I Formed the Strongest Swordsman Group-Chapter 14: Stunning the Crowd (2)

Kondō did not stop the match, so Suzuki had no choice but to continue attacking.
“Haah—!”
A sharp slash accompanied by a loud kiai erupted simultaneously.
The bamboo sword sliced along an arc, aiming straight for Aoto’s forehead, who was wearing protective gear.
Suzuki didn’t have much hope for this strike. After the series of exchanges with Aoto earlier, he already knew that his opponent had surprisingly good footwork, and hitting him would not be an easy task.
As expected, Suzuki’s attack was dodged again by Aoto.
However—although Suzuki anticipated that this strike would be ineffective, a flicker of surprise still appeared on his face.
It wasn’t because Aoto dodged his attack.
Rather, it was because Aoto’s evasion speed seemed to be faster than before.
—Why is this guy’s dodging speed suddenly a bit quicker?
Suzuki quickly racked his brain, trying to come up with an explanation, but no matter how he thought, he couldn’t find a convincing reason.
Meanwhile, Kondō and Okita, watching from the sidelines, knew exactly why—Aoto had slightly changed his sword-holding stance, adjusting his body’s center of gravity to one more suitable for wielding a sword. This correction made his evasion much smoother.
After dodging Suzuki’s slash, Aoto immediately launched a counterattack.
Unaccustomed to shouting a kiai, Aoto silently lowered his body slightly and pushed the bamboo sword forward, delivering a horizontal strike aimed at Suzuki’s chest.
Smack!
Suzuki swung his sword to block Aoto’s slash.
However, although he successfully defended, Suzuki’s expression betrayed shock, as if he had been hit.
Having fought fiercely with Aoto until now, he clearly felt that this strike from Aoto—both the timing and the angle—was much more refined than before…
While Suzuki was amazed at Aoto’s improvement, Aoto himself was closely watching the “high-speed camera” playing continuously inside his mind since just moments ago.
—No good… This strike was a little too high, and the center of gravity and grip still seem a bit off… The slash didn’t feel smooth…
Aoto quickly retracted the sword, adjusted his body’s center of gravity and grip once more, and then launched another quick slash at Suzuki.
—This grip feels much better…
……
……
If earlier Kondō and Okita only showed slight surprise on their faces, now their expressions were so shocked that their mouths couldn’t close.
Like two stunned statues, they watched Aoto on the field rapidly improving at a pace visible to the naked eye.
They saw very clearly how Aoto’s movements were becoming more precise and confident.
Just before, Suzuki could still overwhelmingly suppress Aoto.
But now, only moments later, the situation had changed drastically.
In terms of swordsmanship skill alone, Suzuki was still stronger than Aoto, but he could no longer suppress Aoto single-handedly as he did at the start.
Aoto’s rapid improvement had already produced several highly threatening attacks against Suzuki, forcing Suzuki into several awkward defensive positions.
The three apprentices who came to the sword school with Suzuki had all stopped their previous mockery of Aoto.
Even those who had never practiced swordsmanship could somewhat tell how astonishingly fast Aoto was progressing.
They, too, like Kondō and Okita, stared blankly at Aoto still improving on the field, their faces showing expressions like this: (ﾟДﾟ)
Okita then raised both hands and rubbed his eyes vigorously, continuing to watch Aoto on the field.
After confirming several times that his eyes weren’t deceiving him, excitement slowly began to bloom on Okita’s cheeks. His hands, naturally resting on his thighs, unconsciously clenched the fabric of his pants.
“Kondō brother,” Okita whispered with barely concealed excitement, “we… might have just hit the jackpot today…!”
Kondō didn’t respond to Okita.
He simply widened his eyes, filled with excitement, and continued to stare intently at Aoto, whose movements had become more refined.
……
……
“Hu… hu… hu… hu…”
The protective helmet Aoto wore had mediocre breathability. Most of the hot breath he exhaled from his mouth and nose couldn’t dissipate outside the gear, making him feel stiflingly hot.
—This body… really has terrible stamina…! And the muscles in my arms are weak too. This bamboo sword is so light, but after just a few swings, my arms are already sore…!
Aoto had lost count of how many times since he arrived in this body that he had complained about its poor physical condition.
This physical decline also made Aoto’s attacks and evasions a bit sluggish.
Opposite him, Suzuki’s stamina was about the same as Aoto’s; his movements were no longer as agile as at the beginning of the match.
—How long will this match last before it finally ends?
Just as Aoto was thinking this, he heard the sound he wanted most—
“All right! That’s enough!” Kondō stood up and announced loudly.
Aoto had been waiting for this sentence for a long time.
As soon as Kondō’s words fell, Aoto immediately relaxed his sword stance and stepped back, and Suzuki did the same.
They both took a certain distance before stopping, then bowed to each other in salute.
From earlier, Aoto had been eagerly waiting to hear the system notification in his mind again.
But even now, there was still no sound at all in his mind.
This meant—Suzuki did not possess any special talent.
Aoto felt a slight regret but was not too discouraged. After all, he had mentally prepared for this. The system’s instructions clearly stated: only a very small number of people would have special talents.
“You both worked hard. You’ve been fighting for so long; you must be tired. Take a break first.”
“Yes!” Suzuki shouted loudly with strong spirit, then quickly walked off the field, kneeling down properly and skillfully removing his protective gear.
Aoto followed closely behind Suzuki, also removing the gear on his head.
At this moment, an awkward scene unfolded.
Because Aoto was still unfamiliar with how to remove the gear, he fumbled for a long time but couldn’t get the helmet off his head.
Right now, Aoto looked like a cat that had accidentally stuck its head into a potato chip bucket, desperately clawing at it with both little paws, trying to pull its head out.
“Toto, let me help you.”
At that moment, Kondō’s low voice came from Aoto’s side and behind.
Aoto felt a strong hand fiddling with the back of his head a few times, and the helmet loosened and fell off his head.
“Thank you…” Aoto turned his head to thank Kondō, who had helped remove the helmet.
However, as soon as his gaze shifted to Kondō, all the remaining words of thanks got stuck in his throat.
He saw Kondō, whose appearance and behavior were very masculine, squatting just behind him, looking at him with a tender and affectionate gaze.