I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

In short, no matter how powerful the martial artists in this world are, they are still within the realm of "mortal beings".

Even the most powerful martial artist cannot move mountains or fill seas.

Even a swordsman whose swordsmanship has reached its peak can only surrender or be blasted into mincemeat by a grenade launcher.

Tens of thousands of warriors were no match for an army born of industrial civilization, armed with "steel" and "steam".

Although he has never witnessed it firsthand, Qingdeng believes that in this "low-level martial arts world," there must exist top-level martial arts masters who can remain calm and composed even when thousands of bullets are approaching.

For example, Kiryu, who is said to be able to slice an ironclad warship like a cake, is among them.

As for the legendary sword saints like Ogata Itsei and Kinoshita Genichi, their names are even more famous.

Even if someone told Qingdeng that these two history-making men could split the shells of naval cannons, Qingdeng wouldn't be too surprised.

However... Ogata Itsuki and Kiryu-sensei are both far too distant for Aoto at the moment.

Right now, it's less about "lacking the ability to cut through bullets" and more about "lacking confidence."

He had only ever tried splitting arrows before.

At that time, he was already in great danger just by slashing an arrow, and the speed of a bullet was several times greater than that of an arrow.

Although he had been consistently training and had copied and upgraded many of his talents, his strength had improved considerably compared to when he was splitting arrows. However, to be honest, he wasn't very confident about whether he could successfully deflect a revolver bullet at such a short distance.

--what to do……?

While racking his brains for a solution, Qingdeng secretly activated his talent "Emperor's Art" to control his facial expression and force himself to appear calm and composed.

Yes. The “unusually calm” scene that Kitahara Kōnosuke saw at this moment was all an illusion created by the “art of the emperor”.

Qingdeng increasingly discovered the wonderful uses of "the art of emperors".

When fighting an enemy, one can use the "art of the emperor" to control one's expression and demeanor, so as not to show any weakness, thereby achieving the effect of intimidating the enemy.

Judging from the current situation, Qingdeng's "disguise" has played a significant role.

Kitahara Konosuke, who was just gloating, is now in a predicament where he is hesitant to act rashly and fears the consequences.

But... this is ultimately unsustainable.

You can fool people for a while, but you can't fool them forever.

Although Aoto still doesn't understand why Kitahara Kōnosuke is so determined to kill him, it is an undeniable fact that he and Kitahara Kōnosuke have now become "bound to fight to the death".

Meanwhile, Kitahara Konosuke's subordinates urged him to pull the trigger quickly.

Given this situation, it was clear that Kitahara Kōnosuke would not let Aotoichi off the hook.

Thus, in no time at all, the brief standoff that had kept everyone in suspense was broken by a loud shout from Kitahara Konosuke.

"Ju Qingdeng! Don't move!"

As he said this, Kitahara Konosuke gripped the revolver in his hand even tighter.

The revolver in his hand was his last trump card against Qing Deng.

With the opponent being Nioh, no amount of caution is excessive.

Therefore, Kitahara Konosuke decided not to rush to fire and to test Aoto first.

"Throw the katana in your hand and the wakizashi at your waist over here!"

Without swords, even if you have great skills, you'll have nowhere to use them... Kitahara Kōnosuke thought to himself.

With Kitahara Kōnosuke's command, the atmosphere immediately became tense.

Aoto's gaze remained fixed on Kitahara Kōnosuke's every move.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the Echizen-sensei's chief steward, Riku-no-kami Kaneshige, in his hand, and at the wakizashi at his waist.

Then--

"If you want my knife, come and take it yourself."

Although Qingdeng's tone was calm, his words carried a sharp, lingering resonance.

His answer was so resolute and decisive, his resolute gaze seeming to pierce through Kitahara Kōnosuke across from him.

Kitahara Konosuke will not back down—nor will Aoto!

It was clear that the other party was not going to let him live.

If I really hand over the knife, I'm truly doomed.

—Let's take a gamble...!

Qingdeng let out a long breath.

Then, he spread his feet apart, lowered his center of gravity, and with a flick of his right wrist, he executed a graceful sword flourish, changing his grip on the Echizen-no-Kami Kanetsugu from upright to inverted.

"If you've got the guts, then shoot."

"I'd like to see whether your gun is faster or my knife is faster!"

Having said that, Qing Deng sheathed the Echizen-no-Kami Kanetsugu, which he had been holding upside down, with his left hand supporting the scabbard and his right hand lightly resting on the hilt.

It was the starting stance of the Drawing Sword Technique: Flowing Light!

Aoto's actions surprised Kitahara Kōnosuke and the others.

Although they didn't say a word, their expressions betrayed their inner thoughts.

Hey, is this guy out of his mind? Is he planning to use his sword-drawing technique to withstand firearms?

Has he gone mad?

Hmph! This wretch is nothing but a death throes!

……

Kitahara Kōnosuke's subordinates generally thought that Aoto had lost his mind, or that Aoto was fighting like a cornered beast.

But their leader... Kitahara Konosuke, was not as optimistic as they were.

The moment he saw Qing Deng assume a stance for drawing his sword, his suspicion that Qing Deng had reached the level of "slicing bullets" ignited violently like a fire that had come into contact with oil.

Aoto's attitude was so tough that it exceeded Kitahara Konosuke's expectations.

His words immediately pushed the tense atmosphere to an unbearable peak.

At this moment, Kitahara Kōnosuke had no other option but to fight.

Now that things have come to this, even if he feels uneasy, he cannot say or do anything to back down.

"……it is good!"

Kitahara Konosuke gritted his teeth.

"Then I'll grant your wish!"

At that moment, the surrounding air froze.

Aoto cautiously estimated the distance between himself and Kitahara Konosuke.

The distance between him and the other person was about 10 steps.

If he gets within two steps of Kitahara Kōnosuke, his sword can strike Kitahara Kōnosuke.

In other words, he needs to survive 8 steps through the barrage of comments...

To deflect a flying bullet, both excellent dynamic vision and good reaction speed are indispensable.

Qingdeng's "Eagle Eye" has been upgraded to "Eagle Eye +2" through various talent fusions.

The "Swiftness +4" ability, which increases reaction speed, has the dazzling suffix "+4".

With the added boost of powerful talents such as "Lone Wolf", "Focus", and "Divine Brain +9"... it's certainly a force to be reckoned with!

But... this is ultimately a gamble.

Qingdeng couldn't guarantee success.

At that moment, for some reason, familiar faces appeared in Qing Deng's mind.

Souji, Kinoshita Mai, Sanako, Elodie, Kiryu, Kondo, Hijikata, Saito...

Like watching an old movie, Qingdeng carefully examined each of the faces, each one more familiar and endearing than the last.

Even though it had only been about half a month since Qing Deng parted ways with Souji and the others, he inexplicably felt as if he had been separated from them for a century.

—There are still many people waiting for me to come home…

A sharp, glint of light gradually appeared in Qing Deng's eyes.

How could I die at the hands of such a nobody…!

His body seemed to be controlled by the determination in his heart; he lowered his eyelids slightly, and exuded an unusual aura that was difficult to describe with specific words.

As Qingdeng recounted his innermost thoughts in such detail, it felt as if a long time had passed.

In fact, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

This unique duel between a katana and a pistol... was initiated by Kitahara Konosuke!

boom!boom!

The deafening gunshots shook the air! They echoed through the night!

Whether out of a desire to conserve bullets or because he felt that two bullets would be enough to take down Aoto, Kitahara Konosuke only pulled the trigger twice.

The instant the bullet left the barrel, Qingdeng's system interface underwent a strange change that even he himself was unaware of!

In the talent list, the entry for the eternal talent "Reversal Dragon" emitted specks of crystalline purple light!

--Um?

Qingdeng let out an incredulous exclamation.

In that instant, he was astonished to find that the world before him had suddenly become incredibly strange—everything within his sight seemed to slow down, incredibly slow…

It's like a video recorder playing in slow motion.

The movements of Kitahara Kōnosuke and the others, the dust floating in the air, the bullets flying through the air... everything was incredibly slow!

Even if an ordinary person stares intently, they still can't grasp the trajectory of a bullet... but he saw it so clearly!

Even the translucent shockwave around the bullet couldn't escape his keen eyes.