Faced with the temptation of becoming a great demon—or even attaining immortality—most demons would lose their minds.
And indeed, things unfolded exactly as Mei had expected...
The three of them had not gone very far before several more demons leaped out, blocking their path ahead and behind.
Ahead of them were two strange kappa. Why strange? Because these two kappa were gray. Normally, kappa were green.
These gray kappa were outcasts among their kind, known as Swamp Kappa.
Just as their name suggested, they did not live in water, but in swamps. And swamps were countless times more dangerous than rivers.
These Swamp Kappa were likewise countless times more dangerous than ordinary kappa.
Besides the two Swamp Kappa in front of them, there were also three rat demons behind them, each as large as a human... and colored black, white, and red.
Every one of these rat demons looked exceptionally vicious, their blood-red eyes filled with the desire to destroy.
The rat demon standing in the middle was even holding half of some animal's corpse in its claws, tearing into it as it ate. A closer look revealed that it was a cat's corpse.
Half of the cat's body had already been eaten...
Rat demons that fed on cats...
"Old Rat..."
Yingcao's expression changed at the sight of the three enormous tricolored rats, and she cried out in terror. These were rat demons that specifically ate cats, and they were extraordinarily savage.
"Two Swamp Kappa and three Old Rats... None of them are weak. They make suitable opponents. Yingcao, I'll leave all five of them to you."
Looking at the five demons before and behind them, Mei pulled Yōki behind her and casually raised a barrier around the two of them. Then she spoke to Yingcao beside her.
"What... No,