I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As a result, a group of hesitant and cowardly individuals emerged.

For an army... or for any organization, negative emotions such as "fear" and "panic" are the most deadly.

Human beings' herd mentality dictates that once even one person becomes afraid or coweres in fear, panic will immediately spread like a virus, rapidly "infecting" others and having a very negative impact on their morale and fighting spirit.

In the blink of an eye, the footsteps behind Qingdeng and the others became fewer and lighter.

However, suddenly, thanks to his heightened hearing from the newly acquired "Divine Brain +9", Qing Deng heard a series of faint sounds that were indeed approaching them.

Click, click, click, click, click...

These voices were all too familiar to Qingdeng, who had been working as a thief in the Fire Fiend Sect for more than four months.

That's the metallic sound of arquebuses clashing together!

Qingdeng's brows furrowed immediately.

No matter how many opponents wielding katana or wakizashi come, Aoto is confident he can escape unscathed in the chaos.

But if the weapons were changed to spears or matchlock guns... then even Qingdeng wouldn't dare to be careless.

The latter, in particular, is not so easy to bridge due to the generational gap in weaponry.

There may exist great swordsmen in this world who can easily slice through bullets and remain unscathed even when surrounded by a hail of bullets—but it is clear that Qing Deng has not yet reached that level.

—We need to hurry!

Qingdeng gripped the bamboo sword in his hand even tighter.

Although more and more soldiers began to back down, many others faithfully fulfilled their duty as soldiers—even knowing they were outmatched, they bravely stepped forward!

"Don't be afraid! Follow me!"

"What are you standing there for? If we can't even stop four mere intruders, how will we ever be able to face anyone again?!"

"Let the thieves see the drive and tenacity of the Fire-Fueled Thieves!"

……

After navigating the entire staircase without incident, and stepping over the last step, Qingdeng and the others finally arrived at their destination: the top floor of the government office, the third floor!

“Goodness…” Yae murmured, “They really went to great lengths… They even held such a ‘grand’ ‘welcome ceremony’ for us…”

Qing Deng looked ahead and saw a forest of swords and blades along the straight corridor!

More than 30 soldiers, each with a knife in hand, stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a dense human wall that blocked the entire corridor.

"You audacious thief! Stop right there!"

From behind the human wall, the voice of Tadashi Okubo rang out.

"With just a handful of men, you fought your way here. Although you are wicked thieves, I must admit: you are quite capable!"

"But! That's enough!"

"As you can see! We have carefully constructed a defensive line in front of you, while the rest of the team will be arriving soon behind you!"

"You can neither advance nor retreat; you have nowhere to escape!"

"I have a piece of advice for you now—you'd better surrender before our arquebusiers and archers arrive!"

"Otherwise... I'll definitely show you the power of my fire-wielding thief's modified cannons and bows!"

As soon as Okubo finished speaking, Kurosawa Atsuyuki, who was standing next to him, shouted in perfect unison:

"Why aren't you surrendering yet?!"

Although my grandson and Mizushima suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Aoto, their fight was not entirely ineffective. They successfully held off Aoto's group for several minutes.

A few minutes... though short, was enough for Okubo and Kurosawa to requisition the arquebuses and bows stored in the armory and mobilize all the combat forces on the third floor to build a defensive line to intercept Aoto and the others!

"gentlemen……"

Qing Deng glanced at Sha Zhong, who had suddenly called him, out of the corner of his eye.

After calling out "Sir," Saeshige didn't say anything more.

However, her eyes conveyed everything she wanted to say: Okubo Tadashi's words, though harsh, were not without reason. We will be in great danger when the arquebusiers and archers arrive!

Sage's reminder was actually unnecessary. Even without her reminder, Aoto already knew the implications.

Aoto gave Sae a reassuring look, then turned his gaze forward again, his eyes fixed on the wall of people.

"Good luck..." Qing Deng thought to himself.

Behind the human wall were not only Okubo and Kurosawa, who had just given their impassioned speeches, but also Kimura Kazuma, Hisaka Genzo, Tsuchida Masayoshi, and Kazama Nobuyoshi.

Why did he risk so much trouble and danger to attack the government office of the thieves tonight?

The purpose was to capture Kimura and the others.

And now, his targets have all gathered together.

If they can break through the wall of people in front of them and capture Kimura and the others alive... their operation tonight will be half successful!

Since that's the case... then what to do next is quite simple and clear.

"Do you see those four people standing at the very back of the human wall?"

Qing Deng lowered his voice and whispered to the two sisters and Grandpa Tian Cangxiao beside him.

"Those four people are Kimura, Hisaka, Tsuchida, and Kazama."

After saying that, Qingdeng moved his right wrist and right shoulder. The cracking sound of his joints moving, like popping beans, gave anyone goosebumps.

"Remember to stick close to me later."

After leaving this concise instruction, Qingdeng strode forward—

……

The first batch of reinforcements that arrived numbered about ten people.

They raced against time to climb up the stairs, and when they finally reached the top floor... the sight that unfolded before them left them speechless, their jaws nearly dropping to the ground.

"Ugh...! Ugh...!"

"It hurts...it hurts so much..."

"Hiss...! Hiss...! My shoulder...! Ugh...!"

The cries and groans rose and fell.

One by one, the injured and the unconscious lay sprawled on the corridor floor.

The bodies, stacked and intertwined, resembled threads woven into a giant "carpet".

If you extend your gaze along this giant "carpet" forward, you will see four figures of different sizes standing at the very front of the "carpet".

They are using their fists, legs, and bamboo swords to continuously expand the area of ​​the "carpet"...

……

Qing Deng wielded the bamboo sword with the ease of flicking a lamp wick; the dark yellow blade merely circled once in mid-air, and the encirclement of the soldiers surrounding him was instantly breached.

Several team members flew high into the air, glided a short distance, and then landed heavily.

In the blink of an eye, the bamboo sword drew another beautiful arc in mid-air.

Several more people were sent flying high into the air.

Wherever the sword's edge touched, none could withstand it. In an instant, Qing Deng forcefully tore open one gap after another in the thick wall of people.

While wielding his sword like a god of war, his feet never stopped, rushing straight into the deeper part of the human wall.

Whenever a gap appeared in front of him, he would immediately step forward and stand up to occupy that gap firmly.

His tall, slender body was like a solid rock, standing firm even after being repeatedly battered by the raging torrents.

"Look at the knife!"

"Wa ...

"go to hell!"

The three soldiers who attacked simultaneously from the left, center, and right, although using slashes with fairly accurate landing points, may not necessarily be able to hit Qing Deng.

Qingdeng moved much faster than their blades could move.

Even more impressive than speed is the bamboo sword in Qing Deng's hand.

In an instant, Qingdeng suddenly jumped to the left, his leap as fast as lightning.

As he landed, Qing Deng used gravity and his body weight to slide down and slash down one of the three people who had attacked him earlier.

The other two cursed loudly as they prepared to launch another attack on Qingdeng, but at that moment, they both groaned in pain and fell backward at the same time.

"W-what kind of speed is this... cough waa!"

A fellow soldier stared blankly as Qing Deng, with a sword speed too fast for the naked eye to follow, felled three of his comrades in an instant. While he was still reeling from the shock, a swift, gusting slash robbed him of his consciousness…

All those who thought they could suppress Qingdeng with their numerical advantage have never gained any advantage whatsoever.

Qingdeng is least afraid of group battles.

In the talent list, "Lone Wolf" and "Focus" shine brightly.

There seems to be a complementary effect between "Gathering Spirit" and "Divine Brain +9"—this is a discovery that Qingdeng has just made.

Because the brain becomes less prone to fatigue, the duration of high mental concentration can be extended significantly.

Just then, Qingdeng suddenly felt a heavy, oppressive force approaching from his side.

Qingdeng glanced sideways and saw that someone was approaching, planning to launch a sneak attack when he was not paying attention.

This person was well aware of the principle that "when attacking others, one should try to be 'silent, invisible, and formless'." While lowering his center of gravity, he quietly closed the distance between himself and Qingdeng with almost no footsteps.

In such a chaotic battlefield, unless one has exceptional sensory abilities, it's not necessarily possible to detect the presence of this person.

Unfortunately, Qingdeng's senses happened to be quite acute.

When Qing Deng looked at him, their eyes met.

The man was caught off guard by the fact that he had been discovered so quickly, and he was somewhat flustered. However, he quickly regained his composure, gritted his teeth, lowered his head and bent his waist, and lunged into Qing Deng's arms, sword and all.

Just as Qingdeng was about to draw his sword to intercept...

"Puwa!"