Chapter 535: Chapter 357: In Short, It Means Very Impressive_3
Gripping tightly, with a step forward, using the strength of the upper body and arms combined, he suddenly slashed downward fiercely.
At the same time, he summoned all his momentum and shouted:
"Men!!"
The bamboo sword whistled through the air.
The moment the blades collided, the resonant sound of the bamboo slats echoed in everyone’s mind, stirring their emotions.
In the audience, reporter Miyata Kazuhiko’s pen scribbled a few crooked characters as he fixated on Uesugi Sakura’s movements on the field:
"Such an aggressive attack."
He had already ascertained that this young man wasn’t a newcomer to Sword Dao, but a fierce tiger with a soaring spirit.
After watching matches for so many years, how could he not see the power of such a swift attack that forced the police officer back in just two steps?
He even heard a high school student beside him exclaim, "So cool!"
Uesugi Sakura pressed forward relentlessly, each strike carrying full momentum.
The three judges kept a close eye on the moment of attack from both combatants, ready to raise their flags if even one hit landed on the mask.
The blades interlocked and clashed.
"The strength is enormous."
As the Police Chief, Ishibashi Kesuke was clearly no easy opponent either. He gripped the handle tightly, parrying each strike in defense.
And at this moment, he suddenly stepped back, yielding the centerline, and angled his blade defensively against Uesugi Sakura’s slashes.
Simultaneously, his bamboo sword swung back, his hands angled, and in the moment after deflecting Uesugi Sakura’s attack, quickly countered from the side towards Uesugi Sakura’s mask.
This move is called sword counter, also known as Detect.
Yielding the advantageous position, allowing the opponent to attack, and just as he parries, swiftly counter striking the opponent’s mask.
It’s difficult for ordinary people to discern, but it can indeed be accomplished.
Because the opponent is in attack mode, their swing extends their hand and motion.
A counterattack at this moment will be completely effective.
Clearly, after sensing Uesugi Sakura’s fierce attack intent in the first engagement, Ishibashi Kesuke had been brewing this move all along.
Feign weakness, then counterattack.
At present, the situation had indeed unfolded as Ishibashi Kesuke intended, and this strike would surely land.
"Men!"
—Just as Ishibashi Kesuke was about to shout men, leaping backward to maintain Residual Heart.
The center guard of Uesugi Sakura’s bamboo sword landed on his hand.
"?"
Doubt flashed in Ishibashi Kesuke’s eyes.
"Hand."
Uesugi Sakura immediately raised his sword and retreated, maintaining Residual Heart.
In Ishibashi Kesuke’s line of vision, he saw only Uesugi Sakura’s quick hand strike and retreat.
Two of the three judges saw the strike to the hand happen within a second, and raised small red flags for Uesugi Sakura, indicating the score was valid.
Ishibashi Kesuke stood still for a moment, then quickly understood what had happened, nodded towards Uesugi Sakura according to the Sword Dao etiquette, and saluted.
A Kyudo champion participating in a national Sword Dao tournament could be this formidable?
In the audience, reporter Miyata Kazuhiko satisfiedly put down his pen: "I have material to write about when I return today."
His companion, Jiang Tengshichi, curiously asked, "It was just a few seconds of exchange, right? I couldn’t quite catch it, could you explain?"
Miyata Kazuhiko looked at him and said, "The front part was just a bit of maneuvering, I won’t say much about it. What’s important is the final strike. From Ishibashi’s perspective, Uesugi’s starting posture, his sword swing was definitely aimed to the right, but strangely, it veered left and struck with a backhand. Just when Ishibashi wanted to counter-attack with Detect, Uesugi’s unusual positioning threw him off, allowing Uesugi to counter his counterattack, and with a swift exchange, Uesugi struck Ishibashi’s hand."
"Impressive."
Although Jiang Tengshichi felt a bit confused, the gist was that Uesugi countered the opponent’s counterattack? It seemed so, but it wasn’t that simple.
In any case, it was extraordinarily impressive.