The Ding Guishen still inserted into his shoulder cannot be pulled out at will. If it is pulled out casually, it will easily cause massive bleeding, so he can only continue to let it be inserted into his body.

Kamitachi raised his right hand that was holding his beloved sword, and wiped the throat that was almost stabbed with the back of his hand... A chill rose from the soles of his feet, ran through his body, and finally reached the top of his head.

It was only a little bit close just now... If that guy hadn't just exhausted his strength, he would be dead now...

The cold sweat dripping down Kamamachi's face became even more intense. "I really... look down on you...!"

The cold words that reminded people of the harsh winter came out from the clenched teeth of Kamamaitachi...

Kamitachi stretched his right hand to his left shoulder, continued to hold the handle of the knife with his thumb and index finger, and freed up the other three fingers to grab the fabric of the clothes on his left shoulder. With a "hiss", he tore the upper clothes to pieces and threw them aside.

.

Under the scraps of cloth flying around, the tattoo of the wind demon Kamitachi on Kamitachi's back was revealed. "You are considered capable of forcing me to do this." "What a pity, it's only a little bit close."

It can kill me."

The sarcastic smile appeared on Kamamitachi's face once again.

Along with the sarcastic smile appeared on Kamamitachi's face... there was also strong hatred and anger.

"It hurts so much... I can't feel the whole left arm... Even if I kill you, it won't be able to relieve my hatred."

Looking at Kamitachi who was gritting his teeth and with a look of resentment on his face that was so intense that it was about to turn into reality, Mai Kinoshita pursed her lips... then silently took half a step to the left, stood in front of Qingteng, and blocked the way.

He stood between Kamitachi and Qingto, crossed his legs, and got into a fighting stance.

A hint of timidity flashed under Mai Kinoshita's beautiful eyes...but she hid this timidity very well.

She stood in front of Qing Deng very firmly, without any hesitation. It was as if she was doing something natural.

"Ji Jun, can you still move your body? If you can still move your body, leave here quickly. I will buy you time..."

Kinoshita Mai didn't have time to continue speaking... because the Kamaitachi opposite him moved!

The battle that he thought would be easily won ended up in this situation. Kamaitachi, whose chest was filled with anger, hatred, humiliation and other emotions, didn't even want to wait for one more second - he wanted these two hateful people.

The guy dies immediately!

Dragging his temporarily unusable left arm to his side, Kamitachi stomped on his feet and rushed straight towards Aoto and Mai Kinoshita like a whirlwind.

The beloved sword like a sickle was held high in the hand, and a cold blue light reflected on the faces of Qing and Deng.

Qingden, whose face darkened slightly, used the last bit of strength in his body to support his body with his left leg that could barely move. He held the only remaining weapon on his body, his wakizashi, with his left hand, and jumped onto Kinoshita Mai's side with one foot.

beside.

Without saying a word, he chose to continue fighting alongside Mai Kinoshita.

Kinoshita Mai turned her gaze sideways and looked at Qingden with complicated eyes, who did not abandon her.

The red lips were slightly open... She seemed to want to say something to Qingdeng, but she closed them as soon as she opened them.

With a special arc of joy at the corner of her mouth, Kinoshita Mai turned her gaze back to Kamitachi in front of her, holding her breath and concentrating, preparing to fight side by side with Ayoto until the end!

——Is there any other way to defeat this guy...

Until now... until he was in such a desperate situation that he could only use one hand and one leg, Qingden still didn't have any negative emotions such as annoyance or despair on his face.

But his face became more solemn and gloomy, and he was still thinking about whether there was any way to defeat Kamaitachi.

Kamaitachi had already rushed to the position where the sword in his hand could cut down the two of them.

Phew——! Kamaitachi suddenly swung down the beloved sword he held high in his hand.

The sharp and harsh sound of the wind cutting through the air as the high-speed swung blade struck Qingdeng!

Qingden used all his strength to dodge Kamamaita's blow with his remaining left leg - bang!

At the moment when Kamitachi swung down his beloved sword, Qingden suddenly heard the sound of frighteningly rapid footsteps coming from behind him.

Immediately afterwards, I felt a gust of wind passing by my ears - a brown shadow passed by Ayoto, and flashed from behind Ayoto and Kinoshita Mai to in front of them...

Then... Qingdeng's vision was filled with fluttering brown cloaks and a purple light.

This purple light waving from below collided heavily with Kamamitachi's beloved sword slashed from above in mid-air, causing a huge sound of gold and iron clashing!

"Tachibana-kun, you did a great job. Your performance far exceeded my expectations."

Qingden, who was in a daze due to too much shock, looked at this old man... the man in brown robes who was currently blocking him and Kinoshita Wu.

The man in brown robes originally had his hood tightly pulled on his head, but the headwind caused by quickly running from a distance behind Qingdeng and the others to Qingdeng was too strong, and the hood on his head was now

It was blown away by the strong headwind.

Under the hood, there was a face that was very familiar to both Qingto and Mai Kinoshita.

"Boss Kiryu...?" Qingden's lips and tongue seemed to be beyond his control. He moved on his own and softly called out the name of the man in brown robes who was standing in front of him.

I saw the man in brown robe...that is, Kiryu was holding a purple and black scabbard in his left hand, and his right hand was holding a sword with a total length of nearly 1.1 meters and a large arc.

Kiryu used the katana held upside down with his right hand to block Kamamaita's attack in mid-air.

The purple light Qingdeng saw just now... was this knife.

The blade of the sword in Kiryu's hand was obviously an ordinary steel color.

But what's weird is that under the moonlight, the blade of the knife actually reflects a purple cold light. Surprise, confusion, and daze, three emotions are beautifully mixed on Qingdeng's face.

Everything that was happening in front of him was so unbelievable that Qingdeng felt that the sensations in his body were a little strange. Everything he saw seemed blurry and farther away than before.

Boss Kiryu suddenly appeared, waving a sword with shining purple light to block Kamaita's killing blow for him and Kinoshita Mai... This was not the most shocking thing for Aonto.

What shocked Ayoto the most was the brown robe Kiryu was wearing.

Qingdeng recognized this brown robe... and would probably never forget it in his lifetime.

It was from the mysterious man wearing this brown robe that he recovered his first eternal talent: "The Eight Banners of the Immortal"!

Qingdeng had not yet recovered from the wave of "surprise" he was currently immersed in... A new wave of "surprise" hit Qingdeng again unprepared.

"Demon Sword Vairocana...?!"

The expression changes on the face of Kamitachi who suddenly encountered a sudden change were much more exciting and complex than those of Aonto and the others.

He first seemed to recognize the shining purple sword that was holding his beloved sword. A large amount of cold sweat broke out on his face, and he murmured "demon sword" dryly in his throat.

Immediately afterwards, he suddenly raised his gaze, past the "demon sword", and looked at the person holding this sword...that is, Kiryu.

His eyes, which were originally shining fiercely, suddenly became hollow and blank. He was obviously looking at Kiryu, but he didn't seem to be looking at anything.

His whole mind was floating in some terrible state.

A moment later, it was as if the "defense mechanism" in Kamaitachi's body was automatically activated. He jumped back violently, separated himself from Kiryu by more than ten steps in one breath, and then stared at Kiryu.

He made a trembling voice.

Although he had tried his best to control it, his uncontrollably trembling voice still leaked out from between his lips and teeth that seemed to be chewing through gums and blood:...

"Kuro Mamiya...! Why are you here?!"

Mamiya Kuro... Hearing this name, the surging emotions that had just been suppressed surged in Qingto's heart again.

"Kuro Mamiya...?" Qingto couldn't help repeating the name softly.

A certain string of memories popped up in his mind automatically, and then passed quickly in front of Qingto's eyes. He had heard of this name... not long ago, from Chiba Eijiro's mouth——

(If the legendary 'Ship-Slaying Swordsman' Kuro Mamiya is living in seclusion in Edo as the rumors say...then the title of 'The Strongest in Edo' will never come to me.)

The atmosphere became strange.

This space, which had just been a life-and-death fight, fell into a strangely quiet atmosphere due to Kiryu's sudden appearance.

Whether it was Kama Itachi, Aoto and Mai Kinoshita, everyone focused their eyes with different emotions on the old man who had caused this series of changes.

Kiryu ignored Kamitachi's question.

He didn't even look at Kamaitachi, who was far away from him due to his leap back just now.

With a calm expression, he quietly put the knife held upside down in his right hand back into the sheath carried by his left hand, and then lowered his body deeply...

This is Iai - the posture of drawing swords. "...Tachibana-kun."

Kiryu kept his body facing Kamitachi, turned his head slightly, and while calling Tachibana-kun's name, he raised his eyes to look at Aoden behind him.

The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, with a hint of a faint smile. "Watch it."

He said word by word to Qingdeng, who subconsciously looked at him because his name was suddenly called, "The scene that follows... not every swordsman is lucky enough to see."

After saying that, Kiryu withdrew his gaze and turned his head and gaze back to the front.

"?!"——Kamaitachi originally only had his voice trembling...but after seeing Kiryu lowering his body and assuming the posture of drawing swords, it wasn't just his voice, his lips\his hands and feet\his entire body

, all began to tremble violently!

It's like meeting your own natural enemy. It's like meeting some terrifying giant monster. It's like meeting some terrifying natural disaster that no human being can resist.

With almost no hesitation, Kamitachi raised his right foot, preparing to retreat in large strides, wanting to stay away from Kiryu. He had no intention of confronting Kiryu. To be precise...from the moment he saw Kiryu, Kamitachi

There is no fighting spirit left.

Escape! You must escape!——Kamaitachi's face was filled with the desire to escape.

Kamitachi's right foot that stepped back high touched the solid ground behind him, and just when he was about to step back with the other foot——
To be continued...