My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 454: Chapter 162: The Swordsman Who Severed the Ironclad Ship: Mamiya Kurō [6400]_2

For example, ”Strong Muscle” can complement ”Take the Lead,” giving Aoto the ability to run at high speeds for long periods.

Therefore, Aoto believes ”Gathering Spirit” can also work in tandem with his ”Eightfold Banner of No Regrets”!

The more Aoto thinks about it, the more he realizes what an extraordinary new talent he’s acquired. The smile at the corner of his mouth and the one between his brows grow even more pronounced.

Just then, Chiba Eijiro suddenly spoke:

”Mr. Tachibana, the last strike you landed on me during the final moments... was excellent.” Using the towel Kondo handed him to wipe the sweat off his face, Chiba Eijiro turned his gentle gaze back to Aoto, ”The angle and timing of your sword strike were perfect beyond comparison.”

Chiba Eijiro raised his hand and pointed to his ear.

”If I guessed correctly... you judged my attack direction based on sound, didn’t you?”

”...Yes.” Aoto didn’t try to hide it, nodding almost without thinking.

Seeing Aoto nod, Chokata and the others around showed expressions of ”So that’s how it is.”

”Why did you think of giving up your eyes and relying solely on your ears to deal with my slashes?” Chiba Eijiro rested the bamboo sword he was holding on the ground and gave Aoto a curious look.

Chokata and the others focused their gaze on Aoto alongside Chiba Eijiro.

Facing the concentrated gaze from everyone, Aoto took a deep breath and then explained leisurely:

”Mr. Chiba, your speed is simply too fast.”

”Although my eyes can barely keep up with your speed, my body cannot.”

”At first, I kept thinking about wanting to see your movements more clearly, to make my body keep up with my eyes.”

”It was only just now that I suddenly realized: One of the main reasons my body couldn’t keep up with your speed might be because I insisted on using my eyes to see and capture your movements.”

”Eyes are the most crucial organ for human perception of the outside world.”

”While helping people see the world clearly... eyes also can cause people to have too many ’distractions’ because they see too much, slowing down the speed of thought and the body’s reaction.”

”So I thought: Since eyes are not useful, I might as well not use them.”

”By closing my eyes, actively shutting off vision from the five senses, discarding all sorts of ’distractions’ brought by the eyes, I concentrated entirely on my ears, using only hearing to sense the wind from your bamboo sword.”

”In this way, maybe my body’s reaction speed can keep up with your movement speed.”

Aoto paused, letting out a bitter smile:

”However, the truth is—it’s easier said than done.”

”After taking over ten of your blows, I only successfully defended and counterattacked once.”

One of the reasons Aoto dared to rely solely on hearing to fend off Chiba Eijiro’s strikes was because he recently acquired the talent to enhance hearing: ”Wind Sensor.”

Without this talent as support, Aoto might not have dared to use such bold tactics in the recent battle.

After listening to Aoto’s explanation, the people around showed various expressions.

Kondo, Nagakura, Saito, and Harada displayed surprised and somewhat contemplative looks.

Only Chiba Eijiro, Zhouzhu, and Chokata remained composed... It was as if they anticipated why Aoto chose to close his eyes in the recent confrontation.

Chiba Eijiro nodded gently, a smile playing at his lips: ”Even though you only successfully blocked and countered one move, you indeed succeeded.”

Chiba Eijiro lowered his gaze, glancing at the spot where he was struck moments ago.

”Actively discarding eyes... although a bit too daring, depending on the situation, under certain conditions, it might prove to be an unexpectedly victorious strategy to defeat the enemy.”

”Mr. Tachibana, you are far more adept than I initially thought.”

”Being able to boldly devise and alter battle tactics based on different situations during combat.”

”This is quite a rare talent.”

This sudden and quite direct compliment from Chiba Eijiro made Aoto startle.

Aoto, not being used to hearing such straightforward praise, felt quite flattered and humbly responded with a ”Thank you for the compliment” and ”I dare not accept.”

”It’s a bit of a pity.” Chiba Eijiro rotated his right wrist, lifted the bamboo sword on the ground, rested it on his shoulder, and forcefully grabbed his hair with his left hand, showing a flash of pause in his eyes, ”I didn’t see your ’Momentum’ till the end.”

”But... oh well.”

Chiba Eijiro paused his words, then pressed his gaze and looked at Aoto across from him, his lips moving with words only he could hear, murmuring:

”Though I didn’t see ’Momentum,’ the gains are still substantial...”

”Mr. Chiba!”

Suddenly, a loud shout echoed across the dojo.

It was Nagakura’s voice.

Nagakura’s strong, tower-like body swayed, and in no time, he quickly stood before Chiba Eijiro.

Chiba Eijiro hadn’t had time to ask why before Nagakura respectfully said in a booming voice:

”Mr. Chiba, may I... ah, no, can I humbly ask you for guidance?”

”Oh?” Chiba Eijiro raised an eyebrow, ”You want to spar with me?”

In Nagakura’s eyes burned a fiery enthusiasm—much like Aoto’s earlier.