Kirino Toshiaki knew that the group of samurai around Shinsaku Takasugi was no match for Okita Soki. However, when the guy on the roof appeared, he had no more energy to stop the Shinsengumi kid.
Zhang Heng put a lot of pressure on him.
Kirino Toshiaki could not remember how long it had been since he felt like he was facing a formidable enemy. At this time, even a little distraction could cost him his life in the upcoming battle.
He was also a little surprised, not expecting to bump into two of his kind at the same time.
The Shinsengumi, the shogunate's lackey, had been hunting down the samurai in Kyoto. During the Battle of Ikedaya, even Katsura Kogoro almost lost his life. Although Okita Soki was young, he was the top master of the Shinsengumi. The number of people who died under his blade might not be less than Kirino Toshiaki's. But the other person … Yuta Abe was a name that Kirino Toshiaki was unfamiliar with.
He had never heard rumors about this person before. Tonight was the first time the two met. Yuta Abe appeared at the tea house as a translator for the French businessman. Kirino Toshiaki was surprised to see that Zhang Heng did not pose any threat to him at that time.
However, before leaving, Kirino Toshiaki took a look at the battle in the courtyard. He was certain that Yuta Abe was a seasoned fighter who had killed countless people. He might even be the most experienced among the three.
It was hard to imagine how such a guy could remain unknown until now.
But now was obviously not the time to think about such things because Zhang Heng had already jumped down from the roof.
In a fight between masters, unless it was a sneak attack, it was rare to jump from a high place to attack. Although they could use some of the gravitational potential energy to do so, they could not move their bodies in mid-air. It was easy to fall into a passive position.
Kirino Toshiaki waited for Zhang Heng to land, and he finally pulled out the Juzumaru from his waist.
Under the moonlight, the blade of the Juzumaru exuded a cold light, and the Buddhist prayer beads wrapped around the hilt seemed to be from two different worlds. However, they were perfectly integrated to achieve a wonderful balance, like the reincarnation of life and death.
Kirino Toshiaki spoke calmly, "I started practicing swordsmanship at the age of fifteen. I swung the wooden sword eight thousand times a day. Ten years later, I finally mastered the swordsmanship. Five years later, I acquired this sword from Master Inoue and killed forty-four enemies."
"… Koyama dojo, Yuta Abe. I borrowed the sword from the Bamboo Guards dojo." Zhang Heng gave a simple self-introduction after hearing Yuta Abe's words.
"…" Kirino Toshiaki was speechless. Without another word, he raised his sword and charged forward.
Kirino Toshiaki's swordsmanship was derived from the Shishin-Ryu, which was a unique school of swordsmanship unique to Samopan. It emphasized charging forward fiercely and breaking the enemy's momentum. It was an indomitable and unparalleled school of swordsmanship. If the Tennin Rishin-ryu was the Shinsengumi's favorite swordsmanship, then the Shishin-Ryu was the most favored swordsmanship.
Kirino Toshiaki raised the Juzumaru in his hand above his right shoulder and slashed at Zhang Heng. Coupled with his rising momentum, he locked on to his target. In the past, his enemies would instinctively think that they could not withstand this attack, and they would retreat to avoid it. Now, they had fallen into Kirino Toshiaki's trap.
Once they retreated, the target would find himself in a more passive position. Kirino Toshiaki's attacks would be like a tidal wave, each wave stronger than the one before. In the end, the target could only attack in a panic, and that was often the moment when life and death would be decided.
Zhang Heng did not fall into Kirino Toshiaki's trap. Instead of retreating, he raised his sword to meet the attack head-on.
"Good!" Kirino Toshiaki shouted. Instead of being surprised, he was delighted.
Ino Shiaki Toshiaki was not a sword technique to scare people. In fact, Kirino Toshiaki had spent ten years practicing day and night to improve the strength and speed of his sword. Ordinary swordsmen would not be able to block his thunderous attack. If they did not know the severity of the attack, they would most likely end up with their weapons knocked out of their hands.
Therefore, this attack was not some kind of conspiracy, but an open and aboveboard plan.
However, the result of the clash of the two swords was beyond Kirino Toshiaki's expectations. The guy in front of him actually managed to block his attack with all his strength. Although it was a little forceful, Zhang Heng managed to pull off his wakizashi in time when he saw that the situation was not looking good.
Only then did the back of the sword stop at the last moment before it bounced off his shoulder.
Zhang Heng, on the other hand, was a little surprised.
His long period of fitness and exercise was not in vain. Modern people had a more scientific diet, and their nutrition was more balanced. Their physique was much stronger than people more than a hundred years ago. Therefore, after entering the quest, Zhang Heng's basic stats were superior most of the time. It was rare for him to meet an opponent who could suppress him in terms of strength.
Of course, part of the reason was that he had been through a fierce battle before, and his stamina was exhausted. On the other hand, he had to admit that Kirino Toshiaki's ten years of training was not in vain. This Bakumatsu Hitoshi was indeed stronger than all the opponents he had encountered before.
However, Zhang Heng did not panic. The stronger the enemy, the more valuable it was for him to study. In comparison, it was a better way to hone his swordsmanship. To explain it in terms of game concepts, bosses and elite monsters would always provide more experience points than small fries.
Zhang Heng had challenged so many dojos before this, but none of them were as rewarding as tonight. What he had to do next was to swallow the last big experience pack and go home to digest it slowly.
Realizing that he was at a disadvantage in terms of strength, Zhang Heng decisively changed his fighting style. Not only did he start to move, but he also became more active. It seemed that he was planning to fight a guerilla warfare.
In Kirino Toshiaki's eyes, this kind of behavior was unwise. Kirino Toshiaki also saw the impact of continuous high-intensity combat on Zhang Heng's body. What's more, Zhang Heng had a lot of wounds on his body. If they were to fight a battle of attrition, the situation would not be optimistic.
In fact, the two exchanged a few more blows, and they were evenly matched. Zhang Heng used the momentum to retreat, then raised the sword in his hand to his eyes, and looked at the large and small nicks on the blade with the help of the moonlight.
Although the sword in his hand was not as precious as the Tenkenjutsu, it was not bad. During the battle at the tea house, there were not so many nicks on the blade. Now, after less than ten attacks from Kirino Toshiaki, the blade had nearly half of the nicks. It could only be said that Kirino Toshiaki's Juzumaru was too sharp.
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