My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 499: Chapter 173: Who Could Blame Me for Liking Miss Sazanoko So Much! (Hug Tightly)

The sound of the system notification indicating successful copying of talent echoed in his mind... But Aoto had no time to carefully listen to what new talent he had acquired.

After knocking down the ”bearded middle-aged man” with a shoulder strike, the only archer left standing... was just one person.

By observing the expression and actions of this last person remaining, it was clear that he was extremely panicked.

The daunting situation of his comrades falling one after another, and the enemy standing right in front of him, left him helpless.

The panic made him lose basic judgment and thinking ability.

In such a situation, he should either run away immediately or pull out the most powerful melee weapon he had, the sword at his waist, and engage in a fight to the death with Aoto.

Yet he chose neither of these options...

He discarded the yumi bow, which was hard to use in melee combat, and without drawing the sword at his waist, he instinctively clenched his right fist and aimed a punch at Aoto, who was only a step away.

Observing his punching action, even a layperson could see that this man was not skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

It was obvious—this man was so panicked that he forgot to draw his sword and was trying to face the enemy with unpracticed fists.

Using inexperienced hand-to-hand techniques in front of Aoto... the outcome was predictable.

Aoto reacted swiftly, shifting his body to the side, bending his left forearm down, flipping his left elbow up, with the elbow tip pointing at the incoming punch. Then, before the punch reached its highest speed, he proactively thrust out the elbow tip—an adept move by Aoto and a classic technique in hand-to-hand combat: ”vertical elbow defense” and ”actively closing in on the opponent, shortening the opponent’s attack distance, making it hard for them to exert force.”

With a dull ”thud,” Aoto’s elbow tip and the man’s fist collided heavily.

After about half a second, the collision ended with the ”fist” voluntarily retreating.

The man screamed, then recoiled his reddened right fist as if it had touched a flame.

This reaction was expected; Aoto’s sharp elbow tip struck one of the weakest spots on the fist: the gap between the ring finger and little finger.

Thanks to the talent ”Steel Bone” copied from Nagakura, Aoto belonged to the category of people with exceptionally hard bones.

With the enhancement of ”Steel Bone,” Aoto’s bones became much harder and more resilient than ordinary people, increasing not only his personal defense but also the attacking power of his fists and feet.

The man felt like his fist had hit a sharp steel rod... hurting so much that his entire right hand nearly lost sensation.

At this point in the battle, the outcome was determined.

The instant Aoto broke the man’s punch with a vertical elbow defense, he swiftly stepped forward, released the grip on the sword in his right hand, freeing his right hand, then grabbed the man’s right shoulder with his left hand and his left arm with his right hand, using capture techniques to pin the man to the ground.

”Mr. Tachibana!” At this moment, Nagakura dashed out from behind the garbage heap where he had been hiding and hurried toward Aoto.

”Nagakura, tie these three guys up for me.”

After giving Nagakura a simple instruction, Aoto handed the three subdued archers over to Nagakura to deal with, then picked up the Ghost-Slaying that he had thrown to the ground earlier and dashed out of the alley, glancing around outside.

Not a single silhouette could be seen...

In the chaotic ”1 vs 18” skirmish just now, those ”survivors” who had narrowly escaped death under Aoto’s sword were nowhere to be seen. There was no trace of which direction they fled in, making it impossible to pursue them.

I must say, these three archers can be credited for perfectly completing their heavy duty—staying behind to cover, they successfully secured enough time for their comrades to retreat.

Those guys managed to escape... Aoto felt regret, but he quickly composed his thoughts.

Successfully capturing these three archers compensates somewhat for the losses, ensuring the effort wasn’t in vain.

Aoto turned back to Nagakura’s side, just as Nagakura finished tightly binding the three archers, led by ”bearded middle-aged man,” with hemp rope.

Being an undercover informant under Aoto’s command, Nagakura naturally carried items like hemp rope, specifically used for tying up criminals.

”Mr. Tachibana!” As Aoto returned, Nagakura hurriedly asked him, ”Are you okay? Any injuries?”

”No, I’m fine.” Aoto sheathed the Ghost-Slaying, then raised his hand to touch his right cheek, which had brushed against an arrow shot by the ”bearded middle-aged man,” now constantly feeling a burning sensation.

He felt moisture at his fingertips... and upon opening his palm, he saw traces of blood on his fingertips.

”Aside from a slight scratch on my right cheek, everything’s alright,” Aoto said lightly with a smile.

”Mr. Tachibana, when I saw that arrow almost hit your head just now... I got goosebumps all over,” Nagakura voiced admiration for Aoto’s feat of ”single-handedly breaking the archers’ formation, charging straight at the archer lineup,” expressing his awe through fiery eyes towards Aoto.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Nagakura wouldn’t have believed the scene that had just unfolded before him was real... It was Nagakura’s first time witnessing someone dodging arrows of such astonishing speed at such a short distance!

Nagakura admitted to himself that he could never replicate such a feat.

”I was just lucky,” Aoto modestly said half-truthfully.