Chapter 288: Chapter 121: One Against Ten, Five Against a Hundred!

Aoto is currently engaged in a fierce battle with three members of the Anti-foreigner Group.

These three Anti-foreigner Group members are positioned to Aoto’s left front, directly in front, and right front, launching aggressive attacks at him.

Aoto is slipping and sliding through their coordinated attacks.

Dodging, parrying... he skillfully neutralizes each of their strikes.

They shouldn’t have attacked Aoto all at once.

Because doing so would only trigger Aoto’s "Lone Brave" talent!

After deflecting another round of their coordinated strikes, Aoto let out a low shout and deftly inserted himself into their formation beneath their blades.

Immediately, three flashes of the blade swept past.

Without even looking back, Aoto faced the next closest enemy—the three group members who had been encircling him had already fallen one after another.

This was the first time Aoto deployed his New Sword: the Ghost-Slaying Divine Blade in a bloody battle.

True to its reputation as the Treasure Sword bestowed by the Shogunate, neither the sharpness nor the durability could be compared to the swords Aoto had previously used.

When slashing at a body, there was almost no feeling of resistance, effortlessly slicing through flesh and bone, as if using a hot knife to cut tofu.

Compared to two months ago... during the "Snowy Night Chaos" event, Aoto now not only has a better sword but also a stronger body and more formidable strength!

"Sword Genius" and the recently acquired "Ghost Heart" have allowed Aoto’s swordsmanship to improve almost daily—it’s different every single day.

Aoto feels that even two months ago, he might have needed to activate "Lone Brave" to counterbalance his current self.

Aoto’s keen gaze scanned the surroundings as the Ghost-Slaying Divine Blade’s sharp edge swept across, quickly spotting two enemies approaching from his left.

These two were quite short, barely over 1.5 meters tall, requiring Aoto to tilt his chin downward 10-20 degrees to see these short figures fully.

Being shorter than Aoto meant their attack range was inferior to Aoto’s.

Using his height and arm length advantage, Aoto seized the initiative, launching a sweeping horizontal cut at these short figures.

The two short figures reacted fairly quickly, promptly sidestepping and raising their swords to protect in front of them.

However, their slender bodies couldn’t match the strength of Aoto, who has been diligently maintaining a fitness routine for quite some time.

When the blade of the Ghost-Slaying Divine Blade clashed against their swords, they felt a formidable, irresistible force transmitting through the blade to their hands, causing their arms to tingle as if shocked by electricity, forcing them to take half a step back.

Taking advantage of the moment before the two short figures could stabilize themselves, Aoto lightly leaped forward, closing the distance between himself and them.

The blade gleamed once, then again, and the two short figures staggered a few steps before collapsing softly to the ground, lifeless.

"Die!"

At that moment, a member of the Anti-foreigner Group, sporting a goatee, suddenly sprang from the darkness at Aoto’s side and slashed toward Aoto’s flank in a Kasaya Slash.

Aoto... remained motionless. Neither evading nor lifting his sword to defend.

The goateed man, believing Aoto was unable to defend in time, thought his strike would be successful, a jubilant color emerging on his cheeks.

He didn’t know — Aoto was not incapable of defending.

Aoto had long since noticed this goateed man attempting to ambush him and only deliberately remained motionless, allowing the goateed man to strike, intentionally luring him to expose an opening.

Crack—!

Sparks flew.

The goateed man’s blade struck Aoto’s flank, producing a sharp, jarring metallic screech.

The sharp blade only tore Aoto’s clothes, revealing the shiny metallic glint of chain armor from beneath the tear.

The goateed man gaped in shock, staring at the chain armor worn by Aoto underneath his kimono...

Chain armor is less effective against thrusts but excellent against slashes.

Thud!

The blade resounded.

With a sound like a tomato being squashed, the Ghost-Slaying Divine Blade struck the crown of the as-yet shocked goateed man, directly reducing his head to a gory mess.

"Waaaah!"

Yet another Anti-foreigner Group member charged at Aoto—this one was quite tall, nearly equaling Aoto in height.

He cried out loudly, cutting towards Aoto’s head with an Upper Stance.

This person’s blade carried immense momentum.

The strike aiming at Aoto’s forehead carried no hesitation or doubt, with a relentless momentum suggesting, "Even if the blade breaks, it will still smash Aoto’s head."

One common mistake for novices is valuing their blades too much, leading to strikes that lack decisiveness and promptness.

Indeed, the Samurai Sword is a delicate weapon, unsuited for chopping hard objects, greatly reducing its lifespan when used to chop skulls or similarly hard objects.

However—when it truly comes down to a life-and-death battle, anyone still concerned with such reasoning is foolish.

Unless you’re a Sword Master with extremely high Swordsmanship capable of accurately controlling swing angles, force, and speed, if you’re truly fighting for your life, then whenever someone’s skull enters your optimal striking zone, you should strike without hesitation. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Those who worry about their blade’s lifespan during combat will generally end up dying miserably.

Blades can always be repaired, but if you die, what good is perfectly maintaining your sword?

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