Chapter 114 Charging into the Chaotic Army on Horseback

Chapter 114 Charging into the Chaotic Army on Horseback

"Boom!" The sound of cannons deafened the heavens.

Another shell landed on the east side of the garrison, causing the entire building to shake violently, and the beams and pillars groaned under the strain.

As soon as Zhang Chang'an rushed into the courtyard, he was choked by the gunpowder smoke that hit him and had to squint.

Kondo Isami's Kotetsu sword traced an arc in the air, and two foot soldiers fell to the ground. Without pausing, he dodged a stray bullet while simultaneously slashing at the third enemy who lunged at him.

Hijikata Toshizo stood beside him, and Izuminokami Kanesada slashed three times, splitting the three bullets in two. The fourth bullet grazed his cheek, leaving a bloody gash.

However, he didn't even frown. He simply grabbed a lifeless shogunate soldier from the ground, held him in front of him, and retreated towards the courtyard wall, which was already riddled with bullet holes.

Okita Souji and Saito Hajime were also nearby. Although there weren't many enemies in the courtyard and they weren't difficult to deal with, the guns and cannons outside were a problem.

The shogunate really went all out. They didn't summon any of those strange ancient figures, but they've already fired countless bullets and cannonballs.

The entire Shinsengumi settlement had already been riddled with holes.

"Damn it, this is never going to end!" Even Nagakura Shinpachi, who was at the back door, gritted his teeth as he dragged his injured leg to cover the retreat of several wounded soldiers.

Harada Sanosuke was lying on a stretcher, being carried away, cursing, "When I recover, I'll kill all these bastards!"

Their outing was close to the outskirts of the city, but it was the kind of outskirts that were desolate and wild. Because it was difficult to move around, not many people could get in, so the shogunate did not deploy many soldiers in this area.

Even so, they would still have to face at least ten or twenty guns as soon as they came out, and the horrific situation on the front side can be imagined.

"Pfft!" Zhang Chang'an didn't stop. He directly killed a foot soldier who was shouting Japanese swear words, and as he stepped over the fallen body, he looked out of the courtyard.

The shogunate's soldiers stood in rows, their musket barrels densely packed together in the morning mist, a rather eerie sight. Most importantly, at the rear of their ranks, a standard smoothbore cannon was being reloaded.

"Damn, even though I didn't see those weirdos, they really went all out." Zhang Chang'an muttered to himself, and without stopping, rushed into another wave of enemies in the courtyard.

He swung his sword left and right, and three people immediately fell. He dodged a spear that was thrust at him, and then slashed the man down with a backhand stroke.

However, at that moment, the wall next to him was suddenly shattered, and a bullet hit his exoskeleton in the shoulder with a clang. The exoskeleton vibrated slightly, startling him and making him grimace, but it didn't stop him from moving.

"These days, small field guns are a rarity. Are there even more than ten in the entire city of Kyoto? They even brought one over specifically to bombard us."

He gritted his teeth and kicked a foot soldier away: "But at this level, it's still far inferior to London!"

Having seen lever rifles, pump-action shotguns, and even Gatling guns in London, he really looked down on these old gadgets.

If it were one of those guns, half the people in the yard wouldn't be able to cut bullets; even he would have to keep his Death Eye constantly on.

"But if we want to escape, we need to figure out how to deal with that thing first—"

Zhang Chang'an pondered for a moment, then continued fighting in the courtyard. Soon after, he heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from outside the courtyard.

Everyone looked up. They saw a tall figure riding a warhorse, charging out of the enemy ranks, leaping over a collapsed courtyard wall, and rushing straight into the courtyard.

The man was clad in heavy armor and wielded a naginata similar to the long-handled broadsword of the Great Celestial Empire. Although he was probably not one of those strange people, he did not look like a good guy.

He rushed into the courtyard and with a swing of his naginata, he cut a Shinsengumi member in half before he could dodge.

"drink!"

The general reined in his horse, his naginata held horizontally in front of him, looking down at the crowd in the courtyard. Little did he know that Hijikata Toshizo was about to slide right in front of him the next second.

The Izumi no Kami Kanesada in his hand was gathering power, already itching for more.

"Help me steal that horse!"

Zhang Chang'an's voice suddenly rang out at this moment. As he spoke, he thought to himself, "It's like a pillow coming when I'm sleepy; if we had horses, charging into battle would be much easier."

Hijikata Toshizo, who had already assumed a fighting stance, ready to slice the man and his horse to pieces, immediately changed his posture upon hearing this. He bent slightly at the waist, pointed the tip of his sword diagonally at the ground, and shifted his weight backward.

At that moment, one foot landed seamlessly on the arched back of the earthen structure, and the whole person used the force to leap into the air.

Saito Hajime drew an arc in the air, his sword thrusting straight at the general on horseback.

"Adonal protrusion!"

The blade pierced through the general's chest and emerged from his back. Before the general could swing his broadsword a second time, the blade was stabbed down directly.

Just then, Saito's figure, which had jumped, was mostly visible on the courtyard wall. Countless soldiers outside decisively chose to aim at him and the direction from which he was about to land.

However, a dark shadow flew in from the side, and Kondo, who was guarding the main entrance, grabbed a shogunate soldier with one hand and flung him towards Saito Hajime.

The foot soldier's body collided with several bullets in mid-air, splattering blood. The remaining bullets, concentrated in that direction, also hit him, finally killing him.

Zhang Chang'an also wasted no time.

The warhorse, now missing its rider, neighed in alarm in the courtyard and reared up.

He decisively rushed over, grabbed the saddle of the warhorse with his backhand, pressed himself against the side of the horse, and dashed out of the courtyard after the warhorse began to gallop wildly.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!" As soon as they left the courtyard, bullets flew in from all directions.

Zhang Chang'an crouched to the side of the horse, using its body as a shield. He listened to the dull thuds of bullets hitting the horse's flesh.

The warhorse neighed and galloped wildly, knocking over a row of musketeers. But it soon gave way, its forelegs buckled, and it collapsed forward.

But that was enough. Zhang Chang'an had already been led into the enemy ranks, and another mounted general was thrusting his spear at him.

"Whoosh!" As his warhorse knelt, Zhang Chang'an twisted his body in mid-air and unleashed a horizontal slash from Bingzi Jiaolin.

The attack happened suddenly, but he had already prepared the steam exoskeleton for its explosion. With a flash of light, the general's head flew off, blood gushing out like a fountain. The body fell from the horse, which panicked and spun around in place.

At that moment, Zhang Chang'an landed directly on the empty horse and grabbed the reins.

"drive!"

The warhorse neighed, reared up, and then charged through the enemy ranks, tearing a huge rift in the formation. As it swung its hand to slay the foot soldiers around it, it immediately locked its gaze on the cannon in the distance.

"drive!"