My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 546: Chapter 181: 1 vs 67! The Final Battle Against the Anti-foreigner Group! [Epic Update: 10,000 Words]

What a long and eventful night... As he jumped off Radish’s back, Aoto couldn’t help but have this feeling.

Originally, he was just looking for the missing Miss Sazanoko, but in a series of unexpected turns, he discovered the Anti-foreigner Group’s plot to destroy the settlement, fighting across most of Edo in a single night, rescuing Miss Sazanoko first and then rushing to the settlement by riding a bull.

And now, he was initiating a charge.

Alone, he charged towards the swarm of enemies ahead!

Are you crazy—if someone witnessed what Aoto was doing now, they would definitely think of him this way.

There were at least 60 enemies ahead.

To single-handedly attack a group of enemies of this scale... is simply insane.

In fact, Aoto also felt that this action was absolutely ridiculous and incomprehensible from a normal perspective.

He could have done nothing, completely ignored Shinno and the others who were surrounding Bright’s residence.

Having discovered the Anti-foreigner Group’s plot to attack the settlement... Aoto’s accomplishment was already significant enough.

Moreover, there was indeed a huge disparity in strength between the two sides.

The official forces hadn’t arrived yet, and Aoto’s only companion was Sazanoko, who had one injured leg.

Even if Aoto hid in a safe corner now and watched Shinno and the others massacre everyone inside Bright’s residence, no one would be able to criticize him afterward.

However—just now, when the thought of ”what to do” flashed through Aoto’s mind, he made up his mind without hesitation.

Even if it would be considered absurd.

Even if it would be seen as overestimating his abilities.

He chose to have his sword in hand.

No hesitation, and no regrets.

Not because he wanted to be a hero.

Nor for the self-righteous reasons of saving lives or punishing evil and promoting good.

He couldn’t quite say why, but Aoto felt that if he chose to retreat now and hide in a safe place allowing Shinno and the others to act recklessly, he would lose something very important.

It’s not about accidentally losing an item or never seeing someone again.

Rather, it felt like losing some part of the body or soul.

...

(...Mr. Tachibana, you... are so brave.)

...

Aoto suddenly recalled this compliment from Sazanoko.

Miss Sazanoko... A subtle smile appeared at the corner of Aoto’s mouth. This is not ”bravery.”

I’m just following what my heart thinks, what my heart desires!

...

...

The horizontally swung blade sliced open the carotid artery of an enemy who stood unaware in Aoto’s strike range, to his right-front.

Because Aoto’s height was far above the average adult male of this era, combined with the Ghost-Slaying Divine Blade being longer than usual Tachi, fools with poor skills often misjudged Aoto’s attack range and met their demise.

As Aoto slayed the enemy who made the rookie error of ”misjudging distance,” the instant after, he slightly lifted the Ghost-Slaying Divine Blade’s edge, adjusted the sword direction, and followed through with a plain thrust towards a tall enemy directly ahead.

Though the tall man instinctively sidestepped half a step attempting to dodge Aoto’s thrust, his slightly slower response and inferior body technique made evading Aoto’s explosive strike as fast as lightning impossible.

Just as the tall man’s foot lifted, his chest was already pierced through. It made a ”splurt” sound like liquid splashing.

”Damn it! Die!”

A determined shout came from the left.

At the same time, an approaching presence surged from the right.

Aoto quickly glanced to his left and right, one person on the left, three on the right... they charged aggressively, aiming to attack Aoto from both sides.

Enemies closing in from the east and west... standing idly would soon lead to being attacked from both sides.

Aoto took a deep breath, exerted force with his hand, and twisted the Ghost-Slaying Divine Blade within the chest of the enemy he had just pierced, cleaving apart the muscles that contracted from the intense pain, clutching the blade.

While retracting the Ghost-Slaying Divine Blade, Aoto seized the chance to free his left hand and drew the Wakizashi from the waist of the dying enemy nearby.

Now, Aoto was in a state with a Tachi in his right hand and a Wakizashi in his left.

He didn’t grab the Wakizashi on a whim to show off Dual Swordsmanship.

Dual Swordsmanship is a challenging Swordsmanship School, and although Aoto had the aptitude of being ”Left-Handed,” making his left side’s agility not inferior to his right, Dual Swordsmanship wasn’t something you’d master with a nimble left side.

Mastering Dual Swordsmanship requires both sufficient strength and skill.

To summarize, without prolonged practice, recklessly using Dual Swordsmanship would only cause the swords to interfere with each other, reducing effectiveness rather than augmenting it.

Having never practiced Dual Swordsmanship, Aoto revealed his reasoning for suddenly wielding two swords in the very next instant.

As he swiftly slid his feet, retreating from the enemy he just confronted, Aoto shoulder-charged into an enemy with a distinct large nose.

This large-nosed man hadn’t entered a state of tense combat awareness, reacting sluggishly. After Aoto rammed into him, he barely realized the situation, but it was already too late.