Life at the Training Camp was not all despair, despite the endless "grip-strength hell," "Sun Breathing forging," and "Crimson Blade clashes." One perfect chance to slack off had been there from the very beginning-the "outdoor patrol training groups."
Under the Sapphire Star's cruel clutches, this so-called "patrol training" was nothing short of a sacred chance to catch their breath for every swordsman!
The basic rule was simple: aside from Giyu Tomioka's unfailing daily "lottery," which randomly picked one group of lucky-or unlucky-souls to experience his "logistical survival course," another group each day got to escape hell briefly by going out on patrol.
Led by a Hashira-level instructor with no pressing training duties, several squads set out from the Training Camp and scattered in different directions. Their task was to patrol the surrounding areas within a certain range and check for any traces of demon activity.
Patrols were necessary. Though the ground humans could cover on foot amounted to little across Japan, and the main intelligence network still relied on the ever-present Kasugai Crows and the Kakushi Squad stationed throughout the country, these squad patrols served more as a strategic deterrent, showing that the Demon Slayer Corps' strength was everywhere.
And that was indeed the case. After all this time spent training, reports of demon attacks had all but vanished across the country.
For the swordsmen who had suffered so much at the Sapphire Star's hands, however, the objective did not matter at all! As long as they could leave that camp filled with pain and roaring voices, run beneath the sun, and breathe the free air of the mountain forests! Even if they had to sprint all day... that was still sheer heaven!
Besides, under the Sapphire Star's inhuman drills, every swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps had become a