I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 853: Aoto vs. Kusaka Genzui! The showdown between the generals! [5500]

The next moment, Qing Deng kicked the cow's belly hard.

Luobo retracted his raised front hooves and shot out, like a spring that was compressed and then suddenly released.

The headwind blew towards him, and Qing Deng could hear the haori on his body rustling.

Then, like a flood, the originally very tight cavalry formation scattered and disintegrated, turning into streams of "turbulence" and, led by Qing Deng, slamming heavily towards Tianlong Temple.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the same time as the cavalry launched the charge, the cannons in the rear roared one after another.

The firing of many cannons merged into a continuous low roar.

Above the heads of Qing Deng and the others were sounds of flying, roaring, and shouting that were difficult to discern with the naked eye.

"Move the muzzle up 4 degrees, and to the right 2 degrees. Hurry! Don't dawdle!"

The thunderous sound of the bombardment dominated the surrounding space with an overwhelming presence.

Juro Abe (captain of the 11th Division) shouted orders in a clear and methodical voice, while he quietly glanced at the situation of the Satsuma artillery formation not far away.

The Satsuma army's artillery position was located 50 meters away.

Even a layman can see at a glance how outstanding the combat qualities of the Satsuma Army's artillery team are.

All the soldiers performed their duties, and each one was like a gear, operating in an orderly manner.

Their scientific and skilled operating methods make their artillery firing speed terrifyingly fast.

In terms of training level alone... the Satsuma Artillery Corps is slightly better than the Shinsengumi Artillery Corps, which was established less than a year ago!
——As expected of a powerful clan that can independently manufacture guns, cannons and warships!

Abe Juro secretly praised.

Driven by his competitive spirit, he was unwilling to lose to the opponent.

So he worked even harder to direct and give orders.

Under the escort of cannons, the cavalry's charge was even more powerful.

The Choshu army had no will to fight anymore, so a direct cavalry charge would be enough to end the fight.

What is different from yesterday is that the 7th and 10th squads of the Shinsengumi don't have to fight alone this time. Today they have the support of the Aizu cavalry.

"Go ahead!"

"Let the Choshu dogs see the might of the world-famous Aizu cavalry!"

"Follow closely! Don't fall behind!"

Although the number of Aizu cavalry was not large, only about 200 people, their horse riding skills and momentum during the charge were not inferior to those of the Shinsengumi's 7th and 10th squads.

Qing Deng lowered his upper body, with his chest almost touching the cow's back, to minimize the impact of wind resistance.

After a while, the Choshu army's camp became clearer and clearer.

Those faces filled with fear and panic appeared clearly in Qingdeng's eyes.

The current situation of the Choshu Army is worse than Qing Deng expected.

The large-scale cavalry was almost upon them, but they couldn't even organize a decent defense line.

It can be seen that its command system has collapsed completely.

"They're coming!"

"Shinsengumi! Come on! I'm going to fight you!"

"Quick! Hold up the spear!"

"Asshole! Where are you going?!"

"Come back! Come back quickly! If you run away now, you will only be slaughtered! If you fight to the death, you may even survive!"

All kinds of sounds entered Qingdeng's ears, allowing him to intuitively feel the various states of life when disaster strikes.

Qing Deng ignored the noises and activated his talent "Concentration" - he concentrated all his attention and slowly raised his spear.

How fast is the cavalry charge?
In the blink of an eye, the two armies met!

Qing Deng swung the long spear horizontally, cutting a dark red arc in the enemy group. Wherever the spear tip passed, the enemy group collapsed like waves breaking.

There were some guys who still had some fighting spirit, and they bravely rushed forward, wanting to fight Qing Deng to the death.

In an instant, more than a dozen Choshu soldiers surrounded Qingdeng in a fan-shaped formation.

Qing Deng glanced at them, his hands still moving, and swung the spear in his hand again.

With a whoosh, the encirclement around him suddenly opened up like flowers blooming, and dozens of corpses flew into the sky.

Qingdeng’s “personal show” did not last long.

But just a moment later, the large army arrived!

The outcome was decided almost instantly.

The cavalrymen did not gather in groups, but dispersed into teams of ten, forming small and flexible cones, and swept forward with a whistling sound.

They charged head-on at the Choshu army formation, accompanied by shouts from men and neighs from horses, and clouds of blood mist exploded.

The cavalrymen's blades swept across the enemy's bodies.

The horses' hooves trampled over the broken bodies and shattered battle flags.

In the morning fog that had not yet dissipated, there was galloping, blocking, fighting, entanglement, escape, and death everywhere.

The cavalry broke up the ranks.

The horse's hooves crushed the bones.

The blade cut through flesh.

In the flash of cold light, lives were taken away one after another.

There were brave men in the Choshu army who launched a desperate counterattack.

However, no matter how desperately they resisted and blocked the attack, their resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot in the face of this high-speed cavalry army.

Under the attack and pushing of the cavalry, the movement space of the Choshu soldiers was gradually compressed, and soon they became a bunch of "meat balls".

They were entangled with each other, hindering each other and holding each other back, unable to move freely, and it was even more difficult for them to resist the fierce offensive of the cavalry army. They could only allow themselves to be slaughtered by the opponent.

Suddenly, a loud shout came from behind:
"Don't hold back! Go ahead!"

A neatly-armored general rode out on his horse.

It was the important leader of the radical faction - Maki Izumi.

This person was originally a priest of Suitengu Shrine in Kurume Domain. He is not young anymore and is already 51 years old this year.

Maki and Izumi's appearance in battle did give a small boost to the morale of the Choshu army.

Maki Izumi, who was born as a priest and is not young at all, is not good at fighting.

However, his courage to "disregard life and death" is indeed worthy of praise.

He just shouted loudly, raised his sword and chopped down two people one after another.

As he fought more and more courageously, he suddenly spotted a general who looked majestic and was obviously an important figure in the army.

Adhering to the simple idea of ​​"shoot the horse first when shooting a person, and capture the leader first when capturing a thief", Maki Izumi turned his horse's head without hesitation and charged straight towards the general.

The target he was looking for was none other than Harada Sanosuke.

Seeing an enemy coming, and an enemy who looked to be of a high level, Harada Sanosuke was stunned at first, and then he showed a confident smile.

In a flash, the confrontation between the two began!

When the two men and their horses were about to pass each other, Maki and Izumi saw the distance and thrust their spears straight forward.

With the help of the horse's potential energy, the shot was extremely fast.

However, Harada Sanosuke had already disappeared from the tip of his gun.

It turned out that at the same time when Maki and Izumi launched the attack, Harada Sanosuke swiftly lowered his body, his right foot slipped out of the stirrup, and his whole body hung on the left side of the horse's belly, the so-called "hiding person in the horse's belly".

This was a skill that could only be performed by someone with excellent riding skills—and Harada Sanosuke happened to be one of the most gifted riders in the Shinsengumi.

At the same moment he dodged the opponent's attack, Harada Sanosuke stretched his body, raised the gun slightly, and aimed at Maki Izumi's throat from below.

It seemed as if a long time had passed while describing Harada Sanosuke's actions in such detail.

In fact, everything happens in the blink of an eye.

call out!
A cold light flashed, and the gun shot out like a dragon!

The tip of the spear hit Maki Izumi's throat, which was not protected by armor, and came out from the back of his neck.

“Gugu…!”

After uttering a few meaningless groans, Maki Izumi rolled his eyes, revealing bloodshot whites, and fell limply from the horse's back.

As there was no time to retract the spear, Harada Sanosuke had to let go, leaving the spear remaining in the opponent's body.

After the two sides passed each other and Maki and Izumi fell to the ground, Harada Sanosuke raised his left fist high and smiled excitedly:
"Hahaha! I have captured the enemy general!"

At this time, Tadashi Matsubara (vice-captain of the 10th Division) came riding over.

"Captain, are you injured?"

Harada Sanosuke turned his head and cast a surprised look at Matsubara Tadashi.

"Huh? How do you know I just killed an enemy general?"

"Eh? I didn't ask you that..."

Coincidentally, just as Matsubara Tadashi arrived, Hijikata Toshizo also arrived.

"Sanosuke! Great job!"

The exquisite moves that Harada Sanosuke had just displayed were all seen by Hijikata Toshizo who was not far away.

Although Harada Sanosuke is a stupid guy with a dull mind, you can completely trust this guy on the battlefield. His bravery is not inferior to anyone else!
"Eh? Mr. Hijikata, how did you know I just killed an enemy general?"

Hijikata Toshizo's face was full of black lines. He ignored Harada Sanosuke's antics and asked anxiously:

"Zanosuke, have you seen Tachibana?"

Seeing that Hijikata Toshizo was asking about something serious, Harada Sanosuke also put away his playful attitude and said seriously:
"I didn't see Mr. Ju. The last time I saw him was about 5 minutes ago. He was rushing deep into the enemy camp. Mr. Ju was still as powerful as ever today!"

Hijikata Toshizo smacked his lips when he heard this:

"Tsk! What's going on! They're just a weak team that's about to be defeated, why are they fighting so hard? What happened to him today...?"

……

……

Tenryuji Temple (Choshu Army Headquarters)——

"Lord Kusaka! Maki Izumi is killed! Maki Izumi is killed!"

Upon hearing this, a certain general immediately cried out:
"What did you say? Mr. Maki is dead...?!"

The sudden bad news made the atmosphere in the camp even more heavy.

Maki and Izumi are veterans of the radical faction.

His death was undoubtedly another heavy blow to the radicals.

Last month's Ikedaya incident had already dealt a heavy blow to the radicals.

The disastrous defeats of yesterday and today have cost the lives of a large number of cadres, including Maki Izumi and Kurushima Matabei.

Today, the radicals are in a dilemma of talent shortage and no one is available.

The generals in this camp looked at each other in confusion and remained silent for a long time.

Kusaka Genzui sat on his stool, expressionless and silent, as if all the noise from the outside world and the sound of fighting getting closer and closer had nothing to do with him. A certain general looked at Kusaka Genzui, his face showing hesitation.

About half a minute later, he finally mustered up his courage, took a deep breath, and asked Kusaka Genzui:

"Kusaka-san, what should we do now? Please give us some instructions!"

Almost a pleading tone...

As soon as these words were spoken, all the generals turned their heads and cast helpless, pleading looks at Kusaka Genzui.

Katsura Kogoro, who was standing by, saw this and his expression became even more complicated.

All of a sudden, Kusaka Genzui, who had been like a puppet and a mute since last night, stood up suddenly, and the stool under his butt was knocked away.

Seeing Kusaka Genzui suddenly take action, everyone at the scene perked up and looked at Kusaka Genzui with hope.

“…Kui.”

The sudden roll call startled Katsura Kogoro.

Katsura Kogoro immediately raised his eyes and the two of them looked at each other.

"Gui, you lead the team and take everyone home."

"The wounded go first, and the rest go later."

As he spoke, he glanced at the other generals in the camp.

"You guys go too, don't stay and die."

"My head is the most valuable. If you don't take my head, the shogunate will never give up."

"I'm here to wean you off."

Kusaka Genzui's words caused the scene to fall into a brief silence.

In a moment, excitement was in the air.

"Go, go? Lord Kusaka, are you asking us to escape?"

"No! I won't run away! I will fight the Shogun to the last moment!"

"Mr. Kusaka, what nonsense are you talking about! How can we leave you alone?"

Everyone was talking at once and making a lot of noise.

“…Stop arguing!”

Following Kusaka Genzui's order, the scene returned to silence.

"Stop saying such naive things."

He turned his head and looked at the people who had just threatened to fight to the last moment, with an unhappy look on his face.

"Fight? Is there any 'fight' to speak of here? It's just a one-sided massacre!"

"Stop saying such naive things and just run for your life."

"Being alive is better than anything else."

"As long as we are alive, there is still hope for recovery."

His rebuke made the "war hawks" lower their heads with painful expressions on their faces.

Someone quickly interrupted:

"In that case, Mr. Hisaka, please flee with us! You are our important leader..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Kusaka Genzui's cold sneers.

"Hehe... 'Important leader'? If I were a qualified leader, I wouldn't have caused so many brothers to die tragically, and I wouldn't have let Changzhou fall into the current situation..."

"This Eastern Expedition was all caused by me."

"It is because of my incompetence that I have suffered the defeat today."

"I have no face to return home, so let me stay here and bear the responsibility for the defeat."

Having said that, he looked at Katsura Kogoro again.

"Gui, I'll leave these guys to you."

“Let them return home safely.”

"This is... my last request in this life."

Katsura Kogoro gritted his teeth and subconsciously clenched his fists.

"Kusaka, you should come with us too."

"Didn't you just say that? As long as we are alive, there is still hope for recovery."

Kusaka Genzui laughed at himself.

"I'll spare it."

"I no longer have the confidence to regain my strength."

"The Shimonoseki War, the August 18th coup, the Ikedaya Incident, today's Eastern Expedition... All my efforts have only resulted in increasingly tragic consequences."

"All the facts have proven that you and Takasugi are right."

"The idea that I have always adhered to, 'overthrow the shogunate at all costs and expel the Western barbarians', is wrong."

"Just let me die here."

“This is the best destination I could have imagined.”

At this point, Kusaka Genzui seemed to recall something, paused, and then changed to a complex tone:
"Besides...if I die, it should be a relief for you and Takasugi."

"You've already decided to kill me, haven't you?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and made a "beheading" gesture at his neck.

When Katsura Kogoro heard this, his pupils suddenly shrank and his expression changed drastically.

"me……"

He said "I" for a long time but couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Suddenly, Kusaka Genzui let out a long sigh, and the complicated expression on his face turned into a calm smile.

"Gui, don't blame yourself."

"I didn't mean to bash you."

"I know your thoughts very well."

"I am the one who should feel guilty."

"It's all my fault for being stubborn. It caused our former classmates to fall apart and put you in such a difficult situation."

"I have always known that you are the one among us who values ​​our friendship as classmates the most."

"I actually let you, who is like this, develop murderous intentions towards me... I am really outrageous."

"Kui, I'm so sorry."

"You didn't let me down, I let you down."

"As long as I die, you and Takasugi will no longer feel embarrassed."

"So, let me stay."

After speaking, Kusaka Genzui raised his hand and patted Katsura Kogoro on the shoulder, then strode forward, passed by Katsura Kogoro, and walked straight to the front line.

Looking at the figure of Kusaka Genzui who was getting farther and farther away, all the generals showed a look of confusion and turned to look at Katsura Kogoro for help.

Katsura Kogoro lowered his head and remained silent for a long time, leaving everyone with a lonely back.

It didn't take long. After a moment, Katsura Kogoro seemed to have made up his mind. He suddenly raised his head and turned to look at everyone:

"Did you all hear Kusaka's order?"

"From this moment on, you are all under my command!"

"Take all the wounded with you! Don't leave anyone behind! Start retreating!"

……

……

Whether it was caused by the artillery shells or for some other reason, the raging flames spread rapidly in Tianlong Temple, turning the place into a sea of ​​fire in the blink of an eye.

The raging flames licked the wood, making a squeaking sound as if it would break at any time.

Looking at the burning Tianlong Temple, Qing Deng couldn't help but feel a little regretful - what a pity, the world has lost another historical building.

However, he soon relaxed.

Anyway, Tenryuji Temple has suffered fire 8 times since its establishment, so this one won’t be a big deal!

After the battle began, Qing Deng charged forward headfirst, killing the enemies he encountered, regardless of where he was or whether the friendly troops behind him were following him, he just kept rushing deep into the enemy's formation.

When he came to his senses, he had already entered Tianlong Temple.

There were flames everywhere and buildings collapsed by fire, so Qing Deng had to slow down and move forward slowly.

Fortunately, Luobo is a spiritual cow, otherwise, if it were an ordinary animal, it would not dare to approach the Tianlong Temple which has turned into a sea of ​​fire.

——Damn it, there’s fire everywhere and I can’t tell the way. Where is Choshu’s main camp?
Just as Qing Deng was cursing in his heart and looking around for Choshu's main camp, he suddenly saw a young warrior walking out from the shadow of the flames and standing right in front of him.

Seeing this, Qingdeng lightly pulled the reins to make Luobo stop.

"Ha, I'm so lucky, I ran into the general of the Shinsengumi right at the start."

Qing Deng looked carefully, tried hard to recall, and finally remembered who this person was.

"Are you the 'First Hero of Choshu' Kusaka Genzui?"

The sentence structure of a question and the tone of an affirmative sentence - although Qing Deng had never seen Kusaka Genzui, the person in front of him looked exactly like the portrait on the wanted poster.

"Exactly!"

Kusaka Genzui agreed readily, and then drew out the sword from his waist with a clang.

Seeing this, Qing Deng lowered his eyelids and turned over to get off the cow.

How could Kusaka Genzui, the general of the Choshu army, be here?
Why did he have such a determined expression?

All kinds of questions lingered in Qingdeng's mind.

However, these issues are irrelevant.

He smelled murderous intent and sensed the determination to fight to the death - that was enough!
Choke—Qingdeng pulled out Vairocana.

The two men faced each other from a distance of more than thirty meters.

Kusaka Genzui raised the tip of his sword and looked up with blue eyes.

"Kingshin Akechi-ryu"

"Kusaka Genzui!"

Qingdeng lowered his waist and picked up the clouds.

"Naturally Rishin flow"

"Tachibana Aoden!"

The moment they introduced themselves to each other, they rushed forward and rushed towards each other! The two knives collided heavily in the air!
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(End of this chapter)