Chapter 280 Qingdeng: (drawing the sword) 'Just leave it to me!' [
7300】
"Damn, it's so boring..."
Akabane Koichiro raised his head, opened his mouth, and yawned widely.
"Damn it...the guys from Division 7 are happily earning merits right now, but we have to stand here stupidly blowing in the cold wind...the more we think about it, the angrier we get...!"
"Akaba, stop complaining."
Midorikawa, who stood shoulder to shoulder with Akabane, said softly while crossing his arms.
"This is an order from above. The above requires us to coordinate with the Fifth Squadron to surround the longhouse where the rebels are...can we still fail?"
"Tch! I ran out onto the streets at night to endure the cold, but in the end I ended up making wedding clothes for Division 7...! Can't our new captain be of some use?"
Akabane curled his lips with displeasure.
"Can't that guy work hard and try to win over the people above him? At least try to get a mission with some achievements, right?"
Midorikawa smiles:
"Please be considerate of our new captain. Our new captain has just arrived and is a low-key person. How can he influence the decision-making of the superiors?"
"Tsk...!"
Akabane smacked his lips vigorously, then raised his gaze and looked at Qingden not far away.
"The more I think about it, the more I feel unconvinced..."
he murmured.
"Why should we let that kind of person be our captain..."
"I have been working as a member of the Huo Fu Thieves for nearly 10 years... I have made great contributions, and I have a lot of popularity in the team. Even if I don't talk about my merits, I am definitely qualified to sit on the team if I only talk about my family background.
The position of captain of the third division."
"If the position of captain of the third division is not given to me, but to that old man Shirasaki, I can reluctantly accept it."
"Although I don't like Shirasaki, I have to admit that he is indeed very capable. And in terms of qualifications alone, not to mention our third division, even if we look at the entire army of Huo Fu Thieves, there are not many people with such qualifications.
Comparable to Shirasaki."
"What's the result? The position of captain of the Third Division was neither given to me nor to Shirasaki, but to a man who had never been a thief in the fire and turned into a public servant. Before that, it was just a small practice. Apart from his strength,
A kid who is very strong and capable of fighting, but I have never heard of him having any great strengths... What the hell is this...! Where do you leave us 'old people' who work hard to do our best?"
After saying that, Akabane gritted his teeth hard - his big yellow teeth made a "squeaking" sound.
"Okay, okay." Midorikawa laughed and raised his hand to pat Akabane's shoulder, "Let's save these complaints in private and talk slowly."
Akabane snorted angrily:
"That Tachibana Aoden had better pray that he never makes any mistakes in the future."
"I want to keep my eyes wide open and stare at him all the time."
"If I find out that he has made any mistakes in the future, I will definitely report it to him as soon as possible."
"Even if we can't make him leave the position of captain immediately, we still have to make it difficult for him to live a comfortable life."
"..." Midorikawa smiled and said nothing, and stopped answering Akabane's words.
Although Akabane spoke impassionedly, his tone of voice was not high.
Logically speaking, his words should not be heard by Qingdeng who is dozens of meters away. However, Qingdeng's ears modified by the "perceiver of wind" happened to violate this "reason".
”.
"..." Qingden glanced at Akabane and Midorikawa who had finally calmed down at this moment.
The expressionless face made it difficult for outsiders to figure out what Qingdeng was thinking from his expression.
One could only faintly detect a hint of thoughtfulness between Qingdeng's eyebrows.
At this time, a miserable howl suddenly intervened, interrupting Qingdeng's thoughts:
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah--!"
Qingdeng was startled by this sudden cry. After looking a little startled, he quickly looked towards the source of the sound - the house in front of him.
As soon as Qingden turned his gaze back to the front, he immediately heard another sound... no, it was a series of screams and wailing:
"Uhhhhhhhh-!"
"help me!"
"Keep the formation! Keep the formation! Don't run around! Didn't you see that the formation has dispersed?"
"Shoot! Shoot!"
"Pfft! Cough cough...! Cough puff...!"
…
These screams were like a huge stone thrown into a calm lake. The soldiers on guard outside the longhouse all showed shocked expressions.
I saw Kimura, who looked contented just now, but now his expression changed drastically: "What's going on?!"
Tsuchida beside him was also confused by this sudden surprise. With a dazed look on his face, he opened and closed his mouth again, unable to utter a complete sentence.
The screams continued... Everyone could clearly hear the screams moving from the second floor to the first floor.
No matter how stupid a person is, they know that something is definitely going on inside.
Not caring about anything else at the moment, Kimura quickly shouted to Yuli next to him:
"Aoi! Bring your people in..."
Kimura hasn’t finished speaking yet——
Blah blah blah!
The sound of footsteps, like a flood, interrupted his words.
Looking around, the soldiers of the Seventh Division looked panicked, scrambling for the first place, and rushed out of the door of the wagashi shop in an orderly manner.
This scene of a large crowd of people rushing out of the house, afraid of slowing down anyone around them... reminded Qingdeng of the scene in the school lunch break in the previous life, when meals were served in the canteen.
Many of the Seventh Division soldiers who rushed out of the door were covered in blood that was still steaming.
It's obvious - they escaped.
Upon seeing this, Tsuchida quickly walked towards his subordinates. As a result, before he had time to ask what happened, one of his subordinates said impatiently:
"Lord Tsuchida! The situation has changed! There is a very powerful swordsman inside!"
"A master of swordsmanship?" Tsuchida was stunned.
At this time, Qingto and Kimura also came over, both wanting to hear what happened in the house, which actually caused the originally good battle situation to take a turn for the worse.
"What's going on?" Kimura said impatiently, "Hurry up and tell me!"
The man who was urged by Kimura swallowed hard and then began to explain in detail.
The reason why Team 7 suddenly retreated was not complicated - after they attacked the second floor of the house, they suddenly encountered a very skilled swordsman.
He grabbed the knife in his right hand and held a thick wooden board in his left hand to hide his figure and confuse the sight of the soldiers.
The first team members who encountered this man immediately raised their guns and fired.
As a result, an incredible scene suddenly happened in the next moment.
This person's reactions and skills are extremely agile.
He dodged all the ammunition that was poured at him.
He rushed towards the team members while using the elusive and swift footwork of the path.
The pace is incredibly fast.
The distance of more than ten meters was covered by him in the blink of an eye.
At the speed of teleportation, he suddenly dodged to the team members... and the "violence" began.
The battle between that man and the team members can be explained in two words - one kill, one kill! Chopping melons and vegetables!
The guy's sword was very accurate, and he cut all the parts that were not protected by armor, such as the face, neck, and elbows.
The 7th Division is a unit that is concurrently served by the 5th Division of the Advanced Iron Artillery Group, and their strength is the use of matchlocks.
However, other than the ability to use the matchlock gun... they are all very average.
In short - the members of Division 7 who are not good at close combat are simply unable to fight against this mysterious swordsman.
Under this man's fierce attack, the morale of the Seventh Division instantly collapsed.
As a result, the scene that Qingdeng and others saw just now happened without any warning - the entire team retreated steadily from the second floor to the first floor, and then fled from the first floor to the outside of the house.
After hearing the detailed story of the incident, Kimura's face suddenly turned as dark as a piece of coal.
"A very skilled swordsman... When did the "One-Armed Party" have such a character...!"
…
…
At this moment——
"G-Takasugi-kun!"
The one-armed samurai with a cautious and fearful expression walked up to Takasugi Shinsaku in two steps at a time.
"Have all the officers and soldiers of the Huofu Thief Reform...retired...?"
Takasugi Shinsaku glanced at the one-armed warrior calmly:
"Can't you see with your own eyes?"
After that, he shook his right arm vigorously, throwing all the blood on the blade of the knife in his palm to the ground, and then sheathed the knife.
The one-armed warrior walked gingerly to the window next to him, stuck out half of his head and looked out the window.
Seeing the members of the 7th Squadron who had just shown off their power, they were all moaning and dejected outside the house. After confirming that there was no more abnormal noise downstairs, the expression on the one-armed warrior's face suddenly changed to one of surviving a disaster.
Happy look.
"Takasugi-kun...thank you...your swordsmanship is so powerful...if it weren't for you, my friends and I would all be finished...!"
As soon as the one-armed warrior finished speaking, Takasugi Shinsaku said quickly without thinking:
"It's not that my swordsmanship is strong, it's just that I am incompetent when it comes to dealing with thieves."
"After all, the officers and soldiers of the Huo Fu Thieves Reform have the advantage of being armed and numerically superior. If they unite as one and fight against me as one, I may not be able to be so calm."
After finishing speaking, Takasugi Shinsaku crossed his arms and leaned against the window frame next to him. He glanced at the people in black outside the house and let out a disdainful laugh.
"The Hufu Thieves fight against all kinds of vicious criminals all year round. They should be one of the most effective troops the Tokugawa family currently has."
"I didn't expect...this army, which I thought would be more or less decent, actually has such a fragile character."
"The rumors are indeed true. The Edo shogunate has indeed weakened greatly in recent years, and it no longer has the majesty it once had to quell the rebels in the world."
"But... ha! When it comes to the decline of the country, our Choshu clan is not much better..."
Speaking of this, Takasugi Shinsaku seemed to recall some bad memories, his eyelids sank and his lips tightened.
"There are swarms of insects inside and outside the feudal government... I really want to chop all those useless cowards to death...!"
After saying that, Takasugi Shinsaku took a deep breath as if to calm down.
"Okay, Gao Long, I've done everything I can do. Next, you can ask for your own blessings and find a way to escape from here."
The one-armed warrior was shocked:
"Gao, Gao Shanjun! You..."
Takasugi Shinsaku guessed what the one-armed warrior wanted to say, and interrupted him with a strong tone:
"I went to Edo all the way to Edo because I heard that there was a group in Edo that called itself the 'Anti-Barbarian Group' and its behavior suited my taste. I wanted to see it with my own eyes."
"Unfortunately, by the time I arrived in Edo, the anti-barbarian group had been destroyed."
"Fortunately, through the introduction of my friends, I found you group of surviving members of the anti-barbarian group, and finally this trip to Edo was not in vain."
"I have no affiliation or alliance with your anti-barbarian group. Apart from the common ideal of 'repelling the barbarians', there is no intersection between you and me."
"I just helped you repel the shogunate officers and soldiers just out of consideration for the fact that we are both patriots against the foreigners."
"I have no obligation to poop on you like a mother, and I have no obligation to protect you all the time."
"What to do next, how to deal with the fire outside the house and the thieves, whether to escape or stick to this broken house - you can decide for yourself. I will neither interfere nor accompany you."
After listening to Takasugi Shinsaku's words, the one-armed samurai's face suddenly turned pale, so pale that he could still clearly see it in such a dark night.
At this time, the surviving members of the "One-Armed Party" gathered in twos and threes towards the One-Armed Samurai and Takasugi Shinsaku.
Including the one-armed samurai, there were a total of 21 people in this group of lucky people who managed to save their lives during the raid by the Huofu Rogue Kai.
Most of them had witnessed with their own eyes how Takasugi Shinsaku had just used his own strength to defeat the invading officers and soldiers with such overwhelming force that they lost their armor.
Therefore, in the eyes of these frightened birds, Takasugi Shinsaku is the life-saving straw that helps them escape from here!
They looked at Shinsaku Takasugi eagerly, casting hopeful glances at this "life-saving straw" - but unfortunately, their calls for help were indifferently ignored by Shinsaku Takasugi.
At this time, the one-armed warrior perked up as if he suddenly thought of something, and said quickly:
"Ah! Takasugi-kun, although you are indeed not obligated to protect us all the time, your current situation is the same as ours, you are trapped in this house!"
“Look outside the house! The officers and soldiers surrounding this place are so densely packed that it’s impossible to fly!
"However, as long as you and I gather our strength, we will definitely be able to..."
Takasugi Shinsaku laughed meaningfully and interrupted the one-armed warrior again.
"Gao Long, you are worrying too much."
Takasugi Shinsaku turned his gaze out the window again and continued with a tone full of confidence:
"Those officers and soldiers outside the house may be able to trap you, but they definitely can't trap me!"
"If I want to escape, I can fly away at any time. I don't need to join forces with you."
The one-armed warrior seemed to have finally given up.
He lowered his head and shoulders in frustration...but in the next moment, he suddenly gritted his teeth.
"Okay...! Then we...just find a way to escape on our own!"
A fierce expression appeared on the face of the one-armed warrior, and a crazy and fierce light flashed in his eyes. He turned his head and shouted to a subordinate next to him:
"Hey! Drag out the women we captured! Move quickly!"
…
…
At this time, a team member who had just been sent by Kimura to count casualties walked quickly.
According to the report of the soldier, the casualties of the 7th Division were not particularly heavy, with only 8 dead and 3 injured.
After hearing the casualties of Division 7, Kimura's face turned pale immediately.
"Just so many people died, and the morale of the whole team collapsed...Tsuchida-kun, you are a bit incompetent as a squad leader. Do you train the troops properly on weekdays?"
"..." Tsuchida didn't dare to say anything or refute.
Like a child who had done something wrong, he stood obediently with his hands down and silently accepted Kimura's scolding.
At this moment, a voice as loud as thunder exploded above everyone's heads:
"Originals and soldiers who have been transformed into thieves and thieves! Listen to me!"
Everyone quickly raised their heads and followed the sound.
I saw a one-armed warrior standing expressionlessly in front of an open window on the second floor of the house.
A Third Division soldier standing next to Qingdeng subconsciously opened his bow and pointed the arrow at the chest of the one-armed warrior.
Qingdeng saw this and shouted quickly: "Wait a minute! Put down the bow!"
The reason why Qingden quickly asked this subordinate to put down his bow is very simple - the one-armed warrior was using his only arm to grab a young girl's hair.
The girl looks to be 15 or 6 years old. Judging from her face and clothes, she should be an ordinary folk girl.
The one-armed warrior's action of dragging the girl's hair was extremely rough, with no regard for the girl's feelings.
The girl, whose scalp seemed to be torn off at any time, looked in pain and burst into tears.
"Ohh Ohh ohh!"
"Damn it! Stop crying! Be quiet!"
The one-armed warrior slapped the crying girl unceremoniously, and a red and swollen "red maple leaf" suddenly appeared on the girl's right cheek.
The girl who was hurt by the beating and frightened quickly held her breath and bit her lips, not daring to make any more sound.
Perhaps he was afraid that the officers and soldiers would shoot him coldly, so the one-armed warrior lifted the girl in front of him and used the girl's delicate body as a shield.
"The officers and soldiers who were turned into thieves by fire! Have you seen these women?"
As soon as the one-armed warrior finished speaking, he saw several black shadows flash behind him - four warriors appeared beside him, each of them dragging a girl in their hands.
Without exception, these girls are all very young, and they are all dressed like folk girls.
"These women are all 'goods' we captured and planned to sell in order to raise 'military expenditures to resist the foreigners'!"
"If you don't want them to die, just obey my request!"
"My request is very simple - withdraw the troops! All officers and soldiers must leave my field of vision one by one! And prepare 30 rideable horses for us within half an hour! Otherwise, we will wait to give them to these women.
Collect the bodies!"
After saying that, the one-armed warrior closed the window with force with a bang.
"Hey! Wait!" Kimura shouted hurriedly.
However, no matter how Kimura shouted, the room was silent and no response could be heard.
There were actually hostages in the hands of the "one-armed party"... Such an accident exceeded everyone's expectations.
In an instant, there was a commotion around Qingdeng and others.
"M-Master Kimura!" Tsuchida asked stammeringly, "Those beasts actually threatened us with hostages. What should we do now?"
"..." Kimura, who was frowning, ignored Tsuchida's inquiry.
This is an era when human life is as cheap as grass... No, to be precise, every human life in the feudal era is quite worthless.
Judging from the appearance and clothing of the girls captured by the "One-Armed Party", they were just ordinary people - this made Kimura feel a little relieved.
A lowly commoner who is not even a descendant of the Wu family, if he dies, he dies! There is nothing to regret!
If Kimura ignored the threat of the "one-armed party" and ignored the lives of those girls and forcefully asked the troops to continue the attack, then the people above would not convict him for such a trivial matter.
But in this way, it will be detrimental to one's reputation...
Kimura, who has a high self-esteem, is very stingy with his feathers.
"Kimura Shuma, who has been transformed into a thief by fire, is a cold-blooded man who regards the common people as nothing more than fish." Kimura does not want such rumors to appear in the market.
What's more, just because those girls are wearing ordinary people's clothes, it doesn't mean that they must be ordinary people's daughters who are easy to bully - if any of these hostages have an extraordinary background... then if Kimura doesn't
Proceed with caution, but you may be in trouble.
The "one-armed party"'s request of "withdrawing troops and providing horses" is absolutely impossible to agree to.
However, how to exterminate the remnants of the "One-Armed Party" and at the same time protect ourselves to the greatest extent and not be harmed by the responsibility of "causing the death of hostages"...?
Suddenly, a flash of light flashed in Kimura's mind.
His frown instantly relaxed.
"Why are you panicking?" He said solemnly to Tsuchida first, "You are the squad leader of the Huo Fu Thieves Reform. How can you be so embarrassed to panic about such a trivial matter?"
After saying that, he turned around and looked at Qingdeng.
"Orange."
Qingto, who suddenly heard Kimura's call, raised his head and met Kimura's eyes.
"The traitors are cunning and we will never agree to any of their demands."
"But judging from the current situation, our combat plan needs to make some changes."
"Several young girls were brutally kidnapped. We, as officers and soldiers who serve as thieves, must not leave the poor hostages alone!"
When he said the words "Don't leave the poor hostages alone", Kimura puffed up his chest and showed an expression of righteousness and perseverance.
"We will annihilate the bandits and rescue all the hostages at the same time!"
"The traitors in the house are obviously desperate. They are anxious to save their lives, no matter how crazy they are, they can do anything crazy."
"Changes will come later. Therefore, I decided to organize the troops immediately and launch a new round of offensive!"
"However, the morale of the Seventh Division has not yet been restored. They need a period of rest before they can regroup."
"Therefore, I have decided to entrust you and your Third Division with the full responsibility of rescuing the hostages and completely annihilating the remaining bandits in the house!"
After finishing speaking, Kimura paused. After a moment, he added in a very calm tone:
"Remember, we must do our best to protect the safety of those hostages."
Qingdeng: "..."
Qingto said nothing, narrowing his eyes and staring straight at Kimura's face.
After a while, he seemed to come back to his senses and asked slowly:
"My Third Division and I will be responsible for quelling the remaining bandits in the house and rescuing the hostages?"
"yes."
"Okay, I understand."
"you understood?"
Kimura's eyes widened suddenly, and he looked at Qingto who agreed so readily with a look of astonishment.
Qingdeng nodded slightly, indicating that he had indeed understood the content of his mission.
"Kimura, now that I have become a commander shouldering such an important responsibility, I would like to make a small request."
"……you say."
"Give me the greatest degree of autonomy... To put it simply, don't dictate the next actions of me and my subordinates."
"...Okay, I will."
Qingdeng nodded: "In that case, I am willing to do my best."
Before he finished speaking, this young man, who looked indifferently as if he was not going to perform any arduous task but was going out for an outing, put one hand behind his back and the other hand on the saber on his waist, and turned around and left...
…
…
A moment——
"Hey, Mr. Tachibana! What are you doing? How dare you take this kind of job that is obviously a hot potato?"
At this moment, the ranks and strength of the Third Division were lined up in front of Qingdeng.
Just a minute ago, Qingteng explained in detail to his subordinates the new mission that their third division had received in a concise and concise tone.
As soon as Qingneng finished speaking, Akabane impatiently put his hands on his hips and questioned Qingneng.
"Akaban, calm down." Midorikawa on the side smiled bitterly and held Akabane's arm.
However, Akabane ignored Midorikawa's dissuasion and continued to go his own way and gritted his teeth at Ayoto:
"We need to annihilate the remaining enemies in the house and rescue the hostages at the same time? How is this possible...!"
"Those lunatics will definitely kill all the hostages as soon as they find out that we are unwilling to implement their demands."
"It's impossible for us to save the hostages in time."
"Tachibana-sama, can't you see it? Kimura-sama obviously deliberately gave this troublesome task to our third division."
"If we cannot rescue the hostages beautifully, Kimura-sama can logically shift all the responsibility for the death of the hostages to our third division."
"If all the hostages are civilians from humble backgrounds, then that's it."
"But if any of the hostages has a deep background...can we afford this kind of responsibility?"
After spewing out so many words of rebuke like a machine gun, Akabane gasped loudly.
Although the other forces did not attack Qingden directly like Akabane, their expressions were not very good--obviously, for Qingden's behavior of directly grabbing such a hot potato without shirk, they were not satisfied with it.
They all complained quite a bit.
Qingdeng had his hands behind his back throughout the whole process and his expression was calm.
After Akabane finally calmed down, he said softly:
"Of course I know what Kimura's intention was in suddenly giving me such a high-risk task out of kindness."
"Don't worry, I already have a complete and stable plan in mind on how to complete this task beautifully."
Everyone, including Akabane, cast surprised glances at Qingden.
"Tachibana-sama." Shirasaki...the oldest man in the team said dumbly, "You...have a plan?"
Qingden nodded, then stretched out his finger and tapped his feet.
"My plan requires your cooperation."
"And what you have to do is very simple - just stay here obediently. When you see a hostage sliding down the second floor along a piece of cloth or something else, go and receive the hostage as soon as possible."
"The rest... just leave it to me!"
After finishing speaking, Qingden shook off the feathery fabric on his body, opened the mouth of the ghost and god, and drew the sword out of its sheath.
*******
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