Page 2354

"I've made myself perfectly clear... We are the embodiment of 'wrath'..."

"We will continue to destroy...until we die...until we perish...!"

The moment he finished speaking, the eight-headed serpent suddenly sprang up, pulled a sword from its robes, and lunged at Qing Deng.

The sharp blade, carrying the momentum of its forward lunge, drew a bright arc in mid-air before slashing diagonally toward Qing Deng's face.

Although it was a desperate attack, the strike launched by someone struggling to survive was hardly worth mentioning.

However, Qing Deng, who had just defeated Ootakemaru, was still very weak, so his movements to dodge were a little slower.

As a result, the tip of Huai Jian grazed Qing Deng's left cheek, cutting a shallow wound that barely drew any blood.

In a flash, Qing Deng instinctively launched a counterattack—a dark purple blade of light flashed past, leaping from the lower right to the upper left, slashing from the right side of the Yamata no Orochi's belly to its left shoulder, almost cutting its body diagonally in two.

The severely wounded Yamata no Orochi collapsed heavily to the ground, spitting out blood, which gushed out and spread in all directions.

Perhaps due to his long-term illness and accustomed to pain, or for some other reason, the Yamata no Orochi still had some strength left.

He raised his eyes, staring intently at the small cut he had made on Qingdeng's face, and grinned, revealing two rows of teeth stained bright red with blood.

"Hahaha... I've got you... Hahahaha... Hahahaha... Hahahahaha..."

Amidst the increasingly faint laughter, the pupils of the Yamata no Orochi gradually dilated... Until the moment before he breathed his last, he was still laughing wildly.

It was clear that he was bracing himself on the ground with both arms, making a "struggling to get up" gesture... Even though he was about to die, he did not give up and still tried to get up and slash Qingdeng a second time!

Looking at the Yamata no Orochi, who had not died of illness but in battle, Aoto remained silent for a long time.

After a long while, a murmur, devoid of sorrow or joy, drifted out softly:

"What a bunch of lunatics..."

……

……

When Qingdeng lifted the tent flap, he was surprised to see a large crowd gathered outside.

Sanako, Mai, Kondo Isami, Kiryu, Kinoshita Rin... everyone came.

Their faces bore the marks of exhaustion from the fierce battle, as well as the joy of having utterly defeated the enemy.

Qing Deng turned his gaze and quickly scanned the area, soon finding the swordsmen of the Chiba family, the seniors of the Northern Frontier, and other old acquaintances.

Long-lost relatives and friends rushed to Otsu's aid despite their own safety... Even if all the words in human language were exhausted, they could not describe Aoto's emotions at that moment.

In the end, Qingdeng channeled his emotions into a heartfelt thank you and a deep bow.

"Thank you so much, everyone."

Upon seeing this, the crowd either hurriedly returned the greeting or stepped aside, not daring to accept it.

"Orange-kun".

Mr. Kiryu walked forward with a smile on his face as he spoke.

"This long war is finally over. As the commander-in-chief, you should have something to say, shouldn't you?"

Qing Deng Wan Er:

"Yeah, that makes sense."

After scanning the crowd once more, Qingdeng took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and then raised his right fist high, shouting at the loudest volume he could muster:

"This battle is our victory!"

The instant he finished shouting, the crowd, who had been waiting in advance, cheered in unison, creating a surging and enormous wave of sound that reached far beyond sight.

……

……

Toba, the garrison position—

"We won!"

"We've held off Otsu!"

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!"

When the news of the victory, "The enemy has been defeated and Otsu is safe," arrived, the garrison in Toba instantly turned into a sea of ​​joy and excitement.

From captains Nagakura Shinpachi and Shinmi Nishiki to ordinary members, everyone was overjoyed, some embracing each other tightly, others shedding tears of excitement.

Hijikata Toshizo sat on a stool, gazing towards Ōtsu, and exclaimed excitedly:

"Well done, everyone!"

……

……

West of Toba, the Southern Army's main camp—

Coincidentally, at the same time on the same day, the Southern Army also received the final results from the Otsu side.

Ecstasy and grief, excitement and despair... two completely different emotions and two different scenes appeared in the two camps of Toba East and West respectively.

Katsura Kogoro, Goto Shojiro, and the others all lowered their heads, remaining silent and refusing to look at the others, as if they could detect evil in each other's faces.

After an unknown amount of time, Saigo Kinosuke, seated at the head of the table, finally broke the silence with a hoarse voice.

"So, in the end... I just can't defeat Tachibana Aoto...?"

After saying this to himself, Saigo Kinosuke let out a long sigh... At that moment, he seemed to have aged ten years.

"...retreat, a full retreat."

This time, no one objected to Saigo Kichinosuke's order.

*******

*******

The next chapter, the final chapter.

Please be sure to check out the author's new book—"America: The Hunt for 1924"

Chapter 1196: The Legend of Niou Comes to an End!

Two months after the Battle of Otsu—

Qinjin Fan, Dajin——

"Make way! A caravan of timber is coming!"

"One, two, three, lift! Very good, one more time! One, two, three, lift!"

"Barley tea! Barley tea that's just been chilled in well water! One penny a bowl!"

……

Looking up, Otsu was bustling with activity.

A constant stream of convoys, crowds thronging the streets... everyone is working enthusiastically to rebuild Dajin.

Qing Deng kept his promise and rebuilt Otsu at any cost after the war ended.

Now that Aoto has completely taken control of the eastern country, he has mobilized manpower and resources from all over the eastern country to rebuild Otsu with the strength of half of Japan.

Once the Western Kingdom is pacified, Qingdeng will have even more resources at his disposal.

With the support of its financial power, Otsu is changing at a rate that can be described as changing every day.

Everyone firmly believes that this resilient town will regain its vitality in less than a year!

……

……

Qinjin Domain, Ojin, Ojin Castle, main castle, a certain room——

Kazuya knelt beside Tokugawa Iemochi's bed and recounted the various events that had occurred recently.

"Mr. Tachibana is preparing to launch the 'Western Expedition' in September to completely wipe out the remnants of the 'Southern Dynasty'."

"This time, no matter how capable the Sa and Chang tribes are, they will not be able to escape disaster."

"The world, which has been in turmoil for so long, is finally about to return to peace."

"So, Jiamao, please wake up soon."

"The peaceful world you have been longing for is about to come. It would be a great pity if you missed it."

After saying that, Kazuya leaned over and carefully observed Tokugawa Iemochi's facial expression.

She was full of hope.

Unfortunately... her hopes turned into disappointment once again.

Tokugawa Iemochi's eyes remained closed, showing no signs of waking up.

A hint of disappointment lingered between He Gong's brows.

Just as she slowly stood up, preparing to leave—

"And...the palace..."

The unfamiliar and long-lost voice made He Gong stop in his tracks, his whole body stiffening.

She turned her head both eagerly and cautiously—because she was afraid she had misheard, afraid she was dreaming.

After turning her gaze to the bed, she saw Tokugawa Iemochi struggle to lift his eyelids and meet her gaze weakly yet resolutely.

The couple, who had endured so much hardship, gazed at each other, gazed at each other, gazed at each other... until tears rolled down their cheeks, blurring their vision.

……

……

Qinjin Fan, Dajin, somewhere in the suburbs——

"That bullet hit me right in the stomach! The pain was no less than being cut open..."

Before Harada Sanosuke could finish speaking, Nagakura Shinpachi interrupted him with a look of annoyance: