I formed the strongest swordsman group

Kinoshita Mai was wearing a bright red dress as usual, because she was short, so in order to better see Qingdeng in the crowd, she tried to stand on tiptoe with her little feet covered in plain white socks and cute red button clogs.

The situation of Boss Kiryu is very similar to that of Chiba Shigetaro.

Accompanying Kinoshita Wu to see Qingdeng off, he stood behind Kinoshita Wu with his arms slightly outstretched, like a solid stone statue and a loyal guard, stopping all approaching people for Kinoshita Wu.

No matter who it is, there is no way to push the old man's body.

Thanks to the protection of Kiryu’s boss, Mai Kinoshita did not feel crowded even though she was surrounded by crowds of people. There was a narrow “vacuum zone” around her.

After Kinoshita Wu found out about Qingdeng, a happy smile appeared on her white and tender round face.

"Qingdeng!"

She raised and waved vigorously, trying to attract Qingdeng's attention as soon as possible.

It's just that before Qingdeng's gaze came over, a certain woman's gaze came first.

"..." Sanako, who heard Kinoshita Mai's voice, narrowed her eyes slightly, pursed her lips slightly, and turned her face slowly, taking advantage of her height, overlooking Kinoshita Mai who was only a few steps away from her.

At this moment, Kinoshita Mai suddenly felt... an indescribably sharp gaze locked on her.

He couldn't help but tremble slightly, and hurriedly looked in the direction of this sharp gaze.

The two gazes, like two sharp knives, collided fiercely in mid-air.

"Goo...!" Kinoshita Mai let out a short moan from her throat.

She almost subconsciously wanted to avoid looking at Sanako again because she felt that her appearance, figure, and temperament were all inferior to Sanako's inferiority complex.

But after thinking of something, she forcibly straightened her averted eyes, her small face was tense, and she made a gesture of refusing to give in to Sana, as if she wanted to stare Sana down. Open your eyes wide open, without blinking. In the depths of the pupils, there is a complex mixture of envy, jealousy, and hostility.

Sanako, unlike Kinoshita Mai, directly wrote hostility on his face. She looked calm, as if she was looking at something... an insignificant little person.

Compared with Kinoshita Mai, the only thing she has in common is that the light in her beautiful eyes is also complicated and unspeakable.

Shigetaro Chiba and Boss Kiryu discovered the strangeness of the two daughters in different order, and they felt very strange in their hearts: what happened between the young master (Sanako) and Miss Chiba (Miss Kinoshita) caused the relationship between the two parties Discord thing?

If these two knew what had happened to the two girls, they would immediately turn their murderous eyes on Qingdeng.

The confrontation between Kinoshita Mai and Sanako made Qing Deng very embarrassed.

He couldn't explain why, but such an image appeared in front of his eyes: a beautiful white fox with half-closed eyes, calm eyes, and elegant demeanor, was facing an enemy, with a slightly bowed back, and the hair on the entire tail was blown out. bantam cats look at each other.

As a man determined to marry both Kinoshita Mai and Sanako, Qingdeng naturally wanted to see the two daughters live in harmony and harmony.

But he could also see it: Kinoshita Mai and Sanako seem to have a bit of a mismatch...

A long time ago, before he confessed his love to them, the relationship between the two daughters was quite twisted. As soon as the two parties came into contact, the atmosphere would immediately become extremely awkward, regardless of whether there were outsiders around.

In order to stop the two daughters from "eye-eying", Qingdeng hastily raised his arms high and waved to them with a warm smile on his face.

The second daughter, who found Qingdeng greeting them, couldn't care less about "fighting" at this time.

As agreed in advance, they turned away their beautiful eyes at almost the same time and refocused their eyes on Qingdeng's face.

Zuo Nazi still looked the same, with a solemn look, a solemn expression, the appearance of a strong woman who calmly watched her husband go out to fight.

As for Kinoshita Mai... her emotions fluctuated greatly.

I saw the corners of her mouth drooping slightly, she blinked her beautiful eyes frequently, and her eyes were moist, which made people feel pitiful.

With such a demeanor, he almost wrote "worries" and "reluctance" directly on his face.

The two completely different expressions shown by the two women at the moment are the truest portrayal of the characters of both parties.

Seeing this, Qingdeng couldn't help but smile helplessly.

The last time I saw Kinoshita Mai showing such an expression... was when I was seeing off the Gu Mu couple.

More than 2 months ago, just a few days after the successful wedding of Isamu Kondo and Matsui Tsune, the couple Komaki Goro and Komakicho left Edo on the grounds that “we should go back to Kyoto and continue selling wagashi” .

Qingdeng also liked Gu Mu Goro, an uncle who spoke quite interestingly, so he also participated in the farewell to the couple.

At that time, Kinoshita Mai was crying, hugged Ah-Ming's waist, and begged them to stay in Edo for a few more days.

It's a pity that Gu Mu and his wife have decided to go.

Except for Kinoshita Mai who cried pear blossoms and rain, the whole farewell was very simple in terms of form and atmosphere.

The only people who came to say goodbye to the middle-aged couple were Boss Kiryu, Mai Kinoshita and Qingdeng.

Gu Mu Goro and Boss Kiryu exchanged simple words "Take care of yourself" - the two of them seem to be very used to such parting. Therefore, no matter which one of the two parties, they all looked indifferent and spoke calmly.

However, Goro Gu Mu gave Qingdeng a lot of farewell words.

"Tachibana-kun, goodbye by fate. I have a premonition: we will meet again - in the near future." - Goro Komu said with a peaceful smile.

Strange to say. Qingdeng is in the dark, and also feels that his fate with this uncle who loves to wear light green haori is not over.

Will meet him again - this day, just around the corner.

Kinoshita Mai is a girl full of emotions, so it's no wonder that she is showing her worry and reluctance unabashedly.

Although Kai is very close to Edo, if you walk at a normal speed and avoid extreme weather such as storms, it only takes 7 or 8 days to go back and forth. But Qingdeng's trip this time was not to travel, but to put his head on his waist and hold a knife to fight against the most vicious bandits.

When are you coming back? No one can say this well. No one knows how long this battle will last.

Besides, to put it harshly and to the extreme... After this farewell, Qingdeng may never come back—after all, Qingdeng does not have the talent of "absolutely not dying".

At this time, Qingdeng found another wave of familiar people on the side of the street ahead.

"Mister Tangerine! Mr. Orange! Mr. Orange!"

If it is said that Sanako is a white fox and Mai Kinoshita is a cat, then the chief executive is an enthusiastic, clingy puppy who likes to wag his tail at people.

At this moment, this little dog, who had just recovered from a serious illness and had just returned to its usual state of mind, was riding on Gensaburo Inoue's shoulders, smiling cheerfully, and waving vigorously to Qingdeng.

Kondo, Matsui Tsune, Shusuke, Abi, Hijikata, Saito, Nagakura...everyone from the test clinic has come.

Harada Sanosuke, the "big community bull", ignored the strange gazes from the people around him, held up a flag with the word "test" written on it and waved it vigorously-this flag was created by Hijikata, Harada, and Yongcura. The "flag" I made out of boredom a while ago.

Except for Kubei, an old servant who has served Tachibana's family for most of his life, who is full of worry, neither the enthusiastic chief executive nor the ice-cold Saito showed any sadness or worry to Qingdeng. Waiting for any negative emotions - they can only find pure encouragement and encouragement on their faces and eyes.

A very few people... such as Nagakura Shinpachi, who is very ambitious for fame, and Hijikata Toshizo, who likes to fight for entertainment on weekdays, a faint envy can be seen in the depths of their pupils.

Not only the Xiaoqianye Sword Hall and Qianshiwu, but even the Weiwei Hall came to see him off... and all the staff were dispatched. Feeling warm in his heart, Qingdeng realized that the corners of his lips were curved upwards belatedly.

"Mr. Tangerine."

At this time, my grandson who was riding in front of Qingdeng suddenly turned around and smiled at Qingdeng.

"Your popularity is really good, so many people come to see you off."

"Um……"

After Qingdeng nodded and smiled, he raised his face and looked up at the clear blue sky above his head.

"...Unknowingly, there are already too many people who want to protect with two hands..."

He murmured softly, as if he was responding to my grandson, and also as if he was confiding his true feelings to himself and the sky.

...

...

From Edo to Kai, there is a very convenient "highway" to go, and that is Koshu Kaido, one of the "five streets".

Koshu Kaido: Starting from Naito Shinjuku in Edo Nihombashi, passing through Hachioji and Kai, and finally joining another road of "Five Kaido" in Shimozu: Zhongshan Kaido, with a total of 43 boarding houses.

Thanks to the smooth roads and relatively high morale, the marching speed of the Crusade Army was fairly fast.

Departing in the morning, we paused and rested several times in the middle of the journey. Until the evening, the Crusade Army finally arrived at the preset target for tonight: Hachioji-suku on the Koshu Street before the sun completely set.

Because of the important function of "providing supplies and resting places for all passers-by", the dormitory of "Five Streets" naturally attracted a large number of businessmen to come to do business. Houses and other shops that specialize in the business of travelers.

The convenient transportation of the "Five Streets" ensures the flow of people, and the existence of businessmen ensures the development and exchanges of the economy. The two complement each other, making the hostel an excellent "population gathering place".

Over time, many lodgings have become larger and larger in size and population, almost indistinguishable from city towns—this kind of urban towns that evolved from lodgings are commonly called "squad towns."

For example, the chief executive's sister Okita Hikaru and brother-in-law Okita Rintaro live in Hinojuku in Koshu Street.

Hachioji-juku, where Qingdeng and the others arrived tonight, is one of the most prosperous dormitory towns in Koshu.

The question house of Hachioji's residence, that is, the leader who manages the camp, had received the news in advance that Huofu Thief Kai's army was scheduled to arrive here tonight, so he led a large group of people to wait outside the camp early in the morning to welcome the arrival of the army. arrival.

"Five Streets" was first built in 1601. At first, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first general of the Edo shogunate, built the "Five Streets" for a very simple purpose, just to enhance the Edo shogunate's ability to control the Kanto.

Kanto is the Edo shogunate...or the base of the Tokugawa family.

The "Tianling" directly under the Edo Shogunate, as well as the pro-vassal daimyos and genealogical daimyos who were close to the Tokugawa family were mostly in the Kanto area.

However, with the formal formation of the system of "attendance and handover" in 1635, the "Five Streets" added another layer of meaning to facilitate the "three hundred princes" to come to Edo.

In order to weaken the strength of the vassals, the Edo shogunate rigidly stipulated that the lords of each vassal state must go to Edo once a year to assist the shogunate in handling government affairs for a period of time before returning to their own vassals. Commitment - this is "accounting for attendance".

The samurai class is a group that can no longer mix in the Tao if they lose face.

Therefore, in order to show their own wealth, many daimyos showed off their wealth with a lot of ostentation and regardless of financial pressure when they attended the pilgrimage.

Just 19 years ago, that is, in 1841, when the feudal lord of the Kii domain went to Edo to pay homage, he mobilized 1639 samurai, 2337 workers and 103 horses in one go.

The mobilization of nearly 4,000 people and countless materials is just to make the feudal lord more popular when he goes to Edo... This matter was passed down as an excellent after-dinner talk.

These vassal states who love to show off their wealth have greatly enhanced the supply capacity of each dormitory.

The pilgrimage teams of daimyos often number thousands of people. In order to absorb this huge logistical pressure, each dormitory had to "self-evolve".

After nearly 300 years of long trials, no matter how to arrange the occupancy of personnel, or to provide supplies on time and in accordance with the amount, each dormitory is very familiar with it.

To put it simply: every dormitory on the "Five Streets" is a large and proven supply station.

Thousands or even thousands of participating teams can bear it, let alone an army with only 300 people, neither a large number of horses, nor heavy weapons such as artillery, and all members are lightly equipped?

Under Hachioji's proficiency at the dormitory, it took less than half an hour for the whole army to complete a series of procedures for entering the dormitory.

The soldiers scattered and stayed in different hotels.

Compared with ordinary soldiers, Qingdeng, who has the privilege of riding a horse, is undoubtedly happy, and he can travel with military horses when marching.

However, anyone who has had relevant experience knows that riding a horse is not an easy task.

A hard saddle that grinds your butt and the insides of your thighs to smoke.

Qingdeng is in such a state now.

Qingdeng, who seldom rode a horse on weekdays, stretched his legs into an awkward "O" shape when he climbed down from the saddle - without this posture, he couldn't walk at all.

After riding the horse for a long time, Qingdeng's buttocks and legs hurt badly, and he wanted to go straight to bed after dinner.

But as soon as Fang returned to the room, he heard a very noisy sound from outside.

Curious, Qingdeng put on his clothes again and left the room. After patrolling outside, I found out that there are a group of guys with too much energy. After marching for half a day, they are not too tired. To pass the time, they found a few open spaces in the dormitory, and competed in martial arts there.

A group of people held bows and arrows and competed with a big tree.

There is also a group of people holding bamboo swords that they don't know where to get, and they form a circle to exchange sword skills in a physical way.

Compared with archery, swordsmanship obviously aroused Qingdeng's interest more.

Qingdeng tightened the haori on his body, and walked towards the area where the bamboo swords clashed continuously.

At this time, there were exactly two people fighting in the circle of onlookers. After seeing who this pair of swordsmen were, Qing Deng raised his brows slightly.

"Drink ah ah!"

Tadsuke Kanazawa, the captain of the second team and also the deputy general in this Western Expedition, raised his sword in the above-mentioned configuration, stepped forward and slammed the opponent's shoulder.

His opponent's fighting style was extremely fierce. After knocking away the attacking bamboo sword, he flew forward like a flying swallow, and swung the sword directly at Kanazawa Chusuke's body.

Snapped! Snapped!

The 2 bamboo swords collided twice in mid-air.

In the next moment, the two jumped away, then quickly turned around and swung their blades to fight again.

However, this time, Kanazawa Chusuke's sword was faster.

The first leather on the top of the bamboo sword drew a diagonal line and hit the opponent's right wrist holding the sword - chopping the hand, Beichen's classic style of swordsmanship.

The opponent let out a cry of pain, and the bamboo sword in his hand fell to the ground.

Zhongsuke Kanazawa turned the blade, pressed the tip of the sword to the opponent's throat, and said calmly: "You lost."

As soon as Kanazawa Chusuke's words fell, there were bursts of applause from around.

Standing beside Qingdeng nodded lightly - the skill that Kanazawa Tadasuke performed was really superb. Those who are not well versed in swordsmanship cannot do it.

Kanazawa Chusuke, who successfully took a beautiful victory into his arms, let out a long breath, then pulled up the front of his chest and wiped the sweat from his face.

It was at this time that he found Qingdeng who was watching not far away.

"Ah! Tachibana-kun!" Kanazawa Chusuke showed his big white teeth, waved vigorously to Qingdeng, and said hello, "Why are you here?"

Although he had little contact and communication with Zhongsuke Kanazawa, Qingdeng had always liked the kind of passionate and unrestrained people, so he had always had a good impression of this bold and unrestrained man.

"I heard noisy noises coming from outside the hotel, so I came out to have a look."

Qingdeng smiled and walked slowly towards Kanazawa Chusuke.

"Jin Ze-kun, I didn't expect to run into you here."

Kanazawa Chusuke laughed.

"Being idle in the hotel is also idle, why not come out to exercise your muscles and bones, so as to prepare for the upcoming battle!"

Speaking of this, Kanazawa Chusuke seemed to have thought of something, and his voice paused. Immediately afterwards, he said with a look of expectation on his face:

"Mr. Ju, since you happened to be here, it's a rare opportunity, why don't you come and compete with the last one?"

This is what I've been waiting for!

After thinking to himself excitedly in his heart, Qingdeng patted his chest heartily:

"Okay! Then I'd rather be respectful than obedient!"

I have long heard the prestige of Kanazawa Chusuke's "Hofu no Dog".

How can you miss this great opportunity to copy your talents?

It just so happens that the inner side of the buttocks and legs don't hurt much anymore.

After learning that Qingdeng was going to end the ring with Chusuke Kanazawa, the surrounding crowd immediately burst into exclamations and cheers one after another.

The captain of the third team and the captain of the second team, Nioh and the dog of fire... Such "strong confrontation" is rare!

Qingdeng took off the feathered weaving on his body, took the bamboo sword handed by others, and stood on the east side of the battle circle.

Kanazawa Chusuke moved his right shoulder a few times and stood still on the west side of the battle circle.

According to the rules of kendo, the two sides raised their swords in front of each other and bowed to each other.

Kanazawa Tadasuke, who has Hokshin One-Sword Style, has been passed down in his body, and adopts a fairly classic construction in Hokshin One-Sword Style: the sword body is placed in front of the body with the middle section, and the tip of the sword twitches slightly to prevent the movement from becoming rigid.

Qingdeng adopted the blue-eyed posture, pointing his sword obliquely at Kanazawa Chusuke's right eye.

In the next instant, two afterimages passed by at a dizzying speed. At the moment when the afterimages collided, the sound of three bamboo swords hitting each other and two short shouts sounded at the same time.

In just a split second, the two passed 3 moves in a row!

Immediately afterwards, as if being bounced away, the two quickly staggered and jumped back to their original positions.

Footsteps slipped and the ground creaked.

Kanazawa Chusuke still adopts the classic Beichen one-sword style posture with the tip of the sword twitching slightly.

Qingdeng also continued to raise his sword in the blue-eyed posture.

Everything was exactly the same as it was 5 seconds ago... as if the two of them hadn't moved at all just now.

Among the onlookers who surrounded him, there was an exclamation full of admiration.

Qingdeng glanced at his right wrist from the corner of his eye indiscriminately - in his right palm, there was still a faint tingling feeling as if an electric current had just passed through it.

The brief confrontation just now almost gave Qingdeng the illusion that he was not fighting a swordsman of the Beichen Yidao style, but a swordsman of the Shinto Wunian style and the Xianxian style!

Kanazawa Chusuke is very powerful, the sound of the sword cutting through the air is not a "huhu" sound, but a "booming" sound, and the speed of his slashing can be seen from the mid-foot. But this is also reasonable, after all, his physique is there.

It's been a long time since I've fought against such a "powerful" opponent... A faint smile, like reuniting with an old friend after a long absence, floated on the corner of Qingdeng's lips.

At this time, Qingdeng saw Kanazawa Chusuke opposite him, and he grinned at the same timing as him, revealing a mouthful of big white teeth that were quite conspicuous in the dark night.

Although Qingdeng has no mind-reading skills, he can miraculously understand Kanazawa Chusuke's heartfelt voice—excitement and expectation—exactly the same as Qingdeng's.

As early as just now, when Zhongsuke Kanazawa took the initiative to invite him to come and discuss a game, Qingdeng could tell that this master was also a militant who was delighted to hear about the war!

It was late and then fast, as if the camera was suddenly pressed to accelerate the speed, and the two who were still standing in the same place in the first half of a second turned into blurred afterimages again in the second half of the second.

"Ha!" Kanazawa Chusuke lowered his body and rushed out, his footsteps were moving rapidly, and the aura contained in the sword and body made people dare not be careless at all. In the blink of an eye, his sword was in front of Qingdeng.

The bamboo sword rushing towards him unpreparedly whipped up a gust of wind that blew away all Qingdeng's temple hairs.

Qingdeng lowered the tip of the sword without panic, only to hear the clashing of the swords, the clang, and the sound waves scattered in the night.

This time, Qingdeng's bamboo sword blew a gust of wind. He suddenly lowered his waist, bowed and horsed together, first slightly fixed the bamboo sword dragged by his lower right section, and then rushed towards Kanazawa Chusuke's body like a bowstring suddenly disconnected.

Katsumi Kanazawa deserves to be called "The Dog of Fire", his reaction speed is extremely fast! Qingdeng's slash was already as fast as a thunderbolt, but unexpectedly it still couldn't hurt him at all.

He took a quick step back, and Qingdeng's bamboo sword slipped past his lapel by a hair's breadth, only slashing the air and the moving afterimage of Zhongsuke Kanazawa.

Beichen Yidao Style is the swordsmanship school that Qingdeng is most familiar with besides the natural Lixin Style.

Therefore, Qingdeng knew all the moves of Kanazawa Chusuke like the back of his hand. As soon as the combatants started, they seized the opportunity on the battlefield.

But Zhongsuke Kanazawa showed no sign of weakness! His sword was extremely sharp, and his attack was extremely fierce. Every move and every style is so crisp and neat, without any fancy extra movements... One look at him shows that he is a battle-tested warrior!

Qingdeng was in full swing—and so was Kanazawa Chusuke.

Just when Qingdeng felt his body gradually warming up, and was about to show some real skills——

"Stop hitting! Stop!"

Not far behind, the voice of "Fire Fu Zhilong" suddenly came...

Qingdeng and Kanazawa Chusuke raised their bamboo swords in the air, and both froze.

A look of hesitation flashed quickly on Kanazawa Tadasuke's face - in the end, he let out a long sigh, and then slowly put down the bamboo sword in his hand while disengaging his fighting stance.

Just when Zhongsuke Kanazawa voluntarily put down his sword and quit the sparring——

【Ding! Scan to talent]

[Successfully copied the talent: "Extreme Speed\