I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As soon as his feet left the bridge as he leaped backward, a sharp pain, as if it were tearing his entire body in two, shot through his chest!

The blade that shattered the demons cut from Jinno's left shoulder all the way to his right abdomen, almost slicing his entire upper body in two at an angle!

"Cough! Cough cough...!"

Large amounts of blood gushed from his mouth, nose, and wounds.

The impact of Jinno's backward leap, combined with Qing Deng's slash, sent Jinno flying backward.

Flying backward in a beautiful parabola, Kanno crashed heavily to the ground. Due to inertia, he continued to tumble backward several more times before finally coming to a stop.

When Jinno finally stopped, his body had already rolled out of the dueling arena, out of the wooden bridge, and collapsed on the riverbank on the east side of the bridge.

"Ha...! Ha...! Ha...! Ha...! Ha...!" Qing Deng felt a wave of weakness and numbness in his waist and legs. He swayed forward and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, he managed to prop himself up with his sword on the bridge surface, using the "Stabilizing Spirit" technique for support, which prevented him from falling.

The decisive strike just now... had completely exhausted Qing Deng's strength and mental energy.

Qingdeng felt as if two huge rocks were pressing on his shoulders, and he could barely straighten his back.

"Tachibana-kun!"

Kinoshita Mai shouted excitedly from behind.

Familiar footsteps approached from behind... Kinoshita Mai took quick, small steps and rushed to Aoto's side, then reached out to support Aoto's body.

"You won! You won!"

Kinoshita Mai's delicate face flushed with excitement.

With a strain on his arms, Qing Deng straightened his upper body and gave Kinoshita Mai a tired smile.

"It wasn't an easy win..."

After saying that, Qing Deng took a deep breath, put away the sword he was leaning on the bridge, and slowly walked towards Jin Ye.

This duel isn't over until Kamino breathes his last.

*******

*******

This long chapter of 10,000 words is to make up for the missed update due to the monthly ticket reward from the day before yesterday.

This chapter, totaling 1 words, is entirely filled with high-density action scenes, including sword-wielding sequences like the "bridge pillar jump," as well as underhanded tactics like "clamping a knife between fingers" and strategic battles involving "judging the opponent's timing of the attack from their shadow."

With such quality, it would be a real shame not to vote for it! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

Qingdeng's "wonderful adventure" tonight isn't over yet. Readers who didn't skip chapters and carefully read through the previous plot should know—there's still one guy who hasn't appeared yet.

So let's keep the monthly ticket bounty going! We currently have 1858 monthly tickets. If we can reach 2000 tickets before the end of today, we'll release another 1+ words tomorrow!

Even though there are double monthly votes at the end of the month, don't wait until then to vote!

Even though there are double monthly votes at the end of the month, don't wait until then to vote!

Even though there are double monthly votes at the end of the month, don't wait until then to vote!

The most important use of monthly passes is not the quantity, but the ranking on the monthly pass leaderboard.

The higher your ranking on the monthly ticket chart, the more exposure you will receive.

The reason the author keeps asking for votes is to help this book rank higher on this month's monthly ticket chart.

So voting at the end of the month is basically a waste of your monthly votes!

Because in the last 3 days of the month, it doesn't matter how high your ranking is on the monthly ticket list. There are only 3 days left before the start of the new month, and you won't get much exposure in such a short time.

So if you have votes now, cast them now, don't wait until the end of the month. Casting at the end of the month is a complete waste of your votes.

Chapter 186 Eternal Talent...Radiates Light!

"Cough...cough cough...! Cough cough cough!"

Jinno opened his mouth and vomited a large amount of blood.

The searing, intense pain in his chest nearly made Shinno faint. His consciousness and thoughts were shattered by the excruciating agony.

His leap back just now saved his life.

Just as Qing Deng's sword was about to strike down, Jin Ye reflexively stopped his forward-leaning body and quickly jumped back.

Although Qing Deng's blade still managed to strike him... because he was slightly out of Qing Deng's attack range, Qing Deng's strike didn't land properly; only the tip of the blade hit his body.

Thanks to this, he was not killed on the spot and was still alive.

However... although he didn't die on the spot, Kamino is now only half alive.

Qing Deng's attack, which seemed to come "from the sky," actually slashed from his left shoulder all the way to his right abdomen.

The enormous wound that practically ripped open his entire upper body caused a staggering amount of blood loss.

The massive blood loss had left Jinno's face and lips deathly pale.

His sternum and ribs were broken and shattered countless times... His left lung also seemed to be injured, and every breath he took was so painful that he almost screamed out loud.

Of course—the amount of blood loss, broken ribs, lung injury... these are not the things that make Kamino feel most desperate.

What makes Kamano feel most desperate right now is that he suddenly feels the light around him dim.

He looked up and saw Qing Deng and Kinoshita Mai walking towards him at a leisurely pace, one after the other, on the wooden bridge.

Qingdeng's face showed no emotion; expressionless, he silently walked towards him, sword in hand. The sword, hanging naturally and dragging on the ground, scraped against the wooden bridge with a harsh, grating sound.

His long shadow, stretched out by the moonlight, pressed down on him like a mountain.

"wait wait wait!"

Despite the excruciating pain in his lungs and the immense blood loss that had left him feeling utterly weak, for some reason, upon seeing Qing Deng approaching him with a sword, an invisible force suddenly surged into his throat, causing him to utter a somewhat stuttering but remarkably loud… plea for mercy.

"You win... I concede."

"Please...please spare my life!"

"I swear, our Extermination Group will never attack you again!"

"From now on, our Extermination Group will no longer cause you any trouble!"

Jinno's words were fragmented... he just said whatever came to mind, without any structure or logic.

He spoke incoherently, racking his brains to utter every word he could think of to beg for mercy.

He was trapped in a quagmire called "fear"... and as Qingdeng drew closer, he sank deeper and deeper into this quagmire.

Accompanying the "fear" is a strong "will to survive".

The fierce and heroic demeanor he had displayed when he engaged in a life-or-death duel with Qing Deng had vanished.

All that remained in front of him was a pitiful creature, driven by fear and the will to survive, constantly begging for mercy.

While begging for mercy, Jinno crawled away from Qingdeng using both his hands and feet.

It's amazing that he still has the strength to move despite suffering such serious injuries.

He, who could only crawl on the ground like an insect, naturally couldn't shake off Qingdeng, who was still able to walk normally.

Aoto's attitude towards Jinno's pleas for mercy was to completely ignore them.

He and the Extermination Group had long been sworn enemies, their relationship was one of irreconcilable conflict, so how could he possibly spare his life because of a few words from Jinno?

Moreover, Aoto didn't believe Jinno's statement that "we will never attack you again from now on."

The only people who would believe in such a madman who disregards human life are probably mentally unstable idiots.

Unmoved by Jinno's pleas for mercy, Qing Deng remained silent.

Everything that needed to be said... was said during the fierce duel just now.

Aoto stepped off the small bridge, stood on the riverbank, walked to Jinno's side, and then, without a moment's hesitation, raised his sword high above his head, preparing to deliver the final blow to Jinno.

The long, narrow shadow of the sword fell on Kamino's face, which was filled with fear.

Just as Qing Deng was about to swing his knife down... a sudden change occurred!

*Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!*

In a dark alleyway far behind Jinno, in a patch of darkness where the moonlight couldn't reach, a dark shadow suddenly began to wriggle rapidly!

This rapidly writhing black shadow suddenly burst forth from the alleyway, which was as black as if it had been splashed with thick ink! It shot towards Qingdeng like an arrow released from a bow! The sound of its rapid footsteps made the space, which had just regained its tranquility, tense up once again!

The shadowy figure moved with incredible speed, traversing most of the street in the blink of an eye and arriving in front of Qingdeng.

With a whoosh, a silver snake shot out from the shadowy figure's left waist, arcing towards Qing Deng's neck!

The sudden turn of events caused Qingdeng's pupils to shrink sharply.

The knife, which had been raised high above his head, was reflexively pulled back to his front. Immediately afterward, a tremendous force traveled through his entire body along the blade.

clang!

The blades rubbed against each other, producing a piercing noise that nearly ripped eardrums apart.

Sparks flew... and another small nick appeared on the blade that could ward off evil spirits.

"Wow... it actually managed to block my attack..."

A young male voice, tinged with a hint of mockery, came from in front of him.

Qing Deng's expression instantly turned serious. He raised his gaze, looking past the two swords that were locked together, and at a face that was inches away from his.

This is a very young face with ordinary features, the kind of face that you'd forget as soon as you see it.

Compared to this person's face... it was his knife that attracted Qing Deng's attention more.

This person's sword has a very large curve. Qing Deng's Ding Gui Shen sword is already one of those swords with a large curve, but this person's sword has an even larger curve.

The curve is so large that this knife is more like an enlarged version of a sickle than a katana.

Kinoshita Mai, who was standing behind Aoto, was momentarily stunned by the sudden turn of events.

In the instant she came to her senses, Kinoshita Mai's face darkened. She took a step forward, twisted her slender waist like a water snake, and used her waist to drive her leg, throwing a high kick at the mysterious man's chest.

The mysterious man glanced at Kinoshita Mai's kick out of the corner of his eye, then used his strength to deflect Aoto's knife. He then nimbly leaped backward, and Kinoshita Mai's toes futilely grazed the air in front of his chest.

"Not bad legwork." The mysterious man casually gave a brief compliment to Kinoshita Mai's kick.

He dodged it, kicking only air... Kinoshita Mai's face darkened slightly as she quickly retracted her leg, then she and Aoto beside her looked at the unknown young man with serious expressions.