I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

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

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

The increasingly intense battle left neither of them with time to adjust their breathing before they plunged back into the fray.

The battle continues... and is becoming increasingly intense!

Strictly speaking, Aoto is a "speed-type" swordsman, and Jinno is also a "speed-type" swordsman.

This duel between the two can be described as a clash of speed against speed.

With agility, Jinno dodged Qingdeng's blade, gliding lightly to Qingdeng's side as if flying through the air. He then delivered a powerful and fierce attack, his blade flashing like a rainbow, truly terrifying.

The outcome of this duel will directly determine who will remain standing and alive, and in other words, whether Kanno will have the life to complete his "expel the barbarians" mission.

The immense pressure of "life and death and ideals" catalyzed by this extremely fast-paced and high-intensity battle has unconsciously put Jinno into a state of "high tension, with nothing in his eyes except the mortal enemy in front of him."

In this state, Kamino's mind was highly focused, so much so that he forgot to breathe and blink countless times, and the power and speed of the sword increased even further!

As the duel intensified, Jinno gradually entered his battle mode... and so did Aoto.

At this moment, Qingdeng's "Gathering of Spirit" has entered its full potential.

With the blessing of "Gathering Spirit", Qing Deng's concentration was far superior to that of Jin Ye!

Qingdeng's concentration has reached the point where "the body reacts before the brain."

Often, when faced with an attack from Jinno or a rare opportunity to attack, Qing Deng's body would move first, and his thoughts would catch up with his body a step later.

For example, right now—facing the slash from Jinno who had flashed to his side, Qing Deng moved first, taking two steps back.

At that moment, Qingdeng suddenly felt something hard behind him... it was a bridge railing about half a person's height.

"Haaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Aoto's back was blocked by the bridge railing, leaving him with nowhere to retreat... Seeing this, Jinno's fighting spirit was roused. He strode forward with renewed vigor, brandishing his sword like a wheel, and delivered a fierce horizontal slash to Aoto, who had nowhere to retreat.

The timing and angle of Jinno's strike were undeniably tricky.

The horizontal swing of the blade blocked Qing Deng's left and right directions, preventing him from dodging the blade by moving to the left or right.

There was a bridge railing behind him, so he couldn't retreat. The horizontal slash also prevented Qing Deng from dodging left or right... If Qing Deng didn't want a big hole to be torn in his stomach, he would have no choice but to take Jin Ye's slash head-on.

Both Kamino and Kinoshita Mai, the only spectator currently witnessing this battle, thought so.

However, in the next instant, both Kamino and Kinoshita Mai, who thought Aoto would take the fierce slash head-on, opened their eyes wide at the incredible scene they witnessed.

Kinoshita Mai was so surprised that she couldn't help but raise her two small hands to cover her slightly parted red lips.

Just as Jinno's sword was about to strike Qing Deng's body, Qing Deng opened his mouth slightly, exhaled a breath of stale air, and then lightly jumped.

It's not moving forward.

It's neither to the left nor to the right.

Instead, it goes backwards!

Qing Deng lightly jumped backward, easily dodging Jin Ye's knife, and then landed steadily on the round pillar top of the bridge railing behind him!

"What?" Jinno exclaimed in astonishment, taken aback by the sight before him.

This was the first thing he said after his duel with Qing Deng began.

Jinno wasn't stunned for long... because the blade that had been used to subdue the demons had already arrived with the wind!

Standing atop the pillar, Qing Deng swung his sword from the middle, the blade slashing down from mid-air aimed directly at Jin Ye's skull!

Driven by an overwhelming sense of crisis, as if Mount Tai were pressing down on him, Shinno's soul quickly regained control of his body.

He quickly swung his sword to meet the attack. Their swords clashed again in mid-air.

Damn it! —Kano cursed inwardly, his arms jerked, knocking the demon away. Then, he adjusted his blade and slashed at Aoto, who was still standing atop the pillar, with the force of a kesa-zaki.

"Let's see how you hide!" — This inner cry from Kamino couldn't hide the schadenfreude in his voice.

The tops of the wooden bridge pillars are only about two feet wide... How can one dodge his slashes while standing in such a narrow place?

To the silent cry that Jinno uttered in his heart with a gloating tone... Aoto quickly gave a very powerful response.

Qingdeng took a deep breath and then leaped again! He jumped to the left and landed precisely on the top of another bridge railing pillar two steps away.

Jinno's sword, which had missed its target, only struck the air and the top of the pillar where Aoto had just stood, slicing the round pillar head away completely.

"What?" Kamino exclaimed in astonishment once again.

Jinno quickly turned to look at Qing Deng, who had jumped onto the top of another bridge pillar. Then, gritting his teeth, he chased after Qing Deng while yelling "Haaaaaaah!"

The swords danced in the air. The moonlight could barely contain the chaotic flashes of blades.

Jinno relentlessly swung his sword, launching a fierce, storm-like attack on Qing Deng.

The blade slashed at Qingdeng again and again... but not a single strike hit him.

Aoto moved precisely along the bridge railings and balusters, dodging every attack from Kamino.

Wood chips flew everywhere. Jinno's missed strikes only hit the air, the bridge railing, and the balusters.

One bridge railing after another was cut down, and one baluster after another was chopped off.

The severed bridge railings and balusters fell into the river below, splashing up waves and bringing new sounds to this dueling arena.

After dodging another attack from Jinno, Qingdeng suddenly changed the direction of his dodge.

Instead of dodging left and right, they moved forward, towards the bridge railing on the other side!

Qingdeng leaped up like a great bird, his sleeves and trousers fluttering in the wind.

His figure overshadowed Jinno's shadow... because Aoto leaped over his head!

Just as he was about to leap over Jinno's head, Qing Deng swung his sword in a swift strike! The sword's shadow, along with the moonlight, crashed down towards Jinno's head!

Caught off guard by Aoto's sudden leap and attack, Kanna could only hastily raise her sword horizontally.

clang!

The two swords clashed... Although he barely managed to block Qing Deng's attack, the tip of Ding Guishen's sword still grazed Jin Ye's left temple, scraping off some skin and flesh.

In an instant, blood was everywhere.

Blood gushed from the wound on his forehead, staining the left half of Jinno's face crimson.

Adding to the wound that Qing Deng had just inflicted on his right cheek... now, with wounds on both sides of his face, almost no part of Jin Ye's face was left unstained by blood.

Having successfully wounded Jinno's left temple, Aoto's body followed a graceful arc, finally landing steadily on the opposite bridge railing pillar.

The reason why Qing Deng suddenly adopted the method of "moving on the bridge railings and balusters" to deal with Jin Ye was very simple - he just wanted to change his tactics.

Standing on the bridge and fighting with Kanna, Aoto's attacks repeatedly missed. So he thought of another way and tried to jump onto the bridge railing to deal with Kanna using "three-dimensional movement and attacks".

For Qingdeng, only when he is fully focused and his mind is extremely concentrated can he complete the extremely difficult task of "moving precisely on the bridge railing".

Although I successfully hit Kamino just now... it's a minor injury that didn't even break the bone, so it's not worth worrying about.

If the blood flowing from his left temple could reach Jinno's left eye and prevent it from opening, that would be a remarkable achievement.

In combat... especially in armed combat, being blind in one eye is practically the same as being blind, because with only one eye, you can't measure distance at all. You can't even figure out exactly how far away the enemy and their weapons are from you. How are you supposed to fight?

The wound that Qing Deng had just inflicted was close to Jin Ye's temple... which meant that the blood flowing from the wound couldn't reach Jin Ye's left eye at all.

With a casual wipe of the blood from his face, Jinno lunged at Qing Deng once more.

This time, Qing Deng didn't move on the bridge railing again, but jumped back to the bridge surface... To be precise, after dodging another round of attacks from Jin Ye, he flashed to Jin Ye's side and rear.

As soon as he stood still, Qing Deng used his left foot as a pivot and spun his body like a top, bringing his sword to slash at Jin Ye's side with the reverse of the kasaya's sword stroke.

Qing Deng's attack was flawless in terms of angle, timing, and power. Unfortunately, Jin Ye dodged it, leaping back in time, and the tip of the Demon-Slaying Blade only grazed the hem of his clothes.

The overlapping figures separated... Qing Deng did not chase after Jin Ye who jumped back, and Jin Ye did not rush to attack Qing Deng who returned to the bridge.

Both of them, whose physical exhaustion was nearing its breaking point, chose to "take a breather for a while" without prior arrangement.

"Ha...! Ha...! Ha...! Ha...! Ha...!"

"Ha...! Ha...! Ha...! Ha...! Ha...!"

The sound of their rapid breathing created an overwhelming sound barrier, drowning out the wind in the sky and the sound of the flowing water under the bridge.

The "muscle-strengthening" talent only makes Qing Deng's muscles less prone to fatigue, not that they will never tire.

Having fought all this way with such strained strength, even "strong muscles" are finally reaching their breaking point.

Whether it's hands, feet, limbs, or waist, every muscle is now fiercely protesting against Qingdeng.

The muscles in my right arm were so sore that I felt like I could barely hold the knife.

His left leg began to spasm slightly.

Even breathing with your mouth wide open can't meet the body's oxygen demand.

The torrent of sweat that poured out dissolved the congealed and semi-congealed blood clots on his clothes.

A pale red liquid, a mixture of sweat and blood, flowed down the hem of his shirt and the hem of his hakama, creating strangely colored puddles on the bridge.

On the other hand, Jinno's physical condition was much better than Qingdeng's. After all, he hadn't fought several battles in a short period of time in one night like Qingdeng.

However, although his current physical condition was obviously better than Aoto's, Jinno's face did not show much joy.

The intense battles just now left Kamino with a sense of... helplessness.

—How can this damned traitor finally fall?! Why does he still have the strength to wield a knife?!

No matter how the attack is, Qingdeng always has a way to block or dodge it.

His body was clearly so exhausted that it was visible to the naked eye, so why didn't he collapse? Why was he still able to hold the knife firmly?

Staring at Aoto, who was also taking the time to adjust his breathing, Kamino turned all the complex words and emotions in his heart into a long breath.

—Use that trick!

Jinno's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly at this moment.

Although he had not yet mastered this move, it was the most powerful move that Jinno currently possessed, and also the one he believed had the best chance of injuring or even killing Aoto!

Jinno let out another long breath, then tilted his body to the side, leaning out with his left shoulder, aiming at the young man opposite him at an angle. He held the sword with both hands, concealing it in the shadows behind him in a lower right stance.

Immediately afterwards, he shouted and slid forward, rushing towards Qingdeng.

Qing Deng's eyes narrowed slightly... Jin Ye's move was a classic sword technique.