“Hū————!”
Amidst the howling sound, the dagger that was sent flying by Konochi Kurusu spun rapidly in the air like a windmill, swinging upwards.
Shortly after, the tip of the dagger heavily pierced the ceiling of the carriage, embedding itself directly into it.
“Swish————!”
Facing Fang Li, who had lost his weapon, the look in Konochi Kurusu’s eyes sharpened, and the Katana in his hand produced a slicing sound as it transformed into a bright arc, resembling a crescent moon as it viciously descended toward Fang Li’s body.
And yet, Fang Li kept retreating until he reached the wall, unable to retreat any further.
In other words, there was no way for Fang Li to dodge this strike.
In an instant, cries of astonishment echoed from the surroundings.
Especially Ikoma, who witnessed this scene unfold before his eyes, widened his eyes almost to their limit, feeling as if his eye sockets were about to crack.
Konochi Kurusu, however, showed no reaction. His expression remained cold, his gaze fierce, and the Katana in his hand, akin to thunder, mercilessly slashed down toward Fang Li.
At that moment, Konochi Kurusu was certain of his victory.
However, just as Konochi Kurusu’s slash was about to land on Fang Li’s body, Fang Li’s figure suddenly tensed, and he leaped up into the air, landing on the ceiling.
“Clang————!”
Accompanied by an ear-piercing clash of metal, Konochi Kurusu’s slash, determined to strike Fang Li, hit the wall where Fang Li had retreated, creating a strong shower of sparks and leaving a white mark on the iron wall.
This time, Konochi Kurusu felt the reverberation from the counterforce of his own attack, causing his palms to go numb, and he let out a groan.
Nevertheless, Konochi Kurusu forcefully lifted his head and looked upwards.
There, Fang Li had leaped into the air, hanging upside down with his feet planted on the ceiling of the carriage as his ice-blue Mystic Eyes scanned Kurusu.
“————!”
Konochi Kurusu felt a chill run through his body, and a sense of death loomed in his mind.
At that moment, Fang Li extended his hand and firmly grasped the dagger embedded nearby.
Gravity finally began to exert its force on Fang Li’s body, pulling him downwards.
However, before that happened, Fang Li forcefully stomped on the ceiling, and his entire body descended from the ceiling like an arrow as it shot toward Konochi Kurusu below. The dagger in his hand resembled sharp fangs, glimmering with a cold light.
“You’re too naive!” Konochi Kurusu’s expression turned serious as he suddenly raised the Katana in his hand, blocking above himself.
Unfortunately, Konochi Kurusu didn’t know that Fang Li had intended for him to clearly perform a block like that.
“Will I finally be able to reach it?!” Falling from above, Fang Li raised the dagger in his hand high as he thought of this. His ice-blue Mystic Eyes clearly saw the Death Line on the Katana’s blade as it was being blocked.
“If it’s a weapon and I can directly perceive its ‘Death,’ then I can kill it!” As soon as his words fell, Fang Li, descending rapidly, skillfully struck the Katana’s Death Line with the raised dagger.
This time, Fang Li smoothly struck the Death Line on Konochi Kurusu’s Katana.
Thus, the sharp dagger easily sliced through the steel weapon as if it were cutting through fragile paper.
“Crack————!”
Just like a broken branch, the Katana in Konochi Kurusu’s hand was cleanly cut off.
“What?!” Konochi Kurusu was greatly shocked when he saw that his sword had been cut through.
In that instant, Fang Li fell to the ground and took a step forward, his body pressing against Konochi Kurusu, who had lost his weapon.
Konochi Kurusu’s complexion changed rapidly. However, at this moment, it was already too late for him to react and a cold sensation surged through Konochi Kurusu’s nerves.
The dagger, glimmering with a chilling light, pressed tightly against Konochi Kurusu’s throat, slightly piercing the skin and causing a trickle of blood to seep out.
“Dīdā…”
The droplets of blood fell slowly from the dagger, which was pressed against the tiny wound, and landed on the ground.
Kurusu stared at the face that was so close to him and the look in his eyes rapidly changed.
“Hū..hū..” Fang Li took a slight breather, and his ice-blue Mystic Eyes quietly faded away, revealing a pair of dark-colored pupils filled with exhaustion.
The surrounding sound suddenly vanished, leaving behind a silence that engulfed the area.
Everyone watched the scene in front of them, where Fang Li held a dagger against Konochi Kurusu’s throat and were unable to utter a single word.
What a familiar sight it was.
Three days ago, at the Martial Fight Gathering’s arena, Fang Li had done the same, holding a dagger against Konochi Kurusu’s throat and emerging victorious.
However, back then, it was more accurate to say that Fang Li won through wit rather than defeating Konochi Kurusu in combat.
Fang Li had secured that victory at the cost of getting injured.
After three days had passed, Fang Li once again emerged victorious from Konochi Kurusu’s grasp.
But this time, Fang Li had achieved a clear and unquestionable victory.
So, everyone was left speechless, except for Ikoma, who wore an expression of pleasant surprise on his face.
No one broke the silence that hung in the air for a long time.
Finally, the first person to break the silence was Fang Li himself.
Looking at the ever-changing expression in Konochi Kurusu’s eyes, Fang Li suddenly smiled and said.
“So, can I consider this as my victory?”
This was just like in the scene from three days ago at the arena.
They were just like the words spoken at the end of that competition.
Konochi Kurusu gazed steadily at Fang Li and, after a while, he closed his eyes and said.
“You win…”
With that one sentence, Fang Li’s victory was confirmed.
“Completed the B-Rank Side Quest, Earned 5000 Exchange Points.”
As the notification sound from the system echoed in Fang Li’s mind, Konochi Kurusu had already turned his back and walked toward the door leading to the front carriage.
“Kurusu,” Araka Kibito couldn’t help but speak, saying, “Are you really going to stay out of this?”
Konochi Kurusu halted his steps and spoke without turning his head, “This is the agreement between him and me.”
Araka Kibito had nothing to say in response. However, the surrounding samurai began to speak one after another.
“But, Kurusu, that guy is allied with those two monsters!”
“If we let them go, who knows if they’ll turn everyone on the Hayajiro into Kabane?!”
“We’ll all die then!”
The voices of the samurai filled the air, causing Konochi Kurusu to suddenly open his eyes and scan the surroundings.
His gaze was as sharp as a blade and the voices of the Samurai came to an abrupt stop.
In such a situation, Konochi Kurusu spoke in a cold voice.
“I am a Samurai. Don’t let me abandon the most basic dignity of a Samurai.”
The rest of the Samurai could no longer utter a word after hearing this.
“But… they are Kabane!”
Only a small number of individuals continued to struggle.
Kurusu spoke with indifference, “I have already promised not to interfere. As for what you choose to do, that’s also none of my concern.”
damn, coward samurai.