I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"I don't know if you have witnessed Chiba Michizaburo's strength."

"I've had the privilege of meeting you a few times."

A faint look of reminiscence crossed Hijikata's brow, and his expression became solemn.

"Chiba Michizaburo's swordsmanship... has reached a level that an ordinary person could never achieve even if they devoted their entire life to diligent study."

"Tsk... Thinking about it carefully... it feels so unfair." The young man who had just asked, "Is Chiba Dosaburo strong?" now drooped his head. "Chiba Dosaburo, as the head of the Genbukan, actually went to the match himself... isn't that bullying the weak?"

“That’s not how it works,” Inoue said softly. “The headmaster of the Genbukan personally participated in the competition, and so did the headmaster of our Shieikan.”

"Although the master swordsman is still nominally the owner of our Swordsmanship Hall, he has long ago entrusted most of the hall's operations to the junior swordsman."

"Therefore, the young master has long been the de facto new owner of our Test Guard Hall."

"Therefore, there is no such thing as 'bullying the weak,' and there is no obvious difference in the level or status of the participants on both sides."

"I feel like we've gone off-topic!" Hijikata tapped the floor impatiently with his fingers. "Let's get back to the point! How exactly are we going to play the match in seven days?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

……

The crowd looked at each other.

No one uttered a sound; the spacious temple was enveloped in boundless silence.

"Tachibana-kun!"

At that moment, Souji suddenly turned his hopeful gaze to Aoto.

Do you have any good ideas?

As soon as Souji finished speaking, many people followed his example and looked at Aoto with expectant expressions.

Last time, it was your brilliant strategy that helped us defeat the Chiba Sword Hall despite being the weaker force! Can you repeat that feat once again? — This is the implication behind Souji and the others' words and actions at this moment.

Unfortunately, Qingdeng disappointed them.

“I’m sorry…” Qingdeng shook his head with a wry smile, “I don’t have any good ideas for the time being.”

Qing Deng was not familiar with Xuanwu Hall at all, had never fought with anyone from Xuanwu Hall, and did not know many people from Xuanwu Hall.

The severe lack of information left Qing Deng's mind blank.

Suddenly, Kondo, who had been silent since the beginning, spoke up:

"Ah, speaking of which... Tachibana-kun, there's something I almost forgot to tell you. This morning, I received a very credible tip."

After Qing Deng's gaze was drawn to his words, Kondo, who had his arms crossed over his chest, spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Tachibana-kun, the match in 7 days is going to be quite tough for you."

"Hard work? Why?" Qing Deng asked rhetorically.

"It is said that when Chiba Michizaburo was recruiting volunteers for this competition, a large number of skilled swordsmen who had previously been indifferent to this type of swordsmanship duel or had no interest in sparring with our Shieikan actively signed up. Can you guess why they did so?"

"Ha..." Qing Deng smiled calmly, realizing what was happening. "Is it... so you can compete with me?"

"Yes."

Kondo nodded vigorously.

"From what I've heard, a large number of masters from the Genbu Hall have eagerly entered the competition to test the skills of 'Nioh'."

"So in 7 days... there is a high probability that many people will launch a fierce attack on you regardless of the consequences."

At this point, Kondo's lips curled up, and he gave Aoto a calm smile.

"You'd better be mentally prepared."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng laughed heartily:

"Let them come at me! I can take this opportunity to see just how capable the swordsmen of the Xuanwu Hall really are!"

Many masters from the Xuanwu Hall participated in the competition in order to fight him? This is exactly what Qing Deng wanted!

Why wouldn't Qingdeng seize such an opportunity to replicate a large number of useful talents?

"Ha ha ha ha."

The commander turned his face and gave Qing Deng a smile with a strong sense of mockery.

"If you can replicate what you did at the Chiba Kendo Hall in seven days, then the name 'Niou' will be even more awe-inspiring."

Qing Deng defeated 18 disciples of the Chiba Sword Hall in succession, until no one in the Chiba Sword Hall dared to fight anymore—this kind of thing that could not be hidden at all had been spread far and wide long ago.

Compared to Qing Deng's previous achievements, his mere defeat of the masters of the Chiba Sword Hall seems rather insignificant.

Therefore, after the news of Seido's new deeds spread, it did not cause much of a stir in the city or the swordsmanship world of Edo. It only made the name "Niou" more famous and gave the people of Edo more to talk about during their leisure time.

Aoto did not respond to Souji's teasing remark.

Because at that very moment... to put it more precisely, after listening to Kondo's reminder, Aoto suddenly felt a flash of inspiration in his mind.

Inspiration is such a mysterious thing. When you intentionally pursue it, it is slow to appear; when you don't want to possess it, it often suddenly appears without warning.

"Tachibana-kun?"

Souji noticed Aoto's unusual behavior and called out Aoto's name softly in confusion.

But at this moment, Qingdeng could no longer hear any sounds from the outside world.

His entire mind was absorbed in thought.

The chaotic thoughts in my mind, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, suddenly pieced together a brand new plan.

Although it is quite risky, if handled properly, we can definitely defeat the Genbu Hall's plan beautifully!

Coincidentally, at almost the same time, Hijikata also showed a look of sudden realization, as if he had just thought of something.

"...Orange."

"Hmm?" Qing Deng, who had gradually come back to his senses from his deep thoughts, turned to look at Tu Fang, who had suddenly called him.

“I suddenly… have a new idea.” Hijikata raised his head, looking seriously into Aoto’s eyes. “For the match in seven days, would you be interested in becoming our captain?”

"What a coincidence..." Qing Deng said with a smile, "It seems we've thought of the same thing..."

……

……

Let's go back to the present—

"what……"

Qingdeng exhaled a breath of stale air and smiled self-deprecatingly.

"We were really reckless..."

The tactics that Aoto and Hijikata had jointly devised seven days prior, without prior consultation, were quite simple in content—

Souji, Kondo, Hijikata, and Inoue were tasked with holding off Chiba Dosaburo, while Aoto, who had extensive experience fighting outnumbered opponents, led the remaining men to "annihilate" all the opponents except Chiba Dosaburo. Finally, they concentrated all their forces to attack Chiba Dosaburo together.

To put it simply, this tactic takes advantage of the fact that many of the Xuanwu Hall's fighters only went to the competition to face Qingdeng.

Chiba Michizaburo's strength is unfathomable, so let's not fight him for now. Let's use a small number of elite troops to keep him occupied for the time being.

Let Aoto, who is inherently "easily targeted by the opponent", lead the main force to launch a fierce attack, until Chiba Dosaburo becomes a "lone commander", and then turn around to deal with this great swordsman who uses two swords slowly!

The reason for choosing Qing Deng as the commander-in-chief was simply to better "draw fire" and attract more people to fight against Qing Deng.

The entire operational plan sounded wonderful and feasible, but it was far too risky, and many people strongly opposed this radical strategy.

After discussing it on and off until the night before last, everyone finally made a decision—we couldn't come up with any better plan! Let's take a gamble with the tactics devised by Qingdeng and Tufang!

"Wa ...

Just as Qing Deng was secretly marveling at their audacity, a loud shout from behind him interrupted his thoughts.

With his superb footwork, someone approached Qingdeng from the side and rear, and with the bamboo sword held above him, he slashed down from above Qingdeng's head. The tip of the sword, like a fierce snake emerging from its hole, went straight for the porcelain bowl in front of Qingdeng's forehead.

Seeing this, Qing Deng unleashed a reverse torso slash from below.

The two attacks appeared evenly matched, but in reality, Qingdeng's sword struck first despite being attacked later.

With a "crack".

Another person's porcelain bowl was smashed.

The renowned Xuanwu Hall was suddenly beheaded by Qing Deng in the blink of an eye.

A hint of anxiety began to appear on the proud Chiba Tamon Shiro's face.

Chiba Michizaburo, however, remained quite calm and composed.

*******

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Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! It's been a bit short lately, but I'll try my best to make it longer again! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 218 Acquired Three Talents in Succession: Keen Eyes that Pierce Clouds and Split Rocks, and a Minor Master of Mathematics [6200]

Currently, thanks to the deliberate design of Qing Deng and others, the arena has been divided into two battle zones—

Souji, Kondo, Hijikata, and Inoue vs. Chiba Michizaburo.

Aoto's Shieikan contingent versus Chiba Tamonshiro's Genbukan contingent.

At that moment, Chiba Tamon Shiro also realized what the Shieikan side was planning.

Just as Chiba Tamon Shiro lowered his eyelids, pondering how to launch a powerful counterattack, his mature and steady third brother, who rarely shouted, unusually yelled at him:

"Si Lang, you don't need to worry about me."

Chiba Michizaburo calmly scanned the four people surrounding him, including Souji.

"I can handle these people on my own; they don't need to help me."

Several Genbu-kan swordsmen who had originally intended to rush forward to support their master stopped in their tracks, looking stunned, after hearing Chiba Dosaburo's shout.