing this voice, Qingdeng felt an irresistible urge; a strange feeling of being unable... or rather, unwilling to disobey this voice...

Driven by this strange feeling, Qingdeng passionately proposed to the entire army to grit their teeth and launch a massive pursuit.

It was this wonderful feeling that sustained him.

It compels him to keep moving forward.

Keep moving forward!

The surging "black giant wave" was like a lawnmower, rumbling and harvesting along the mountain path all the way to the top of the mountain. After an unknown amount of time, finally... Qingdeng saw a blurry shadow appear at the end of the mountain path ahead.

Nearly 4 meters high and more than 10 meters wide, it stretches across the middle of the mountain road like a dam.

In the very center of the "dam" is a gate that is wide open.

It was still early morning. Because it was facing away from the east, rays of dazzling sunlight shone from around the "dam" and behind the central gate, outlining the "dam's" shadow and making the "dam" look like a heavenly kingdom shrouded in the bright autumn sunshine.

For the bandits who had lost all courage, this "dam" was indeed heaven - because it was the second checkpoint that Soma had set up on the mountain road!

From a distance, countless bandits could be seen rushing through the gates of the checkpoint and fleeing to the back of the checkpoint.

Once the lookouts on the checkpoint saw the punitive expeditionary force appear in their field of vision, they immediately shouted a warning.

In an instant, the entire checkpoint was engulfed by shouts and the clamor of cicadas.

"Quick! Close the door! Close the door!"

"Close the door? But...but there are so many of our brothers outside..."

"Forget about it! If we let the soldiers in, everyone here will be doomed!"

"Yes Yes!"

Hey! We haven't gone in yet!

"Wait! Don't close the door! Let us in first!"

……

This checkpoint was the last line of defense that the Soma clan had set up on the mountain path.

If this pass is also captured, then the Xiangma tribe will have no choice but to abandon the entire mountain road and retreat to their last stronghold: their camp.

To avoid such an outcome, the gatekeepers, under the command of their superiors, hurriedly closed the gate.

Those who had not yet entered the pass went mad upon seeing this, rushing headlong into the gate that was not yet completely closed.

Fortunately, the gates of the checkpoint were wide enough. And the number of bandits still stranded outside the checkpoint was not large.

Therefore, after a fierce and uncompromising race against time, most of the bandits outside the pass had successfully escaped into the pass.

Seeing that the gates of the checkpoint had begun to close and were already about half closed, Kanazawa Tadatsugu and Mizushima Ninzaburo's expressions darkened—their pursuit of victory was originally aimed at capturing the second checkpoint of the Soma clan as well.

However, judging from the current situation, this goal is unlikely to be achieved.

Given their current pace... by the time they reach the checkpoint, the gate will have already been closed.

Kanazawa Tadashi pursed his lips, just as he was considering whether to pursue them this far—