I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Meanwhile, Aoto and Souji were not idle either; they kept looking for opportunities to launch surprise attacks on Chiba Michizaburo.

But without exception, both of their swords were either blocked or dodged by Chiba Dosaburo.

While simultaneously dealing with the fierce attacks from Kondo and Hijikata, he was also able to spare some attention to deal with the attacks from Aoto and Souji... Such observational skills, such brain information processing ability, and such reaction speed are truly astonishing.

Qing Deng was certain that Chiba Michizaburo was also a super genius with multiple powerful talents.

If one only possessed the brain's information processing ability to "multitask," it would be impossible to wield such a domineering sword.

Regardless of the level of the battle, victory or defeat is often decided by some minor details.

Hijikata is not the kind of person with plenty of physical strength.

At that moment, perhaps due to the fatigue caused by the long and intense battle, Hijikata slowed down his movements by half a beat when he pulled back the sword he had just swung out.

It was just a fleeting opportunity that would slip away in the blink of an eye... but Chiba Michizaburo, with his almost unbelievable speed of reaction, managed to seize it!

call--!

Chiba Michizaburo suddenly raised his katana, and in the instant the tip of the sword was raised to its highest point, "blocking" the sun that was about to reach the highest point in the sky, he slashed out with the blade!

Hijikata's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pupils.

He instinctively wanted to raise his sword in response—but the bamboo sword he had just swung out hadn't yet been retracted in front of him.

Tu Fang was, after all, an extremely experienced fighter known as "Thorn Child".

The physical instincts cultivated through extensive fighting experience helped Tu Fang successfully turn the tide at this moment.

Realizing he had no time to defend himself, Hijikata's body reacted before his brain could—he pushed off the ground with both feet and leaped backward, widening the distance between himself and Chiba Dosaburo.

The tip of the katana grazed past Hijikata's clothes... Hijikata's timely movement allowed him to successfully dodge Chiba Dosaburo's sword, but the hasty evasion left Hijikata's center of gravity and posture extremely unstable.

Chiba Michizaburo only needs to deliver one more follow-up attack to Hijikata to send him off the field for a rest.

At this moment, Aoto, Souji, and Kondo also noticed the crisis Hijikata was facing and rushed forward to try to cover him.

However, Chiba Michizaburo, who was so adept at seizing opportunities, clearly wouldn't let Aoto and the others rescue Hijikata so easily.

He glanced to the side and instantly recognized Qing Deng and the others' positions. Then he raised the wakizashi in his left hand... The wakizashi quickly swung, forming a transparent, solid wall.

A solid wall blocked Qingdeng and his group from advancing any further.

Using only a wakizashi to stop Aoto and the other two... would only hold them off for about two seconds at most.

However, 2 seconds is enough for Chiba Michizaburo!

Taking advantage of the moment when Aoto, Souji, and Kondo were blocked, Chiba Michizaburo strode forward, closing in on Hijikata, who had not yet had time to adjust his stance.

His unstable stance made it impossible for him to raise his sword to defend or move his feet to dodge... There was no way to turn the tide.

pat!

Following Inoue, Hijikata's porcelain bowl was also smashed...

The reality of defeat caused Hijikata, who was proud and had a fiery temper, to turn pale and then red.

But Hijikata isn't the kind of person who can't accept defeat.

Although he found the reality before him hard to accept, Hijikata remained calm, picked up his bamboo sword, and silently retreated to the sidelines.

Inoue and Hijikata suffered defeat after defeat... Faced with this ever-reversing situation on the field, the spectators at Shinsho Shieikan in the "audience" all showed expressions of astonishment, dumbfoundedness, and solemnity.

Conversely, the spectators who favored Xuanwu Hall were greatly encouraged and their fighting spirit was greatly boosted.

No matter what the atmosphere in the "spectator stands" became, it didn't matter to Qing Deng and the others on the field—because they were highly focused and their whole mind was on "how to defeat the opponent in front of them," so they had no energy or leisure to pay attention to anything other than the battle.

Pasho—another large clump of soil was shoveled away.

Chiba Michizaburo dodged the "rain of fire" unleashed by Aoto, Souji, and Kondo, leaping high into the air on the muddy ground, using the force of gravity to bring his twin swords, raised above his head, down with a powerful slash! At Kondo!

This time, Chiba Michizaburo's target is Kondo.

Kondo possessed abundant stamina befitting his robust physique. After fighting for so long, apart from his cheeks being slightly flushed and his breathing being a little rapid, Kondo showed no other abnormalities.

Chiba Dosaburo's single-arm strength was enough to rival that of Aoto and Kondo, who were using both arms and had their "Lone Courage" buffs fully activated... Therefore, Kondo dared not be overconfident and dared not take Chiba Dosaburo's "Double Vertical Slash" head-on.

Just as Kondo jumped back, Chiba Michizaburo crashed down like a meteorite onto the spot where Kondo had just been standing.

Chiba Michizaburo did not expect his leaping slash to have any effective effect on Kondo.

So he hid a follow-up move in his leaping slash.

It happened again.

Chiba Michizaburo's "Big Windmill".

The katana drew an arc in the air, its blade moving so fast that it left only a blurry afterimage. Kondo frantically held the bamboo sword to his side, barely managing to protect the porcelain bowl on his forehead.

Slash after slash... that's what makes the "windmill" so terrifying.

Following closely behind the katana was the wakizashi, whose power and presence were equally terrifying.

The wakizashi traced an arc, precisely approaching Kondo's porcelain bowl.

Because the slashes were continuous, Kondo had a frighteningly short time to react. Unable to retreat and dodge in time, Kondo could only grit his teeth, grip his sword tightly, and prepare to continue to withstand Chiba Dosaburo's continuous slashes.

While the "windmill" attack left Kondo in a sorry state, it also prevented Aoto and Souji from getting close.

In the blink of an eye, the "windmill" had already spun three times... Kondo withstood Chiba Michizaburo's six consecutive slashes.

The continuous slashes... but that's not actually the most terrifying part of Chiba Michizaburo's "windmill".

What makes him most terrifying is that the rhythm of each of his attacks is completely chaotic!

If the force, speed, and interval between each strike are the same, then it is not difficult to defend against; you just need to master the rhythm.

However, Chiba Michizaburo's "windmill" is not like that... His next sword strike may be heavier or lighter; it may come faster or slower...

This kind of attack, which completely disrupts the rhythm of the attack, is a great test of the user's personal skills.

If your skill level is not high enough, you will not only fail to injure your opponent, but you will also suffer from "side effects" that disrupt your own physical rhythm.

But Chiba Michizaburo did not have this problem at all.

Only extremely strong physical coordination could enable Chiba Michizaburo to use such a move that ordinary people could never do.

But on the other hand—if one could perfectly execute such a reckless move… it would be a nightmare for the opponent.

In order to defend against such a chaotic and continuous barrage of attacks, one's own body rhythm will inevitably be affected uncontrollably.

If you don't pay close attention or don't have a certain level of body management skills, you'll find that your body's rhythm is in complete disarray when you come to your senses.

For example, right now... Kondo is facing this situation.

After receiving six consecutive slashes from Chiba Michizaburo, his coordination had become extremely disordered.

As expected, Chiba Michizaburo, with his extremely keen "sense of fighter jets," immediately pounced.

It was the same old routine: the wakizashi on his left forced back Aoto and Souji, preventing them from getting in his way. His right hand thrust out a katana, sweeping horizontally! Attacking Kondo!

Kondo reacted quickly, turning to the side to protect his chest with the bamboo sword. However, his hands and feet, which were in a rather uncoordinated state, made a mistake – the defensive angle was not ideal, and he did not bring the sword to a suitable position.

With a loud "crack," Kondo's flawed defense was shattered, and the bamboo sword seemed to slip from his grasp, flying high into the sky... Kondo's body was now wide open.

Chiba Michizaburo then returned his katana to its optimal attack position.

As the katana was swung again, a new shard of porcelain lay on the ground...

Kondo Isami... also lost.

The favorable situation of 5 against 1 was turned into 2 against 1 in just a few minutes... Chiba Michizaburo pressed his advantage and wanted to quickly defeat Aoto and Souji in one fell swoop!

Having discerned Chiba Dozaburo's intentions, the two straightened their expressions, spread their legs, and steadyed their swords, preparing to face the impending "storm."

The scene that had just played out was repeated on the field—one sword against one person, Chiba Michizaburo's wakizashi against Souji, while his katana against Aoto.

With lightning speed, he charged left and right, his sword flashing.

The three fought fiercely, exchanging blows and remaining evenly matched.

Perhaps realizing that a simple, forceful attack would be insufficient to defeat his two remaining opponents, Chiba Michizaburo unleashed a sweeping slash, forcing Aoto and Souji to dodge, while he himself used the opportunity to retreat.

He retreated to a distance of more than ten steps from Qingdeng and the other man before slowly stopping.

Faced with Chiba Michizaburo's retreat, Aoto and Souji did not pursue him—because they both tacitly chose to take this opportunity to catch their breath and think carefully about how to defeat Chiba Michizaburo.

"Huff...huff...huff...huff...huff..." Qing Deng's breathing became rapid.

Before fighting Chiba Dosaburo, he had already exhausted a lot of his strength by fighting more than ten swordsmen from the Genbukan.

Facing a master of Chiba Michizaburo's caliber... the psychological pressure and the physical challenge would be immense.

Even with "strong sperm" and a newly replicated "iron lung," it couldn't withstand such consumption.

As for Souji, her situation is even worse than Aoto's.

"Haa...haa...haa...haa...haa..."

The commander-in-chief had to open his mouth wide and inhale deeply through both his mouth and nose to ensure his body received enough oxygen.

Her rapid breathing created an overwhelming sound barrier, drowning out all other sounds around her.

Okita Souji's fighting style is "high burst damage," and her stamina is far from abundant. She excels at unleashing extremely powerful combat strength in a short period of time to defeat her opponents in one fell swoop. She is quite unskilled in prolonged battles that require maintaining a fighting state for a long time.

Seeing the souji's condition, Qing Deng couldn't help but worry whether she had the strength to continue fighting, so he couldn't help but ask:

"Sōji, are you still able to fight?"

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, Souji immediately tilted her cute face up, wiping the beads of sweat that were about to drip from her chin with the back of her left hand, and smiled sweetly at Qing Deng, saying without hesitation:

"Of course!"

Looking at the commander's big smiling face, Qing Deng's lips unconsciously curled up slightly.

"Is that so... That's good. If you can't fight anymore, I'll be in a difficult position. I can't defeat Chiba Michizaburo on my own."

The combined forces of Souji, Kondo, and others—five against one—were all beaten into this state.

If he were to fight Chiba Dosaburo one-on-one, he would probably be used as a punching bag.

His current strength was far inferior to Chiba Michizaburo's—this was an undeniable objective fact. Aoto didn't intend to deny it, nor did he feel it was anything to be ashamed of.

"Hahaha..." Souji chuckled a few times, speaking in a half-joking tone, "It's not like you can defeat Chiba Michizaburo just because I'm helping you. Tachibana-kun, for the current situation... do you have any secret strategies to break this deadlock?"

At this point, Souji changed the subject, his tone becoming slightly more serious.

"To be honest—if we don't quickly rack our brains and come up with some ingenious strategies or secret techniques, we're afraid we'll lose this battle today..."