My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 100: Chapter 77: The King Standing Before the Battle Lines

Between heaven and earth, beneath the falling snowflakes, this small piece of land reflects a myriad of expressions.

Only... one person.

Since the beginning of this chaotic battle, he has consistently exhibited an expression entirely different from everyone around.

...

...

What... exactly is this...?

...

...

Remaining with Anthony and others in the safest ”oval” center, with his left and right arms naturally hanging down and the tip of his sword in his right hand drooping to the snow-covered ground, Aoto scanned his surroundings with a... bewildered expression.

So strange...

Truly... so strange...

Since just now, Aoto has felt that his mood, his... vision, is very strange.

Nearly 200 ”Radical Anti-foreigner Faction” members charged into the camp with unstoppable momentum... it should have felt terrifying, it should have felt disorienting.

But Aoto felt none of these emotions.

Seeing a large number of enemies charging towards them, Aoto only felt an eerily calm.

The calmness was so incredible that even Aoto found it hard to believe.

On the first night after crossing into this era, when facing a mere 3 ”Radical Anti-foreigner Faction” members’ ambush, Aoto would have felt panic and fear for his life.

Yet now, in the face of an attack with enemies a hundred times more numerous than those he encountered that night, Aoto didn’t feel even a hint of panic.

Why can I be so calm now?

Aoto himself couldn’t understand.

Compared to the strange state of mind, it was the unusual sight that left Aoto even more astounded.

Seeing... so clearly...

Bewildered, Aoto shifted his gaze, looking left and right.

The positions and movements of Saito, Oomura, and others.

The positions and movements of these enemies in blood-red feathered robes.

Aoto could see everything distinctly!

Even though he wasn’t standing on any high ground

Even though he didn’t have extra eyes, his eyes were just like everyone else’s, seeing only within 180 degrees in front of him.

Yet he could clearly see the changes on the battlefield!

Just now, Aoto used this suddenly ”clear” vision to successfully warn Saito, allowing Saito to discover the three Anti-foreigner Group members who planned to attack him from the side and rear.

This perspective felt as if he was standing in the air... overlooking the battlefield...!

Thanks to this ”overlooking” vision, which Aoto himself couldn’t understand, he could distinctly see the chaos among the enemies in front of him.

The suddenly attacking Anti-foreigner Group, though aggressive and numerous... only had an aura and numbers to boast!

These ”Anti-foreigner Warriors” who gathered for the common cause of ”expelling the foreigners” were, to put it bluntly, just a disorganized rabble.

Almost none had undergone strict military training, rushing forward in a mob without any formation or coordination.

This made it so their numerical advantage wasn’t maximized.

Due to the lack of a reasonable attack formation, only a small circle of them could engage Saito, Oomura, and others, while the majority could only stand on the periphery, watching the intense battle ahead.

The lack of a reasonable attack formation also resulted in their attack being extremely chaotic, bumping into each other, interfering with each other.

Aoto even saw several people accidentally knocked down by those around them, then trampled and injured or even killed by those behind.

Moreover, Aoto noticed that not all these enemies were fierce and battle-hardened.

A considerable number had sunken cheeks and thin limbs like poverty-stricken samurais.

These people couldn’t even hold their swords steadily, their combat strength patently weak.

Those with a normal physique, appearing relatively more capable, were instead in the minority.

All these chaotic issues among the attacking enemies were masked by their currently high spirits and surging momentum...

In a trance, Aoto suddenly saw in front of him wisps of invisible, colorless ”qi streams.”

Aoto felt that at this moment, he was the only one who could see these ”qi streams.”

He turned his head, moving his gaze, letting his sight chase after these ”qi streams.”

These wisps, seemingly with lives of their own, like a breeze, swept past each person on the battlefield, drifting towards a unified target.

Aoto’s gaze, following these ”qi streams” inch by inch, finally fixed on their ultimate gathering place—Yamada, still standing on that big rock, still smiling complacently!

Every ”qi stream” on the battlefield now gathered around Yamada, making Yamada especially prominent in Aoto’s eyes.

...

...

Screeching...!

An eagle suddenly swept across from the distant horizon.

As it reached the chaotic battlefield, it abruptly halted, and then circled, hovering directly above the battleground.

While flapping its wings, it slowly lowered its gaze.

With cold, indifferent eyes, it watched the bloody battlefield below!

...

...

Victory is possible.

...

Suddenly, Aoto felt as if a ”voice” appeared by his ear.

The ”voice” shouted in an extremely enthusiastic tone by Aoto’s side.

Victory is certain!

The tide can be turned!

Only if... everyone here can follow my command!

...

...

Oomura had already lost count of how many people he had killed up to now and only felt a severe aching in his arms.

With great effort, he lifted his arms again, raising the tip of his sword, letting the cold gleam claim another life. He panted heavily.

But before he could rest, his peripheral vision caught a scene that nearly made his hair stand on end.

An enemy with a shaved, shiny head wielding a short spear had found a gap in a distant left-side defense line. Seizing the unguarded moment, he forced his way through the line!

Straight towards the rear of the defense line, aiming for Anthony and the others whom they were protecting!

”Stop him!” Oomura instinctively shouted.

Oomura wanted to rush over and personally intercept the bald-headed enemy with the short spear.

But the dense, seemingly endless number of enemies in front of him made it impossible for Oomura to turn and intercept, let alone shift his focus.

The line was already so thin it was nearly breaking. There was no one left with spare strength to return and block the bald-headed enemy.

The bald enemy picked a perfect moment to attack.

Just as Anthony had emptied his bullets and was reloading.

Watching the bald-headed enemy weaving through the defense line, charging at them like a no-man’s land, Anthony trembled in shock, then hastily dug into his pocket for bullets to reload.

In his anxiety and this critical moment concerning life and death, Anthony made a fatal mistake — in his rush to reload, he dropped the bullets to the ground.

With the resolve to die, the bald-headed enemy saw this and grinned menacingly.

As Anthony accidentally dropped his bullets, the bald-headed enemy had already reached the distance where his short spear could strike Anthony.

He raised the tip of his spear, pointing it at Anthony’s chest.

At this critical moment—

Buzz...

The flash of a blade.

An arc of blade light swept across the bald-headed enemy’s back, spraying a mist of blood.

The grin on the bald-headed enemy’s face quickly turned into astonishment.

He wanted to turn around to see who wielded the blade.

But the rapid drain of his strength made him quickly lose control over his body.

After struggling for a while, he fell heavily to the ground, clutching his short spear.

With cold sweat on his back, Anthony, feeling he had narrowly escaped death, lifted his gaze towards the person who saved him at the critical juncture — Aoto, maintaining his stance after the strike.

At this moment, Aoto, expressionless, swung his sword downward with force to shake off the blood on the blade while slowly standing upright...

”If you still want to live, listen up!”

The clear and powerful shout reached everyone present.

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The last Chapter was 2,500 words, this Chapter is 7,500 words, totaling 10,000 words.

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