Sorayama Ichiha pulled out the long knife inserted into the ronin's throat with a "swipe" sound. His right wrist shook slightly, and the blood formed a straight blood line on the ground along the blade. He leaned forward and held the mouth of the scabbard at his waist with his left hand.
, the long knife on the side of the body draws an arc clockwise, starting from the cut, and the entire long knife is slowly put into the scabbard.
The action of drawing the sword has been accompanied by Sorayama Kazuyo throughout his sword-study career. Every master has warned him: a swordsman must pay attention to "Zanxin". Even if he defeats the enemy, he must not be negligent. Every movement of sheathing the sword must be done carefully.
Stay ready to attack again at any time.
But from that moment on, Sorayama Kazuyo discovered that he no longer needed such actions that were more ceremonial than practical, because after reaching the current state, he would no longer be nervous in the face of any sudden attacks or dangerous situations.
, drawing the sword to kill the enemy is like a willow leaf blowing in the wind, it moves with the wind, naturally.
Feeling the sound of footsteps, Sorayama Kazuyo turned around and saw Jiuzang walking towards him with a complex expression. There was hesitation, surprise, fighting spirit, loss, and more of an indescribable envy.
.You can imagine how much stimulation such a paralyzed swordsman with a face that has remained expressionless all year round must have been.
Jiuzang said in a seductive voice: "Congratulations, Kuzan-kun." Ichiyo Kuzan nodded: "You can do it too." Jiuzang shook his head and sighed: "Perhaps I can no longer lift the sword in my hand... But you
It’s different. As far as I know, there has never been such a young swordsman in the four islands of Japan. Even Tsukahara Buden, Kamizumi Nobutsuna, and even Yagyu-sama are probably not as good as you at your age."
Ichiyo Sorayama smiled bitterly: "Jiuzang-kun, I have wasted thirty years, and I can't be considered young anymore."
Jiuzang was taken aback. He didn't seem to have thought that Kazuyo Sorayama, who had such a young face, was already thirty years old. He murmured: "No wonder, but" Jiuzang looked at Kazuyo Sorayama carefully: "Your body can't lie to you.
You are much younger than your actual age, and I am seven years older than you, and I still have nothing to show for it."
After that, he threw away the bamboo stick in his hand and turned around to leave. He knew clearly that he, who was just a hair away from Sorayama Kazuyo last time, was no match for Sorayama Kazuyo now.
Kazuyo Sorayama looked at Kuzo, a swordsman with whom he was quite attached, and wanted to come forward to comfort him but he didn't know how to speak.
Having been associated with swords for many years, he had long lost the ability to interact with others normally. Even when his son was born, he only kissed him casually.
However, Kazuyo Sorayama felt that the pride of an outstanding swordsman like Kuzo would never want to hear those words of comfort, just like Kazuyo Sorayama himself.
At this moment, a familiar gentle voice came from the crowd, "Please wait a moment." Kanbei, Nanjiro, and Katsushiro walked up to Kazuyo Sorayama and bowed slightly: "Congratulations Sorayama-kun for your great martial arts!
This way we have a better chance of winning against the bandits."
Then he said to Jiuzang: "I'm extremely sorry, we are recruiting knights to help the farmers fight against dozens of bandits, and the farmers are poor, no pay, only food." Kanbei Wei paused: "Kong Shanjun is the earliest
sponsor."
Jiuzang, who originally wanted to refuse, looked at Kazuyo Sorayama in surprise, as if he didn't understand how a cold martial artist like him could make such a troublesome decision. Kazuyo Sorayama nodded awkwardly, and said helplessly in a hoarse voice
: "Just in time."
"With Kuzan-kun's current martial arts skills and everyone's help, I'm afraid it won't be difficult to go directly to the bandits' lair and kill them all in the chaos." Jiuzang pondered for a moment and said.
Kanbei smiled bitterly and said: "According to the farmers, the dozens of bandits are not ordinary hooligans, but dozens of horsemen! Not only are they all riding horses and wearing armor, they even have a few muskets. Nowadays, wars are raging, and the daimyo are attacking each other.
, this group of bandits must be a gathering of defeated samurai who lost their masters. After all, those who are qualified to become knights are all elite knights. Alas, survival is always so difficult."
The difficulty Kanbei mentioned was not only the difficulty of facing a powerful opponent, but also the difficulty of fellow samurai having to kill each other for the peasants, a class they never really cared about.
However, as a warrior, even if the choice is wrong, you must go all out, but you still cannot relieve the helplessness in your heart.
Kazuha Sorayama, who did not belong to this era, obviously did not understand the true meaning of Kanbei's words. He nodded and said: "I once told you, Kuzo-kun, all my martial arts are due to the competition between two people. From then on,
I have never entered a battlefield to fight. If the bandits line up to fight me one on one, I believe I can kill them all. However, if I swarm them, I have no confidence."
Jiuzang pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, what I need most now is to practice martial arts, not to accompany you to kill bandits." Katsushiro couldn't help but took a step forward and asked, "Um, Jiuzang-san, who was just killed
If it were you who killed that ronin, how would you win?"
Obviously, Katsushiro's mind was still immersed in the thrilling competition just now, and he was still worried about the answer given by his master. Kanbei apologized and said to Jiuzang: "This is my little disciple Katsushiro. He has only served in the Yuan Dynasty for a short time. It is unreasonable."
Please forgive me."
Jiuzang glanced at the body that was still lying on the ground and said, "Attack! I am faster than him. The moment he just struck, my sword had already hit his neck!" Jiuzang said.
Zang's decisive tone made his words extremely convincing. Everyone realized that he was not without aim and had probably replayed this duel in their minds thousands of times.
Katsushiro looked at Kuzo with admiration and said, "Since you are already as powerful as Kuzan-sama, why do you still need to practice?" Kuzo shook his head: "Not as good as Kuzan-sama!" Ignoring Katsushiro's surprise, he looked after himself.
Zi Zi said: "What I rely on is speed. In this kind of duel with sharp blades, you can win if you are fast. However, if you encounter a swordsman who is faster than me, I will be the one who falls to the ground."
Jiuzang sighed: "Besides, no one can go fast all the time. What if you get injured and get older? But people who have reached the realm of Kongshanjun have no such worries, even if they have difficulty moving, even if they are young
For centuries, no one can easily defeat him as long as he lifts the sword!"
After finishing speaking, Jiuzang, who no longer wanted to say anything more, turned around and left decisively.
Kazuyo Sorayama understands people like Kuzo who focus on practicing martial arts best, because he himself is the same kind of person. This kind of person will never let the opponent in his heart be more beautiful than the previous one, and will definitely find ways to hone his martial arts hard to achieve the goal.
I pray that one day I can defeat the opponent openly and openly.
Kazuyo Sorayama shouted at Jiuzang's back: "I understand, I'll wait for you to come." Jiuzang's progress froze slightly, and then he disappeared into the crowd and was no longer seen.
Kanbei said regretfully: "Although I have never seen this person's skills, his martial arts must be quite good. It's a pity that masters are always so arrogant!" Kazuyo Sorayama nodded and said: "We had a competition a few days ago.
There is no winner or loser in the game. Seeing me today must be quite irritating to him, but I believe he will definitely come." Kazuyo Sorayama said firmly: "This is the intuition of a swordsman!"