I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Unfortunately, Nishino had already seen through his little scheme.

Nishino gently twisted his body to the right, easily dodging the opponent's sneak attack.

Immediately afterwards, he lowered his stance, gathered power in his waist, and swung his knife to attack.

Zhenzhu's blade slashed deeply into the opponent's side abdomen. The opponent swayed and twisted like a puppet that had lost control, before collapsing to the ground.

Compared to "unarmored combat", Nishino is more skilled in "armored combat".

Whenever a dangerous mission is encountered that could result in death or injury, the magistrate's office provides armor for the "three-times" co-workers and their comrades-in-arms—this is probably one of the few humane measures the magistrate's office has taken.

Nishino is not the kind of person who thinks he is invincible and therefore doesn't wear armor.

He would always be fully armed and properly wear all the protective gear provided by the authorities, including chainmail, breastplate, and headband.

Over time, he accumulated a lot of experience in "armored combat".

The combat logic of "unarmored combat" and "armored combat" is completely different.

The ultimate goal of combat is to kill the enemy to the greatest extent possible while preserving oneself.

The extremely demanding school of thought, like the Shigenryu style, which emphasizes "just attack and leave the rest to fate," is a very rare exception.

Therefore, when martial artists engage in life-or-death battles, they often focus more on defense than offense.

However, once you put on the armor, there is no longer any such concern.

Unless you're incredibly unlucky and encounter a master whose skills far surpass yours, or a freak who can chop iron like steak, most attacks from ordinary people won't be able to harm you.

As long as one wears high-quality armor, even an ordinary person who knows nothing about martial arts can become a powerful man who can take on ten opponents—armor has this power to "turn the rotten into the magical."

Most of the guards hired by Phoenix House Yataro were lower-ranking samurai who couldn't get any official position or find any respectable jobs, so they could only make a living as bodyguards, or even ronin who didn't even have a family title.

Unless they were government officials or wealthy scions, ordinary lower-ranking warriors had no chance to come into contact with armor, let alone learn "armored combat".

In addition to wearing reliable armor, Nishino has been through countless battles, and through the tempering of each battle, his swordsmanship has long since eliminated all the flaws of the "Dojo Sword".

Therefore, the guards of Phoenix House suffered heavy losses when facing Nishino, who was proficient in "armored combat" and had rich practical experience.

Nishino and my grandson fought their way through, advancing as they went.

My grandson shouted loudly:

"Nishino-kun, stop fighting!"

Nishino responded loudly:

"I know without you telling me!"

If things drag on for too long, Phoenix House Yataro might very well escape in the chaos—a simple truth that even a six-year-old could understand, Nishino was well aware of.

Before they knew it, the two had already reached the stairwell connecting the first and second floors.

After finishing off the enemy who rushed down from the second floor with a single strike, Nishino kicked the corpse down the stairs.

The enemies who had rushed up from all over the first floor and were about to climb the stairs were all knocked down by the rolling corpse, falling like bowling pins, completely disoriented.

Nishino and my grandson took the opportunity to rush to the top.

Led by my grandson, the two of them made their way to the top floor of the mansion without any obstacles.

Along the way, the screams of the servants, the chaotic footsteps, and the clanging of swords created a cacophony of noise.

"This is it... This is Phoenix House Yataro's room..."

My grandson, panting heavily, glanced at the sliding door in front of him.

The bedroom in Phoenix House is a very typical Japanese-style room. It has no walls, only doors, and is a room enclosed by sliding doors.

Nishino and my grandson exchanged a knowing glance, then dispersed to the left and right respectively.

My grandson is standing with his back to the left side of the sliding door.

Nishino, on the other hand, was facing right with his back to the sliding door.

"Are you ready?" my grandson asked Nishino with a questioning look in his eyes.

"Anytime is fine," Nishino replied with a firm gaze.

My grandson nodded gently, then reached out and touched the doorknob...

……

……

At the same time—

Edo, Tonan-cho, Shimizu Residence, Shimizu Tower —

At the very top of the water tower, there is a spacious room with a floor size of forty tatami mats.

Strangely enough, although the room was large, it was completely empty.

There was no furniture or decorations.

To be specific... whether this room can even be considered a room is debatable.

The reason I say this is because this room only has one wall! The other three walls have been completely hollowed out, leaving only a few lonely pillars!

In reality, this place is a room specifically for Rakshasa to rest and have fun.

The elegant Rakshasa often spends time alone in this room, appreciating beautiful things such as cherry blossoms, stars, full moon, and falling snow.

To make it easier for the Rakshasa to enjoy the scenery—that's the reason for hollowing out three walls.

At this moment, Rakshasa, as usual, stood alone on the edge of the eastern platform, hands behind his back, gazing expressionlessly at the moon in the sky.

Tonight is a full moon night.

Just then, as the moon rose, its hazy light, like a wisp of smoke, shone even brighter in the eyes of the Rakshasa.

At that moment, as if he had remembered something interesting, he slightly curled up the corners of his mouth.

"I wonder if the first people to arrive at Phoenix House Yataro's place will be Tachibana Aoto, or my grandson and Nishino..."

……

……

Just as my grandson's finger touched the doorknob—

squeak...

From inside the door, there was a sound of something being tightened.

The sound was so faint that my grandson almost missed it.

Nishino, who came from the "three-times" of the magistrate's office, did not often hear this kind of voice, so he lacked sensitivity to it.

My grandson, who was originally a thief, often deals with this kind of sound...

In an instant, my grandson's pupils shrank to the size of pinholes.

"Nishino! Back away!"

My grandson lunged at Nishino.

However... it was too late.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...

A dense rain of arrows burst forth from inside the room!

Because the room had sliding doors on all four sides and no walls at all, the fragile sliding doors were useless against the rain of arrows, so Nishino and my grandson had nowhere to hide.

In the blink of an eye, Nishino and my grandson's bodies were covered by a rain of arrows...

********

********

You can think of Rasetsu's room as the Ashina Castle keep in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice—it's more like an observatory than a room.

I'm severely sleep-deprived today, and my eyes are so sore. As I write this, my leopard eyes are almost closing... (Truly tearful leopard head.jpg)

I recommend a book!

Book title: Heroic Spirit Summoning, I Have One More Talent. Recommendation: After transmigrating to the world of Spirit Masters, Ye Ming discovers that he can not only evolve the history of Heroic Spirits, but also exchange key holy relics!

Chapter 463 Qing Deng Appears! Classic Ninja Techniques! [5000]

"Ugh! Ughhhhhh...!"

pain!

A piercing pain, like being roasted by flames, dominated Nishino's entire nervous system.

Under the intense stimulation of such excruciating pain, he couldn't even utter a complete scream.

However, Nishino was a seasoned veteran of the storms of life, and he was on good terms with Sadamachi.

With sheer willpower, he endured the pain and slowly opened his eyes to look at his body.

Its current state... while it can't be described as being riddled with bullets, is certainly not optimistic!

There were six arrows stuck straight up in his body.

One arrow in the left arm, one arrow in the left calf, one arrow in the right thigh, one arrow in the side of the abdomen, and two arrows in the chest...

Chainmail is effective at defending against slashing attacks, but it is not as effective against penetrating attacks.

The bow and arrow was the most powerful weapon in the era of cold weapons, bar none.

When faced with arrows fired at close range, chainmail is practically useless!

The limbs are not vital organs, so while Nishino's left arm, left calf, and right thigh were painful, these injuries were not fatal.

As for the two arrows in his chest... Nishino was very lucky. The two arrows did not penetrate the gap between his sternum and ribs, but instead struck the sternum and ribs directly, where they were stopped by the hard bones.

Although most of the bones from the arrow wound were fractured, at least the vital heart and lungs were saved.

The arrow in the side of my abdomen is the only problem...

Unlike the chest, the flank is not covered by bones such as the sternum and ribs.

Only soft skin and muscles protect the abdomen.