Soon, Tokito Ichiro arrived here, dragging his heavily injured body.
He was already injured in the battle with Imamura, and the subsequent "rebirth by borrowing" of Dichai added another layer of pressure to him.
These days, being able to drag your body around is already quite an achievement.
Taking advantage of this moment, the Scribe briefly left the place to retrieve the swordsman's belongings that he had hidden away.
"What's this?"
Seeing that the Scribe had brought back a black package, Uichirou some confusion.
"Could it be some kind of secret weapon?"
Shaking his head, the Scribe opened the package and showed it to Uichirou.
"It's just a swordsman's belongings."
Uichirou paused for a moment, but ultimately didn't say anything more.
Although he was usually quite sharp-tongued, he still had some respect for his deceased colleagues.
After all, he had just walked on the brink of death.
"Get some rest."
Nodding slightly, Uichirou knew he couldn't be of much help at the moment.
Exhausted from physical and mental exhaustion, he tilted his head to the side and fell into a deep sleep.
While observing his surroundings, the Scribe also began to examine the swordsman's Nichirin Blade.
The Nichirin Blade is light blue in color, suggesting that its owner was a swordsman who used the Water Breathing technique.
The blade has multiple damages, and some parts are even missing.
The blood on it had congealed and turned dark brown.
This swordsman must have gone through a very tough battle.
After removing the severed hand, the Scribe dug a hole and buried it on the spot.
But at that moment, he discovered what was hidden beneath the severed hand.
It looked like a folded piece of paper, held tightly in the severed hand.
Because of the blood seeping through, some of the words on it are not clearly visible.
Fortunately, the Scribe still managed to understand the general meaning.
"We were attacked by demons... I led some men to cover the swordsmiths' retreat."
"We encountered a group of samurai... their target appears to be the village."
"A ghost attack..."
...died in battle...fled.
The more the Scribe read, the more his brow furrowed.
"Warrior?"
"There are samurai here too?"
According to what was written on the note, the swordsman was probably scattered by the demons who suddenly rushed out while he was confronting the samurai.
If swordsmen with the ability to hunt demons met such an end, the fate of those samurai without Breathing Technique is predictable.
Nevertheless, the Scribe's face showed little joy.
If the swordsman's deduction is correct, then it means that the other party has already noticed the existence of the Swordsmith Village.
Considering Hirano's previous statement, Scribe felt that this was highly likely.
Just thinking about it makes it clear how many curious eyes a mysterious village hidden deep in the forest would attract.
Furthermore, since the nobles and leaders already knew of the existence of ghosts, they would certainly not overlook this place.
"So, in addition to employees like Hirano, those families also sent their own teams?"
Looking at Tanjiro and the others not far away, a bad feeling arose in his heart.
He had a premonition that after tonight, the veil covering the Demon Slayer Corps and the demons would be completely lifted.
On the other side, in a secluded corner of the forest, a campfire was being lit.
Judging from the tools placed nearby, this should be a human camp.
But there wasn't a single person in the camp, only the strong smell of blood in the air.
"How terrifying, how terrifying is the Scribe!"
An elderly man with a hunched back was lying prostrate on the ground, with something seemingly pressing down on him.
"That guy is really scary."
Under the moonlight, the object beneath him could finally be seen clearly.
It was a person, a robust middle-aged man!
The man's chest had been ripped open, and the old man crawling on top of him was not crying out, but eating.
Every time he muttered "How terrifying," he would stuff some organs or flesh into his mouth.
"Thank you for taking me in when I was so scared."
"It's really scary to run into Scribe here."
Apart from the crackling sound of the flames, the only other sounds were the old man chewing his food.
Moonlight pierced through the clouds and fell upon the ground.
The surrounding scenery gradually became clear.
Like the middle-aged man, everyone in the camp was disemboweled.
Some had their intestines pulled out and hung on trees, while others had their heads cracked open, their skull contents gone.
Judging from the marks on their bodies, they all appeared to have died from ambushes.
"Waaaaah~"
The night wind carried the old man's sobs, enough to terrify anyone.
"How terrifying! I must leave here as soon as I've replenished my nutrients."
Suddenly, a dozen or so red spheres appeared in the dark forest.
Upon closer inspection, I realized those were the eyes of a ghost.
They were all ghosts who had gathered here, drawn by the smell of blood.
"How scary! You all look so scary!"
The old man glanced up at the ghost, then lay back down and continued eating.
"I can share some of the stuff with you, but please don't hit me."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding ghosts could no longer resist their urge to eat and pounced on it.
"Hantengu, we didn't kill many swordsmiths and Demon Slayer."
After eating his fill, one of the ghosts wiped the blood from his mouth and said...
"It seems the people here already knew we were coming."
"It's okay, I've run into a guy too."
He waved his hand, Hantengu trembled slightly as he spoke.
"That guy is terrifying."
Guimen didn't understand what Hantengu was saying, but he didn't think much of it.
If we can't kill the swordsmith and the Demon Slayer, eating these samurai won't be bad either.
Compared to swordsmiths, these samurai have more nutrients in their bodies.
They became increasingly excited as they ate, and soon most of the corpses were devoured by them.
This is not an isolated case; similar scenes can be found in many places.
A rough count revealed that at least one hundred samurai died after being attacked by demons.
If we also include the swordsmiths and Demon Slayer in the village, as well as "employees" like Hirano.
It's easy to imagine how many humans have died in this forest.
Chapter 483 The Gyokko That Delays Time
"Whoosh~"
With a single stroke, Muiichiro was hanging upside down in the air, beheaded the Muscle Goldfish in front of him.
The monster, emitting a strange "eeeeee" sound, roared in resentment before collapsing to the ground with its massive body.
Upon seeing this, Kotetsu rushed out of the bushes.
"Mr. Tetsuana Mori!"
As he spoke, he threw himself into the arms of a man wearing Hannya Mask.
Kotetsu, it's you!
When Tetsuana Mori saw Kotetsu again, his tone was filled with joy at surviving the ordeal, but also with a hint of surprise.
"Lord Tokito, thank you so much. You cut off that guy's head in the blink of an eye."
Muiichiro blinked, as if he wanted to speak.
He wanted to say that he was only there on the Scribe's instructions.
However, after sighing, he nodded to Tetsuana Mori.
"I'm glad you're alright."
As Kotetsu and Tetsuana Mori embraced, Muiichiro spoke again.
"My knife, are you ready?"
Upon hearing this, Tetsuana Mori noticed that Muiichiro's sword was already somewhat damaged.
"The damage was so severe, so it was Tathagata, I understand now."
As he spoke, he took out a Nichirin Blade from the backpack behind him.
"This is your Nichirin Blade."
The reason he kept it on his person was that Tetsuana Mori intended to use it as a weapon for self-defense.
But he was constantly being chased by the Muscle Goldfish and never had a chance to show it off.
He only had time after Muiichiro rescued him.
"By the way, why are you here?"
When faced with Kotetsu's sudden question, Tetsuana Mori was taken aback for a moment, and then asked in return.
"Right, why am I here? It's clearly the village chief..."
Using the machete in his hand to support his body, he couldn't help but start thinking.
"Oh, right!"
Suddenly, he shouted.
"Mr. Haganezuka!"
The reason Tetsuana Mori is here is because Haganezuka Hotaru, who sharpens Tanjiro's sword, is nearby.
As a friend, he couldn't look at his friend directly.
Therefore, he decided to protect Haganezuka Hotaru.
And this Muscle Goldfish was lured away by him from near the Haganezuka.
"Come with me."