Chapter 462: Danger

On the cliff behind, the young Japanese looked at the old Japanese's act of slaughtering his own people and gritted his teeth.

He didn't like this person at all.

Tanaka Shinbei.

Also a hero holding the title of 【Sword Saint】, but in the East, he was probably one of the 【Sword Saints】 with the most controversy and the one most hated and even feared by the most people.

In the East, strong people with accomplished sword skills would have their own titles. Those with more deeds and more titles, and the strongest among them, would be called 【Sword Saint】. However, ever since the East's sword path experienced an explosive development 180 years ago, more and more people held the title of 【Sword Saint】, so people became more accustomed to calling them by their most representative titles.

And the most representative titles for this Tanaka Shinbei were 【Man-Slayer】 and 【Blade-Tester Ghost】.

He was a beast who wandered the streets at midnight, slaughtering innocent passersby just to test if his new blade was sharp.

Many people wanted to kill him, including strong people holding the title of 【Sword Saint】, but he never died and only became stronger, strong enough that those big shots, even knowing he was a disaster, had to take him under their command; strong enough that even when he did evil, no one was willing to sanction him.

"Sigh..."

The young Japanese sighed.

"If it weren't for that Lord going to Ise Grand Shrine to attempt to assassinate that demon woman, having no time to come here... Forget it, Tanaka Shinbei's sword skill is always unquestionably powerful, enough to slay that General Qi."

"As long as we break the Dengzhou Garrison today, the population and wealth along the coast of Qilu can be temporarily taken into our pockets. Even if we can't exchange them with the Central Plains imperial court for Gu arts, the looted population, ironware, and money can solve our urgent needs."

He didn't doubt at all whether Tanaka Shinbei could kill Qi Jiguang.

In his view, Qi Jiguang was a genius who had brought his sword skill to the peak at only nineteen and created an extremely fierce Japanese sword technique. If left to grow, in five years, he would become a strong person comparable to a 【Sword Saint】.

If only there were a chance to have a head-on battle with him.

Pity...

The young Japanese turned his head regretfully, wanting to order the personal guards beside him to pursue in the direction of the Qi Family Army, and at the moment Tanaka Shinbei slew Qi Jiguang, crush the Qi Family Army's formation completely.

But suddenly, his gaze froze.

"What... is that?"

"What's the situation..."

————————

"Hey, move aside."

Tanaka Shinbei's trademark rude voice spread out.

The shouting, cursing, and wailing ahead went quiet for a time. The Japanese pirates trying to intercept the Qi Family Army felt their hair stand on end and retreated to both sides, hard-pressed to open a path in the center of the battle circle.

Tanaka Shinbei walked forward as a matter of course.

He didn't want to kill the Qi Family Army soldiers, not out of kindness, but just because he didn't want to damage his blade. So he circled around and inserted himself in front of the Qi Family Army's route from the side.

The young man he wanted to kill was constantly advancing toward him.

Tanaka Shinbei stroked the hilt of his blade gently.

"Kazusa-no-suke Kaneshige."

This was his only companion. The moment the forging was completed, he had poured the blood of the blade-smith's family onto it, forming the beautiful patterns on the blade.

Afterward, he slaughtered seventy-two people in the western suburbs of Kyoto, raising this blade with their blood and spirits. For this, he was pursued by several strong people of similar strength, yet he never felt a trace of regret.

This blade only killed two kinds of people.

The weak who didn't resist at all, even if killed, wouldn't damage the blade's edge.

And... the strong who deserved to die under this blade!

He looked at the young figure constantly approaching him—even seeing him blocking the way, there was not a trace of fluctuation in his eyes, his body was strong and powerful, his blade technique fierce and brave.

"Sss-sss-sss-sss—"

His teeth clenched together, his lips parted, and he laughed in an extremely strange and extremely disgusting way.

The long blade left the scabbard.