I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Pfft!

The sharp blade pierced through the paper and wood sliding door with ease.

With a wild, scream-like sound, a stiff, sluggish sensation spread through Qing Deng's palms.

Qing Deng took a deep breath and then pulled the knife back in his hand.

The blade of Echizen's resident Hitachi no Kami Kaneshige was once again before his eyes.

As for the Yakuza impaled on the knife... he was thrown into the air by inertia and crashed into the paper sliding door covered with erotic paintings. The fragile door panel shattered, and fragments of varying sizes scattered like shotgun bullets.

Qingdeng didn't even glance at Yakuza, who lay dead at his feet after the failed ambush. He continued forward while shaking off the bloodstains on his blade.

Before he had taken five steps, in the blink of an eye, a loud "bang" suddenly came from Qingdeng's right side—a katana pierced through the paper sliding door from the inside out, heading straight for Qingdeng's chest! The force of the blow was like that of a fierce snake emerging from its hole!

The moment he sensed a slight movement in the air, Qing Deng instinctively ducked and dodged.

The next instant, he slashed the knife from the bottom right to the top left, skimming the ground.

The paper sliding door was split in two like tofu.

Behind the broken door panel stood a Yakuza with a bewildered expression.

He remained in the stance of drawing his sword, as if frozen in place by a spell, completely motionless.

In an instant, a small gash appeared on his chest, so clear that the gash grew longer and longer, and blood slowly surfaced, eventually becoming a huge slit running diagonally across his entire body.

After vomiting a mouthful of blood, he slumped forward, landing squarely on Qingdeng, who was still half-squatting.

Qing Deng then executed an over-the-shoulder throw.

Yakuza used Qingdeng's back as a fulcrum, somersaulted to the left, and crashed heavily into another door not far away, falling into the room along with the door.

"Aaaaaah!"

There are people in this room.

A naked customer with a deathly pale face, and a naked prostitute with an even deathly pale face.

They probably didn't have time to escape, so they were trapped in the room.

As luck would have it, the Yakuza that flew into the room landed right on a table where snacks and drinks were served.

Thud—the table shattered. Everything on the table, whether food or drink, bounced high into the air in all sorts of trajectories.

A small, brown object traced a beautiful parabola as it fell toward Qingdeng's head.

Qingdeng instinctively reached up and scooped up the object.

It turned out to be a bottle of sake that had never been opened.

Just then, two loud thuds, one after the other, attracted Qingdeng's attention.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw two Yakuza standing side by side not far in front of him, each standing on a paper sliding door that had been kicked and deformed.

Judging from their expressions—five parts impatience, three parts unease, and two parts fear—they had probably learned from the lessons of the two "pioneers" and knew that relying solely on "ambushes from behind the door" would not be enough to defeat Qing Deng. Therefore, they couldn't help but rush out of the room where they were hiding and decided to confront Qing Deng head-on.

"Waaaaaah!"

"Waaaaaah!"

Two Yakuza simultaneously let out strange cries and slid forward.

Qing Deng casually spread his legs, holding a knife in one hand and the wine cup he had just gotten for free in the other, facing his enemy with only one arm.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The empty corridor echoed with the clang of metal.

They went berserk, desperately swinging their knives at Qingdeng.

However, Qing Deng's lower body seemed glued to the ground, flexible yet stable, leaving no opportunity for his opponents. Every slash they launched was steadily deflected by Qing Deng's sword.

In an instant, Qing Deng gracefully turned around from the two men's slashing blades, leaving a trail of dazzling light behind him.

One of them fell to the ground without saying a word.

"What...what kind of speed is this...cough!"

As the remaining man was deeply terrified by Qingdeng's "Divine Speed ​​Sword," Qingdeng silently unleashed a second slash.

The man also staggered forward and fell down, landing right on top of his companion.

At that moment, with a "crash," amidst the sound of wood rubbing together and a unique noise like air leaking out, a new enemy appeared.

Ten steps ahead of Qingdeng, a muscular man with a bare upper body gently pushed open the door, walked slowly out of the room, and stood in the middle of the corridor.

"Your Majesty, I have long admired your name."

The muscular man's voice was very deep and hoarse.

Qing Deng raised his gaze and glanced at the other person a few times.

"Muscular, with long hair, and two horses tattooed on his shoulder... Are you Magoshi Saburo, the one in charge of managing this okonomiyaki business?"

The muscular man raised his eyebrows a few times, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.

Although he didn't understand why Qing Deng recognized him, he answered quite frankly:

"It's down!"

On the surface, both sides were polite to each other, but in reality, a chilling aura had seeped into their skin.

The muscular man... that is, Ma Yuezaburo, puffed out his chest and raised his voice accordingly.

"I originally thought that I was just a chivalrous person and would never have any dealings with you, the 'King of Benevolence'."

"However... this is what they mean by 'the impermanence of life'."

"I never imagined that we would meet in this way."

At this point, Masashiro paused, then adopted a ferocious expression and a fierce tone.

"Ren-ou! Why have you come here to cause trouble?! Do you know the consequences of your actions?!"

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng couldn't help but chuckle.

"You ask me 'why'? To eradicate the Shimizu clan completely—do you think that reason is enough? If not, I can add something else."

Masato Saburō's pupils contracted slightly, and his expression darkened.

"...Hey, were you serious about what you just said?"

"Masago Saburo, you really talk a lot of nonsense."

Qingdeng's tone carried a hint of impatience.

“I have a lot of places to go tonight, so I don’t have much time to waste here with you. Listen to me: for some complicated reasons, I need to capture you alive, so if possible, could you please obediently raise your hands and surrender? That way, it will save both of us a lot of trouble.”

From the moment Qing Deng made his proposal to the moment he finished speaking, it took less than half a minute.

However, in this extremely short time, which was less than half a minute, Masashige Saburo's expression changed several times.

Then, he let out a long breath.

He remained silent and did not give an accurate reply immediately.

He silently drew his sword from his waist, lowered his body, and assumed an odd stance.

After raising the knife above his head, he extended the blade behind his head, with the tip pointing diagonally from the upper right to the lower left towards the ground near his heels. He reached his left hand behind his back and pinched the tip of the knife with his thumb, index finger, and middle finger.

"Niou, no matter what... I am a samurai!"

The moment those words were uttered, Ma Yuezaburo suddenly tightened the three fingers gripping the tip of the knife.

The veins on those three fingers were bulging... one can imagine how much force he had used.

"Niou, make your move! Please let me witness the Niou Sword!"

"Ono Ittori Style"

"Ma Yuezaburo!"

Machigoshi Saburo's figure exuded a terrifyingly sharp aura. Clearly, his stance concealed astonishing explosive power.

Although they were enemies, Qing Deng was quite impressed by their bold and unrestrained spirit.

Just then, Qingdeng felt a bit thirsty.

So he handed the wine cup in his left hand to his side and used the hard wall to break the seal.

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh.

He tilted his head back and gulped down the perfectly warm liquor.

Qing Deng felt a surge of pleasure slide down his throat, and his mouth and lungs, which had been as dry as a desert, were moistened. Even the muscles in his limbs regained some elasticity and vitality.

Clang!

Qingdeng casually tossed the empty wine cup to his feet.

"bring it on!"

"Natural Flow of Mind"

"Orange Green Dew!"

Qing Deng raised his knife and assumed the stance of Xia Duan.

In an instant, a tense atmosphere filled every corner of the corridor!

Just as the standoff was reaching a tense standoff, some people hiding in the rooms on both sides secretly opened the door a crack, peeking out with unease yet anticipation.

These daring men were mostly courtesans.

Leading a mere few dozen men to defeat two hundred samurai, single-handedly rushing to the aid of the Westerners' settlement, and single-handedly inflicting heavy losses on the despised and hated Extermination Group... For a long time, Seido's various heroic deeds have been passed down through the streets and alleys of Edo.

The idea that 'Niou' was a hero who appeared only once every few decades was deeply ingrained in the hearts of people of all ages in Edo.

What woman wouldn't want to witness the hero's prowess?

Despite knowing the risks involved, the prostitutes couldn't resist their curiosity and pushed open the door to watch.

As the gazes of the courtesans fell upon Qingdeng one by one, their eyes gleamed with a strange light.

Anyone who saw it would find Qing Deng's posture imposing and awe-inspiring. For a moment, he truly resembled a benevolent king who commands respect without anger.

At that very moment when the tension on set reached its peak—