When Kokushibo led a group of Martial Demons to the center of the canyon.
Seeing the more than three hundred Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen already waiting in formation on the opposite side, Kokushibo smiled.
"Do you really think you can stop me?"
"Hand over the Blue Spider Lily!"
"I might consider sparing some of you."
Kokushibo had never once felt so merciful.
But these human swordsmen didn't seem to feel the same way.
Seeing them remain silent and unmoved, Kokushibo gradually lost patience. His right hand rested on the hilt of Hollow Cry Divine Departure, and he was just about to attack!
At that moment, Kokushibo's gaze inadvertently fell on Tanjuro, standing at the front of the swordsmen...
No, more accurately—
He noticed the pair of hanafuda earrings Tanjuro wore.
So that was it!
Was this the Demon Slayer Corps' trump card?
Kokushibo looked at Tanjuro and asked, "The man with the scar on his forehead—are you a descendant of Yoriichi?"
Tanjuro shook his head and didn't explain.
Kokushibo felt a little bored. So what if he was? Did they really think that finding some descendant of Yoriichi would make him a second Yoriichi?
Kokushibo thought of Kujo Tachibana...
That human swordsman who had nearly killed him!
But that human swordsman should be dead, shouldn't he?
With injuries that severe, how could he have survived with a human's frail body?
Besides, Kokushibo remembered clearly that he had stabbed the human swordsman through the lungs with his misshapen long blade, Hollow Cry Divine Departure!
Even if he had somehow survived, he couldn't use a Breathing Style anymore...
Kokushibo shook his head, dismissing the stray thoughts, drew the long sword at his waist, and charged at Tanjuro.
"Descendant of the Tsugikuni Clan!"
"Let me see what you're made of!"
"Moon Breathing—First Form: Dark Moon—Eve Palace!"
The misshapen long blade, Hollow Cry Divine Departure, came slashing down at Tanjuro!
An ordinary person might have been too slow to react to such a swift strike, but Tanjuro, who had mastered the Transparent World, had plenty of time to respond.
The instant Kokushibo moved, Tanjuro sensed it. Of course, Tanjuro was just as easy for Kokushibo to sense.
Tanjuro swiftly drew the sharp axe at his waist, turned his body to build momentum, and brought the axe down squarely on the blade of Hollow Cry Divine Departure!
"Sun Breathing—First Form: Waltz!"
Looking at the axe that had blocked his sword, Kokushibo's brows drew into a deep frown.
Using an axe to perform a Sun Breathing sword form?
Did the descendants of the Tsugikuni Clan no longer know how to use swords...
They were actually using an inferior tool like an axe as a weapon!
Was that a weapon? It was a farming tool!
Kokushibo instantly flew into a rage!
He was going to chop this disgraceful descendant into mincemeat!
On that point, Kokushibo's opinion happened to align remarkably well with Kujo Tachibana's.
A swordsman who used an axe really was an odd sight.
As Kokushibo made the first move, the Martial Demons under his command charged into the Demon Slayer Corps' formation as well.
Himejima Gyomei, the Stone Hashira and, in Kujo Tachibana's eyes, the Demon Slayer Corps' second heretic, swung the sharp axe and heavy flail connected by a chain in his hands, blocking Akaza's path.
"Your opponent is me."
"Amida Buddha!"
Inside the wooden cabin serving as a temporary command post in the canyon.
Kujo Tachibana looked a little nervous as he gazed at the Blue Spider Lily on the table and quietly asked:
"Kagaya, do you think Muzan will come?"
He wasn't nervous because he thought he might lose. Knowing the extent of his own power, Kujo Tachibana knew that was impossible. Even if two Yoriichis showed up today, he'd still cut them down without a second thought!
That was how confident he was!
What made Kujo Tachibana nervous was the possibility that Muzan might not come...
The Blue Spider Lily might be bait, but that guy was genuinely afraid of dying!
That was also why Kujo Tachibana couldn't make a move too soon. If Muzan found out how powerful he was in advance...
The guy might hide for another hundred years!
Ubuyashiki Kagaya smiled and replied calmly:
"Tachibana, you have to trust your judgment."
"Do everything you can, then leave the rest to fate."
"If Muzan doesn't come today, then it can only mean that his time hasn't come."
Ubuyashiki Kagaya's words seemed almost prophetic!
The moment he finished speaking, Kibutsuji Muzan suddenly appeared in the center of the canyon with the Twelve Kizuki at his side.
Seeing Kokushibo still locked in combat with a human swordsman, Kibutsuji Muzan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The two sides immediately stopped fighting.
Kokushibo wouldn't let Muzan take advantage of the situation, and neither would the Demon Slayer Corps. Their mission was almost complete; all they had to do now was wait for the order to withdraw.
Although many of the lower-ranked swordsmen didn't know the full story and couldn't understand Ubuyashiki Kagaya's orders, fortunately, they were all veterans of the Demon Slayer Corps. They might not understand, but they would absolutely follow orders—one hundred percent!
As for troublemakers like Shinazugawa Sanemi, he hadn't even been brought along this time.
The three groups stood clearly apart.
Kokushibo and Kibutsuji Muzan stared each other down, ignoring the human swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps!
In their eyes, everyone else, demon or human, was nothing but an ant.
No matter how many there were, they could hardly pose a threat.
Only the outcome of the battle between the two of them would decide who claimed the Blue Spider Lily.
As the two faced off, Kujo Tachibana turned into a sneak, suppressing his presence and keeping a close watch on the female demon beside Muzan—Upper Rank Three, Nakime!
He slowly approached her along the blind spot of everyone's line of sight...
Kibutsuji Muzan casually glanced at the human swordsmen.
He spoke without expression:
"Where is the Blue Spider Lily?"
"Hand it over."
Seeing that the humans didn't react, Muzan gave a cold laugh. He had been fighting the Demon Slayer Corps for a thousand years. How could he not know the weakness hidden in the hearts of these hypocritical human swordsmen?
"If I don't get the Blue Spider Lily tonight!"
"You'll all die—and not just you!"
"I'll kill every human in Tokyo!!!"
Muzan's face twisted into a terrifying grimace as he said this.
The Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen all turned pale!
They had no doubt that this inhuman, oppressively powerful Demon King would carry out his threat!
Just then, a strange gust swept through. It was as if something had sucked the air out of the space around them. The human swordsmen and demons in the canyon all choked for an instant!
Kokushibo and the many swordsmen who used Breathing Styles felt it even more keenly. But it lasted only a moment before the air returned to its normal density.
"Boom!!"
At that very moment, a thunderclap louder than any they'd heard before suddenly rang out.
Kokushibo's expression changed instantly!
That familiar thunderclap—could it be...
Before you continue