Chapter 13

On a cloudless night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, with a cold moon hanging high in the sky. In the silent night, beneath the wild high mountain, sudden bursts of maniacal laughter echoed.

"Ha ha ha, how about it, is there anyone who still disagrees?" A large man, holding a dripping tachi in one hand and a human head in the other, laughed wildly at the group in front of him. Under the glow of the fire, his scarred face looked even more grotesque and twisted. Around him lay seven or eight corpses in various positions.

"Ha ha, well done, leader!" A dozen bandits behind him cheered in unison.

"I'll say this one last time, hand over all your food and women. If you don't comply, my brothers and I will massacre your village," the scar-faced man threw the dripping head in front of the trembling crowd and shouted again.

The angry and unwilling face of the head slowly rolled to the front of the crowd. "Ah! Sakurou?" A young woman cried and ran to the head, seeing her loved one who had just crossed the boundary between life and death. She couldn't bear the shock and fainted. "Mother! Mother!" A little girl, who looked about five or six years old, ran to the woman and shook her arm with her small hands, trying to wake her up.

"Lord Heiji, let's fight them to the death!" A bald, muscular man, gripping a tachi tightly, shouted to the middle-aged man at the front of the crowd. "Yes! Let's fight them to the death!" The seven or eight villagers behind him, holding hoes and wooden clubs, shouted with anger.

"Kousou, we can't. Without food, without women, and without us, these children won't be able to survive," the middle-aged man, tears streaming down his face, looked at the little girl still trying to wake her mother and murmured in response.

"Lord Heiji, even if we die, we must defend our dignity!" The bald man shouted angrily, "Besides, they never keep their word. Once they control the women and children, they might use them to threaten us. Lord, we've been at odds with them for a long time. We can only fight to the death." "Let's fight to the death!" The villagers behind him were suddenly filled with rage.

"Ha ha ha! Good! It looks like we'll have to massacre this village?" The scar-faced leader turned to the dozen bandits behind him and shouted, "Brothers, attack! Whatever you take is yours. Kill everyone except the women."

"Yes, leader!" Nearly twenty bandits, their eyes filled with greed, looked at the villagers in front of them like hungry wolves eyeing their prey.

"Kill!" The scar-faced man shouted, leading the charge towards the crowd. The bandits behind him roared and followed closely.

"Let's fight to the death!" The middle-aged man, seeing the situation, could only fight with all his might. The seven or eight villagers behind him also shouted and charged at the bandits. For a moment, the mountain valley was filled with the sounds of battle, interspersed with the helpless cries of women and children.

"Ah!" A villager, attacked by several bandits, was pierced through the abdomen by a spear and fell to the ground with a scream. "Kurou!" Several villagers shouted in shock and rushed to the fallen villager.

"Ha ha ha, little ones, put in more effort. Don't let them save that guy. I want them to watch him bleed to death," the scar-faced man shouted arrogantly, "We need to show these stubborn fools that ants will always be ants. Kill them all, make them disappear from here." "Leader is mighty, kill, kill!" The other bandits were greatly encouraged and attacked the villagers even more fiercely. The villagers fought bravely, but they were outnumbered and outarmed, and were gradually forced into a corner. At this moment, some bandits took the opportunity to attack the women around them.

"He he he! This woman is good," a bandit dragged the unconscious young woman, leering at the other bandits. "Mother! Mother! Don't take my mother. You bad man. Waaah!" The little girl beside the young woman clung to her mother's leg, refusing to let go.

"Get lost!" The bandit kicked the little girl several meters away. She rolled a few times and fell face down on the ground. Despite her young body's attempts to get up, she ultimately failed and could only stretch her weak little hands towards her mother, trying to crawl to her, "Mother! Mother! Don't take my mother, Father, come and save Mother. Waaah..." Her tear-filled eyes were full of reluctance and longing. Unfortunately, her father could no longer come to save her mother, as he was already decapitated.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" The bald man, who was already injured in several places, saw this and glared with anger. But the bandits were not faring well either; three bandit corpses lay around him. "Kill! Even if I die, I'll take one with me!" The middle-aged man, seeing this, shouted in despair.

"Ha ha ha! Kill that little girl!" The scar-faced man, who was worried about how to deal with the bald man, was delighted by this and shouted. "Yes, leader. He he he," two bandits grinned and walked towards the little girl. The cold tip of the iron spear grew larger and larger in the little girl's eyes... "No! Tamako! Run!" The bald man was desperate, and a bandit took the opportunity to add another wound to his back. Tamako also sensed the approaching danger and her big, tearful eyes were filled with fear, but she still shouted, "Mother, Mother," and tried to crawl to her unconscious mother.

"He he he," the two bandits finally reached the little girl, "Leader, we're going to do it," one of the bandits seemed to enjoy the little girl's fear and the anxious expressions of the villagers trying to save her. He raised his spear and deliberately said slowly.

"Then, let's do it..." Before the bandit could finish his sentence, he saw a figure flash by... "Sss" with a soft sound, the bandit suddenly felt a pain in his throat, and a stream of red liquid spurted out. His eyes gradually darkened, and in the moment before he fell, he saw a young man in samurai attire, with short hair and a strange backpack on his back, slowly walking towards the little girl... and the samurai sword dripping with liquid, gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

"Ah!" The young man sighed, slowly bent down, and picked up the little girl, then turned to the still unconscious young woman... "Good girl! Look at your mother, and at Uncle's things," the young man put down the little girl, unstrapped his backpack, and patted her head.

"Ching" After settling the little girl, the young man stuck his long sword in the ground, then elegantly tore a piece of cloth from one of the dead bandits and wiped the hilt of the samurai sword (he was sweating from his first kill), and finally threw the rag on the face of the dead bandit, who still had a look of disbelief, "He died a bit ugly, don't you think?"

The bandits around him, swept by the young man's gaze, all felt as if they were in a cold winter, suddenly snapping out of their shock and feeling a chill down their spines, subconsciously shrinking their necks, as if afraid that they would be the next to die. Even the scar-faced man tightened his grip on his tachi, his hands trembling.

The scene froze for a moment, then erupted in cheers. "The Great Bodhisattva of Hachiban hasn't abandoned us, he sent a messenger to save us, ha ha ha," "Ah! We're saved..." All the villagers were instantly encouraged.

"You... who are you?... Ha ha ha! Another one to die," the scar-faced man, ashamed of his momentary fear, quickly shouted. "Ha ha ha! Yes, leader is right, another one to die," the bandits' morale seemed to rise again.

"Leader, look, his clothes and that sword look like Taro's," a bandit whispered to the scar-faced man. "Hmm?" The scar-faced man stared intently at the young man's clothes and the sword.

"You... you, speak up, what did you do to Taro?" It was clear that the scar-faced man had identified the young man's clothes and samurai sword as belonging to someone he knew.

"Taro? Masahiro?" The young man was taken aback, "Was it the one from earlier... Never mind, there are more important things to deal with now." With that, the young man stared at the scar-faced man and said, "So, the game is about to begin, right!" He then drew his samurai sword, swung it twice, and suddenly charged at the scar-faced man, shouting, "Kongoriki."

"Hmm!? Looking for death!" The scar-faced man, not to be outdone, reacted instantly and raised his sword to block. "Pang!" The two swords met in the air. "What!? This guy is so strong?" The scar-faced man felt his right hand almost lose grip on his sword and quickly grabbed it with both hands, inwardly shocked.

"Hmm!? Just as I thought," the young man seemed to confirm something, his face filled with surprise.

"Good, you are a good opponent," the young man suddenly sheathed his sword and moved to the side, smiling at the scar-faced man. But to the scar-faced man, this smile looked eerie. "Little ones, kill this guy quickly. Hurry!" The scar-faced man, adjusting his stance to prepare for the next attack, shouted.

At the scar-faced man's shout, the dozen bandits finally reacted, immediately abandoning the other villagers and charging at the young man, as if to vent their fear, shouting and roaring. "Come on! Continuous Slash!" The young man tilted his sword, shouted, and charged at the bandits.

"Sss! Sss! Sss!" The young man instantly flashed among three bandits, slashing three times, and the three bandits fell to the ground. "Kongoriki!" After dealing with the three, the young man shouted, turned, and swung his sword, deflecting a spear that was about to stab him from behind. The spear flew to the side and pierced the calf of a bandit, pinning him to the ground, "Ah!" The bandit, realizing what had happened, screamed in agony.

"Phew!" After using several moves, the young man paused, taking a deep breath.

The scar-faced man, taking advantage of the young man's moment of exhaustion, struck from behind. The scar-faced man secretly rejoiced, using his lifetime skills, which had always been reliable. Imagining the young man being severely injured and his subordinates swarming over him, he couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Kongoriki" As if he had anticipated this, the young man shouted without turning around. "Pang!" The two swords clashed again, sparks flying. "Ribuichi" The young man changed his stance, shouted, and his long sword slashed the scar-faced man's right arm, which flew off, spraying a shower of blood.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" The scar-faced man, clutching his severed arm, fell to the ground, rolling in agony.

"Leader?" The surrounding bandits shouted in shock, trying to approach the scar-faced man. But the scar-faced man was rolling on the ground in a frenzy, and the bandits couldn't get close.

"Phew! I'm reaching my limit again! Ha!" The young man took a deep breath, quickly surveying the situation, "Well, let's do our best. I hope you don't disappoint me, or I might lose my life today." "Ha!" He took another deep breath, "Kirioroshi!" The young man instantly flashed and charged into the bandits.

"Sss! Sss! Sss! Sss! Sss!" With silent sounds, five more bandits screamed in agony. "Ah! He's not human!" The bandits, having lost their leader and several more brothers, were finally panicked.

"Kill! Kill all these bandits!" The bald man, fighting two bandits, seized the opportunity to shout, rallying the villagers to charge at the bandits. "Kill!" "Let's fight to the death!" The villagers, their eyes red with anger, charged at the bandits. "Run! Run!" A bandit picked up the nearly unconscious scar-faced man and ran into the darkness, followed by the remaining five or six bandits.

"Phew! Phew!" The scene before him gradually blurred, and his muscles began to ache severely, "It seems my body isn't used to this yet!" The young man slowly knelt down, a bitter smile on his face. He lifted his eyes with effort and saw the villagers chasing the fleeing bandits, "Hey! At least I didn't bet wrong this time. Well, it's time for a good sleep," and he slowly lay down...

"Ah! No, the samurai has fallen!" The remaining crowd shouted in shock, and hurried footsteps rushed towards where the young man lay...

That night, a fierce battle ensued. Nine villagers died, all young and strong, and several more were injured. The 20 bandits, 12 of whom were killed (the one pinned by the spear was torn apart by the angry villagers), and 3 were injured, including the severely wounded and unconscious scar-faced leader. Whenever Masahiro thought back to this battle under the moonlight, he felt lucky. First, the sudden attack on two bandits shocked the others; then, taking advantage of the leader's underestimation and carelessness, he severely injured the leader, effectively capturing the king; finally, with the leader out of the picture, the bandits' morale was severely damaged, and they were hit hard by Masahiro, causing their fighting spirit to collapse. This led to Masahiro's ultimate victory.

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