A deathly silence hung over the Infinity Castle. Even Akaza had lowered his head, not daring to provoke Muzan at a time like this.
"I don't want excuses! I want results!" Muzan coldly surveyed the Upper Ranks present. "I don't care what methods you use. I want those two people's heads! Especially that Rokuya. He's an anomaly, and his existence displeases me immensely!"
Just as the tension reached its peak, Hantengu, who had been trembling in a corner all along, suddenly made a strange sound. "Eee, eee, eee... Lord Muzan... actually... I discovered a secret..."
Muzan's gaze instantly fixed on Hantengu. "Speak!"
"I... while I was lying low... I happened to find the Demon Slayer Corps' deeply hidden Swordsmith Village..." Hantengu said shakily, as though uttering those words had drained every last bit of his strength. "That village... is their lifeline, where they forge Nichirin Blades... without it... the Demon Slayer Corps' swordsmen would be stripped of their fangs and claws..."
A feverish gleam flashed in Muzan's eyes, and his fury was instantly replaced by a cruel excitement.
"Good. Very good." A savage sneer curled Muzan's lips. "Since you've found their lifeline, go destroy it completely. Hantengu, Gyokko, this mission is yours. Go to the Swordsmith Village and kill everyone there, whether they're swordsmiths or swordsmen! Leave no one alive!"
"As you command... Lord Muzan..." Hantengu replied, shrinking his neck.
"Gyokko will bring back the most magnificent works of art for you, my lord!" Gyokko twisted excitedly inside his pot.
"Go. If you fail again, you know what awaits you." Muzan's figure gradually dissolved into the darkness, leaving only those threatening words echoing through the Infinity Castle.
But after the other figures vanished, Muzan kept one Upper Rank behind and seemed to be saying something.
A few days later, Rokuya