Chapter 569 - 185: Eternal Talent... Shining Bright! [10,000-Word Burst]

Chapter 569: Chapter 185: Eternal Talent... Shining Bright! [10,000-Word Burst]

"Cough... Cough...! Cough cough cough!"

Shinno opened his mouth and vomited a large amount of fresh blood again.

The searing pain from his chest almost made Shinno faint. His consciousness and thoughts were shattered by the intense pain.

His previous backward leap saved his life.

Just as Aoto’s blade was about to strike, Shinno reflexively stopped his body from lunging forward and quickly jumped back.

Although Aoto’s sword still managed to cut him... the distance gained meant that Aoto’s slash wasn’t solid, with only the tip of the blade grazing his body.

Because of this, he was not killed on the spot and still had a breath of life left.

However... even though he wasn’t killed instantly, Shinno was still hanging by a thread.

Aoto’s "descending from the heavens" strike had slashed from his left shoulder all the way down to his right abdomen.

The massive wound almost split his entire upper body, and the sheer loss of blood could be described as horrifying.

The blood loss made Shinno’s face and lips terrifyingly pale.

He didn’t know how many of his ribs were severed or injured... His left lung seemed wounded too, with every breath threatening to make him scream in pain.

Of course—blood loss, broken ribs, lung injury... none of these were what made Shinno feel the most despair.

The thing that plunged Shinno into despair was the sudden dimming of light around him.

He looked up—Aoto and Mukiwa were walking towards him across the wooden bridge, at a leisurely pace, one behind the other.

Aoto’s face showed no emotion whatsoever, as he quietly walked towards him, sword in hand. The sword dragged along the ground, making a grating "squeak, squeak" as it scraped against the bridge.

His tall silhouette, elongated by the moonlight, weighed on him like a mountain.

"W-wait!"

Even though his lungs ached terribly and the massive blood loss left him weak, somehow, upon seeing Aoto walking towards him with his sword, an invisible force welled up in his throat, issuing a bright, albeit stammered... plea for mercy.

"You win... I surrender."

"Please... please spare my life!"

"I swear, our Anti-foreigner Group will never attack you again!"

"From now on, our Anti-foreigner Group will no longer trouble you in any way!"

Shinno’s words were fragmented... uttered in a jumble, with no order or logic.

He spoke incoherently, desperately saying any pleading words he could think of,

He was trapped in a quagmire called "fear"... and as Aoto drew closer, he sank deeper into this mire.

With "fear" came an intense "will to live".

The fierce and heroic demeanor he showed just moments ago in a life-and-death duel with Aoto was gone.

What remained before him... was just a pitiable wretch driven by "fear" and the "will to live", begging continuously for mercy.

While pleading, Shinno also crawled away from Aoto, using both hands and feet.

It was incredible that he still had the strength to move with such serious injuries.

But crawling on the ground like a worm, he clearly couldn’t escape Aoto, who could still walk normally.

As for Shinno’s pleas for mercy, Aoto’s attitude was—complete disregard.

He and the Anti-foreigner Group were already mortal enemies, their relationship long doomed to a life-and-death struggle, and there was no way he would spare Shinno because of a few words.

Furthermore, Aoto didn’t believe Shinno’s claims of "we won’t attack you anymore" at all.

Anyone who believed such life-endangering lunatics... must be mentally unsound.

Aoto, unmoved by Shinno’s pleas, remained silent.

All the words that needed to be said... were already spoken during the fierce duel just now.

Aoto stepped off the small bridge, stood on the riverbank, walked beside Shinno, then raised his sword high over his head without a moment’s hesitation, preparing to deliver the final blow to Shinno.

The long shadow of the sword fell on Shinno’s fear-stricken face.

Just as Aoto was about to swing down his sword... a sudden twist occurred!

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

From a distant alley behind Shinno, in a patch of darkness unlit by moonlight, a black shape suddenly stirred motionly!

The quickly moving shadow burst out from the darkness more blackened than ink in the alley, shooting towards Aoto like an arrow off a bowstring! The rapid footsteps reverberated in the space, which had barely recovered its calm, once again filling the air with a tense, hostile atmosphere!

The shadow’s speed was incredible, crossing more than half the street in an instant, arriving before Aoto.

Swish—a silver snake darted from the shadow’s left waist, slicing through the air towards Aoto’s neck!

The abrupt twist made Aoto’s pupils constrict sharply.

The sword he held aloft immediately pulled back instinctively, and a great force traveled through the blade into his entire body.

Clang!

The clash of blades produced a shrill, eardrum-piercing noise as sparks flew... a small nick appeared on the Ghost-Slaying blade.

"Ho... you actually managed to block that strike of mine..."

Before him, a young male voice, tinged with mockery, rang out.

The expression on Aoto’s face instantly turned serious as he raised his gaze, looking past the clashing blades at the face close at hand.