The Ancestral Legacy Begins in the Wild West

Chapter 107 The Evil Spirit in the Smoke Keeps People Here; Ryoma and Ikedaya Extinguish from Fire

After Zhang Chang'an recovered, he became so powerful that even the Shinsengumi, who had grown through proper sword training, would find it difficult to compete with him, who combined multiple traditions and futuristic weapons.

However, the situation is not so optimistic in the vicinity of Ikedaya.

"Bang!"

Harada Sanosuke's knees slammed to the ground; he was so weak he could barely stand up, let alone hold a gun.

His spear broke in two, one piece falling three zhang away, the other still in his hand. His tiger's mouth was split open, and blood flowed down the spear shaft, staining the rubble beneath him red.

He had more than ten wounds all over his body, the deepest one being on his left rib, completely pierced by the cross-shaped spear.

In contrast, the gray-robed old monk in front of him was almost unharmed, his cross-shaped spear lying quietly beside him, calmly watching Harada in front of him.

Harada stared intently at him, gritting his teeth as he forced out a few words: "Who exactly are you?!"

The old man looked at him and remained silent for a moment. Then, in a aged but calm voice, he said, "You should have already guessed it. My name is Hozoin. Inei."

"If they treat you in time, you can continue practicing my marksmanship for the rest of your life," the old monk said calmly after introducing himself, while putting away his gun. "You've practiced quite well."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Harada wanted to chase after him, but he couldn't even get up. He could only watch helplessly as the gray-robed figure disappeared into the firelight, his mind buzzing.

Hozoin Inei, the founder of the Hozoin school of spear techniques, which is the most mainstream ancient spear style in all of Japan, was a monk from Kofuku-ji Temple in Nara hundreds of years ago and the creator of the Jūmonji spear.

As the successor a century later, he noticed the abnormality of the man in front of him after only a few exchanges of fire.

However, the gap was too large, and guessing his identity was meaningless. Even if he used a different kind of farming-style spear technique, he was still completely suppressed.

Zhang Chang'an was unaware of what was happening over there, but Takeda, whose spear was under his foot, showed no intention of continuing the fight.

After the attack was precisely defended by him, Takeda decisively abandoned his gun, and Zhang Chang'an immediately guessed the situation of the entire battlefield.

Having guessed they were going to run away, Zhang Chang'an decisively stepped forward, ensuring the knife in his hand could still strike their necks.

But at that moment, a cross-shaped spear suddenly thrust out from Zhang Chang'an's side, striking him squarely in the ribs.

The blade blocked his ribs, while the spearhead aimed straight for his wrist.

"Hmm!" Zhang Chang'an frowned deeply, because even with such a close-range attack, the Eye of Death showed no signs of being triggered.

Fortunately, once he noticed, Zhang Chang'an's reaction time was fast enough.

He shifted his feet slightly in place, instantly pulled his long sword back, and slashed down at the spearhead in front of him.

"clang--!"

Sparks flew, and Zhang Chang'an's arm went slightly numb from the impact.

After blocking the shot, he glanced around and realized out of the corner of his eye that it was the gray-robed old monk O who was wielding the cross-shaped spear.

"Which ancient spear technique master?" Zhang Chang'an didn't really know much about this, but in the current situation, he didn't need to know.

After this person blocked his attack, neither he nor Takeda hesitated at all.

As Takeda retreated rapidly, he pulled something from his waist and swung it at Zhang Chang'an.

It consisted of objects made of thin sheet metal, which began to expand violently shortly after being thrown out, tearing the sheet metal apart instantly.

"Boom boom boom boom one"

The whale oil, which had been mixed with other substances, burst into flames instantly, emitting a blinding white light, and steam mixed with acrid smoke swept around.

Zhang Chang'an's vision was filled with a deathly white, and his eardrums were ringing from the explosion.

"Oh shit!"

His Death Eyes instantly activated, and his four-color vision captured the scene within the smoke. Takeda was retreating, while Hozoin remained in place, his cross-shaped spear already thrusting towards him.

Just like the previous attack, there seemed to be no killing intent in his attack. That's why the Eye of Death could not be triggered automatically and could only be stabilized by his own focus.

Then I saw his spear, and the speed of his attacks was as if he were launching several attacks at the same time.

He raised his gun and thrust it at different spots several times, but the intervals were so short that no one could react in time.

"Clang clang clang!"

Zhang Chang'an gritted his teeth, his Bingzi Pepper Forest sword flashing up and down as he blocked several attacks.

The effects of the steam flash smoke grenade hadn't worn off yet, but he was certainly capable of blocking the attacks in front of him. However, judging from the current situation, it seemed he had absolutely no chance of stopping these people.

Just as he was thinking this, the smoke surrounding him was suddenly slightly broken by a gust of air.

Zhang Chang'an only saw a thin figure rush past him quickly, blocking Baozangyuan's path. The knife in his hand was quickly drawn, and the blade without any extra patterns danced in the air, forcefully blocking his last two shots.

"Clang clang!"

The cross-shaped spear clashed with the blade, and sparks flashed and disappeared in the smoke.

Zhang Chang'an didn't have time to think about it. He suddenly turned his head, and his four-color vision instantly captured the figure of Yagyu Muneyoshi on the other side.

Through the smoke, Liu Sheng's figure was staggering backward. He had been hit hard by Zhang Chang'an's punch and hadn't fully recovered yet.

Most importantly, he wasn't Takeda; he lacked the strategic thinking to see the big picture and therefore didn't escape immediately.

At this moment, smoke gradually rose. Listening to the sounds around him, he realized that he should retreat. Then he saw flames flickering in the smoke in front of him.

"boom!"

Zhang Chang'an's blade instantly pierced through the smoke, causing the iron mask on his face to emerge from the smoke like a demon.

Yagyu raised his sword to parry, and the wooden sword collided with the exploding and accelerating Heishi Shobayashi, immediately producing a muffled thud.

"call!"

Before he could even move his feet, he unleashed his prepared backhand slash, the Thunder Blade.

Then Zhang Chang'an decisively raised his foot and kicked hard.

"Crack!" The wooden sword in his hand broke in two under the immense force of Zhang Chang'an's sweeping leg.

"Whoosh!" The broken wooden sword flew into the air, spun a few times in the smoke, and landed behind.

Liu Sheng swayed, trying to retreat, but after Zhang Chang'an's previous kick landed, the long sword in his hand immediately followed.

"puff!"

The blade pierced through Yagyu Muneyoshi's thigh and emerged from the other side.

He immediately let out a muffled groan and knelt on one knee.

Before he could react, "Pfft! Crack—" Bingzi Jiaolin was instantly pulled out by Zhang Chang'an and placed directly against his neck.

Zhang Chang'an raised his hand and pressed it down on him, and the surrounding smoke gradually dissipated at that moment.

The moonlight shone once more on the ruins. Yagyu Muneyoshi was completely under his control, silently throwing away the broken wooden sword in his hand: "Good swordsmanship—"

However, outside the smoke, Takeda and Hozoin's figures had already disappeared into the night.

On the distant street, Honda Tadakatsu, who had joined them, was retreating in large strides, his Tonbogiri sweeping across the ground, immediately forcing back the Shinsengumi members who were trying to pursue him.

Uesugi Kenshin's white robes flashed in the moonlight. Saito Hajime knelt on one knee in front of him, panting heavily, his body covered with countless wounds.

The soldiers around him, along with their second division captain Shinpachi, lay on the ground, some dead, some wounded, and no one was able to stand up and pursue them.

On the other side, Kondo Isami was still confronting Tachibana Muneshige on the rooftop; he, the peerless warrior of the West, was indeed a force to be reckoned with.

However, when Takeda began to retreat, he also decisively chose to retreat. He reached behind Daikai, and surprisingly, he was also carrying the same steam flashbangs.

However, after he threw those things away and disappeared into the smoke, another blade of light suddenly slashed at him from behind.

Despite being a tough guy in charge of the entire Shinsengumi, Chief Kondo did not fall to the flashbang and quickly chased after it into the smoke.

Thus, under the combined attack of the two swords, Tachibana Muneshige was quickly suppressed.

At that moment, the smoke over here also dissipated, revealing his silver armor stained with blood. Raiche, however, had already slipped from his grasp.

His hands were tied behind his back, rendering him unable to move. Besides Kondo Isami, there was another unexpected figure controlling him from behind.

"Sorry I'm a little late. I didn't expect that Katsura and the others would cause such a big problem after my trip to Kobe—" Sakamoto Ryoma held his long sword, looking at the mess in front of him with a furrowed brow.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chang'an, after scanning his surroundings to confirm the situation, finally turned his attention to the side.

"Mr. Tetsuya—you really took a huge risk this time." Tachibana Seiran, who had taken two bullets for him, slowly sat down against the crumbling wall beside him, sighing helplessly.