Chapter 310: Masashi Sakuraba vs. Shun Muto
The sound of wooden clogs stepping on the ground echoed in the vast square. As the last bit of smoke and dust dispersed, the man in blue finally revealed his face.
He had a weathered and experienced face, a worn pair of blue overcoats patched up in several places, and a weapon at his waist whose powerful saber energy could be felt even within its scabbard. Masashi Sakuraba, who had just finished his business trip and was on a paid vacation in Kyoto for the past two days, was likely the only swordsman the Association would send.
“Hey, Rain kid, are you okay?”
The saber energy on his body had not yet dissipated, and Shun Muto exuded a sharp aura that made him unapproachable, like a newly sharpened blade that could cut someone if they weren’t careful.
After receiving no response from Masashi Sakuraba, Shun Muto walked directly to Yuzawa, who had fallen to the ground from the blood snake’s void. He channeled a pure stream of energy into his body and patted his cheek.
“Uncle Shun…”
The familiar energy signature allowed Yuzawa to open his eyes with difficulty. What greeted him was Shun Muto’s resolute face, covered in stubble.
“Slap—”
He unceremoniously slapped Yuzawa on the head, stunning him as he had just woken up.
“You know to call me Uncle! You never practice when I tell you to, and now you can’t even beat this guy! You’re a disgrace to your master!”
Yuzawa, already extremely weak from most of his life force being absorbed, was easily knocked back to the ground by Shun Muto’s slap. What hurt more, however, was Shun Muto’s scolding. What did he mean he didn’t practice swordplay properly? He had been practicing diligently every day! Not everyone had his talent, relying solely on swordsmanship to be ranked in the top ten of the Association.
But Yuzawa quickly regained his senses. He forced himself to sit up, pointed to the blood-colored light membrane that was gradually collapsing in the distance, and said.
“Uncle Shun… the magic array…”
“Yes, I know.”
Shun Muto nodded as he looked at the magic array in the direction Yuzawa was pointing. Although its outer shell had been broken, the array was still operating internally.
He knew what Yuzawa was worried about. Putting aside the sealed rift with a small opening in mid-air, if this life-force-draining magic array continued to operate, all civilians affected by it would be in mortal danger.
He gestured for Yuzawa to recover in the back, then straightened up, placed his right hand on the long sword at his waist, and swung it. A newly condensed white blade of light shot forward, targeting the dozens of snake pillars that were no longer protected by the blood-colored light membrane.
“Clang—”
Just then, a giant metal-colored snake with a shield-like abdomen emerged from the ground, squarely blocking Shun Muto’s slash.
“Are the sneaky ones finally coming out?”
He gripped the hilt of his sword, drew it, and held it horizontally in front of him. The solemn and serious expression on his face indicated that the opponent before him was not as simple as Shun Muto had implied.
“Sorry, you can’t easily destroy this, at least not right now.”
Standing on the head of the giant metal snake, Masashi Sakuraba crossed his arms, squinted his eyes, and looked at his old rival with a smile. Although the protective membrane of the magic array had been shattered, the internal system was still running. Masashi Sakuraba would not allow anyone to destroy the current Blood Sacrifice Array until Kazumi’s energy collection was complete.
“But I’m curious what made you appear again. Didn’t you get hurt last time?”
Facing Masashi Sakuraba’s stance, Shun Muto calmed down and looked at Masashi Sakuraba overhead, mocking him without mercy.
“Yes, that’s why they all died, and only you are left.”
Masashi Sakuraba’s eyes instantly turned cold, his heterochromatic snake eyes staring intently at Shun Muto. The other party’s words had clearly awakened some unpleasant memories. Although the main force that attacked him last time was the remaining psychic groups in Kyoto, the guy in front of him had also played a very annoying role. And those who had plotted against him had paid the price they deserved. The remaining enemies were only this hateful swordsman in front of him.
“But I think you’re the one who will die!”
Finally, the long sword in his hand accumulated enough power. The charged Iai strike directly cut the clearly metallized giant snake into two pieces. The next moment, Shun Muto appeared before Masashi Sakuraba and directly tore him into countless pieces of flesh.
However, the flesh scattered in the air instantly transformed into countless purple venomous snakes that wrapped around Shun Muto’s body. Simultaneously, a massive energy serpent rose into the air and unreservedly blasted towards Shun Muto, who was trapped by the snake swarm.
“Boom!”
The chaotic evil energy smashed a deep pit into the ground, and rolling thick smoke accompanied by splashing venom rose. Then, a gust of wind blew away the fog. As the smoke cleared, Shun Muto stood before Masashi Sakuraba, completely unharmed. Countless saber energies radiated from his body, shredding all the incoming poison fangs.
“Put away these petty tricks.”
While speaking these words with a lighthearted tone, Shun Muto was actually a bit anxious. His compatibility with Masashi Sakuraba was too low. The other party’s soft-body modifications and endless splitting techniques were indeed not very friendly to someone like him who used slashes. This was why when he encountered Masashi Sakuraba at school before, Shun Muto said he couldn’t keep him. Last time, it was with the help of many powerful psychics that he had almost heavily injured Masashi Sakuraba, but even in that situation, the opponent had managed to escape using a small amount of scattered debris. It could be said that his survival and escape abilities were top-notch.
In contrast, Sticky Hetuan, with its large-scale attack restriction capabilities and near-immunity to toxins, was the other party’s true nemesis. However, as the headmaster of the school, Hetuan did not have many opportunities to specifically hunt down this elusive enemy who was almost impossible to track.
But the only fortunate thing was that what he needed to do was not to hunt or kill the other party, but simply to destroy the continuously operating magic array. This only required an opening for him.
On the other hand, Masashi Sakuraba seemed to have understood Shun Muto’s meaning. A sinister smile appeared on his evil face.
“Of course, I have a gift prepared for you.”
His right hand, already covered in purple scales, slammed onto the ground. A sinister energy fluctuation radiated outwards from beneath Masashi Sakuraba’s feet. The ground from Shun Muto’s position to the magic array cracked open, revealing a massive purple poisonous pool beneath that covered almost the entire square and carried a strong poisonous gas.
