Those who do not want to go into battle will not suffer any punishment.

Everything is based on personal wishes and will never be forced.

At first, both Tokugawa Iemo and Katsu Rintaro believed that there would not be too many people willing to go to the battlefield again.

The ferocity of the enemy and the horror of the battlefield have been deeply imprinted in their minds.

To shrink back because of timidity - this is common sense in the world and there is nothing to criticize about it.

Besides, they have done enough.

Their achievements and sacrifices made in Hachioji are worthy of being forever remembered by the shogunate and the people of Edo.

Even if they now retreat to a safe rear far away from the battlefield, no one can say anything.

However, it was later proven that both Tokugawa Iemo and Katsu Rintaro underestimated the enthusiasm of thousands of people to participate in the war!

The number of soldiers who volunteered to participate in the war greatly exceeded their previous estimates!

The reason is not complicated.

The offensive and defensive battle of Eight Princes lasted for five full days, causing heavy casualties to thousands of people, and countless villages and towns were reduced to dust.

The dead are speechless.

But there are still ways for the living to avenge them!

The flagrant intrusion of the French and French forces killed so many of them... This hatred was so strong that it was enough to make them forget fatigue, pain and fear.

In this way, the remnant troops of thousands of people enthusiastically signed up to participate in the battle, many of whom were injured.

It is worth mentioning that they made a request: let Elodie and Shimada Kui command them!

The stunning performance of Elodie and Kui Shimada in the offensive and defensive battle of Hachioji completely won the hearts of thousands of soldiers who were united.

Before that, thousands of people had always regarded them as "Western women who came to check accounts" and "guards with no sense of existence".

"Comradeship" is indeed a very wonderful emotion.

As long as they have fought side by side, even enemies that were difficult to deal with before will become much more palatable to them.

Now, to the thousands of soldiers who work together, Elodie and Kui Shimada are no longer inconsequential little characters, but leaders they are convinced of!

As a result, the remnants of the thousand-strong unit strongly demanded that Elodie and Kui Shimada continue to command them, and refused to accept any other commanders except them.

This request was not difficult to handle, and Katsurin Taro readily agreed.

He organized Elodie, Shimada Kui, the remnants of Thousand People Together, and Kondo Shusuke, who voluntarily participated in the war, into a temporary army, and then deployed it at the crucial Akasaka Mikado.

In this way, after the Eighth Prince, thousands of people joined forces to start a new bloody battle with the French and French coalition forces at Akasaka Mikado!

In the eyes of Elodie and others, this is undoubtedly the follow-up to the Eighth Prince's offensive and defensive battle!

…

…

Edo, Yotsuya Tenryuji Temple, the Bell of Time——

The clock of time is the clock tower used to tell the time.

Beginning with the installation of a bell tower at Nihon Hashimotoshi 3-chome in Kan'ei 3rd year (1626), bell towers have been erected in more than a dozen places including Kan'ei-ji Temple, Senso-ji Temple, Ichidani Hachiman, and Yotsuya Tenryu-ji Temple.

Most of these bell towers are built in temples and are one of the tallest buildings in Edo Town.

At this moment, Shuten Doji stood on the clock of Yotsuya Tenryuji Temple, raised the telescope in his hand, carefully looked at the whole town of Edo, and scanned every battlefield with his eyes.

Although most of the direct participants are just wine bags and rice bags, as the population base is large, there will always be some exceptions.

There are some Zhishen who are still ambitious and have not lost their courage.

They grasped the weapons in their hands and spontaneously formed a wandering army, wandering around Edo Town, harassing, and hunting down lone enemy soldiers.

From east to west, from south to north, fierce battles could be heard everywhere, and blood was spilled all over the streets of Edo.

Shuten Douji didn't care at all about these difficult wanderers...or in other words, other areas in Edo Town except "Sanjujumitsuke".

The current battle situation is very clear: which side has the "Thirty-Six Views", which side wins!

Therefore, the rest of Edo-machi is irrelevant.

Shuten Doji focused his whole body and mind on the "Thirty-Six Miku" who kept shouting and fighting.

After a while, he slowly put down the telescope in his hand.

Katsura Kogoro, who was waiting beside him, saw this and immediately asked:

"How about Shuten Doji? Which imperial gate should we attack?"

The Shuten boy curled his lips and did not respond directly, but said quietly:

"Come with me."

…

…

Edo, Akasaka Mitsuke——

If Qingden were here, he would probably be surprised after witnessing Elodie's heroic appearance.

After not seeing her for a while, her swordsmanship has improved by leaps and bounds!

In the past, she was a very typical "dojo swordsman". Every movement and every move she made showed that "she has never been in actual combat".

The path of martial arts is the path of Shura.

Only by experiencing the tension of hanging by a thread and struggling desperately on the boundary between life and death can we take a step further!

The ever-changing, fierce battlefield where you either die or live makes Elodie grow up rapidly unconsciously.

My steps are becoming more flexible.

Sword skills are gradually improved and redundant movements are eliminated.

Facing various attacks from the enemy, she slowly accumulated more and more experience in dealing with them.

At the same time, she began to develop the "combat intuition" that every martial arts master possesses.

Even without looking carefully, she could subconsciously predict which attacks needed to be dodged, which attacks needed to be defended, and which attacks needed to be ignored.

This is the kind of growth you won’t get even if you wield the bamboo sword tens of thousands of times in a clean and tidy dojo!

Of course, after all, Elodie is just a woman, with innate and irreparable deficiencies in physical fitness.

Until now, she felt that her lungs were swollen and painful, and her limbs... no, all the muscles in her body were aching, as a silent protest.

She silently moved to a safe area, wiping the sweat off her face, adjusting her breath, and resting for a while.

——Huh? Strange...

At this time, she was surprised to find that the enemy troops had retreated.

The enemy soldiers, who were so brave until just now, are now slowly retreating!

No one climbed up the long ladder to Gaolimen anymore. They left quickly and quickly disappeared into the surrounding streets and alleys.

Looking at the enemy troops retreating quickly, the soldiers did not doubt that they had it. They thought that the enemy troops could no longer hold on, so they cheered to celebrate the short-term victory.

The enemy has retreated... On the surface, this is certainly a good thing.

But... for some reason, Elodie felt her chest was clogged, and an ominous premonition filled her heart...

Suddenly, she suddenly noticed an unusual sight out of the corner of her eye - she saw eight large trolleys speeding towards them at the end of the street directly opposite the Royal Gate.

Dozens of enemy soldiers struggled to push these vehicles, and the wheels spun very fast.

It can be clearly seen that every trolley is fully loaded.

However, they were all covered with straw mats, so it was difficult to see what was hidden inside.

Elodie didn't know what these carts were carrying, nor why the enemy soldiers pushed these carts toward the royal gate.

But at this moment, her heart beat hard and sounded a powerful warning signal: Never let these trolleys get close to the royal gate!

She shouted without thinking:

"Archers and musketeers come forward! Kill those pushing carts!"

Her voice immediately attracted the attention of Kondo Shusuke, Shimada Kui and others.

They followed Elodie's gaze as they looked at the strange "convoy" outside the royal gate, and like Elodie, they all vaguely sensed that these trolleys were unusual!

Shimada Kui raised his voice:

"Quick! Stop them!"

Blah blah blah...

With the rapid sound of footsteps, the archers and musketeers quickly stepped forward, and barrages and arrows flew out immediately.

However... shooting has always been a very difficult skill.

It’s not easy just to hit a fixed target, let alone a moving target?
To be continued...