I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

By using a low stance to conceal the sword behind your back, it becomes difficult for your opponent to discern the direction, movement, and distance of the strike.

Aoto also knows this move. He used it before when facing Niizuma Hiroshi in the final of the sword tournament, but he wasn't very proficient at it.

Because it is not easy to discern the direction and distance of this attack, Qing Deng adopted a cautious approach. Instead of taking the initiative to meet it head-on, he spread his feet apart, lowered his waist, and waited for Jin Ye to approach him.

The distance between him and Kamino was only about seven steps. For Kamino, who was running at full speed, such a short distance was only a matter of moments.

But at that very moment, a strange thing happened.

call……!

Just as Jinno was about three steps away from Qing Deng, he drew his sword. The sharp blade sliced ​​through the air, creating a piercing whistling sound, and slashed straight at Qing Deng's chest from the lower right to the upper left!

At the same time, Qing Deng and Kinoshita Mai, who was watching the battle from a short distance away, both showed expressions of astonishment.

Jinno's attack range... far exceeded Aoto and Kinoshita Mai's predictions!

Given his arm length and the length of his sword, his sword shouldn't be able to cut that far!

"Tachibana-kun!" Kinoshita Mai almost shouted anxiously.

Whether Kinoshita Mai shouted it out or not, the result didn't really matter—her voice wouldn't reach Aoto's ears.

Because Qing Deng was completely focused on the battle he was in, he could no longer hear any sounds unrelated to the arena.

Jinno's unexpected attack did indeed leave Aoto momentarily at a loss due to his misjudgment.

Fortunately... Qingdeng is currently in a state where "his body reacts faster than his brain!"

While his brain was still reeling from the shock, Qingdeng's body reacted automatically before he could react!

With a burst of power from both feet, Qingdeng leaped backward like a spring.

Qing Deng's timely reaction saved his life.

Jinno was unable to cut a large gash in Qingdeng's upper body. The tip of his sword grazed Qingdeng's chest, cutting through the flesh, but was blocked by the sternum and could not cut deeper. It only left a three-inch-long cut on Qingdeng's chest.

Using the momentum of his charge, Jinno continued to pounce on Qingdeng. Just as the two were about to pass each other, Jinno quickly re-established his stance and delivered another blow to Qingdeng, but Qingdeng blocked it with a "clang".

The two people who passed each other quickly separated by more than ten steps, and then turned around at the same time.

滴答、滴答、滴答、滴答……

Fresh blood flowed from the new wound on his chest, dripping onto Qingdeng's feet.

Qing Deng freed his left hand and touched the spot where he had been slashed... He glanced down at the bloodstained fingertips and frowned slightly.

—How did he manage to swing his sword so far...?

Qing Deng did not become anxious despite being hit.

They did not panic when Kamno suddenly used a strange move that they could not understand.

His emotions barely fluctuated... he calmly pondered how he had managed to swing the sword so far.

Because of the angle, Qing Deng couldn't see clearly what Jin Ye had done to make his sword strike so far.

As for Kinoshita Mai, who was not far away... she still had a look of surprise on her face.

Just now, Shinno had his back to her, so she couldn't see clearly what method Shinno used to make his sword travel so far.

While Aoto and Kinoshita Mai were pondering what technique Jinno had used, they saw Jinno re-establish his stance, hiding his sword behind his back in a lower right position.

On Jinno's face, a hint of pride and elation could be seen—his successful strike on Qing Deng must have made him quite elated.

And indeed, that was the case. Kamino was excitedly shouting in his heart: Great! I hit the target!

If we get the chance, we can use this trick to take down this bastard!

The success of that last strike made Kamino decide without hesitation to use that move again!

This time... we must kill this traitor!

Seeing Qingdeng re-establish his stance, his eyelids drooped slightly.

—Are they going to use that trick again...?

Qing Deng still couldn't figure out how Jin Ye had increased his attack range so much.

If you can't even judge the distance between your opponent's attacks... then dodging and defense are simply out of the question.

The way Jinno concealed his sword and both arms in the shadows behind him made it impossible for Qing Deng to predict when he would draw his sword by observing his hand movements.

If there wasn't some kind of mechanism on the sword... then it must be that Jinno used some special technique with his hand holding the sword to make it reach such a distance.

Although she wasn't involved in the duel, Kinoshita Mai was as nervous as if she were in the fight herself.

Her hands unconsciously rose to her chest and clenched tightly, so nervous that she dared not even breathe, worried about whether Qing Deng could withstand Jin Ye's attack.

She dared not make a sound, even trying to slow her breathing, for fear that the slightest noise she made would distract Qingdeng.

In such a life-or-death duel, Jinno naturally wouldn't give Aoto any time to slowly think of a way to defeat the enemy.

After getting into position and gathering power in his waist and legs, Jinno once again pounced straight at Aoto like a whirlwind!

The enemy is here… There’s no time to think anymore. Although he still has no clue how to counter Jinno’s “extended attack” technique, Qing Deng can only grit his teeth, prepare his sword, and prepare to meet the enemy!

At this moment, with Kamino's renewed attack, the air on the bridge seemed to freeze into a heavy liquid!

The creaking sound of stomping on the bridge and rapidly approaching Qingdeng was like the sound of death coming to claim lives!

Facing directly the full moon hanging in the night sky, Jinno's long shadow pressed heavily on the bridge like a mountain! The moonlight illuminated every detail of his ferocious face!

In that split second, a gust of wind suddenly swept in from the distant horizon.

The gust of wind brought a chill... and also a petal of a wisteria flower that is in full bloom right now.

Guided by the wind, the petal swept past Qingdeng's eyes... casting a faint, indistinct shadow on the bridge.

Out of the corner of his eye, Qing Deng unconsciously caught sight of the shadow of the petal on the bridge surface in front of him.

In that instant, Qing Deng seemed to have realized something, and his pupils shrank to the size of pinholes.

Then, in the next instant… Qingdeng moved. He moved forward!

Suddenly, Qingdeng concentrated his strength on his toes, and in an instant, he pushed off the ground and charged forward!

As he approached Jinno, he raised his sword, assuming a stance as if he were holding the Demon God horizontally across his right hip.

The strong wind generated by Qing Deng's charge directly blew away the wisteria petal that had been brought to his eyes by the breeze.

The wisteria petals, rising upwards, drifted silently towards the distant sky... finally turning into a black dot and disappearing completely.

Aoto unexpectedly charged towards Jinno, much to the surprise of both Kinoshita Mai, who was watching from the sidelines, and Jinno himself.

But the look of surprise on Jinno's face turned back into a ferocious smile in an instant.

Whether Qingdeng stands still or runs towards him, the result is the same! It won't hinder his use of this "secret technique" at all!

The distance between the two was no more than ten steps.

Such a distance is nothing more than a blink of an eye for the two who are rushing straight toward each other!

In the blink of an eye, Qing Deng entered the range of Jin Ye's "secret technique," and at that moment, Jin Ye gathered the strength in his hand and slashed out heavily with his sword!

However, at that very moment, Kamino suddenly felt a sense of abruptness. This abruptness expanded rapidly as soon as it appeared.

All of this was because... he realized that Qing Deng's eyes were not looking at him.

His eyelids were lowered... his gaze was so low that it seemed to be looking at his feet... no! It was looking at his long shadow, stretched out by the moonlight!

Kamino's face was instantly filled with shock and horror.

He tried to stop the strike... but it was too late! He couldn't stop his momentum!

The unstoppable blade, creating a whirlwind, slashed upwards towards Qing Deng's body.

In that very instant.

Just as Jinno's sword slashed out, Qing Deng's eyes suddenly shone with an even brighter light.

Just as Jinno's sword slashed out, Qing Deng's trajectory suddenly changed!

He leaped lightly to the left, dodging Jinno's "secret technique," and landed steadily on the bridge railing pillar to his left rear!

—I see…so that’s how you increase your attack range…

Qing Deng finally saw the full extent of Jin Ye's "secret technique" that could extend his attack range.

It turns out that Kanno used the second joints of his right index and middle fingers to grip the very end of the hilt and swing the sword!

Using only the second joint of two fingers to grip the very end of the hilt... the attack range is naturally much wider than usual!

The reason why Kanno adopted this stance of hiding the sword and his hands behind his back was probably to prevent his opponent from discovering that he was holding the sword with his fingers.

Impressive… Qing Deng silently offered a brief compliment to his opponent who had used such a remarkable technique.

Then, in the next instant, a picturesque scene unfolded on this moonlit bridge.

After leaping onto the bridge railing pillar to his left rear, Qingdeng used the pillar as a leverage point to launch himself into the air!

Leaping high towards the front... towards Kamino!

Aoto's high-speed movement caused Kanno's pupils to momentarily lose focus.

In that instant when his vision became slightly blurry due to defocusing, his field of vision was filled with a figure that seemed to be leaping into the sky, higher than the moon!

He held a long sword, and moonlight shone down his shoulders!

The clear moonlight of the full moon behind him shone down, outlining his figure. However, the moonlight was so bright that it made his body appear to be shrouded in darkness, and only his general outline could be seen.

And in this dark outline... only his eyes, radiating a fiery light, still shone brightly! Like the dazzling stars of the Milky Way!

The sword energy emanating from the sword he held high above his head was like a dragon soaring through the night sky of Edo!

A man and a dragon descended from the sky, carrying an indomitable momentum! An momentum that seemed to cut through everything!

Buzz...!

The blade emitted a clanging sound...

The falling blade sliced ​​through the moonlight!

At this point, Jinno finally recovered from his extreme shock.

Before he could even utter a sigh or a curse... the color draining from his face rapidly, he disregarded the momentum of his body still rushing forward, poured all his strength into his toes, and desperately jumped backward, trying to get away from Qingdeng and away from Qingdeng's knife!

However, it was too late.