I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

At that time, we can strike the enemy halfway across the river!

Despite Qing Deng and the others' high alert, they did not stop Ōtakemaru.

On the contrary, a hint of curiosity flashed in his eyes.

Just as he was about to take his second step forward, the Yamata no Orochi reached out and stopped him, giving him a wink.

Even an outsider like Qingdeng could see that Orochi was signaling to Ōtakemaru not to act rashly.

Ōtakemaru glanced at Yamata no Orochi... a hint of disappointment appearing on his face.

Despite his seemingly unwilling demeanor, he obediently followed the orders of the Yamata no Orochi, silently retracting his outstretched foot and lowering his hand from the sword.

Seeing this, Qingdeng slowly said:

"I almost forgot, you're deaf and mute. You can neither hear my voice nor respond to me."

The eight-headed serpent raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise appearing on its face:

"Oh? You actually knew that Ōtakemaru was deaf and mute? It seems your intelligence-gathering capabilities are not to be underestimated."

He smiled as he said this.

“Indeed, he is my pride—the strongest swordsman of the Law Extermination Party, Ōtakemaru.”

“Without him by my side, I wouldn’t dare stand so calmly before King Ni.”

As he spoke, he turned his gaze back to Heihachiro Ooshio.

"Ooshio Heihachiro, you've been given a second chance at life."

"I had intended to strike hard against the Great Salt Party in one fell swoop and personally send you, my respectable opponent, on your way, but you were destined to live."

“With ‘Ren-o’ here, even if I were to kill you, I would have to pay an exceptionally heavy price, which is not what I desire.”

"I admit defeat tonight."

"Fortunately, I met you, so it wasn't a complete waste of time."

"Because the situation has changed, I have adjusted my action plan to eliminate the party in accordance with the law."

"The old policy of 'letting the big salt party run wild' will never be repeated."

"Next, I will spare no effort in attacking the Great Salt Party."

"Just look forward to it."

At this point, Orochi turned its gaze back to Qing Deng.

"Your Majesty, the day we meet is much earlier than I expected."

"Fine, it doesn't matter."

"Since things have come to this, I'll take this opportunity to chat with you a bit more."

"You are the most formidable opponent I have ever faced in my life."

"Rakshasa, Hannya, Shuten-dōji... my beloved subordinates, one after another, have fallen at your hands."

"Although I hate you to the core, I also admire you very much."

"I'm really looking forward to your future performance."

"I hope you can continue to show your amazing talent."

"Only in this way can I be motivated to continue fighting."

"Tonight is not the best time for us to settle this once and for all."

"The stage for our showdown should be even grander and more magnificent."

“I have a feeling that the most suitable ‘stage’ for us will appear in the near future.”

Let's meet again soon.

After saying that, Orochi twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing an ambiguous smile.

Then, without saying another word, he turned and left without hesitation, with Ōtakemaru and Satō Kenzō following closely behind.

It is worth mentioning that before leaving, Ōtakemaru turned his head and gave Aoto a deep and intriguing look.

Qingdeng did not order a pursuit, but simply watched them leave in silence.

In no time, the figures of Orochi and the others disappeared into the dark forest, completely vanishing from Qing Deng and the others' sight.

Seeing this, A-Wu couldn't help but ask Qing-Deng:

"Qingdeng, are we really going to let them leave?"

As Qingdeng sheathed the Vairocana sword with a clang, he replied calmly:

"That guy was right."

"I will settle things with him sooner or later, but not now or in this place."

"The conditions are not yet ripe."

"If we start fighting now, even if we win, it will most likely be a Pyrrhic victory."

Upon hearing this, A-Wu showed an expression of disbelief:

"Impossible! Is that Ōtakemaru really that strong?"

"With so many of us here, even if that Ōtakemaru is a formidable swordsman, he can't possibly turn the tables and kill us, can he?"

A-Wu had never personally experienced the oppressive aura of Ōtakemaru, so she couldn't understand Aoto's wariness of this person.

On the contrary, Sanako, who had just directly endured Ōtakemaru's "killer gaze", pursed her lips tightly, her face solemn, and did not respond.

Qingdeng said slowly:

"It remains to be seen just how capable that Ōtakemaru really is."

"However, I am certain that it is absolutely impossible to defeat him without paying a heavy price of 'serious injury' or even 'losing you'."

Qingdeng paused, then switched to a tone as if talking to himself:

"Of course, even after paying these prices, we might still not be able to beat him..."

……

……

"Phew...that's great...Niou has spared us..."

Sato Kenzo let out a long breath and looked back with lingering fear.

"Orochi, weren't you too reckless? You just swaggered in front of Niou like that. Aren't you afraid he'll rush over and attack you?"

Yamata no Orochi shrugged.

"It's still hard to say who will let whom go."

Sato Kenzo was taken aback, then half-jokingly asked in return:

"Don't tell me that Ōtakemaru can kill everyone on the other side by himself."

The Yamata no Orochi smiled and shook its head:

"I didn't say that."

"If it were just Niou alone, that would be fine."

"But Niou has so many subordinates around him. Even Ōtakemaru couldn't possibly deal with so many people's attacks while fighting against Niou."

"If we really have to tear off the mask and fight to the death, even if we win, we won't win gracefully. We might end up with a dismal 'lose-lose' outcome."

"This is a scene that neither Niou nor I wanted to see."

"Since one side will be completely eliminated sooner or later anyway, why not wait until the conditions are right and then achieve a resounding victory?"

No sooner had Yamata no Orochi finished speaking than he remembered something, turned to Ōtakemaru and asked:

"Ootakemaru, are you very interested in Niou? I haven't seen you show such strong interest in anyone in a long time."

Ootakemaru, who is deaf in both ears, should not be able to hear the words of Yamata no Orochi.

However, it was as if he completely understood what the other person was saying; as soon as the other person finished speaking, he quickly made various hand gestures.

"Oh? You really want to have a match with Niou? Hahaha! No need to rush!"

"You will face him, but not now."

"I'll set up the best dueling arena for you, just bear with it for a bit."

Ōtakemaru nodded vigorously.

Then, like a child, he curled the corners of his mouth and revealed an innocent smile.

*******

*******

It's almost the end of the month again! Readers with monthly passes, please vote for this book! (Crying leopard head.jpg) Requesting monthly passes! Requesting recommendation votes! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

P.S.: I can only write for another month at most... It will be finished by September at the latest. Sigh... Just thinking about it makes me so melancholy... I have to say goodbye to Qingdeng for now... (dejected leopard.jpg)

Leopard has finished reading the first 7 volumes of "Too Many Loser Heroines" today and is eagerly awaiting the release of volume 8.

It's truly an excellent work; I couldn't stop watching it.

Thanks to this, following my mecha novel, I want to write a romantic comedy based on my own experiences.

To be honest, Leopard's campus life has a bit of the charm of a light novel protagonist. If I were to use my real-life experience as a blueprint, I could actually write an interesting story.

For example, in his first year of high school, he received high praise from his math teacher because of his decent looks. During class, the teacher suddenly said, "I think XXX is the most handsome boy in our class." Then the whole class cheered and applauded.

Leopard felt both embarrassed and secretly pleased by the thunderous applause.

In reality, it's not so much that I'm too handsome, but rather that all the male classmates in my class are rather unremarkable in appearance, so my barely decent looks stand out.

For example, I once said to a girl, "After we go into our second year of high school, we'll hardly see each other anymore. As a memento, can I hug you?"

She was facing away from me, quietly tidying up her stationery, when she nodded gently: "Okay, sure."

Then I went over and gently hugged her from behind.

This kind of plot, similar to that in light novels, has actually happened.