Although this competition is just a semi-public "Swordsmanship Friendship Match," a considerable number of people have come to watch.
The reason lies in the high prestige of Xuanwu Hall and its numerous close associations with individuals and organizations; most of the spectators in the "audience seats" are friends and relatives of Xuanwu Hall.
If Xuanwu Hall were competing against Shiwei Hall a year ago, it would not have attracted such a crowd.
However, the current Shiwei Hall is no longer what it used to be.
Since Shiwei Hall, under the leadership of Aoto, secured a brilliant victory over Little Chiba Sword Dojo at the "Plum Blossom Festival" half a year ago and gained widespread recognition, both its overall strength and the spirit of its disciples have undergone a transformation akin to rebirth.
Many people want to witness this with their own eyes.
They want to see if the long-renowned Xuanwu Hall and the newly famous, transformed Shiwei Hall can present a unique and splendid competition.
Of course, some are here for Aoto.
The reasons for those who came for Aoto are pure—they are either fans of Aoto or curious about the capabilities of the recently famous "Niō."
Those slightly familiar with how Shiwei Hall defeated Little Chiba Sword Dojo during the "Plum Blossom Festival" half a year ago know: Shiwei Hall’s overwhelming victory was partly because many skilled fighters from the Little Chiba Sword Dojo couldn’t participate for various reasons, and partly due to Aoto’s unexpected strategy to "stall the main army and strike the undefended Main Array."
Therefore, many people are eagerly anticipating whether Aoto will employ another surprising strategy to lead Shiwei Hall to victory today.
The result, as the drums announced the start of the match, was indeed astonishing to those present—Shiwei Hall did not form any special formation or employ any particularly deep tactics.
They simply presented an ordinary "Wedge Array"... and then directly launched a headlong charge!
Leading the charge was Aoto, wearing the Array Feather Robe symbolizing the Grand General.
Toshisuke, Kondo, Hijikata, and Inoue led others closely behind Aoto.
No one was left behind... the entire army moved forward with an attitude of "the first battle is the decisive battle, one battle to determine the outcome"!
Right as the battle commenced, with none of the opponent’s forces weakened, the Grand General charged ahead—an extremely risky action in the "Red and White Battle."
After all, if the porcelain bowl on the Grand General’s forehead were to shatter, it would mean defeat.
Shiwei Hall’s choice of such a straightforward and aggressive strategy... left many in the "audience seats" visibly puzzled and surprised.
"Is Shiwei Hall planning to confront Xuanwu Hall head-on?" Chiba Shigetarou clicked his tongue.
As swift as lightning, under relentless sprinting, Aoto and others swept across the entire arena!
In contrast to Shiwei Hall’s all-out assault at the start of the battle, Xuanwu Hall’s approach was steady.
The 20 Xuanwu Hall participants formed three arrays—front, middle, and rear—centered around the Main Array, setting up a very conservative defensive formation.
The front array had seven people, the middle array eight, and the rear array five.
Deputy Master Chiba Domon Shiro stood in the front array.
Chiba Daisaburo, the Grand General holding double swords, guarded the middle array.
Perhaps due to genetics, members of the Chiba family are relatively tall.
Chiba Daisaburo, close to 1.8 meters in height with long limbs, stood out prominently among the Xuanwu Hall participants.
Taking advantage of the charging momentum, Aoto lunged forward, diagonally sweeping his bamboo sword, held in a lower right stance on his right side, towards the porcelain bowl on a nearby Xuanwu Hall swordsman’s forehead, the sword slicing the air like a swift gust of wind.
The swordsman’s pupils slightly contracted, hastily tilting his body and barely deflecting Aoto’s strike.
The clash of bamboo swords echoed throughout the arena and into the "audience seats."
Aoto’s sword became the first blow that ignited the grand battle!
Shiwei Hall’s unconventional approach, while surprisingly unexpected for Xuanwu Hall’s participants, initially left them stunned, but they swiftly recovered and entered combat mode.
"Everyone follow me!" Chiba Domon Shiro, like a valiant war general, swung his bamboo sword forcefully, then personally led the charge, rushing towards the approaching Aoto and others.
"Waaaaaaahhhhhhhhh——!"
A loud, imposing roar exploded in front of Aoto on the right.
Upon hearing the shout, Aoto instinctively questioned: Why is there a Jigen Style swordsman in Xuanwu Hall?
Aoto followed the direction of the roar—a burly, dark-skinned man wielded a sword towards Aoto’s right wrist.
Attacking the opponent’s sword-wielding hand directly... indeed it was Beichen One-Sword Style swordsmanship, not Jigen Style.
Aoto recognized this person; he seemed to be Kikuchi Takeshiro, the School Principal of Xuanwu Hall.
The so-called "School Principal" can be understood as the third-in-command of the Sword Dojo, just below the Master and Deputy Master.
Truly, to be the School Principal of a prestigious dojo like Xuanwu Hall, the sharpness and power contained within his swordsmanship are not to be underestimated.

Comments

Loading...