Assassination

Assassination

Liu Qi, the man in the conical hat, kept his head lowered as he stroked his sword and strode in from outside the main hall. Though Japan in this era was undergoing reform, most buildings were still lightweight wooden structures. He had just sliced through the gates—and the two soldiers beside them—with a single stroke.

Liu Qi kept his head down, feeling a fire burn in his gut.

Though he disliked that madman who called himself Mercenary Tao, he loved the mission the man had triggered.

Not because the rewards were generous, but because the mission made him feel as though he were participating in history.

Due to his background and personal experiences, he felt especially deeply about that humiliating period in East Xia's modern history.

That was why, despite using an ability called Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, he often mocked the Japanese verbally.

Now, as he looked at the soldiers who had begun wearing neat uniforms due to military reforms, killing intent spread through him.

Sword light began to dance.

The firearms of this era were sufficiently lethal, but their firing speed and accuracy still fell far short of modern weapons. Of course, on the distant battlefields of World War I in the West, even more terrifying weapons of war had already begun to emerge.

Pfft! Pfft!

Liu Qi seemed to have gone just as mad as Bai Cangshu. He slaughtered the men at astonishing speed, making Elizabeth frown.

"Liu Qi, these ordinary soldiers only give a few Dimensional Points. You're taking those too?"

Liu Qi did not answer, but on the other side, Vincent cried out in pain as blood sprayed from his chest.

"Careful, it's a Lower Rank!"

Vincent shouted the warning, his voice still strong and full. Clearly, the seemingly horrific wound had not yet endangered his life.

Bai Cangshu stood atop the wall, coldly observing the Reincarnators' battle.

That Liu Qi was a master swordsman. His movements were skilled, and even without relying on abilities, he could easily butcher ordinary people.

Vincent probably possessed some special physical ability. After the Man-eating Demon tore open his muscles, he bled far less than an ordinary person, and his mobility did not seem noticeably affected. Judging by his fighting style, he appeared to be a Defense-Specialized Reincarnator.

As for Elizabeth, the tall green-haired woman, Bai Cangshu narrowed his eyes. She had been fighting with firearms from beginning to end. A submachine gun with an extremely high rate of fire sent the Taishō Era Japanese soldiers fleeing in every direction.

Yet Bai Cangshu kept his eyes on the woman. He guessed she must be hiding another ability. She had not displayed any extraordinary marksmanship, but Vincent and Elizabeth were clearly long-time teammates who trusted each other deeply.

There was only one reason someone would willingly become a Defense-Specialized Reincarnator in an environment as dangerous as the Reincarnation Space: their companion was an attack-specialized Reincarnator powerful enough to justify it!

And that companion's body was quite fragile.

Elizabeth pressed her lips together. She could feel "Mercenary Tao" freely appraising her with his gaze, but it was not a lustful look.

On the contrary, he was like a beast examining everyone as though they were prey.

"This... madman!"

Yet Elizabeth did not lash out. Instead, she coordinated with Liu Qi and instantly wiped out the Minister of the Left's entire gun-wielding squad.

Only the black-haired, black-bearded Lower Rank Man-eating Demon with strange markings on his face remained.

Its speed and strength overwhelmingly surpassed those of ordinary Man-eating Demons. By Reincarnator standards, its total attributes definitely exceeded forty points. In other words, it was clearly a Bing-level monster.

Moreover, all Twelve Demon Moons possessed special Blood Demon Arts. The Man-eating Demon was currently fighting with only its body, so this was clearly not its complete form.

A faint glow appeared in Elizabeth's eyes. Rokuro, who was fiercely battling Liu Qi and had him faintly suppressed, suddenly felt his body stiffen as a flash of cold light came at him.

Pfft!

Rokuro's body abruptly swelled, becoming gigantic in an instant. The sword that should have severed his head only left a small wound on his chest.

Rokuro now stood over three meters tall in the courtyard, like a giant.

He looked down at the humans, especially Liu Qi, who held a Nichirin Blade.

"Are you a Hashira-level Swordsman?"

"Give me your name."

The black markings on Rokuro's face began spreading over his entire body, and the pressure he exuded instantly surged.

Liu Qi's expression turned grave as well. This Man-eating Demon's physical abilities now completely surpassed his own, but in turn, he held a Nichirin Blade borrowed from those Demon Slayer Swordsmen.

He only needed one opportunity, and then he could...

Bang!

A dull boom like cannon fire rang out, blasting Rokuro's body back several staggering steps.

The professor stood atop the farthest wall, the hand cannon in her hand still smoking.

"Are you really going to wait for Liu Qi to duel the Lower Rank alone? Attack together!"

This woman clearly had little regard for martial ethics.

Elizabeth had never intended to stand by. She fired while secretly using her ability to interfere.

Vincent also roared, leaping high into the air with muscles bulging all over his body as he hammered down with both fists.

Bai Cangshu did not attack directly. He merely kept firing Knocking on Misfortune's Door, but without firearm specialization and without triggering its special effect, his bullets landed inaccurately.

"Mr. Mercenary Tao, please don't make a sound or show any unusual reaction."

The professor's voice suddenly appeared in Bai Cangshu's ears. An inscrutable smile still hung at the corner of Bai Cangshu's mouth, and the firearm in his hand continued to fire.

"I'm afraid those two Reincarnators who left the team have their eyes on us."

"I can't lock onto their positions, but I have a special ability that lets me sense danger!"

"Now that the weakest member of the team, me, and the strongest, you, have both become separated, this is their best opportunity..."

The professor's voice was icy, devoid of any panic at the prospect of being ambushed and killed.

That made Bai Cangshu regard the woman a little more highly.

In truth, Bai Cangshu had sensed that killing intent long before the professor's covert warning.

The greatest help Bai Cangshu received from Mercenary Tao's pink robe was not the attribute boosts or specialization boosts. This Killing Intent Perception ability was practically a top-tier warning system in the Reincarnation Space.

You could never know who might develop killing intent toward you, or when, but it allowed you to detect it.

Feeling the faint, needle-like pain, Bai Cangshu was certain that the enemies had indeed chosen him—the strongest, though injured—and the professor—the weakest, separated from the center of the battlefield—as their hunting targets.

Bai Cangshu watched the battle below. Rokuro's body had grown even larger and now stood taller than the courtyard walls. Every strike made the ground quake. Liu Qi and the others had fallen into a bitter struggle, lacking a means to kill such a massive enemy in one blow.

Firearms could only keep wounding and provoking him; they could not inflict truly fatal damage upon the Lower Rank demon.

Bai Cangshu raised his gun as if concentrating on his aim. At the same time, the professor loaded her hand cannon once more.

Whoosh!

The sound of something tearing through the air rang out. Two black shadows shot in from beyond the courtyard walls, and sword light flashed at the same moment.

Pfft!

The professor instantly fell from the wall, blood scattering through the air.

Clang!

The figure that appeared before Bai Cangshu, however, had its pupils shrink. It stared at the man in the pink robe, who had actually turned his silver revolver sideways and used it to block the sword.

Was this guy some kind of Reincarnator specialized entirely in Strength?!