Demon Capital Slayer

Chapter 23 The Decapitation Journey
Faster!
This was the only thought in Yu Jian's mind.

After that, he completely abandoned the idea.

With an almost nonexistent focus, he transforms the essence of swordsmanship etched in his memory into clear commands to control his own body.

Natural Mind-Body Flow - Thunder Sword!
Lower your body, use a shrinking step technique to glide past the enemy from the side and launch an attack. You can then quickly get up and follow up with a second attack from behind.

It's a swordsmanship that's not exactly honorable, and even a little underhanded, but it works!
At this moment, the fact that Yu Jian was much smaller than the Red King became an advantage. Before the latter could react, he swept past the opponent's ankle and quickly drew his sword to strike the back of the knee.

A sword strike spurted blood; the ancient Japanese armor offered no protection for the inside of the joints!

The Red King let out a deafening roar, his voice sounding as sharp and piercing as a steam whistle, as if what was beating in his chest was not a heart, but a steam turbine that was constantly maintained at high temperature and high pressure.

Rather than being hurt, the reason was more anger—anger at being hurt by such insignificant mortals.

Ignoring the enemy's meaningless roars, Yujian kept in mind the battlefield principle of maintaining speed in the Natural Rishin-ryu style, and immediately used the school's secret technique - Shrinking the Earth.

Just as the enraged Red King was about to launch an attack, the tiny figure disappeared from the edge of its sight. If it weren't for the throbbing pain in its wounds, it would have even suspected that the sword had been slashed out from the void.

It is not a miracle created by supernatural forces, but a superb skill summarized by mortals after much thought and practice.

Natural Mind Flow – Shrinking the Ground: Combining leg strength, breathing techniques, and body coordination, it uses explosive power to stomp on the ground, completing a change of direction and displacement in a very short time, thus creating the visual effect of "disappearing instantly" or "stepping across several meters in one stride".

This move is similar to the "inch step" or "slide step" in traditional martial arts, emphasizing efficient movement and avoiding unnecessary actions.

The sword, which had successfully 'disappeared,' launched a despicable backstab from behind the Red King the next second. The pale katana, gleaming with a cold, eerie light, easily shattered the armor plates, but failed to cut through the opponent as usual.

His massive body contained a huge amount of life force that matched it. Despite being hit in the back by a sharp sword, the Red King acted as if nothing had happened, raising his weapon high and smashing it down with all his might.

The massive mace, as thick as a Roman column, crashed down, instantly shattering the ground into countless fragments. The dust it kicked up plunged the surrounding area into a thick, impenetrable cloud.

It was hardly like an attack caused by wielding a cold weapon with muscles; it was more like a heavy artillery bombardment propelled by a gunpowder explosion.

He raised his hand to block the flying shards of stone, and a bloody gash appeared on his cheek. He was not surprised by the Red King's strength.

The fact that the first sword strike failed to sever the opponent's right leg had already made him wary. After devouring a large number of creatures in the painting, the Red King was practically no different from a monster, and was by no means an existence that could be killed easily.

A layer of blood-red mist appeared around it, and the cracks on the surface of its armor plates quickly disappeared.

Yu Jian noticed that the color of the great armor seemed to have changed slightly. The change was so subtle that it was almost imperceptible to the naked eye, and even with his five senses, he could only barely detect it.

But ultimately, things did change.

When the Red King was repairing the armor, it seemed that some red pigment was seeping out from the cracks in the armor plates.

So, this monster bleeds too...

Yu Jian couldn't help but smile. He used the Shrinking Earth technique to retreat more than ten meters, causing the Red King's wildly swung iron rod to fall completely into empty air.

This strike was effective, but it was far from enough.

Take a deep breath and adjust your breathing to reverse abdominal breathing, also known as diaphragmatic breathing, which forcibly improves the efficiency of cardiopulmonary function and forces the body to squeeze out more power.

The boy's full head of white hair stood on end, with a faint light flowing around it, and the large amount of adrenaline secreted put all his muscles into a state of extreme excitement.

But it was the Red King who launched the attack even faster. Its towering figure, comparable to an industrial creation, instantly smashed through the dust and smoke, like a heavy tank moving at full speed, unleashing a terrifying power that could shake the earth.

The Blood Tyrant charged forward, determined to crush this insignificant mortal before him into dust!

Yu Jian did not run away; he simply silently changed his grip on the sword from one hand to two.

He knew he had no room for error. When the Red King wielded that ridiculously heavy weapon, even a mere glancing blow from its aftershocks would be enough to break an ordinary person's bones and render them unable to rise again.

Despite this, Yu Jian did not feel any fear, only a sense of calm.

The enemy was as large as a monster.

The enemy can repair its own damage.

The enemy has an absolute advantage in strength.

The enemy possesses impenetrable, hard armor.

what can I do?
Swinging the sword...

The only way is to wield the sword...

The reason for the thirst for power is to avoid being reduced to a pathetic state where one can do nothing in such times! To reject the barbarity and violence that one does not agree with, and to resist the cruelty and injustice that one cannot stand.

What? Even as he grew older, the immature kid who wanted to be a knight-errant and a hero never completely disappeared. He just hid in the narrow shell deep inside his heart, quietly waiting in that unknown corner.

Waiting for the day when I no longer need to endure!
Heavy iron bars studded with golden fangs slammed violently into the ground, raising clouds of dust that blotted out the sun.

Low growls echoed from behind the Red King's demonic iron mask, wondering about the ant's second disappearance and whether the opponent had been completely eliminated.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached from afar.

The next second, the tiny figure shot out like a bullet.

Wisps of dust trailed behind his limbs and bones as he rode his sword, ascending upwards on the weapon in the Red King's hand.

Speed, extreme speed, the core essence of the Natural Flow of Mind is displayed to the fullest extent.

The massive body has become a negative factor that restricts the Red King's actions. The thick spiked club is fierce but heavy. Even if it has the power to shatter the earth, it is worthless if it cannot hit the enemy.

At this moment, Yujian felt as if he had left all his troubles behind, and all the techniques of the Natural Rinshū style were forgotten. All that remained was the ultimate pursuit of speed.

Muscles roar, bones howl, and soul sings.

A lightning-fast thrust that surpasses even Yun Yao's has appeared in this world!
The secret of the natural rational flow: the sword of ignorance!

The Blade of Destruction: Annihilation of Three Thousand Voids pierced the Red King's neck like a beam of light, causing him to scream and shake violently.

Yu Jian knelt on the monster's shoulder to stabilize himself, gripped the front of the hilt with his right hand and pressed the end of the hilt with his left, and pushed the weapon with all his might until it was completely buried in the enemy's throat!
The wound reopened, and a large amount of bright red, blood-like pigment flowed down the surface of the armor like a waterfall.

Ho-ho-ho

A strange roar came from the Red King's throat, and his large hand, big enough to grab a person, was raised high and slammed down with an irresistible force.

The shadow instantly enveloped Yu Jian's entire body, and the enormous hand that rushed towards him stirred up gusts of wind. He could even smell the pungent, fishy stench emanating from the gaps in the enemy's armor.

But Yu Jian did not dodge.

A cold glint, sharper than a sword blade, flashed in his eyes; he knew this was his only chance.

With a silent roar, the boy risked his own life and the lives of everyone else, howling as he yanked his weapon horizontally.

There were no longer any sophisticated sword techniques; the movements were as simple as forcefully flipping a switch on a railway crossing.

This is the most primal form of fighting!

Creak—clatter!
Despite the clash between swords and flesh, the impact produced a piercing sound like metal twisting. The normally unstoppable Blade of Destruction: Extinction of Three Thousand Void seemed unusually sluggish.

As more and more bright red pigment gushed out, the color of the Red King's armor gradually faded.

Finally, its palm stopped just a hair's breadth away from the sword.

The demon helmet, along with the Red King's head, fell to the muddy ground. The headless body fell into complete silence, like a huge, speechless stone statue, its form still but shrouded in the gray of death.

Huff, huff...

For a moment, Yu Jian could only hear his own breathing.

All the other bright red monsters present dissolved into pools of paint. Cheers erupted from the White Castle's keep. The local residents, who resembled balls of yarn, jumped and waved their arms. Faintly, one could see a glimmer of light emanating from the keep—a ray of sunlight refracted by Yurika through her makeup mirror.

Yu Jian couldn't help but smile.

What? This is easy to do!

Just then, I suddenly heard a continuous sound of footsteps, like ocean waves.

Yu Jian's expression changed. Standing on the tall, broken body of the Red King, he looked into the distance and saw a neat army formation composed of countless ice-blue figures.

The first man rode a deer and gracefully led his troops forward.

He wore a bright blue crown, a magnificent azure armor, and a lake-blue cloak trailing behind him.

One of the seven kings, the ruler of the Blue Kingdom, arrives unexpectedly.

(End of this chapter)