I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1146 Showcasing the Results of Cultivation! The King's Crushing Power! [4300]

"It's so quiet..."

"Isn't this perfect? ​​Do you really want the enemy's screams to echo all around?"

"Since there is no sound, it means that the area is safe."

The group of Southern soldiers marching along the houses had already crossed three houses.

At this moment, they were walking slowly through a restaurant.

The corridors of this ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurant) are long and complex—after all, it's a luxury ryotei—like a maze, with similar private rooms on both sides.

They had been walking for quite some time, but still hadn't found a window leading to the next room.

So far, their team remains unharmed and has not encountered any combat.

This was originally a good thing.

But... as time went by, they gradually realized that something was wrong.

Logically speaking, the closer one gets to the Shinsengumi headquarters (Fushimi Magistrate's Office), the more likely one is to encounter the Shinsengumi's elite troops.

But even now, they haven't seen a single light blue haori.

Even if it was just good luck, it was still too smooth... Thinking about it carefully, it gives me goosebumps.

Gradually, unease began to creep onto their faces.

As a result, every single one of them adopted a serious expression, consciously held their breath, and moved with utmost care, wishing they could completely eliminate their own presence.

at this time--

thump.

Suddenly, a dull thud came from behind, like a heavy object falling to the ground.

The tranquility was broken... The sudden, strange noise naturally drew the attention of the Southern soldiers instantly.

As if on cue, they hurriedly gripped their weapons and frantically turned around to see what had fallen to the ground.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a "heavy object"—a headless corpse!
The corpse turned out to be a companion who was bringing up the rear.

He was very skilled and courageous, so he consciously took on the important task of "covering the rear for the whole team".

Now, he has become a pitiful corpse with his head separated from his body. The cut on his neck is very smooth and neat, as if it were made by nature. It is obvious that it was done by a master!
In an instant, an indescribable terror gripped the corridor and shaped the expressions of the Southern soldiers.

Enemy attack?

Have we encountered the enemy?
But where is the enemy?

Who are the enemies? How many are there?

Why were we completely unaware?

Why didn't we hear a sound at all?
In that instant, they suddenly realized a truth—being suddenly attacked by the enemy wasn't the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was being attacked, even losing a comrade, yet being completely unable to find the enemy! Not even knowing when they were attacked!

Suddenly, in the instant the Southern soldiers were gripped by fear, a tall figure appeared before them.

This person's appearance was very abrupt!

Just a second ago, that place was completely empty.

And at that very second, this person suddenly appeared there!
Even in nightmares, you might not dream of such a terrifying scene!
In a flash, the man suddenly lowered his waist—gathering strength, and jumped—a fluid and powerful movement that immediately unleashed a fierce attack!

He leaped up, his arms transforming into wings, and like a roc, soared over the heads of the southern soldiers. His speed was as fast as that of a bird!
As its body leaped to its highest point, its right arm holding the knife transformed into a blurry afterimage.

Those with sharp eyes could barely make out four flashes of light.

In reality, he unleashed far more than four slashes! This was because the speed of his slashes was so fast that the ordinary naked eye could not keep up with them at all!
Where the blade flashes, all living beings perish!

In the blink of an eye, the number of corpses that had been stabbed and fallen to the ground had risen to double digits!
The next moment, he landed steadily among the Southern soldiers.

A moment later, he pivoted on his left foot and spun around like a top, the knife in his hand drawing a perfect circle in mid-air, creating a terrifying hurricane-like momentum!
All the southern soldiers within its slashing range were cut down and sent flying in all directions like blooming flowers.

Thus, a "vacuum zone" was cleared around him, leaving no living person, only corpses scattered all over the ground!
From the leap just now to the landing now... just a simple attack has taken more than twenty lives!

This terrifying fighting power terrified the remaining Southern soldiers, who pushed and shoved each other, retreating in a chaotic frenzy, just to get away from the enemy.

Only now could they finally see each other's faces clearly—a youthful and handsome appearance, a tall and strong body, wearing white and blue armor, covered with a light blue haori, and holding a black katana tightly in his hand.

At this moment, someone recognized him, probably having seen him before. His face instantly changed color, and he stammered, his voice trembling with fear:
"It's...it's 'Niou' Tachibana Aoto!"

Upon hearing this, the Southern soldiers' expressions changed rapidly and uniformly—they stared in disbelief, their faces pale and their cheeks as white as snow.

Looking at the trembling Southern soldiers, Qing Deng leisurely brandished his sword, flicking away the bloodstains remaining on the blade, while scanning his surroundings to count the number of soldiers on the other side.

"Are there 67 people left...?"

He muttered to himself as he strode forward, closing the distance between them once again.

His first three steps were unhurried, as if he were strolling leisurely.

But on the fourth step, he suddenly accelerated!
With a loud thud, Qingdeng's figure once again vanished into a blur.

However, even faster than his body was the knife in his hand!

Suddenly, Vairocana shot out from his palm, as fast as lightning, and struck a southern soldier squarely between the eyebrows, piercing through him.

The surrounding Southern soldiers were completely stunned, staring blankly at their suddenly dead comrade and the black knife stuck in his head.

By the time they realized what was happening, Qing Deng had already teleported to the side of the "mind-blowing" southern soldier with lightning speed.

His right hand and the hilt of Vairocana's sword were like two magnets attracting each other. He gripped it tightly again, pulled it out suddenly, and brought out a trail of blood and brain matter.

With the motion of drawing his sword, he swiftly cut down all the southern soldiers around him.

There were nearly a hundred Southern soldiers on site, but only a handful could keep up with Qingdeng's movements.

With each flicker of Vairocana's blade, one or more people would die—and Qingdeng repeated this process over and over again.

Although the corridor beneath their feet was spacious, it could only accommodate five adults side by side at most, preventing the Southern soldiers from utilizing their numerical advantage. It was only natural that they could not even make use of this limited advantage and were completely suppressed by Qing Deng.

At this moment, one of the enemy soldiers was quite skilled; his eyes and body were able to keep up with Qing Deng's slashing speed.

When Qing Deng charged forward, he instinctively raised his sword in front of him, trying to block Qing Deng's slash.

He was very confident in his strength, thinking: even if I can't beat Niou, I can at least block one or two of his moves.

Moreover, Qing Deng in front of him was currently wielding his sword with only one hand.

However, when Qing Deng's slash came down, his defense... could only be described as "like a mantis trying to stop a chariot."

The tiny mantis raises its arms, trying to stop the speeding chariot, only to be crushed into a pile of fragments by the wheels—that's roughly how it is.

The knife in his hand didn't even last half a second. Almost the instant the two blades clashed, he was cleaved in two, knife and all the way from the top of his head to his groin.

Such a horrific scene naturally caused the morale of the Southern soldiers to plummet to rock bottom.

An enemy soldier knelt down on the ground, trembling with fear.
"Wait, wait! I'll throw..."

He had only uttered the first half of his sentence when a flash of dark purple light from a blade filled his vision, preventing him from finishing his sentence. Suddenly, another tough guy, determined to fight to the bitter end, appeared—a tall Southern soldier roared, raised his sword, and lunged at Qing Deng.

Unfortunately, courage cannot bridge the gap in ability.

Anyone with eyes could see that Qing Deng's knife was faster and more powerful!
Before his sword could reach its maximum speed, Qing Deng's sword had already struck him.

With a sharp sound, Vairocana's blade cleanly sliced ​​open his chest.

The man gritted his teeth, endured the excruciating pain, and with his last breath, instinctively swung his knife in retaliation.

Even if they are no match for the enemy, they still have to fight with all their might... Their determination is commendable.

Unfortunately, before he could even swing his knife, Qing Deng had already predicted his attack trajectory based on the changes in his muscle strength, shifted half a step to the left, and dodged the attack effortlessly.

He had given his all, only to receive such a tragic result... His face was filled with grief and indignation.

On his deathbed, his last remaining emotion was intense bewilderment—how could Niou move so nimbly while wearing such heavy armor?
Thus, faced with Qingdeng's fierce attack, the Southern soldiers could only offer passive resistance.

When Qing Deng got close enough to him, he went berserk and swung his knife wildly, trying to force Qing Deng back.

If Qingdeng is far away, he will remain on the sidelines and will never take the initiative to attack, much less think about supporting his companions.

With the name "Nioh" now awe-inspiring, there are very few people left who dare to confront Aoto, or who harbor wishful thinking that they can kill Aoto by "picking up the scraps".

Now that things have come to this, anyone who dares to confront Qingdeng is either a gambler who's thinking "what if?" or an arrogant madman!
One by one, their comrades fell, and handfuls of blood splattered across the walls of the corridor... By now, the Southern soldiers had completely lost the will to resist.

The remaining Southern soldiers retreated hastily, until they had nowhere left to go.

This is an L-shaped corridor.

The remaining Southern soldiers gathered at the horizontal line of the "L" shape, caught in a dilemma.

Qingdeng was slowly walking along the vertical line of the "L" shape.

Some of the southern soldiers, because they were slow to retreat, remained on that line and fought against Qingdeng, like cornered beasts.

"Damn it! I'll fight you to the death! I'll show you the spirit of the Satsuma Hayato! Yaa ...

"Help me! Anyone will do! Please help me!"

"Wait! Please allow me to recite a farewell poem!"

"Ho...hoho...!"

Silence returned to the scene shortly afterward.

No more shouts came out... only the eerie sound of treading water gradually approaching the horizontal line remained.

Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap...

The identity of the person making those footsteps, and the nature of the "water" they were stepping on, is self-evident.

The Southern soldiers gathered at that horizontal line stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with terror, at the corner of the "L"-shaped corridor.

Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap...

……

……

Shimada Kai (the vice-captain of the First Division) led over a hundred members of the First Division, waiting quietly outside the restaurant.

Their mission was very simple: to surround the restaurant and prevent the Southern soldiers inside from escaping.

In retrospect, the mission was pointless—not a single Southern soldier escaped successfully.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the entrance of the ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurant).

Shimada Kai quickly perked up and looked up solemnly... and saw Aoto stride out of the restaurant.

As he wiped the grease off the blade with a piece of paper—shaking the blade could remove the blood, but not the grease—he said expressionlessly to Shimada Kai:
"Let's go. The enemy soldiers here have all been wiped out."

Upon hearing this, Shimada Kai couldn't help but swallow hard.

There were at least a hundred enemy soldiers who stormed into the restaurant.

It's unbelievable that he wiped them all out in such a short time by his own efforts!
Shimada Kaiya was also a highly skilled martial artist, so he could clearly sense that Qing Deng's strength had increased dramatically and terrifyingly compared to a few months ago!

Putting everything else aside, his aura alone is completely different from before.

Upon realizing this, he couldn't help but echo the sentiments of Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime, and others: Was that "Nioh Martial Arts Tournament" really that effective? Could it have brought about such a transformative change in our lord?

At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly turned his head to look southwest, his brows furrowing slightly:
"It's so noisy in Mikicho, is there a fierce battle going on over there?"

Upon hearing this, Shimada Kai quickly composed himself and said in a fast voice:
"That's right. The Fifth Division, which is guarding Miki-cho, is in dire straits. My lord, should we go and provide support?"

Qingdeng nodded almost without thinking:

"Well, let's go."

After issuing a brief instruction, he took the lead and headed straight for Miki-cho.

Shimada Kai turned his head and shouted to the soldiers behind him:
"Follow the lord!"

Under Shimada Kai's command, more than a hundred people hurriedly followed behind Aoto.

The Shinsengumi soldiers all wore chainmail, arm armor, leg armor, and other protective gear. Although their defensive capabilities were not high, they were lightweight and easy to carry.

In contrast, Qing Deng, in addition to the standard equipment of the New Senju such as chainmail and arm armor, also wore a set of exquisite contemporary gear.

[Note: "Tōse Guzuku" refers to the Japanese term for so-called "contemporary armor." This term first appeared in the Edo period, when armor worn before the Edo period was called "Kogozuku," while armor worn during that period was called "Tōse Guzuku."]

It looks imposing, but it also looks bulky.

Despite this, Qing Deng's movements were not affected by the armor at all.

Shimada Kai and the others were trying their best to catch up, but they couldn't keep up with Aoto at all! The distance between them was not only not getting closer, but was actually getting further and further apart!

This armor was a gift from Tokugawa Iemochi to him a long time ago.

Prior to this, Qingdeng had no habit of wearing armor.

Firstly, in this era of rising guns and cannons, armor is no longer of much use.

Secondly, the heavy armor would severely restrict their movement.

But now, the latter is a thing of the past.

The reason for this is that Qing Deng's physical fitness has made a leap forward in the previous "Niou Martial Arts Tournament"!

Iron Waist +29, Steel Bones +38, Elephant Core +26... Just looking at these amazing numerical suffixes, it's not hard to imagine how incredible Qing Deng's physical abilities are right now!

For him now, it makes no difference whether he wears cloth or armor—it's all very light!

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PS: Leopard is in a fragile state again today... He seems sleepy... I'm very sorry, that's all for today's update (crying leopard head.jpg)