He did not die at the hands of the French and Qi coalition forces, but fell into the hands of the farmers he protected...
Sadness, grievance, anger...these emotions were like rising tides, filling Elodie's heart and making her chest feel congested.
Of course, these negative emotions quickly dissipated, because the tense battle situation left her no time to think too much.
Elodie proved to these people with practical actions that she was not a sheep to be bullied.
She can wield the blade with ease.
She can kill her enemies without blinking an eye.
So far, no one has said anything like "catch her alive" or "keep her alive" or anything like that.
They all showed their true skills and launched a fierce offensive with the simple purpose of "poking her into a hornet's nest"!
In an instant, another bamboo spear stabbed from the slant.
Elodie struggled to twist her body and managed to escape without any danger.
Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!
This time, there is no longer a single bamboo spear, but three bamboo spears stabbing at the same time!
These three bamboo spears stabbed from different directions, blocking all Elodie's dodge space.
Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Elodie could only grit her teeth, step on her heels, and make a sweeping sweep to deflect all three bamboo spears.
Although the danger was saved, the reaction force transmitted along the blade made his right arm feel unbearably swollen and painful, and he could hardly hold the Yamato Moritai in his palm.
Facing the peasants' attack, she was on the verge of reaching her limit.
At this time, Elodie squinted her eyes and quickly checked the current situation of Kui Shimada not far away.
It didn't matter. When she saw it, her heart instantly sank to the bottom.
Fighting with a living person like Hijikata Toshizo on his back... It is not easy for Shimada Kui to be able to hold on until now without hurting both himself and Hijikata Toshizo.
He dodged left and right awkwardly with his hands and feet, dodging the bamboo spears thrust by the farmers. He wanted to fight back but was unable to do so due to his slow speed. It seemed that he could only parry and had no power to fight back.
There is a time when your physical strength will eventually run out.
If this continues, they will definitely die!
——We have to find a way...!
Elodie was anxious and her mind was running rapidly, looking for a way to break the situation.
At the moment of lightning, rapid footsteps came from far and near in front of her - a farmer put a bamboo gun under his right arm and rushed towards Elodie like a cavalry charge!
The sharp tip of the gun was aimed directly at her chest.
Upon seeing this, Elodie prepared to move her body sideways to avoid this fierce direct thrust.
Her right arm was still swollen and painful, and she was unable to forcefully swing the knife to deflect the opponent's gun tip as she did just now.
However, she was so desperate that the same situation as before suddenly happened - her left foot suddenly became weak due to extreme fatigue, making her stand unsteady.
It was this momentary accident that caused her to miss the best time to dodge.
Looking at the bamboo spear in front of her that was about to pierce her chest... At this moment, a fierce look flashed through her eyes.
She turned her body slightly, hiding her chest and exposing her left shoulder - she was preparing to use her thicker shoulder to receive the blow!
This is the trick Qingdeng taught her.
Once the attack hits the chest and cannot be avoided, the defensive attack will be slightly turned to the side of the body, allowing the shoulders to bear the damage.
The chest is one of the most important parts of the human body, if not the only one. You must protect your chest at all times.
If the chest is injured, no matter how powerful a person is, he will lose most of his combat power or even die on the spot. This is not the case with the shoulder.
First of all, the shoulder is not a vital part of the human body. Even if the shoulder is injured, it will not cause death.
Secondly, the shoulder muscles are easy to exert force. As long as you bend your arms, you can easily tighten the flesh and blood of the shoulders, greatly improving your defense and withstanding the enemy's attack.
Trading injuries for lives...a thrilling and radical approach!
Elodie holds Yamato Mamoru in her right hand tightly, preparing to send the opponent to the west with a backhand blow after the opponent's bamboo spear pierces his left shoulder!
In the blink of an eye, the long shadow of the bamboo gun almost overlapped with Elodie's petite figure.
Such a scene leaves no doubt that in the next second, the tip of the bamboo spear will penetrate deeply into Elodie's left shoulder, splattering countless drops of blood.
But at this moment of light, a strong man with a strong physique flew out of the thorn and burst into Elodie's field of vision!
Also breaking into his field of vision were two shining sword lights!
The sharp blade flashed twice in mid-air.
For the first time, the bamboo spear that was about to pierce Elodie's shoulder flew away.
The second time he sliced off the gunman's head.
His movements are neat and his sword skills are superb... You can tell at a glance that he is a master of swordsmanship!
Then, before Elodie could recover from the sudden change, she heard a familiar voice:
"I remember you, you are Mr. Ju's apprentice, right? Long time no see."
Elodie stared blankly at this strong man who suddenly came to block the attack for her and killed her opponent.
Soon, she remembered the other person's identity and whispered his name.
"Chiba...Jutaro...?"
This strong man who appeared just in time turned out to be Chiba Jutaro, the master of the Little Chiba Sword Hall and Aoto's uncle.
Chiba Jutaro smiled slightly:
"I'm glad you still know me."
Almost at the same moment, not far away, Shimada Kui also received timely rescue from an unexpected person.
Two farmers approached Shimada Kui with their guns drawn, and launched a pincer attack with horns.
At this time, Shimada Kui was at the end of his rope, barely able to stand, and unable to dodge any further.
At the moment when he was about to be stabbed by the bamboo spear, two figures rushed to him from the left and right sides to block the opponent's attack for him!
They each shot out a sword beam, one person responsible for one, and chopped the two incoming bamboo spears into pieces.
Both of them are young men in their prime. One is older, holding a long and short sword in his hand; the other is younger, holding a sword.
Looking at these two young men and their sword skills, Shimada Kui opened his eyes wide and his face was full of disbelief.
As a swordsman who has been practicing swordsmanship since childhood, he could tell at a glance: the swordsmanship of these two young men was much better than his own! They could be called the skills of swordsmen!
Seeing the sudden appearance of these two young swordsmen, the peasants retreated in panic and distanced themselves.
"You, who are you?!"
someone screamed.
The young man holding the two swords replied:
"Xuanbukan Normal School, the second generation head of the Beichen Ittoryu clan, Chiba Doisaburo."
The younger young man replied:
"Genbukan Shihan Dai, Chiba Tamon Shiro."
Chiba of the Genbukan... This title enjoys a reputation of being unique among the people in Kanto!
Sure enough, upon hearing that these two men came from the famous swordsman family, the faces of the farmers at the scene changed and they retreated hurriedly, as if their lives would be in danger as long as they got close to these two men!
At this time, Elodie and Chiba Jutaro both came forward and joined Shimada Kui and others.
With the sudden appearance of the three Chiba, the fierce battle came to an abrupt end.
The farmers retreated one after another, gathered together, and stared at Elodie and others opposite with fear.
The two sides faced off with a distance of 6 or 7 meters.
The shock to the farmers is not over yet.
Suddenly, a clear male voice sounded from the depths of the woods behind Elodie and others:
"Finally caught up."
The farmers raised their sights.
Elodie and Shimada Kui turned their heads.
Looking at him one after another, he saw a young man walking at a leisurely pace, walking out of the shadows of the woods, revealing his face and figure.
With delicate facial features, a slender figure, and a blue-sheathed sword on his waist... At first glance, he exudes an oppressive aura!
Shimada Kui didn't know this person.
Elodie vaguely felt that this person looked familiar, as if she had seen him before, but she couldn't remember who he was.
In comparison, the reactions of the farmers opposite them after seeing this man's appearance were much more intense.
Some people's faces have lost all color.
Some people were so stunned that their jaws seemed to be about to drop to the ground.
Some people are less courageous, their legs are fighting, and they are unsteady on their feet.
In the midst of this astonishment, someone tremblingly recited this person's name:
"'The Strongest in Edo' Chiba Eijiro...!"
Chiba Eijiro smiled:
"'The Strongest in Edo'...this title no longer belongs to me."
As he spoke, he moved forward and moved to Chiba Jutaro's side.
Four Chiba stood in a straight line... Even though they did nothing and just stood here, they still put great pressure on the farmers!
If we say how panicked and fearful the farmers were at this time, then how happy and high-spirited Elodie and Shimada Kui are in the moment!
It was only then that Elodie finally regained her composure.
She had been in a state of intense confusion just now, as if she was half asleep and half awake.
Elodie is not familiar with Chiba Jutaro and others and has only met a few times, but she knows the meaning of the name "Swordsman Family"!
The tense nerves instantly relaxed, and she almost sat down on the ground.
"Everyone, I sympathize with your situation."
Suddenly, Chiba Eijiro spoke in a calm tone.
"The harsh life forces you to transform into demons."
"only--"
As he changed the subject, the atmosphere at the scene changed.
"Since you chose to draw your swords against each other and almost hurt our companions, no matter what kind of pain you have and what kind of hidden secrets you have, it is not enough reason for me to let you go."
Having said this, Chiba Eijiro slowly pulled out the famous sword Zhenyue Changguang from his waist.
The coquettish blue sword light shines into the eyes of the farmers.
"If there is a death poem, read it out as soon as possible, otherwise you will not have this opportunity in a while."
In the next breath, the four Chiba raised the swords in their hands, and the astonishing sword energy spread out around them with them as the center!
The death sentence was pronounced without any doubt... This directly angered the farmers.
"Stop, stop being arrogant!"
"Don't be afraid, everyone! Don't be frightened by their names!"
"That's right! What happened to Qianye? If the bamboo spear pokes them, there will still be more blood holes!"
"We outnumber them! Our weapons outlast them!"
"That woman and that big guy can't fight anymore!"
"Come together! Stab them to death!"
"Don't fight alone! Form a formation! Form a formation quickly! Form a formation as you practiced before!"
The farmers encouraged and cheered each other up, gradually dispelling the atmosphere of panic and panic.
Click, click, click, click, click...
They leveled the bamboo spears in their hands and formed a tight hedgehog formation.
Immediately afterwards, they took fairly neat steps and rushed straight into the four Chiba!
They actually know how to set up formations... It seems that they have indeed put in some hard work for the "hunting of fallen warriors".
The Hedgehog Formation... In the era of cold weapons, this is an excellent and powerful formation at the king level!
Attack and defense are integrated, cavalry dare not attack, and infantry dare not approach.
However, facing this giant "hedgehog" approaching rapidly, the four Chiba's expressions and behaviors showed no trace of panic.
They quietly set up their stance, half amused and half amused at the group of ignorant people who came forward...
…
…
French-Qich coalition——
Shuten Doji and Katsura Kogoro ride horses together.
They sped along the road, kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke.
In order to make up for the extra time it took to defeat thousands of people, they had to hurry up.
The relationship between Hachioji and Edo is closely related to each other.
After passing Hachioji, Edo is right in front of you.
According to their estimates, as long as nothing unexpected happens, they will be able to attack Edo Castle in the future!
Just when Katsura Kogoro and others were concentrating on their way, a member of the Raiders suddenly rushed over from the front of the queue and approached them:
"Mr. Gui! There is something strange ahead! Please take a look!"
Katsura Kogoro raised an eyebrow:
"Exception?"
He turned his horse's head and left the queue.
A hint of curiosity appeared in Shuten Doji's cheeks, and he followed closely.
Under the leadership of the soldier, the two plunged into the dense forest beside the road.
After a while, Katsura Kogoro subconsciously twitched his nose - he suddenly smelled the strong smell of blood.
"Mr. Gui, we're here, right here!"
Katsura Kogoro tightened the reins of the horse in his hands, stopped the horse, and looked at the scene in front of him in astonishment.
"This is……?"
In front of his eyes, somewhere in the woods, dozens of corpses lay scattered on the ground!
Katsura Kogoro and Shuten Doji dismounted their horses in no particular order and walked among the corpses.
These corpses have not yet become rigor mortis, and one look at them shows that they have just died.
Katsura Kogoro glanced around and said:
"Judging from the clothes of these people, they should be farmers from around here."
Shuten Doji's attention was focused on the wounds on these corpses.
Looking at the neat stab wounds, he nodded gently and his eyes brightened:
"The sword's tendons are extremely straight, it hits the vital point, and it's a good swordsmanship! The person who killed them is definitely a rare swordsman."
At this time, Katsura Kogoro suddenly noticed: there were many corpses with their arms cut off, mainly on the right hand, and there were many severed arms with smooth cuts on the ground.
Seeing this, Katsura Kogoro lowered his eyelids and muttered:
"It's Beichen Yidao style...!"
Chopping hands - a classic feature of Beichen Yidao style.
In addition to the "repeated twitching of the tip of the sword", the biggest feature of Beichen's Yidao style is that it takes "injuring the enemy" as its core strategy.
Most of its moves revolve around "cutting the enemy's arms".
Most of the schools, such as Kegen-ryu, Shinto Muken-ryu, and Natural Rishin-ryu, pursue killing with one blow and just hack people to death.
On the other hand, Beichen Yidao Ryu's combat philosophy is different.
Beichen Yidao style attaches great importance to "cutting off hands" and does not pursue killing with one blow.
Compared with human body parts such as thighs, waist and abdomen, the arms that must be stretched out at all times to hold weapons are much easier to cut.
First chop the person's arm, establish your absolute advantage, and then hack the person to death calmly.
This extremely distinctive fighting style earned Beichen's one-sword style the nickname "Hand-cutting one-sword style".
Because of this, the way to restrain Beichen's One-Sword Style is very simple - as long as you wear hard hand armor and arm armor, you can defeat most of Beichen's One-Sword Style moves.
Shuten Doji clasped his hands behind his back, walked twice among the corpses, and then said slowly:
"It's probably the 'Falling Warrior Hunt'."
"Farmers living nearby lurked here, trying to hunt the lone warriors passing by, but they were killed."
Having said this, he moved to a certain place in the group of corpses - the corpses here fell neatly and closely, just in a row, like leeks that had fallen down by the roots.
"The farmers first formed a formation and charged, hoping for a quick victory."
"In the blink of an eye, all the people in the first row were dead."
"The spear formation was immediately in chaos and would be destroyed without attack."
"The other party is very ruthless and has no intention of giving these guys a chance to survive."
"Even if they have lost their fighting spirit and will to fight and fled, they will not hesitate to pursue and kill them, and they will not stop until they are all killed."
"Look, these people who were stabbed in the back were busy running away, but in the end they were caught up and chopped down, a lot of them."
While Katsura Kogoro listened carefully, he turned his head involuntarily and cast a surprised look at Shuten Doji.
Having deduced so much from just a few clues at the scene... Katsura Kogoro felt more and more that Shuten Doji's talents were more comprehensive and outstanding than he had expected.
After the drinking boy finished speaking, Katsura Kogoro muttered softly:
"I don't know which swordsman of Beichen Yidao style is the person who killed them..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately received a reply from Shuten Doji:
"They should be the swordsmen of the Chiba family."
As soon as this statement came out, Katsura Kogoro's strong interest was immediately aroused:
"Oh? How did you know?"
Beichen Yida Ryu is undoubtedly the largest sect in the world. How many disciples and former officials are there? How many outstanding disciples are there?
How could it be possible to state the name "Chiba Family" so firmly?
Before joining the great cause of Zunba, Katsura Kogoro was obsessed with kendo every day and honed his sword skills wholeheartedly.
Even though I no longer have time to practice swordsmanship, I still love kendo.
As long as it is related to kendo, he is willing to discuss it with anyone - even if the other person is Shuten Doji, whom he is very resistant to.
"Guijun, I wonder if you have ever experienced this feeling: as long as you see the knife marks and wounds, you can roughly guess what kind of person made the chop."
"I can feel it - the people who killed these guys are definitely the swordsmen of the Chiba family. There is no mistake."
"Except for them, no one in Beichen's Yi Dao style has the ability to inflict such wounds."
Having said that, Shuten-doji no longer lingered here, turned around and walked back to the horse.
When he got on his horse, he said in a faint tone:
"Kui-kun, be prepared, the Chiba family has joined the war!"
…
…
The next day——
Edo——
Under the escort of Chiba Jutaro and others, Elodie, Shimada Kui and Hijikata Toizo, who was still in a coma, arrived in Edo safely.
On the way to Edo, Chiba Jutaro explained in detail the specific reasons why the four brothers appeared in that dense forest in time.
It turned out that they were going to Hachioji to help out.
When the news of "Edo emergency" reached Mito, Chiba Eijiro immediately put aside everything he was doing and rushed back to Edo from Mito to join his brothers.
As soon as the four brothers gathered together, they began to discuss enthusiastically how to meet the enemy.
After learning that Thousand People Together was preparing to organize a defense line at Hachioji, they unanimously decided: Go to Hachioji! Support Thousand People Together!
Although Eijiro and Dosaburo usually give people a quiet and calm feeling, there is always a radical and fiery heart lurking inside them.
Not to mention the chattering Jutaro and Tamon Shiro, they are both masters who can't take any time off.
They set off quickly and headed west.
Halfway through the journey, Chiba Eijiro, who had a keen sense of sense, suddenly heard the sound of a fierce fight and decided to go check it out.
There is no need to elaborate on what happened next.
Elodie and others learned from the Chiba brothers the reason for their sudden appearance and the current situation in Edo.
The latter also learned the bad news about the fall of the Eighth Prince from the former's mouth.
Regarding the fall of the Eighth Prince and the defeat of Thousand People Together, their hearts were full of regrets and anguish - it would have been nice if they could have arrived at the Eighth Prince earlier, which might have been able to help and delay the defeat.
Under such circumstances, it was pointless to go to Hachioji and the only option was to return to Edo.
After arriving in Edo, the first thing they did was to find a doctor who could treat Hijikata Toizo's injury.
Regarding the matter of finding a doctor for Hijikata Toizo... To be honest, Elodie did not have optimistic expectations - and the same was true for Shimada Kui.
First of all, the war was imminent, and many doctors left Edo in a hurry because they were afraid of the military disaster.
Secondly, most doctors in Edo are Kampo doctors, that is, traditional Chinese medicine.
Letting them treat bruises and internal injuries may have excellent results.
But if you ask them to treat severe trauma...especially a gunshot wound that hits the abdomen directly, few doctors can guarantee that they can treat it!
Compared to Elodie and Shimada Kui who were discouraged, Eijiro and others were much more optimistic.
When looking for a doctor, they gave the same recommendation - Bei Ren at Ren Medical Center!
It's really lucky that he didn't leave Edo.
Speaking of this person, he was not only one of the most famous doctors in Edo, but he was also an old acquaintance of Qingto.
I think back to the beginning, whenever Qingdeng was seriously injured - for example, after the decisive battle with the anti-barbarian group, or after the decisive battle with Rakshasa - he would be sent to the Ren Medical Center and let Bei Renlai personally preside over the treatment.
Qingdeng was taken care of by him for a long time, and he became familiar with him after going back and forth.
When Seito established the Shinsengumi's medical department...that is, the medical side, he offered an olive branch to Beitaren, promising a generous income.
What a pity, Beifang Ren politely declined, and the matter ended like this.
Since the Chiba brothers unanimously recommended this person, Elodie and Shimada Kui had no choice but to agree.
To be honest, when Hijikata Toshizo was sent to the Jin Medical Center, neither Elodie nor Shimada Kui still believed that Hijikata Toshizo had any hope of survival...
He was shot in the abdomen and was delayed for such a long time... It is no exaggeration to say that Hijikata Toshizo's ability to persist until now is considered a miracle.
When Jin Beitai looked at Hijikata Touzo's wounds expressionlessly, Elodie and Shimada Kui were both filled with despair, waiting for him to simply say "He is hopeless."
Unexpectedly, Beifang Ren actually said:
"It can be cured."
"A mere gunshot wound is nothing to worry about."
"However, the most troublesome thing about this kind of injury is infection and inflammation."
"I got the bullet and sutured the wound, but I couldn't stop the wound from becoming inflamed."
"I will do my best to treat him."
"As for whether he can survive in the end, it all depends on his body, willpower, and destiny."
After saying that, he turned around and ordered his personal assistant - the beautiful girl named "Tachibana Saki" - to prepare equipment, medicines,
While waiting for the equipment and medicines to arrive, Bei Renyan briefly and comprehensively introduced his treatment plan to Elodie and others.
Elodie doesn't know much about medicine, and there are many professional terms that she doesn't understand.
However, she roughly understood what Beita Jin meant: he was going to perform a major surgical operation on Hijikata Toizo!
There are actually doctors who know how to perform surgeries in Japan nowadays... This is really beyond Elodie's expectation.
When Tachibana Saki brought various instruments and medicines, Elodie glanced at them roughly.
Sharp knives, slender pliers, clean cotton, high-alcohol spirits...etc., etc., looked very professional, and completely matched the various instruments she knew were needed for surgical operations.
Since he is a doctor who knows how to operate, Elodie doesn't have to worry about Bei Ren's medical skills.
The doctor's medical skills are fine, so whether Hijikata Toshizo dies or lives depends entirely on his fate...
…
…
As soon as Elodie and the others returned to Edo, they immediately received awards from the shogunate.
After the offensive and defensive battle of Hachioji, the remaining troops of the Thousand People retreated eastward, and many of them retreated to Edo.
For them, under the personal instruction of Tokugawa Iemo, the shogunate gave them all generous rewards and made appropriate arrangements.
As the main commanders, Elodie and Shimada Kui both received personal summons from Tokugawa Iemo.
In this way, the two entered Edo Castle, passed through the long "の"-shaped road, and met Tokugawa Iemo and Tenjoin in Ohiro Room.
Whether it was the General Zhengyi or the Grand Imperial Palace, this was the first time for Elodie to see them.
Elodie didn't have any special feelings about Tokugawa Iemo. She just felt that he was very young and had a very elegant temperament, unlike the head of the shogunate or the leader of the martial arts family.
As for Tianzhang Academy... the "impact" she brought to Elodie was huge.
Although Elodie had long known that Tianzhangyuan was a beautiful woman, she couldn't help but be stunned when she saw her appearance with her own eyes.
Then, like a conditioned reflex, she subconsciously thought:
——Fortunately, she is a grand master, so it is impossible for her to be with the master...
She silently felt happy for her good friends (Sanako, Amai, Souji).
*******
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PS: As the title of this chapter indicates, why don’t you quickly say thank you to Uncle Chiba?!