Dragon Gate Swordsman

"Just please...stop there."

Settsu Hikaru, wearing samurai training clothes and holding a katana, appeared in the courtyard.

According to many eastern residents who had seen Settsu Hikaru in person, the general's slender figure and slightly androgynous appearance made him seem more like a poet than a warrior charging into battle.

This was not without reason, especially since he was only wearing a thin training suit even on a cold snowy night...

But at this moment, the vague sense of oppression emanating from Settsu Hikaru had caused the falling snowflakes to move in a strange trajectory, as if they were welcoming something.

"Do you know where this place is?"

Looking at the mysterious man dressed suspiciously in the courtyard, Settsu Hikaru asked calmly.

no respond.

The mysterious man's tattered robe and tight hood completely concealed his body and appearance, and the only things that could be seen were his tall and strong figure and his clenched fists.

Um...clenched fist?

"Could it be that you are the Guangyuan Warrior who came to seek revenge on me?"

This time, the mysterious man shook his head slowly.

With a slight "clang" sound, the weapon in Settsu Hikaru's hand was unsheathed.

"Since you have trespassed into my dojo without permission and are unwilling to reveal your identity, I'm afraid the only thing that will greet you is this steel-kiri-maru."

Before he finished speaking, the city lord's figure disappeared from the spot.

There was no roar that was indispensable when a ghost warrior fought against the enemy, nor was there a violent charge like thunder. Settsu Hikaru's light and swift figure seemed not to even alarm the snowflakes falling in the air, and he had already arrived in front of the mysterious man.

Draw the sword and cut it all!

The sharp blade, reflecting the cold and dim light, slashed from bottom to top. The trajectory that seemed slow but was actually fast was erratic and unpredictable.

But the mysterious man who was retreating violently still couldn't escape...

The tattered robe and hood were affected by the sword energy brought by the steel cutting balls, and they tore apart with fine sounds, turning into tattered pieces of cloth that danced with the snowflakes.

As these dancing elves drifted away in the wind, the true face of the mysterious man finally emerged...

"you you……"

Settsu Hikaru, who was usually calm and composed, suddenly widened his eyes, and his body, which was about to continue chasing, froze in place.

He recognized the other person.

He was a warrior under the shogunate who was once known as the Onimusha, a god of war who held off the Guangyuan Buddha soldiers for three days and three nights, and a partner who fought side by side with him and shared life and death with him... But in the end, he was assassinated in the wilderness by his own men...

"Xingxiong? Why... is it you?"

"Very surprised?"

Putting down his arms wrapped in bandages and armor, Xingxiong showed a slightly sad smile, "Your Highness, the City Lord, you think I am a real lonely ghost now, right?"

Settsu Hikaru opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Should I say that your and Jiutian’s death was one of the conditions for Guangyuan to agree to a complete ceasefire, or that you, who are brutal and uncontrollable, are a huge hidden danger in peacetime, or... should I admit openly that I need you to "die" along with the war?

He couldn't tell.

He couldn't say that kind of words to one of his two most capable subordinates.

"You...are still alive..."

"This is bad news, isn't it? The demon warrior who fell into the devil's way back then, the mad demon who was supposed to be destroyed by the city lord, has now returned to this Sekigahara Castle."

Xingxiong raised his hand and threw the remaining tattered robes on his body into the air.

She was still wearing the battle uniform she had worn as a Onimusha, but it showed signs of being patched up, and it was obvious that it had not been in good shape for a long time.

And hidden by the tattered robe was a knife.

A knife that made Settsu Hikaru's eyes tremble...

"You can't possibly forget. This is my brother's sword... He fought for you, risking his life for you, and until the very end, he refused to believe that you were the one who wanted to kill him."

"...I'm not the one who wants to kill him...I don't ask for your forgiveness, Xingxiong, but I won't sit there and wait for death."

Hearing this, Xingxiong smiled.

"Don't people say that the Lord of Settsu has a far-sighted vision and can see the world ten or a hundred years from now... Then why do you think I'm here to kill you?"

A cold wind blew by, blowing up the scattered snow in the courtyard, making everything pale and dead silent.

However, for some reason, the lonely and silent Star Bear seemed to emit a peaceful light...

When the war spread across the East, the shogunate needed brave samurai and heroes good at fighting. Therefore, demon warriors like Hoshiguma and Shuten transformed into battlefield Shuras to destroy the enemy in the bloody storm.

And when the shogunate and the emperor negotiated a ceasefire and decided to restore the East to peaceful development, the demon warriors would not respond and could not exist... The Eastern civilians who suffered from the war feared their existence from the bottom of their hearts.

Therefore, Settsu Mitsuru had to send out an assassination team, turning the former hero into a villain who had to be punished.

"I don't blame you, Lord City Lord. Otherwise... I wouldn't have come to visit you after such a long time."

Xingxiong slowly pulled out Jiutian's knife. There were already countless gaps and damages on it, but it was still a deadly weapon that could take someone's life. "But I must seek justice for my brother..."

Settsu Hikaru took a deep breath and assumed a fighting stance.

In terms of physical strength, he is definitely not Xingxiong's opponent, but if they were to compete in swordsmanship...

"By the way, Lord City Lord, I want to ask you one more question."

"……explain."

"Did you decide to get rid of the two of us because you had no choice, or do you think... this is the right thing to do?"

Settsu Hikaru's expression did not change, he kept silent, but his eyes slightly avoided Xingxiong's gaze.

"I know the answer, thank you... Lord City Lord."

……

The armistice between the Go-Saga shogunate and Emperor Go-gen brought unprecedented peace and development to the East.

Through exchanges with the neighboring suzerain state Dayan, the living standards of the people in the East have been greatly improved, and distinctive cultural works have gradually become popular in this land, especially in the fields of animation, games and novels.

But both the South and the North seem to be deliberately covering up the true history. Even those warriors who were once regarded as heroes have been transformed into funny and cool characters in entertainment works.

As time goes by, more and more Easterners have forgotten the memory of the war, as if it was a story that never existed.

Just as described by Settsu Hikaru, the former leader of the mobile city and now a poet, no matter how deep the pain is, it will gradually be smoothed out in this peaceful life and no longer have any meaning.

Of course, there are also rash young people who would ask the poet: Will the pain of losing your right arm also be buried by time? Have you never thought about finding the criminal and bringing him to justice?

"criminal?"

The thin and vigorous poet smiled with a complicated expression, which then turned into a look of relief as if he had let go of everything.

"No... She's not a criminal, never was..."

"But back then in Sekigahara Castle..."

"It was just a routine matter. She actually..."

The poet shook his head. "He is a hero betrayed by us."

Star Bear: Snowy Night (Part 2)

The first snow of 1098 seemed to come a little later than in previous years.

The snow in Longmen is different from the biting cold in the East, and its scale is not large enough to bury everything. In fact, compared to a natural phenomenon that is close to a natural disaster, the snow in Longmen is more like elves that have hurriedly come to embellish the winter, soft and elegant, and lovable.

But even so, there are still people who try to do some less legal things on the night it falls.

"This is Xingxiong. All members, please confirm the communication status for the last time, and then start the operation."

"This is Team Haoyun, communications are in good condition."

"This is the Gao Xisheng team. The noise is a bit loud, but it's no problem."

"This is Team Kanelian, and we're... Naoko! That's a trash can! Not an enemy!"

Before he finished speaking, a loud crash was heard in the distance, as well as the sound of all kinds of messy things falling to the ground.

If it were daytime, this would not attract much attention, but now it was the dead of night and everything was silent, so the sound of the trash can falling to the ground was as obvious as the warfarin hanging on the bow of Rhodes Island.

As the team members looked at each other in confusion, Xingxiong pinched his temples hard.

"Attention all units, our whereabouts have been exposed. Start the arrest operation immediately! Only non-lethal force is allowed."

So, once again, the cute little Naoko mistook the trash can for a criminal and slashed it with a knife, which directly started the melee.

With the current strength of the Special Inspection Team, even without the "high-end combat forces" such as Chongxiao, Chen Huijie and Texas, it would be a piece of cake to deal with a gang that is ignorant of the world.

But as we all know, the famous saying, "scattered they are stars in the sky, gathered they are a bunch of X", can be used in so many places...

Kanelian had no time to scold Naoko, because her team was located at the back door of the gang's stronghold, and there were always fixed sentries stationed there.

So after the door was kicked open, several pistols and crossbows started shooting wildly outside without even aiming.

Where did these bastards get their equipment!

Kanelian, who was a little exasperated, quickly swung the sword staff in his right hand and summoned a shield made of earth and rocks on the ground.

With her current level of Originium skills, it would not be a problem to directly destroy the warehouse in front of her. However, this gangster's crime did not deserve the death penalty, so there was no need to go to that extent.

The dense bullets and arrows hit the earth and stone shield, making a clanging sound. Kanelian also took the opportunity to drag Naoko, who had knocked over the trash can, back to the bunker...

"What's going on? Where are the contact lenses that Chongxiao bought for you?"

"How can a clumsy person rely on things outside of himself..."

"Put it on me before the next mission!"

Kanelian said unhappily, "This is Team Kanelian, preparing to attack from the back door of the warehouse."

"Got it, Haoyun, deal with the enemy running out from the roof."

"OK, I'll... Damn you, Red, you shameless bastard!"

These two are here again!

Xingxiong almost crushed the communicator in his hand.

On one side of the warehouse, the agile Red transformed himself into a member of the Shimada family and climbed onto the roof with the help of the gaps in the wall and the outer window sill. He happened to see several gangsters rushing out of the stairs.

"Someone's coming up! Damn it! I'll deal with him, you guys spread out and suppress him with fire!"

Oh? This guy really knows what's important.

Reid secretly praised in his heart, but his hands did not slow down at all... Since you are the commander, let's capture the leader first!

The reverse-blade knife was unsheathed in an instant, drawing a blurry trajectory under the soft moonlight, and slashed towards the chest of the little boss.

After several years of getting along, he and the weapon given by Chongxiao have completely become one, and he can also perfectly control the strength of the attack.

With this knife, the opponent will be injured and lose consciousness, but will never die.

"Ugh!!!"

Having a little command ability does not mean that one is strong. The little leader did not expect Red's strength. As a result, the crossbow used to resist the attack was instantly chopped into pieces. Then he was also flown up by the power of the reverse-blade knife, and flew back to the bottom of the stairs with a scream.

Very good, one...Haoyun can’t beat me this time!

Seeing this, the dispersing brothers quickly turned around and besieged Red.

Fortunately, there were a lot of things piled on the roof of the warehouse, providing him with cover to dodge attacks, otherwise it would have been quite tricky.

However, just as Red was about to launch a counterattack, the roof of the warehouse suddenly shook violently, and then collapsed...coincidentally, right under his feet.

Although Red reacted in time and stabbed the reverse-edged knife into the concrete, he still fell down.

"This is Team Gao Xisheng. An explosion of unknown cause occurred in the warehouse!"

"Confirm the situation and eliminate the danger."

"Yes, sir!"

After receiving the order, Gao Xi raised his arm and called Grani and Wu You to rush to the third floor where the explosion occurred... Unfortunately, they didn't know that Red, who thought he was attacked, was there...

The Xingxiong team was responsible for attacking the main entrance of the warehouse and was also the first team to rush in.

Xingxiong himself, carrying Prajna, transformed himself into an ancient battering ram and smashed the tightly locked door into pieces. Jiaju and Wan Shengsheng followed closely behind.

"First find the power room and turn on all the lights!"