My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 338 - 135: The Legendary Martial Arts Pinnacle: [State of No Self]! [Bonus Update 11,000 Words! Thanks to the Alliance Leader!]

Moreover, when it comes to "parkour on the rooftop"... Aoto has absolute confidence that he can "definitely do it well."

And this confidence comes from a certain talent he possesses.

Besides jumping onto that store and escaping along the roof, Aoto couldn’t find a more suitable escape route.

So without much hesitation, Aoto headed straight for that store.

Seeing this, Mukiwa could only grit her teeth and closely follow.

Because the store was not high, Aoto, who was 1.75 meters tall, easily leaped and grabbed the eaves of the shop with both hands.

The roof of this shop was sloped, with a gradient of about 20 degrees or so.

Flipping over the eaves and jumping onto the sloped roof, Aoto barely wobbled before quickly stabilizing his posture. Then, with Mukiwa, who followed half a beat later, they jumped onto another shop behind it along the roof.

As the houses in this era’s Castle Town were densely packed, moving between the rooftops wasn’t too difficult.

Aoto and Mukiwa, like two checkers pieces, hopped freely on this expansive checkerboard of house roofs.

After jumping onto the roof of a certain private house again, Mukiwa couldn’t contain her surprise any longer and cast an astonished gaze at Aoto.

"Mr. Tachibana, have you practiced moving on rooftops and various complex terrains before?"

"No," Aoto quickly replied.

"No? Then you have a real talent for this. Your sense of balance is excellent, maintaining such stability on such a steep roof."

Upon hearing this, Aoto couldn’t help but laugh silently.

Of course, his sense of balance was great—because he had a talent copied from Sazanoko: "Cat Form," which gave Aoto powerful body balance abilities.

"Cat Form" is precisely the talent that made Aoto fully confident in "parkouring on rooftops agilely."

Thanks to "Cat Form," Aoto could follow Mukiwa, leaping across the rooftops with ease.

The secret to parkouring on complex terrains like rooftops is maintaining the body’s center of gravity.

As long as one can keep the center of gravity stable, one can move like the wind, regardless of the complexity of the terrain.

Swoosh—! Swoosh—! Swoosh—!

Perhaps because standing on the rooftop, the altitude was slightly higher, Aoto only felt the wind sweeping past him becoming much stronger.

Racing against the gusts on the rooftop gave Aoto a sense of indescribable exhilaration.

At this moment, Aoto sincerely felt that the combined effects of "Take the Lead" and "Strong Muscle" were just perfect for pursuing and escaping.

He is now sprinting continuously at his highest achievable speed, with the fast winds passing by blowing his clothes noisily.

Since crossing over, Aoto never neglected physical training, so his stamina has significantly improved. Currently, his breath is still long and steady, with no signs of disorder.

Mukiwa’s speed is equally amazing. Her sprint speed and endurance don’t lose to Aoto, who possesses the two talents of "Take the Lead" and "Strong Muscle." This even made Aoto speculate whether Mukiwa also has a speed-type talent similar to "Take the Lead."

The two raced one after the other under the Edo night sky, but could not shake off Nishino, Shimizu, and others who closely stuck behind them.

The elite of the Arson and Theft Magistrate revealed themselves at this moment.

Nishino’s undercover informants had all fallen behind due to being unable to keep up with the speed of Aoto and Mukiwa, with only Nishino barely following their steps.

On the other hand, Shimizu’s Arson and Theft Magistrate Fourth Squad, until now, hasn’t been shaken off by Aoto and the others—although they didn’t look at ease either, with some starting to pale from exhaustion, panting heavily.

Having witnessed Aoto’s excellent body balance, Mukiwa began to take the initiative to lead Aoto on "unconventional paths."

Just after Mukiwa and Aoto dropped back onto the street from the rooftop of a private house, she looked back hurriedly at the chasing soldiers and then scanned the front.

A moment later, her gaze fixed on a two-story shop ahead on the right.

"...Mr. Tachibana, can you find a way to jump onto that shop ahead?"

Aoto glanced at the shop and nodded firmly: "No problem."

Seeing Aoto nod, Mukiwa took a deep breath, then gathered all her energy to increase her speed by a notch. Using the momentum from her run, she leapt into the air! She grabbed the shop’s eaves with precision and smoothly pulled herself up, her petite body landing steadily on the rooftop.

Aoto followed closely, using the same technique as Mukiwa to run, jump, and grab the shop’s eaves.

Aoto’s actions were not as graceful as Mukiwa’s, but relying on the strong body balance ability given by "Cat Form," he still quickly stabilized himself on the sloped rooftop.

The roof of this shop was wooden and quite sturdy, easily allowing Aoto and Mukiwa to stand and run swiftly on it.

With the enhancement of "Cat Form," Aoto and Mukiwa moved as if on flat ground on this steep shop roof.