I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The three swords that Chao Qing Deng swung at were struck and parried in mid-air!

In the instant after deflecting the three slashes, the blade of the Ghost-Stabilizing God once again became a blur.

The dazzling white light that burst forth from the tip of the sword that had been used to subdue ghosts and gods was incredibly eye-catching in the pitch-black night. The enemy standing to Qing Deng's right couldn't help but squint slightly at the sight of the dazzling white light.

His entire field of vision was filled with almost completely covered white light... This was the last sight this guy would ever see in his life.

The horizontally sweeping "Deity of the Soul" directly severed the man's head.

The afterimage of the Ghostly Deity changed direction in mid-air, transforming from a slash to a thrust, piercing the chest of the enemy standing directly in front of Qing Deng. As he retrieved the Ghostly Deity, Qing Deng followed up with a diagonal slash, slicing open the chest and abdomen of the person on his left.

In less than two breaths, the three who had just launched a fierce attack on Qingdeng were now three new corpses lying on the ground.

At this moment, the four men, led by the "Hanging-Eyed Samurai," finally arrived—they were also the final enemy.

Until one second ago, the "slanted-eye samurai" was extremely relieved.

Fortunately, they finally seized a great opportunity to encircle and annihilate Qingdeng, who was trapped in a predicament due to his unfavorable movement direction.

The three people closest to Qingdeng launched an attack on him first, and then the four people who were a little further away from Qingdeng arrived and surrounded him tightly, launching attacks from different directions to see how Qingdeng would defend and dodge—this was the ideal blueprint that had just appeared in the mind of the "Hanging-Eyed Warrior".

As a result, this "ideal blueprint" was shattered before it could last long.

The "Hanging-Eyed Warriors" had arrived as quickly as possible to besiege Qingdeng, but unfortunately they were a step too late and failed to create a "seven against one" situation.

Qing Deng looked at the last four enemies who had finally arrived and were standing in front of him, behind him, to his left and right respectively.

This number... there's no need to deal with them anymore!

Qingdeng opened his lips, exhaled a breath of stale air, and then, in the blink of an eye, Qingdeng's tall body "danced" with his left foot as the axis.

The blade, which could subdue ghosts and spirits, swirled and danced with Qing Deng's movements.

A flash of white blade! It shattered the skull of the person on the left.

The blade flashed again! It severed the carotid artery of the person behind him.

Three flashes of white blade! It cleaved open the stomach and internal organs of the person on the right.

With each strike, blood was drawn... Qing Deng slashed counter-clockwise from left to right!

With lightning speed, he killed all the enemies to his left, back, and right. The only enemy still standing was the "slanted-eye warrior" standing directly in front of Qing Deng!

Qing Deng turned his sword around, slashing vertically towards the neck of the "slanted-eye samurai".

The "Hanging-Eyed Warrior" grunted and raised his sword to defend. With a clang, he blocked Qing Deng's sword. His defense contained a very subtle technique of deflecting force, which reduced most of the power of Qing Deng's slash.

Sanako had just warned him loudly: This person is quite powerful... She was right, this "slanted-eyed samurai" is indeed more powerful than any of the enemies Qing Deng had just faced.

"Drink up! Drink up!"

The "Hanging-Eyed Warrior" shouted and pushed Qingdeng away with both arms, then took several steps back to increase the distance between himself and Qingdeng.

"Whirring whirring……"

My breathing is heavy and rapid... This is not caused by physical fatigue, but by unprecedented mental stress.

They had 12 people on their side, while the opponent only had 1. It was 12 against 1... They clearly had a huge numerical advantage, but they were being slaughtered like cutting vegetables. They hadn't even managed to inflict a single wound on the opponent so far...

Who exactly is this guy?!

The "slanted-eyed samurai" was internally spewing out every swear word he knew.

All his companions were dead, and he was the only one left alive... His first instinct was to turn around and run away as quickly as possible.

They had all been unable to handle this guy just now, but now he was all alone, facing him one-on-one...

The "slanted-eyed samurai" couldn't even fathom the scene of successfully defeating the person before him...

However, he also knew that without defeating the guy in front of him, his chances of escaping unscathed were extremely slim.

Moreover, his samurai pride prevented him from deserting in the face of battle.

—Let's give it our all!

"Drink up! Ahh ...

The "slanted-eyed samurai," whose eyes gleamed with a gambler's light, opened his mouth wide and made a loud breathing sound.

His voice was so loud that Qingdeng couldn't help but feel the urge to cover his ears.

The shout of breath, delivered with all one's might, is both to bolster courage and to channel energy!

The "Hanging-Eyed Warrior" had already experienced Qing Deng's slashing speed many times, and he was not entirely confident that he could catch or dodge all of Qing Deng's attacks.

In that case, let's take the initiative and attack!

The "Hanging-Eyed Samurai" charged forward, and when he reached the distance where his sword could strike Qing Deng, he lowered his sword in a right-low stance and slashed fiercely at Qing Deng's lower body.

Glancing at the blade approaching his lower body, Qing Deng lowered his center of gravity.

Immediately afterwards, a "clang" was heard as the two swords clashed, and the "slanted-eyed samurai's" sword was deflected.

The "Hanging-Eyed Warrior" gritted his teeth, reluctantly sheathed his sword, and then changed direction to launch a new round of slashes at Qing Deng, but Qing Deng blocked them with his sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang...

Two silver snakes collided and intertwined repeatedly in the darkness... Amidst the sparks flying from the clashing blades, the two exchanged five blows before Qing Deng suddenly changed his attack.

call--!

The sound of wind breaking rang out.

Suddenly, Qing Deng launched a counterattack, and Ding Guishen slashed from the lower left to the upper right at the side of the "Hanging Eyes Warrior".

The samurai with slanted eyes instinctively raised his sword to block Qing Deng's attack.

However, he did not experience the pain and numbness that one would feel when their knife clashed with another's—he failed to catch Qing Deng's knife!

This is not because his defense failed.

It was because Qing Deng's upward slash was just a feint to deceive the "slanted-eye samurai"!

The purpose was simply to deceive the "slanted-eye samurai" and make him make the wrong defensive judgment.

And the "slanted-eyed samurai" was successfully hooked.

The instant the "slanted-eyed warrior" lowered his sword to prepare for defense, Qing Deng abruptly stopped his sword in mid-air, then tilted it to the side, adjusting the direction of his attack.

Just now, Qing Deng's sword was slashed from the lower left of the "Hanging Eyes Warrior".

Now, Qing Deng drew a clockwise arc upwards with his sword, changing the direction to slash the sword from the upper left of the "Hanging Eyes Warrior"!

Because Qing Deng was so fast, the "slanted-eye samurai" who was still foolishly defending against the wrong direction was unsurprisingly struck in the neck by Qing Deng.

The sword, called "Fixed Ghost God," cut in from near the ear, slashing all the way to the collarbone before finally stopping.

Before he could even scream, the "slanted-eyed samurai" instinctively raised his hand to touch his stabbed neck, then rolled his eyes back, still clutching his neck, and slowly collapsed to the ground.

The streets, which had been unusually noisy with screams, the whistling of blades, and the sounds of flesh being slicing open, have finally returned to their proper tranquility.

While adjusting his slightly disordered breathing after the fierce battle, Qing Deng forcefully shook his sword. The blood accumulated on the blade that fell to the ground turned into new crimson flowers.

Once his breathing had calmed down a bit, Qing Deng turned his head to look behind him, towards the direction where Sanako was.

Sanako's current attire is exactly the same as when Aoto bumped into her on the street a few days ago.

Her face was unadorned, her waist-length hair was tied into a neat and tidy high ponytail, and she wore a white top and dark blue bottom women's kendo uniform... If there was any difference compared to a few days ago, it would only be that the blue-handled, blue-sheathed wakizashi that she used to wear on her left waist and the blue-buttoned flat wooden clogs on her feet were gone, and her delicate, slender feet covered with white socks were directly on the ground.

When Qing Deng looked over, Sanako was still standing there, motionless.

She stared blankly at the street, now quiet after the enemy's annihilation, with a vacant look in her eyes, and at Qing Deng, who had once again demonstrated a strength far exceeding her expectations by slaying all the enemies in a very short time.

Facing more than 10 samurai alone in this terrain with no advantage whatsoever... unless she uses her most proficient naginata, which has a length advantage, even if she were in perfect condition, she would find it extremely difficult.

However… this young man, who was just a novice swordsman a few months ago, had wiped out all his enemies without suffering any damage…

Just a month ago at the Aizu-go Sword Tournament, this young man was nowhere near as strong as he is now...

Sanako's face displayed a complex expression that was a mixture of confusion, shock, and other emotions... a very charming expression.

"Miss Sanako, besides your leg, are there any other injuries on your body?"

As Qing Deng sheathed the sword, he quickly walked towards Sanako.

He could only tell from Sanako's awkward standing posture that her left leg was injured. As for whether Sanako had any other injuries, Aoto had no idea.

Aoto's voice and the figure approaching her made Sanako pause as if waking from a dream, and blink.

"I'm fine..."

—We won…

Sanako now has the illusion that she is walking on soft clouds and floating in the air.

At this moment, a strange sense of "unreality" enveloped Sanako's entire body.

We won...

Qingdeng, with the force of a raging storm, helped her defeat the pursuers...

It's safe now... everything's alright...

In an instant, Sanako's nerves, which had been taut ever since she escaped from that cellar that night, relaxed completely.

The fatigue that had been suppressed deep within the body by willpower erupted at this moment.

It was only then that Sanako realized how exhausted she was, both physically and mentally.

Her body swayed slightly... The exhaustion that surged forth made Sanako's legs suddenly go weak, and her body began to sway.

To keep her balance, Sanako subconsciously spread her feet slightly apart.

At that moment, Sanako suddenly realized: her left thigh was still injured and she couldn't even put her foot on the ground!

However... because it was a subconscious action, the body acted before the brain, so it was too late.

The instant her left foot touched the ground, a sharp, piercing pain, as if stabbed by needles, surged from the wound on her left leg. This intense pain then spread throughout Sanako's body, stimulating her nerves.

"Ugh..." Sanako let out a painful whimper, her body losing its balance and falling uncontrollably to the side.

Fortunately... Aoto is right next to Sanako right now!

"Miss Sanako?"

Qing Dengben was about four steps away from Sanako when he suddenly saw Sanako fall to the ground. Startled, he cried out and instinctively took a step forward, rushing to Sanako's side and reaching out his hands to catch her as she nearly fell.

Qing Deng's left arm wrapped around Sanako's back and put his arm around her left shoulder; his right arm wrapped around Sanako's waist and put his arm around her right side.