The Blade-Wielding Legend

All were dressed in deep blue attire, faces covered with black cloths, shurikens, and shuriken in their hands gleaming with cold light.

The leader was small in stature like a monkey, moving silently, clearly adept at stealth assassinations.

Li Yan advanced instead of retreating, and the blade flashed suddenly.

The ninja’s movements were fast, but they hadn’t reacted before their throats were slashed by the blade.

Blood blossomed, and heads were sent flying.

The other two ninjas, witnessing this, simultaneously threw smoke bombs.

With a bang, white smoke billowed.

Li Yan held his breath and withdrew his body, sweeping horizontally with his scabbard, the force clearing the smoke.

But he saw the two ninjas not pursuing, instead retreating rapidly towards the direction of that Black Iron Coffin in the camp depths.

Trying to awaken what’s inside the coffin?!

Li Yan’s mind raced, just about to pursue when Sha Lifei’s whistle sounded from behind.

Near the camp walls, Sha Lifei and others killed while making continuous hand gestures:

A large force approaching from the northeast, at least several hundred men!

Japanese reinforcements have arrived.

There were two forces of Japanese troops on the island.

One in the camp, one at the seaside port, all were elite battlefield troops.

Li Yan made an immediate decision not to linger in battle.

He flickered, using his Armored Horse Skill, a few rises and falls had already taken him out of the camp, leading Sha Lifei and others into the mountain forest.

Shortly after he left, the northeast side of the camp burst open with a loud noise.

A team of horsemen first charged in, the warriors on horseback all dressed in Red Armor, with Five and Seven Plum Blossoms flags attached to their backs.

The leading general with an Evil Ghost Mask, brandishing his blade and shouting:

"The Toyotomi family’s flag bearer is here!"

Following closely were the Light Infantry Long Spear Team, the long spears like a forest pushing forward.

There were also several elders dressed as Shen Guan, holding Shenle Bells and Imperial Coins.

They muttered incantations, the raging winds howled, humming vibrations temporarily repelling the ghost soldiers’ ferocity.

But the chaos did not cease.

Ghost soldiers and Toyotomi army tangled together.

In the camp’s depths, the lid of the Black Iron Coffin had been unknowingly pried open a crack.

Dense black smoke like ink seeped from the crevice, faintly echoing with heartbeat-like muffled sounds...

...

In the forest, Li Yan joined with others.

Wang Daoxuan, Kong Shangzhao, and others had also arrived.

Everyone hid within rock crevices, overlooking the chaos below in the camp.

"That should be the Toyotomi family’s flag bearer elite."

Kong Shangzhao whispered, "I’ve memorized the data, judging by the armor style, it’s likely under Maeda Toshie’s command, stationed in Jiuzhou."

Sha Lifei spat: "Let them fight amongst themselves. Let these pirates clean up their own mess."

Li Yan and others hid in the mountain forest rock crevices, watching with bated breath.

Unexpectedly, the chaos in the camp below didn’t last long.

After the Red Armor flag bearer cavalry charged in, they didn’t rush to extinguish the ghost soldiers but quickly divided into several groups.

Each group consisted of about twenty riders, interweaving through the camp like iron combs.

In the horsemen’s hands was not the usual long spear but a glaive with an extended handle, its broad and thick blade glimmering with dull oily light in the fire.

Furthermore, all cavalry horses’ hooves were wrapped in thick cloth, and their eyes were covered with black veils.

Thus, those warhorses showed no reaction to the surrounding ghost wails and blood, charging silently forward as if forged from iron.

The cavalry wielded glaives, their blade techniques concise and vicious, specializing in slicing the ghost soldiers’ joints.

A ghost soldier roared and pounced, the mounted warrior did not dodge, slashed diagonally with the glaive, slicing off its half shoulder along with a section of bone spike.

Black blood splattered, staining the warrior’s face mask with filth, yet his movements didn’t slow in the slightest.

More bizarre were the following foot soldiers.

They didn’t wear the usual Dongwan Armor, but donned dark brown tight-fitting suits, covered with Short Armor made of bamboo slices.

Their movements were almost silent, grouped in tens, wielding iron chain nets with hooks.

Seeing ghost soldiers scattered by cavalry, they quickly threw nets to cover.

With a creaking sound, the iron chains tightened, hooks embedded in flesh and skin.

The bound ghost soldiers struggled frantically, yet those foot soldiers showed no expression, jointly dragging them toward the edge of the camp where a deep pit had long been dug.

Several Shen Guan stood at the pit’s edge, holding Imperial Coins and chanting.

The ghost soldiers were pushed into the pit, and Shen Guan scattered talisman ashes, green smoke surged from within, the ghost soldiers’ wails gradually weakened.

From the time Li Yan and others started watching, to when the situation in the camp was controlled, it was merely a stick of incense time.

"Scoundrels though,"

Sha Lifei frowned, "These Japanese soldiers... seem specially trained to deal with these ghost creatures."

Beside him, Kong Shangzhao also pondered, "The court has long evaluated Japanese military strength. Though Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified the islands, the military system remains old Warring States habits, led mainly by private soldiers of various Great Daimyos, the battle power is uneven."

"Barbarian small country, firearms lag behind, the Navy is even more weak – these are the original words from Ministry of War records."

He paused, lowered his voice, "But these soldiers ahead, obey commands strictly, cooperate skillfully, fearless... not like ordinary soldiers."

As if verifying his words, sudden changes occurred again in the camp.

Three ghost soldiers broke through the iron chain net enclosure, lunging at a group of foot soldiers preparing.

The leading foot soldier squad leader persisted in stepping forward instead of retreating, growling, grabbing one ghost soldier’s biting head, exerted force, and slammed it to the ground with a shoulder throw.

The movement was crisp and clean, revealing the shadow of military wrestling techniques, but the power was extraordinary, cracking the ghost soldier’s neck bones with a brittle sound.

The other two ghost soldiers attacked from the sides.

The squad leader dodged one claw, reversed hands drawing a Wakizashi from his waist, and abruptly stabbed it into the ghost soldier’s eye socket.

A twist of the wrist. The ghost soldier weakened and fell.

Almost simultaneously, he sidestepped and kicked the third ghost soldier’s knee bend, as it stumbled, the short knife already stabbed upward into its brain from the jaw.

The entire process occurred within a breath.

Li Yan’s gaze sharpened.

The squad leader’s movements seemed like battle instincts honed in combat, yet carried subtle oddities.

The muscle expansion exceeded normal human limits, especially the last kick to the knee—his strength so immense it twisted the ghost soldier’s leg bone in reverse.

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