The demon before them possessed strength and speed far exceeding any they had encountered in the past.
Had she faced it alone, even Kanae would not have been certain of victory.
But now, there were three of them.
While they were not perfectly in sync, they were skilled enough to provide cover or follow up on each other's attacks during the gaps in their movements.
Ultimately, after a bitter struggle, they managed to force the demon back.
The price paid was only a slight injury to one of the swordsmen.
Kanae panted slightly, standing her ground as she began to reflect.
Just now, that demon...
It seemed as though its body's hardness was constantly increasing?
"Senior, should we continue the pursuit now?"
One of the swordsmen looked at the vast stretch of destroyed forest ahead and asked Kanae with some hesitation.
The young girl pondered for a moment before speaking decisively: "First, have the Kasugai Crow send out the intelligence. We pursue immediately."
According to the information revealed by that demon, it planned to spend the winter in these mountains and had captured many innocent people as stored food for the season.
Now that it realized its identity and location had been exposed, it would very likely choose to relocate. As for those still alive, they would either be taken along or... silenced on the spot.
After informing the two of her reasoning, the swordsmen had no further objections. Gripping their swords tightly, they followed the trail into the forest with Kanae.
However, a sea of trees without established paths was not a route ordinary people should tread.
After less than half a day of travel, the stamina of the three had visibly declined.
A thought even rose in Kanae's mind.
This demon... it couldn't have intentionally left traces to lead us here, could it?
Just as she was thinking this, the ground beneath her feet suddenly gave way.
The earth collapsed.
"It's a trap!"
Scanning with her peripheral vision, she saw the demon predictably burst forth from a tree trunk once again.
The demon's target was not her, who had fallen into the pit, but the other two swordsmen whose strength was several levels lower.
"Its goal is to pick us off one by one!"
Kanae cried out urgently: "You two, watch out!"
The two swordsmen were not slow to react. One held his sword to parry the front, while the other accelerated, dodging behind the enemy.
The Nichirin Sword transformed into a cold flash of light, piercing directly toward the back of the opponent's neck.
Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust.
Using the fastest sword form to strike the opponent before they could parry!
Or so the swordsman thought.
But the demon did not even fully turn around. The muscles on its back merely writhed, and its skin instantly took on the cold, hard luster of iron.
Only then did the two realize that the color of the demon's skin was already different from before.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang out.
The tip of the Nichirin Sword felt as if it had struck an iron wall.
Far from piercing the opponent's neck, the entire blade bent, nearly snapping under the pressure.
Meanwhile, the demon simply ignored the frontal slash from the other swordsman, allowing the blade to strike sparks against its body.
It turned and grabbed the swordsman who had failed to retreat in time.
"Mm... the first one..."
Its claws pierced through his chest as easily as if they were tearing through paper.
"You bastard!"
The other swordsman's eyes nearly split from rage.
The veins at his temples bulged under the pressure of his accelerating blood flow. He desperately pushed his Breathing Style to its limit, slashing at the demon's arm in an attempt to save his eviscerated companion.
However, his full-power strike failed to close the massive gap between him and the demon even by a fraction.
The demon delivered a simple side kick.
His body flew like a broken puppet, crashing into the distant bushes and falling silent.
By now, Kanae had finally scrambled out of the pit.
What met her eyes was the dead swordsman hanging from the demon's hand like a tattered rag.
Even with her usually gentle and calm temperament, she could not help but let out a roar of fury.
"What have you done!"
These young swordsmen clearly had vast futures ahead of them—they might have even found their own happiness later in life.
And yet, they had been cut down here?
Like flowers withering in the spring, they had died before the dawn.
All because of the senseless malice and appetite of the demon before her?
She suddenly thought back to the past, to the malice and misfortune that had descended upon her own home without warning...
Grief and indignation surged in her chest, transforming into power.
Her peach Nichirin Sword turned into a stream of light, kicking up a mass of fallen leaves and flying blossoms that bloomed in layers like peony petals.
Light and elegant.
Yet sharp and deadly.
The slashes fell upon several of the demon's vital points.
Total Concentration!
Flower Breathing.
Fifth Form: Peony of Futility.
Throat, heart, wrists, eyes...
But to Kanae's shock, this full-power display of her sword technique fell far short of her expectations.
Clearly, not long ago, she had been able to sever the opponent's arm.
But now, the blade barely cut through the skin and muscle before reaching its limit.
Seeing the blue-gray color flash across the opponent's body once more and the fading wood-grain pattern on its skin, Kanae's pupils contracted sharply as she began to understand.
"Mmm-mmm-mmm, it seems you've noticed, little butterfly."
The demon stopped hiding its secret. It forced her back several steps with a heavy claw strike, its tone even betraying a hint of pride.
"Your slashes do have some merit."
"You can even cut through the hardest Cloud Cedars in this forest."
"But... what if it were steel?"
It stroked its own body as if touching a treasure.
Under the moonlight, the originally wood-grained body now faintly reflected a metallic sheen.
"With those fragile little toothpicks of yours, you probably can't cut through this body of mine forged from steel, can you?"
This monster...
It could change the material and hardness of its body in a short time through contact!
The defense at the beginning had already been unusual.
It had likely absorbed the characteristics of a specific special wood from this logging camp.
And during the previous engagement, it had been simulating and adapting to the metallic composition of the Nichirin Swords until the transformation was finally complete.
It had caught them completely off guard.
With no time to mourn her fallen comrade, Kanae decisively looked up and shouted.
"Kasugai Crow! Emergency backup!"
The sound of flapping wings came from above; the crow was flying out of the forest.
The demon naturally noticed this.
With a cruel grin, it tore a large chunk of wood from a tree trunk and hurled it violently toward the direction the crow was escaping.
The shattered trunk broke into several fragments under its monstrous strength. Accompanied by the sound of breaking air, it covered almost all of the crow's escape routes.
Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum.
A slender figure leaped into the air, intercepting the space between the crow and the demon.
The blade traced the path of a plum blossom, and the petal-like arcs of light deflected the mass of wood chips entirely.
"Go, quickly," Kanae said softly to the startled crow, a smile blooming on her lips like a flower. "I will protect you."
The crow hurriedly flapped its wings and fled the area.
"Mm, even if you call for help, what's the point?"
The demon with hollow eyes shook its head.
"Once I tear the butterfly apart, I'll just take the food and leave."
The smile faded from Kanae's face.
She looked at the demon before her, her gaze devoid of even a hint of warmth.
"Did merely hardening your body into metal give you this much confidence?"
"But your attacks haven't improved much because of it. Is it because your Blood Demon Art exists only for self-preservation?"
"Furthermore, the place where you're imprisoning those innocent people is nearby, isn't it?"
The previous trap did not look like it had been freshly dug.
Was there a lair underground?
Hearing this, the demon's limbs began to rub together restlessly.
"I will not forgive you."
Her voice was very soft, yet it sounded as if it were wrapped in iron.
The young girl spoke one word at a time: "Tonight, I shall surely slay you here."
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi