A Warrior Worthy of the Samurai Name

Today, the Shogunate stood at the height of its power, ruling the entire country with immense authority in its grasp.

Under the Shogunate's rule, every Station City was governed by a great clan responsible for maintaining its operations and order, even fending off attacking Kabane.

Aragane Station had its own rulers as well.

They were the Yotsuyu Clan.

The Martial Contest was an unofficial tournament hosted by the Yotsuyu Clan.

Why was it unofficial?

Because the tournament's primary purpose was to give the samurai of Aragane Station an outlet for release.

With no decisive means of dealing with the Kabane, the samurai stationed at Aragane Station lived every day in fear that they might be killed by Kabane at any moment, or even infected and assimilated.

Even Fang Li knew that, so there was no way the Yotsuyu Clan, which governed Aragane Station, could be unaware of it.

Under such circumstances, if the samurai were made to guard the city while remaining constantly tense and terrified, it would inevitably cause serious problems in the end.

Thus, at the suggestion of their strategists, the head of the Yotsuyu Clan decided to hold a tournament once every ten days, allowing the samurai under his command to compete and vent appropriately.

"There's something like that?"

Having learned the full story from a passerby, Fang Li was somewhat taken aback.

After all, this had not existed in the original work.

But upon further thought, with death threatening them at any moment, trouble really could arise if they had no outlet for release.

Just because the original work had not mentioned it did not mean such things had never happened.

"Looks like so-called foresight only goes so far. Of course, there was no way to learn every detail just from a screen."

As Fang Li reflected on this, two samurai stood facing each other on a crudely constructed stage.

Looking at the two samurai confronting one another onstage, Fang Li raised an eyebrow.

He could more or less recognize them.

From the original work.

"Go!"

"Take him down, Kurusu!"

"Don't lose to Kurusu, Kibito!"

"Fight! Fight!"

Amid the cheers of samurai around them, all worked into a frenzy, the two men onstage held up their tachi and stared at each other in a tense standoff.

On the left stood a samurai dressed in a somewhat austere blue-black uniform, his entire body exuding a stern air.

This samurai was Kurusu Kunoichi—the Kurusu the crowd was cheering for.

On the right stood a sturdy, older samurai clad in light red armor.

This samurai was Kibito Aragane—the Kibito the crowd was cheering for.

Both men were samurai who served the Yotsuyu Clan that governed Aragane Station. They had also been highly active characters in the original work, accompanying the protagonists through several life-and-death crises.

That was why Fang Li recognized them.

"I didn't expect those two to be fighting each other."

Fang Li immediately fixed his gaze on Kurusu Kunoichi and Kibito Aragane.

At that moment, both Kurusu Kunoichi and Kibito Aragane held sharp tachi with their tips pointed at each other. Their eyes were filled with focus and severity, as though they faced the greatest opponent of their lives. Ignoring the cheers around them, they concentrated entirely on one another.

Compared to the samurai around them, who had fallen into a frenzy and kept cheering like boisterous spectators, these two felt like true samurai. There was something distinctly different about them.

Then, in the next instant, the two exceptional samurai moved almost simultaneously.

"Hah!"

"Ha!"

With two nearly synchronized shouts, Kurusu Kunoichi and Kibito Aragane stomped the ground and charged at each other at the same time.

Though it was only a simple step, both shot forward like arrows loosed from a bow. In a single stride, they erased the distance between them and met at the center of the stage.

"Swish—!"

The sound of sharp tachi cutting through the air rang out clearly.

The gazes of the two samurai meeting in the center of the stage sharpened from mere focus. They suddenly swung their weapons at each other.

"Clang—!"

With a crisp clash of steel, the two tachi collided heavily.

At that very instant, Kurusu Kunoichi suddenly tilted his tachi. It scraped against Kibito Aragane's blade, slid along its edge, and swept sideways toward Kibito Aragane's neck.

Kibito Aragane's expression changed slightly. He hurriedly retreated, withdrawing several meters in nearly an instant and narrowly evading the merciless slash.

But at the same time, Kurusu Kunoichi pushed off hard with his feet and shot directly toward Kibito Aragane.

Kibito Aragane's eyes flew wide open. The tachi in his hand surged to its fastest speed as he brought it down in a head-on slash at the charging Kurusu Kunoichi.

Seeing this, Kurusu Kunoichi's face remained cold. Without showing the slightest weakness, he raised his weapon and pressed forward.

One advanced while the other retreated, and the two samurai immediately closed in on each other again.

"Clang clang clang clang clang—!"

In an instant, a relentless series of crisp blade clashes echoed through the area.

Kurusu Kunoichi and Kibito Aragane swung their tachi at each other again and again at a dazzling speed, their sharp weapons colliding repeatedly and scattering showers of sparks.

"Good!"

"Amazing!"

"As expected of samurai who rank among our elite!"

The intense clash of blades made the samurai below the stage erupt into cheers one after another.

Even Fang Li's eyes lit up slightly as he nodded to himself.

Whether it was Kurusu Kunoichi or Kibito Aragane, both were worthy of the name samurai.

With exchanges and sword strikes that brilliant, they would surely have the upper hand even against Kabane, wouldn't they?

At the very least, in terms of strength, Fang Li was completely inferior to the two samurai onstage.

Moreover, Fang Li knew very well that the two samurai onstage were actually holding back.

After all, they were merely competing, not intending to fight a true battle to the death.

"They can fight to this extent even while holding back. They're really incredible."

Just as Fang Li was thinking that, the battle onstage changed once more.

"Hah!" Kurusu Kunoichi suddenly shouted, and the speed of his tachi abruptly rose to another level as it slashed out with astonishing speed.

"What...?!" Kibito Aragane was greatly startled, but before he could do more than react, the sharp tachi had already come down.

"Clang—!"

With a resounding clash, one tachi flew into the air.