Seeing that Dan Lei was a ruthless man who didn't care about ordinary people, Enmu suddenly felt that he should've gone to a shrine this morning and drawn a fortune to see whether the day would be auspicious. Otherwise, how had he run into such a jinx?
But threatening Dan Lei with ordinary people wouldn't work, and the train had already pulled the cars ahead of them far away. Enmu figured that all he could do now was fight.
So, more than a dozen eyes instantly sprouted across the car in front of Dan Lei and launched a hypnotic attack on him.
However, Dan Lei was currently empowered by Memory Destiny. Although it barely increased his combat strength, it greatly improved his mental resistance.
A mere Lower Rank One's hypnosis was on an entirely different level from Memory Destiny. If Enmu wanted to hypnotize Dan Lei now, he'd better find someone who could use the Power of the Path, too.
So Dan Lei didn't feel a thing. He could even stare straight into Enmu's many eyes.
But after a long staring contest, Dan Lei realized he still wasn't skilled at controlling Memory Destiny. He couldn't use his mental power to locate Enmu's neck the way Tanjiro could with his nose or Inosuke with his instincts.
That left Dan Lei with only one option: tear apart the entire car.
No matter how Enmu fused with it, his neck had to be somewhere inside. Wouldn't breaking everything down into palm-sized metal fragments solve the problem?
Dan Lei conjured an Ice Longsword in each hand and quietly murmured,
"Water Breathing: Fourth Form—Modified Wind Scythe Mantis Sword Dance."
A whirlwind suddenly coiled around Dan Lei, wind and water intertwining around his swords.
Then, as he charged forward, both his arms began to spin rapidly, slashing again and again. Each slash sent out blades of wind and water.
Dan Lei had developed this move for hitting multiple targets, so it was perfect for the situation. Every part of the car Enmu had become was a target, and Dan Lei didn't have to worry about accidentally hurting civilians.
In an instant, the car Enmu had become was like a high-speed grinder. The shrill screech of tearing metal rang out alongside the screams that only Enmu could hear in his mind, while blood and flames flew everywhere.
Enmu was now experiencing an upgraded version of what Sun Wukong had gone through when he wreaked havoc inside Princess Iron Fan's stomach.
And he had no way to stop it. Enmu's main ability was hypnosis, and his Blood Demon Arts consisted of only two techniques: [Whispers of Compulsory Sleep Hypnosis] and [Compulsory Sleep Hypnosis: Eye].
But whether he tried to hypnotize Dan Lei with his eyes or used the mouth on the back of his hand to say "Sleep" and force him under, neither worked.
To Enmu, Memory Destiny's mental defenses were an impenetrable fortress. He couldn't break through at all.
Without hypnosis, Enmu's only means of attack was to lash out with his disgusting flesh tentacles.
But against Dan Lei's blades of wind and water, those tentacles were sliced apart as easily as sausages.
Even the lucky ones that dodged the wind and water blades were still cut to pieces by the airtight sword dance surrounding Dan Lei.
Enmu tried to derail the car and fling Dan Lei out, but Dan Lei wasn't the stubborn sort.
When the car tipped and he was thrown out, several Magecraft Threads shot out, hooked onto the car, and yanked it back. He slammed it onto the gravel beside the tracks, then charged over and kept hacking away.
Dan Lei continued forward, destroying everything in his path. When only a meter or two of the car remained, Enmu could no longer hide his neck. A massive bone appeared beneath the floorboards.
Dan Lei didn't hesitate. His Ice Swords instantly transformed into Nichirin Blades. He crossed them and slashed sideways, severing the neck in an instant.
After his neck was cut by the Nichirin Blades, Enmu let out a despairing scream, and the remaining structure of the car exploded on the spot.
Since Enmu had merged with the train, Dan Lei couldn't hold him in place and drain his blood this time. He could only find a container, quickly arrange some runes, and collect a little blood.
When it was over, Dan Lei looked at the scattered train wreckage left behind as Enmu vanished, and at the desolate, isolated stretch of land. He turned helplessly to Kojiro Sasaki, who had been watching from the roadside with the box on his back, and said,
"Kojiro, looks like we'll have to sleep in the woods tonight. Sorry for the trouble—could you keep watch? Tomorrow, let's see if we can hitch a ride on a passing train into the city."
Kojiro Sasaki had no objections. He headed straight for the woods and said,
"Dan Lei, judging by how Lower Rank One performed, he doesn't seem to pose much of a threat to you either. How about we go after an Upper Rank next?"
At that, a bead of sweat appeared on Dan Lei's forehead. Kojiro Sasaki was definitely a devil of a trainer. If the Upper Ranks didn't put up much of a fight, he'd probably suggest going straight after Kibutsuji Muzan and skipping to the ending.
But based on what Dan Lei had learned about demons so far, it was best not to underestimate Kibutsuji Muzan.
The man might be a bully who picked on the weak and feared the strong, but his abilities could well be on par with a high-ranking Dead Apostle beneath the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. A Heroic Spirit like Kojiro Sasaki, who lacked the ability to inflict lasting damage on the undying, could at most hold him off.
Besides, Kojiro Sasaki's Endurance was E, making him a textbook glass cannon among Heroic Spirits.
As for Dan Lei, he could put up a fight if he established his Magic Workshop and took advantage of the terrain. His only concern was being tossed into the Infinity Castle the moment the battle began. In that place, he definitely wouldn't be a match for Kibutsuji Muzan as he was now.
So Dan Lei immediately quipped,
"Kojiro, we've spent half a year traveling around this country and only run into two Lower Ranks. How long do you think it'll take us to find an Upper Rank?"
Kojiro Sasaki had clearly prepared an answer to that question. He replied at once,
"I think we should go find the Demon Slayer Corps. We've already killed Lower Rank Three and Lower Rank One. If they still don't come to see us, you can just use a Hashira as a sparring partner.
"At your current level, Dan Lei, you'd have no problem facing Giyu Tomioka head-on."
Dan Lei was taken aback that Kojiro Sasaki was actually encouraging him to pick a fight with the Demon Slayer Corps. It didn't seem to fit his personality.
But after thinking it over, he realized that in the era Kojiro Sasaki came from, it was commonplace for swordsmen to hone their skills by challenging one another at various swordsmanship schools or taking on famous swordsmen directly.
So Kojiro Sasaki might not think there was anything wrong with Dan Lei barging in and challenging a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
After giving it some thought, Dan Lei decided that there was no harm in making contact with the Demon Slayer Corps.
Besides, by now, Tanjiro should have already met Tamayo. Dan Lei was quite interested in the medicine Tamayo had developed for the manga's finale, so he could ask Tanjiro to introduce them.
Dan Lei smiled and replied,
"Got it. Then let's keep heading for Mount Natagumo. If we get there and the Demon Slayer Corps hasn't organized an expedition yet, we'll let them know there's a Lower Rank there. That'll be sure to bring a Hashira over."
Seeing Dan Lei readily agree, Kojiro Sasaki said no more.
Actually, he had his own reasons for wanting Dan Lei to go after an Upper Rank. Given Dan Lei's cautious nature, if they really ran into one, he'd definitely send Kojiro to test the opponent's strength.
They'd spent the past six months traveling all over with Dan Lei, but they hadn't encountered a single opponent worth drawing his sword against. Kojiro Sasaki was itching for a fight, and he was looking forward to seeing if an Upper Rank could surprise him.
Before you continue