My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 567: Chapter 184: Sword in Hand, Moonlight on Shoulder, Sword Qi Like a Dragon!

Shinno didn’t manage to carve a deep gash into Aoto’s upper body. The sword tip grazed Aoto’s chest, slicing the flesh but was stopped by the sternum, leaving only a three-inch long cut on his chest.

Taking advantage of his forward momentum, Shinno continued to charge at Aoto. Just as they were about to brush past each other, Shinno swiftly repositioned himself and delivered another strike, but it was blocked with a ”clang” by Aoto.

The two, after passing by each other, swiftly opened up a distance of more than ten steps and turned around simultaneously.

Drip, drip, drip, drip...

Fresh blood dripped from the new wound on Aoto’s chest and landed at his feet.

Aoto touched the spot where he was just cut with his left hand... After glancing at his blood-stained fingertips, his brows furrowed slightly.

—How did he manage to strike from so far away with his sword...?

Aoto didn’t feel agitated despite being struck.

Nor did he panic at the sudden and perplexing move executed by Shinno.

His emotions barely fluctuated... he was only calmly contemplating how Shinno had managed to strike from such a long distance.

Because of the angle earlier, Aoto didn’t see what kind of trick Shinno used to allow his sword to reach so far.

As for Mukiwa in the distance... surprise was still etched on her face.

Earlier, Shinno had his back toward her, so she also failed to see what method he used to make his sword strike so far.

While both Aoto and Mukiwa pondered over what kind of technique Shinno employed, they saw him adopting a lower right stance once more, with the sword concealed behind him.

On Shinno’s face, faint hints of self-satisfaction and excitement were visible—landing that strike on Aoto surely filled him with joy and encouragement.

And indeed that was the case; Shinno was inwardly exulting: Great! I struck him!

This is an opportunity to finish off this scoundrel with this move!

The success of that previous strike convinced Shinno to promptly decide to use that technique once more!

This time... I must take down this country traitor!

Looking at Aoto who was adopting the stance again, his eyelids slightly drooped.

—Is he going to use that move again...?

Aoto still hadn’t figured out how Shinno managed to extend his attack range so much.

If one cannot grasp their opponent’s attack range... then dodging and defending become impossible.

And Shinno’s stance, with the sword and both arms hidden in the shadows behind him, prevented Aoto from predicting when he would strike by observing his hand movements.

If it isn’t some sort of mechanism on the sword... then it must be some special technique in the way Shinno wields the blade that allows it to strike from such distances.

Even though she wasn’t participating in the duel, Mukiwa was as tense as if she herself were in the midst of the fight.

Her hands unconsciously clenched close to her chest, so worried about whether Aoto could withstand Shinno’s strike that she barely dared to breathe.

She didn’t dare make a sound, even trying to quiet her breathing, afraid that even the slightest noise from her would distract Aoto.

In this life-and-death duel, Shinno certainly wouldn’t spare any time for Aoto to slowly strategize his counterattack.

As soon as he assumed the stance and gathered strength in his waist and legs, Shinno once again charged at Aoto like a whirlwind!

The enemy was coming... there was no more time to think. Even though he still had no clue how to counter Shinno’s ”extended attack” technique, Aoto could only steady himself with a grim face, ready to face the enemy!

At that moment, with Shinno’s renewed assault, the air on the bridge seemed to congeal into something heavy!

The rapid pounding of feet on the bridge, as Shinno swiftly approached Aoto, sounded like the footsteps of a Death God coming to claim a soul!

Standing directly against the round moon hanging in the night sky, Shinno’s elongated shadow loomed heavily over the bridge like a mountain! The moonlight highlighted every sinister detail of his menacing face!

In this flash of a moment, suddenly a gust of wind blew from the distant skies.

This gust brought a chill... and carried a petal of a wisteria flower that bloomed during this season.

Guided by the wind, the petal swept past in front of Aoto, casting faint shadows on the bridge.

Aoto caught sight of the petal’s shadow on the bridge in his peripheral vision.

In that instant, as if he understood something, Aoto’s pupils constricted to the size of a pinhole.

Then, in the next moment... Aoto moved. He moved forward!

Aoto suddenly focused his strength on his toes, gathering energy in an instant before thrusting forward!

He moved to meet Shinno head-on, raising his sword and adopting a stance where the Ghost-Slaying Sword was positioned horizontally at his right waist.

The force generated by Aoto’s forward movement swept away the wisteria petal that had been brought to his eye level by the breeze.

The wisteria petal soared upwards, floating towards the distant sky... until finally becoming a black dot and disappearing entirely.

Aoto chose to charge at Shinno, and both Mukiwa, who was watching, and Shinno himself were quite surprised by this.

But the surprise on Shinno’s face quickly transformed back into a sinister smile.