I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

In his anxiety, Anthony unconsciously spoke his native language.

They were able to turn around their extremely hopeless situation thanks to Qingdeng.

Since Qing Deng has done them such a great favor, Anthony cannot possibly stand idly by and watch Qing Deng be in such a dangerous situation.

Anthony even considered personally assisting Aoto with his revolver, secretly firing a shot at Suehiro.

However, his marksmanship was so poor that Anthony had no confidence that he would not accidentally injure Aoto while Aoto and Suehiro were fighting, so he had to give up the idea of ​​"going forward to provide support in person".

Moreover... with the battle still ongoing and a considerable number of enemies launching counterattacks, Anthony dared not wander around the chaotic battlefield carelessly.

"Kiryu-san!" Kinoshita Mai quickly walked to Kiryu's side, casting a pleading look at him. "Ungram-san is right, you should go and support Tachibana-kun!"

"..." Kiryu, who had been watching the battle between Aoto and Suehiro from afar with a blank expression, fell silent after hearing Anthony and Kinoshita Mai's request.

Only after a moment did they hear Kiryu speak softly to Anthony in fluent and impeccable French:

“…Anthony, calm down. (in French)”

After saying this to Anthony, Kiryu switched back to Japanese:

"Young Master, please calm down."

"The situation on Tachibana-kun's side is not as bad as you think."

“Anthony, you misspoke just now.”

"Although Tachibana-kun is currently being suppressed by that guy with the spear... he is far from being in a situation where he is bound to lose."

Kiryu's eyelids drooped slightly at that moment.

"Don't worry, if it really comes to the point where I have to step in to save the day, I will immediately go to your aid."

"But before I actually encounter that moment... I want to take a good look first."

"Let's see how this young man performs when facing such a formidable opponent..."

……

……

—Komuro and the others are busy dealing with the counterattacking enemies, so they definitely won't be able to come to my aid anytime soon…

After dodging another thrust from Suehiro, Aoto glanced at the remaining fighters out of the corner of his eye.

—Saito is exhausted. He's already struggling to deal with the few enemies attacking him, so he probably won't be able to help me anymore.

—So, does that mean I have to defeat this guy all by myself...?

Qing Deng raised his eyes and stared intently at Sue Hiro, who was launching another straight attack at him.

Suehiro is now like a fortress.

The wind shear in his hand is his cannonball.

His extremely wide attack range allows him to stand still with ease, using Wind Slash to poke Qing Deng, and occasionally unleashing area-of-effect attacks like "Sweep," leaving Qing Deng only able to passively take hits.

Such a wide attack range also gives Suehiro ample time to dodge.

Qing Deng estimated that if he wanted to rush to a position where his sword could hit Suehiro... it would take at least 1 or 2 seconds.

This amount of time was more than enough for Suehiro to retreat one or two steps with ease, widen the distance between himself and Aoto, and then continue to attack Aoto with his spear.

Without getting close, it's impossible to launch an effective attack on Suehiro.

The failure to launch an effective attack on Suehiro... meant that defeat was only a matter of time.

Although Qing Deng can now rely on "lone courage" and "eagle eyes" to constantly dodge Suehiro's attacks, his stamina is not unlimited.

There will always come a time when he is exhausted and unable to dodge Suehiro's attacks.

Think about it carefully...

Qingdeng said to himself in a deep voice.

Is there any way... to get close to this guy...?

Although Saito and Komuro are currently unable to assist Aoto in dealing with Suehiro, their valiant efforts have tied down the counterattacking members of the Exile Group, preventing them from supporting Suehiro and allowing Aoto to focus on dealing with the formidable enemy before him.

Qing Deng stared wide-eyed, trying to see the trajectory of the wind-slicing sword, searching for any openings he could exploit.

After careful observation, Qingdeng did indeed discover a noteworthy spot.

Suehiro's main targets were Aoto's chest, abdomen, and other vital areas. If these areas were hit, even if Aoto didn't die on the spot, he would be left with only half a life.

However—from time to time, Suehiro would lower his spear stance and attack Aoto's lower body, attempting to injure Aoto's leg.

—Lower body…

Noticing Suehiro's aggressive style, Aoto silently pondered the word "lower body" in his mind.

A daring plan... popped into Qingdeng's mind at that moment.

……

……

The battle with Aoto was expected to be decided quickly, but unexpectedly, it became a stalemate with Aoto—which made Suehiro feel a little impatient and unhappy.

Like Aoto, Suehiro was also constantly observing his comrades' battle situation out of the corner of his eye.

Although his companions had a numerical advantage, they were far less imposing than Komuro and his group.

With overwhelming momentum, Komuro and his group, each one capable of taking on ten or even a hundred men, had gradually suppressed his companions.

If this continues, his companions are likely to lose.

This can't go on! We need to take care of this Tachibana Aoto immediately, and then go support the others!

Unwilling to waste any more precious time on Aoto, Suehiro's wind-cutting technique also became "impatient" along with his mood.

--calm……

Qingdeng took a deep breath of the cool air.

His gaze was fixed firmly on the tip of the wind-cutting spear, his concentration so intense that Qing Deng didn't even blink.

—Stay calm...wait...wait...

Unlike before, Qing Deng no longer tried to rush up to Suehiro's god whenever there was a gap in Suehiro's attacks.

Instead, they focused all their energy on dodging.

Suehiro didn't notice that Aoto's playing style had changed.

Desperate to kill Qingdeng as quickly as possible, he frantically swung the Wind Cutter in his palm like a whip.

The constantly retracting and thrusting sharp spearhead, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, revealed its ferocious claws to Qingdeng.

The spearhead grazed Qing Deng's side, tearing the haori fabric on his side.

—Calm down...wait a little longer...

The sweeping gun barrel narrowly missed cutting another gash in Qingdeng's chest.

—It's not time yet... Let's wait a little longer...!

If this drags on, defeat is inevitable.

Therefore, Qingdeng, determined to take the gamble, waited.

He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to put into practice the plan that had just popped into his head.

If his plan succeeds, he will be able to get close to Suehiro in one fell swoop!

No sooner said than done.

The opportunity that Qingdeng had been waiting for... has arrived!

Suehiro, who had been launching a fierce attack on Aoto's vital points, suddenly took a step back, slightly increasing the distance between himself and Aoto.

Immediately afterwards, he lowered his body and slightly reduced his center of gravity, while also lowering the tip of the wind-cutting spear in his hand, pointing it diagonally at the ground.

After smoothly changing his spear stance, Suehiro launched a thrust at Aoto's right foot!

Seeing the spear tip hurtling towards his ankle, Qing Deng's eyes immediately flashed with a dazzling light.

Just as he observed.

Suehiro would attack his lower body from time to time!

—Here it comes!

Qing Deng narrowed his eyes slightly.

He stared intently at the spearhead that was hurtling towards him at breakneck speed!

Just as the tip of the wind-splitter's spear was about to pierce his right ankle, Qing Deng gritted his teeth, shifted his feet, and turned his body to the side.

In the instant after dodging Suehiro's thrust to the left, Aoto aimed at the location of Kazegiri's spearhead and then raised his right leg high—

Bang!

A small, muffled thud rang out.

Qingdeng stepped on the tip of the Wind Cutter spear, which hadn't had time to retract, and slammed it firmly into the ground!

In the split second that he successfully stepped on the tip of the wind-cutting spear, Qing Deng raised his left foot and used it to step on the shaft of the spear.

Aoto's current state is that he is standing on Suehiro's wind-cutting club!

Then, in the next instant, "standing" transformed into "running" and "leaping".

Stepping onto the wind-cutting platform, I ran two steps along the slender shaft of the spear towards Suehiro, who was holding it!

As he rushed to roughly the middle of the spear shaft, Qingdeng bent over, quickly gathering power in his back and abdomen before releasing it, causing his entire body to spring upwards like a spring!

The blue-robed figure, who had leaped from the gun barrel, plummeted straight toward Suehiro!

As he leaped into the air and plummeted toward Suehiro, Aoto raised his sword high.

What?! Suehiro's eyes widened in shock, as if they were about to burst.

Qingdeng's counterattack came quickly and suddenly.

He never imagined that Qing Deng could get close to him in such a way!

Oops!