I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

*******

How about it? Leopard didn't break his promise, did he? Today is a long-awaited 8000-word chapter! I said I would write 8000 words today, and I definitely will.

来，我们继续月票悬赏！现在的月票总数是238票，只要能在8月6号的0点之前达到280票就豹更7000；320票8000；360票1W。

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Chapter 473 A Sudden Turn of Events! Qingdeng vs. Rakshasa! [5000]

The revolver in Qing Deng's hand was a trophy he had seized after eliminating Kitahara Konosuke and his men.

Having finally come across the pistol he'd been longing for, there was no reason not to take it.

Ever since he transmigrated, Qingdeng has wanted to get a pistol for self-defense.

He was second only to his concern for this matter in marrying Sanako, Kinoshita Mai, and Souji.

Although the world Qingdeng is currently in is a low-martial-world where top martial artists can leap over rooftops and lift mountains, firearms still hold an unshakeable dominant position.

Even if the martial artists could cut through flying bullets, they couldn't cut through cannonballs.

No matter how skilled a martial artist is, if they are hit by a bullet or a cannonball, they will die a tragic death.

Otherwise, the Edo Shogunate would not have succumbed to the giant ships and cannons of the Western powers.

These days, if we have guns and cannons, who would bother with swords and knives!

However, acquiring firearms is no easy task in present-day Japan.

Although Japan has been open to the world for nearly seven years, the country as a whole remains relatively closed off.

Official exchanges were fairly frequent, but there was almost no communication between ordinary people.

Because they feared being assassinated by radical anti-foreign lunatics, Westerners rarely ventured into the countryside or urban areas of Japan.

The general public in Japan, due to ignorance and fear, also harbored wariness towards Westerners.

Throughout Japan, perhaps only in Nagasaki can one witness such a lively scene of people from different countries coming and going.

[Note: Nagasaki: A famous port city on the west coast of Kyushu Island, Japan. Before the "Black Ships Incident," it was Japan's only window to the outside world.]

Even now, as the captain of the third squad of the Fire Thieves, a junior officer, Aoto still has no access to advanced firearms such as revolvers and rifles.

He could try to get a matchlock gun to play with.

After all, the matchlock gun is one of the standard weapons modified by fire-wielding thieves.

Given Qingdeng's official rank, status, and prestige, it wouldn't be difficult for him to secretly send over a matchlock gun.

However, the matchlock gun was simply too impractical.

Putting aside the fact that matchlock guns were large and inconvenient to carry, their extremely cumbersome operation and the fact that their accuracy depended entirely on luck...

It can only be said that matchlock guns are only suitable for use on the battlefield.

Dozens, even hundreds, of people, holding matchlock guns, lined up in neat squares and fired at the same time... The sight and power of that formation was so impressive that even Katsuyori Takeda praised it!

However, if the matchlock gun is used in street brawls, it is completely useless, not even as effective as darts or kunai.

Looking at Qing Deng's network of connections, the only people who own a pistol are his old friend Katsura Rintarou and Elodie's grandfather, Anthony.

Qing Deng had visited these two people to inquire about purchasing guns.

However, neither of them bought their handguns.

Katsura Rintaro's pistol was a gift from a friend when he was sent as an envoy to the United States.

Anthony's pistol was also a gift from a friend in Europe before he moved to Japan.

Neither of them had access to guns, so they were unable to help Qing Deng with his request.

Besides the two of them, the only people who might be able to get advanced firearms for Aoto are Tenshōin and Kiryu.

Tenshōin was the chief shogunate of the Edo shogunate, and a chief shogun who was highly trusted by the shogun (Tokugawa Iemochi).

With her status and power, let alone pistols and rifles, she could probably even get Qingdeng a Krupp cannon!

However... unless absolutely necessary, Qing Deng did not want to make a request to Tianzhangyuan to "purchase firearms".

The reason for this is quite practical: he doesn't want to be suspected by the other party.

Not only are pistols extremely lethal, but they are also easy to operate and highly concealable, making them arguably the most powerful concealed weapon of our time.

In other words, as long as one possesses a pistol, even a physically weak scholar can have the ability to "incite bloodshed in a moment of rage."

How did Ii Naosuke, the first benefactor in Seido's official career, die?

He was shot in the lumbar spine with a pistol, losing his mobility and fighting ability, so he could only sit in the sedan chair and wait for his death.

Ii Naosuke was a master swordsman who was proficient in iaido and even created a new school of swordsmanship called "Shinshin Shinryu".

If he hadn't been shot in the lumbar spine... I wouldn't say he escaped unscathed, but there's a very high probability he would have avoided the tragic fate of dying outside Sakurada Gate.

Admittedly, Qing Deng and Tenshōin had a very good relationship.

To be fair, Qingdeng has always trusted this older sister who is 6 years older than him, has no airs, has a slightly mischievous personality, and occasionally shows a cute side.

However! No matter what, it can't change the awkward relationship between the two of them, which is both "friends" and "ruler and subject"!

For this reason, although no one made it clear, both Qingdeng and Tianzhangyuan consciously maintained a certain distance from each other.

Qingdeng wasn't a mind reader for Tenshōin, so he couldn't possibly know Qingdeng's place in Tenshōin's heart—whether he was first a "friend" and then a "subject," or vice versa.

He asked for a pistol that was perfect for assassinating others... Qing Deng didn't want to gamble on whether Tian Zhang Yuan would become wary of him because of this.

In any case, to avoid suspicion, we can't count on Tenshōin.

In this way, the only person Aoto can rely on is Kiryu.

Mr. Kiryu is from the Gourd House.

Qingdeng still doesn't quite understand how powerful the Gourd House is.

However, judging from the information currently available, the fact that someone can challenge a powerful terrorist organization like the Fazhu Party and subdue top figures like Kiryu and Makimura suggests that their power is not weak.

For them, "acquiring firearms" should not have been a difficult task.

Perhaps intentionally, or perhaps due to his naturally low-key nature, Mr. Kiryu never told Aotomei what his specific position was in the Gourd House.

Qing Deng speculates: Kinoshita Mai is the young master of the Gourd House. Since Boss Kiryu was entrusted with the important task of "teaching and taking care of Kinoshita Mai", he must have a certain status in the Gourd House.

Right now, Aoto is in a very sweet relationship with Kinoshita Mai.

If it weren't for Kinoshita Mai's inability to accept Seito's grand ambition of "marrying multiple wives," the two of them would have gotten married long ago.

In addition, Aoto also has a teacher-student relationship with the owner of Kiryu.

As Kinoshita Mai's lover, your eldest disciple, your first disciple, and your last disciple, it's perfectly reasonable for me to ask you for a little toy, isn't it?

In fact, Aoto did mention to Kiryu that he wanted to get a handgun for emergencies.

At that moment, Mr. Kiryu smiled slightly and said warmly:

"You want a Western revolver? That's no problem. It's good to have a handgun on you. I'll arrange it for you. Ah, no need to pay. It's just a handgun, it won't cost much."

Kiryu actually had a way to buy guns, and he didn't even charge money. Aoto was excited about this for quite a while.

It doesn't matter how much money you have.

For Qingdeng, who is currently quite wealthy, whether it's a few taels of gold, a dozen taels of gold, or no money at all, he doesn't really care.

He would be content as long as he could acquire a high-quality pistol and a sufficient amount of ammunition.

As for what happens next...

Then there is no more.

If Qingdeng remembers correctly, this happened more than two months ago.

In the two months since Mr. Kiryu boasted, "I'll arrange it for you," he hasn't mentioned it again, as if he'd completely forgotten about it...

Originally, relying on his romantic relationship with Kinoshita Mai and his mentor-student relationship with Kiryu, asking him to help buy a gun already had a rather "shameless" connotation.

Under these circumstances, he repeatedly urged Kiryu to inquire about the progress of the gun purchase—Aoto wasn't that thick-skinned.

Therefore, Qingdeng could only continue to wait.

When the time is right, we'll subtly inquire about the gun purchase progress from Mr. Kiryu.

Ironically, Aoto never imagined that he would receive his first handgun not from Kiryu's boss, but from Kitahara Konosuke's severed limb.

Although the process was somewhat tortuous, he finally fulfilled his long-cherished wish of "being armed".

Since then, Qingdeng has always kept the captured revolver in his pocket and carried it with him at all times.

Unfortunately, Kitahara Konosuke shot out 5 of the 6 bullets in the revolver, leaving only the last bullet in the chamber.

However, a pistol is still a pistol.

Even with only one bullet left, it can still produce amazing results if used properly.

Tonight, this long-hidden "trump card" has finally come in handy.

Trading a skilled archer and a threatening member of the Communist Party for a single bullet... it's a worthwhile trade.

The reason why Qing Deng picked up the bow and quiver on the ground when he rushed out of the factory was not to engage in an archery duel with Nue, but to confuse the opponent and make him misjudge the situation.

Judging from the results, Qingdeng's operation plan was very successful.

Nue made the mistake of having preconceived notions.

The idea that "Niou is definitely going to close the distance with me and then shoot me with an arrow" was deeply ingrained in his mind.

Thinking that at a distance of about 20 meters, Qingdeng would not have time to draw his bow and nock an arrow, they lowered their guard, giving Qingdeng the opportunity to draw his gun.

An archer capable of taking lives from hundreds of meters away died so inexplicably from a pistol... Such an outcome is both comical and poignant.

Times have really changed.

No matter how skilled you are at archery or how accurate your arrows are, it's difficult to withstand the devastating impact of firearms.

In his previous life, Qing Deng consistently achieved excellent shooting scores while studying at the police academy.

Having not touched a gun for over a year, fortunately his skills hadn't deteriorated, and he hit the bullseye without any major incident, transforming Nue from a gloomy and indifferent person into a broad-minded one.

Even though the chamber was empty, Qingdeng decided to keep the gun with him for now, just to keep it as a souvenir... He put the empty gun back into his pocket as he thought to himself.