Kazekaze

The longsword fell from above, slicing Yizhe in two.

A startled cry rang out through the wind and snow. "What?!"

The hidden attacker was shocked to discover that there was no blood when "Yizhe" was split in half by the sword.

As he stood there in confusion, the two halves of "Yizhe" lying on the ground turned into two pools of clear water.

"Water Clone Technique!" The attacker suddenly understood.

"You find that strange, don't you?" A white-clad youth appeared behind the attacker.

Who else could it be but Yizhe?

"You suspected me from the start?" the attacker asked softly.

As he spoke, he suddenly spun around and slashed backward, cutting the youth behind him into two!

"Another clone!" The attacker could clearly feel that his blade had not struck a real body.

Sure enough, when he looked closely, the two halves of the corpse in the snow were turning into water.

The wind and snow dispersed, revealing the five people in the clearing.

The warrior who had been standing guard with Kazekaze held a blood-dripping longsword. Two corpses lay at his feet—the two guards who had been carrying Yizhe's "bell."

The person who had attacked Yizhe also revealed his true face. It was the young warrior—Kazekaze.

"Watch out!" Kazekaze shouted at the only remaining warrior in the clearing.

"What?" The sword-wielding warrior jolted in alarm at the shout.

Unfortunately, it was already too late!

A shuriken from Yizhe struck the back of his head dead-on! The warrior only felt a chill at the back of his skull before his vision went dark. He toppled into the snow and lost consciousness.

"Ninja, you really can't be underestimated!" Even with the warning, he had failed to prevent his companion's death. Kazekaze sounded rather helpless.

The two stood roughly ten meters apart, wary of each other. Neither dared to make a rash move.

"By the way, my lord, when did you start suspecting me?" As he spoke, Kazekaze tossed aside his longsword and pulled a kunai from behind his back.

Clearly, he was a ninja as well.

"I take it you are one of Red Ant's two leaders?"

Watching Kazekaze draw a kunai with such practiced ease, Yizhe confirmed that he was a ninja and concluded that he was one of Red Ant's two leaders.

However, he had never seen either Red Ant leader's face, so he could not tell which one Kazekaze was. He had certainly never expected one of Red Ant's leaders to be a youth.

"Oh, no, no, no! I think you misunderstood! I'm not either of Red Ant's leaders!" The youth grinned.

"I am..."

Taking advantage of Kazekaze speaking, Yizhe scattered three shuriken and used their cover to close in with a Body Flicker Technique.

Clang—

Kazekaze effortlessly blocked the shuriken.

"What?!" The instant Kazekaze blocked the shuriken, he was suddenly startled to find Yizhe already upon him.

Giving him no chance to react, Yizhe swept aside his guard with his left hand, then drove the kunai in his right hand straight at his throat.

Pfft—

Kazekaze, struck in the vital point of the throat, turned into a piece of wood.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Ninja, you're far too impatient!" Kazekaze's voice came from behind Yizhe.

"Hmph!"

Yizhe snorted, halted his momentum, and without turning around, stabbed backward with his kunai.

Clang—

The kunai collided. Yizhe was slightly faster than Kazekaze, causing Kazekaze's sneak attack from behind to fail before it could begin.

With his sneak attack unsuccessful, Kazekaze used the force of Yizhe's counterattack to leap several steps back and pull away.

"I am Furukawa Kazekaze, son of one of Red Ant's leaders. May I ask how I should address you, my lord?"

After several exchanges, Kazekaze believed he had already gauged Yizhe's strength. Seeing that he could not deal with Yizhe for the moment, he introduced himself and took the chance to ask about Yizhe's origins, hoping to probe his background.

"Just call me Yizhe."

"It seems you come from quite an extraordinary family, my lord! You won't even reveal your surname. Are you afraid of exposing your trump card?" After a brief thought, Kazekaze guessed roughly what was going on.

"Hmph!" Yizhe snorted in tacit acknowledgment.

"Then may I ask, my lord, when did you begin suspecting me?" Kazekaze asked.

From the moment his initial ambush had failed, he knew Yizhe had been prepared. He simply could not figure out where he had exposed a flaw!

"I'll let you die knowing why!" Yizhe turned around and said.

"Your sword gave you away!"

"My sword?" Kazekaze asked in surprise.

"A warrior's foundation lies in his sword! What warrior does not treasure his sword as dearly as his life and care for it meticulously? But what about you?" Yizhe said loudly.

"Me?" Kazekaze looked utterly baffled.

"I examined your sword. It looked bright and gleaming, very sharp. Yet its edge was covered in tiny chips! If you were truly a warrior, a man who loved his sword, how could you maintain it in such a state?" Yizhe said disdainfully.

"So that was it!" Kazekaze suddenly understood.

"That wasn't all!"

"There was more?" Kazekaze asked in shock.

"Only those who practice the way of the sword are warriors! And those who practice the way of the sword are generally unyielding! I once asked you how my swordsmanship was, yet you said it was good!"

"But how could a warrior devoted to the sword flatter others so readily? Even if you were currying favor, you should not have overdone it so absurdly! I don't know the first thing about swordsmanship!"

"Every sign showed that you were not a warrior at all! Someone who is not a warrior but disguises himself as one—doesn't that deserve suspicion?" Yizhe demanded loudly as he stared at the youth in the distance.

"Ha, ha, ha! So that was it, so that was it!" Kazekaze laughed heartily.

"Now that your wish has been granted, be on your way! Furukawa Kazekaze!"

Holding his kunai in a reverse grip, Yizhe charged at the youth, moving even faster than before.

"Lord Yizhe, don't be in such a hurry! Once my father and uncle break free from beneath that snow, it won't be too late to fight again!" Kazekaze said with a light laugh. He dodged Yizhe's attacks and retreated repeatedly, defending without attacking.

It appeared that he had no intention of clashing head-on with Yizhe. He intended to wait for the reinforcements buried beneath the snow.

This avalanche ambush had been a great success! Yizhe had buried most of the Red Ant Bandit Group's elite with it. Very few of them were likely to have survived!

Of course, Yizhe had never expected a single avalanche to kill the two ninja leaders. His goal had been to use this surprise attack to reduce the Red Ant Bandit Group's numbers and create a numerical advantage for his own side.

He just had not expected the Red Ant Bandit Group to be more complicated than the rumors suggested. On the surface, they had only two ninjas, yet there was unexpectedly another junior ninja hidden in the shadows.

Even though the numerical advantage between the two sides had been reversed, the caravan's disadvantage had not changed.

What was more, Yizhe had wiped out nearly all of the bandit group's men this time. They would surely be enraged and seek revenge.

In the past, they had worried about their own casualties and had been unwilling to launch a direct assault. But now that so few men remained, they likely had no such reservations left.

At the thought of three ninjas killing without restraint, Yizhe felt waves of cold run through his heart.

If an ordinary junior ninja came after him, Yizhe was ninety percent confident he could take him down. Against two junior ninjas, he had a fifty percent chance of fighting them to a draw. If three junior ninjas came together, he could only flee in panic.

After all, two fists could not defeat four hands!

Therefore, to avoid facing three junior ninjas attacking him at once in the future, Yizhe had only one choice.

Before the two Red Ant leaders beneath the snow could break free, he had to finish the youth before him on the spot!