Chapter 147: Stormy Rain
Sanada Ryoichi slowly clapped his hands. He believed that scenes like this could only be seen in swordplay movies or exaggerated action films.
Although aware that swordsmen existed in reality, witnessing such an exaggerated scene was a first for him.
Before, he needed to have a crowd's support to muster the courage to speak in front of others. Now, even though a crowd was clearly nearby, he chose to face it alone.
Taking off his suit and removing the tie from his neck, he curled his finger and beckoned, saying, "Come."
Yagyū Simozi took a deep breath, feeling her energy slightly depleted, but still far from exhaustion.
In the midst of the ongoing RashoMon battle, she knew how to conserve her strength wisely, but now they had reached a crucial moment.
Step, swing the sword.
"Tsukiyo-ken" Muramasa sliced through the air, its blade gleaming as it aimed towards Sanada. In an instant, a crisp "clang" echoed through the night.
She felt as if Muramasa's strike had cut through steel, the sound so crisp and clear. But, to everyone's surprise, there was nothing on Sanada's arms.
He simply tightened his arm muscles, making them rigid. The blade struck with all its might, but it couldn't make a dent, not even break through the skin. It was as if he had a layer of impenetrable armored aura surrounding him.
Yagyū Simozi stepped forward, her sword gleaming continuously. The sword movements were relentless, with a pale light casting shadows. Each technique flowed effortlessly from her hands, surpassing even what was written in books. Sweeping blade, reverse sweep, left horizontal cut, right horizontal cut, left upward cut, right upward cut, downward cut, windmill, spinning downward cut-every move executed flawlessly. Surprisingly, every blade of relentless light was blocked by a pair of hands, impenetrable as if not a single breath of wind could pass through.
Sanada Ryoichi's muscles bulged beneath his clothes. He took a step forward, tightened his fist, and exerted his strength. The movement seemed simple, but it had a tremendous impact. The floor tiles on the third floor shattered upon the force of his punch, showcasing its true power.
Yagyū Simozi gracefully sidestepped, swiftly dodging the attack. Then, her sword flickered upwards, the blade coming to rest against her opponent's lower abdomen.
With a crisp sound, the clothing tore halfway.
The crowd gasped in shock, believing that their leader had been killed.
Indeed, the strike was precise, but it didn't harm him. He remained unscathed, his body as resolute as ever, impossible to cut through.
Yagyū Simozi attempted to exert her strength, but even though the blade was bent, she still couldn't cut through this mortal shell.
Sanada closed his hands together and swung them down like a heavy hammer. Yagyū Simozi withdrew her sword and avoided it, but she lost her footing and fell from the broken railing. She hung on with one arm at the edge of the third floor, then let go and landed on the second floor. Immediately after, the third floor collapsed as a heavy punch went through the floorboards, and heavy stones and wood rained down towards her.
She swung her sword, slicing through the stones and floorboards, causing them to tremble. However, she was unable to dodge the incoming punch. The fist struck the blade, causing Yagyū Simozi to drop to one knee. The immense pressure that followed caused her posture to collapse, her back pressing against the ground. The earth beneath her cracked open, eliciting a muffled groan from her.
Sanada withdrew his fist and delivered a firm stomp towards the ground, causing the second-floor to crack and crumble.
Yagyū Simozi grabbed a broken piece of stone and fiercely smacked it against Sanada's head. She followed up by kicking him in the groin, forcing Sanada, who prioritized the well-being of his siblings, to step back.
"I have the protection of spirits and gods," he declared, gripping his fist. With ease, he crushed the solid wooden railing at his side. "You cannot harm me!"
"Phew..." Yagyū Simozi spat out a bloody froth. "Such shameless boasting," she muttered with disdain.
She realized why she couldn't harm her opponent. It wasn't a matter of skill difference, but rather the thickness of his defense. His energy enveloped him, creating a protective shield. Her sword couldn't pierce through the layers, lacking sharpness, hence unable to cause any harm.
This had nothing to do with the mastery of swordplay, but simply because her sword lacked sharpness.
But this step, seemingly the last straw, actually perplexed many. Numerous swordsmen spent their entire lives not knowing how to release sword energy, the power of qi always confined to the limits of their bodies, obedient to the forces at play.
She was about to attempt breaking through this limit, for the sake of her elder brother and, more importantly, for her own ambitions.
The mocking expression on Sanada's face didn't shatter her determination. Instead, it further ignited her desire for struggle and bloodlust.
Every swordsman, without exception, is a fearless individual who embraces life and death with their drawn sword. They are not virtuous individuals. These people can place their lives on the line in a duel; rationality hardly applies to them.
The sound of swords clashing resounded once again.
Yagyū Simozi swung her sword once more, not choosing to retreat, but instead opting to press forward. Within the courtyard, a crisper sound of metal striking metal rang out.
Sanada's suit was tattered, but he remained unfazed, squinting his eyes and smirking.
He didn't feel any pain at all, but in the next moment, he realized something was wrong. Because, astonishingly, he had been forced back a step.
Yagyū Simozi took a step and swung down, once again delivering a powerful slash. But this time, the force behind it was noticeably stronger than before. Sanada staggered once more.
He carefully examined the sword in Yagyū Simozi's hand and noticed that she would twist her wrist forcefully before swinging the sword. Those who play ping pong or practice throwing playing cards would know that the strength in the arm, shoulder, waist, and wrist are different. If one can fully transfer the power from these parts, it can unleash tremendous force. This principle also applies to the way of the sword, except that the weight of the sword puts too much strain on the wrist.
Sanada noticed that Yagyū Simozi's sword had become stronger, but he overlooked her footwork.
Yagyū Simozi displayed remarkable skill and sophistication in her footwork. She had to move quickly, taking steps and swinging her sword, in order to avoid being crushed by Sanada Ryoichi, who was like a heavy tank. To conserve energy, she couldn't run but had to rely on walking. This was a superior technique in Mugen Shinmyō-ryū, which she hadn't fully mastered in the past when she excelled in offense. She learned it in RashoMon.
In RashoMon, there are too many evil demons, so it is necessary to preserve energy. Having an extra bit of energy means an additional minute of survival.
However, this kind of strategy only served to buy time. The number of slashes she could deliver wasn't the key. The true key lay in which strike could break through this restraint and harm her opponent.
She had to keep trying the sword, making mistakes along the way, until a moment of enlightenment struck.
The opponent wouldn't give her so much time. This was still a fight for her life.
During the process of swinging her sword, her wrist gradually began to ache, and her body grew sluggish. Her strength slowly diminished. With each mistake, she had to carefully dodge the opponent's counterattack, feeling a tingling sensation in her nerves.
In Yagyū Simozi's eyes, time was gradually slowing down, almost as if it were moving backwards. It was as if someone had pressed the slow-motion button, followed by a pause, and then dragged the progress bar. In that moment, it felt as if she had been transported back to the past.
She had witnessed two failures with her own eyes.
The first time, it was her father at the peak of his skills. In order to win the Imperial Swordsmanship Tournament, he brought along the renowned sword, "Sasa-no-yuki" Muramasa, and faced off against a formidable swordsman from the Shikishima School. Despite her father exhausting all his abilities, his sword was ultimately broken, leading to a severe defeat. Shortly after, he succumbed to his injuries.
That year, Yagyū Simozi was nine years old.
The second time, it was her older brother, who was also in his youth. He participated in the Kirin race, a nationwide competition open to young warriors under the age of twenty in the Ming Country. He made it to the top twenty in the entire country, but during his attempt to reach the top eight, he encountered a girl with pure white hair. Unfortunately, he suffered a devastating defeat with little chance to fight back. Afterward, her brother lost all motivation and resigned himself to ordinary life, simply going through the motions.
That year, Yagyū Simozi was fifteen years old, and she sat in the front row.
These two devastating defeats of her loved ones left an indelible impression on her, becoming both her nightmare and her driving force. Every time she wondered if she had reached her limits, she would recall the scenes of her loved ones' failures. Her father's sense of regret in his final moments, her brother's desolation as he sat alone in the sickbed. Not a single time did she fail to hate her own weakness and helplessness, and deep within her heart, she resisted the arrival of failure.
Every time she thought that perhaps the next one to face failure would be herself, she felt an endless terror.
So she refused to accept it, not just for her father and her brother, but also for herself. She felt a strong sense of discontent, wondering why it couldn't be them, why it couldn't be me as the victor?
She wanted to achieve a great victory, to announce to the world that what her father had lost, she would take back with her own hands, and what her brother had endured, she would repay a hundredfold.
Now... there's only me left.
It's just me now!
Buzzing, the sword "Tsukiyo-ken" Muramasa made a buzzing sound. Trembling, Yagyū Simozi could clearly feel the movement of the air. The circulating air had subtle gaps, and she swung her sword, cutting through those gaps in the air.
In her hand, she held a sword, tightly wrapped with numerous threads, enveloped in a thick cocoon. This cocoon was quickly shedding, causing the weight of the sword to diminish, becoming increasingly light, as if it had transformed like a feather. Grasping it in the palm of her hand, it seemed to weigh less than a single sheet of paper.
The lighter the weight, the faster the sword moves. The faster the sword moves, the brief vacuum formed by the splitting of the air creates swirling and chaotic airflow. Guided by the path of the sword, the disordered airflow transforms into sharp edges, becoming unstoppable.
The air produced a sonic boom, breaking the sound barrier. This sword, coming like an antelope with horns, was exceptionally clever. The sound that spread out swept through the entire courtyard. The air, faster than the blade itself, sliced through Sanada's body. His heavy demonic qi armor was shattered, revealing a diagonal white line across his chest. Slowly, beneath the white line, crimson droplets of blood emerged.
Sanada Ryoichi pressed his chest, looking at Yagyū Simozi in astonishment. "You..."
Haha... Yagyū Simozi could hardly hold onto her sword. She leaned against the wall, drenched in sweat, and breathed heavily.
This strike didn't unleash a fierce and overwhelming sword energy. Instead, it possessed a subtle elegance that exceeded the mere length of its sword energy.
She pushed beyond her limits, and in doing so, exhausted all her strength. Her tongue went numb, and weakness seeped out from every cell and nerve in her body.
Sanada felt a sense of unease. If he allowed her to continue growing like this, the Yagyū family might end up with not just one, but two formidable swordsmen.
He could barely handle one of them, but if another one, Yagyū Simozi, appeared, he wasn't confident he could keep them both under control.
An evil thought slowly emerged in his heart.
And at that moment... the fierce wind in the sky suddenly intensified.
Boom! The sky roared with thunder, releasing the suppressed gloominess that had lingered all day. Finally, the heavily anticipated downpour of rain poured down, adding a few more strands of coldness to the freezing winter day.
A flash of lightning struck down, seemingly hitting a particular spot in the electrical wires, causing an unstable voltage. The lights in the courtyard began to flicker, and after a burst of brightness, suddenly went out.
The lights went out, and in that very moment, the door burst open with a thunderous sound.
Outside the opened gate, there was a flash of lightning and the rumble of thunder, casting a pale light that illuminated the frozen expressions on each face.
The lightning also illuminated a silhouette, deeply etched in the depths of everyone's eyes.
On the long street behind this silhouette, lay more than three hundred people.
