The Ancestral Legacy Begins in the Wild West

Chapter 94 Knowledge is Power: Steam-Powered Sword

Okita Souji shook his injured arm, looked at the exoskeleton on Zhang Chang'an's body and the mechanical structure on the knife in his hand, and shook his head helplessly: "No wonder he's called a steam demon. You probably really don't get along with those anti-shogunate faction people. They can't accept so many Western things."

But he didn't even look down at his wound. He raised Kaga Seiko in his hand and immediately changed his footing.

This is because, after the two crossed paths, Zhang Chang'an was facing away from the warehouse door.

As he breathed slightly, Zhang Chang'an had already chosen to sheathe his sword and turn away.

"Tap tap tap—" His feet moved quickly, and in the blink of an eye, he was surrounded by the scorching gas between the warehouse and the station.

Indeed, the riots between the stations were escalating, and the station squares were in complete chaos. Commoners and pro-imperialist ronin were mixed together; some were smashing things, some were fighting with the guards, and some were running around with torches.

The air was filled with the stench of blood and burning. Zhang Chang'an turned his head casually and heard a mixture of screams, roars, and the clash of swords.

"Is there a chance?" The escalating chaos made him see the possibility of leaving directly. After all, his battle with Okita was meaningless, so it would be best to leave as soon as possible.

As soon as Zhang Chang'an arrived in the more complicated outside environment, he saw a number of anti-shogunate ronin running towards him.

"Steam Ghost!"

"It's that steam ghost!"

The Shinsengumi's activity speed may not have been that fast, and there weren't many people. It seemed that only Okita was in the Ubu group. However, the ronin who rushed towards him quickly noticed the figure behind him wearing a light blue haori.

"Shinsengumi Okita Souji —"

"Pfft!" Okita Souji rushed out of the warehouse and with a single flip, he cut one person down to the ground.

"ah!!"

"Kill him!"

A dozen or so ronin instantly turned around and charged at Okita, swords in hand.

Zhang Chang'an naturally had little interest in getting involved in this matter, even though these ronin regarded him as an accomplice.

However, just as he had feared, as soon as he turned around to continue his escape, he heard the sound of a blade slicing through the air behind him.

It wasn't just one sound, but a continuous, dense barrage of knife cries, like a torrential downpour.

Okita Souji's figure moved through the crowd, moving as fast as a ghost.

He wasn't seriously killing the surrounding ronin at all; he only encountered them occasionally as he charged towards Zhang Chang'an, killing them instantly with a single blow.

"Whoosh!" Zhang Chang'an flipped over and jumped, landing on the sunshade extending outwards from the train station.

Okita's breathing remained steady, his thrusts had long since exceeded the third level, yet he showed no signs of fatigue and continued to close the distance between them.

"Damn, so that's what happened." Zhang Chang'an's Death Eye accurately captured the strange undulations in Okita's chest, where the pulsation frequency was abnormal, and the reason was most likely his mechanical lung.

The fully operational mechanical structure allows him to inhale precisely and powerfully, and exhale crisply and cleanly. Moreover, his breathing power is far greater than that of lungs made of flesh and blood.

Although he became terminally ill because of this, at the same time, his major weakness in breathing was completely eliminated.

Contrary to historical norms, before reaching the final threshold, he not only doesn't have to worry about physical strength, but he can also play continuously without breathing intervals, unlike ordinary people who need to adjust their breathing rhythm.

"No wonder he couldn't shake off her; how could he possibly win a race against someone with iron lungs!"

As Zhang Chang'an recalled this incident, the gaunt figure with light green hair raised his knife, splattered blood on the chest of yet another ronin, slightly shifted his feet, adjusted the direction of the blade, and leaped into the air.

"clang!"

The two blades clashed again. Zhang Chang'an's arm went slightly numb, and he decisively turned and took half a step back.

Okita also arrived above the station. After stabbing, he immediately reversed his hand and swung the blade left and right.

Perhaps because the mechanical lungs were just adjusted to a higher power level, Okita's attack speed is now much faster than before.

Zhang Chang'an didn't even have time to sheathe his sword again and activate the mechanism.

Fortunately, we are now outdoors, so even if we can't shake them off, we can at least dodge more flexibly.

"Whoosh!" After taking a few steps back, Zhang Chang'an immediately turned around, swung his knife to parry Okita's thrust, and then took a step back, flipped over, and landed on a steam train parked next to the station.

Okita followed closely behind, his sword flashing ever more tightly. The two of them darted and weaved on the roof of the car, sparks flying from the clashing blades.

Below, many more ronin were chasing after him, but Okita's sword was too fast. Even when facing Zhang Chang'an, it didn't stop him from turning around and cutting down the ronin who was trying to climb up.

Zhang Chang'an attempted to slash at his thigh while he was attacking, but with a loud "clang!", the knife in his hand was instantly knocked away.

As he hastily pulled the blade back to block, Okita's blade grazed his body once more, cutting a small gash in his kimono.

"Charge! Leave no one alive in the Satsuma Domain, Choshu Domain, or any other branch of the Satsuma Domain!"

"Captain Okita!"

In the distance, more Shinsengumi members were already on their way, and many of the ronin below were looking in that direction.

The situation seems to be getting worse.

However, just as Okita turned to observe the Shinsengumi members and simultaneously slashed down a ronin who was clinging to the roof of the car, Zhang Chang'an took a deep breath, and his Death Eyes were instantly activated.

"Hoo!" Okita's reaction was still quick. As if he sensed that Zhang Chang'an had changed, he didn't even look back. He gripped the knife in his hand, reached under Zhang's ribs, and stabbed him.

However, Zhang Chang'an did not retreat but advanced. The Bingzi pepper lin spun slightly in his hand, then passed directly through his arm and headed for his chest.

Okita, who had turned halfway around, suddenly sharpened his eyes and spun around, trying to dodge the attack.

But Zhang Chang'an exerted force with his feet, immediately shortening the distance between the two.

"Bang!" The hand that had been freed beforehand suddenly reached between the blades and slammed down hard on his chest.

"call!"

Okita was sent flying backward by a punch, like a sack of potatoes being thrown out, and crashed into the edge of the carriage roof, half of his body hanging in the air.

There must have been a price to pay for Zhang Chang'an's close-quarters combat with him. Looking up, he saw a shallow wound on his arm, sleeve, and muscle.

However, at the same time, Okita rolled over and was about to attack again when he suddenly swayed.

He looked down and saw his chest; the mechanical lungs that had been functioning normally were now making a violent rumbling sound, as if they were jammed.

"You—" Okita opened his mouth, his voice becoming hoarse.

The mechanical lungs emitted a series of piercing screechs, and the steam coming out of the exhaust valve became intermittent. Okita clutched his chest, his face immediately turning pale, and he quickly bent over, coughing violently.

"Cough cough cough cough—cough cough! Wow!"

"Pfft!" A mouthful of foul blood, stained with a lot of black liquid, sprayed onto the roof of the carriage, a shocking sight under the moonlight.

"Captain Okita!"

As the Shinsengumi members below gathered around, he spat out the blood, and his mechanical lungs started working again. When he looked up again, Zhang Chang'an had already disappeared from the spot.

"Phew—let's call it a day—"

The same words echoed on the other side of the station.

A young man with his hair tied in a bun, surrounded by many anti-shogunate samurai, was giving orders to the train that had just entered the station but was already burning fiercely.

"Yes, Mr. Katsura!"