After a moment of silence, Tenki and Saito both showed surprised expressions.

Without saying anything more, as if taken aback by such a strong and powerful determination, Tenki bowed slightly to Yanagizumi and Saito, and then turned to leave.

Saito, who was covered in blood and panting, and it was obvious that after a day of fierce fighting, Saito, who had almost lost his strength, slowly put away his knife and turned to Yanagiquan.

For a moment he seemed to want to say something to her. There seemed to be a look of surprise in his dark blue eyes, which had widened slightly. However, the next moment, the composure and calmness that dominated his body and spirit were all returned, and he lowered his eyes slightly.

"Let's go back. He said quietly, and the anxiety and urgency that he had rarely seen because he could not defeat a strong enemy and his physical strength was about to run out had disappeared. He is back to being the calm, strong, and reliable man he was before.

“...... Can't take this place. In fact, someone from the shogunate had already come to give the order to retreat, but on the way to retreat, I met the male ghost again......" he explained quietly.

Liu Quan sighed, blinking as if he couldn't react to the rapid deterioration of the situation.

“...... Have you already decided to give up on this place? She analyzed objectively, looking at the hillside in the distance, which should be the location of the artillery position of the Fallen Curtain Army.

"It is impossible for the other side to stop shelling. Even if we rush forward with only flesh and blood, we can only die in vain where even the enemy can't touch us...... We had to find another way. We have to fight with guns from the shogunate, or we have to have guns behind us as cover when we charge......," she rubbed her chin and thought hard, ignoring Saito's increasingly surprised expression.

At first, Saito seemed to want to say something to her, but when he opened his mouth, he seemed to swallow it back, and explained the current situation to her.

"The army of Sacho's side arranged a half-moon shaped position around this place, and not only occupied the commanding heights, but also surrounded the Fushimi office from three sides. ”

Liu Quan's brow furrowed.

"I've heard that the firepower of the two sides is too different," she took the opportunity to tell the news she had predicted as if she had heard it along the way, "Captain Sa's guys have prepared more than five hundred artillery pieces...... How many are there on the shogunate's side? a hundred?"

Saito was shocked by the figure.

"More than five hundred?!" he repeated, then shook his head with a grim look on his face.

"No...... It is said that the lords of the shogunate thought that a hundred cannons were enough, so they ......"

Liu Quan couldn't help but blurt out: "Stupid!!"

Hearing her so disrespectfully evaluate the big names they were desperately trying to defend, Saito didn't speak harshly or lecture her.

By this time, they had already walked up to the Sanban team members who had fallen on the mountain road. Saito bent down to inspect the men, and Ryuizumi followed him to help.

"Hey, are you still alive, can you walk?" she shouted, picking up a member of the team who seemed to have passed out in pain.

After a moment's hesitation, she put the man's right arm on her shoulder and struggled to support him to his feet.

...... Fortunately, short men abound in this era, and her height of sixteen or seven not only made it convenient for her to be very convincing to disguise herself as a man and mingle with a group of Lu Han, but also not to be immediately crushed by the squad member who had to put his weight on her shoulder because he was seriously injured.

However, when Saito looked up at her, the expression on his face seemed to change and he immediately stood up.

“...... I got it. He said briefly, striding over to pick up the squad from the other side, and motioned for Liu Quan to let go.

Willow Springs: ???

In short, she counted it on the spot, and the three-way group also suffered heavy casualties in this battle.

Most of them had been shot or wounded by the fragments of the shells, and some of them had died, and the rest of the squad were all wounded, and they were holding each other up so slowly that it was almost impossible to maintain their formation.

Now that Saito has taken over her task of supporting the wounded, Yanagizumi has decided to take on the task of guarding for herself. Looking at it, she was the only one in the entire team of the Sanban group, not only was she not injured, but her physical strength was almost not consumed, and her time was spent on rushing instead of fighting.

After an indescribably difficult trek, Yanagizumi did indeed repel three or two groups of Sacho soldiers that he encountered by chance and a very small number of soldiers along the way, and the Mibangumi finally returned to the Fushimi Office under the cover of night.

However, as soon as they entered the door, they received great bad news.

Yamazaki detected that the pennant given to them by the emperor had been raised in the barracks of the Sacho. The Imperial Court had declared the shogunate an "enemy of the court" and decided to crusade against it. The overthrow army of the chief was transformed into an official army that occupied the righteousness.

Liu Quan was not surprised by this result. However, to the rest of the Shinsengumi, this is tantamount to the ultimate critical hit of the damage value MAX.

Hijikata's brows were furrowed, Shinpachi was furious, Harada was angry, and Saito whispered in a stiff tone: "The enemy is an officer and soldier, and we are thieves......

Uncle Inoue looked worried and turned his gaze to the current de facto leader of the Shinsengumi.

"Mr. Ah Sui......"

Hijikata's face was extremely grim, and he said slowly, "...... Where is there any great righteousness here? ”

His tone was very low, and there was an imperceptible hint of shock, anger, and anguish in his voice.

In the dim light of the night, Liu Quan noticed that for a moment his gaze seemed to darken, and his pupils narrowed slightly—a reaction from the extreme pain and contradiction in his heart.

Then, Hijikata spat out the key word.

“...... Fall back. ”

For a moment, no one in the hall spoke except for the sound of everyone gasping in unison.

"But we didn't lose! As if to convince himself, Hijikata said fiercely.

No one has any objections. So the earthwork began to issue a series of orders for retreat.

"Take the wounded and leave the front first. He said to Uncle Inoue, and then, as if remembering something, turned back to the Shinsengumi cadres sitting around him—including the de facto head of the Ichiban group, Yanagiquan.

"Today we have a huge loss...... There were too many wounded. However, none of them can be left behind. With just a few of us and the uninjured soldiers, we may not be able to guarantee that everyone will be safe and sound when we meet the Captain and the others again—" He said thoughtfully, his face slightly solemn.

"Who went to the Yodo Domain to ask for reinforcements?"

Hijikata didn't really want to appoint Yanagiquan to carry out this mission. He didn't even look in the direction where Liu Quan was sitting when he spoke, but Liu Quan, who was used to being given all kinds of epic strange and even difficult tasks by the deputy chief, still subconsciously wanted to speak out-

"I'll go!"

A woman's voice rang out in the hall. Everyone looked at the source of the sound.

Chizuru, who had just been taking care of the wounded, was standing there. It seems that he has been listening for a while, and at this moment there is a certain determination on his face.

"Please let me do my best!" she stared at the Hijikata as if that would convey her determination to the other party.

Hijikata's eyebrows furrowed again, and he didn't speak for a while.

Liu Quan, who was robbed of his lines by Chizuru, sighed secretly.

...... Therefore, the person who holds the position of guarding the heroine is really only the cannon fodder female partner who is configured against the sky but has a sad fate.

"I'll go too!"

This time, it was Uncle Inoue, who spoke before Liu Quan signed up.

"During this time, everyone should try to take a break. It would be most appropriate for me, who is in charge of the duty of Fushimi's precedent today, to go. Yuan Sang added.

The earthwork paused only for a moment.

"I see. Then please. He said resolutely.

This is not the time to struggle with the difference in combat power or gender. If possible, every ounce of combat power or manpower must be used. Chizuru is a ghost clan with a terrifying ability to heal itself instantly, and even if it does rush into the rain of bullets, at least it can get out of the way - probably this is what prompted Hijikata to make a decision.

Liu Quan, who was robbed of his lines again: "......"

When Chizuru and Gensan hurried out the door, everyone also stood up and went about their own business.

Liu Quan stood in place for a few seconds.

The happiness of not having to volunteer came too suddenly, like a gust of wind......

Suddenly, Hijikata's voice sounded sternly behind her.

"You still have a group to lead! Really! Can't you have a little self-consciousness as an acting team leader?!"

Willow Springs: ???

Seeing her with a question mark on her face, the deputy chief had a smoky miasma.

"Don't always think about leaving the Ichibangu behind and running on your own to do something risky! Going into battle alone sounds like a heroic thing...... But is this something you should be doing three times and twice right now?! Even if you are well enlightened, you should not rely on yourself...... When I appointed you as the head of the Ichiban team, I wanted someone to lead the team so that they could be well organized in the absence of the chief officer, rather than waiting for another person to be appointed to lead the team shortly after the important decisive battle began!"

Liu Quan: ?!

The roar seemed to ease some of the tension and anger on the vice-chief's affection, and he softened his tone a little and said, "...... As I've said before, it's not like there is no one more qualified to take over. But even so, after appointing you, of course, I don't want to change people so soon-"

The deputy chief's voice stopped abruptly. Because he saw a thoughtful smile on the face of the leader of the Ichiban group who was standing in front of him, covered in blood and had not yet changed his clothes.

That smile suddenly made him feel a burst of hair, as if he had said something wrong. But I don't have a clue what I said wrong.

Willow Springs: ...... Oh ~ I see~ Deputy Chief, if you want to reprimand me, "Don't always think about getting into danger alone, what if you get hurt, I'll be worried", just say it, what kind of nonsense~

However, as soon as this kind of words are spoken, the deputy chief will probably explode directly into the sky. So she had to smile and change her words.

"Yes, I see!" she replied in a tone of calm that was completely different from the gloomy atmosphere that was permeating the Fushimi Office right now, "I will never give the Deputy Chief this opportunity to appoint someone other than me to this important position!"

Earthwork:...... Do you always feel like we're talking two things?!

However, before the deputy chief's heart could be complained, Yamazaki, who was in charge of finding out the news, hurriedly rushed in from outside the door.

"Vice-Chief!" he shouted, "Yodojo...... Yodojo is no longer reliable!!"

Hijikata and Yanagizumi were startled at the same time and turned in the direction of Yamazaki. Hijikata asked urgently, "What did you say?!"

Yamazaki has probably traveled a long way, and he is still respite. He tore off the black scarf that covered his face and said hurriedly, "The Yodo clan has categorically refused to allow the shogunate army to retreat to Yodo Castle first...... Because they said that since the fallen army had already received the imperial pennant and the sword, it was the royal army recognized by His Majesty...... So—"

Hijikata's voice was filled with shock and disbelief after being hit hard again.

“...... What are you talking about......!!How can it be ......!!"

Willow Springs: ...... Ah, how ruthless, these house slaves of the Tokugawa family.

Yodo Castle was the "daimyo of the Tokugawa shogunate", the first shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu had surrendered to him before he became a shogun, and was one of the longest-serving henchmen of the Tokugawa family;

However, it is no wonder that the current shogunate army has lost the righteousness of the [Orthodox Imperial Division], and it is natural for someone to be caught in the ground. If you want to blame the new majesty who stayed in Kyoto, he didn't want to be a rubber stamp, and it just so happened that there were a large number of people in the country who wanted to taste the pleasure of the Tokugawa family's "coercion of the Son of Heaven to order the princes", and the Tokugawa family was already rigid-minded and rotten, and the matter had reached such a point that it could not be saved.

However, this qiē complaint from an objective point of view must not be said. Looking at Hijikata's expressions of shock, anger and disbelief, Liu Quan suddenly felt unbearable.

"Anyway...... How about retreating in that direction first, catching up with the general's army, and then making plans after the merger?" she reluctantly said.

However, Hijikata's brow furrowed, as if he was thinking about something. After a moment, he suddenly asked, "Are you coming from the direction of Diancheng?"

Yamazaki, who was suddenly asked by him, seemed a little stunned for a moment.

"No, I'm going to find out what else is going on when I hear about that...... It was reported that the Imperial Court had sent a secret letter to the Gyeonggi feudal domains, calling the army of Sachang the division of King Qin, and now it is ...... The shogunate's army can be considered rebellious—"

Hijikata stood dumbfounded. After a few moments, he suddenly pressed the hilt of his knife, turned and strode out the door.