Aoto still had great confidence in Saito’s strength.
After all, he was a bodyguard that Arima had found for him, and based on Aoto’s understanding and trust in Arima, his superior would not send so run-of-the-mill nobodies to protect him.
If Aoto wanted, he could just hide behind Saito all the ti, let Saito handle all the enemies, cheer him on from the sidelines, and wait for an easy victory.
But Aoto didn’t want to do that.
Saito couldn’t protect him forever.
To truly protect himself, the best thod was to quickly beco strong himself.
If one wishes to quickly gain sufficient strength to protect oneself, it’s impossible without personally experiencing blood and fire.
Moreover — facing this sudden charge by the "Radical Anti-foreigner Faction," Aoto’s heart was sowhat excited.
He was quite willing to use these "Radical Anti-foreigner Faction" mbers to test the results of his special training over the past few days and the power of the divine skills he currently possessed in real combat!
As Saito behind him leaped toward the four enemies blocking their retreat, Aoto almost simultaneously launched an attack on the four blocking their front!
Aoto grabbed the conical hat from his head and flung it at the enemies.
The hat was burdened with a lot of snow, and when flung, the snow scattered everywhere, effectively obstructing the enemies’ sight and disrupting them.
This little tactic of Aoto’s was quite successful.
The short man leading the charge, only 1.4 ters tall, had his vision blocked by the snow scattered from the hat and screeched to a halt, screaming.
Aoto followed closely behind the hat, advancing swiftly.
— Like wringing a towel...
Aoto silently recited the little trick Chokata had taught him while teaching him "Suburi," one that maximized its power without injuring the wrist, and swiftly raised his sword high overhead.
Thud!
A muffled sound, like a waterlon being smashed, exploded.
Relying on the muscle mory honed from countless repetitions over the past few days, Aoto struck the short man’s forehead heavily with his blade.
The blade sliced through the crown, driving down to the nose where it finally stopped.
The Tachi in Aoto’s hand, along with the Wakizashi still hanging at his waist, were indeed fine swords worth the 100 gold ryo his great-grandfather had paid to forge them.
The hard skull seed as fragile as a block of wood before this blade; even after smashing the skull, not a nick appeared on its edge.
Aoto swiftly retracted the blade, quickly glancing behind to check Saito’s situation — the four mbers of the "Radical Anti-foreigner Faction" blocking their retreat had already been crushed by Saito.
Assured that their rear was secure, Aoto confidently focused his full attention back on the three enemies still alive in front of him.
His heartbeat accelerated continuously.
Adrenaline surged.
The "Lone Brave" talent activated!
Although Aoto had only practiced swordsmanship for a few days since arriving in this world, the enhancent from the "Sword Genius" talent allowed his few days of training to be equivalent to several months... or even half a year of hard work for a regular person!
No longer a "swordsmanship novice," Aoto also had previous life experiences and police training as a foundation.
With the support of powerful talents like "Lone Brave," "Eagle Eye," and "Left-Handed," Aoto now was a world apart from the bewildered self facing three "Radical Anti-foreigner Faction" mbers on his first night of transmigration.
A dark-skinned brute thrust a sword at Aoto; his attack seed full of power, speed, and montum at first glance, but his trajectory was completely seen through by Aoto, who now possessed "Eagle Eye."
Using his left foot as an axis, Aoto rotated his body counterclockwise, his maroon Feathered Robe and cloak tracing a beautiful semicircle with the movent.
After dodging the brute’s attack with a spin, Aoto utilized the centrifugal force to slash horizontally, cutting open the brute’s throat.
Thick streams of blood sprayed from the ruptured artery, dousing towards Aoto’s head.
As the blood was about to drench his head, Aoto quickly stretched out his left hand, now as nimble as his right, grabbed a corner of his cloak, and pulled it in front of him to block the steaming gushes of blood.
The black cloak wouldn’t noticeably show the blood splatter.
With a flick of his left hand, Aoto shook off the cloak he used to block the blood, then once more positioned the blade in front of him, pointing it at the next enemy, the blade laid flat.
He adopted the stance of the Natural Reasoning Heart Swordsmanship: No-Mind Thrust, which he had learned from Kondo just the day before.
Yesterday, when Kondo taught Aoto the "No-Mind Thrust," he specifically instructed that its essence was to keep the blade flat.
Because the blade width exceeded the gaps between human ribs, if one thrust with the blade upright, it would easily graze bone, but keeping the blade flat would allow it to slide into the deepest part between the ribs smoothly.
Swoosh!
With a strong push of his hind foot, the snow beneath the heel scattered; the hind foot pushed off with power, channeling through the waist into his arms, and then all at once he transferred this force through the blade into the enemy’s chest in front of him!
The sharp tip easily pierced flesh and snaked through the gaps between ribs, protruding from the enemy’s back.
Splotches of blood dottingly flew off from the blade that completely skewered the enemy’s torso, landing on the snowfield, causing clusters of "plum blossoms" to bloom early on the vast snowy ground.
Out of the four "Radical Anti-foreigner Faction" mbers blocking Aoto and Saito’s path, only one remained alive...
This sole survivor was now utterly astonished.
This wasn’t what they had heard...?!
They had heard before that Tachibana Aoto, this traitor, had diocre skills, was not good with the sword, and was supposedly an easy soft target to take down!
They had gathered eight people this ti, thinking all they needed to do was shout "Celestial Punishnt" and rush forward to secure an easy victory, right?
What’s happening now?
Is this what they call diocre skills?!
Completely stunned by the scene before him, this person gaped with wide eyes and mouth, dumbly watching his comrades fall to various death styles...
Only when Aoto had retracted the blade from his companion’s pierced chest did he finally regain his senses.
After pulling back his blade, Aoto swung it toward this last "survivor."
Seeing the slashing blade heading for him, this person awoke from his dream-like stupor and hastily raised his sword to defend.
Sadly — realizing it now was already too late.
The sharp blade swept across his throat.
A multitude of new blooms appeared on the snowy ground.
*******
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This is the first ti the author has written such fast-paced, few-second-decisive battles since finishing my last work, "Sword Master."
Luckily — I’m still in form.
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