Chapter 555 - Are They In Kyoto Now? (1/2)

Everything happened in an instant. Matsuo, Takahas.h.i.+, and others were still admiring Yamada’s exquisite swordsmans.h.i.+p when, unexpectedly, Yamada’s situation took a sudden roll downhill. There was no transition in the middle, and Yamada, a minor but renowned samurai among the Tobaku supporters, was now a cripple, seeing how his left hand had been sliced off.

Bright red blood spurted out from the wound, splattering on Zhang Heng’s Haori that had not been washed for a long time. The bloodstain made Zhang Heng’s unusually tall figure look even more terrifying now. Matsuo and Takahas.h.i.+ were so shocked by what they saw that they unconsciously stepped backward. They did not stop until their backs. .h.i.t the wooden fence. They nervously glanced around their surroundings, ever ready to flee if things turned sour. On the other hand, Takeuchi’s pupils contracted all of a sudden.

Even Yamada, having lost his left hand, was probably oblivious to what just happened. Judging from the expression on his face, he had a hard time believing that he lost the battle, considering he had the upper hand earlier.

Takeuchi, a master swordsman himself, could barely keep up with Zhang Heng’s last strike as a bystander. That was how he realized that Zhang Heng’s final blow had to be extremely powerful.

Zhang Heng caught the slight setback between Yamada’s first change of moves and the second, and he charged toward him as quickly as he could. At the same time, he flicked his wrist so swiftly that his katana’s tip drew an arc, thereby dodging Yamada’s attack. During that time, Yamada was swinging the katana in his hand. From Takeuchi’s perspective, it looked like Yamada deliberately moved his wrist towards his opponent’s blade.

Takeuchi took in a deep breath. He was amazed by Zhang Heng’s incredible speed and accurate calculation. It seemed like everyone he met today were better than him, and it wasn’t until the severed limb landed on the floor that Yamada realized that something had gone terribly wrong. Beads of sweat started forming on his forehead as the pain in his left wrist intensified. However, a samurai’s pride withheld stop crying, and he fell on his knees from the debilitating pain. On the ground, his chest heaved violently, and his face as white as a ghost.

The dojo became quieter than ever, where the sound of a needle falling on the ground could be heard. Akane Koyama opened her mouth wide, standing there staring blankly. She, too, was having a hard time grasping what had just happened to Yamada.

Not too long ago, she was worried about Zhang Heng’s safety. Before she realized it, he had already defeated the terrifying enemy in front of her. As a person who fought against Yamada twice, Akane Koyama was probably the most qualified person to talk about Yamada’s true strength. Although this Yamada may not be as good as her father, they weren’t too far apart.

With such skills, he could be regarded as a master no matter where he went. Therefore, it was only reasonable that she lost the battle with him. However, such a master had fallen in the hands of a ronin returning from overseas.

Akane Koyama had never experienced something like this before. The man in front of her, of whom she had despised, was actually a formidable master. After three moves, Zhang Heng did not turn back to check on Yamada.

He then talked to the Koyama Akane, “I’m sorry.”

“Huh? What, what are you sorry for?”

“For dirtying the floor of your dojo.” Zhang Heng pointed to the blood on the ground, sending a glare to Matsuo, Takahas.h.i.+, and the others. The two wished that they could transform themselves into earthworms burrow deep into the ground. The other Choshu Domain samurai with Takeuchi was horrified by what he witnessed as well. In the end, Zhang Heng finally fixed his gaze on Takeuchi. He could see that the man before him was probably the leader of the samurai group. Seeming to have encountered some difficulties at the moment, he just stood there, arms folded and deep in thought. Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows and asked, “What say you? Should we fight?”

Takeuchi looked very distressed.

“I figured… I might not be able to defeat you. But that idiot kept talking about insulting the samurai of the Choshu Domain before. I don’t think it would be appropriate that we just leave like that.”