I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Zhou Zhu, caught off guard by the question, chuckled dryly and stroked his chin.

"Well... there is no 'sure-win method' in this world that can absolutely defeat an opponent."

"However, Yu's approach of 'leaving Chiba Michizaburo for last' is correct."

"As for whether it will be successful... that depends on how Yong and his team perform."

……

……

On the field—

"……I see."

Chiba Dosaburo's eyes darted around as he scanned the group of Souji and the others who surrounded him from four directions. A faint smile appeared on his usually taciturn face.

"You want to defeat us using this method...?"

He immediately saw what Souji and the others were planning.

Before he finished speaking, the shadow of Chiba Dosaburo's right arm, which was hanging down naturally with his katana, blurred—the sword blade rose from below and struck Inoue, who was standing to his right!

Inoue grunted, raised his sword to defend, and blocked the attack.

Standing next to Inoue, Hijikata seized the moment when Chiba Dosaburo would use the sword in his right hand to attack Inoue, and took a big step forward.

At the same time as the sound of footsteps hitting the ground, there was the sound of Hijikata wielding his sword, cutting through the air.

Hijikata was also greedy. He used the reverse slash of his kesa to slash straight at the porcelain bowl on Chiba Dosaburo's forehead!

At the same time, Souji, who was facing off against Chiba Michizaburo, also began to take action.

Having closed in and struck half a beat too late for Hijikata, she chose to attack Chiba Michizaburo's lower body.

The two swords attacked from different angles, one upward and one downward, with both power and speed, but unfortunately, they failed to achieve any results.

Chiba Dozaburo took a step back to the side and quickly swung his left wakizashi at Hijikata's bamboo sword.

The retreating steps dodged the general's sweeping attack.

The upward swing of the wakizashi precisely blocked the tip of Hijikata's sword in mid-air.

At that moment, a majestic voice and a heavy aura reminiscent of "mountains" emanated from behind Chiba Dosaburo.

The burly Kondo, like a moving mountain of flesh, stomped his feet with powerful and resounding steps, ramming his sword and his own body into Chiba Dozaburo.

Chiba Michizaburo calmly changed his stance, turning his body to the side and raising his right katana and left wakizashi to his chest, blocking in an "X" shape.

A sword flashed by.

In an instant, Kondo and Chiba Michizaburo's three hilts became entangled.

Then, in the next instant, a "crackling" sound, like fingernails rubbing against bamboo, was heard. Chiba Dosaburo's twin swords slid aside, deflecting Kondo's attack with exquisite skill, while his left-hand wakizashi thrust out in mid-air! It snatched the porcelain bowl from Kondo's forehead!

Kondo quickly dodged to the side, then jumped back forcefully, widening the distance between himself and Chiba Michizaburo.

Kondo, leaping backward, landed right next to Hijikata.

“Katsu.” Hijikata twisted his right wrist, which was holding the sword, with a blank expression. “‘Hold Chiba Dosaburo’... This task seems to be much more difficult than we expected.”

"No matter how difficult it is, we have to grit our teeth and keep going." A confident smile appeared on Kondo's cheeks. "Toshi, you probably don't like the feeling of losing either, right?"

“Heh…” Hijikata grinned, but said nothing.

……

……

7 days ago, in the afternoon—

Shieikan, Dojo—

"Gentlemen, I won't say anything too complicated!"

Kondo's resonant voice echoed throughout every corner of the dojo.

All the disciples who will represent Shieikan in the competition the day after tomorrow have gathered at the dojo to listen to Kondo's "mobilization order".

Kondo, seated at the head of the table, stood exceptionally straight. His unusually serious tone drew everyone's attention to him.

“Some people may find it strange: the match seven days from now is not a life-or-death battle, so why make it so solemn?”

As soon as Kondo said this, the expressions of a small group of people present immediately became unnatural.

His expression was strange, and his eyes darted around.

Kondo paused for a moment, as if gathering his emotions.

"Indeed, our match with Xuanwu Hall was just an ordinary swordsmanship competition aimed at 'exchanging sword skills.' There was no gambling, let alone risking lives."

"but--"

As the conversation shifted, Kondo's tone and expression softened.

"A swordsman who challenges others but doesn't seek victory is no good swordsman!"

"Even if it's a match where losing wouldn't result in any major loss, I don't want to lose!"

"I want to win! Do you want to win?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the air in the dojo was filled with shouts of high spirits:

"We want to win! We want to win!"

"Let the Xuanwu Hall see the might of our Shiwei Hall!"

"Defeat them!"

……

Kondo Hiroaki's voice has a special charm.

His simple words brought an air of excitement and pride to the atmosphere of the temple and to the faces of many people.

"Kondo-nii is starting to feel like a big shot," Souji said with a smile.

However, at that moment, a deep male voice suddenly rang out, causing Kondo and the others, who had been full of excitement, to freeze in shock.

"So—Asheng, have you made up your mind?" Hijikata, sitting cross-legged on the cold wooden floor, rested his right elbow on his right knee, propped his head up with his right arm, and said expressionlessly, "What tactics will we use to deal with Genbukan in seven days?"

"Hahahaha..." Kondo scratched his temples awkwardly, "I... I haven't made up my mind yet..."

"Still haven't made up your mind?" Hijikata paused, taken aback.

"Hahahaha..." Kondo chuckled a few more times. "The reason I gathered you all here today is to hear your thoughts again."

In an instant, the people in the room began to discuss the matter with various expressions.

Since deciding to compete against Xuanwu Hall, Shiwei Hall has been holding meetings almost every day to discuss competition strategies.

However... the meeting has been going on for more than half a month, and as of now, no conclusion has been reached.

The reason for this is not hard to explain in detail—it's simply because the Xuanwu Hall is too strong.

Although most of the members of the Shiwei Hall were reluctant to admit it, the overall strength of the Xuanwu Hall was indeed far superior to that of their Shiwei Hall, which was an indisputable fact.

Although the Shiwei Hall has developed rapidly in recent months due to the influx of many new apprentices, the gap between it and the Xuanwu Hall, which has a very deep foundation, is obviously impossible to close in such a short period of time.

The skill gap among the people at the test hall is a very standard "pyramid shape".

Even if Qing Deng and Souji, who are at the very top, went to famous sword schools like the Genbu Hall and the Training Hall, they could still become star swordsmen.

As for those at the bottom of the tower... they're all easy prey.

The disparity in strength among the disciples is too great, with only a handful fortunate enough to stand at the top, while the rest linger in the middle and at the bottom of the pyramid—this is the current predicament facing the Shieikan.

It is precisely this predicament that has prevented Qing Deng and his teammates from deciding on a strategy to deal with the upcoming match.

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. With insufficient troops, the available tactics are far too few.

Since the first "military council" was convened, they have brainstormed many tactics... but so far, none of them have been convincing to everyone.

"How about... we use the same tactics we used to defeat the Chiba Sword Hall?" someone said timidly. "Let's send a small number of elite troops..."

"No way."

Before this person could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Qing Deng, who had originally devised this tactic.

"One of the keys to the success of the tactics you mentioned is their element of surprise."

"The best effect of defeating the enemy can only be achieved on the first use."

"I don't believe that the people from the Xuanwu Hall haven't seriously studied how the Chiba Sword Hall suffered a crushing defeat against us at the 'Plum Blossom Festival' six months ago."

"In short, this tactic, which has likely been thoroughly studied by the opponent, should absolutely not be used again."

Before Qingdeng could finish speaking, a burly man with a large build shouted loudly:

"Then let's just forget about tactics and strategies! Let's charge straight in and confront the Xuanwu Hall head-on!"

“I agree!” Another burly man sitting next to the first echoed, “Half a year ago, when Hijikata-kun and Genji were not around, we were still able to utterly defeat the Chiba Sword Hall! Now, all the experts of our Shiei Hall are here! Why should we fear the Genbu Hall?”

"Haha, that won't work."

Inoue smiled helplessly, shook his head slightly, and continued:

“You have no idea how terrifying Chiba Michizaburo is… If Chiba Michizaburo weren’t participating, we could try using the ‘direct, aggressive charge’ style of play that you mentioned.”

"Is that Chiba Michizaburo really that good?" A young man sitting opposite Inoue tilted his head in confusion.

“Well… how should I put it…” Inoue reached out and scratched his scalp, which was exceptionally smooth due to his shaved head.

While Inoue was still pondering, Souji chuckled and preemptively answered for him:

"Let me put it this way—the fearless Mr. Hijikata, upon learning that Chiba Michizaburo was confirmed to participate in this competition, his expression changed drastically, and he said in a deep voice: 'This battle is going to be tough.'"

"Is that Chiba Michizaburo really that strong?" Souji's easy-to-understand explanation left the person who had just asked the question staring wide-eyed in astonishment.

Hijikata's eccentric and unrestrained personality, seemingly unaware of the meaning of "fear," had already deeply penetrated the hearts of the students of Shieikan.

"Sōji, you bastard..."

Hijikata glared at Souji with annoyance, then slowly said, as if trying to save face:

"Don't make me sound like some ignorant fool."

"I understand the principle that 'there are mountains beyond mountains, the sky is higher than mountains, and the Milky Way is higher than the sky. We must never be arrogant.'"