I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The two women, their expressions instantly becoming unusually serious as they entered battle mode, simultaneously drew their weapons and charged towards Tada Kōemon like arrows released from a bow.

Since her purpose in going out tonight was simply to buy some clothes, Sanako naturally wouldn't bring her most proficient naginata with her. The only weapon she carried was a wakizashi at her waist, mainly used for self-defense.

Even so, Sanako showed no fear on her face.

Based on Sanako's personality... let alone a wakizashi, even if she had no weapons at all, she would still dare to fight bravely against a powerful enemy.

At this moment, the people rushing towards Tada Kōemon were not only Souji and Sanako, but also Hijikata, Saitō, and Nagakura.

The three of them, along with the two women, attacked Tada Kōemon from the left, rear, and right respectively.

The formidable advantage of "long attack range" in battle is once again on display at this moment.

Tada Kōemon's sharp eyes swept across the onrushing crowd along the shaft of his spear, and then he wielded his large spear with the ease of deftly flicking a wick.

The gun swept in a clockwise circle, kicking up clouds of dust and forcing the crowd back.

Seizing the opening just after Tada Koemon launched his attack, Aoto and Kondo... even though they hadn't discussed it beforehand, they seemed to be on the same wavelength and rushed forward at the same time!

The two, who were in perfect sync, approached Tada Kōemon's body from the left and right.

Natural Rishin-ryu - Tiger Tail!

Natural Rishin-ryu: Moon Shadow!

Aoto and Kondo, two sharp blades with different trajectories and different sword techniques, approached Tada Kōemon's body!

"Hmph! Traitor! You've got some skills!"

With a technique that contained many subtle skills, Tada Kōemon retracted the Ōshin-nii ...

Kondo's sword was originally aimed at Tada Kōemon's right shoulder, which was unprotected by armor and located in the gap between the armor plates.

However, because Tada Kōemon slightly turned his body, Kondo's sword strike went astray.

The blade grazed its thick breastplate, sparking a trail of orange-red sparks.

Qingdeng wanted to immediately pursue, but the roar like a tiger, and the long spearhead that would surely shatter any body even if one was not killed if it hit him, pressed down half a step ahead of Qingdeng.

"Waaaaaaahhhhhh!"

His hair and beard bristled, he took a step back, and then planted his large spear diagonally into the ground to his right, the tip of the spear slightly embedded in the soil.

Obstructed by the soil, the tip of the spear froze for a moment—within that instant, astonishing power was accumulating from the tip of the tassel to the base of the shaft.

Immediately afterwards, like a hurricane, the long spear that moved with him was like a battle axe, sweeping diagonally from the lower right to the upper left towards Aoto and Kondo.

With a total length of 2 meters, Tada Kōemon could easily cover multiple opponents with a single, casual strike.

The massive spear, rising abruptly from the ground, its shaft wielding immense force, stirred the air, creating a whistling sound and raising clouds of dust and mud from the surrounding ground.

Lighter dust particles are carried by the swirling air currents, tumbling and rolling, scattering in all directions.

Before the gun even arrived, clods of mud rained down on him.

It must be said that Tada Kōemon's move was truly insidious, undoubtedly a deadly and devastating attack.

The gun tip struck the opponent's mud clod first, creating a "disruption of vision" effect.

When faced with a sudden, splashing shard of mud, those who are not skilled or lack combat experience will instinctively close their eyes or raise their hands to shield themselves.

If you're unlucky, mud might hit your eyes directly, making it impossible to see for a short period of time.

Tada Kōemon's move reminded Aoto of Sanako's special technique, which he had just witnessed yesterday: Water Reversal.

The former uses dust to obscure vision, while the latter relies on water flow and shimmering light to deceive the enemy.

Although this "mud-throwing" tactic is very clever, it is not wrong—in a battle to the death, who cares about martial virtue?

While Tada Kōemon's move was impressive, it was clear that this level of technique was not enough to pose a significant threat to Aoto and Kondo.

The former is none other than the currently renowned "Niou," while the latter is the next head of the Tennen Rishin-ryu sect!

Neither of them was startled by the sudden dust and instinctively closed their eyes, nor did they raise their hands to shield themselves.

He simply took a step back with a calm expression, retreating with ease to the range of the mud splash and beyond the range of Tada Kōemon's diagonal sweep attack.

As he retreated, Qing Deng also launched a counterattack against Tada Kōemon—using the mid-section stance of the "Stabilizing Demon God" technique, he drew a straight line and thrust it into Tada Kōemon in mid-air.

Qing Deng originally intended to attack Tada Kōemon's torso directly, but his sword couldn't reach it. So he had to change his target to Tada Kōemon's right hand fingers—the fingers were one of the few parts of this guy's body that weren't protected by armor plates!

Because the attack was launched hastily, and the target was rather small, unfortunately, Qing Deng's strike missed and hit the back of Tada Kōemon's hand, which was protected by a gauntlet.

With a clang, the tip of the knife struck a solid object, sparking brightly. Then, the entire knife was bounced aside by the reaction force.

So hard!

Feeling the tingling and numb sensation, like an electric current, travel from the blade of the Ghost-Stabilizing Blade to his palm, Qing Deng suddenly realized: he really had experienced quite a few "firsts" in the past two days!

Yesterday morning I fought my first battle against a master of naginata, and last night I fought my first battle against a master of kusarigama.

This is the first time they've fought an enemy wearing armor.

Qing Deng understood Kondo's earlier remark—armor was truly a deadly weapon on the battlefield!

The samurai sword... no, all blades in the world, were never designed to penetrate armor!

Anyone with a basic understanding of martial arts knows that swords and blades are powerless against armor. Most people can't even easily split a piece of wood with a single blow, let alone iron, which is harder than wood.

The weapons that truly pose a significant threat to armor are heavy weapons such as hammers, whips, and maces.

This is why every country still in the era of cold weapons strictly controls armor—the protective capabilities provided by armor are simply too strong.

An ordinary person, after putting on a decent suit of armor, can increase their combat power from 1 point to 10 points, or even 20 points! For those without armor, it's like a complete dimensional reduction attack.

—With a long attack range, superb marksmanship, and armor... he's a real troublesome opponent...

After pondering this for a moment, Qingdeng frowned slightly, then thought to himself:

—How strange… This guy looks like he hasn’t had a proper meal in ages, so why does he still have so much energy left in his body…?

Tada Kōemon's body was filthy, as if it had been splashed with ink; his exposed skin was covered in grime. His deeply sunken cheeks left two deep, knife-carved lines on his face.

He looked like he hadn't had enough nutrition for a long time and had been starving.

Such a weak body could so skillfully display such agile movements and use such powerful moves... This left Qing Deng completely baffled.

From the perspective of the battlefield situation, Tada Kōemon undoubtedly had the advantage of "territory".

Tada Kōemon was 1.9 meters tall, and the total length of the spear he carried was over 2 meters.

A burly man, 1.9 meters tall, wielded a 2-meter-long spear... His attack range was at least three times that of Qing Deng and his men.

The street where the two groups are currently located is a bustling commercial street with a wide surface that can accommodate more than ten adults walking side by side.

In this environment, long weapons like the spear have a significant advantage.

However, "advantageous location" is a relative concept.

The vast battlefield allowed Tada Kōemon to fully unleash the power of his "long attack range"... but it also allowed Aoto and his group to fully demonstrate their advantage of "number of people"!

"Well……!"

Tada Kōemon suddenly screamed in agony.

While Tada Kōemon was focused on dealing with Aoto and Kondo, Harada stealthily "sneaked" up behind him and stabbed him hard in the back.

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I'm so sorry! Today's chapter is a bit short (crying leopard.jpg). I was originally able to finish writing about the battle with Tada Kōemon in one chapter today, but now I have to split it into two chapters (lazy leopard.jpg).

To make up for it, I, the author, will definitely update more tomorrow! I won't stop until I've written 8 or 9000 words! Considering my sincere apology, please vote for this book with some monthly tickets... (Leopard weathered by time.jpg)

Chapter 247 Another expert slain! Copying the talent [Tiger's Arm]! [5200]

Everyone's here tonight to enjoy the fireworks display, not to fight, so Harada's beloved gun is currently kept at the Shieikan and isn't with him.

However, Harada was still a samurai, so he still wore the two swords, one long and one short, that symbolized his samurai status properly at his waist.

Although he was far less skilled in spear fighting, Harada was at least somewhat proficient in swordsmanship.

Harada's swift slash struck Tada Kōemon squarely through a gap in his left shoulder armor, wounding Tada Kōemon's left shoulder.

In an instant, streams of scalding blood splattered out from the gaps in the armor.

Perhaps due to the pain, Tada Kōemon's eyes became even redder—more worm-like red blood vessels appeared in the whites of his eyes.

"Waaaaaaah!"

His momentum only increased, and he suddenly turned around using his right leg as a pivot.

The gun moves with the body! The centrifugal force generated by rotating the body is transmitted through the waist and arms to the gun barrel and the gun tip, producing a sharp "whoosh" sound that is quite frightening.

Harada, who is usually quite unreliable, only shows a rare seriousness in life-or-death duels where they have to fight with real weapons.

Harada stood solemnly, neither flustered nor confused, neither greedy for a strike nor foolish, simply standing still to take Tada Kōemon's attack head-on.

He calmly retreated three steps, dodging the spearhead with centimeter-level accuracy.

This is a common trait among marksmanship experts—because their weapons are long and have a wide range of attack range, they are all very good at controlling the distance between themselves and their opponents.

Moreover, Harada also possesses a talent that gives him an "excellent sense of space": "Insight".

With this talent, Harada is quite adept at dodging other people's attacks.

In the blink of an eye, another person seized the opportunity and slipped in, appearing to Tada Kōemon's left front side.

"Drink up!"

Inoue Genzaburo's figure, and the gleam of the white blade in his hand, stretched long by the moonlight, pressed down on Tada Kōemon's head like a mountain.

The blade swung down from above, aiming straight for Tada Kōemon's face! The sound of the blade cutting through the air was deafening!

This time, Tada Kōemon prevented Inoue from succeeding in his sneak attack like Harada had.

He roared and swung his large spear like a wheel, bringing the shaft horizontally above his head. After narrowly deflecting Inoue's downward slash, he adjusted the spear and launched a fierce attack, slashing and thrusting at Inoue's body.

In terms of individual strength, Inoue, who possesses the complete mastery of the Natural Rishin-ryu style, is one of the strongest members of the Shieikan.

Inoue got into position and fearlessly launched an attack against Tada Kōemon.

Amidst the sandstorm whipped up by the wind pressure from wielding swords and spears, swordsmen and spearmen, blades and gleaming blades, clashed and leaped, emitting fierce clangs and flashes.

In the blink of an eye, Inoue and Tada Koemon had exchanged more than ten blows, with neither gaining the upper hand.