I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Anthony and his men could even clearly see those hideous facial features.

One of the guards seemed to have completely broken down psychologically.

Facing the seemingly endless enemy before him, a guard whose lips had been trembling slightly lowered the sword that had been held in front of him.

"Wait! I..."

He wanted to surrender to the members of the anti-foreign group in front of him.

He wanted to tell these people, all dressed in blood-red feather robes, that he was only ordered to protect Anthony and his companions, that he was not a barbarian, and that he wanted to beg them to spare his life.

However... he had barely opened his mouth, before he could utter a complete sentence, when a member of the Extermination Group to his left and right hurriedly thrust his knife forward.

The guard, who had lowered his sword, had no time to defend or dodge.

And so... his chest was pierced right through.

Before the guard could even utter a complete plea for mercy, the remaining words he didn't say turned into the sound of vomiting blood.

After vomiting large amounts of blood, the guard slowly collapsed to the ground, lifeless...

The Expeditionary Force had no intention of taking any prisoners or sparing anyone's life tonight.

Because their original plan was to kill all these "traitors to the nation" who worked for the barbarians!

In order to get a clear view of Anthony and his men's movements, Yamada, who was in charge of the front-line command, was now standing on a large rock about 20 centimeters high, looking out at Komuro's defensive line, which was being compressed.

Seeing that their anti-foreign group had completely gained the upper hand in the battle, Yamada triumphantly shouted to himself:

Won!

Before the war began, Yamada was worried about whether any unexpected situations might arise that would be difficult to handle.

For example, they couldn't find those barbarians led by Anthony.

For example, Anthony and his men successfully escaped on horseback, and they were unable to catch up with them.

And now it seems that none of the unexpected situations that Yamada worried about before the war have occurred.

The smooth operation brought a relieved and contented smile to Yamada's face.

At this moment, Suehiro also wore a relieved smile.

Suehiro remained on that high slope.

This high slope can be considered their "base camp" for tonight's operation against the barbarians.

Below the high slope were 20 members of the anti-foreign guerrilla group who had not followed Yamada into the camp. These 20 men were a "reserve force" that Suehiro had specially left at the main camp, personally led by him, to deal with any emergencies.

Suehiro had always had good eyesight, and standing on this high slope with a good view, he could barely make out the current situation of the front-line battlefield by the light of the torches in the camp.

Seeing that Anthony and his men had been completely compressed into a tight group, and that it wouldn't be long before his men tore through their thin defenses, Suehiro revealed a satisfied smile.

Suehiro, believing victory was assured, planted the wind-cutting blade in the snow beside him and put his hands on his hips.

Suehiro couldn't help but start imagining it.

Imagine them successfully taking the heads of Anthony and others, returning in triumph.

Imagine their name as the Extermination Group of Barbarians spreading throughout the country after tonight! From this day forward, everyone in the country will know that there is such a group of patriotic and loyal people who are determined to drive out all the barbarians and the scoundrels who work for them from the country on behalf of the court and the shogunate!

The snow... is falling even harder.

The sky was also darker than before.

Just moments ago, faint moonlight could still seep through the gaps in the clouds, sprinkling like light dust onto the vast white snowfield.

Now, the thicker clouds have completely blocked the moonlight from the sky.

The night breeze that had been blowing intermittently stopped at some point just now.

The wind stopped, and the air became "viscous".

The freely falling snowflakes, in this "sticky" air, silently and "lifelessly" sink down.

Under the dark night sky, the perpetrators, led by Suehiro and Yamada, laughed triumphantly.

Saito, Komuro, and the others, who were still struggling, had solemn expressions as they endured the ordeal.

Some of the guards had almost lost their will to fight, and their expressions were vacant.

The maid, Leroy, held Elodie tightly in her arms. Although her hands, which held Elodie firmly in her embrace, declared her determination to protect her little mistress to the very end, she had never seen such a large-scale event before, and a naked fear still crept into her eyes.

Having done everything in his power to support Komuro and the others with his revolver, Anthony struggled to maintain his composure, but a flicker of despair still lingered deep within his eyes…

Some were joyful, some were content, some still held a glimmer of hope, and some were on the verge of despair...

Between heaven and earth, beneath the falling snowflakes, this small, confined space reflects a myriad of expressions.

Only one person...

Since the start of the melee, he had displayed an expression that was completely different from everyone else around him.

……

……

What exactly is this...?

……

……

He stayed in the safest "ellipse" with Anthony and the others, his left and right arms hanging naturally at his sides, the tip of his sword in his right hand resting on the snow-covered ground, looking around with a... blank expression.

How strange...

It's really... so strange...

Since just now, Qingdeng has felt that his mood and his... vision are very strange.

The "radical anti-foreign faction," numbering nearly 200, stormed into the camp with overwhelming force... They should have felt fear and bewilderment.

But Qing Deng was completely unaware of these emotions.

Upon seeing a large number of enemies rushing towards them, Qing Deng felt an eerie calmness within himself.

His calmness was so unbelievable that even Qing Deng found it hard to believe.

On his first night in this era, Qing Deng felt panicked and fearful of the danger to his life when faced with a sneak attack by only three "radical anti-foreigners".

Now, facing an attack by "radical anti-foreign faction" forces a hundred times larger than the one they encountered that night, Qing Deng felt no panic whatsoever.

Why am I able to remain so calm right now?

Even Qing Deng himself doesn't understand it.

Compared to the unusual state of mind, it was the unusual perspective that shocked Qing Deng even more.

I can see it so clearly...

Qingdeng turned his gaze blankly to his left and right.

The location and movements of Saito, Komuro, and others.

The location and movements of these enemies dressed in blood-red haori.

Qingdeng saw everything clearly!

I clearly wasn't standing on any high ground.

Even though I don't have many eyes, my eyes are no different from everyone else's; I can only see within a 180-degree radius in front of me.

But he could clearly see the changes on the battlefield!

It was precisely because of this suddenly clear vision that Qing Deng was able to give Saito a warning, allowing Saito to spot the three members of the Exile Group who wanted to attack him from his side and rear.

This perspective makes it feel like you're standing in the air... overlooking this battlefield...!

Thanks to this "overlooking" perspective that even Qingdeng himself couldn't quite understand, he could clearly see the various chaotic situations among the enemies in front of him.

The attacking group was fierce and numerous... but all they had was their momentum and numbers!

To put it bluntly, this group of "patriots who came together for the common cause of "expelling the barbarians" was just a bunch of scattered soldiers and a mob.

Almost none of them had undergone rigorous military training; they charged forward in a chaotic swarm, driven only by sheer momentum, with no formation or coordination whatsoever in their attack.

This meant that their numerical advantage was not fully utilized.

Due to the lack of a proper attack formation, only a small group of people close to Saito and Komuro were able to engage Saito and Komuro in battle, while the vast majority of the others could only stand on the periphery and watch the fierce fighting ahead.

Due to the lack of a proper attack formation, the attack by the Expeditionary Forces was extremely chaotic, with everyone jostling and interfering with each other.

Qingdeng even witnessed several people being accidentally knocked down by those around them, and then trampled or even killed by those behind them.

In addition, Qingdeng also noticed that the enemies in front of him were not all fierce and good at fighting.

A significant portion of the enemies were poor, scrawny warriors with sunken cheeks and skin and bones.

These people could barely hold their swords steady, and their combat strength was visibly weak.

Those with normal physiques who appear to be relatively more capable in combat are actually in the minority.

All the chaos and disorder of the invading enemy were overshadowed by their current high morale and surging momentum...

In a daze, Qingdeng suddenly saw invisible and colorless "air currents" emerging in front of him.

Qingdeng felt as if he was the only one who could see this "airflow" at this moment and in this place.

He turned his head, shifting his gaze to follow the "airflow".

These currents, like "air currents" with their own lives, swept past everyone on the battlefield like a gentle breeze, moving towards a unified goal.

Qingdeng followed the movement of the "airflow" inch by inch, and his gaze finally settled on the place where the "airflow" finally converged—Yamada, who was still standing on that big rock and still smiling triumphantly!

Every "flow" on the battlefield is now converging on Yamada, making him stand out in Aoto's eyes.

……

……

Howl...!

An eagle suddenly swooped in from the distant horizon.

When it reached the airspace above this chaotic battlefield, it suddenly stopped and then circled around, hovering directly above the battlefield.

It flapped its wings and slowly lowered its gaze.