I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Everyone rushed forward and clung to the people from the Chiba Sword Hall, becoming entangled together.

Only by launching a fierce attack at all costs can one have even the slightest chance of victory—that's how Shieikan won its only two "victories" against Chiba Kenkan.

After telling Aoto and the others how they used to fight against the Chiba Sword Hall, Kondo and Okita jokingly asked Aoto about it.

Ask Aoto, who had once defeated more than two hundred "radical anti-foreign" thugs in that snowy night and should be very capable of commanding, if he could help them come up with a way to defeat the Chiba Sword Hall in the "Plum Blossom Festival" besides "fighting desperately".

Qingdeng has thought about it very seriously and diligently.

But I can't think of anything.

The average strength of the students at Shieikan is far inferior to that of Kochiba Kenkan. With both sides having the same number of participants, Aoto really couldn't think of any better way for Shieikan to defeat Kochiba Kenkan.

but.

Just now.

After he and Okita overheard the conversation between the six participants from the Chiba Kendo Academy, waves of resentment and displeasure surged uncontrollably from Aoto's heart.

Qing Deng had just suppressed his displeasure caused by the remarks of the four middle-aged men in the audience.

Before the displeasure had completely dissipated, they heard other people... and it was a contestant from the Chiba Kendo Hall making unpleasant remarks about their Shieikan...

Although he knew these people were speaking the truth, Qingdeng still felt very indignant.

Before this, Qing Deng hadn't even dared to dream of defeating the Chiba Sword Hall, which had always dominated their Shieikan, at the "Plum Blossom Festival." He only planned to do his best in the competition alongside Kondo and Okita.

However, after overhearing the harsh words spoken by passersby and participants from the Chiba Kendo Club, an idea flashed through Qing Deng's mind, which was filled with resentment—

Is there no strategy... to defeat Chiba Sword Hall and make these people look at our Shiei Hall with new respect from now on?

The thought had barely crossed Qingdeng's mind when he suddenly felt a series of thoughts and ideas unexpectedly emerge one after another from his mind—

The Chiba Kendo Academy has always sent the Chiba siblings to keep an eye on Okita; judging from what those six people just said, a significant portion of the participants from the Chiba Kendo Academy must be looking down on our Shieikan Academy…

These thoughts and ideas kept flying around and merging.

Finally, they intertwined to form a specific strategy.

A plan that could potentially defeat the Chiba Sword Hall.

"Commander-in-Chief?" Okita stared blankly at Seito. "What... what's wrong? Why do you suddenly want to be Commander-in-Chief?"

If the porcelain bowl on the forehead of one side's general is broken, then no matter how many contestants they have left, they are defeated.

Therefore, whether it's the Shieikan or the Chiba Kenkan, they always appoint the weakest person as the commander-in-chief, keeping him in the safest rear area or sending a group of people to protect him closely.

When the Shieikan used the tactic of "desperate attack" to deal with the Chiba Kenkan's "Tian Ji's horse racing" strategy, they also made the weaker person the general commander. When everyone else rushed to attack, they protected him in the middle of the team.

So generally speaking, this general is the most bored and idle person on the field. While his teammates are fighting bravely, he can only stay in the rear or be protected by a group of people, and cannot go forward to compete with his opponents.

No one else wanted to be the Commander-in-Chief, but Aoto actually wanted to be... Okita blinked hard at Aoto again with a puzzled look on his face.

"Time is of the essence," Qing Deng said in a deep voice. "I'll try to keep it as brief as possible..."

……

……

At Yushima Tenmangu Shrine, in the competition venue, on the "VIP seats"—

"……uncle."

"Oh." Chiba Sadakichi looked up at a young man standing behind him. "Fourth nephew, you've arrived."

The young man standing to the side and behind Chiba Sadakichi was none other than Chiba Tamon Shiro.

At this moment, Chiba Tamon Shiro pursed his lips, his face grim.

Chiba Sadakichi raised his hand and pointed to the side, gesturing for Chiba Tamon Shiro to sit next to him.

Chiba Tamon Shiro never dared to show any disrespect to his uncle. As soon as Chiba Sadakichi raised his hand and pointed, he hurriedly bent his knees and knelt respectfully beside Chiba Sadakichi.

"Fourth nephew, how is it? Do you know you were wrong?"

“…Yes.” Chiba Tamon Shiro lowered his head even further. “Nephew knows he was wrong.”

The reason why Chiba Sadakichi arrived late and only just entered the competition venue was actually due to a hidden reason—he had been sternly reprimanding Chiba Tamon Shiro in a private setting, which caused the delay.

This morning, after failing to persuade Chiba Jutaro and Sanako and instead creating the embarrassing situation of "apologizing to Aoto and the others in public," Chiba Tamon Shiro, still unwilling to give up, was quite stubborn. He went to find Chiba Sadakichi, intending to confront him directly and tell him to stop wasting time playing this boring game with Shieikan.

However, before Chiba Tamonshiro could find Chiba Sadakichi, Chiba Jutaro and Sanako had already returned to their father's side.

The brother and sister told Chiba Sadakichi in detail about all the strange things Chiba Tamon Shiro had just done.

So, after Chiba Tamonshiro finally found Chiba Sadakichi after much effort, before he could even say anything to him, he was severely reprimanded by Chiba Sadakichi.

"Fourth nephew, we have already promised Yushima Tenmangu Shrine that we would hold the 'Red and White Battle' together with Shieikan during the 'Plum Blossom Festival'. How can we go back on our word and change our minds at the last minute?"

"You acted too impulsively and without thinking. No matter what, you shouldn't have argued with your cousins ​​in public! What will outsiders think of the Chiba family after you did that?"

"What's more, you actually said something extremely rude in public, like 'Shiwei Hall is a third-rate swordsmanship hall'!"

……

Chiba Sadakichi continued to berate Chiba Tamon Shiro until just now, when the match was about to begin, before finally saying, "You should reflect on your actions," and then ignored Chiba Tamon Shiro and stormed off.

"Do you really know you were wrong?" Chiba Sadakichi stared intently at Chiba Tamon Shiro, whose head was bowed very low.

Chiba Tamon Shiro nodded silently.

After glancing at Chiba Tamon Shiro a few more times, Chiba Sadakichi sighed softly.

"Alright, lift your head. The match is about to start, so let's watch it together with your uncle."

“…Uncle, please forgive my bluntness.” Chiba Tamon Shiro slowly raised his head. “This kind of match, where the winner is obvious and it’s clear that the Chiba Kendo Hall will win, is not interesting at all.”

"Fourth nephew, how many times do I have to tell you? You can never have such a dismissive attitude towards people or things... Sigh, never mind, I'm tired of talking to you today. I'll give you a proper talking later!"

……

……

The other end of the "VIP seats" —

Saito was not a member of the Shieikan, so he could only watch the game from the stands.

At this moment, he knelt on the mat like a statue, expressionless and motionless.

Because Saito's posture—where he only blinks occasionally and the rest of his body remains completely still—was so striking that the people sitting next to him kept staring at this man who seemed like a reincarnation of a sloth with astonished and bewildered looks.

Shusuke and his wife, Abhi, sat next to Saito.

Even at the last minute, Abi, who had opposed the sword fighting competition between the "Plum Blossom Festival" and the Chiba Kendo Hall, still had a sour face.

Meanwhile, Shusuke chatted enthusiastically with Kiryu, who was sitting next to him.

"Shusuke, there are quite a few new faces at the Shieikan that I've rarely seen before, or even ever seen before." Kiryu smiled slightly as he looked at the Shieikan's main camp not far away.

"Sigh, while there are some new faces, many old faces have also left..." Zhou Zhu smiled bitterly. "Many people either suddenly stopped coming to learn swordsmanship, or they were poached by people from other sword schools."

“Perhaps I really don’t have the talent to run a sword-making school.” Zhou Zhu sighed. “I’m old now, and my energy and physical condition are all failing me. I’m now pinning all my hopes for the expansion of the Shieikan and the promotion of the Tennen Rishin-ryu on Yu.”

"I just hope that Yong can reach the heights that I have never reached."

After saying that, Zhou Zhu picked up a porcelain bottle from the side.

"Mr. Kiryu, I brought some hot tea that my wife brewed herself. Would you and Ms. Kinoshita like some?"

Kiryu laughed heartily: "Is this tea brewed by Abi herself? Then I must have a good taste of it. Tea brewed by Abi herself is a must-try delicacy."

Upon hearing Kiryu's seemingly unintentional praise, Abi, who had been wearing a sour expression, immediately softened her demeanor considerably.

"Young Master," Kiryu said, looking at Kinoshita Mai, who was sitting properly beside him, "would you like some tea?"

Mai Kinoshita nodded obediently.

Seeing that Kinoshita Mai nodded, Shusuke took out two of his own cups and poured a cup for both Kiryu and Kinoshita Mai.

Kinoshita Mai downed the perfectly warm tea in one gulp, handed the cup back, and then continued to watch the upcoming "Red vs. White" match with great interest.

Her hands, resting on her lap, were clenched with a firm but not too tight grip, revealing that she was extremely excited.

Kiryu chuckled softly as he quietly observed Kinoshita Mai's actions.

"Young Master, your tastes really haven't changed at all."

"You've always been like this since you were little. You like watching these kinds of fighting competitions, and you like stories of swordsmen who can take on a thousand men or heroic stories of people who draw their swords to help those in need."

"I'll probably love these things until I die of old age," Kinoshita Mai winked playfully at Kiryu.

"Hmm...?" At this moment, Shusuke, who was watching the movements at the main camp of the Shieikan from afar, suddenly muttered in confusion, "Strange... why haven't Souji and Tachibana-kun returned yet..."

Just now, Shusuke clearly saw Aoto suddenly go out with Okita.

At first, Zhou Zhu didn't pay much attention, but after the two of them still hadn't returned, he couldn't help but start to care.

Upon hearing Shusuke's muttered words, Kiryu and Kinoshita Mai craned their necks to look towards the "main camp" of the Shieikan, searching for Aoto and Okita.

"Ah." Kinoshita Mai pointed, "They're over there, they're back."

……

……

"Tsk..." Kondo smacked his lips, tilted his head back, and looked around. "Why haven't Souji and Tachibana-kun returned yet..."

There are now less than ten minutes left before the match begins.

The shrine maidens of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine had already delivered the headbands and porcelain bowls for the competition, but Aoto and Okita, who had gone to drink the sweet soup, had not yet returned.

As Kondo anxiously pondered whether to send someone to find the two men, one of his apprentices suddenly called out:

"Ah, little master, look, Tachibana-kun and Okita-kun are back!"

Kondo quickly turned his head to look—Aoto and Okita were walking towards them one after the other, their faces serious.

"Souji, Tachibana-kun!"

Kondo wanted to give the two men a good scolding for returning so late.

Before he could say anything—

"Everyone! Please listen to me!"

His words were interrupted loudly by Qing Deng.

……