I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"That's natural. 'Escape' is a specialty of the heretics of the Great Salt Party."

"Since their crushing defeat in the Battle of Osaka, they have been subjected to extermination by the shogunate, living like rats in a sewer, constantly on the run and without a fixed abode."

"Over time, they developed extraordinary escape skills. They were not only good at escaping, but also good at leading others to escape. They also invented and made a large number of props that were very suitable for escape."

"Hmph! These heretics of the Great Salt Party love to tinker with these strange and ingenious tricks... It's amazing how they can come up with so many fancy little gadgets."

"If it weren't for their incredibly sophisticated escape techniques, we would have wiped out these despicable heretics long ago!"

"I really hope that Tamamo-no-Mae can make a greater effort to find out the location of the Ooshio Party's headquarters as soon as possible and strive to completely destroy them."

Having said that, Rakshasa sheathed her sword.

Eiichi Shimizu asked:

"Lord Rakshasa, shall we pursue them?"

"No need to chase."

Rakshasa replied without hesitation.

"Without knowing their escape route and so much time having passed, it's basically impossible to catch them. Hmph, consider them lucky this time."

Upon hearing this, Shimizu Eiichi looked troubled.

"However... Lord Rakshasa, please forgive my bluntness—Ju Qingdeng is a martial arts genius known throughout the world."

"Although he is currently very weak, it's really hard to say what will happen to him in the future."

"If this scoundrel is not eliminated, he will surely cause endless trouble in the future!"

Shimizu Sakae earnestly offered advice to Rakshasa.

Rakshasa was silent for a moment, then let out a light, mocking laugh.

"Indeed, as you said, Tachibana Seiden is a rare martial arts genius."

"But even the most talented person needs time to grow."

"We just need to eliminate it before it grows up."

"There's no use rushing these things, let's take it slow."

As Rakshasa spoke, she raised her hand and pressed down on Shimizu Eiichi's shoulder.

"Rongyi, there's no need to be nervous."

"As a person in a superior position, one must always remain calm and never be impatient."

"When people are anxious, they are prone to saying things without thinking, and then doing some inappropriate and reckless things."

"Relax, relax."

Upon hearing what Rakshasa said, Shimizu Eiichi's previously taut facial features gradually relaxed.

"Yes. Lord Rakshasa, thank you for your guidance."

At this moment, Rakshasa seemed to remember something, pursed her lips, and then chuckled.

"Sigh, what a disappointment."

"I thought Tachibana Aoto could be even more capable."

Ultimately, he never had any outstanding achievements.

"Looking back on his past, his famous battle was nothing more than cutting down some good-for-nothings in the Expeditionary Army."

In the end, it was all just empty fame.

"Being forced to bear a resounding title that doesn't match one's abilities... is both pathetic and laughable."

After speaking, Rakshasa put his hands behind his back, turned around, and strode away.

"Rongyi, there is no need to keep this factory any longer."

“Take all the herbs and equipment from the factory and then set it on fire.”

"I want to see this place turned to white before the sun rises."

……

……

Edo, somewhere—

"Huff...! Huff...! Huff...! Huff...! Your Majesty... Huff...! Huff...! Are you alright...? Can you stand up...?!"

Ebina, panting heavily, put down the blue shovel on his back.

Like a newborn fawn, Qingdeng struggled to support his legs, which were weak and wobbling from lack of strength.

His head was still throbbing terribly... and the pain was getting worse, as if countless flying insects were laying eggs in his brain.

Despite being in such poor health that even speaking had become difficult, Aoto mustered his strength and thanked Ebina:

"Mr. Ebina... thank you for your help..."

Having caught his breath, Ebina smiled slightly and replied:

"No need to be so polite. After all, we are allies who share the same goals."

"It is only natural for allies to help each other."

"Besides, even if it's just to disgust those vile bastards who want to exterminate the Party, we will definitely save you."

Qingdeng forced a smile, returned an awkward one, and then turned his head in another direction:

"Are you all... alright...?"

“Hmm…” Sanako nodded gently, “It’s alright… Okita-kun and I are both fine…”

As Yae Asahi knelt beside Amagura Owl, treating his wounds, Sae asked:

"Sister, how is Mr. Tiancang?"

The heavy gauze answered softly:

"It's neither too bad nor too good. I've given Mr. Tiancang a simple bandage, and he'll be fine for the time being, but he'll still need further treatment later."

With the combined efforts of Ebina, Ichinose, and Akutsu, Sanako, Souji, Amakura Owl, and the Nie sisters all managed to escape successfully.

Seeing that all the people he knew well... especially Sanako and Souji were alive, Aoto breathed a sigh of relief.

However... the other members of the new Imperial Guard were not so lucky.

When they arrived, there were more than thirty people in a large group.

At this moment, only a little over ten of the barbarians have survived and escaped...

Some of them died in battle, and some were people Ebina and his men didn't have time to take with them...

The fact that Ebina, Ichinose, and Akutsu were able to take away a dozen or so people, led by Aoto, from the dense fog filled with enemies was a feat that was almost miraculous—however, this was also their limit.

If they could, they would have liked to rescue everyone, but... they really had done their best...

Yae cast a curious glance at Ichinose beside her.

"Why are you able to move freely in and out of that smoke? Aren't your eyes afraid of that smoke?"

“We’ll take the antidote beforehand,” Ichinose replied. “As long as we take the antidote, we can be immune to that smoke for a short period of time.”

"Oh! I see!"

Yae rubbed the back of her head and laughed.

She probably laughed so loudly on purpose to ease the heavy atmosphere surrounding them.

In the deathly silence, Yae's laughter sounded particularly abrupt, making the atmosphere even more desolate.

Seeing herself like a clown performing a one-woman show, Yae looked dejected, stopped laughing, and lowered her head.

At this moment, from Qing Deng and his group to the patriots of the Great Salt Party, and then to the soldiers of the New Imperial Household... no matter who it was, they all looked listless.

They either had no expression or looked dejected.

They either droop their heads or slump their shoulders.

No one spoke... Morale was visibly low, they looked like a defeated army.

In fact, it does.

They lost.

Looking back at the entire battle—it's less accurate to say they were defeated by the Yakuza of the Shimizu clan, who had a numerical advantage, and more accurate to say they were defeated by the Rakshasa's blade.

When Qingdeng failed to defeat Luosha, their "defeat" was already a foregone conclusion.

Even the strongest Qingdeng was no match for Rakshasa, so who could defeat this monster?

At that moment, Akutsu suddenly raised his hand, pointed east, and shouted:

Hey! Look!

Everyone looked in the direction Akutsu pointed—the eastern horizon was turning slightly red and swaying from time to time.

East... that's the direction they escaped from, the location of the Illusionary Dew production site...

The red light flickered, and the flames appeared and disappeared... Even the dumbest person would know what was happening.

Instantly, the already low morale of Qing Deng and his men became even more disheartened.

After overcoming numerous hardships, they finally found irrefutable evidence to prove that the Party was involved in the production and sale of dangerous drugs, but they still couldn't protect it, causing all their efforts to be in vain...

"hateful……!"

Yae cursed under her breath, her eyes brimming with tears.

Sha Chong pursed her red lips.

Tian Cangxiao frowned.

Akutsu gritted his teeth.

Ichinose looked bitter.

Ebina sighed deeply.

Sanako lowered her eyelids and remained silent.