Palace.
Zhou Ming walked on the way to Nohara Momonosuke's bedchamber.
After only a few days, walking on this Dao again, the feeling was completely different from last time.
The palace at night was even more silent, even to the point of being dead silent.
In his previous life, Zhou Ming saw in TV shows that the imperial palace at night was brightly lit, with imperial guards patrolling and on duty everywhere, heavily guarded, but he saw nothing here.
However, it didn't matter. Zhou Ming himself had sneaked in, avoiding others. Before meeting the main target, he didn't want to start a massacre.
That's right, Zhou Ming's purpose in appearing in the palace was to kill Nohara Momonosuke!
Although Nohara Momonosuke could kick the bucket at any time, Zhou Ming was no longer willing to wait. The sooner he killed Nohara Momonosuke, the sooner he could end The World's Greatest Warrior Tournament and go home.
Anyway, his son, Tokugawa Saron, had already been killed by him. Sending the father and son to reunite was very reasonable, wasn't it? Very benevolent, wasn't it?
Zhou Ming felt that he was truly the world's greatest good person.
Following the path he took last time, Zhou Ming proceeded unimpeded until he reached Nohara Momonosuke's bedchamber, where his steps suddenly halted.
Looking at the hundreds of guards lined up in front, as if facing a formidable enemy, poised for battle, Zhou Ming finally understood why he hadn't seen anyone along the way.
Good heavens, so they were all waiting for him here!
"Zhou-kun, you've indeed come."
A man wearing a full set of red samurai armor and a Hannya demon mask stood at the front of the line, looking at Zhou Ming with a very complex gaze.
"Hirakawa-kun." Zhou Ming smiled and nodded at him.
Hirakawa Masamasa's entire face was covered by the Hannya mask, so no expression could be seen. Only his eyes were uncovered. Even his voice was muffled due to the mask.
"Intruding into the palace in the dead of night, Zhou-kun, are you here to assassinate Your Majesty?"
Hirakawa Masamasa tried to make his voice colder, but the slight tremor still betrayed his unquiet heart.
"Nohara Momonosuke should die anyway. What does it matter if he dies a few days earlier?" Zhou Ming chuckled.
"Baka!" Behind Hirakawa Masamasa, the samurai roared in unison, their voices rolling like thunder, shaking the doors and windows.
"Zhou-kun, you've disappointed me greatly." Hirakawa Masamasa slowly drew the long saber from his waist, pointing it at Zhou Ming, his voice filled with heartache and resolve.
"Before I die, I will never let you step one inch into Your Majesty's bedchamber!"
"Kill!"
Hirakawa Masamasa roared, raising his saber and charging at Zhou Ming. Following his movement, hundreds of guards behind him shouted in unison and charged at Zhou Ming.
On the open ground, hundreds of people charged together, their Aura like a surging tide. An ordinary person would be greatly shocked mentally just by facing them, having no courage to resist at all.
Zhou Ming also chose not to confront them head-on.
Are you kidding? If hundreds of people surrounded him, they could squeeze him so tightly he couldn't move, unable to extend his limbs. There would be no other outcome but death.
In the previous battle at Tokugawa Dojo, Zhou Ming also escaped by using grenades to clear a path before the enemies could completely trap him. Otherwise, he would have died there too.
While retreating rapidly, Zhou Ming pulled out a machine gun from the Flower Bud Gu. Wrapping the ammunition belt around his arm, Zhou Ming bared his teeth in a chilling smile at the hundreds of people in front.
Da da da da da da da da da da!
The trigger was pulled, the muzzle spewed a dazzling tongue of fire, empty casings flew wildly from the side, and countless bullets poured out, forming a shining metallic rainbow!
At a distance of tens of meters, 12.7 caliber bullets, if they hit an arm, the arm would break; if they hit a leg, the leg would break; if they hit the stomach, the waist would break; if they hit the head, half the skull would explode like a watermelon!
Every samurai hit by a bullet would immediately be thrown four or five meters away by the powerful kinetic energy, and the hit area would explode into a bloody mist while they were still in mid-air.
Flesh and bone fragments flew everywhere, severed limbs and broken internal organs splattered all around. A firing rate of nearly 600 rounds per minute ensured that no one could get close, and no one could escape.
Armor, shields, cover - everything lost all meaning under the heavy machine gun's spray. The constantly pouring barrage roared wildly, tearing everything in its path to shreds.
When the machine gun's roar stopped, the vast open space had become a living hell, the ground covered with blurred flesh, broken bones, and internal organs, and the nauseating smell of blood permeated the air.
Of the hundreds of guards, only a few lucky ones had broken limbs, facing their inevitable death amidst gushing blood. Most died on the spot; they were fortunate, at least they suffered less pain.
"Ah, out of bullets." Zhou Ming shook the hot machine gun barrel and casually threw it back into the Flower Bud Gu.
Then, he stepped forward, treading on the scattered flesh and blood, and continued towards Nohara Momonosuke's bedchamber.
"Stop!"
A beast-like roar came from behind him. Zhou Ming turned back in surprise, only to see a figure completely covered in blood struggling to stand up from a pile of broken corpses.
"Hirakawa Masamasa." Zhou Ming narrowed his eyes, and an intense curiosity suddenly rose in his heart.
On Hirakawa Masamasa's bright armor, there were several obvious dents, marks left by bullets hitting the armor.
But how was this possible?
The kinetic energy of a heavy machine gun, 12.7mm bullets, could penetrate steel plates!
How did this armor, crafted with backward forging techniques, block the bullets?
Moreover, how did his internal organs withstand the powerful kinetic impact of heavy machine gun bullets?
Could this armor also disperse the impact of bullets?
Zhou Ming's eyes, fixed on Hirakawa Masamasa, showed intense excitement as he asked, "Where did you get this armor?"
Hirakawa Masamasa did not answer Zhou Ming, but merely raised his long saber again, pointing it at Zhou Ming.
"Before I die, you won't even think about stepping into the bedchamber! Kill!"
Wielding his long saber, Hirakawa Masamasa charged at Zhou Ming again.
A pistol slid from Zhou Ming's left sleeve into his hand. He fired repeatedly at Hirakawa Masamasa, but Hirakawa Masamasa swung his long saber, deflecting each shot.
Whether it was Hirakawa Masamasa or Tokugawa Yamato, when their swordsmanship reached this level, deflecting pistol bullets was not difficult; even the fat chef from the previous world could do it.
"Troublesome." Seeing Hirakawa Masamasa rapidly approaching, Zhou Ming did not continue firing. Instead, he drew his own saber again, blocking a downward strike from Hirakawa Masamasa.
"Do you want me to personally cut off your head?" Zhou Ming asked.
"If you can do it, then come!" Hirakawa Masamasa roared, wildly slashing at Zhou Ming again and again.
Zhou Ming continuously parried Hirakawa Masamasa's slashes, understanding that Hirakawa Masamasa had lost his reason due to anger.
With such powerful slashes, his stamina would quickly deplete, and he wouldn't be able to sustain it for long.
An uncalm samurai, even if he could temporarily suppress an enemy with a burst of courage, would ultimately be defeated if he couldn't quickly end the battle.
Just as Zhou Ming was about to wait for Hirakawa Masamasa's stamina to be almost depleted, then subdue him and make him calm down, a strong sense of danger suddenly assailed his heart.
Without thinking, Zhou Ming drew his saber and leaped to the side.
A loud bang came from the direction of the bedchamber behind him.