I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Page 940

At the same time, he assumed a fist stance, using the momentum of his upright posture to throw a powerful punch at the shoulder of someone attacking him from the front.

With a loud "whoosh," the fist sliced through the air.

Following that was a loud "bang" of flesh and bone colliding.

Another person attacked.

As the man swung his knife at Qingdeng, he muttered something under his breath. Because of his heavy accent, Qingdeng couldn't hear him clearly, but he vaguely made out that he was saying something like, "Damn it! Die!"

Qingdeng stood with his legs spread apart, twisted his body slightly to dodge the opponent's attack, and then flashed to the opponent's side, delivering a sharp hand chop to the opponent's wrist.

In that instant, with a loud clatter, the other person's knife fell to the ground.

Qingdeng's offensive continued. He lowered his center of gravity, inserted his left arm under the opponent's armpit, and used his waist and abdomen to throw the opponent away with a fierce force. The opponent landed on the ground two meters away, his shoulder hitting the ground, and he lay there stiffly for a long time without getting up.

……

From the moment Qing Deng jumped up until now, less than three minutes have passed.

Even in such a short time, more than half of Sakai Kingo's men had fallen!

The one-sided battle caused Sakai Kingo's face to turn pale and then red.

Overwhelmed by anger and grief, he gritted his teeth and waved his hand:

"Archers! Charge..."

Just as Sakai Kingo was about to summon the archers forward—

Rolling around... Rolling around... Rolling around...

Several ball-shaped objects landed at his feet...

Bang!Bang!Bang!

One cloud after another of white mist rose up, enveloping the surroundings.

Immediately afterwards, three dark figures plunged into the white mist...

*******

To avoid any misunderstandings, Leopard will remind you again—Sakai Kingo is an original character. However, it is an undeniable historical fact that the position of Temple and Shrine Magistrate can only be held by a hereditary daimyo.

PS: The battles in this book seem to be getting more and more unscientific, with all sorts of teleportation (laughing emoji). Teleportation is a characteristic of battle novels, so you have to experience it.

Chapter 468 Qing Deng, who has connections with all three major powers [5000 words]

The sudden appearance of the "ball" not only startled Sakai Kingo and the others, but also made Aoto pause in surprise.

As puffs of white smoke rose from the "pill," Qing Deng's bewildered expression instantly turned into astonishment.

Smoke bomb!

In the mid-19th century, when firearms and artillery dominated the seven continents and steam warships roamed the five oceans, the emergence of special weapons such as smoke bombs was not surprising.

Whether that white smoke is tear-inducing, poisonous, or has some other effect, it's always better to be cautious.

"You two! Watch out for the smoke! Back up! Get out of here!"

As Qing Deng retreated rapidly, he held his breath, squinted his eyes, and shouted a warning to Sanako and Souji behind him.

Qingdeng was far from where the smoke grenade landed, so he luckily avoided the most dangerous area.

On the contrary, Sakai Kingo and the others who were closest to the smoke bomb were in a terrible situation.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

"My eyes! Aaaaaaah!"

"Watch out! Don't let the smoke get in your eyes!"

……

Amidst the thick smoke, coughs and screams rose and fell.

Judging from the screams of Sakai Kingo and the others, the white smoke was probably non-toxic, only highly irritating to the eyes.

—A third party was present…!

A solemn expression crossed Qing Deng's brows.

Whether this suddenly appearing "other force" is friend or foe remains to be seen, and we must be cautious.

In such a situation with thick smoke, one's eyesight is already compromised.

Fortunately, after special training by the new Oniwaban, and with the blessing of a certain talent, eyesight was no longer Aoto's most proficient sense.

He immediately closed his eyes and used his ears to assess the situation.

"Divine Brain +9" and "Wind Perceiver" activated!

These two talents are a match made in heaven.

The former enhances the brain's resistance to fatigue, allowing it to process more information, and in conjunction with it, the latter's talent effect is significantly enhanced.

Although my hearing hasn't changed much, my ability to analyze the sounds I hear has improved considerably.

All sorts of sounds flooded into Qingdeng's ears like a tide.

Amidst the chaos, Qingdeng heard three unfamiliar, hurried footsteps.

The owner of those three footsteps plunged into the white mist, heading straight for Nishino and Phoenix House Yataro...

……

About half a minute later, the smoke finally began to dissipate.

"Cough! Cough cough! Cough!"

As Sakai Kingo wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, he slowly opened his bloodshot eyes.

Although my eyes are still sore, I can barely see anything.

After his vision was restored, Sakai Kingo immediately scanned the scene to check on the surroundings.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief that none of his men were missing.

But after a short while, his face hardened again.

"Where are Hosojiro Nishino and Yataro Phoenix?! Where are those three thieves wearing straw hats?!"

Those soldiers who had regained their sight were taken aback upon hearing this, and then looked around.

The lingering white smoke, the tattered formation, the fallen comrades... Qingdeng and the others were nowhere to be seen.

Aoto, Sanako, and Souji are missing... Nishino and Phoenix House Yataro are also missing...

"hateful……!"

Sakai Kingo gritted his teeth.

"They got away...?"

Upon hearing this, the people present couldn't help but mutter their disapproval.

Sakai Kingo's words made it sound as if they were almost able to subdue Aoto and the others, but they inadvertently let them escape.

However, judging from the actual battle situation, it seems more like Qingdeng and his men let them go...

In fact, Kingo Sakai thought so too.

He himself knew that his remarks just now had a hint of self-aggrandizement.

With Qing Deng and the others gone, the battle in which Qing Deng had unilaterally crushed them was over... Faced with this situation, Sakai Kingo felt both resentful and somewhat fortunate.

To save face, he pretended to be in a bad mood, saying, "What a pity! We couldn't catch those thieves!" He stopped investigating the whereabouts of Qing Deng and the others and instead ordered his able-bodied subordinates to quickly help the wounded up and take them to get treatment.

While everyone at the scene was busy cleaning up the mess, one person stood there dumbfounded, not moving an inch.

Usui's expression was extremely complex from the moment Nishino picked up his sword again. His gaze was fixed on the spot, making him look like he was in a daze, or perhaps deep in thought.

After a moment, he looked up at the night sky and let out a long, melancholy sigh.

“Nishino-kun…you really aren’t cut out to be a samurai…”

……

Edo, a deserted riverbank—

"Huff...huff...huff...this damn fat pig...! It's fucking heavy!"

Akutsu angrily threw Phoenix House Yataro off his back to the ground, completely disregarding the other's feelings. His movements were so rough that it was as if he were throwing away trash.

Phoenix House Yataro's obese body crashed heavily to the ground with a dull thud, like a rice sack falling to the ground.

Ebina turned to Ichinose beside him and asked:

"Ichinose, how is Nishino-kun doing?"

Ichinose replied with a heavy expression:

"It's terrible, a ruptured abdomen, massive bleeding... To be honest, it's a miracle that Nishino-kun is still alive."

Can it be cured?

Ebina asked.

"..."

Ichinose remained silent...

His silence was tantamount to an answer to Ebina's question.

Ebina pursed his lips, then sighed:

"Ichinose, do your best..."