I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The timing was perfect.

Just as Qing Deng was facing left with his sword, he caught up with the enemy approaching from the left side—Masajiro, a swordsman of the Ono school of ittō-ryū, who was about to launch an attack!

With a shout, Masajiro swung his sword straight at Aoto's head.

Qing Deng concentrated his strength on his toes, then pushed off the ground and lunged at Masajiro.

With a slight twist of his body to the side, he easily dodged the opponent's knife, and in the instant of their parting, he swiftly swung his knife straight at Masajiro's abdomen.

Masajiro stumbled backward, his reaction swift and commendable. Yet, Aoto still felt he had struck his opponent.

A closer look at Qingdeng's knife tip reveals a string of blood droplets.

Qing Deng's sword grazed Yajiro's body. Although the tip of the sword was a little too far away, it still managed to cut a three-inch-long gash in Yajiro's chest.

……

……

As the battle between Qing Deng and Zuo Yilang and the others unfolded in full swing—

"..."

From the beginning, Tokugawa Iemochi had been wearing a thoughtful expression.

After a moment, he seemed to have made a decision and turned to face Sage beside him:

"The gauze is heavy."

"Yes," Sae replied quickly and reflexively.

“Go to Katsutora Itakura’s residence now, and then… show this to him.”

Tokugawa Iemochi took out a black inro, about the size of an adult's palm, from his pocket.

At the very center of the inro is a gold-carved Tokugawa family crest: the three-leaf holly.

"This is……?!"

Upon seeing the black inro with gold patterns in Tokugawa Iemochi's hand, Sashige, whose temperament was usually composed and unyielding, showed a rare expression of shock, and his pupils contracted sharply.

"When you see Katsutora Itakura, tell him..."

Tokugawa Iemochi leaned down, brought his lips close to Sashige's ear, and whispered something in her ear for a moment.

After he finished speaking, Tokugawa Iemochi straightened up.

"Have you remembered everything clearly?"

“Yes!” Sae nodded vigorously. “I’ve memorized everything.”

"Then let's set off." Tokugawa Iemochi nodded. "Hurry up."

"Yes!" Saeshige replied, bowing her head. Then she shifted her gaze and scanned her surroundings.

At this moment, almost everyone's eyes were on the two sides still locked in fierce combat, and no one paid any attention to Sae-ge, who was petite and not much taller than a katana.

Seizing the opportunity, Saeshige moved silently, using the crowd as cover, and quickly ran towards the northwest.

In a moment, Sae's figure disappeared around the street corner in the distance...

……

……

No wonder he's a samurai who could be hired as a bodyguard by a wealthy and powerful but unscrupulous nobleman like Itakura Hirahiko.

Zuo Yilang and his companions are not only highly skilled, but also have excellent teamwork and never fight individually.

A true expert's skill is immediately apparent – ​​Zuo Yilang and the others didn't even need to wait for Qing Deng to make a move. After seeing Qing Deng unleash his "power," they knew that Qing Deng was no ordinary person.

Especially after seeing how easily Qing Deng killed their companion, Mishiro, Zuo Yilang and the others dared not be careless in the slightest towards this mysterious man wearing a straw hat.

Therefore, they adopted a complete tortoise-like strategy—when Qing Deng engaged in combat with any one of them, the other two would absolutely rush to his aid at the first opportunity.

The secret to one-to-many is to find ways to break down one-to-many into multiple one-to-one situations—this is a valuable lesson Qingdeng learned after experiencing countless battles.

Faced with Zuo Yilang and his team who cooperated very well, Qing Deng couldn't find a suitable opportunity to strike the final blow in one go.

Although the current battle situation is tense, Qingdeng is not in a hurry.

Impatience and rashness are the greatest taboos for martial artists.

Moreover, time is on Qingdeng's side!

The body, enhanced with "Strong Muscles +1" and "Iron Lungs +1", is completely fearless in a prolonged battle!

Having first dealt a heavy blow to the group of scholars, and then engaged in a fierce battle with Zuo Yilang and others, Qing Deng had fought two battles in a row, but his physical condition was still excellent. He only broke out in a light sweat, and his breathing remained steady and strong.

Besides his physical abilities, Qingdeng's spirit is also unafraid of being worn down by others.

The existence of "Focus" ensures that Qingdeng has no worries about losing focus due to prolonged periods of intense concentration.

The katana is quite heavy.

Holding and swinging such a large piece of iron for a long time will eventually lead to a point where one's strength and mental energy can no longer sustain it.

A prolonged defense will inevitably lead to defeat. With the balance of power shifting, the opportunity for decisive victory will inevitably arise sooner or later.

Qingdeng's judgment was accurate.

Zuo Yilang and the others were clearly not as physically fit as Qing Deng. By now, all three of them were beginning to experience varying degrees of shortness of breath.

Seeing this, Qing Deng understood: although they had arrived much earlier than he had expected, there was no doubt that the opportunity to win had arrived!

"Ha..." Qing Deng exhaled a breath of stale air, gripped the hilt of his sword, and assumed a fighting stance.

In the next instant, he leaped towards the person who was breathing the most unsteadily at the moment, Masajiro, like a hungry tiger pouncing on a sheep!

Faced with Qing Deng's fierce attack, Masajiro remained calm. He instinctively took a step back, holding his sword diagonally in front of him.

As the cold light flashed, a clang was heard as the two knives clashed together.

In the next instant, Qing Deng's sword brushed against Yajiro's sword and slid down diagonally towards Yajiro's chest.

As the blade slid, it sparked a series of dazzling sparks.

Masajiro hurriedly dodged to the side, and as he moved his feet, he raised his right hand holding the knife and slashed fiercely at Aoto's chest, intending to bite back at Aoto.

Little did he know, Qing Deng had already seen through his intentions.

With a slow and deliberate twist of his body, Qing Deng caused Yajiro's sword to strike only air.

Suddenly, Qing Deng keenly sensed something sharp falling straight down from behind him.

Even without looking, Qing Deng knew that Zuo Yilang and Wu Sanlang had come to reinforce them.

There was no need to turn around to look; Qing Deng's ears... or more accurately, ears amplified by the "Sensor of the Wind," had already grasped Zuo Yilang and Wu Sanlang's positions and sword paths for him.

*Smack*—Qingdeng's foot scraped the ground, kicking up a wisp of light dust.

Amidst the swirling dust, a tall, slender figure gracefully turned around amidst two flashes of sword light.

Masajiro intended to take the opportunity to retreat two steps, withdraw from the chaotic battle with Aoto, and use the time to catch his breath and regroup. Unexpectedly, a cold light shot out from the side, aiming straight for his forehead!

At this critical moment, Masajiro's instinctive reaction saved him; he raised his sword to defend himself without hesitation.

His sword clashed with Qing Deng's sword once again.

The sound of metal clashing echoed and reverberated.

"Well--!"

Masajiro, who was not known for his strength, finally showed pain because he could no longer endure it, his face contorted like a rag.

His strength was far inferior to Qing Deng's, and every time he clashed head-on with Qing Deng, he felt as if his hand was about to break.

Before he could recover from the numbness and pain in his arms, Qingdeng had already launched a new offensive against him.

Qing Deng's current battle plan is simple and clear—with Zuo Yilang and others showing signs of weakness, launch a fierce and overwhelming attack to crush them in one fell swoop!

Therefore, Aoto set his sights on Masajiro, who was currently in the worst condition.

His goal was clear—ignore everyone else, just focus on Masajiro! He would relentlessly pursue and attack Masajiro!

Forward thrusts, horizontal slashes, vertical cleavings... Qing Deng generously "demonstrated" his swordsmanship to Yajiro.

How could Zuo Yilang and Wusaburo not see that Masajiro was in trouble?

No matter how desperately they attacked, or how hard they tried to get Masajiro out of trouble, their swords couldn't touch Aoto's body at all.

Most of the attacks were dodged by Qing Deng with his exquisite footwork.

The small portion of the attacks were neutralized by Qing Deng's skillful defensive techniques.

Qing Deng's offensive intensified, and Masajiro was completely suppressed.

Masajiro knew that if things continued like this, he would lose his life.

So he decided to go all in! To turn defense into offense! To break through and rebuild!

He switched his mid-range stance, which was originally both offensive and defensive, to an eight-pair stance that was more advantageous for offense.

However, perhaps due to muscle fatigue or a lack of concentration, Masajiro's movements slowed down slightly.

This fleeting flaw was clearly reflected in Qing Deng's eyes.

Whether it's a battle between experts or a battle between beginners, the essence is the same—any moment of carelessness or mistake can be fatal.

Just as Masajiro raised his sword towards "Hachisou", Aoto took a large step forward with his right foot and slashed with his sword without the slightest hesitation!

*Thud*—Aoto plunged his blade deep into Masajiro's neck.

Blood spurted out, and white bones were exposed.

Aoto heard Masajiro panting heavily, but unable to catch his breath.

Following the sound of a gasp, there was a clanging sound of a knife falling and the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground.

Suddenly, Masajiro dropped his sword, knelt down, and slowly lowered his head. Then, his body fell heavily forward, and a large pool of blood immediately spread out on the ground beneath him.

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully replicated talent: "Dry Palm"]

[Talent Introduction: Palms don't sweat easily]

It's another subtle talent that seems both useful and useless...