a few minutes ago--
Third floor, conference room——
"So many days have passed, is this your result?! Huh?!"
While shouting, Tadashi Okubo slapped the tatami beside his thigh hard.
At this moment, the current commanders of the Fire Thief Kai: Okubo Tadashi and Kurosawa Atsushi, are discussing the latest developments of the "Akaban Family Extermination Case" with all the division captains headed by my grandson in the meeting room.
At the moment when Aoto "disappears" and Kanazawa dies, the third and second divisions are temporarily commanded by Mizushima and my grandson.
In recent days, Okubo Tadashi and Kurosawa Atsushi have been under great pressure.
The upper management paid close attention to the tragedy of the Akabane family, and sent people down almost every day to urge "the case to be solved as soon as possible" and "the real culprit to be apprehended as soon as possible."
The strong anxiety has made Okubo and Kurosawa's faces extremely ugly recently, with an unhealthy paleness in their cheeks.
In this era of underdeveloped science and technology and limited criminal investigation methods, whether the case can be solved is a matter of luck.
It's not like shouting a slogan or two to catch the real culprit behind the scenes.
But...it's obvious that bureaucrats, no matter what era they are from, have the same virtue: they only care about giving orders and pointing out, completely regardless of the hard work and fatigue of the people under them, or whether the instructions they give are realistic and reasonable.
It should be said that the recent performance of all members of the Huofu Thief Kai team is remarkable. They have been diligent and hardworking enough.
Not only did the entire army go into battle, but in order to facilitate the command and coordination of the various teams, all the squad leaders had moved directly into the government office since the day before yesterday, as if they were in a semi-"wartime state."
However, as mentioned above, in this era when investigating cases can only rely on primitive reasoning and investigation, luck is directly linked to the detection rate.
Although the members of the Huofu Thief Kai team have tried their best, the results... are really lackluster.
The "pressure" coming from the top, and the "powerlessness" coming from the bottom...these two cruel realities merged with each other, and finally mixed into the current scene where Okubo and Kurosawa lost their temper against my grandson and others.
Even people on the second floor could vaguely hear the roars of Okubo and Kurosawa.
No matter it was my grandson who was always out of his mind, the calm and steady Mizushima, the arrogant and domineering Kimura, or the high-minded Kasaka, they all remained silent at this time and silently endured the scoldings of the two superiors.
Everyone is no longer a newcomer to officialdom.
Everyone here is a "battle-hardened" veteran.
Therefore, they are very clear: In the current situation, it is useless to talk back or reason. It will only further intensify the contradiction. The best policy is to be the punching bag of the superiors.
Just when my grandson secretly yawned and wondered how long this boring meeting would last...
boom!
The muffled sound of the door being violently pushed open, and the louder "enemy attack" sound, clearly reached the third floor.
Suddenly, the entire meeting fell silent...
Okubo and Kurosawa, who had been venting their emotions until just now, were stunned for a moment.
The same people who were stunned were Kimura, Huosaka, Tsuchida, and Kazama.
At this unexpected moment, only two people responded quickly.
Click.
Click.
Two crisp sounds of catching a knife sounded in no particular order.
As if they had rehearsed in advance, my grandson and Mizushima simultaneously picked up the sabers resting on their right legs and stood up to go out.
As soon as the door of the room was opened, they saw a soldier rushing towards them.
"My grandson! Mizushima-sama! It's not good! There are, there are intruders!"
"How many people came?"
Mizushima's face was expressionless and his tone was cold.
"4, 4!"
"4?"
After hearing this astonishing number, even the steady Mizushima couldn't help but change his expression.
He temporarily confirmed with his eyes the team members in front of him. This action of course means "Is this correct?"
At this time, the sound coming from downstairs became more and more noisy and noisy.
My grandson came to the stairs and looked down the stairwell.
"Hoho~~" My grandson raised his eyebrows vigorously and grinned, "This group of intruders are quite capable. They have already rushed up the stairs."
Snap, snap, snap, snap...
Behind my grandson, anxious footsteps sounded from far to near.
It's Okubo, Kurosawa, and the other captains except Mizushima.
"What the hell! What do the guards do for a living! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Okubo was like a broken tape recorder, repeating ugly curse words.
"What? They've already attacked the stairs?! This, this, this, what should we do?"
Kurosawa was like an ant on a hot pot, spinning in circles.
Before the enemy could reach the front of the formation, the two coaches of their own team got confused... which is normal. In a society where officials are selected and promoted not based on ability but only family status, there are many things even more outrageous than this.
Fortunately, Okubo and Kurosawa are just stupid, not stupid.
If they encounter a problem that they are unable to solve, they should seek help from a truly capable person - they still understand this.
Then, a bunch of hopeful eyes fell on my grandson.
Kurosawa: "My grandson! The invaders are about to attack! How should we defend ourselves against the enemy?"
Facing Kurosawa's sincere question, my grandson did not answer immediately, but smiled as if it was nothing to do with him.
"Should the timing of the invasion of this group of thieves...should be praised as 'well chosen'? Or should it be derogated as 'poorly chosen'?"
Huofu Thief Kai is currently mobilizing the entire army to supervise the "Akabane Family Massacre Case".
Therefore, the government office, which has a status comparable to the "General Headquarters", will be unprecedentedly lively now and for a period of time to come!
Every day, a large number of soldiers from various teams come in and out of this magnificent mansion.
According to my grandson's estimation, the number of soldiers stationed in the government office tonight is nearly half of the entire army!
In other words, if you choose to attack this place tonight, you will have to start a war with the half-armed bandit!
From this perspective, this group of unknown intruders is indeed unfortunate. But from another perspective...they are lucky.
Because they don't have to face the most elite troops of the thieves!
The first team, the second team, the third team and the fourth team are the four teams with the best overall quality in Huofu Thief Kai.
For various reasons, most of the members of these four teams are far away at this time.
To put it simply, although there are many soldiers currently available for my grandson and others to dispatch to fight the invaders, they are not enough elites.
"My grandson!" Kurosawa said urgently, "Now is not the time to make such witty remarks!"
"Kurosawa-sama, please be patient." My grandson smiled, "Don't be so nervous. As long as we can make good use of our equipment and numerical advantages, it will not be difficult to repel or even kill the invaders."
After finishing speaking, my grandson turned his head and looked directly at Okubo and Kurosawa behind him.
"Lord Okubo, Lord Kurosawa, please mobilize the iron cannons and bows and arrows immediately. As long as we have the iron cannons and bows, everything will be fine~~ Mizushima-kun and I will try our best to delay the enemy, so you must seize the time."
"Buying...time?" Suma Kimura frowned and interjected, "How are you going to buy time?"
"Ha~~ Do you still need to ask?" My grandson shrugged and looked at Kimura with a joking expression. "The invaders are obviously not ordinary people. Ordinary soldiers are not their opponents at all, so... just It’s up to us division captains to take action in person! Mizushima-kun! Let’s go!”
Before he could say anything else, my grandson jumped up, climbed over the guardrail of the stairs, and landed squarely on the stairwell connecting the second and third floors with his feet, blocking the path of Qingdeng who was advancing so fast.
"You can actually attack this place... Thief, you are quite capable. Next, let me, my grandson Chutaro, be your opponent!"
…
…
My grandson drew the sword from his waist with great style.
"My grandson, please stay back! You are obviously not a person who specializes in fighting, so don't rush forward so far!"
Another male voice that was very familiar to Qingdeng came from above.
Immediately afterwards, a tall, strong man fell from the sky and landed firmly next to my grandson.
——My grandson-kun...Mizushima-kun...
Looking at my grandson and Mizushima standing in front of me like door gods, one on the left and one on the right, Qingteng suddenly felt a mixture of emotions.
Although he had made appropriate psychological preparations in advance, when he actually faced the situation of "swords with friends", Qingdeng's mood became uncontrollably complicated.
"Thieves, surrender."
Mizushima said as he drew his sword and took a stance.
"Otherwise - the sword has no eyes!"
Blah blah blah...!
At this time, Qingdeng heard a torrent of footsteps behind him.
"gentlemen."
The heavy breath of gauze blew in Qingdeng's ears. To prevent her identity from being revealed, she deliberately addressed herself only as "Sir" and did not mention her real name.
"There are a large number of enemies coming from the rear. If we don't break forward as soon as possible, we may be in danger of being flanked."
"……Yes, I know."
After saying that, Qingden quickly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
——Think about it carefully... I have never fought against my grandson-kun and Mizushima-kun before...
At this thought, Qingdeng slowly opened his eyes - a strong fighting spirit jumped out from under his eyelids!
"Hahaha... Sure enough, it's impossible to persuade people to surrender so easily..."
My grandson chuckled a few times when he saw this.
"...Thief, I don't quite understand why you don't take a real sword, but here's the ugly word: I will never hold back!"
An icy cold light burst out from Mizushima's eyes.
"Without further ado."
Ignoring my grandson's self-deprecation and Mizushima's warning, Ayoto quietly raised the bamboo sword in his hand, set up the Kasumi-dan formation, and then shouted in a disguised voice:
"bring it on!"
The moment he finished speaking, his body and sword transformed into a flashing afterimage!
But in a blink of an eye, Qingden closed the distance between himself, my grandson, and Mizushima.
The wind is blowing loudly and clothes are fluttering!
Shooting people first, shooting horses first, capturing thieves first, capturing kings, Qingden decided to kill Mizushima, who was the strongest and the greatest threat to him first.
Soon after that, Qingdeng's right arm suddenly popped open like a broken bowstring.
The bamboo sword made a slight "swish" sound and swept towards where Mizushima was standing.
A subtle strike.
If Mizushima hadn't dodged in time, he would definitely have been cut down to the ground.
Qingto's toes scraped the ground, intending to launch further pursuit of Mizushima.
But at this moment, my grandson next to me suddenly took action!
I saw my grandson suddenly spread his elbows, tilted his upper body, and rushed towards Qingdeng like a gust of wind. A silver snake flew out from his armpit and went straight to Qingdeng's lower body.
Looking at my grandson's knife, Qingden shook his eyebrows.
He could tell at just one glance: My grandson's swordsmanship level is quite average.
Such skills... can probably only be used against ordinary people who don't understand martial arts.
It seems that the rumors are true. My grandson is a pure man of letters who is "stronger than his mind and shorter than his body."
However, although my grandson's personal martial arts is average, his sense of smell is very sensitive.
He accurately grasped the gap that Qingdeng had exhausted his old strength and launched an offensive in time.
However, no matter how sensitive the sense of smell is, it is useless if there is no body and skills that can maximize this advantage.
Qingdeng only took half a step back to avoid my grandson's knife.
——Compared to the "Dragon of Fire", the person who needs the most attention is indeed the "Tiger of Fire"!
While Qingto was thinking this secretly, he refocused his eyes and attention on Mizushima who had just been forced back by him - buzz - at this moment, Qingto's vision was filled with silvery cold light!
It's Mizushima's sword!
Mizushima jumped up and slashed at Qingden's Tianling Gai with the force of a mountain crushing the sword in his hand.
Qingdeng subconsciously wanted to raise his sword to defend, but he quickly remembered that the weapon he was using at this time was not a real weapon, but a bamboo sword.
Using a bamboo sword to block a real sword... will only lead to a tragedy of sword destruction and death.
Therefore, Qingdeng could only change his tactics.
At this time, the advantages of long-standing battles and extremely rich combat experience emerged.
In just a blink of an eye, Qingden came up with a strategy that could replace "defense" without the need to dodge!
In an instant, consciousness guides the body. Follow your heart!
Snapped!
Bang!
The sound of footsteps that seemed to crack the floor, and the long cry of the bamboo sword hitting the flesh, sounded almost simultaneously.
Facing Mizushima's sword, Qingto neither dodge nor dodge, but stepped forward with indomitable momentum and took the initiative to face Mizushima!
The sharp blade that could easily break bones grazed Qingden's scalp.
If Qingto's steps were slower, or if Mizushima's knife speed was faster, then there would definitely be a small piece of neatly cut skull on the floor.
Such a radical and bold fighting method shocked Mizushima, who had killed countless villains and fought against all kinds of ruthless people.
And something even more surprising to Mizushima was yet to come.
Just at the moment when Mizushima swung his sword to attack, a "gap" appeared in his flawless posture.
The flaw here is only fleeting.
But as if he had predicted and calculated it in advance, Qingto just rushed forward before the "gap" closed, squeezed through it, and met Mizushima's sleeve!
Just as Ryukou was about to miss Mizushima, Aoto's bamboo sword struck Mizushima's chest horizontally.
Mizushima had no idea that Aoto would use such an unexpected attack... Even if he had expected it, it was useless, because his body simply couldn't keep up with Aoto's sword speed!
After passing by Mizushima, Qingden paused and turned around with his sword in hand. What came into view was a staggering and sturdy figure.
Mizushima's steps were staggering, as if he might fall to the ground at any moment.
Qingden loosened the five fingers of his right hand.
His hand still had the feeling of the bamboo sword hitting the opponent's body firmly.
If what Aomori was holding just now was a real sword, Mizushima would be dead now.
"Mizushima-kun, are you okay?"
my grandson asked quickly.
"Well... not bad... I can still fight..."
Mizushima clutched his chest, turned around with a livid face, and faced Aomori again.
If it had been more than 4 months ago, that is, when Aoto first joined the Fire Fighting Thieves Kai, Mizushima might have been able to fight Aoto back and forth, and even bring a lot of benefits to Aoto. Threats and trouble.
But now...
At a time when Aoto has acquired new powerful talents such as "Godly Speed +4" and "Elephant's Core +1", and old talents such as "Tiger Arm" have also been integrated and evolved, Mizushima is no longer Aoto's at all. rival.
Although Mizushima relied on perseverance to hold back the pain in his chest and the dizziness that was lingering in his brain, the power of "spirit" was ultimately limited.
The blow Qingdeng had just given him on the chest was a blow that was enough to make most people faint on the spot.
After enduring such an injury, how could there be any reason why the body would not be affected?
Mizushima also knew that his current physical condition was not ideal, so he took a deep breath and roared towards Qingto.
He planned to use up the last remaining strength in his body to fight Qingdeng to the death!
My grandson saw through Mizushima's intention, but he did not stop him. He just gave a wry smile and followed closely behind him.
When Mizushima was in good condition, he was still no match for Aoto, let alone when his body was injured?
Qingdeng silently set up his bamboo sword and breathed evenly.
"Haaahhhh!"
Mizushima shouted with great force, and just as he lowered his waist sharply in the "offensive stance", Aomori's bamboo sword made a loud noise.
Bang!
Mizushima's left thigh was hit hard and he collapsed to the floor.
【Ding! Scan to talent]
[Successfully copied talent: "Eagle Eye"]
[Talent introduction: Dynamic vision is far stronger than ordinary people]
【Ding! It is detected that the host already has the same type of talent]
【Ding! Start talent fusion]
【Ding! "Eagle Eye" and "Eagle Eye +1" begin to merge]
[Please wait a moment, host...Please wait a moment, host...]
【Ding! Talent fusion successful]
["Eagle Eye +1" ability upgrade - "Eagle Eye +2"! 】
["Eagle Eye +2" talent introduction: The talent effect has been enhanced on the original basis. "+9" is the highest level]
…
Qingdeng felt warm currents emerging from the depths of his eye sockets like springs.
When the warmth subsided, Qingdeng immediately discovered that everything in his field of vision had become much more agile and detailed.
"Well……"
Mizushima struggled to get up from the floor.
But the pain and swelling coming from his left thigh made his small goal become an unattainable luxury.
The only remaining opponent... is my grandson.
I have to say that the heroic spirit displayed by my grandson at this time is worthy of his status as "the captain of the fire-fighting bandit reform team".
Even though Mizushima had fallen, he didn't flinch!
"Haaah!"
The standard sound of Qihe, accompanied by the sound of stepping footsteps and the sound of the blade cutting through the air, crashed into Qingdeng!
In the darkness dyed by the night, the light and shadow of the sword disturbed the thin moonlight.
Qingdeng and my grandson took action at the same time.
But the sword speeds of the two are obviously different.
There were obviously two swords swinging in the air, but there was only one sound of hitting the target.
While Qingdeng was still standing, my grandson seemed to have been knocked away and fell on the stairs leading to the third floor.
【Ding! Scan to talent]
My grandson became the "famous detective" of "The Dragon of Fire" by relying on his ability to solve crimes, so Qingdeng had long expected that he must have a special talent.
——It should be a talent related to the mind.
The next breath, Qingdeng showed an expression of joy and surprise.
"Happy" because I guessed correctly. The talent copied from my grandson is indeed related to "mind".
As for "surprise", it's because...
[Successfully copied talent: "God Brain +9"]
[Talent Introduction: The brain is not easily fatigued]
【Ding! This talent has reached the highest level and cannot be upgraded! 】
*******
*******
Qingdeng finally got his first "+9" talent~~Congratulations~Congratulations~
Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)
I didn't see any seals yesterday, but I went for a massage.
This is my first time going to a massage parlor, and it's quite comfortable.
I’m going to try foot pinching next time (Leopard Movement.jpg)
(End of chapter)
