Volume 1: Re:Zero -Starting Life as a Samurai Chapter 32: The New Chief of Sakakibara Sword Hall
Even the fellow disciples who were kneeling at the edge of the dojo could clearly feel the solemn and murderous atmosphere that permeated the dojo.
Ogata and Mikami stared at each other.
They looked like two tigers viewing each other as prey.
In the end - it was Mikami who broke the standoff between the two.
Mikami kicked off with his back legs and pounced towards Ogata.
As he rushed towards Ogata, he raised his sword high.
Snapped!
The loud sound of the wooden swords hitting each other was enough to make people wonder, "Ah, are both their swords broken?"
However, Ogata and Mikami’s swords were not broken.
After blocking Mikami's attack, Ogata shook his sword to block Mikami's sword, then adjusted the direction of the wooden sword and chopped towards Mikami.
As expected, Ogata's counterattack was blocked by Mikami.
Seeing that his attack missed, Ogata took two steps back and widened the distance between himself and Mikami again.
The attack and defense between the two was completed in just a few seconds.
The speed of the two men left the other brothers who were kneeling at the edge of the dojo dumbfounded.
At the same time, it also made Hanbei's expression even more serious.
As his expression turned serious, Hanbei watched the competition between Ogata and Mikami more attentively.
Ogata moved the five fingers of his right hand, which were numb from blocking Mikami's attack.
At the same time, he said bitterly in his heart:
——As expected… Compared to Mikami, I’m at a considerable disadvantage in terms of strength…
Although Mikami is not as tall as Ogata, he is much stronger than Ogata.
The power difference between the two is visibly huge.
After the first round of attack and defense, Ogata had clearly understood one thing - if he fought with Mikami with swords, he would be at a great disadvantage.
Therefore, we must win by speed and avoid a clash of swords with Mikami like what happened just now.
Today is not the first time Ogata has competed with Mikami.
Ogata himself couldn't count how many times he had competed with Mikami in these days.
But Ogata can guarantee that today's Mikami is stronger than any Mikami Ogata has ever met before.
I don’t know if it’s because Mikami is eager to go to the god’s temple to compete for revenge himself, or if it’s for some other reason, but in any case - Mikami is in a very good state today.
It’s just that - even though Mikami was in very good condition today, Ogata was not afraid.
He has figured out a way to defeat Mikami.
Since traveling to the Edo period, Ogata has spent almost every day fighting with others in swordsmanship.
In addition to allowing Ogata to gain experience points, sword fighting with others also allows Ogata to continuously accumulate combat experience.
The system cannot give him combat experience.
After constantly sparring and competing with others since arriving in the Edo period, Ogata has gradually figured out some excellent tricks for sneaking up on others when fighting.
Ogata slowly moved his feet towards Mikami, closing the distance between himself and Mikami.
Mikami also tensed every nerve in his body, staring at Ogata intently, not missing any movement from Ogata.
At the same time, he was silently calculating the distance between himself and Ogata.
He calculated how far he had to go before he entered Ogata's attack range, and how far Ogata had to go before he entered his attack range.
——Three steps left...
Mikami thought to himself.
——There are... 2 steps left...!
Mikami silently gripped the wooden sword, which was already tightly clenched, even tighter.
——One step left!
After confirming that he was only one step away from entering Ogata's attack range—
laugh!
A strong sound of breaking wind was heard.
The tip of Ogata's wooden sword stabbed straight at Mikami's chest.
Mikami, who was caught off guard by Ogata's attack, widened his eyes.
The move used by Ogata was the same one that almost got Toyama Renjiro into trouble - when approaching the opponent, move both hands holding the sword slightly downwards.
The normal way to hold a sword is to place the base of your right hand lightly against the sword's guard.
Ogata moved his hands holding the sword down a little and grasped the very bottom of the hilt.
This is equivalent to increasing the sword's attack range by nearly the distance of the hilt.
Not long ago, Ogata successfully ambushed a distant mountain by using the trick of "suddenly increasing the attack range".
However, this move also has a flaw, which is that - holding both hands at the bottom of the hilt makes it difficult to control the direction, strength and speed of the sword.
However, Ogata does not need to have such concerns now.
Because——the sword skill he is using now is the bird thorn.
The bird thorn is Ogata's only "advanced" sword technique at present.
If he used other sword techniques, Ogata could not guarantee that his sword would be able to hit the enemy accurately and powerfully.
But it’s different if you use bird thorns.
The bird thorn is currently Ogata's only " advanced " sword technique.
The power, speed and accuracy of "advanced" sword skills are not to be underestimated.
Ogata used the technique of "suddenly increasing the attack range" and successfully launched a surprise attack on Mikami.
The tip of the wooden sword cut through the air and stabbed straight into Mikami's chest.
Even though Ogata held the hilt at the very bottom, his "bird stab" was still full of power.
There was no way Mikami could block Ogata's surprise attack using his "advanced" sword skills.
The tip of the sword hit Mikami's chest accurately.
After stumbling back a few steps, Mikami fell heavily to the ground.
Although he didn't have a fierce fight with Mikami, Ogata couldn't help but feel relieved after seeing Mikami finally fall to the ground.
It was at this moment that a familiar system voice began to sound in Ogata's mind:
[Ding! Use Sakakibara Ittoryu·Bird Thorn to defeat the enemy]
[Gain 50 points of personal experience and 90 points of swordsmanship "Sakakibara Ittoryu" experience]
[Current personal level: Lv9 (430/800)]
[Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 5th Stage (570/900)]
Mikami struggled to get up from the ground.
Looking at Ogata, who had retracted his sword and maintained a normal standing posture, Mikami's eyes contained quite complicated emotions.
After a long while, Mikami seemed to have let go of something and sighed softly.
While putting down the wooden sword in his hand, he said softly:
"Congratulations, Ogata-kun, you won..."
After Mikami said this, the dojo was silent for several seconds.
It was not until a few seconds later that the fellow disciples, led by Makino and closely related to Ogata, burst into cheers .
They celebrated the birth of the new chief of their Sakakibara Sword Hall by cheering.
Ogata, who was busy wiping the sweat off his face, did not notice that when he launched a surprise attack with the bird spike, Hanbei, who was kneeling at the edge of the dojo, suddenly widened his eyes.
Hanbei first looked at Ogata with astonishment.
Then his gaze towards Ogata slowly became complicated.
A thoughtful look appeared on his face.
