I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Otherwise... we'll have to find a way to withstand the enemy's arrows.

If you can get close to your opponent before the slingshot hits you, you can hope to turn the tide of battle.

With this thought in mind, a bold plan took shape in Sanako's mind.

This plan requires Sanako to make a self-sacrifice.

Is Sanako afraid of death?

The answer is naturally no!

Sanako took a deep breath, then spoke slowly to Aoto beside her in a firm and resonant tone:

"Kid, I'll go act as bait to lure the enemy in, and you can take advantage of the situation..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Qingdeng's calm, emotionless voice:

“…Miss Sanako, stay here and don’t move.”

"Huh? Ah! Hey! Tachibana-kun!"

Sanako cast a shocked look at Aoto.

Suddenly, Qingdeng darted out from behind the tree trunk! He ran like the wind towards the bushes not far away!

"Hey! Someone's coming out!"

"where is it?"

"Fire! Fire quickly! Fire quickly!"

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

A dazzling, cold glint appeared in the distance.

A rain of arrows pierced the air and poured towards Qingdeng.

Countless arrows pierced the air and flew past Qingdeng.

Countless pieces of wood and withered leaves, blown away by the arrow wind, fluttered down.

Qingdeng is going to be riddled with arrows—anyone would think that after seeing such a dense rain of arrows.

However, this is not the case.

fast.

too fast.

Qingdeng's speed is just too fast!

Talents such as "Leading the Way", "Lone Warrior", and "Bear Waist +1" are all activated!

Running swiftly like lightning and chasing the wind, leaping like a shooting star chasing the moon!

The archers futilely pursued Qingdeng's figure, firing arrows that could only follow the dust and smoke he left behind.

Qingdeng's route was not a mindless, reckless dash, but rather a zigzag path, moving among obstacles such as large trees and giant rocks.

This greatly increased the difficulty for archers to aim.

The arrows they shot either pierced the ground or struck trees and rocks.

In the blink of an eye, Aoto traversed the distance of one town in one breath.

He was now only 10 bays away from the archers.

[Note: 1 chō = 109 m, 1 ken = 1.818 m]

As the Qingdeng approached rapidly, the archers' expressions gradually became dominated by intense fear.

They dared not retreat.

Although the Black Mother Clothes Clan is a mixed bag of "thugs," it still maintains some discipline.

Rather, the reason why the Black Mother Cloaks are so powerful and feared is because they have an extremely strict reward and punishment system.

Those who perform great deeds will receive generous rewards.

However, if a mistake is made or discipline is violated... the punishment will be severe and without leniency.

Among the Black Mother's Cloak Clan's rules and regulations, the most serious offenses are betrayal and desertion.

Anyone who violates either of these two rules will surely lose their head.

Therefore, the archers could only suppress their fear, ignore the soreness in their arms, and frantically draw their bows without stopping.

Even just one arrow would be enough... If even one arrow hit Qingdeng, it would greatly affect his physical movements!

At this critical juncture, the two sides displayed drastically different reactions and states.

On one hand, they were panicked and terrified.

The other side remained calm and composed, seemingly unaffected.

Qing Deng remained calm and composed, even as sharp arrows approached.

He cast a calm glance at the archers who were nearby.

In an instant, he took a deep breath, and his tall figure sprang up from the ground like a spring! He leaped high into the air like a swallow!

Upon seeing this, the archers all wore complex expressions of mixed joy and worry.

What pleased them was that, because humans lack the ability to fly, even someone as powerful as Ogata Ittosai could not evade a sudden attack in the air.

Their concern is that shooting at a falling target is very difficult!

Shooting at targets that are falling at an astonishing speed is especially difficult!

The archers quickly raised their bows and hurled arrows at the rapidly falling Qingdeng.

Facing the oncoming arrows and fierce wind, Qing Deng changed the way he held the knife in his hand to a two-handed grip, raised it high above his head, and aimed it straight at the head of the nearest archer with the force of a cascading river.

The detailed account of Qingdeng's actions makes it seem as if a long time has passed. In fact, everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The archer targeted by Qingdeng stared in horror, his eyes widening as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

He instinctively took a step back, trying to get away from Qingdeng... but it was too late.

With the support of talents such as "Tiger Arm +1" and "Elephant Core +1", Qingdeng's arm strength was already quite astonishing.

Now, the four forces of gravity, body weight, acceleration of the falling body, and arm strength are superimposed on each other... Qing Deng's strike can be described as uprooting mountains and crossing seas!

Pfft!

The blade of Echizen-no-kami Kaneshige pierced the archer's skull.

Immediately afterwards, the blade moved downwards without the slightest pause or hesitation! It cleaved from the top of the head all the way to the groin, cutting the man in two neat halves as easily as slicing tofu!

In addition to the physical body, Qingdeng also cut the straps that held the quiver at his waist.

The bow in his hand and the quiver of arrows at his waist slipped from his hands and fell to the ground.

Amidst the rain of blood, Qing Deng brought the Echizen-suke Tsutsumi no Kami Kaneshige to his mouth, bit down on the hilt, and then opened his arms to catch the falling bow and quiver in his embrace.

It is not uncommon for a living person to be cut in half with a single stroke.

Wearing a sword is a privilege exclusive to samurai.

Therefore, for a samurai, the sword is not only a symbol and an honor, but also an important companion whose life and fortune are at stake.

After all, nobody wants their knife to become dull or break during a battle.

[Note: The tip of the blade is the very tip of the knife blade.]

Therefore, since the beginning of the Edo period, samurai have placed greater emphasis on the sharpness of their swords than in previous dynasties, which made "test cuts" of swords very popular.

The trial beheading was divided into "trial with living people", "trial with dead people", and "trial with solid objects".

In the earliest times, the test was always conducted on living people, meaning that the execution was performed on living people.

Toyotomi Hidetsugu, son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Warring States period, often went out and used innocent passersby as test subjects for execution, which made the people tremble with fear. As a result, Hidetsugu earned the nickname "Kanpaku of Killing".

The "examination for living people" was not abolished until the Tokugawa family came to power and Japan entered the Edo period.

Since they couldn't use living people to test the killings, the samurai had no choice but to resort to using dead people, and thus the "dead man test" came into being.

When testing a blade with a dead body, an earthen altar must first be set up. The corpse is then placed horizontally on the altar with its hands raised, and secured with two pairs of bamboo sticks. After the test is completed, the result is inlaid in gold and written into the blade's inscription, known as the "judgment inscription."

The most important test in the "Dead Man Test" is called "Dongqie," which involves stacking corpses together and testing how many corpses can be cut with a single stroke.

A body that has been cut off once is called "one torso," and a body that has been cut off twice is called "two torsos."

Generally speaking, a sword that meets the "three criteria" is considered a high-quality treasure.

The highest record in Japanese sword history is "Seven Corpses," which means slicing through seven corpses with a single strike.

Therefore, "severing a body with a single blow" is not a difficult thing to do.

However, this only applies to being cut in half.

The human abdomen is full of soft organs such as the stomach, kidneys, and intestines; the only hard object is the lumbar spine.

On the other hand, the vertical cut... setting aside the organs, the sheer number of bones alone is enough to make one's scalp crawl.

Skull, neck bones, sternum, ribs, lumbar bones, pelvis... If you were to cut a human body vertically in half, it would mean cutting off all those bones.

At this moment, both sides—Sōji, Sanako, and Onodera, as well as the Black Mother Clothes led by the archers—were all dumbfounded.

Such a brutal scene directly shocked everyone present.

For a moment, the archers stopped firing, staring dumbfounded at Qingdeng's impressive display of power.

While they were all lost and confused like sleepwalkers... Qingdeng had already completed his "change of clothes".

He handed the newly seized bow to his left hand, placed the quiver at his feet, and then, with fluid movements, drew an arrow, nocked the string, and stretched the bow.

Chi Chi!

The taut force rebounded from Qing Deng's arms, sending a whooshing sound through the air, louder and higher-pitched than the arrows fired by the Black Mother's archers—more like bullets than arrows.

The sound of arrows echoed for a long time, carried by the wind into the distance... all the way to the top of an archer's head.

puff!

The arrow pierced his forehead and went through the back of his head.

The energy accumulated on the arrow exploded instantly, causing brain matter, bone fragments, and blood to form a mist that sprayed everywhere.