"..."

Suddenly, the only sound left at the scene was the sound of burning flames.

The two of them seemed to have stopped breathing, staring at each other motionless.

Suddenly, the air between the two men shook violently - they launched their offensive at the same time!

Hisaka Genrui kicked the dust with his feet, raised his sword above his head, and ran straight towards Qingden.

Qingdeng adopted a dragging knife-like stance, scraping the ground and bumping into each other head-on in no particular order.

The outcome was decided in an instant.

The moment Qingteng entered his slashing range, Kusaka Genrui shouted loudly, took out the momentum of "splitting Huashan with force", and slashed down with his sword.

At the same moment, Qingdeng slashed upward with the lower sword.

clang!!

Steel knives collide.

Hisaka Genzui's sword, which was slashing from the top down, and Ayoto's sword, which was slashing from the bottom up, collided heavily.

Blue-white sparks flew out, and Kusaka Genrui's knife was bounced away, almost missing his hand.

Although he tried his best to pull the knife back to his hand, it was... too late.

After Qingteng deflected the opponent's sword, he adjusted the blade's edge, and the purple sword light poured down, covering Kusaka Genrui's body——

Phew!

A "purple line" splashed down.

The blood color blurred out the purple light that had not yet dissipated.

Aomori ran past Kusaka Genrui, took a few steps and steadied his body, turning his head to face the enemy again, while showing off his zanshin habitually.

In fact, his reluctance was completely unnecessary.

The blow he just struck was very strong, and the feel of cutting bones and tendons was very strong.

Unless the opponent is a legendary creature like the "Immortal", it is impossible to stand up again.

As expected, Kusaka Genrui shook a few times, and then fell to his knees with a "pop", and the knife in his palm fell to the ground with a "clang".

[Ding! Talent scanned]

[Successfully copied talent: "Failed art students +3"]

[Talent Introduction: Speech is Contagious]

[Ding! It has been detected that the host already has the same type of talent]

[Ding! Start talent fusion]

["Failed art students +2" ability promotion - "Failed art students +5"]

The art voice that failed the list is +3... Qingnog finally understands why Kusaka Gensui is widely loved and has so many fans.

After the system sound in his mind stopped, Qingdeng slowly walked towards the other party.

"Hoo...! Hoo...! Poof! Cough cough cough! Vomit...!"

Hisaka Genrui's limbs were twitching constantly, and blood foam mixed with saliva continued to flow from his mouth and nose.

A terrifying incision extended from the left side of his abdomen to his right shoulder, and blood dripped all over the floor.

After suffering such a serious injury, there is no cure, and he will die of blood loss in a short time.

Qingdeng raised his knife, ready to give him a good blow.

Unexpectedly, Kusaka Genrui said first:

"No...I won't bother you to do it..."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and opened the skirt of his clothes, exposing his belly, and then pulled out his wakizashi with a "clang" sound.

When Qingdeng saw this, he immediately understood.

"Do you need to apologize?"

Perhaps it was because of the return of his energy that Kusaka Genrui's body spasms eased a lot, and his speech became clearer.

"No need...my stupidity has caused countless people to die."

"Now that things have happened, how can there be any reason for me to die happily?"

After a few self-deprecating sneers, Kusaka Genrui raised his wakizashi and placed the tip of the knife close to his left abdomen.

Seeing that the other party rejected his kindness, Qingdeng didn't force it. He shook the knife and shook off the remaining blood on the knife, then turned around and left.

The flames grew stronger and stronger, tongues of fire licking the ground, almost reaching the feet of Qingto and Kusaka Genrui.

Just when Hisaka Genrui was about to be surrounded by a sea of ​​fire, Qingden suddenly heard him shouting:

"Ju Qingden... just watch!"

Hisaka Genzui kept his wakizashi pointed at his belly and shouted loudly without raising his head.

"We're not done yet in Changzhou!"

"Shogunate, Qinjin, Aizu, Satsuma... We, the men of Choshu, will defeat you all!"

"The one who will win the world in the end will definitely be Changzhou!"

Qingden stopped, turned half his head, and looked indifferently at the figure of Kusaka Genrui, who was twisted by the sea of ​​fire.

"Teach me at any time, just come over."

After saying that, Qingdeng stopped paying attention to the other party, took steps again, and walked forward alone.

"Ju Qingden... just wait... the day when Changzhou rules the world... it won't be long ago..."

Because his strength was gradually declining, Hisaka Genrui's tone became weaker and weaker as he continued to speak.

Just before he lost consciousness, he took a deep breath, secretly used a fierce force, and forced his wakizashi into his belly.

Poof!

He fell forward suddenly, his body convulsing violently.

Raging fire surrounded it from all directions.

Several burned logs fell not far from him.

Within a moment, his body disappeared into the vast sea of ​​fire...

"The most talented person in Choshu" Kusaka Genrui died in battle!

…

…

To the west of Tenryuji Temple, Arashiyama——

"One, two, three, pull! Come again! One, two, three, pull!"

Katsura Kogoro personally stepped forward to push the wheel, and finally got a carriage full of wounded people out of the mud pit.

After taking over the command of the army from Genzui Hisaka, Katsura Kogoro immediately began to make arrangements for retreat.

Under the fierce attack of the Changzhou Army, the command system of the Changzhou Army was already on the verge of collapse.

Katsura Kogoro, who was ordered to do so at the critical moment, just managed to complete all preparations for the retreat amidst the chaos and organized the corresponding defense lines.

First, let the wounded evacuate first, and the remaining soldiers who are unable to fight anymore will be responsible for escorting them.

Then, the troops who were still capable of fighting were mobilized to form a rear army and set up defenses at Arashiyama to the west of Tenryuji Temple.

Arashiyama is on the eastern edge of the Tanba Highlands, with a higher terrain and a mountain height of 375 meters.

With the advantage of the geographical location, it might be possible to stop the offensive of the rebel army and gain time to retreat.

Fortunately, Katsura Kogoro is one of the "Three Heroes of Choshu" and has authority second only to Hisaka Genzui and Takasugi Shinsaku.

When the generals heard that Katsura Kogoro was now in charge, they all remained silent and silently carried out the orders given by Katsura Kogoro without daring to resist.

Anyone else might not have the qualifications to convince the generals.

In order to boost morale and ensure a smooth retreat, Katsura Kogoro personally commanded the rear army and lived and died with the rear army.

Hannya folded his arms and followed Katsura Kogoro with an indifferent expression, never stepping forward to help.

When Katsura Kogoro went to push the carriage that was stuck in the mud, he stood aside and had nothing to do with it.

Katsura Kogoro had long been accustomed to Hannya's indifference.

He knew very well that Prajna's mission was only to save his life.

Everything else is outside the scope of his mission, and he will never help.

"Haaah~~"

Prajna looked up to the sky and yawned greatly.
To be continued...