I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Although his strike just now failed to harm Qing Deng in the slightest, fortunately... his goal has been achieved.

*Snap!*

The tiny sound of a flame being struck brought light.

As the candles were relit, the room, which was neither too big nor too small, became bright again.

In an instant, countless gazes focused on Qing Deng.

"I see him! Where is he?!"

"Damn it! Charge! Surround him! Surround him!"

"Don't be impulsive! Our opponent is Tachibana Aoto! Haven't we suffered enough losses at Tachibana Aoto's hands?"

"That's right! Don't be reckless! Go and dismantle some paper sliding doors, tatami mats, and wooden planks to make shields!"

While holding his sword, Qing Deng calmly scanned the faces and positions of the enemies in front of him.

Just then, out of the corner of Qing Deng's left eye, he caught a glimpse of three figures approaching the hostage from three sides, their figures as dark as ink.

The five girls who were taken hostage did Qingdeng a great favor—they only screamed in terror and did not stand up or run around.

Qingdeng wasn't afraid of their fear or their shouts; he was only afraid of them running around and making a rash move.

If they were to run around and move about in this room filled with the clash of swords, even someone as strong as Qing Deng wouldn't be 100% confident that he could protect them.

Even though there was no space left behind them, the girls still tried desperately to squeeze their bodies into the corner as if they wanted to flatten themselves.

Qing Deng thought to himself: These three people who rushed towards the girls probably wanted to use them as hostages to threaten him.

Qing Deng did not forget his purpose in this battle because he was caught up in the heat of the moment—he quickly turned around and leaped out!

Before they even had time to cry out, one of the three men closest to the girls was instantly split in two—literally, physically.

The spirit-controlling demon entered the man's right neck with a knife and exited from under his left armpit, slicing the man's body in two with perfectly clean cuts.

The moment her feet landed back on the tatami mat, Qing Deng spread her arms and spun around like a top.

As he spun around, Qing Deng swung his right hand, unleashing the Ghost-Slaying Blade in his palm to slash diagonally, slicing open the throat of another enemy trying to approach the girls. With a swift movement of his left arm, he grabbed the last person by the neck, then, using the centrifugal force of the spin, twisted and snapped their neck.

—6, 7, 8…!

The three remaining members of the Extermination Group who were close to the girls were all killed... In the blink of an eye, Qing Deng had swiftly resolved the girls' crisis.

If these girls stay here, I won't be able to fight at full strength.

Therefore, Qingdeng stepped half a step to the side, shielding the girls behind him again, and shouted without turning his head:

"Quickly escape through the window! There's an eaves outside the window; use the eaves to jump overboard! Soldiers who have been turned into thieves will be waiting for you outside!"

Upon hearing Qingdeng's words, the girls were all greatly shocked.

The woman said tremblingly, "Window... window...? But... but... the building is so tall..."

"I'm fighting for you, and you're fussing over this trivial matter..." A nameless rage surged within Qingdeng, who, while suppressing his anger, impatiently shouted:

"This is the second floor of the house! It's less than two rooms off the ground! As long as you jump off the eaves, you won't die!" [Note: 1 room = 1.818 meters]

"Look at the situation! Do you want to stay here and get hacked to death, or do you want to escape through the window?"

Qingdeng's words gave the girls a strong boost of confidence.

A petite and rather cute little girl was the first to stand up with a reckless expression and rush toward the window next to her.

Immediately afterwards, the other girls followed suit.

Suddenly, someone in the enemy ranks shouted:

"Ah! The hostages are trying to escape!"

Then, the one-armed warrior roared:

"Don't let those girls escape! Quickly bring all those women back!"

Although he didn't know if it would work, the one-armed warrior wanted to try to use these girls to threaten Qing Deng and force him to comply.

One-Armed Samurai: "Hurry up! Pile all these planks, tatami mats, and paper sliding doors in front!"

Eight remnants of the Extermination Group, carrying wooden planks, tatami mats, paper sliding doors, and other items that had just been dismantled from various parts of the house, formed a dense shield wall in front of Qing Deng, stretching from the left side of the room to the right.

As soon as the shield wall was formed, it began to collide with each other with loud "bang" sounds, and then it crashed down on Qingdeng like a giant wave.

It seems they want to emulate the story of the "Sword Master General" Ashikaga Yoshiteru.

Legend has it that Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the "Sword Master General" who, more than three hundred years ago, planted hidden knives all over the corridor and slaughtered all enemy soldiers who dared to step into it, killing them one by one, or two by two, and immediately pulled out a new knife from the wall or floor of the corridor to continue killing when his knife became dull, was surrounded by soldiers with wooden planks and tatami mats, and finally died in humiliation after being besieged.

Qing Deng remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the shield wall rushing straight towards him.

The one-armed warrior and his men were in high spirits and their morale soared with the arrival of reinforcements.

They probably never imagined... From another perspective, the arrival of support has actually dragged them into a new perilous situation—in Qingdeng's talent list, "Lone Wolf" is currently radiating a brilliant golden light, signifying "talent activated"!

In the blink of an eye, Qing Deng suddenly flipped his right wrist, changing the grip of the Ding Gui Shen knife from upright to inverted, and then forcefully threw the knife forward!

The Dingguishen, shooting out from mid-air, pierced through the gap between two "shields" in front of it and struck the chest of someone behind the shield wall.

How sharp is the power to subdue ghosts and spirits? How great is the power of Qing Deng?

The hard sternum is no different from brittle paper in front of the blade that can subdue ghosts and gods.

The blade pierced through the man's flesh and bones without any resistance, only stopping when the hilt was deeply embedded in the skin of his chest.

--9 pcs……!

At the same time as he threw out the "Deity-Slaying" spell, Qing Deng's body activated simultaneously!

He crouched low, his upper body almost touching the ground as he sprinted forward. After a few quick steps, he suddenly slid forward!

Qingdeng's body, like a slippery fish, "whoosh" passed between the legs of one of the "shield soldiers" who was forming the shield wall! He arrived behind the shield wall! He slid right in front of the unlucky guy whose body had been pierced by the Ghost-Stabilizing God he had thrown!

Because Qing Deng was so fast and his moves were so unpredictable, no one present expected that he would break through their shield wall in such a way!

Before Qing Deng could even draw his sword, he had already broken through the shield wall. In the next instant, he smoothly leaped behind the shield wall and flipped himself up with a nimble somersault.

At this moment, the unfortunate fellow who had been stabbed in the back by the spirit was too weak to stand up straight due to the loss of his life force. His shoulders slumped, his head hung low, and his knees were on the ground. His body seemed to be dragged forward by his head.

Just as he was about to fall, Qing Deng raised his right foot and hooked the man's clothes with his toes. Then, he pointed his toes upward, causing the man's body to lean backward, changing from "his face, chest, and the hilt of the Ghost-Slaying Knife stuck in his chest facing the ground" to "his face, chest, and the hilt of the Ghost-Slaying Knife stuck in his chest facing the ceiling."

Qing Deng raised his hand, grabbed the hilt of the sword, and pulled the Ding Guishen sword back. After a brief separation, his beloved sword was back in his grasp.

Compared to those who had no other weapons besides the knife in their hands, the "shield soldiers" who carried wooden boards, tatami mats, paper sliding doors and the like were obviously a greater threat.

So Qingdeng ignored everyone else and focused intently on the "shield soldiers," launching a fierce and relentless attack on them.

Swish!

Qing Deng turned and with a single strike, beheaded someone within the shield wall behind him. He then took a step to the left with his left foot, his body and sword tilting to the left in the process.

The tilted blade pierced the heart of another "shield soldier" from behind.

As the spirit-controlling blade was withdrawn, it immediately slashed back, creating a new whooshing sound, and struck another person's neck.

Suddenly, a series of gasping sounds came from behind Qingdeng, as if someone was struggling to breathe.

It turns out that someone was planning to launch a sneak attack from behind Qingdeng.

He thought his footwork was superb and his concealment skills were excellent, but little did he know that Qing Deng had already discovered his presence.

As Qingdeng pulled the Ghost God from the man whose heart he had pierced and slashed at the next enemy, he also slit the throat of the fool who tried to ambush him.

—10, 11, 12…!

……

……

"..."

Ever since the room was lit again, Takasugi Shinsaku has been silently observing Seito's swordsmanship with a blank expression.

At this moment, whether he wanted to support the "One-Armed Party" or for some other reason, he gripped his sword tightly and slowly walked toward Qing Deng, who was engaged in fierce fighting.

but--

"Takasugi-kun, wait."

The one-armed warrior standing next to him suddenly called out to him.

"Please don't interfere."

"...Are you sure?" Takasugi Shinsaku said calmly, "Excuse me for being blunt, but you don't seem to be a match for Niou."

“…I know that.” The one-armed samurai replied in a deep voice, “Takasugi-kun, I think you are also aware of the grudges between our Exile Group and Tachibana Aoto.”

"For the sake of samurai honor... let us avenge the Toigumi ourselves...!"

"..." Takasugi Shinsaku stared silently at the one-armed samurai for a moment.

After a moment, he silently withdrew half a step and made a "please go ahead" gesture to the one-armed warrior.

……

……

I felt a vibration in the air behind me.

Qing Deng reflexively arched his back and used his spine to reach for the tatami mat on the floor.

I heard the sound of the blade flashing and saw it glide past my nose—it was already behind me!

The sweeping blade passed by Qing Deng, who was leaning back, like a bird in flight.

Qingdeng leaned back further... no, it should be said that he fell backward.

Just as his head was about to hit the tatami mat, Qing Deng raised his left arm to brace himself against the mat, and then performed a backflip to the southeast corner of the room.

Despite Qing Deng's constant interference and sabotage, the "One-Armed Gang's" scheme to capture the girls failed, and they finally managed to buy the girls enough time to escape.

By now, all five girls had successfully escaped by jumping out of the window.

Although Qingdeng didn't know what was happening outside the window, judging from the sounds, the soldiers outside must have successfully taken in the girls who had escaped.

Qingdeng breathed a sigh of relief that he was no longer burdened by hostages—he could finally focus on fighting the enemy!

Qingdeng leaped high into the air, stepping on the shadows of the corner of the wall. The Ding Guishen blade, covered in blood and fat, spun in an arc in the air. Even though it was covered with a thick layer of blood and oil, the blade was still sharp and decapitated someone nearby in one swift motion.

As he swung his sword again, another person's blood was splashed onto the tatami mats and ceiling.