Chapter 48: The Blossoming Flower of Flesh and Blood
Imperial Palace.
Zhou Ming walked on the road to the sleeping quarters of Nohara Momonosuke.
Just a few days had passed, but walking on this path again felt completely different.
The Imperial Palace at night was even quieter, one could even call it lifeless.
In the dramas Zhou Ming watched in his past life, the palace was brightly lit at night, with palace guards patrolling and strict security everywhere. But here, he saw none of that.
But it didn't matter. Zhou Ming had sneaked in quietly, avoiding others, and he didn't want to start a massacre before meeting the main target.
Yes, Zhou Ming's purpose for appearing in the palace was to take out Nohara Momonosuke!
Although Nohara Momonosuke could die at any moment, Zhou Ming didn't want to wait any longer. He wanted to kill Nohara Momonosuke early and end the World's Number One Samurai Tournament, so he could return home.
After all, he had already killed his own son, Tokugawa Hidetada. It was only reasonable to reunite father and son, right? It was merciful, wasn't it?
Zhou Ming believed that he truly deserved the title of the greatest righteous person in the world.
Following the same path as before, Zhou Ming encountered no obstacles along the way until he reached the sleeping quarters of Nohara Momonosuke. His steps suddenly halted.
Looking at the neatly arranged hundreds of guards ahead, standing in a defensive formation as if facing a formidable enemy, Zhou Ming finally understood why he hadn't encountered anyone on his way here.
Well, it turned out they were all waiting for him here!
"Zhou-Kun, so you've come after all."
A man dressed in a complete set of red samurai armor, with a Hannya demon mask covering his face, stood at the front of the formation, casting a complex gaze towards Zhou Ming.
"Hirakawa Taisho," Zhou Ming smiled and nodded at him.
Hirakawa Taisho's entire face was covered by the Hannya mask, concealing any expression, except for his unobstructed eyes. Even his voice sounded somewhat muffled and hollow due to the mask's obstruction.
"Breaking into the palace at night, Zhou-kun, are you here to assassinate the emperor?"
Hirakawa Taisho tried to make his voice sound colder, but the slight trembling exposed his unsettled inner turmoil.
"So what if Nohara Momonosuke dies a few days earlier? Zhou Ming chuckled lightly.
"Hagaya!" Behind Hirakawa Taisho, the warriors shouted angrily in unison, creating a roaring sound that rattled the doors and windows.
"Zhou-kun, you have disappointed me greatly." Hirakawa Taisho slowly drew his long sword from his waist, pointing it at Zhou Ming, his voice filled with pain and determination.
"Before I die, I will not allow you to step foot in His Majesty's sleeping quarters!"
"Kill!"
Hirakawa Taisho shouted loudly and charged towards Zhou Ming. Following his lead, hundreds of guards behind him also shouted in unison and rushed towards Zhou Ming with a clamor.
In the open space, hundreds of people charging together created a momentum as if mountains were collapsing and the sea was surging. Even an ordinary person would be mentally shaken and lack the courage to resist.
Zhou Ming, too, did not choose to confront them head-on.
Are you kidding? When hundreds of people surround you, you can't even move, let alone extend your limbs. There is only one outcome—a dead end.
In the previous battle at the Tokugawa Dojo, Zhou Ming had also used a hand grenade to escape before the enemy completely cornered him; otherwise, he would have died there as well.
As Zhou Ming swiftly retreated, he pulled out a machine gun from his floral pouch and wrapped the ammunition belt around his arm. With a sinister smile on his face, he looked towards the hundreds of people in front of him.
Ratatatatatatatatat!
He pulled the trigger, and the muzzle sprayed a dazzling tongue of fire. Shell casings flew out frantically from the side as a torrent of bullets poured forth, forming a shining metallic rainbow!
Within dozens of meters, the 12.7mm bullets shattered arms when hitting them, broke legs when hitting them, severed waists when hitting them in the stomach, and exploded half of a skull when hitting it in the head like a watermelon!
Every samurai struck by the bullets would be immediately lifted by the powerful kinetic energy, flying four to five meters away. The spot where they were hit would burst into a mist of blood in mid-air.
Flesh and shattered bone fragments flew in all directions, and dismembered limbs and shattered organs splattered everywhere. With a firing rate of nearly 600 rounds per minute, there was no one who could approach and no one who could escape.
Armor, shields, cover—everything lost all meaning under the sweeping fire of the heavy machine gun. The relentless barrage tore everything it passed into pieces.
When the roar of the machine gun ceased, the spacious open space had turned into a hell on earth. The ground was covered with a gruesome scene of mangled flesh, broken bones, and spilled organs, permeated by a nauseating stench of blood.
Among the hundreds of guards, only a few lucky ones had lost their limbs and awaited their inevitable deaths amidst the gushing blood. Most of them died on the spot, and they were the fortunate ones, spared from much suffering.
"Ah, out of bullets." Zhou Ming shook the overheated barrel of the machine gun and casually tossed it back into the floral pouch.
Then, he stepped forward, treading on the blood-soaked ground, continuing his journey towards the sleeping quarters of Nohara Momonosuke.
"Stop!"
A beast-like roar came from behind, and Zhou Ming turned around in surprise, only to see a figure completely covered in blood struggling to stand up from a pile of broken corpses.
"Hirakawa Taisho." Zhou Ming narrowed his eyes, feeling an intense curiosity rising within him.
There were several obvious dents on the vibrant armor worn by Hirakawa Taisho, marks left by bullets hitting the armor.
But how was that possible?
The kinetic energy of the heavy machine gun, the 12.7mm bullets— they penetrated even steel plates!
How did this outdated forged armor manage to withstand the bullets?
And how did his internal organs withstand the tremendous kinetic impact of the machine gun rounds?
Could this armor also disperse the impact force of the bullets?
Zhou Ming stared at Hirakawa Taisho with great excitement in his eyes and asked, "Where did you get this armor?"
Hirakawa Taisho didn't answer Zhou Ming. He simply raised his longsword again, pointing it towards Zhou Ming.
"Before I die, you will not set foot in the sleeping quarters! Attack!"
Swinging his longsword, Hirakawa Taisho charged at Zhou Ming once more.
Zhou Ming's pistol slipped from his left sleeve, held firmly in his hand, as he repeatedly fired at Hirakawa Taisho. However, each shot was deflected by Hirakawa Taisho's swings.
Whether it was Hirakawa Taisho or Tokugawa Daiwa, at their level of swordsmanship, it wasn't difficult to deflect pistol bullets. Even a chubby chef from the previous world could do it.
"Troublesome." Seeing Hirakawa Taisho quickly closing in, Zhou Ming stopped shooting and drew his sword again, parrying the strikes from Hirakawa Taisho.
"Do you want me to chop off your head with my own hands?" Zhou Ming asked.
"If you can, then come!" Hirakawa Taisho roared angrily, relentlessly striking at Zhou Ming with his sword.
Zhou Ming continuously defended against Hirakawa Taisho's attacks, understanding that Hirakawa Taisho had lost his rationality due to anger.
With his vigorous swings, his stamina rapidly depleted, and he wouldn't be able to sustain it for long.
A warrior who had lost his calmness, even if he could temporarily suppress the enemy with his momentary bravery. As long as he couldn't quickly end the fight, he would ultimately be defeated.
Just as Zhou Ming was preparing to wait for Hirakawa Taisho's stamina to deplete enough to subdue him and calm him down, a strong sense of danger suddenly surged through his heart.
Without thinking, Zhou Ming drew his sword and leaped to the side.
A loud explosion came from the direction of the sleeping quarters behind him.