My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 653: Chapter 7: One-Slash Instant Kill! Aoto vs Sazanoko Pursuer Corps [7400]_4

But he still underestimated the malice and initiative of the ”Sazanoko Pursuer Corps” toward him.

Until earlier.

It wasn’t until he accidentally overheard the conversation between Wada and the others that Aoto realized—the hostility of Sazanoko’s pursuers towards him was far greater than he had anticipated!

In order to appease the hatred of ”Sazanoko being taken,” they didn’t hesitate to unite and vowed to use violence to trouble Aoto.

These guys, whose heads were clouded by jealousy, superiority, and excessive confidence, came on strong.

At this point... Aoto wasn’t very panic-stricken.

He merely chose to silently tighten his grip on the bamboo sword in his hand.

Since they wanted to pick a fight... then bring it on!

If he chose to evade passively, this group would only escalate in making trouble for Aoto.

In that case, it’s better to confront them directly!

If he could knock them all down, they probably wouldn’t dare to be arrogant in front of Aoto for a while.

Thus, from another perspective, this also presented an opportunity.

An opportunity to make sure these guys never dare to casually mess with him again.

When accepting Wada’s challenge, Aoto had made up his mind—to take advantage of this opportunity to thoroughly suppress this group’s arrogance!

”Is everyone suited up? Then—come in!”

Chiba Shigetarou, serving as the referee, stood in the center of the dojo, raised his right arm high, signaling Aoto and Wada to prepare for combat.

Standing at the western and eastern ends of the dojo respectively, Aoto and Wada carried their bamboo swords, slowly stepping into the dojo, each taking their stance at the center.

Sazanoko, Tadomaru Shiro, Yamanaka, and other apprentices had now moved to the edges of the dojo, clearing space for the duel and ready to watch the match that was about to begin.

Chiba Shigetarou: ”Salute!”

Aoto placed the bamboo sword at his left waist, squatting down unhurriedly, and performed a formal bow towards Wada opposite him.

As a core member of the ”Sazanoko Pursuer Corps,” Wada, although quite displeased with ”bowing to Aoto,” dared not act out in front of Chiba Shigetarou.

He had to suppress his inner irritation and respectfully bowed towards Aoto.

After the salutation, they slowly stood up, drew their bamboo swords from their left waists, and Chiba Shigetarou took a deep breath, fiercely swinging down his raised hand: ”Begin!”

”Waaahhhhh——!”

Just as Chiba Shigetarou’s voice fell, Wada let out an extremely loud and imposing Qi Union shout.

Wada started with a middle-rank stance, the sword tip slightly swaying in a distinct Beichen One-Sword Style manner.

No wonder he was trained at the renowned Great Sword Dojo, Little Chiba Sword Dojo, and could practice at the ”advanced” B Area.

Wada’s stance could only be described as ”perfect.”

His body stood firmly, feet gripping the ground with a bit of ”flexibility.”

This ”steady yet flexible” stance allowed him to maintain stability while swiftly switching his steps, dodging, twisting, and maintaining high mobility.

The distribution of weight, grip on the sword, limb orientation... all impeccable.

Regarding Wada’s perfectly executed stance, Sazanoko, Tadomaru Shiro, Yamanaka, and others watching from the sidelines remained unfazed, finding it quite normal.

Showing no flaws in the sword posture... is not a big deal at Little Chiba Sword Dojo.

Displaying an impeccable stance was just one of the basic skills for all qualified to practice in the B Area.

Compared to Wada who shouted loudly and energetically right as the match started, Aoto maintained his usual combat style—not fond of making noise, but silently holding the bamboo sword steady in the middle rank.

Aoto stood still in place.

Seeing Aoto motionless, Wada thought of initiating the first attack.

However... no matter how he switched his stance, no matter how he tried using feints to lure Aoto into making a mistake, he couldn’t find the right moment to attack Aoto.

Thus, unable to find an attack opportunity on Aoto, Wada stood there in frustration, not moving.

Aoto stood firm, Wada couldn’t find a chance to move... both faced off ”as immovable as Mount Tai,” with several steps between them.

At this point, many watching from the sidelines, including Sazanoko, couldn’t help but comment: Aoto is so calm.

Wada had tried multiple times to bait Aoto into showing a flaw, kept changing his stance, trying to find any breach in Aoto’s defense, but no matter what Wada did, Aoto stood still, undisturbed.

Sazanoko and others instinctively believed it was Aoto’s calm manifestation.

Aoto must be patiently waiting for the optimal moment to strike—Sazanoko and the others naturally assumed so.

However, in truth, they misunderstood.

There was nothing about being calm or waiting for the optimal moment to strike... none of that was the case.

Aoto stood still purely because he was waiting for the 10 seconds necessary for the system to copy a talent from the opponent.

——9...10...11...

Aoto silently counted the time in his heart.

To ensure that he could successfully copy a talent from his opponent without any accidents, Aoto counted an extra bit, deciding to stop at 15 seconds.

——12...13...14...15!

seconds were up...

Aoto let out a long breath.

Then he swiftly stepped forward and rushed towards Wada!

Aoto’s sudden movement at an unexpected timing and incredible speed caused quite the stir and admiration among the observers.

With the sword following his movement, Aoto took a quick step forward and launched a Kasaya Slash aiming directly at Wada’s chest.

Wada’s eyes were wide open.

Aoto’s speed was too fast... so fast that Wada wasn’t psychologically prepared at all!

Relying on instincts and muscle memory honed from years of sword practice, Wada hastily raised his sword to block, trying to fend off Aoto’s strike.

Wada’s block speed wasn’t slow at all... but anyone could see: the match was decided.

Slam!

A dull thud echoed.

Aoto’s bamboo sword accurately hit Wada’s chest.

Wada, taking the heavy blow to his chest, staggered backward a few steps, then fell heavily to the ground.

Aoto didn’t use any fancy tactics or techniques.

Close in, aim at Wada’s chest, strike—just that simple.

Aoto’s movement and sword-swing speed were exceptionally fast.

Fast enough to surpass Wada’s reaction time.

Aoto had already swung his bamboo sword, and only then did Wada belatedly raise his sword to defend.

Therefore, there wasn’t much to say about the duel between Aoto and Wada, simply put, it was a pure match—Aoto relied on sheer speed advantage to defeat Wada in one stroke.

Aoto kept a Residual Heart and attentively listened for any system sound.

However... all was quiet in his mind...

——Does this guy have no talent...

Aoto regretfully pouted.

The originally uneventful duel had its result decided in the blink of an eye... the rapid change of scene rendered the dojo exceptionally quiet...

Until several seconds later, the crowd of spectators on the scene gradually came to their senses, starting to buzz softly.

”So fast!”

”I couldn’t react at all...”

”This Tachibana Aoto can consistently achieve extraordinary feats... is indeed quite capable.”

...

Many present hadn’t participated or watched the Red and White Battle between Shiwei Hall and Little Chiba Sword Dojo half a year ago, nor did they witness the Swordsmanship Competition hosted by the Marquis of Aizu not long ago.

For many present, this was their first time witnessing Aoto’s battle firsthand.

At this moment, both Wada, who was one-shotted by Aoto, and the other members of the ”Sazanoko Pursuer Corps” outside the ring, wore expressions that were nothing short of remarkable.

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Yesterday’s condition wasn’t great, didn’t reach 10,000 words QAQ (crying leopard.jpg)

Though today’s writing didn’t hit 10,000 words either, 7,500 isn’t too little, so I still beseech for monthly votes! Only the first 7 days of this month have double monthly votes, it’s a loss if not voted.

Begging for monthly votes! Requesting recommendation votes! (leopard head crying out loud.jpg)