After selling all 4 kg of Raw Meat, Ye Chen continued his journey. From his inquiries, he learned that there was a town about twenty kilometers ahead, with a much larger population. He planned to ask about the Demon Slayer Corps there. In a village like this, people probably did not even know what the Demon Slayer Corps was.
"Ugh, this is so boring..."
Halfway there, Ye Chen started grumbling. There were far too few people around, and the journey was dull. More importantly, although the town was not far away now, night was approaching. He was wrestling with a painful choice.
It's almost dark. Should I find some demons out here and earn some exchange points first? Since I'm near a town, there might be more demons than last time.
Or should I head into town and get some proper rest? Sleeping in the woods yesterday was so uncomfortable, and I've been walking for two days. I'm exhausted.
"Damn it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Ye Chen gritted his teeth and stopped agonizing over it. He quickly made his decision and headed straight into the nearby mountains, beginning his grinding marathon.
Not far from the town, several demons, each with a distinctive appearance, were excitedly discussing something in the bushes. One of them kept drooling, apparently growing impatient with the wait.
"Hehehe, you lot had better pay attention. Tell me if anyone comes out."
"Yes, boss! I'll keep a close eye on the road."
"Huh? Someone's coming."
One demon's eyes lit up as he spotted a young man walking toward them with a large barrel over his shoulder. He immediately called out to their boss in excitement.
"Boss! Someone's coming. Should we attack?"
"Hehe, get him!"
Seeing the young man approach with a barrel on his shoulder, seemingly oblivious, the Oni Boss was delighted. He waved a hand, intending to have his underlings drag the youngster over.
But he suddenly froze, realizing that the young man had actually thrown the barrel straight at them.
"What's he doing?"
One demon raised his hands and caught the barrel, looking utterly bewildered. He had no idea what the young man was trying to do.
"Why does it smell like gunpowder? Huh? Why's there a burning cord on this barrel?"
The demons gathered around the barrel and examined it for a moment, then their expressions abruptly changed.
"Holy shit! This barrel is..."
BOOM!!!
The barrel exploded, blowing several of the demons gathered around it to pieces. Some were sent flying, while others vanished within the blast.
"Heh heh heh. I only wanted to blow up two or three demons with a Large Barrel Bomb, but you all just had to crowd around it."
Ye Chen clicked his tongue, feeling sorry for the demons. He had only intended to blow up one or two of them with the Large Barrel Bomb, but their curiosity had gotten the better of them, and they had all been caught in the explosion.
Naturally, he had bought the Large Barrel Bomb from the Monster Hunter Shop. It cost twenty exchange points-not expensive, and certainly worth it to kill these demons.
[Ding! Killed 5 demons. Obtained exchange points ×83.] [Ding! Completed E-rank quest: hunt more than 20 demons. Obtained Demon Slayer Title. Reward: exchange points ×600.]
"Huh? Five demons? I remember there being eight..."
Ye Chen's expression shifted slightly, and he abruptly leaped away. The ground where he had been standing split open, and a demonic hand burst out from underground.
Since Ye Chen had already left that spot, the hand grabbed nothing but air.
But the demonic hand did not give up. It changed direction and stretched out, hurtling toward Ye Chen.
Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, grabbed the hilt of his Samurai Long Sword, and swung hard.
CLANG!!
The Samurai Long Sword struck the demonic hand, but failed to sever it. It only left a sizable gash, and even the sword itself suffered a small chip.
"Holy crap, it's that tough?"
Ye Chen was surprised. This was the first time he had encountered anything like this, but he did not panic. He leaped farther away and spotted the demon controlling the hand a short distance off.
It was the boss of the demons from earlier. One of his hands was plunged into the ground, and the two demons who had survived the explosion stood beside him. Both were covered in wounds. Although their injuries were rapidly healing, they clearly had little fighting strength left.
The Oni Boss wore a savage expression, making his already hideous face even uglier.
Although the Oni Boss had not been badly injured, he still bore plenty of burns. He had never expected anyone to throw a bomb at them. Even members of the Demon Slayer Corps only attacked with blades. Who would toss a bomb at them without so much as a word?
"Brat, you'll pay with your life today!! Blood Demon Art: Hand-Printing Pull!"
The Oni Boss roared and plunged his other hand into the ground. Another demonic hand immediately emerged near Ye Chen, and both hands shot toward him at tremendous speed.
Ye Chen raised his Samurai Long Sword and unleashed several fierce swings. Clang after clang rang through the air as his blade repeatedly struck the two demonic hands, leaving gashes. But they quickly healed and continued attacking him.
Meanwhile, several more chips appeared in Ye Chen's sword. It looked utterly battered, and the sight pained him.
"Wait!!"
Ye Chen suddenly raised one hand and shouted at the Oni Boss.
"Huh? Begging for mercy, brat? Too late!!" The Oni Boss grinned and continued attacking Ye Chen with his elongated hands.
"Damn it! Who the hell would beg for mercy?!" Ye Chen hurriedly dodged his attacks and took off running with his Samurai Long Sword. At some point, a stone had appeared in his other hand, and he began furiously grinding it against his blade.
"You're asking for death!! We demons would never beg for mercy! Stop running if you've got the guts, brat!!" The Oni Boss's voice grew louder and louder. Ye Chen was fast enough that his demonic hands were struggling to keep up.
"Tch. Fine, I'll stop." After finishing sharpening his sword, Ye Chen stopped running and turned to face the Oni Boss again.
The demon boss suddenly widened his eyes. The sword he had battered so badly was now completely undamaged. What was going on? A few strokes with a stone had fixed it?
Ye Chen looked at the sword in his hand and sighed. This weapon just was not good enough. Hopefully, once he joined the Demon Slayer Corps, he could get a Nichirin Blade better than this.
As for the stone he had just used to sharpen his sword, it was naturally a Whetstone purchased from the system's Monster Hunter Shop. Sharpening with it could restore any dulled weapon to its original sharpness. It was practically a miracle tool for sharpening blades.
"Brat, even if you fixed your sword, do you really think you can cut through my hands, let alone my neck? Haven't you learned your lesson?"
Although the Oni Boss was surprised that the sword could return to its original condition, he was not worried in the slightest. After all, he had already taken its blows head-on.
"Yeah, this blade really isn't sharp enough, and it isn't hard enough to handle a demon at your level, one who can use a Blood Demon Art. But that doesn't mean I'm out of options."
Ye Chen examined the sword in his hand, but he was not discouraged. He grinned, and blue-white flames suddenly surged from his hand, spreading along the blade and enveloping it until the entire Samurai Long Sword became a long sword of blue-white fire.