The temporary camp by the mountain path was in disarray, goods scattered everywhere.
Several packhorses neighed in fright, constantly trying to break free from their reins.
The scent of blood, mixed with the cold night wind, permeated the air.
"Block it! Quickly, block it!"
The captain of the guard roared, his voice hoarse.
The long saber in his hand barely parried a cleaving bone scimitar; his tiger's mouth had already split open, bleeding profusely.
The guards' opponent was a demon with six arms.
Each hand held a different, bizarre weapon twisted from bone or flesh, wielding them in an impenetrable flurry.
Two guards had already fallen nearby, their fates unknown.
The remaining few were also all wounded, in precarious situations.
A young man, dressed in bright silks and looking like the son of a wealthy merchant, was huddled behind a pile of goods, trembling.
His face was ashen, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably.
The captain of the guard, in a moment of carelessness, saw a bone barb, like a scorpion's tail, suddenly stab from an odd angle.
He couldn't dodge in time, and his left arm was instantly sliced open with a wound deep enough to expose bone!
"Ah—!"
The captain let out a pained shriek, stumbling back, while using his last ounce of strength to yell at the young man:
"Young master! Run! Don't worry about the goods!"
The young man was startled awake by the shriek and scrambled to his feet from behind the goods, trying to escape.
But his legs felt like they were filled with lead, too heavy to obey, only trembling madly.
Extreme fear seized all the muscles in his body.
Just then, an even more horrific scream rang out!
A guard attempting to attack from the side was instantly cut in half at the waist by two bone blades swung in a cross by the six-armed demon!
Organs and blood splattered everywhere, and the horrific, bloody sight instantly destroyed the young man's last shred of sanity.
He fell to the ground with a "thud," his crotch quickly soaking through.
A foul odor spread – he had wet himself from fright.
The six-armed demon's six eyes rotated simultaneously, gazing greedily at the young man, but then immediately noticed his urine-soaked trousers and the ground.
An expression of extreme disgust and anger immediately appeared on its twisted face.
The six-armed demon roared hoarsely, "Damn brat! Aren't you disgusting! The best, most tender thigh meat has been polluted by you, what a waste!"
Its blood-red eyes stared fixedly at the young man's soiled lower half, as if looking at a ruined delicacy.
Two of its arms lifted, preparing to tear apart this brat who had soiled its "food" to vent its anger.
However, just as its arms were about to swing down—
Its vision suddenly spun wildly!
As if the entire world had been forcibly turned upside down.
In the instant before its consciousness was completely annihilated, it seemed to hear an extremely faint, snake-like hiss of Lightning Release.
And an almost imperceptible "click" of a blade returning to its sheath.
Then, its entire body, along with its six arms and those bizarre weapons, instantly turned into flying dust, like a sand sculpture blown away by the wind, vanishing without a trace.
In the center of the camp,
The surviving guards, including the heavily wounded captain and the stunned young man, all stared dumbfounded at the spot where the demon had disappeared.
Then everyone looked around blankly at the dark forest.
What… just happened?
It seemed like a faint flash of lightning passed by?
Then the demon… was gone?
They hadn't even clearly seen who, or what, had made the move.
Only a faint, almost imperceptible sound of footsteps, as if it had never existed, disappeared far into the depths of the dense forest… On the silent wilderness, Cheng Mo walked alone, the dry grass beneath his feet making a faint rustling sound.
The Blood Demon Art of that six-armed demon just now, though seemingly flashy, was essentially still physical mutation and weapon generation, offering nothing new to him.
He stopped, speaking without a hint of emotion: "Silent Shadow Crow."
A dark shadow silently glided down from the night sky, landing lightly on his shoulder.
Silent Shadow Crow's tone was as elegant and submissive as ever: "Yes, Master."
"Explain…"
Cheng Mo's voice was calm and even.
"That unique energy fluctuation in the valley to the west, why didn't you report it to me just now?"
Silent Shadow Crow was silent for a moment.
It was unaware of the Eye of Truth's existence and seemed not to have expected Cheng Mo to capture such detailed and distant energy information through their shared vision.
It tried to explain, its voice still maintaining that deep, magnetic quality: "Master, that demon's energy reaction was indeed abnormal and extremely dangerous, far exceeding ordinary levels…"
"But its activity area is in a remote, uninhabited valley, and it has not caused large-scale civilian casualties recently. And the transport team just now concerned the livelihoods of a dozen people, and the members were already in a fierce battle. Prioritizing their rescue was more in line with…"
Its words were cut short—
Sizzle!
Terrifying azure Lightning Release Chakra suddenly erupted around Cheng Mo!
Violent electrical arcs crackled, and a tangible pressure instantly descended.
Silent Shadow Crow, perched on Cheng Mo's shoulder, bore the brunt of it, its feathers instantly bristling.
A small but terribly powerful bolt of lightning suddenly shot into its body!
"Caw—!"
Silent Shadow Crow let out a painful, sharp shriek, completely unable to maintain balance, and fell directly from Cheng Mo's shoulder to the ground.
Its body convulsed violently, its voice losing all elegance, only a distorted tremor remaining:
"Ma… Master? Wh-why…"
Cheng Mo looked down at the Silent Shadow Crow convulsing on the ground, his eyes cold.
He said softly, "Repeat my initial command."
Silent Shadow Crow struggled amidst the intense pain and paralysis brought by the lightning, intermittently and with difficulty repeating: "Prioritize… finding… demons… with special… energy fluctuations and… Blood Demon Art… for you…"
"Did your actions constitute a superficial compliance with, but actual disregard for, my instructions?"
Cheng Mo's voice was devoid of warmth.
"…Yes… My Lord."
Silent Shadow Crow's trembling voice was filled with fear.
"Silent Shadow Crow, think carefully before you answer me…"
The lightning around Cheng Mo receded slightly, but the cold pressure intensified.
"Who is your only master? Does your absolute loyalty belong to the Ubuyashiki Clan, the Demon Slayer Corps, or me, Cheng Mo?"
In the face of Cheng Mo's absolute authority and irrefutable logic, Silent Shadow Crow's extremely high intelligence instantly understood the situation.
It realized that, subconsciously, it had indeed placed the principle of its old master, the Ubuyashiki Clan, to "protect civilians and reduce casualties," above the clear instruction of its new master, Cheng Mo, to "prioritize obtaining special samples."
This was a serious transgression and failure.
It felt an unprecedented fear.
Not fear of death, but fear of being deemed useless by Cheng Mo and discarded, along with deep regret.
It endured the paralysis and pain in its body, struggling to get up from the ground.
No longer standing elegantly, but in an extremely humble posture, gently touching the ground with one wing, lowering its head, displaying complete submission.
It answered clearly and unreservedly, its voice somewhat hoarse from the previous electric shock, but exceptionally firm:
"I unilaterally altered the mission priority. My deepest apologies."
"Your will is above all else. The interests of the Demon Slayer Corps are merely a part of your interests, not my highest guiding principle."
"You, Lord Cheng Mo, are my only master."
"My absolute loyalty belongs only to you."
The moment Silent Shadow Crow swore absolute loyalty from its core, in Cheng Mo's mind, the silent myriad realms compass suddenly vibrated slightly on its own.
A cold and mechanical stream of information surged into his consciousness:
"Detected that the purity and depth of the familiar 'Silent Shadow Crow' contract link has reached 90%, fulfilling the 'extremely high loyalty' contract condition."
"Familiar function activated!"