The Ancestral Legacy Begins in the Wild West

Chapter 101: A Terrifying Lineup of Six Eccentrics

Turning around, they saw a large number of ronin, dragging their ashes-covered and wounded bodies, rushing towards them.

Only one figure was moving out of the back alley.

Katsura Kogoro was in very bad condition. He was also affected by the explosion and was being supported by two people. He was staggering, but he had already left the Ikedaya.

Inside the house, the Shinsengumi members who were trying to catch up were still struggling under the siege.

The Ikedaya Incident is remembered in history not only for its profound impact on various factions, but also for the ferocity and legendary nature of the battle.

As was the case in history, the interior of the Ikedaya was narrow, so in order to break in without alerting the people upstairs, they could only send small groups of people in first.

Finally, it was in this state that almost everyone fought against many, killing most of the ronin present, while suffering few casualties, which is why this event seems so legendary.

"Chief!" a team member shouted.

Saito Hajime calmly swung his Kotetsu sword, cutting down another man with a single blow.

On the other side of the broken floor, Okita Souji's sword flashed amidst the crowd.

Fragments from the explosion grazed his left shoulder, not seriously, but some metal shavings seemed to have gotten into the gaps of the exhaust valve on his mechanical lung. When he breathed, the valve made a slight hissing sound, intermittent, as if something was stuck.

However, he showed no sign of stopping.

His sword was still as fast as ever. The Hokushin Itto-ryu swordsman Yoshida Minoru, along with many ronin around him, were all exchanging blows with him, but it was they who were falling one by one.

With each swing of the blade, the hiss of the exhaust valve became even more piercing.

Saito Hajime was on his left, his blade cold and sharp. He calmly raised the sword to his shoulder, his other hand supporting the blade in front of him, with the back of the blade facing down, and then he pushed it forward sharply.

"Whoosh!" With a flash of light, he unleashed his signature move, Fang Thrust, instantly piercing through several ronin.

On the other side, Second Division Captain Nagakura Shinpachi was also fiercely swinging his long sword. He practiced Shinto Munen-ryu, which, along with Hokushin Itto-ryu, belonged to the three major sword styles of Edo. It emphasized overwhelming others with force and was extremely fierce.

Many of the swordsmen who rushed forward were suppressed by him with a series of slashes, one after another, and were cut down to the ground.

"Okita! Yoshida's in your hands! We'll break out and hunt down the fleeing ones!"

Okita didn't respond, but his sword moved even faster.

Yoshida's face grew paler and paler. His swordsmanship was not weak, but against Okita Souji, it was clearly far from enough.

"Mr. Gui—" he gritted his teeth, glancing at the back alley out of the corner of his eye, "We must usher in a new era!"

The sounds of fighting were deafening inside the house, and the situation outside was no better.

Only a small number of Shinsengumi members broke into the house, but far more than that were present. Hijikata Toshizo and his men blocked the entrance, and Harada Sanosuke and other squad leaders were also there.

They just didn't expect these people to be so crazy. Fortunately, they were on the periphery when the explosion happened and were not greatly affected. However, the explosion came too suddenly, and then too many ronin rushed out, wave after wave, and they were extremely crazy.

The one exit that used to be the only one has suddenly been widened, forcing the Shinsengumi members to spread out and guard all the surrounding exits to prevent the ronin from escaping.

Amidst the flashing blades, screams, and roars, the entire street was instantly stained red with blood.

Hijikata Toshizo was also in the crowd, blocking many of them by himself, and even slashing down one with a backhand strike.

But as he glanced around, he immediately noticed the problem.

Because those very few scattered wanderers who were fleeing into the distance actually stopped in their tracks.

I looked up and gazed into the distance at the street where they had fled.

"boom!!!"

A loud bang came from the north side of the pitch-black street, shaking the ground.

Tu Fang saw flames shooting into the sky, not knowing what had exploded. The aftershocks of the explosion created a heat wave, carrying with them fragments of stone and wood that stung their faces.

As the smoke cleared, a large number of ronin were seen lying dead, along with several of their men who had been trying to stop them, all burned to a crisp.

Immediately afterwards, gunshots rang out.

boom--!

Suddenly, a steel bullet fired from a gun flew over from somewhere, and a ronin who was fighting fell to the ground with a bloody hole between his eyebrows.

"Bang--!"

Another shot was fired, but it was only in mid-air when a metallic hum was heard.

"clang!"

Hijikata swung his hand and slashed the metal bullet into the air.

She frowned and looked in the direction of the gunshot. On a distant rooftop, a figure had appeared out of nowhere.

The man, dressed in a dark-colored jinbaori (bamboo robe), held a rifle and surveyed the entire battlefield from his elevated position. The firelight illuminated the diamond pattern on his jinbaori—the Takeda clan's diamond pattern, commonly known as the Takeda diamond.

And in the distance, after the explosion, in the smoke-filled darkness, something was moving.

Hijikata's pupils contracted sharply as a huge silhouette emerged from them.

The man's shoulders were half again as wide as the average person's, making him look like a moving mountain.

A few remaining flames danced on his body, illuminating his heavy armor, the menacing sunflower pattern on his chest, and the wide sleeves draped over his shoulders that swayed slightly in the night wind.

On its head is a huge deer antler helmet, with two upward-curving antlers casting eerie shadows in the firelight, and in front stands a golden shovel shape.

He was carrying a gun, its barrel as thick as a child's arm, its blade extremely long. As it slid along the ground, it sliced ​​a deep gash through the gravel pavement.

He dragged his gun along, walking step by step.

The ronin fighting along the way instinctively retreated to either side. A few, unaware of him, continued charging forward.

With a casual flick of his wrist, he severed one of the bodies in an instant, followed by several whooshing sounds. The others were sent flying as if struck by a giant hammer, crashing into the ruins and never getting up again.

Hijikata recognized him; Saito Hajime had told them about these people's characteristics. In the festival district, Yamanami Keisuke's numerous wounds were all inflicted by him!

Harada Sanosuke saw it too. So he gripped his spear tightly, gritted his teeth, and decisively swung the iron spear in his hand, preparing to rush forward. But after taking only two steps, he stopped abruptly.

Because an old man had appeared and was standing three zhang away from him without him noticing.

He wore a gray monk's robe, covered by a simple monastic robe, washed until faded but meticulously worn. He was thin and gaunt, with a slight beard, but in his hand he carried a cross-shaped spear.

The gun was long and slender, its blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight, and its tip was already pointed at him, stopping him directly.

Only then did everyone realize that the two people who had appeared earlier were not the only ones who rushed into the arena.

On the broken Ikeda house, and on the surrounding streets, the crowd looked around and saw six such figures.