I formed the strongest swordsman group

"Don't stop! Keep pushing!"

Under the urging of Shannan Keisuke, the strong team members responsible for pushing the carriage mustered up their strength and pushed the carriage forward slowly despite the dense barrage.

After the distance between the two sides became closer, Shannan Keisuke yelled:

"Grenade!"

In an instant, grenades leaped out from behind the carriage.

Because the "rock wall" is very high, only a small part of it managed to land on top of the "rock wall".

But even so, it was enough to cause chaos to the enemy.

Along with a series of explosions, smoke and screams floated from the "rock wall".

As if intending to retaliate, the next moment, grenades fell one after another from the top of the "rock wall".

Throw it from top to bottom... there is no problem of "not being able to throw it if you don't have enough strength".

Therefore, all the grenades thrown by the Raiders landed around the carriage.

A grenade just fell at Shannan Keisuke's feet.

He picked it up with quick eyes and hands, and then threw it back hard - with a bang, the grenade turned into a fleeting spark in the air two seconds after it was released.

"Don't be afraid! These grenades won't explode so quickly! If a grenade falls at your feet, just throw it back! If you don't have time to throw it back, lie down!"

Shannan Keisuke raised his voice and shouted a warning as loudly as he could.

However, as soon as his words came out, they were drowned out by the noisy gunshots and explosions.

How to deal with grenades - this is one of the "compulsory subjects" of the Shinsengumi.

Logically speaking, even without Shannan Keisuke's reminder, the soldiers would have been able to deal with these grenades that were falling directly.

But... "peacetime" and "wartime" are two completely different situations.

There are no problems in normal times, but when wartime comes, things go wrong - people like this are everywhere.

In fact, this really cannot be blamed on others.

This was the first time for the Shinsengumi team members to fight such a bloody battle with hot weapons.

Looking back at the previous battles, they were basically one-sided crushing. Have you ever tried to shoot at the enemy with a musket or throw grenades at the enemy at such a close distance?

The sound of gunshots and explosions filled the ears - the psychological pressure this brought to people was far greater than the clanging of swords.

In such an environment, you will feel at a loss, feel dizzy, your mind will go blank, and you will forget all your usual training content. This is completely normal and human nature.

In order to avoid this situation, Shannan Keisuke specially selected veterans with actual combat experience when selecting his team members.

But despite this, some people were still stunned.

Shannan Keisuke looked up and found that several people were stunned and unresponsive. When he saw the grenade dropped at their feet, they neither threw it back nor lay down, so that they were injured. He couldn't help but feel angry and anxious.

The carriage can stop bullets, but not grenade explosions.

A grenade happened to fall into a certain carriage, and there was a "bang" sound. Although the carriage was not blown to pieces, its structure was damaged. It kept making "squeaking" and "squeaking" sounds, as if it would fall apart at any time. .

"Don't stop! Keep going!"

After roaring, Shannan Keisuke stretched out his upper body, stabilized the flintlock gun in his hand, faced the dense muzzle on the "rock wall" and the countless grenades flying in the air, and pulled the trigger hard.

…

…

The side of the "rock wall", somewhere in the corner——

The sound of gunshots and explosions one after another...even though they were far away, they still reached the ears of Qingdeng and others.

The general manager followed the sound worriedly:

"...The fighting over there has begun."

"Xiao Si, don't be distracted."

Qingden said without sadness or joy.

"Keisuke is doing his job. Now, it's our turn."

The Souji's face was stern and he nodded vigorously.

As he finished speaking, Qingdeng raised his head to look at the towering "rock wall" nearly 20 meters high in front of him.

One of the keys to conquering this "rock wall" lies in the mobility of the "Qi Soldier".

Bringing too many people will make the team look bloated and slow down.

Therefore, Aoto selected the most skilled swordsmen from the first and third divisions, and then ordered Souji, Saitoichi, and Shinami Nishiki to accompany them, totaling a hundred people.

It is no exaggeration to say that basically all the strongest swordsmen of the Shinsengumi Right Wing Army are here!

After Qingden took a few cursory glances at the "rock wall", he turned to look at Souji and the others behind him.

"The enemy's general is the 'Three Heroes of Choshu' Takasugi Shinsaku, and his military advisor is the famous 'rare military advisor' Omura Masujiro."

"Based on their abilities, there is no way they would not have thought that we would adopt the strategy of 'attacking in the east and attacking in the west'."

"It's hard for me to imagine that they wouldn't push back on this."

"In other words, I don't think our surprise attack is going to go well."

"So, please cheer me up and be more careful."

After that, Qingdeng said no more, faced the "rock wall" again, grabbed the protruding stones on the "rock wall" with both hands, and climbed up using his hands and feet.

The crowd followed closely behind.

The group of people clung to the rock wall like ants, moving in an orderly manner.

Although this "rock wall" is very tall, there are many protrusions that can be grasped.

Even Ayoto and others who have never learned rock climbing can climb smoothly.

The General Secretary and others all kept in mind Qingteng's instructions just now, keeping an eye on the six directions, listening in all directions, and always paying attention to all movements.

At first, it was very calm and there was no enemy in sight.

But just when they climbed to 10 meters high, that is, the middle of the "rock wall"...something strange happened!

Qing Deng was the first to discover the abnormality.

His ears trembled slightly, and then he looked up - large and small dot-shaped shadows fell on them like raindrops!

"Falling rocks! Hide!"

As luck would have it, there was no protruding rock above Qing Deng's head at this moment.

In other words, these falling rocks would hit Qing Deng's head straight!

At this critical moment, Qing Deng's right eye caught a glimpse of a crack not far away.

Above this crack was a large and solid rock that could completely resist falling rocks.

However...this crack was less than half an inch wide and could barely accommodate half a finger.

It didn't look like a place to grab.

Even so, Qing Deng's body had already taken action before his consciousness!

He gathered strength at his waist and suddenly jumped to the right.

At the moment he moved to the bottom of the crack, he stretched out his right arm and tightly grasped the crack with his index finger, middle finger and ring finger.

In this way, the weight of his whole body was all on these three fingers!

The talents "Skillful Hands +6" and "Nine Oxen and Two Tigers +3" were activated!

Although it was a little reluctant, the joints of the three fingers turned white due to excessive force, but he successfully hid in a safe area before the rain of stones fell, and escaped this wave of stones without danger.

The team members brought by Qingdeng are indeed carefully selected elite soldiers.

After hearing Qingdeng's warning, they immediately scattered and dodged like a conditioned reflex.

Thanks to Qingdeng's timely warning, only two unlucky guys died.

One was hit by a stone on the top of his head, and blood mixed with brain matter overflowed from his wound, killing him on the spot,

and the other was hit on the hand, lost balance, fell down, and fell heavily to the ground.

This wave of falling rocks is just the beginning.

Piles of rocks fell from the top of the "rock wall" with a clattering sound, seemingly endless.

On the top of the "rock wall", more than 50 members of the Special Forces shouted excitedly:

"Mr. Omura is right! The Shinsengumi really came up from this place!"

"Smash! Smash hard! Smash them to death! There are plenty of rocks!"

"Shinsengumi pigs and dogs! Go to hell!"

Nangong Mountain doesn't have much else, but it has all kinds of hard rocks.

To deal with people who are climbing and have limited mobility, there is no need to use guns and cannons. Just using rocks can make them unable to raise their heads.

Qing Deng further issued instructions:

"Move to a dangerous place! Don't stick your head out! Try to stick to the rock wall! Hide under the protruding rocks!"

Soji glanced down:

"It's really insidious... They waited until we climbed to the middle area before throwing rocks down. If we fall from this height, even if we are lucky enough not to die, we will be seriously injured."

Qing Deng and Soji were at the front of the queue, so the enemy soldiers on the "rock wall" quickly discovered them.

"I saw it! It's Niou and Tenken!"

"Keep an eye on them! Only these two need extra attention!"

"With the skills of Niou and Tenken, it's not surprising that they can attack us even under the rain of stones. Don't be careless!"

After finding the specific location of Qing Deng and Souji, countless stones poured down.

This kind of strong stone rain... let alone continue climbing, it's difficult to even get out of the head.

Even if he's as strong as Qing Deng, it's hard to deal with this continuous rain of stones while climbing.

What's more, he's now under concentrated fire and can't move an inch.

Because they expected that this surprise attack would definitely not go smoothly, they made enough psychological preparations, so neither Qing Deng nor the others panicked too much.

Souji and others clung to the rock wall tightly, hid under the protruding stones, and quietly waited for Qing Deng's instructions.

Qing Deng looked around, looking for a breakthrough.

Soon, his eyes locked on a cliff on the left.

There were no enemy soldiers above this cliff.

In other words, as long as you can climb over this cliff, you can directly reach the top of the "rock wall"!

However...

There is a reason why the special forces did not set up defenses here.

The reason is very simple - this cliff is no longer a question of whether it is steep or not!

The cliff looks like an eaves, with the eaves extending outward.

Climbing such a towering rock wall is already very difficult, and climbing this eaves-like cliff... It is not an exaggeration to call it "as difficult as climbing to the sky".

I am afraid that only the most professional climbers dare to challenge this kind of cliff.

The enemy must have expected that Qing Deng and others could not climb over this cliff, so they did not set up defenses here.

The stone rain above showed no sign of stopping.

I don't know how many people will die and how much time it will take to force climbing under this dense stone rain.

However, as long as you climb over that cliff, you can attack the enemy soldiers from the flank, stop the stone rain, and thus minimize casualties... Although it is very dangerous, it is worth a try!

Having made up his mind, Qing Deng wanted to go into battle himself.

But now he and Souji have become the target of public criticism.

The enemy soldiers on the "rock wall" are all watching his every move.

Being watched by so many people... In this situation, there is no way to talk about "surprise attack".

So, at this moment, besides him and Souji, who is the best person to take on this important task?

In response to this question, Qing Deng turned his head almost without hesitation and looked at someone below.

The man noticed Qing Deng's gaze and turned his head to look.

The two looked at each other.

Qingdeng raised his chin towards the cliff.

The man turned his head to look at the cliff and nodded understandingly.

In this way, the two sides completed the silent communication.

"Pay attention to protecting your hands and head! Find a place where you can block the stone! Follow me!"

After giving the instructions in a concise and concise manner, Qingdeng braved the rain of rocks and nimbly walked and dodged on the rock wall, getting closer to the top of the wall little by little.

Seeing Qingdeng start to take action, the others did not dare to disobey and immediately followed.

While Qingdeng was personally attracting the enemy's firepower and attention, the figure was covered by the shadow of the rock and quietly moved to the left. In just the blink of an eye, he successfully reached the eaves-shaped cliff...

…

…

Nangong Mountain, the top of the mountain, the team’s main formation——

Noisy movement from the direction of the "rock wall" came from afar:

Omura Masujiro listened attentively and grinned:

"Mr. Takasugi, listen! There's a fight at the 'High Wall'!"

Takasugi Shinsaku nodded:

"Yeah, I heard it."

Omura Masujiro crossed his arms, held his head high, and looked like he had a chance to win:

"That 'high wall' is my proud work!"

"Unless they bring in cannons, there's no way they can break through this wall head-on!"

"Ju Qingden and the others will most likely adopt the tactic of 'attacking in the east and attacking in the west'."

"If that's the case, it's playing into my hands!"

"I've explored every corner of that rock face beforehand."

“But wherever it’s easy to climb and easy to climb, I’ve laid ambushes.”

"If an enemy shows up, he will be baptized by a rain of stones!"

"I don't believe that Ju Qingden can climb to the top despite the rain of rocks!"

"If nothing else happens, this 'high wall' should be able to support at least 2 days - this is the time it takes for the Shinsengumi to transport the cannon up the mountain and complete preparations for firing."

Looking at Omura Masujiro, who was full of confidence, Takasugi Shinsaku showed a meaningful smile.

About 5 seconds later, he said quietly:

"...Omura-kun, I don't doubt your talent."

"However, there is one thing I must remind you."

"You underestimate Tachibana Aomori too much, and you also underestimate the Shinsengumi too much."

As soon as he said this, Omura Masujiro's smile froze.

After a while, he calmed down his emotions, and said to Takasugi Shinsaku with serious eyes and a serious expression:

"Mr. Takasugi, I have no intention of looking down on Tachibana Aoden or the Shinsengumi."

"Rather, it's quite the opposite."

"I think very highly of Tachibana Aoto and the reselection team."

"Because of this, I will do my best to carefully lay out this tight and perfect defense line."

"What I said above is not to be conceited, but to state the facts."

Faced with Omura Masujiro's rebuttal, Takasugi Shinsaku smiled slightly and suddenly asked a question:

"Omura-kun, in your opinion, who is the person in the Shinsengumi who should not be underestimated the most?"

Omura Masujiro heard this and replied without hesitation:

"Of course it's 'Nioh' Tachibana Aoto."

Takasugi Shinsaku asked:

"What else?"

Omura Masujiro continued without thinking:

"'Deputy Commander of Demons' Hijikata Toshizo."

"Although Hijikata Toshizo is a merciless disciple, I have to admit that he is indeed a talented person."

"It is a great blessing for Tachibana Aoden to have such a capable deputy with both civil and military skills."

Takasugi Shinsaku nodded slightly, expressing his agreement with Omura Masujiro's point of view.

As soon as the opponent finished speaking, he asked the same question again:

"So, what else?"

Omura Masujiro frowned slightly.

This time, he did not hesitate.

After thinking for a moment, he slowly replied:

"'Sky Sword' Okita Souji."

"Although Souji Okita is born as a girl, his strength and potential are immeasurable."

"Like Tachibana Aoden, she has the ability to create advantages on local battlefields and even directly reverse the situation with her own strength."

Takasugi Shinsaku nodded again:

"Well, that's right. 'Sky Sword' Okita Souji should not be underestimated. So, what else?"

"What? More?"

Omura Masujiro frowned and couldn't help but exclaimed.

He thought longer this time.

Nearly 10 seconds later, he shook his head:

"there is none left."

"In my opinion, the only people worth paying attention to among the Shinsengumi are the three mentioned above."

"Although Commander-in-Chief Shannan Keisuke is also a talented man with both civil and military talents, he is still far from being the 'talent of a king' or the 'talent of a world leader'."

"Director Isamu Kondo is just a reckless man who can only do the hard and tiring work of arresting violators and charging into battle."

"As for the other captains, assistants, and vice-captains, I admit that they are all excellent, but they are not qualified to meet my eyes."

Takasugi Shinsaku listened quietly.

After Omura Masujiro finished speaking, he chuckled "haha".

"Omura-kun, after listening to your words, I am even more convinced: you really underestimate the Shinsengumi too much."

Being commented like this by Takasugi Shinsaku, a look of displeasure appeared on Omura Masujiro's face.

"In that case, I'm all ears! Mr. Takasugi, in your opinion, who else in the Shinsengumi should not be underestimated?"

Facing the other party's bright gaze, Takasugi Shinsaku said calmly:

"Mr. Omura, please be patient."

"You have just joined the Raiders not long ago and have had little contact with the Shinsengumi, so your understanding is not comprehensive enough. This is normal."

"I have dealt with the Shinsengumi in many ways a long time ago."

"Although I dare not claim to know how well I know the details of the Shinsengumi, I do have a good understanding of the captains of the Shinsengumi."

"In my opinion, besides Tachibana Aoden, Hijikata Toshizo, and Okita Souji, there is another person who deserves our more attention."

"Sun Tzu said: 'Don't be arrogant when you win, don't be discouraged when you lose, and those who have thunder in their hearts and faces as flat as a lake can worship the general.'"

"That man's swordsmanship and talent are not top-notch among the Shinsengumi."

"It's just that his character is extremely rare."

"No matter where he is, no matter what kind of task, no matter how terrible the crisis is, he can handle it calmly and then hide his merit and fame."

"Because of this, he remains hidden and his reputation is far inferior to Okita Souji, Nagakura Shinpachi and others."

"Both swordsmanship and talents can be cultivated, but a character that is not afraid in the face of difficulties, neither arrogant nor impetuous, and always remains calm is a rare thing."

"If he is well-trained, he might not be able to become a general like Tachibana Aoden and Hijikata Toshizo!"

…

…

"Throw it! Throw it quickly! Hit them to death!"

"Move more rocks quickly!"

"Work harder! They have been suppressed by us!"

The members of the surprise team on the top of the cliff were throwing stones hard.

Faced with the rain of rocks, Qingdeng and others' climb became extremely difficult.

Although they saw the opportunity and tried every means to climb up, they were still a long way from the top of the cliff.

During this period, a few unlucky ones were accidentally hit by stones and were either killed or injured.

The enemy soldiers on the top of the cliff were all focused on Qingden and others, thinking nothing of "killing Nioh" without caring about anything else.

Therefore, they didn't notice at all - a big hand stretched out from under the eaves-like rock wall on their side and grasped the rock wall tightly.

He clasped his fingers tightly on the ground, veins popped out, and pulled upward——

The next breath, a tall figure jumped out from under the rock wall! It fell to the ground silently!

"..."

After successfully climbing over the eaves-shaped cliff, Saito did not stop for a moment. He turned his eyes and locked on the enemy soldiers not far away who were still throwing stones down. His left hand touched the saber on his waist.

The fingers of his hands were soaked in blood, and there was blood seeping out from the cracked nails - these were the scars left by him trying his best to climb over the cliff.

Fingers connected to the heart... It's hard to imagine how painful this is.

However, Saitoichi acted like a normal person, his face expressionless as always, and his expression extremely focused - from just now, his whole body and mind had been focused on the enemy in front of him!

Choking, choking, choking…

At the moment when the sword was unsheathed, an enemy soldier finally discovered him.

The man opened his eyes wide and exclaimed:

"It's the Third Division..."

Before he could finish speaking, his head was cut off by a flash of cold light.

However, his companion finished the sentence for him:

"It's Captain Saito Ichi of the Third Division!"

Since this chapter is nearly 6,000 words long, please vote for it! Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

PS: In historical facts, Saito Kazuchi had an actual combat record of breaking into the enemy's formation and taking away two cannons. Therefore, Saito Ichi in this chapter is a realistic description.