"A fire burned my ho to the ground."
"Everything I did to you before was purely for my own self-defense."
"Hmph." Shinno snorted coldly, "You really know how to talk, don’t you?"
"Enough!"
Shinno’s expression gradually turned fierce.
"It’s just as well you appeared suddenly; tonight I’ll kill you too!"
"Sawaragi, Tangdao..."
Shinno called out several nas.
"You follow ! Kill them!"
Shinno raised his sword and took the lead!
The corridor, which had quieted down with great difficulty, suddenly beca noisy again.
Shinno’s target was quite clear—he charged straight toward Aoto!
He swiftly switched the sword in his hand to an upper stance, using the montum from his charge, as if he wanted to instantly pulverize his opponent, he swung his sword at Aoto’s head.
As Shinno charged at him, Aoto’s gaze sharpened, he spread his feet apart, gripped his sword with both hands, and raised the Ghost-Slaying horizontally over his head, creating a level line.
Clang!
Pale blue sparks erupted in the air, accompanied by a shrill sound of clashing tal.
Shinno’s sword and Aoto’s Ghost-Slaying collided heavily.
Standing to Aoto’s left rear, Saito stepped forward, aiming to support Aoto.
But Shinno’s companions were not re appearances.
Shinno’s trusted one-ard warrior shouted loudly, wielding his sword to attack Saito, blocking Saito’s path.
On the other side, Nagakura and others faced the sa situation, all were hindered by the mbers of the Anti-foreigner Group who accompanied Shinno.
It was clear—the opponents this ti were much stronger than the Surrounding Team mbers Aoto and the others had faced earlier.
Shinno seed to have allocated the stronger batch of people to attack the Foreign Language Research Institute.
The corridor was not narrow, but certainly not wide enough, it couldn’t accommodate too many people in chaos.
Harada, who wielded a spear, now found himself in a flustered state.
This not-so-spacious setting prevented his abilities from being utilized optimally.
Noticing the limited width of the battlefield, Aoto shouted at Harada, who couldn’t showcase his full strength, and Fujimura, who had insufficient practical experience:
"Harada! Fujimura! Protect the people of the Foreign Language Research Institute and retreat to the end of the corridor!"
"Huh? Oh, alright!" Harada responded swiftly, almost without thinking, to Aoto’s command and slung his spear over his back, freeing his left hand to grab Katsu Rintarō behind him.
"Hey, old man, don’t just stand there dazed. Quickly retreat to the end, it’s a bit dangerous here."
Katsu Rintarō still seed engrossed in the shock of surviving a disaster, his eyes widened, mouth slightly ajar, staring blankly at Aoto and others.
Fujimura, holding his sword, stood frozen in place, looking at Aoto, then at Harada who had already started to retreat following Aoto’s command, his expression full of hesitation and uncertainty—he seed to strongly want to rush forward and lend a hand to Aoto.
Harada noticed Fujimura wasn’t retreating with him.
"...Fujimura, don’t just stand there stupidly."
Though Harada usually wore a gentle smile on his face, he said to Fujimura now with an expressionless face.
"You’re Mr. Tachibana’s undercover informant now, aren’t you? Follow orders quickly."
This remark finally made Fujimura decisively act.
Fujimura hesitated for a mont longer, then finally stopped standing still, he assisted Harada in protecting the people of the Foreign Language Research Institute as they retreated to the far end of the corridor.
Soon, it proved that—leaving only Aoto, Nagakura, and Saito to face Shinno and the others head-on was the correct decision.
The corridor’s width was just enough to accommodate Aoto and the others wielding their swords comfortably.
After missing a strike, Shinno quickly retreated a step, then smoothly switched his sword stance to a middle stance.
Watching Shinno’s graceful sword-switching movent, Saito, who was held up by the one-ard warrior, warned Aoto in a deep voice:
"Tachibana, this man is using the Mirror Heart Mingzhi School."
Mirror Heart Mingzhi School—hearing this term, Aoto’s eyes narrowed slightly.
—Indeed, it lived up to its reputation... truly a school with graceful movents...
This was Aoto’s first ti facing a swordsman using the Mirror Heart Mingzhi School.
Currently the three major swordsmanship schools in Japan: Beichen One-Sword Style, Shindo Mononoke Stream, Mirror Heart Mingzhi School each had their specialties.
Beichen One-Sword Style emphasized "skill", Shindo Mononoke Stream emphasized "power", Mirror Heart Mingzhi School emphasized "posture".
Mirror Heart Mingzhi School pursued "posture" in movents, a school characterized by graceful movents.
But this didn’t an Mirror Heart Mingzhi School was just impractical showmanship; if it were just showy, it wouldn’t be ranked among Japan’s current three major swordsmanship schools.
Mirror Heart Mingzhi School balanced artistry with practicality, it earned its reputation through formidable battles.
Standing to Aoto’s left and right, both Nagakura and Saito couldn’t spare a hand to support Aoto now.
The Anti-foreigner Group mbers were not fools either, knowing that such a setting wasn’t suited for a reckless charge; thus, Shinno only called out certain nas, leading this small group of elites to attack.
Those who were nad and followed Shinno in the attack were all considerably formidable.
The strength of the one-ard warrior who blocked Saito’s path was visibly less than Saito’s, yet he was effective in holding Saito up.
And Nagakura engaged fiercely with a strongman.
In other words, Aoto now faced the sa predicant as that snowy night chaos 2 months ago—his companions were tied up, and he was forced to face the enemy Grand General alone.
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