Chapter 53: Drawing Fire from Under the Cauldron

"Are you certain those Demon Slayer Corps will send out Pillar-level swordsmen?"

The man-eating ghost, wearing a purple-red short shirt, with peach-pink short hair and golden eyes, asked Lie with great interest.

Lie even felt his breathing become slightly smoother due to the other's proximity.

Upper Rank Three Akaza likes fighting strong opponents most in his life; he looks down on Doma, and originally, he would never execute a mission together with Doma.

But the human before him actually stated with certainty that the location of the 【Blue Spider Lily】 would definitely be protected by powerful Pillar-level swordsmen dispatched by the Demon Slayer Corps, and that ordinary human soldiers could not obtain it.

Not only that...

Because the assassination mission with 【You】 failed last time, 【Lie】 not only failed to cut off the heads of other Reincarnators to prove himself, but even lost one of his own men.

This caused 【Lie】's Reputation in the Muzan Faction to drop to a very dangerous level for a time.

But fortunately, the Intelligence regarding the 【Blue Spider Lily】 provided earlier was truly too important to Kibutsuji Muzan, and the Lower Rank Ghost who died at the same time happened to be able to prove that 【Lie】 was not completely incompetent.

There indeed exists the possibility that the enemy's strength is great and multiple Pillar-level swordsmen are participating in the encirclement.

Lie knew in his heart that at this moment, the only reason he could continue his Survival was the authenticity of that 【Blue Spider Lily】 Intelligence; if he could not seize that thing, even if he could successfully complete the Main Mission, Muzan would kill him before that.

So, although he did not know the choices of other Reincarnators, to be safe, 【Lie】 made the worst preparations.

Namely, that the Demon Slayer Corps also obtained the Intelligence of the 【Blue Spider Lily】 in advance.

Therefore, on one hand, he suggested that Muzan order those officials to continuously send a large number of human soldiers to the destination to search.

On the other hand, he had Muzan arrange for the Upper Rank to prepare to provide support.

If Pillar-level swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps are guarding it, then by using a large number of human soldiers to drag the opponent down, the Upper Rank Moon arriving at night to kill the Pillar-level swordsmen and clear the obstacles, he would have a full harvest whether it be the Main Mission or faction Reputation.

If the few professors do not have such an arrangement, then as long as the 【Blue Spider Lily】 is successfully obtained, no matter how angry the Upper Rank Moon is, Muzan's commendation will outweigh everything.

This is the path to Survival that 【Lie】 found for himself.

"Correct!"

Lie gritted his teeth and affirmed, his body temperature having already dropped to a dangerous level due to Doma's Blood Demon Art, but he still insisted that his Intelligence was accurate.

A smile hung on Doma's face as he appreciated the way this human was still "lying" recklessly while on the verge of death.

Yes, Doma was very certain that this human was lying.

When humans lie, their heart rate, pulse amplitude, and even the scent they secrete are completely different, and he, an Upper Rank Ghost, sees these things clearly.

But Doma did not expose the other, merely appreciating the ugly state of the other before death.

Akaza does not like Doma's posturing; although he can see that there are untruthful parts in Lie's words, the other is also not completely lying.

At least...

"The Martial Artist you mentioned who can kill a Lower Rank with bare hands will also appear?!"

Akaza is more interested in this person.

Killing a man-eating ghost, or even a Lower Rank Ghost, with bare hands—this kind of character makes him extremely excited.

Tao Baibai, is it? I already cannot wait to have a fight with you!

Moreover, according to this 【Lie】's statement, the joint effort of Upper Rank Two Doma and himself, Upper Rank Three, might actually be unable to take down the Demon Slayer Corps.

Because the Stone Pillar of this generation is a terrifying, rare talent encountered once in a century, and in coordination with that Martial Artist named Tao Baibai, there is a possibility of sniping two Upper Ranks.

Saying such things is simply inconceivable.

But Lord Muzan, in order to obtain the 【Blue Spider Lily】, has already become reckless, therefore...

The man standing closest to the window turned his head at this moment, his whole body emitting a terrifying aura that was almost solid.

Upper Rank One, Kokushibo! Only with this one Tongxing can it be ensured that Doma and Akaza will not break into conflict due to boring bickering.

Pfft! Lie's pupils shrank; the Kokushibo in his eyes slowly disappeared, while his own neck felt hot, and a large amount of fresh blood gushed out.

What is going on? Could it be that they do not listen to Muzan's orders?

The loss of blood caused Lie to quickly fall into a near-death state, but the next moment, a thick stream of blood surged into the wound on his neck.

【Warning, plot powerhouse Kokushibo is performing a blood transfusion for you; your Bloodline will undergo an unknown change】

"Ah!"

That blood seemed to have a will of its own, constantly shuttling through Lie's blood vessels; he felt his body, will, and even his Soul begin to no longer belong to himself.

【Bloodline mutation in progress...】

【Constitution test, passed】 【Will test, passed】

【Instant death test... passed】

【Your Bloodline has been changed; current status: Ghost (Dark Species, Secondary Species) (Rare)】

(Warning: This Bloodline is a group-based secondary generation Bloodline, completely dominated by the group's ruler; the space has performed a Cognitive Intervention on the bloodline source 【Kibutsuji Muzan】; 1 D-rank Singularity will be deducted upon mission completion, or erasure if insufficient)

Lie suddenly felt a pain as if his scalp were being torn apart; the next moment, his body began to transform bit by bit, as if Molting.

But amidst the excruciating pain, Lie let out a howl that seemed like joy.

"This is... power!"

As night fell, several man-eating ghosts moved forward at a terrifying speed.

Having Adapted to the new Bloodline, not only did Lie's physique change, but his temperament also changed uncontrollably.

Just like before, when he clearly knew that "Tao Baibai" had mastered 【Ripple Qigong】, he felt that even if he possessed the Ghost Bloodline, he should not face the other.

But at this moment, he had an uncontrollable desire for slaughter in his heart, and even felt that "Tao Baibai" was nothing more than that due to the power appearing in a steady stream.

At this very moment, he could completely kill the other with one sword strike.

The Bloodline of the Dark Species always inevitably erodes the mind.

He was not fast enough and was carried in one hand by Akaza, leaping through the forest.

But the closer he got to that target location, the more Akaza frowned.

Besides the indeed significant smell of blood in the air, there was also an increasingly thick smell of burning.

Immersed in complacency, Lie also smelled that terrible burnt odor.

It raised its head, and suddenly its pupils constricted; in the night, a mountain forest completely covered in flames appeared in its field of vision.

"How... is it possible..."

Swish! Doma vanished in an instant, rushing into the fully burning forest at extreme speed; wherever it passed, the flames automatically extinguished.

But a moment later, it returned empty-handed.

"Apart from the corpses of some dead soldiers, nothing was left in the mountain."

Lie felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar in an instant.

At the same moment, in a distant mountain forest, Vincent, holding a pair of special optical binoculars, gasped; he had not expected that Upper Ranks would actually appear, and that Upper Rank One, Upper Rank Two, and Upper Rank Three had arrived together.

If they had truly proceeded according to the original plan, tonight would likely have resulted in a tragic total annihilation.

He immediately placed an item into the Team Space shared with Elizabeth.

On the train heading to Kyoto, Elizabeth saw the item Vincent had placed in the Public Space and felt a lingering fear, raising her head to say to the few people in the carriage:

"The three strongest Upper Ranks have all appeared at the target location."

The Professor sighed, knowing that her plan had nearly led to a grave mistake.

Bai Cangshu, however, kept his smile as usual; the Professor's thinking was too conventional, but he knew very well that when a person is about to die, they will certainly stop at nothing.

"Very well, then tomorrow we shall go and kill that future Emperor Hirohito."

A flash of light shone in his hand, and a blue spider lily appeared in his palm.

【Blue Spider Lily】

【Quality: Blue】

【Description: A special spider lily that only blooms during the day】

【Effect: Possesses special medicinal value】

Liu Qi felt inexplicably excited upon hearing this, and he kept wiping his blade.

Bai Cangshu, however, was thinking about other matters.

Muzan, for the sake of this thing, you could abandon everyone, couldn't you?

Heh.

(End of this chapter)