I formed the strongest swordsman group

Shining muskets, ferocious cannons, long spears draped over shoulders, clanging armor... Three thousand well-equipped Mito men walked swaggeringly on the streets of Edo.

The troops were in neat order, their cheers were loud and their momentum was overwhelming!

…

…

Edo, Imado Town, the main camp of the Hitotsubashi Army——

"What? Mito's reinforcements have arrived?"

"Hahaha! It's finally here!"

"Great! Mito's reinforcements have finally arrived!"

"We're sure to win!"

After receiving the news that "3,000 reinforcements from Mito Domain have arrived", cheers suddenly resounded inside and outside the room.

Gao Lao and the others all looked relieved.

As expected, when the "Ichibashi faction" secretly contacted the Mito domain, explained the plan of "overthrowing Tokugawa Iemochi", and requested the Mito domain to send troops to help, the Mito domain lord Tokugawa Yoshiaki immediately gave an accurate reply: he vowed to stand together with the "Ichibashi faction"!

Although the "Hitotsubashi faction" had one of its staunchest allies, the Fukui domain, which had a capital of 320,000 koku, was located in the remote Echizen region and distant water could not quench immediate thirst.

The only feudal domain that was truly capable of sending troops to assist the "Ichibashi faction" was Mito.

As long as they march at the speed of "forced march", the Mito clan's army will be able to reach the gates of Edo Castle in just half a day!

Last night, the Mito Domain received a notice to "prepare for an uprising."

Therefore, since last night, the Mito clan has been secretly mobilizing troops.

As soon as the sky was slightly bright today, the 3,000-strong army of Mito Domain stopped fighting and marched quickly towards Edo. The march was very smooth and they successfully arrived in Edo within the expected time!

Just like Choshu, Mito Domain has also experienced numerous changes in recent years.

After experiencing a series of turmoil including the "Sakuradamon Incident" and the "Tengu Party Incident", the national strength of Mito Domain declined seriously and it lost a large number of talents.

The great feudal lords, renowned for their military prowess, could now only muster 3,000 troops.

Although the number of troops is small, these three thousand people are enough to become the decisive force to determine the outcome of the battle!

After a brief moment of ecstasy, Gao Lao couldn't help but excitedly said:

"The battle is over! The enemy is already at the end of its strength! Once the reinforcements from Mito arrive on the battlefield, we will be able to defeat the Shinsengumi in one fell swoop! Conquer Edo Castle!"

As soon as this statement came out, it immediately received a lot of support:

"That's right!"

"Tachibana Aoto has no more soldiers! The number of troops he can freely mobilize now is no more than a thousand! Unless every soldier in the Shinsengumi is as brave as Xiang Yu, there is no way they can stop the attack of the Mito army!"

"That's right! We're going to win!"

There was a cheerful atmosphere inside and outside the room.

In the midst of this joyous occasion, Yiqiao Qingxi suddenly changed his tone to a serious and solemn one:

"Hurry up and send a message to the Mito Army!"

He waved his hand and said quickly and vigorously:

"Tachibana Aoto has no extra troops to support other battlefields! While the Shinsengumi is being held at Akasaka Palace Gate, attack the Kohinata Palace Gate!"

…

…

Edo Castle, Akasaka Gate——

Shimada Kai clenched his fists and cast a worried look towards the battlefield ahead.

Up to this point in the battle, generals such as Harada Sanosuke and Matsubara Tadashi have all become "sweat men" and "blood men".

They who are still fighting on the front line don’t know that a new powerful enemy is coming...!

In order to stop the fierce attack of the "Death Corps" and the direct officers, the soldiers led by Harada Sanosuke have tried their best.

Even if we exhaust all means, we can't squeeze more power out of them.

There is no doubt about it - once the 3,000 fresh troops from Mito Domain arrive at the battlefield, this hard-won defense line will collapse in an instant!

If the Mito army attacks here, the situation will be slightly better.

What Shimada Kai fears most now is that the Mito army will target other imperial gates.

Put yourself in his shoes. If he were to command the Mito army, he would not necessarily choose to have a bloody battle with the Shinsengumi at Akasaka Gate. He would more likely take advantage of the Shinsengumi being held at Akasaka Gate to launch an attack on the other gates of the "Thirty-six Mitsuke"!

They only deployed a minimum number of troops at other imperial gates, which could only be used for surveillance. They were not capable of fighting any tough battles, let alone stopping the fierce military force of the Mito Domain.

In front of them were the "Death Corps" and the elites among the direct representatives, and behind them were the 3,000-strong army of the Mito Domain... This was basically what was meant by "adding insult to injury".

If we don't do something, everything will be over once the reinforcements from Mito Domain arrive!

Although Edo Town was large, it was not large enough to give them enough time to plan their layout.

It would take no more than 30 minutes before the military flag embroidered with "Mito trefoil" came into their sight.

Shimada Kai tried to think of a countermeasure, but he quickly gave up as this was beyond his ability.

So he could only wait.

Wait for Qing Deng to display his divine power!

As one of the oldest veterans of the Shinsengumi, he has witnessed time and again how the man bearing the name of "Nioh" creates miracles!

Whenever this man takes action, he can always defeat powerful enemies and turn the tide!

However... from the moment on, Qing Deng was like a clay sculpture or a wooden carving. He had no reaction at all. He said no words and showed no expression. He just stared straight at the battlefield ahead.

If he didn't understand Qing Deng's character and was not convinced that he would never succumb to suffering, Shimada Kai would have really thought that Qing Deng was scared silly by the increasingly dangerous battle situation!

…

…

Although the time was short, but within just a few seconds after learning the news of "Mito Army's Invasion", Qing Deng had quickly conceived a series of countermeasures in his mind.

What a pity...all the strategies he formulated could not be implemented due to "insufficient troops".

A good cook cannot cook without rice... He is now short of both soldiers and generals. The main force of the Shinsengumi is not here, and his favorite generals such as Souji and Nagakura Shinpachi are not by his side.

That was fine. He had experienced dangerous situations where no one was available before.

What really troubled him was his own injuries.

The horrific wounds caused by Shuten-doji have not yet healed.

His chest, shoulders, thighs and other parts were still aching slightly, and his strength was less than 50% of his full strength.

He didn't mind dragging his half-crippled body to fight, but... Beifang Ren said to him in a very serious tone when he was treating his wounds: Avoid strenuous exercise! Don't sit if you can lie down. Once the wound is torn, even I can't save it!

Qing Deng is very confident in his physique.

However, he did not doubt Bei Fangren's medical advice.

After all, no matter how strong his body is, he is still a mortal. Once his injuries worsen, he will die.

Without a healthy body and without companions who could be entrusted with important tasks... For Qing Deng, this was the first time he had ever faced such a dangerous battle.

He fell into a long period of confusion and silence... and was unable to make up his mind.

What should we do to stop the Mito clan's army?

He asked himself this in his heart.

Then, a series of chaotic thoughts flowed through his mind.

What should we do to defeat the "Ichibashi faction"?

What should we do to defend Edo Castle?

What should we do to protect them?

Just as he frowned and thought hard about how to break the impasse—

"Sheng Qing."

A firm call came from behind him.

Qing Deng was stunned for a moment, then turned around like lightning.

“Your Highness…!”

Tenshoin was seen wearing armor, carrying a naginata and a Japanese bow, walking towards Qingdeng alone without any followers.

The mighty armor and sharp weapon make him exude a majestic heroic spirit, but the feminine beauty can still be seen between his brows.

Shimada Kai looked at Qing Deng blankly, then looked at Tianzhangyuan, and then consciously stepped back more than ten steps, increasing the distance, making room, holding his breath, and trying to minimize his presence.

Qing Deng asked quickly:

"Your Highness, why are you here? Where is Iemochi?"

"Don't worry, Iemochi is safe. Sae and Yae are taking care of him."

As she spoke, she moved to the side and back of Qing Deng, raised her eyes, scanned the battlefield in front of her, and changed her tone to a serious one:

"I have just learned about the detailed battle situation. The situation is not good... Sheng Qing, how do you plan to stop the Mito army?"

“…”

Qing Deng pursed his lips and said nothing.

Taking advantage of his silence, Tian Zhangyuan continued:

"Sheng Qing, if you can use me, feel free to use me. Although my martial arts skills are mediocre, I can still be of some use to you."

After saying that, she smiled slightly and bent down deliberately to show the naginata and bow behind her.

After hearing this, Qing Deng opened his mouth without thinking, subconsciously preparing to refute.

Don't be silly, if anything happens to you, then this battle will be in vain - he wanted to say this.

But when he was about to say this, he paused and then slowly closed his mouth.

He knew very well what kind of temper the woman in front of him had.

Advising her to leave the front line and return to the safety of Honmaru would surely fall on deaf ears.

After a while, he said softly:

"Your Highness, I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. Even without your assistance, I still have a way to turn the tide of the battle."

"Oh? So you have a strategy?"

“I guess so.”

He didn't lie.

In fact, just now, he had already thought of a brilliant plan to turn the world around.

But... the success rate of this strategy is really not satisfactory.

For this reason, he felt that he was still lacking an opportunity - an opportunity that would allow him to make up his mind completely.

At this moment, he suddenly said to Tianzhangyuan:

"…Your Highness, can you tell me something?"

Without waiting for Tianzhangyuan to cast a confused look at him, he continued to speak:

"To be honest, I'm... a little tired now..."

"Since launching the 'Changzhou Expedition', I have been constantly running around on various battlefields."

"After finally defeating a powerful enemy and resolving Edo's dilemma, we now have to fight the 'Ichibashi Faction' again."

"I'm really a little tired..."

"So, Your Highness... no, Yuyi, can you tell me something?"

"Anything will do. Just say something to cheer me up."

After Qing Deng finished speaking, an indescribable silence fell between them.

Because Tian Zhangyuan was standing behind her, Qing Deng couldn't see her movements, nor did he know what expression she was making.

After saying this, even Qing Deng himself was shocked - he had no idea why he made such a statement.

It was just a moment of distraction, and then I said this naturally.

In this strangely quiet atmosphere, the first sound produced was not the words of Qingdeng or Tianzhangyuan, but the friction sound of bodies gently touching each other - Qingdeng suddenly felt something sticking to his back.

Even without looking, he could clearly feel that Tianzhangyuan bent down and pressed his forehead against Qingdeng's back.

At the same time, she stretched out her hands and tightly grasped the fabric of Qingdeng's clothes on his back.

In the sunlight, the two figures merged into one.

Qing Deng could clearly feel the other person's body temperature and the vibration of his vocal cords on his back.

"Sheng Qing, I don't know if you still remember that I once told you: 'I want to go to Otsu with you'."

“I thought my wish had a chance to come true.”

"However, I never expected that... the various changes in reality seemed to make this wish further and further away from me."

"But even though my life is in jeopardy now, I still can't help but fantasize about the scenery of Otsu and my life after moving there..."

She paused here.

Three seconds later, she spoke again—in a low tone, mixed with a hint of uneasiness.

"Sheng Qing...do I still have a chance to go to Otsu?"

Qing Deng felt his clothes being suddenly tightened on his back.

Tian Zhangyuan grabbed Qing Deng's clothes tightly on his back, as if he was unwilling to let go.

“…”

Just as Tianzhangyuan finished speaking, Qingdeng looked down at the Vairocana on his waist, then looked up at the sky and took a deep breath.

"……sure."

He said it forcefully.

"As long as you are still interested, I will definitely take you to Otsu!"

The next moment, he turned his head sharply and shouted to Shimada Kui who was not far away:

"Shimada-kun!"

Hearing Qing Deng's name, Shimada Kui shuddered, and then hurriedly stammered and shrilly said:

"I-I-I-I-I didn't hear anything!"

Qing Deng ignored Shimada Kai's attempt to cover up the truth and ordered concisely:

"You stay here, I'll be back soon."

As he spoke, he steadied Vairocana at his waist, turned around and left.

Shimada Kui was stunned when he saw this.

Although Qing Deng did not say it explicitly, he instantly understood what his master wanted.

At this juncture, he no longer cared about the extraordinary conversation he had just heard, and subconsciously moved his feet to catch up with and intercept Qing Deng.

"My Lord! You must not do that! The Northern Doctor said that you..."

Before Shimada Kui could finish, Qing Deng interrupted directly:

"Northern doctors say 'Don't let the wound open.'"

"In that case, as long as we don't let the wound open, everything will be fine, right?"

He said, pushing Shimada Kai away and moving forward.

Shimada Kai wanted to continue persuading, but received a ruthless warning from Qing Deng:

"Don't stop me. If you appear in front of me again, I will make you unable to stand up within 5 minutes."

Shimada Kai's feet immediately froze in place, not daring to move.

From the moment he started, Qing Deng kept his gaze fixed and did not turn around to look at Tianzhangyuan behind him.

He walked straight ahead and made a firm promise to the other party:

"I will defeat a mere 3,000-man army!"

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