Chapter 962 Shuten-Doji Vs. Tokugawa Iemochi! [5100]

A tall figure was galloping in the narrow corridor leading to the castle tower.

Countless guards stepped forward to intercept him.

Brave shouts, angry cries, painful wails, muffled sounds of flesh and bones being cut... all kinds of sounds filled the entire corridor.

Whenever the guards collided with this figure, blood and broken bones would always splash out.

The broken limbs and bodies flew everywhere in a parabola, hitting the ceiling, breaking the doors on both sides of the corridor, or falling directly to the ground.

This corridor was the last line of defense of the castle tower, and also the last barrier to protect Tokugawa Iemochi.

Once it was lost, Shuten-doji could march in front of Tokugawa Iemochi with a swagger!

The sense of responsibility and honor drove the guards to take the lead.

However... "unstoppable" to describe Shuten-doji's attack was really the most appropriate.

The duel with Chiba Eijiro just now caused him to suffer a lot of damage, and the wound on his neck was still bleeding.

But even so, he was still not a match for ordinary people!

No matter how the guards stepped forward and how bravely they fought, they could only watch Shuten-doji walk through this bloody road paved with countless corpses.

At this moment, two samurai who were prominent in appearance drew their swords and stepped forward.

"I am the leader of the small surname group, Yamada Kogoro!"

"I am the leader of the academy group, Mizuno Daisaburo!"

They are the commanders of the two major guards of the Shogun - the small surname group and the academy group.

These two people who usually only know how to eat, drink and have fun, I don't know what's going on. Maybe they are inspired by the "Shogun guarding the capital". In short, they bravely stand up to meet the enemy.

But, as soon as they announced their names, they saw the silver blade approaching rapidly.

The two men were about the same height, which made it much easier for Shuten-doji to attack.

Shuten-doji took a step forward, closed the gap in an instant, and then swung his sword horizontally from left to right.

Before the two men could react, a slash that covered their vision had already swept across.

Boom! Boom!

Immediately, there was a sound of heavy objects falling to the ground.

Shuten-doji chopped off the heads of the two men with just one sword.

…

…

Edo Castle, Honmaru, Castle Tower——

After arriving at the castle tower, Tenshoin bandaged Tokugawa Iemochi's forehead with a simple bandage, barely stopping the bleeding.

After the rough treatment, Tokugawa Iemochi had basically regained consciousness.

As soon as he regained consciousness, he immediately asked about the current battle situation.

Then, he learned the bad news of "enemy troops entering the city" and the good news of "reinforcements arriving".

When listening to the former, his expression remained calm, his face showed no sadness or joy, and he did not show any panic or frustration.

Only after hearing the latter and seeing the "light green waves" pouring into Edo Town, did he slightly curl his lips and reveal a faint smile.

At this moment, he sat safely on the main seat, looking at the gate in front of him calmly.

In contrast, the two women beside him were not so calm.

Whether it was Tenshoin on his left or Elodie on his right, they were now nervous as if they were facing a great enemy, repeatedly tightening their weapons in their hands.

Gradually, the shouting and killing outside the door gradually weakened.

The faint, lonely footsteps were getting closer and closer.

Snap... Snap... Snap... Snap... Snap... Snap...

From the sound, it only takes a few seconds for the person outside to pull the door open and enter the room.

A few seconds seemed to be several years long to Tenshoin and Elodie.

Finally...

With a "whoosh", a bloody hand opened the door.

Shuten-doji, who exuded a bloody stench, took a big step, walked into the room, and moved to Tokugawa Iemochi.

A heavy shadow covered his upper body, and only his lower body was exposed to the light.

As the other party gradually walked out of the darkness, Tokugawa Iemochi and others were able to see his full appearance clearly.

To be frank, he looked like he had just walked out of a pool of blood, and there was almost no clean place on his body.

Under the layers of blood stains, the handsome features could be vaguely discerned.

Tokugawa Iemochi stared at his face and whispered:

"Are you the enemy's general?"

The target he had been thinking about was right in front of him, just a stone's throw away... But strangely, at this moment, Shuten-doji became very calm and was not in a hurry to take his life immediately.

"Mr. Iemochi, nice to meet you."

He bowed slightly and saluted in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

"I will execute Shuten-doji's accomplices according to the law."

Tokugawa Iemochi nodded slightly.

"I've heard of your name for a long time."

"I've heard that you're one of the three major cadres of the Fazhu Party."

"I always thought you were a big, strong, fierce man."

"I didn't expect you to be so young, and you look like a scholar."

Shuten-doji smiled:

"Scholar... People always say that about me."

"To be honest, if I have a choice, I'd rather be a scholar who reads quietly in a study than a swordsman with a sword."

The two mortal enemies chatted calmly... like two old friends who haven't seen each other for a long time.

For this scene, Elodie and Tenshoin were dumbfounded.

Suddenly, Shuten-doji stared at Tokugawa Iemochi, changed to a serious tone, and said seriously word by word:

"Duke Jiamao, to be honest, I don't hate you."

"You are a household name."

"If I were Mushen, I might be loyal to you."

"When I think of this, I can't help but feel regretful - it's a pity to be an enemy of a wise king like you."

"I wish that all the generals of the Shogunate could be as wise as you."

"In this way, the world should be better."

Speaking of this, he seemed to recall some unbearable memories, slightly sinking his eyelids, and a trace of resentment flashed under his eyelashes.

Tokugawa Ishimaki bent his mouth slightly as if he was amused.

"I didn't expect you to have such a high opinion of me."

"This really surprised me."

“I dare not call it 'wise'.”

"What I do, what I want, what I want is nothing more than restoring peace in the world."

Speaking of this, he seemed to remember something and stopped.

After a moment, he suddenly raised a question to the other party:

"The opportunity is rare. Can you answer one of my questions?"

Shuitun Boy raised his chin:

"Please ask."

Tokugawa Ishimaki raised his hand and made a "behead" gesture on his neck.

"You have tried your best to go to Kanto, and even attacked Edo Castle with your own strength. What you want is nothing more than taking my head and destroying the shogunate."

"I am the 14th general of the Edo Shogunate and the co-leader of the Wu family. I can understand that you want to take my head."

"But what I don't understand is, are you willing to be the front pawns?"

He said, squinting his eyes and looking up and down at Shuitun Boy like scrutinizing.

"I guess you heard it too, King Ren is here."

"The light onion-colored crazy waves are swallowing up your troops."

“Edo Castle is a city of 'Yitou Road'.”

“Whether you enter or go out, there is only one way to go.”

"In other words, if you want to leave Edo Castle, you can only return along the same route."

"In this way, you will inevitably run into the offensive of the newly selected group head-on and end up with a tragic ending of being exhausted to death."

"At this point, you will definitely die."

"Even if you kill me now, you can't escape death."

"I don't think the law has a strong foundation to the point where even if a large cadre dies, it will not hurt the bones."

"Besides, in order to establish that legion composed of Westerners, it must have taken a lot of time and resources for your law to punish the party, right?"

"After this battle, this legion is doomed to be destroyed."

"Such serious loss will inevitably cause you to seriously damage your vitality and reduce your combat power."

"Just taking my head or turning Edo into ruins is not enough to destroy the shogunate."

"Even without me, the shogunate can survive."

"In the end, you made such a great sacrifice but did not get the same benefits."

"What do you think of doing such a 'damaging others and not being self-interested' thing?"

"Or, are you the kind of people who do things without regard for consequences?"

"Because I hate the shogunate, I am full of thought to come to the shogunate to take revenge."

"As long as the shogunate can be severely damaged, you will be satisfied. As for what happens afterwards, you will not care. Is that true?"

After asking, Tokugawa Ishiki looked at Shuitun Boy straight, waiting for his reply.

The other party did not let him wait too long.

In a moment, he sneered a few times, and a meaningful tone was overflowing from his laughter.

"As you said, at first glance, our legal slaughter party seems to be doing something stupid that is 'damaging others and not favoring oneself'."

"There may be those guys in this world who love to 'harm others and not benefit themselves', but we certainly do not include us."

"The reason why we decided to attack Kanto must be because it will have great benefits for us."

"Duke Jiamao, you were wrong."

"Our ultimate goal in this battle has never been to 'destroy the shogunate'."

"We know very well that the shogunate tree has deep roots."

No mistakes, one song, one content, one in 6, one book, one bar, one reading!

"It will not be a matter of one day or one night to destroy the shogunate."

"The great cause of 'destroying the Edo Shogunate' is by no means just cutting a head or two, or breaking a city or two."

“So, our goal is clearly set – ‘build an environment that is conducive to the anti-curve’.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Tokugawa Ishishi and Tenzhangyuan seemed to realize something, and both of them changed their expressions.

Only Elorti, who was lacking in sensitivity to politics, was still stunned, looking confused.

The voice of Shuitun Boy continues:

"The prestige accumulated over three hundred years of the shogunate is not so easy to eliminate."

"On this basis, you are a virtuous king."

"As a rare wise king, your various performances in recent years have convinced the people of the world."

"The people respect you."

"The princes in the world are afraid of you."

"As long as you are still in power, the world can maintain open stability."

"So, the question is here."

"If you die, what will happen to the world?"

"If you have no descendants, who will be the one who inherits the throne of general in the future... Even if I don't need to say it clearly, you will know it in your heart."

"Do you think that guy who has done such a big stupid thing that has almost destroyed Edo has a way to control the heroes in the world?"

Speaking of this, he laughed sinisterly.

"Think about it again. When he comes to power, what will the princes of the world... especially those in the west think?"

"The long-suppressed ambition will erupt."

"For us, the power that will eventually overthrow the shogunate does not necessarily have to be us."

"It can be Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa, Hizen, any feudal state, any power."

"When the princes of the world rise up, even if you have the support of King Ni, you will be unable to do anything."

Suddenly, he paused, and then showed a look of "great enlightenment".

"Ah, no, I was wrong. When that time comes, King Ni will probably have to fight alone."

"He will have to face the powerful feudal states in the west and the shogunate in Kanto at the same time, just like the filling in the rice ball, silently bearing the pressure from all sides."

"He may have a way to break the situation, but it is more likely that he will be crushed by this huge pressure."

Shuten-doji finished speaking.

After listening to this, Tokugawa Iemochi remained silent for a long time.

After about 10 seconds, he slowly said:

"... So that's it, this is your purpose... To cause chaos in the world, and then you can fish in troubled waters."

Shuten-doji smiled slightly and did not comment.

The scene fell into a strange silence.

In this silence, Shuten-doji spoke again:

"Okay, let's stop talking here."

"I know your purpose."

"It's nothing more than delaying time until the Shinsengumi comes to help."

"Your wishful thinking is very loud, but it's a pity that all this is in vain."

"As long as I have that intention, it will take only three seconds to take your life!"

After saying that, he cast a sharp look like a sharp arrow at Tokugawa Iemochi on the main seat.

After hearing this, Tenshoin and Elodie immediately stepped forward half a step, raised their weapons in their hands, and blocked in front of Tokugawa Iemochi.

Only Tokugawa Iemochi remained calm, without any panic on his face:

At this tense moment, he even had the leisure to speak:

"Although you are enemies, you are indeed powerful."

"With only a few thousand troops, you have caused unrest in Kanto and almost conquered Edo, completing a feat that no one has been able to accomplish in nearly three hundred years."

His tone was very strange, and it was hard to tell whether he was praising or mocking himself.

"But...as the 14th shogun of the Edo period, I also have my persistence."

As he spoke, he slowly stood up.

As he stood up, he "clanged" and pulled out the sword from his waist inch by inch.

"After sitting on the throne of the Shogun, I secretly swore: I will never let the name of the 'Shogun' be humiliated!"

"I will fight to the last moment."

"Just come on!"

Seeing this, Shuten-doji slightly curved his lips and looked solemn.

"In that case, I will teach you!"

Bang!

As soon as the words fell, he kicked his hind legs hard, leaped out like a tiger, and flew directly in front of Tokugawa Iemochi!

He did not enter the "selfless state".

On the one hand, he felt that it was unnecessary.

On the other hand, he wanted to save his physical strength and save his precious physical strength to fight the Shinsengumi!

He knew that he could not escape death.

He would die anyway, so he might as well do his best to weaken the Shinsengumi's combat power before he died!

The battle of their Fazhu Party has not yet ended.

After killing Tokugawa Iemochi, the battle of their Fazhu Party has just begun!

In that case, as one of the three major cadres of the Fazhu Party, he has the obligation to do his best to share the pressure for Lord Yamata no Orochi... and the living while he still has three inches of breath.

In any case, it will not go wrong to weaken the Shinsengumi as much as possible.

Although he did not enter the "selfless state", his sword was not so easy to block.

But the blade was as fast as thunder, leaving only a trail of afterimages in the air.

In a split second, the knife had already landed on Tokugawa Iemochi's head.

In a flash, the three weapons were swung together and placed diagonally on Tokugawa Iemochi's head.

Clang!

A katana, a katana and a naginata, the three weapons crossed each other, weaving a rough net to block Shuten Douji's slash!

With the combined strength of the three, they managed to block Shuten Douji's slash!

Seeing his slash blocked, Shuten Douji raised his eyebrows, and a hint of surprise flashed across his cheeks.

Although it was very reluctant, Shuten Douji's knife did not move forward an inch.

The three of them gritted their teeth and exerted their strength together - with a clang - they successfully bounced off Shuten Douji's knife.

In the next breath, in order to make the opponent lose sight of one thing while focusing on the other, the three of them stepped forward together and released their offensive to the best of their ability.

The three of them were all martial artists who had practiced martial arts. Their skills were not necessarily high, but they were far better than ordinary people.

When they attacked together, the battle was indeed quite huge.

Elodie used all her sword skills.

Upward, downward, horizontal, vertical... one move after another.

Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshoin beside him did the same, swinging their weapons without sparing any physical strength.

But... the three of them attacked together, but they couldn't even touch a corner of Shuten-doji's clothes.

He changed his steps flexibly, dodging left and right, making all the attacks of the three people disappear.

"Haaaa!"

Elodie shouted, aimed at Shuten-doji's crown, raised the knife over his head, and chopped it down with force.

Shuten-doji only squinted his eyes, aimed at Elodie's knife path, and then held the knife diagonally above his head, blocking Elodie's slash.

Across the two knives, Shuten-doji carefully examined Elodie's face.

"Blonde hair and blue eyes... You are Alice de Orleans, right?"

Although he used the sentence structure of a question, his tone was affirmative.

Elodie's face darkened when she heard this, and she ignored him.

Shuten-doji continued to talk to himself:

"I've noticed you since just now."

"You're actually here... It really embarrasses me."

"This is really difficult."

"While killing Tokugawa Iemochi, I have to distract myself and capture you alive."

Not only did he know her real name, but he also said "capture alive" in person... After hearing this word, Elodie seemed to think of something, and was startled at first, and then her expression became particularly ugly.

At this moment, she had countless questions to ask Shuten-doji.

However, she pursed her lips, swallowed all the words that came to her mouth, and didn't ask anything - the tense situation at the moment did not allow her to make any distractions!

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