Muzan, who had gotten carried away and wanted to finish Xia Xi off here once and for all,
suddenly noticed that, compared with when they first clashed, this irritating swordsman
was showing a clear decline in condition and presence.
Although his speed and strength were still the greatest Muzan had ever seen in a swordsman other than Yoriichi,
the pace of his attacks had clearly slowed.
Much of the time, this Matsushita Shousha would no longer meet his attacks head-on.
Instead, he chose more ungainly but less physically demanding ways to evade and dodge.
Was he taking the opportunity to recover his stamina?
And as for that tough physique that could withstand my Blood Demon Art and attacks...
It doesn't seem quite as outrageous as it was at the start, either.
At least over these last ten-odd minutes, my attacks have been breaking through his defenses and leaving quite a few wounds on him.
Muzan betrayed nothing on his face.
Inside, however, he began to rejoice.
When all's said and done, this fellow is only human.
He gets hurt, and he gets tired.
No, I have to keep him occupied.
It's only just past midnight, anyway...
Dawn is still a long way off.
I just need to wait until his stamina has dropped far enough, then crush him in one fell swoop.
Otherwise, if this Matsushita Shousha sees things turning against him and runs,
then gets a few more years to grow...
He'll probably be even harder to deal with.
He's already this formidable at eighteen or nineteen. If he really grows to twenty-six... he might well become another little Yoriichi of this era.
At that thought,
Muzan actually took advantage of the next hit from the Hawaii squad, when the poison flared up,
to deliberately slow his attacks, putting