"In my estimation, even if all of us here were to attack him together, we would probably not be Muzan Kibutsuji's match."
A sentence like this from Lexon seemed to carry a magic that rendered people "silent."
The entire hall fell quiet once again.
Only after a long while did someone speak.
"Why do you think that?" Shinobu Kocho asked.
"Hey, don't talk nonsense over there, you bastard!" Sanemi cursed.
"Mr. Lexon, please don't look down on us so much," Mitsuri Kanroji said.
"Our strength is not weak, Lexon!" Kyojuro Rengoku's resonant voice echoed.
Obanai Iguro's mismatched pupils stared straight at Lexon, and he said slowly, "If Kibutsuji is that strong, then how did you survive?"
Everyone looked at Lexon at the same time.
'That's right. If Kibutsuji is really that strong, how did you escape from him?'
"It's easy to understand. Because my strength after demonizing was enough to support my escape," Lexon said carelessly, his head drooping, propping his chin with his hand.
"So when you said 'all of us together would probably not be Muzan Kibutsuji's match,' you were referring to your human state?" Shinobu Kocho asked.
"Yes," Lexon nodded.
"Then what about after you demonize?" she continued to ask.
"Hmm..." Lexon shook his head, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Although my physical abilities are greatly enhanced after I demonize, my regenerative ability becomes as strong as a demon's, and my overall strength becomes very great, but even with you all added in, we probably still couldn't win."
"Are you saying we're a burden? Don't be so arrogant, you bastard!" Sanemi arched his body and shouted.
"You're not wrong. You are indeed pretty much a burden, but... except for him," Lexon raised his other arm and pointed at Gyomei Himejima. "He would be of some help."
"You bastard!" Sanemi made a move to get up.
"Shinazugawa," Kagaya signaled for Sanemi to be quiet and calm down first.
"Yes, Master," Sanemi followed the command but still looked at Lexon with a look of defiance.
Next, Kagaya said to Lexon, "The swordsmen here are all exceptionally talented and immensely powerful..."
He wanted to explain to Lexon that every Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps possessed a strength that should not be underestimated and that he shouldn't be so pessimistic.
But Lexon, who had read the entire Demon Slayer manga, actually knew better than him and understood even more clearly. It wasn't that the Hashira weren't strong, but that their enemy was too powerful.
"Not enough," so Lexon interrupted his words and said in a serious tone, "Their strength is still not enough."
In his eyes, the current strength of the Demon Slayer Corps' Hashira was still not up to par.
The only Hashira who could open the mark was Gyomei Himejima. There wasn't even a single one who had comprehended the Transparent World.
They were mostly swordsmen who couldn't open their marks. And a Hashira without a mark would have an extremely difficult time even fighting an Upper Rank, let alone Muzan Kibutsuji.
Wouldn't that just be sending them to their deaths one by one?
Seeing Lexon's serious tone, Kagaya was silent for a moment before saying, "Then in your opinion, what is needed to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji?"
"At the very least, everyone should have the same level of strength as him," Lexon once again pointed at Gyomei Himejima.
"Who?" Kagaya couldn't see, so he didn't know who he was referring to.
"He is talking about me, Master," Gyomei Himejima replied.
"Like Himejima..." Kagaya said thoughtfully.
He knew in his heart that among the nine Hashira, Himejima's strength was the greatest, and the other Hashira were a step below. But did all the Hashira really need to have Himejima's level of strength to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji...
"And..." Lexon said leisurely, "The demon camp doesn't just have Muzan Kibutsuji alone."
Lexon poured another basin of cold water on the heads of everyone present.
"Are you referring to the Twelve Kizuki?" Kagaya asked.
"Yes," Lexon replied.
"I have flamboyantly slain a Lower Rank of the Twelve Kizuki. Their strength is not that great," Tengen Uzui spoke up at this moment.
"The Upper and Lower Ranks cannot be judged by the same standard," Lexon explained. "The six Upper Rank demons haven't changed in a hundred years, while the positions of the Lower Ranks are constantly in flux. Everyone present can easily slay any of the Lower Rank demons, but the same cannot be said for the Upper Ranks."
"Furthermore, the top three Upper Rank demons are especially powerful. The gap between them and the bottom three Upper Ranks is like a heavenly chasm. But as for the bottom three Upper Ranks, at this moment, only the Stone Hashira can defeat them with any certainty."
Lexon's words were as heavy as a boulder, landing in people's hearts and smashing a large pit.
"How do you know so much?" Muichiro Tokito asked.
Lexon patted the small pot at his side and said, "I judged based on his strength and what he told me."
"In the end, it's all just your own speculation and judgment," Obanai Iguro said with a gloomy face. The white snake coiled around his neck also followed its master, letting out a frightening "hiss."
In reality, many of Lexon's words were indeed based on his own judgment.
Although Lexon himself believed there was no problem with them, there was a large information gap between the Hashira and him. Moreover, Lexon had only joined the Demon Slayer Corps for a few months, and today was the first time he had met most of the Hashira.
So naturally, it was impossible for them to believe what he said right away.
"Speculation and judgment, you say?" Lexon pinched his chin and mused. "You should have witnessed my strength and speed in my human state. It's stronger than most of you, right?"
Iguro and the others were silent, which was as good as an admission.
Today, whether it was the speed or the strength that Lexon had displayed, it had surpassed most of the Hashira. This was an irrefutable fact for them.
"And yet," Lexon continued, "with that level of strength in my human state, in front of Muzan Kibutsuji, I was as helpless as a lone boat on a vast ocean."
This was indeed the truth.
That day in Asakusa, Kyoto, in the comparison of their auras, this was Lexon's truest feeling.
If he didn't have the demonization ability, he absolutely would not have succeeded in escaping.
"I underwent demonization, my strength increased dramatically, and only then did I succeed in escaping," Lexon looked at Sanemi and Obanai and said, "After I demonized, you two attacked me immediately but couldn't even swing your swords down. If I had attacked you then, would you have survived?"
Sanemi Shinazugawa and Obanai Iguro were somewhat unable to refute this.
As the ones who had experienced being frozen by the eyes on Lexon's neck after his demonization, they deeply understood the terror of that feeling. The strength in their bodies was completely unable to be mobilized, and their breathing techniques, even when circulated at full power, had no effect at all.
They were not demons; they didn't have powerful regenerative abilities. As human bodies, after being frozen, even a child with a knife could kill them by slashing their vital points a few times.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]