I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Taking advantage of his "leading the charge" effect, Qingdeng was the first to charge into the enemy ranks. While inwardly expressing his astonishment, he shook his ten hands hard, wiping away the blood remaining at the tips.

Qing Deng's attack came so fast and so suddenly that the members of the Expeditionary Force around him were stunned for a moment.

In that brief moment, Qing Deng's ten hands swung out again, striking the left shoulder of a large man to his left.

The jitte was made of iron, and when it was hit by such a big iron bar, the big guy immediately screamed and staggered back several steps.

But perhaps because this big guy was strong, he did not fall down after taking several steps backward.

The big guy steadied himself, gritted his teeth, shouted, and raised his knife high, slashing at Qing Deng.

Qing Deng remained calm and took a half step back, holding the Jitte in front of him and using its side branches to block the big guy's slashing sword.

Jitte is hailed as the nemesis of swords and blades—and this title is not entirely untrue.

The jitte has a hook at the front of the handle pointing upwards, which can be used to catch an enemy's blade.

A master of the Ten Techniques can even use the hooks of the Ten Techniques to catch the enemy's blade and then use a special technique to break the blade.

Qing Deng couldn't use such advanced Jitte techniques, but he was more than capable of using Jitte to block the enemy's sword.

The instant after parrying the big guy's knife, Qing Deng raised his right hand and placed his palm on the hilt of Ding Guishen. With a "clang", Qing Deng's right arm snapped open like a taut bowstring, drawing Ding Guishen from its sheath!

The air was sliced ​​apart, the blade turning into needle-like rays of light that swept across the big guy's chest, knocking him to the ground.

Some sharp-eyed members of the Expeditionary Force noticed the magistrate's seal on Qing Deng's right waist.

"It's the magistrate's office! The magistrate's office is here!" This shout from someone added a touch of panic to the atmosphere around the group members.

Why are the officials from the magistrate's office here?

How did they get here so quickly?

That shouldn't be happening!

A small group of people were stunned into confusion—but many more raised their knives menacingly.

They would be afraid of the officials of the magistrate's office and would not devote themselves to the great cause of expelling the barbarians!

"Don't be afraid! There are only a few of them! Attack together! Kill them!"

The members of the Extermination Group spread out like a large net, surrounding Aoto and... Saito and the others who were half a step behind Aoto.

Saito and the others, who were a little slower than Aoto, managed to reach Aoto's side before the "encirclement" of the Exile Group members could be fully formed.

Aoto, Saito, Nagakura, Harada, and Todo—the five of them stood back to back, forming a small circle, confronting the anti-foreign group that was now surrounding them.

With an expressionless face, Qing Deng glanced at the enemies around him, then pulled the jitte in his left hand back to his right waist and gripped the sword with both hands.

The suffocating standoff between the two sides did not last long—accompanied by loud shouts and the sounds of swords being drawn and swung, the "encirclement" surrounding Qing Deng and his men suddenly tightened!

“Goodness…” Harada grinned as he looked at the number of people in front of him. “That guy was right after all… The Bureau of Investigation and Statistics really was attacked…”

After a low sigh, Harada put down the spear he was carrying on his shoulder, assumed the stance of the Hozoin-ryu spear technique, and then thrust the spear at a team member who was charging towards him.

Whether this group member was unaware of the power of the spear or was overconfident in his own abilities, when Harada's spear came at him, he didn't dodge but instead raised his sword, seemingly trying to parry Harada's spear.

However, he was a fraction of a second too slow.

He had only raised his sword halfway when Harada's spear pierced through his body.

Harada swung his spear to the right, sending the corpse of the group member hanging from the spearhead flying. The flying corpse slammed into someone, sending that person flying as well.

Nagakura, who practices the Shinto Munen-ryu style, which emphasizes "strength," practicality in combat, and overwhelming the opponent with momentum and power, has a rather violent fighting style.

He drew his sword from his waist, swung it forward, and slashed at the neck of a team member to his left. The blade swept across, and the man's head and body were connected only by a thin strip of skin.

Saito, who was trained in the "Mugai-ryu" style known for its "high practicality" and had extensive combat experience, was the most efficient at killing enemies.

Saito first slashed forward, shattering the skull of one man. As he withdrew his sword, he ripped open the abdomen of another. Then, he raised the tip of his sword and pierced the throat of the man who had been howling and making a racket since the beginning. In less than three seconds, three corpses lay at his feet.

Compared to Saito and the others, Todo's performance was somewhat inferior.

Todo doesn't seem to have much real-world combat experience with a sword.

At this moment, he lacked the composure he displayed when facing Qing Deng's test of strength this morning.

With his muscles taut and his movements stiff, he was locked in a fierce struggle with a muscular man, and the fight dragged on without a clear victor.

Fortunately, Aoto and Saito are now on Todo's left and right sides, and they have helped Todo share a lot of the pressure.

Qing Deng is currently engaged in battle with three members of the Expeditionary Force.

The three members of the Expeditionary Force, standing to the left, directly in front of, and to the right of Qing Deng respectively, launched a fierce attack on Qing Deng.

Qingdeng dodged and weaved under their combined attack.

He dodged and parried... he neutralized every attack from the enemy.

These people shouldn't have attacked Qingdeng together.

Because doing so will only trigger Qingdeng's "lone wolf" talent!

After deflecting the combined attack of the three men, Qing Deng let out a low shout and deftly slipped into their formation amidst their blades.

Immediately afterwards, three flashes of sword light appeared.

Then, without even looking behind him, Qingdeng faced the next enemy closest to him—the three team members who had attacked him earlier had fallen to the ground one after another.

This was the first time Qing Deng had put his new sword, "Stabilizing Ghosts and Gods," into actual combat.

As expected of a treasured sword bestowed by the shogunate, its sharpness and toughness far surpass any sword that Seito had used before.

When it strikes the human body, there is almost no resistance; it can easily cut through flesh and tendons without much effort, just like cutting tofu with a hot knife.

Compared to himself two months ago... in that "snowy night battle", Qing Deng now not only has a better sword, but also a stronger body and greater strength!

The "Sword Prodigy" and the recently acquired "Heart of the Demon" have allowed Qing Deng's swordsmanship to improve almost every day, changing daily.

Qingdeng felt that two months ago, he could probably only compete with the current version of himself by driving a "lone wolf" car.

Qing Deng's gaze swept across the surroundings along the blade of the Ghost-Slaying Blade held in front of him. In just a moment, he saw two enemies attacking from his left.

Both of them were very short, only a little over 1.5 meters tall. Qing Deng had to lower his chin by 10-20 degrees to see the two short people in their entirety.

Being shorter than Qingdeng means having a shorter attack range.

Taking advantage of his height and long arms, Qing Deng launched the first attack, sweeping a horizontal slash at the two dwarfs.

The two dwarfs reacted quickly, immediately turning to the side, raising their knives, and protecting them in front of them.

Unexpectedly, their small stature made them no match for Qingdeng, who had been exercising every day for a long time.

When the blade that could ward off evil spirits collided with theirs, they felt an overwhelming force travel from the blade to their hands, their arms went numb as if struck by an electric current, and their feet involuntarily took a half step back.

Before the two dwarfs could regain their footing, Qingdeng leaped forward lightly, closing the distance between himself and them.

With a flash of light, the two dwarfs swayed a few times before collapsing limply to the ground, lifeless.

"go to hell!"

Just then, a member of the Exile Group with a goatee suddenly darted out of the darkness beside Qing Deng and slashed at Qing Deng's side with a kasaya slash.

Qing Deng...did not move. He neither dodged nor defended with his sword.

Thinking that Qing Deng was caught off guard and that his attack would be successful, Goatee's cheeks began to light up with elation.

He didn't know that Qingdeng wasn't caught off guard because he didn't have time to defend himself.

Qingdeng had already noticed the goatee who wanted to ambush him. He just realized that the goatee's slash could not break through his defense, so he deliberately did not move and let the goatee slash, deliberately tricking the goatee into revealing an opening.

Crackle!

Sparks flew.

The knife with the goatee struck Qing Deng's side, producing a sharp, piercing metallic scraping sound.

The sharp blade only managed to cut through Qing Deng's clothes, revealing his chainmail, which gleamed with a bright, cold metallic light, through the tear.

The man with the goatee stared wide-eyed in astonishment at the chainmail that Aoto wore beneath his kimono…

Chainmail is less effective at preventing stabbing attacks, but it is very effective at preventing slashing attacks.

puff!

The blade whistled.

With a sound like a tomato being crushed, Ding Guishen struck the top of the head of the goatee, who was still in shock, and chopped his head into a bloody mess.

"Wow!"

Another member of the Extermination Group rushed towards Qingdeng—this man was quite tall, almost the same height as Qingdeng.

He yelled "Waaaaah!" and swung his sword at Qingdeng's head in a high-level stance.

This person's sword has a very imposing presence.

The blade aimed at Qingdeng's head showed no hesitation or wavering; it carried an unyielding spirit that declared, "Since the blade is broken, I will still smash Qingdeng's head."

One of the common mistakes beginners make is being too careful with their knives, which leads to a lack of decisiveness and resolve in their strikes.

Indeed, the samurai sword is a very fragile knife, unsuitable for cutting hard objects. Cutting hard objects such as skulls would greatly reduce the lifespan of the sword.

But—when it really comes down to fighting to the death with others, anyone who still cares about these grand principles is a fool.

Unless you're a highly skilled swordsman who can precisely control the angle, force, and speed of your sword swings, you're basically risking your life, so of course you'll just chop people down however feels right.

When the enemy's skull is in your optimal attack position, go and chop at their skull. Those who worry about the lifespan of their swords when swinging them will usually die a horrible death.

If a knife breaks, you can get it repaired. But what's the use of keeping your sword beautifully maintained if you're dead?

Noticing that this tall man was quite powerful, Qingdeng exhaled a breath of turbid air and placed the Dingguishen (a magical artifact) in front of him.

Retreat, and retreat again.

With his "eagle eye" and "insight", Qingdeng saw through the tall man's sword path, retreated two steps in succession, and dodged the tall man's two consecutive slashes without making a single mistake.

With the talent of "cat turn", Qingdeng can quickly stabilize his body and be ready to counterattack at any time during each retreat.

In the blink of an eye, Qingdeng seized the moment when the tall man's sword had just been slashed out and hadn't yet been retracted. He aimed the tip of his sword at the tall man's left chest and stepped forward—

The Sword of No Name!

This was the first sword technique of the Natural Rishin-ryu style that Qing Deng learned after becoming a disciple of the Shieikan.

Because it was the first sword technique he encountered, the Nameless Sword is also one of the sword techniques that Qing Deng has mastered the best.

The thrusting blade created a gust of wind, and the force contained within the sword made Qing Deng's mouth slightly open, letting out a silent gasp of amazement.