Chapter 163: Let Me Try My Blade
"Fall before me!"
The heavy blade was wrapped in paper talismans, each glowing faintly with crackling lightning.
Empowered by long-lost talismanic techniques, it shimmered with a violent energy that screamed danger.
Teppei only needed a moment to realize that this was an attack he absolutely couldn't block.
He dove to the side, rolling messily across the beach's soft sands, narrowly avoiding the blade's deadly arc.
"This sword strikes once and once only!"
The warrior, clad in a tight-fitting outfit and wearing a demonic mask, didn't relent.
Missing his first strike, he closed the distance again, slashing down without mercy.
This man was known as Kairagi—the Dancing Thunder.
In truth, "Kairagi" was a nickname given to ronin who had turned to banditry.
Some of them were deserters, others were warriors with nowhere else to go.
There were even former Vision holders who had lost their powers to the Vision Hunt Decree, now lashing out at the world through violence.
Unlike the Nobushi, the Kairagi had more refined swordsmanship.
Furthermore, they wielded rare elemental techniques by attaching ancient divine talismans to their blades, a craft thought long lost to time.
Their raw strength, paired with their bloodlust, made Teppei's skin crawl with tension.
He had seen Himura Kenshin's swordsmanship up close.
That supernatural speed, the kind that could "kill" without you even feeling the pain.
Kenshin had called it Hiten Mitsurugi Style—the Godspeed Sword Draw.
Teppei believed that if he could master that skill, even without a Vision, he could carve a path through all of Teyvat.
But this Kairagi's sword wasn't built on speed.
It was like a mountain—heavy, overwhelming, and oppressive.
Every swing felt like an avalanche.
Even so, Bai Luo's training had clearly paid off.
In the past, Teppei would've frozen up in fear.
Now, at least, he could dodge and even land a few scratches of his own.
To him, that was already huge progress.
"You are still not ruthless enough, Teppei."
A new voice rang out, calm and slightly amused.
The Kairagi, who had been ready to finish off Teppei, immediately raised his blade in defense, eyes snapping toward the source.
"No matter how many of you come, I'll cut you all down!"
The newcomer leaned casually against a seaside rock, a skewer of grilled Unagi fish in one hand.
His crimson robe shimmered under the ocean's reflection, vivid and striking.
Strangely, despite such a loud outfit, the Kairagi hadn't noticed him at all until he spoke.
That unsettling realization made the hairs on his neck stand up.
"Another wannabe Battousai? How boring."
As someone who has roamed near Watatsumi Island, the Kairagi had seen his share of wanderers.
Among them, many dressed in crimson robes, imitating the legendary Battousai.
But none of those pretenders had survived a single strike from him.
"Then how about you try catching my sword?"
Bai Luo took one final bite of his skewered eel before his right hand fell calmly onto the hilt of his Reverse Blade Sword.
"Hmph! Mere trick"
The Kairagi shifted into a defensive stance, his expression growing more focused.
He'd lingered around Inazuma long enough to know that there are some people you could afford to provoke.
Others... you absolutely couldn't.
Although this red-cloaked wanderer looked like nothing more than an ordinary man, the Kairagi instinctive sense of danger made him forget all about Teppei behind him and focus entirely on the man before him.
Body low and ready, Bai Luo assumed a stance the Kairagi had never seen before—a unique draw stance, precise and still as water before the break.
Clang!
A flash of steel split the air.
By the time the Kairagi reacted, Bai Luo was already soaring above him.
With a twist of his waist and a shift in footwork, Bai Luo brought his Reverse Blade Sword crashing down, straight toward the Kairagi's forehead.
Crack!
The talisman-covered blade in the Kairagi's hand snapped clean in two under the weight of Bai Luo's strike.
The Reverse Blade Sword landed a solid hit directly to the Kairagi's face.
Bai Luo had used "Ryu-Tsui-Sen", and although it wasn't a true killing strike, it wasn't something an ordinary rogue like him could take lightly either.
The oni mask covering the Kairagi's face shattered to pieces under the impact.
"Y-You're— Battousai!"
The broken sword dropped limply from his hands, the hilt embedding itself in the sand.
Blood streamed down the Kairagi's forehead, blurring his vision.
Now, finally, he understood that this red-robed swordsman wasn't just another cheap copycat.
He was the real deal—Battousai the Manslayer.
But Bai Luo didn't give him the luxury of breathing space.
The moment Ryu-Tsui-Sen ended, he seamlessly transitioned into Ryu-Sho-Sen.
Both hands gripping the hilt tightly, Bai Luo slashed upward from below, striking the Kairagi directly on the chin.
What looked like a light, upward flick actually launched the towering warrior into the air.
He crashed down onto the beach, completely motionless—his life extinguished.
Two moves. Just two.
The once fearsome Kairagi had been decisively defeated.
His thick armor, which might have stopped a weaker opponent from pushing him back, meant nothing here.
After all, Bai Luo was no ordinary man, his system could freeze even gods for a full second. What chance did a disgraced warrior have?
With a flick of the wrist, Bai Luo cleaned the blood from his blade and sheathed the Reverse Blade Sword.
The sword couldn't kill. Not people, not even human-like monsters.
But that only applied to normal attacks.
If skills were used, then even death wasn't off the table.
"Himura-san."
After making sure that the Kairagi was completely dead, Teppei approached hesitantly, holding a plain standard-issue katana from the logistics department.
He stood beside Bai Luo, waiting for the usual scolding.
That has become his routine lately.
"Not bad. Keep it up next time."
To his surprise, Bai Luo praised him instead of criticizing.
But before Teppei could be happy, Bai Luo followed up coldly:
"Like I said earlier, you still weren't ruthless enough. If I hadn't been here today, the one lying on the ground would've been you."
"Understood."
Tepei scratched the back of his head embarrassedly, but the joy on his face was still difficult to conceal.
"Go rest. The boat should be arriving soon."
"Got it."
With Teppei dismissed, Bai Luo stood at the edge of the beach, gazing far across the ocean toward Yashiori Island.
Between Watatsumi Island and Yashiori lay a vast stretch of sea.
Mist rose off the ocean's surface, and though the island was visible in the distance— green, lush, with signs of human habitation—it was covered in a cloud of ominous thunderclouds that loomed heavy overhead.
According to Kokomi, ever since the ward was destroyed, unending storms and lightning had blanketed Yashiori Island.
They hadn't let up since.
This seemed to be one of the consequences of the ward's destruction.
It wasn't just the pressure from public opinion, even the relentless storms would be putting a massive strain on the resistance.
No wonder that poor little fish had begged him so desperately for help. If things continued this way, the resistance would eventually collapse.
Still, Bai Luo didn't have much right to scold whoever broke the wards.
If he remembered correctly, when the ward was destroyed…
his good buddy, Scaramouche, just so happened to have passed through this area on his way to Watatsumi.
Even if he hadn't done it himself, it probably had something to do with his plans.
Heh, Looks like I'll be messing with that guy again, even right after we split up.
Maybe I should go ask how he feels about that?
. . . . .
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