Rokuya tore into them like a tiger among sheep, beginning a one-sided slaughter!
"Thunder Breathing, Third Form: Mosquitoes Gather into Thunder!"
The Shura Blade in his hands became countless afterimages. Every swing sent a demon's head flying. With the Shadow Battle Axe's cooldown reduction, his breathing rhythm became incredibly sustained, with almost no need to pause for breath; the increase in his health even let him ignore the lesser demons' scratching, letting their claws strike sparks off his uniform without harming his flesh.
More terrifying still, as the number of demons plummeted, space opened up across the battlefield.
Rokuya deliberately maneuvered with his footwork, drawing several powerful Special Ability Demons into separate corners.
"You're the only one left." Rokuya looked at the demon covered in spikes before him, a smile like death itself curling his lips.
Within his field of vision, there was only one target!
[Single-Target Critical Strike Rule activated!] [Damage forcibly increased by 50%! Chance to trigger double true damage!]
"Die!" The spiked demon desperately fired every bone spike on its body.
Rokuya neither dodged nor evaded. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he brought the blade down with mountain-cleaving force!
Boom-crack!
The enormous dark-red blade light instantly surged to three meters long, ignoring every bone spike as it slashed down! Before the spiked demon could even scream, the strike cleaved it cleanly in half down the middle, along with the solid rock wall behind it! A massive furrow stretched more than ten meters across the ground.
"Gulp..."
Pinned to the wall, Tanaka was utterly dumbstruck. His mouth hung wide open, and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. All his vicious curses stuck in his throat, leaving only the frantic chattering of his teeth.
"This... this is a fucking Mizunoto?! Is he even fucking human?!" Tanaka's entire worldview collapsed. Watching the silver-haired boy stroll leisurely through flying flesh and blood, he felt as though he were seeing the legendary Shura King who devoured demons!
The battle lasted less than five minutes.
When the last demon tried to dig its way out, Rokuya hurled the three-hundred-jin Shura Greatblade like a javelin from ten meters away, brutally pinning it dead to the ground. At last, the entire cavern fell into deathly silence.
The air was thick with the smell of ash, the traces left behind by fifty slain demons.
Rokuya slowly walked forward and pulled the Shura Blade out of the rock where it had sunk deep with one hand. Not a drop of blood stained the blade, which still gleamed with a chilling, eerie light.
"Click..." Rokuya casually rested the long blade on his shoulder, shook out his slightly aching wrist, then turned and walked toward the "human livestock farm" holding more than a hundred people.
Clang!
With an enormous crash, the refined steel bars, strong enough to withstand a brown bear's charge, buckled and snapped under a single kick from Rokuya, crashing to the ground.
The villagers huddled trembling in a corner, watching the blood-drenched boy approach step by step like a god of slaughter. They did not know whether he would eat people like the demons, but what Rokuya did next left them completely stunned.
"Come out, everyone." Rokuya's voice was calm, even somewhat gentle. "The demons are all dead. Follow the underground river over there, and you'll see the moon outside. Dawn is almost here. Don't be afraid."
Dead silence.
Ten full seconds of dead silence.
Then-
"Our savior!!!" The old village chief was the first to drop to his knees with a thud and burst into loud sobs.
"Thank you for saving our lives, sir!"
"A god! You're a god!"
Ignoring their injuries and pain, all one hundred and twelve survivors knelt and bowed to Rokuya in unison. Their foreheads struck the ground with repeated thuds, and their cries shook the cavern.
[Ding! An outburst of extreme gratitude detected! Gratitude Points +100! +200! +150!...]
The Gratitude Points panel, emptied just moments ago by his purchase of the Shadow Battle Axe, skyrocketed once again! In the blink of an eye, it broke through three thousand again and continued climbing!
On the surface, Rokuya maintained the cool aloofness expected of an expert and nodded slightly, but inwardly, he was already overjoyed. I'm rich, I'm rich, I'm rich! These people are practically walking ATMs! Saving lives really is the most profitable business in the world!
He did not help the villagers up, because he knew that accepting their bows now would give these survivors greater peace of mind.
Once the villagers began helping one another toward the cave entrance, thanking him profusely, Rokuya finally turned around and fixed his gaze on Tanaka, who was still pinned in midair, barely clinging to life.
Tanaka's shoulders had been torn apart, and he had lost well over half his blood. His face was as pale as paper. Seeing Rokuya approach, he forced a fawning smile uglier than tears onto his fear-twisted face.
"Y-young Takanashi... no, Lord Takanashi!" Tanaka's voice trembled, thick with pleading. "You're so strong! You're truly so strong! Just now... I was only testing you. Yes, a test! Look, not only did you pass perfectly, you even saved so many people. I... I'll give you all the credit for this mission! I won't take any! Please get me down. I'm going to bleed to death..."
Rokuya walked directly beneath Tanaka and looked up. There was no anger in his eyes, only pure pity and disgust.
"Testing me? Giving me the credit?" Rokuya scoffed, making no attempt to hide the mockery on his lips. "Who the hell do you think you are? What makes you worthy of testing me?"
"Yes, yes! I'm not worthy! I'm nothing! I'm trash!" Tanaka insulted himself without hesitation, tears and snot covering his face. "Please, we're all comrades in the Demon Slayer Corps! Swordsmen aren't allowed to kill each other! The Master laid down that rule! Just get me down, and I swear I'll be your dog from now on! I'll work like an animal for you!"
To stay alive, this so-called Kanoto senior had completely abandoned his last shred of human dignity.
"Comrades?" Rokuya narrowed his eyes slightly and abruptly swung the Shura Greatblade.
Whoosh-smack!
The gale raised by the back of the blade lashed directly across Tanaka's face, instantly shattering half his teeth and sending them spraying out with his blood.
"Aah!!!" Tanaka let out an agonized howl.
"You think you deserve to call us comrades? You think you deserve to wear that uniform?" Rokuya's voice was ice-cold. "When those villagers were caged up and being bled, you were thinking about stealing the credit. When I faced fifty demons alone, you were cursing me to die. If I hadn't had some strength, the hundred-odd people of Mochizuki Village and I would all have died in this sunless cave today because of your arrogance and cowardice!"
"I... I was wrong! I really was wrong..." Tanaka broke down sobbing.
Before you continue