Ascending the Throne from the Pillar of Destruction

The Demons roared in response, their bodies, which had long been restless, instantly surged forward.

Some Demons ran on the ground through the streets, on all fours, their fingertips tipped with sharp blades. Some Demons leaped and dashed across rooftops, appearing only as dark shadows that the moonlight seemed unable to illuminate. Some Demons even spread their wings and flew directly into the air, swooping towards the Swordsmen.

An elite Demon, a Mutated Demon, flapped its wings and flew through the air. With no obstacles, it charged quickly and was the first to approach the Demon Slayer Corps Swordsmen.

The Swordsman at the very front was tall and muscular, like an iron tower forged from steel.

The Mutated Demon raised its single wing, which had a span of two meters, and then swooped down towards the tall Swordsman like a cannonball.

Mid-air, the Mutated Demon twisted its body, its clearly muscled wings stirring up a strong wind as it flapped down towards the tall Swordsman's head.

As a physically strong Mutated Demon, its wings were the most powerful part of its body. Even a rock several meters in diameter would be shattered if struck by them.

On the ground, the Stone Pillar felt the strong wind in the air. Without even looking up, he extended his hand and unleashed a flash of crimson lightning.

It was a long iron chain, with a head-sized heavy hammer at the end.

*Crash!* He smashed the tough, muscular wing with a single hammer blow. The Stone Pillar pulled, and the Mutated Demon's body was uncontrollably dragged down.

An A Rank Swordsman bent his legs and leaped. Faint lightning flickered on his pale yellow Nichirin Blade.

*Rip!* The golden sword light tore through the air. The head of the fastest charging Mutated Demon flew off instantly. The next second, it turned into flying ash and dissipated into the air.

Not far away, Kurozawa was not in a hurry to act. Instead, he closed his eyes slightly, his senses fully alert.

The Lower Moons were the same; none of them attacked immediately. Most were hidden in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity.

They were targeting the Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Meanwhile, some faster Demons had already approached the Demon Slayer Corps, and the two sides began engaging in skirmishes.

Tens of seconds later, because the Demon Slayer Corps had Pillars engaging, the skirmishes quickly ended. Three or four Demons were all killed, and the Swordsmen were unharmed.

Kurozawa couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

The reason the Demon Slayer Corps could persist and continuously hunt Demons despite being at a disadvantage was largely because the Demons' personalities were quite extreme, tending towards chaos and frenzy.

Even the Upper Moons, who might normally possess rational thought like humans, would instantly act like lunatics as soon as their core obsessions were touched.

Due to this personality, Demons were fundamentally unable to cooperate. Even elite Demons would instantly lose themselves in battle, gradually influenced by their bloodthirsty killing instincts.

It looked like a swarming horde of Demons, but in reality, they were all fighting for themselves. Even in situations where they could easily help their own kind, they would only stand by and watch, or even mock and ridicule.

In contrast, although the Demon Slayer Corps Swordsmen were slightly weaker in individual strength, three or five of them would group together, supporting each other and coordinating. Some would block attacks and defend, while others would seize the opportunity to decapitate.

If those few Demons had also cooperated, even with a Pillar engaging and slaying, they could have more or less inflicted some injuries on the other regular Swordsmen.

"Lower Moons, stop observing and act," Kurozawa said in a deep voice.

Ultimately, they still had to rely on the Upper Moons to act. Even elite Demons were essentially just ants.

The individual strength of the Upper Moons exceeded that of the enemy, their overall strength also surpassed them, and with himself and Hongyue, it was practically a guaranteed victory. Kurozawa truly didn't know how they could lose.

He had expected to face a large group of Swordsmen with Demon Slayer Marks and Crimson Red Blades who had learned Sun Breathing. But now it seemed that while these Swordsmen were quite capable, they weren't like that. There were practically none who could use Sun Breathing.

Even with his perfect Breathing Technique level, Kurozawa found it difficult to learn Sun Breathing, the origin of all Breathing Techniques, through self-study alone. It required extremely demanding physical constitution and talent. He estimated that Yoriichi Tsugikuni hadn't intentionally withheld Sun Breathing back then, but rather that even if he taught it, no one could learn it. The Kamado Family used a simplified version of Sun Breathing, which was barely enough to strengthen their bodies.

As Kurozawa's command was issued, in an instant, several figures whose aura was completely different from other Demons, as if they were another form of life, erupted and instantly plunged into the ranks of the Demon Slayer Corps Swordsmen.

*Rip!* Kokushibo swung his sword, and the Nichirin Blades of two Rank A Swordsmen snapped in response. Their bodies were also cut in half at the waist, splattering blood everywhere, and they died instantly.

The Stone Pillar's expression changed, and he lunged forward to meet him.

He fully activated his Breathing Technique, and within a few seconds, he and Kokushibo engaged in a fierce, storm-like exchange of blows, like needle points against wheat ears, a stalemate.

Flashes of sword light flickered. Kokushibo held his sword with both hands, his breathing strong and powerful, and then he dramatically spun and unleashed a horizontal slash.

Moon Breathing, Eighth Form: Moon Dragon Ring Tail! *Roar!* A crescent-shaped sword light shot out from the Demonic Blade in his hand, instantly expanding and spreading, slicing ferociously in all directions, resembling a half-moon.

The Stone Pillar's expression changed, and he narrowly avoided it.

But some Swordsmen behind him were directly caught by the aftershock, their bodies torn apart.

In the Fighting Spirit Domain, the Demons ran rampant, and Swordsmen died screaming in his perception, one after another.

On the left, Kurozawa was engulfed in flames. His every move seemed to shatter the air. Wherever he went, Swordsmen were sent flying, their bodies thrown backward, losing their lives while still in the air.

Tengen Uzui confronted him.

Kurozawa simply stomped the ground violently. With a *bang*, his muscles bulged dramatically, his veins throbbing like swimming dragons. In an instant, Tengen Uzui didn't even manage to use a Sword Form. His head exploded like a watermelon, and his wives, who charged forward in anger, were all splattered with blood within a few seconds.

Kurozawa's figure had already appeared elsewhere. Like a ferocious beast charging into a flock of sheep, he moved and shifted, resembling a meat grinder, harvesting the lives of a large number of Swordsmen. There was not a single enemy he couldn't defeat in one blow.

Further away, the Demon King, who was nearly three meters tall and covered in scarlet blood armor, destroyed large sections of houses and streets with every move of his devastating Strength. Not a single Swordsman nearby survived for even a second; it was simply a one-sided slaughter.

That kind of Strength left the Stone Pillar feeling incredibly shocked.

Perhaps, even if all the Demon Slayer Corps Swordsmen only surrounded and attacked that Demon King, they wouldn't be able to kill him, let alone the Upper Moons who were even stronger than the Pillars, and the elite Demons comparable to Rank A Swordsmen.

Seeing this scene, the Stone Pillar suddenly felt a sense of despair.

Because encounters with the Upper Moons were too rare and information was scarce, they had greatly underestimated the Demons' strength.

In this one-sided situation, even with the anti-Demon poison given by Tamayo, he didn't know how to use it.

Not to mention the Demon King, even the Upper Moon One with six blood-red eyes on his face that he was facing, despite breaking through many times, the Stone Pillar could only fight him to a draw even with his full strength. Furthermore, without regenerative abilities, he would gradually fall into a disadvantage after fighting for a while.

There were Swordsmen who had learned the Crimson Red Blade, but their numbers were small. They could easily deal with the Lower Moons but still couldn't kill the powerful Upper Moons, having little impact on the overall battle.

When the Upper Moon, Hongyue, and Kurozawa joined the battle, the Demon Slayer Corps instantly fell into a precarious situation, like a lone boat on a raging sea, constantly in danger of capsizing.

In just over ten seconds, the Sound Pillar, Tengen Uzui, died, nearly fifty Swordsmen were killed, and countless others were injured by the collateral damage.

The Demon Slayer Corps was reduced by a tenth directly.

At this rate, they would be completely wiped out here in less than two minutes.

The Stone Pillar, fighting against Kokushibo, was extremely anxious but couldn't break free.

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