I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

He hugged Elodie tighter in his arms and fled with the crowd to a place far away from the flames and blood.

Because Anthony's "body activation" came so suddenly, Elodie couldn't help but let out a low gasp of surprise.

The swordsman, bathed in moonlight, swung his blade forward, slashing towards the horde of enemies before him, towards the moonless darkness!

This was the last thing the girl saw before she left.

……

……

"Tsk..."

Feeling extremely irritated, Sanako couldn't help but smack her lips slightly, quite unlike a young lady.

"Is there nothing I can do...?"

She muttered to herself as she supported her injured leg, scanning her surroundings for any usable equipment.

"Moo..."

The radish, which was lying quietly on the ground beside him, snorted softly and mooed.

After Aoto jumped off Radish's ox back and charged alone towards the Extermination Group, Sanako, at Aoto's request, led Radish to a secluded but very safe roadside.

Radish was indeed very docile. Even when someone else held its reins, it did not resist at all and obediently allowed Sanako to lead it.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

From the distant battlefield, piercing screams echoed once more.

Although the scream did not come from Aoto, Sanako couldn't help but look up in the direction of the sound.

On the battlefield, where sword light and human figures constantly swayed, a lone figure could be vaguely seen fighting.

The anxiety on Sanako's face intensified.

A sense of justice that wants to contribute even a little to the fight against these lunatics who will resort to any despicable means for the so-called "great cause of expelling foreigners"...

A vengeful desire to retaliate against the bastards who had kidnapped her for several days without cause...

She didn't want to just stand there like an idiot, nor did she want to let her pride be swayed by the person who had just saved her and was now fighting a bloody battle...

These mixed feelings made Sanako eager to do something, to do her best to support Aoto, who was fighting a bloody battle.

If she were unharmed, Sanako would have rushed to her aid without hesitation... However, the pain in her leg is getting worse.

Just now, in order to catch up with Qingdeng who was heading to his residence, she clenched her teeth as if she wanted to crush them, and forced herself to jog for a while with her left leg.

Now, the consequences of this "reluctance" have arrived.

When she came to this settlement with Qing Deng, Sanako could still walk with difficulty.

Now, she doesn't even have the ability to step forward with her left leg.

If she wants to move, she can only hop on her right leg and drag her left leg along like a pendant.

With her current physical condition, supporting a battle that is far more intense and dangerous than the one where she just shielded Qingdeng from the pursuers... would definitely only be a hindrance to Qingdeng.

If only we had a bow and arrows…

Sanako pursed her red lips reluctantly.

Her father, Chiba Sadakichi, placed great importance on his children's education, so Sanako received a high level of education from a young age that was hard for ordinary people to even imagine.

She is not only proficient in all the skills that a young lady from a prestigious family should know, such as playing the zither, playing chess, calligraphy, painting, sewing, flower arranging, and tea ceremony, but she is also very skilled in various martial arts.

The kodachi technique and the naginata technique are just the two martial arts she is most proficient in.

Besides kodachi and naginata techniques, Sanako also studied archery, horsemanship, jujitsu...

While her archery skills might not be considered exceptionally high, she could maintain a 7-8% hit rate on targets within 10 meters.

Using long-range weapons for support—this is the only effective way that Sanako can think of right now to provide support for Aoto using only her current body.

But how could one possibly find a usable bow and a sufficient number of arrows on the streets of a settlement by sheer coincidence...?

Speaking of bows and arrows... there are some on the ground in the distant battlefield.

The archer that Qingdeng had just killed was lying on the ground, lifeless. The quiver full of arrows was still hanging on his waist, and the bow in his hand was lying not far from his body, not yet trampled on.

But dragging an injured leg close to the battlefield where the fighting is raging and both sides are bloodthirsty, picking up fallen bows and quivers from corpses... to complete such a difficult task is simply a pipe dream.

Just as Sanako continued to anxiously ponder what she could do right now—

"...Are you Ms. Chiba Sanako?"

A pleasant, unfamiliar female voice came from behind me.

The unfamiliar female voice made Sanako turn around with a surprised expression.

A cute woman wearing a bright red yukata and with adorable little feet in red buttoned flat wooden clogs stood behind her.

……

……

"Ha...ha...ha...ha...ha..."

The rapid beating of his heart inside his chest was deafening, making Qing Deng's eardrums tingle slightly.

The sound of a heartbeat and rapid breathing formed a thick "sound barrier," which blurred all other sounds from the outside world.

His clothes were soaked with sweat and blood splattered from the enemy, clinging heavily to Qingdeng's skin.

At the same time, he faced 67 samurai... At the start of the battle, Qing Deng's "lone courage" was already in full swing.

Also in a "fully open" state is "Gathering Spirit".

Qing Deng, who was focusing all his attention on the battle before him, had concentrated his mind to an extremely terrifying degree.

He could no longer see or hear anything or anything unrelated to the battlefield he was currently on.

Therefore, he did not notice Elodie and the others who had escaped from Bright's mansion.

Under the combined effects of the adrenaline surge from "lone wolf" and the intense mental concentration from "focusing the mind," Qingdeng couldn't even feel the pain from his physical wounds.

He felt almost nothing when the enemy's knife struck him—which is why he remained unfazed after being attacked.

While riding Radish to the settlement, Qing Dengyu got a little rest on Radish's ox back—although the rest time was not long, it was better than nothing.

Thanks to the "Strong Muscles" which have the natural effect of making muscles "not easily fatigued," Qing Deng's muscles in his hands and feet are not too tired yet, and he still retains a lot of strength.

However, his breathing was not keeping up with his physical exertion, and Qingdeng now needed to open his mouth slightly and use both his mouth and nose to meet his body's oxygen demand.

Qing Deng used most of his energy to evade the encirclement of Jin Ye and others and to look for an opportunity to counterattack.

When Qing Deng fought 12 samurai alone to rescue Sanako, he also managed to escape their encirclement.

Avoiding the encirclement of 67 enemies is several times more difficult than avoiding the encirclement of 12 enemies.

Therefore, the former leaves far fewer opportunities for Qingdao to counterattack than the latter.

Since the start of the battle, excluding the wounded, Qing Deng has only killed a total of 15 enemies, less than a quarter of the total number of enemies.

However... although less than a quarter of the total number of people have been killed by Qingdeng, the remaining survivors are all showing signs of wavering.

Especially Kamino.

At this moment, Jinno's eyes were so wide that his eyeballs seemed to pop out, and his face was filled with horror.

In his mind... this should be a battle that can be won quickly and easily.

67 people against 1 person... This shouldn't be happening...

This shouldn't be happening!

Nearly a quarter of the people were already dead, but the other person was still standing perfectly fine!

The reality, so different from his expectations, caused Kanno to subconsciously feel resistant.

His gaze trembled with the turmoil within him... After a moment, Jinno gritted his teeth, raised his hand to his left waist, and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

"What's the panic!"

Kamino shouted at his subordinates around him, whose morale and fighting spirit were clearly wavering.

Look!

He's already out of breath! He's injured!

"He's a rickety piece of rotten wood now! If we just give it one more kick, it'll collapse!"

"Follow me!"

"May the traitor be punished by Heaven!"

With a whoosh, Jinno drew his sword! He pushed aside his subordinates who were blocking his way and charged towards Qing Deng!

When Elodie and the others escaped from Bright's mansion, Kamino noticed it immediately.

But now, Kamino no longer cares about the lives of these barbarians.

—That damned traitor…I’ll make him die tonight!

It's always been him...

After he founded the Extermination Group, it was this damned Tachibana Seiden who kept messing up their Extermination Group's plans!

In order to enhance the reputation of their anti-barbarian group and wash away the stigma of "only daring to kill He people and not barbarians," they chose to "use a sledgehammer to crack a nut" and sent a large number of people to attack Elodie and her family. It was this Tachibana Seiden who suddenly jumped out and ruined their plan.

When they attacked the Foreign Book Exchange Center, intending to destroy this wicked place filled with "the stench of barbarians" and kill all the traitors who dared to learn the knowledge of the barbarians, it was Tachibana Seido who suddenly appeared, causing their plan to ultimately fail.

And now, he's back again...

When will this ever end?!

Jinno felt as if a fire was burning inside his chest.

He now had only one thought left—to kill Qing Deng, who had repeatedly opposed their anti-barbarian group! Tonight!

For this reason, Kamino is willing to ignore the barbarians who are escaping from the Bright mansion... In short, in order to kill Aoto, Kamino is willing to give up all other goals and plans tonight!

He originally thought that simply sending his subordinates, who had an overwhelming numerical advantage, to deal with Qingdeng would be enough to kill Qingdeng beyond any hope of survival.

But now it seems... we can no longer stand idly by!

Before rushing to Qing Deng's side, Jin Ye adopted a mid-stance stance and swung his sword horizontally towards Qing Deng!