I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

To run into two old acquaintances, Tadashi Usui and Hosojiro Nishino, was something Aoto had never expected.

The former was Qingdeng's former superior. Although he was a shrewd and worldly-wise old hand in officialdom, Qingdeng did not dislike him.

As for the latter... the relationship between Nishino and Aoto is rather delicate.

In short, the two sides had virtually no relationship.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the two had some unpleasantness between them.

"Haruji Aoto" is a late bloomer who is slow to get the hang of things at work, and Nishino has that kind of personality... Therefore, Nishino has always treated "Haruji Aoto" and Aoto who has just transmigrated with him coldly.

After Qing Deng was transferred to the position of Fire Enforcement Thief, and no longer served in the Magistrate's Office, his contact with Nishino became even less frequent.

However, even so, Aoto did not harbor strong ill feelings towards Nishino.

Why are Usui and Nishino here?

Why did Nishino fight with the samurai who wore the Shonai clan crest?

These questions certainly puzzled Qing Deng, but the important matter at hand was more pressing.

On his way to the place following the sound, Qing Deng vaguely heard a name—Phoenix House Yataro.

Therefore, Qing Deng asked Xi Ye:

"Hey, is that big fat guy you're dragging, Phoenix House Yataro?"

To prevent Usui and Nishino from recognizing him, Aoto deliberately lowered his voice and spoke in a hoarse tone that was completely different from his natural voice.

His body was as fat as a ball, he was short, his eyes were as narrow as a mouse's, and his appearance was lewd... perfectly matching the physical characteristics of Phoenix House Yataro provided by Tenshōin.

During the Edo period, when people resisted eating meat and had an extremely unreasonable diet, "being overweight was a very rare physical characteristic."

Not only was he obese, but he also had narrow eyes, was short, and had a wretched appearance—there were probably very few people in all of Edo who possessed all these physical characteristics.

Upon hearing this, Nishino was taken aback at first, then raised his eyes and cast a wary glance at Aoto.

Aoto had no idea what Nishino was thinking at the moment.

After a brief silence, he slowly said:

"Yes...it is Phoenix House Yataro..."

In an instant, a strange, ambiguous smile appeared on Qing Deng's lips.

"What a cruel twist of fate..."

Having said that, Aoto raised the Echizen-suke Richi-no-kami Kaneshige in his hand high above his head, and then swung it down forcefully.

The blade stirred up a fierce gust of wind, causing the hem of Qing Deng's clothes to flutter loudly.

At the same time, an even stronger "momentum" emanated from it!

Those who were standing a little closer to Qingdeng unconsciously took a step back.

Sakai Kingo's already unattractive complexion suddenly became even more gloomy.

"What do you mean by this, sir?"

Qing Deng didn't know Sakai Kingo, so he didn't bother with the formalities.

He gestured with his chin toward Nishino and Phoenix House Yataro, and said in a cold tone:

"Sir, could you please let me have those two people?"

Although it is a question, it has the tone of an affirmative sentence.

If Sakai Kingo's expression was merely slightly gloomy just now, it's now completely clouded over.

Whether or not to rescue Phoenix House Yataro, and whether or not to arrest Nishino, was not a "must-complete, absolutely unacceptable" task for Sakai Kingo.

But a stranger who won't even give his name is asking you to release people for no reason... Anyone would feel annoyed in that situation.

Out of both pride and duty to his temple and shrine, Sakai Kingo couldn't simply obediently answer "yes, okay."

"To forcibly seize someone without distinguishing right from wrong... Don't you think this behavior is too domineering?"

While trying to argue his case, Sakai Kingo glanced at his men out of the corner of his eye.

Nishino's efforts were not entirely in vain; he took down three men.

Even so, Sakai Kingo still has 38,000 combat-ready soldiers available for his command.

With 24 people against 3 people, the advantage is in my hands!

In addition, Sakai Kingo's men had various weapons such as daggers, short spears, and bows and arrows, and in terms of equipment level, they were far superior to Qing Deng and his group.

However, Sakai Kingo's mood did not lighten as a result.

First of all, Sakai Kingo was well aware of how formidable masters who had reached the level of "momentum" were.

This is a level that only a strong person with both strength and ambition can reach.

In other words, every martial artist who can unleash their "momentum" is a rare talent who possesses both extraordinary skills and a strong inner strength.

Facing two such powerful individuals at the same time... with only a handful of people in their early twenties and equipment lacking even firearms, Sakai Kingo could not feel safe.

Secondly, the morale of Sakai Kingo's subordinates is currently not high.

Although Nishino's performance of "only taking down 3 people" was unremarkable, his unyielding fighting spirit greatly damaged the courage of everyone present.

People in this era, whether intellectuals or the ignorant and illiterate, are very superstitious; supernatural phenomena and strange and bizarre things constitute their spiritual world.

Anything that is even slightly beyond their comprehension will trigger their self-doubt.

No matter how they fought or attacked, this terrifying-looking man wouldn't fall... Witnessing this scene, Sakai Kingo's subordinates had long since lost their composure.

In fact, even Kingo Sakai himself was apprehensive about it.

Already quite frightened by Nishino's ferocious appearance, and further provoked by Aoto and Souji's "momentum"... before the battle even began, half of their fighting spirit and courage had already been lost.

After looking around, the somewhat dejected appearance of his men further solidified Sakai Kingo's belief that "if a conflict breaks out with these uninvited guests, the outcome will likely be dire."

Just as Sakai Kingo was pondering how to deal with Aoto with words—

"Forget it... all that whining is so annoying..."

Suddenly, Qingdeng let out a sigh.

"Let's switch to a communication method that I'm more familiar with."

After saying that, he stuck the Echizen-suke Tsuri no Kami Kaneshige in his hand into the ground at his feet.

In the next instant, he leaped into the air! Before the sound of his footsteps had even faded, he was already soaring into the sky!

Bang!

Using the momentum of his fall, Qing Deng kicked a tall man wielding a short gun away.

The tall man fell to the ground before he could even react, and his pistol slipped from his hand.

Qingdeng deliberately held back, so the tall man didn't suffer any serious injuries, but he would have to apply ointment for a few days afterward.

Aoto only wanted to take Nishino and Phoenix House Yataro away; he had no deep-seated hatred for Sakai Kingo and the others.

Therefore, Qing Deng did not intend to kill anyone, but only planned to make Sakai Kingo suffer a little.

Qing Deng stretched out his arm and caught the short gun that had flown out of the tall man's hand and had not yet hit the ground, and put it into his palm.

Click!

Qingdeng broke off the spearhead, splitting the short spear in two and turning it into a staff.

In the blink of an eye, what was a short gun stick half a second ago landed on someone's shoulder half a second later.

Another person fell to the ground.

These soldiers were indeed professionally trained feudal troops, not just a disorganized rabble.

Faced with Qingdeng's sudden and fierce offensive, they were stunned for a moment before quickly switching formations and engaging in battle.

"Drink it! Ahhhhhh!"

"Waaaaaah!"

"Aaaaaaah!"

……

Troops from all sides attacked from all directions, wielding spears that were over two meters long.

First, the opponent is impaled with a spiked fork to restrict their movement, then the short-gunners and katana-wielders swarm in to capture them or send them to their deaths—this was a common tactic used by constables in the Edo period when apprehending suspects.

However, just as the spearmen straightened their weapons, Qing Deng had already disappeared from their sight.

The next instant, he appeared in a place no one expected—behind the spearmen.

Qingdeng struck someone's body with lightning speed, and the person, who was not wearing any protective gear, was knocked unconscious by the blow.

Just as the man was about to fall, someone next to him reacted and stepped forward to attack Qing Deng.

Qing Deng strode forward faster than him, swinging his sword... ah, no, it should be said that he swung his club, striking the opponent's right arm that he had to raise to wield the weapon.

In an instant, someone unexpectedly swung their knife at Qing Deng's face.

In the blink of an eye, the man and his knife were sent flying.

A stick is a very versatile weapon.

It has neither a handguard nor a blade, nor a tip or hilt.

It can be used as a knife or a gun!

While swinging his stick, Qing Deng would also occasionally use his "old skills".

Before transmigrating to this world, Qing Deng was a martial arts enthusiast who specialized in fist and foot fighting.

Just then, Qingdeng suddenly felt a chill beside him.

Convinced of the impending danger, he leaned back rapidly with an exaggerated amplitude. His lower body remained firmly planted on the ground, but his upper body was already close to the ground, with his knees as the dividing line. His upper and lower body formed a huge angle of nearly 70 degrees—a pose that only someone with exceptional flexibility and core strength could achieve.

The next instant, a cold, short gun grazed past his lower abdomen, and a chill ran through Qing Deng's stomach.

Qingdeng maintained the position where his upper body was almost lying on the ground, using his left foot as a fulcrum and swinging out his right foot.

His right leg drew a beautiful parabola, kicking up a light cloud of dust, like a battle axe, and struck the attacker's lower body hard, knocking him to the ground.

Qingdeng took a deep breath, used his waist and abdomen to straighten his back.