My Girlfriend is an Evil Woman

Fukuzawa Fuyumi had a plan to defeat Kitahara Hideji in the fastest and most direct way possible, to teach him a lesson, without caring if it would be considered an invalid strike. Despite facing Kitahara Hideji’s Chūdan-shiki stance, she chose to deliver a direct strike to his head, intentionally trying to embarrass him.

Her strike was as fast as lightning, showcasing the results of her long and arduous training. However, Kitahara Hideji was perplexed. He wasn’t the same person as before; the numerous life-and-death struggles in Meditative Battle had deeply impacted his mind and body. In those battles with swordsmen who held real blades, they dared to risk their lives, but there were few instances where such glaring vulnerabilities were exposed. After all, human lives were precious, and killing an opponent wouldn’t bring back one’s own life.

Despite the confusion, his body reacted naturally, in line with the essence of “Mushouken” (Sword of No Thoughts). His feet remained still as his body swayed forward and backward, instantly moving in a swift and agile manner. Fukuzawa Fuyumi’s Shinai nearly grazed his face and body as it swung down, and at the same time, his hands shifted from a double grip to a single grip, raising the Shinai to his head before returning to the double grip, executing a swift “Tōchiku” strike.

Fukuzawa Fuyumi thought she had landed the hit and put all her strength into it. However, when her Shinai struck, there was no feedback of impact in her hands. It was as if Kitahara Hideji had turned into an illusion, leaving her momentarily stunned.

“Shadow Step?” she thought. Believing her strike would hit for sure, she realized it was too late to retract her Shinai. When she looked up at Kitahara Hideji, she saw him raising his Shinai high above his head, descending straight toward her forehead.

With a loud “bang,” Kitahara Hideji’s Shinai struck heavily on Fukuzawa Fuyumi’s forehead, causing her to fall forward and kneel in front of him. Even the flexible Shinai bent into an arc. His “Ancient Swordsmanship” skill had reached LV10, ascending to Middle Rank, granting him a character level +2 boost and attribute increases of Strength +3, Agility +2, and Charisma +1. Combined with his recent rigorous training, his strength far surpassed his previous level.

Fukuzawa Fuyumi remained silent, knocked down by the powerful blow to her forehead, with her head bowing heavily in front of Kitahara Hideji…

The scene fell into silence, and the audience didn’t know how to react. It happened so quickly, within half a second, that they couldn’t comprehend what had just occurred. Fukuzawa Fuyumi was already bowing to Kitahara Hideji, paying him a great respect.

Kitahara Hideji took a few steps back, his cautious instincts kicking in. He had experienced life-and-death struggles with real swords nearly a hundred times, but he had never encountered someone voluntarily bowing down like this. His mind began to doubt if there was some sort of trickery involved. He had always considered Fukuzawa Fuyumi as a formidable opponent and unconsciously elevated her skill level in his mind.

Uchida Yuma, on the other hand, reacted quickly, raising the red flag in his right hand and loudly shouting, attempting to deceive the other two referees, “Valid strike to the face, red team scores one point!”

The two temporary referees hesitated and did not raise their flags. Without ki-ai (fighting spirit) and a proper connection of the attack, it wouldn’t be considered a valid strike. If Kitahara Hideji had simply called out even a couple of times, even without specifying the target, they might have awarded him the point, considering the deformed state of Fukuzawa Fuyumi’s Shinai after hitting her head. But Kitahara Hideji remained silent, which made their decision difficult.

Shima Rei was anxious as well, shouting from the sidelines to Kitahara Hideji, “Ki-ai, ki-ai!” He was even more concerned about missing the scoring opportunity than Kitahara Hideji. Losing 1-2 would still be acceptable, and he could come to terms with it.

What a pity!

The spectators outside the arena also began to understand the situation. Those who knew about swordsmanship led the applause, and soon, it became a unified cheer. Many girls blushed and couldn’t take their eyes off Kitahara Hideji, gazing at him with admiration, finding him incredibly handsome and powerful.

Wow, Kitahara-san looks so cool… I don’t know why, but he looks so handsome and impressive!

Fukuzawa Fuyumi, lying on the ground, finally understood what happened and was infuriated, trembling with anger. She felt deceived by this “little white face,” who had hidden his true strength all this time with that pretense of a weak and timid demeanor.

Rolling backward and creating some distance, she stood up, crouching and hunching like an enraged little tiger, staring at Kitahara Hideji with clenched teeth, “You’re so despicable, I won’t let you off!”

Kitahara Hideji remained silent, assuming the Ko gasumi stance, waiting for her to make her move. Words were of no use now; the battle had begun, and they would settle it with their swords!

Fukuzawa Fuyumi finally started taking things seriously, realizing that Kitahara Hideji was not the soft target she had imagined. She used a waist-rib technique to hide her Shinai behind her, and her body suddenly seemed to shrink as she roared in anger, “Aaah!”

She intended to intimidate Kitahara Hideji and boost her own fighting spirit and momentum. However, Kitahara Hideji remained unfazed. He had heard many desperate screams and roars during Meditative Battle; it was nothing new to him.

Fukuzawa Fuyumi’s fighting spirit was at its peak, and she couldn’t wait any longer. The saying goes, “Strike while the iron is hot,” and waiting for too long might lead to a disadvantageous situation. She took small quick steps, dragging her Shinai, and charged at Kitahara Hideji. At the same time, Kitahara Hideji also propelled himself forward to meet her head-on. Taking the initiative to attack and bringing down the enemy was the best way to protect oneself.

He swiftly moved to meet her, almost causing Fukuzawa Fuyumi to miscalculate the distance between them, delaying her timing for an attack. However, with her decade of Sword Technique training, she managed to execute a precise thrust with her Shinai from behind, aimed straight at Kitahara Hideji’s throat. She shouted loudly, “Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!”

Kitahara Hideji remained silent but kept his gaze fixed on the tip of Fukuzawa Fuyumi’s sword. He also executed a sudden thrust.

A grating sound echoed as Fukuzawa Fuyumi’s thrust hit the edge of Kitahara Hideji’s sword, causing her Shinai to slide to the side. In the meantime, the tip of Kitahara Hideji’s sword seemed to grow larger in Fukuzawa Fuyumi’s eyes…

The two passed each other, and the outcome hung in the balance for just an instant.

Kitahara Hideji took a few steps forward before stopping his movement, while Fukuzawa Fuyumi, caught by his sword, fell to the ground. It wasn’t Kitahara Hideji’s intention to specifically target her head; it was just that given Fukuzawa Fuyumi’s height, her head was unfortunately an easier target to hit.

The spectators finally understood what had happened. Both sides clashed their swords, and the outcome was determined instantly, showcasing an intense and beautiful display of skill. Applause and cheers erupted from the audience. Uchida Yuma promptly raised the flag for Kitahara Hideji again, but unfortunately, there was no Kiai. The other two referees hesitated but remained motionless.

Shima Rei became more anxious and shouted, “Kiai, Kitahara-kun, Kiai!” Seeing the stance, he wished he could perform the Kiai for Kitahara Hideji himself. If there were two Kiai in a row, given the current situation, Kitahara Hideji would have won the match, defeating Fukuzawa Fuyumi comprehensively, which would have been quite satisfying.

However, Kitahara Hideji seemed unfazed and calmly raised his Shinai again. He wasn’t here to win the competition; it held no meaning for him. He was here to teach Fukuzawa Fuyumi a lesson and make sure she’d avoid him in the future. Winning the match would only complicate things. Instead, he planned to keep going until Fukuzawa Fuyumi surrendered!

Fukuzawa Fuyumi, feeling both embarrassed and angered, got back on her feet. However, Kitahara Hideji’s quick reaction to her attack, blocking and sliding away from her strike at such high relative speed, made her shudder. The move appeared simple but required keen eyesight, decisive judgment, and tremendous courage to execute. This was the essence of Sword Technique combat—a seemingly inconspicuous move that could decide life and death.

If they had been using real swords, she would have been struck through the head, and all her words would have been in vain.

An expert could see the essence of the art, while a novice only saw the spectacle. She realized that Kitahara Hideji was a formidable opponent, unlike anyone she had ever encountered. She understood that no matter how cautious she was, it would still be barely enough to face him.

Taking a deep breath, she regained her composure and assumed a mid-level stance. Her crescent-shaped eyes narrowed into a line as she yelled at Kitahara Hideji, “I’m really angry now!”