novelapdf Chapter 83 Jiang Mu, you really are the mole!
Chapter 83 Jiang Mu, you really are the mole!
After gathering his subordinates at his own office, Yan Fenghuo took Jiang Mu and headed straight for the outskirts of the city.
Horse hooves shattered the thin mist as the horse galloped north along the official road.
On the way, the demon slayers of the Fourth Hall frequently glanced at Jiang Mu, their eyes scanning him up and down.
These fierce soldiers harbored a certain amount of curiosity about the Eighth Hall Master, who had recently become incredibly popular within the company and was rumored to be able to both slay demons and "slay" married women.
Meanwhile, Jiang Mu was secretly assessing the situation.
Despite my dislike for Yan Fenghuo, the soldiers he trained were indeed quite capable.
These eighteen people all stood upright with sharp eyes, and their bodies were surrounded by a fierce aura of someone who had been through countless battles.
No wonder it is called the "sharpest knife" of the Demon Slayer Division of Huzhou City.
They were far superior to the rabble under Wenhe's command.
"Hall Master Jiang."
A young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six approached, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Jiang Mu, and grinned:
"My name is Ma Wenliu. I have long admired Master Jiang's name."
"I heard that a while ago, Master Jiang and one of his subordinates killed more than fifty snake demons in Black Soil Village in one go? Such a feat is truly admirable."
Before Jiang Mu could speak, he continued, speaking to himself:
"However, I've also heard that most of those snake demons are only first or second-tier minor demons. Hall Master Jiang may not know this, but between these demons, a difference of one tier is like heaven and earth."
This is like killing fifty chickens versus killing a tiger; they are two different concepts.
"If it were fifty third-tier demonic creatures instead, I wonder if Hall Master Jiang... would still dare to go and kill them?"
Jiang Mu said calmly, "I think he would dare."
Ma Wenliu smiled and then asked, "Does Hall Master Jiang know our Hall Master Yan's nickname?"
"Never heard of it."
In fact, Jiang Mu had heard of the nickname "Desperate Yama," but he mainly played the straight man.
Ma Wenliu said proudly:
"Call him 'Desperate Yama'!"
Ten years ago, our sect leader was only at the third realm of cultivation. Once, during a mission, he accidentally entered a demon mountain inhabited by more than forty demons, including three at the peak of the third realm!
Anyone else would have been so scared they'd wet their pants and run for their lives.
But our leader, relying solely on a broken sword, hacked his way from the foot of the mountain to the summit, back and forth for three days and three nights, until blood flowed like a river, without even blinking an eye…”
"Don't your eyes get dry if you don't blink for so long?" Jiang Mu asked.
"..."
Ma Wenliu was momentarily at a loss for words.
He coughed lightly and continued:
"This is just one example. The reason our Fourth Hall is called 'Sharp Knife' is because we kill demons without regard for our lives."
What others fear, we may not fear. What others are cowardly about, we never are cowardly about.
For example, this time, Black Wind Valley harbored over seventy demons. In other halls, at least thirty or forty people would dare to take on the task. But our Fourth Hall only sent eighteen people.
We even felt that this number of people was somewhat wasted.
Ma Wenliu proudly raised his chin.
"So when we're carrying out the raid later, Hall Master Jiang, stay close to us. With us here, you'll be safe and sound."
Jiang Mu nodded calmly.
Seeing this, Ma Wenliu curled his lip and said no more.
He believed that when they actually clashed, this Master Jiang would be shocked by their style of doing things.
The several gangs that had previously cooperated with them were all terrified by the Fourth Gang's "madness" and dared not join forces again afterward.
There's no other way; not everyone dares to risk their life to slay demons.
In Xu Fu's words: This is a bunch of lunatics!
Ma Wen glanced at Jiang Mu's profile out of the corner of his eye.
Rumors within the company say that this Hall Master Jiang is also a demon-slaying madman. Today, let's show him what a true madman is.
……
Half an hour later, the group arrived at Black Wind Valley.
There were already scouts waiting in the valley.
Upon seeing Yan Fenghuo and the others arrive, he quickly stepped forward:
"Master Yan, it has been confirmed that the wolf demon 'Black Wind' and his followers are entrenched at 'Eagle Beak Rock' in the valley."
As he spoke, he handed over a hand-drawn topographical map.
Yan Fenghuo took the map, unfolded it to examine it closely, and then looked up to observe the surrounding mountains.
A moment later, he began assigning tasks.
Who will guard the eastern pass, who will flank and cut off the retreat, and who will be responsible for clearing out the outer sentry posts...
Clear and organized, decisive and efficient.
After outlining the tactics, Yan Fenghuo turned to look at Jiang Mu and said expressionlessly:
"Master Jiang, is there anything else to add?"
Jiang Mu shook her head: "You're the professional, I'll listen to you."
"Then you will come with me."
Yan Fenghuo put away the map, his tone calm, "When the fighting starts later, the brothers will be blinded by rage and may not care about you. Be careful."
Having said that, he headed toward the path in the valley.
Using the rocks as cover, the group quickly made their way to the outer perimeter of the wolf demon's lair.
Ahead was a simple village built of giant logs and animal bones, where several wolf-headed demons, standing upright, were patrolling carrying bone clubs.
Yan Fenghuo gestured to his subordinates who were flanking from the other side.
A few soft "whoosh" sounds.
The crossbow bolt pierced the air, precisely striking the little demon's throat.
The little demons didn't even have time to utter a sound before collapsing to the ground.
The team continued to advance.
Jiang Mu followed at the back of the line, observing coldly.
These fourth-tier demon slayers acted swiftly and coordinated perfectly: one kept watch, two delivered the finishing blows, and three cleaned up the traces...
The entire process was smooth and efficient, clearly the result of long-term refinement and rigorous training.
They definitely have some skills.
As the minor demons on the periphery were eliminated one by one, the demons patrolling inside the stronghold finally noticed something amiss.
A jackal sniffed and suddenly shrieked, "Enemy attack! There's—"
Before the words were even finished, the blade was already flashing.
Yan Fenghuo moved like a ghost, his sword flashing as the jackal demon's head flew into the sky.
"Kill! Leave no one alive!"
He shouted sharply and charged into the village first.
Jiang Mu drew his sword and followed closely behind.
Chaos erupted within the village as demons surged in from all directions.
However, the group from the fourth hall remained in formation, fighting in groups of three, back to back, their blades flashing as they annihilated all the attacking demons.
Jiang Mu wanted to intervene, but found that he had almost no room to do so.
The demons that lunged at him were always dealt with first by Yan Fenghuo or the nearby demon slayers.
He was happy to have some free time.
They stayed at the back of the procession, absorbing the demonic energy dissipated by the dead monsters.
He was exactly like a battlefield scavenger.
Just as the battle was raging, a wolf howl rang out from deep within the village.
The sound waves rolled in, making the wooden fence tremble violently.
The next moment, a huge black shadow burst out from the inner nest and landed with a thud on a towering stone platform.
It was a giant wolf that was entirely black.
Its shoulders were nearly ten feet tall, its muscles were bulging, and its eerie green wolf eyes gleamed with a sinister and ferocious light.
"The henchmen of the Demon Slayer Division...you all deserve to die!!"
"Black Wind!"
Yan Fenghuo's gaze sharpened, and he subconsciously glanced at Jiang Mu.
Seeing that the latter's expression remained normal, Yan Fenghuo frowned and then pointed to a narrow pass on the right: "Hall Master Jiang, go there and guard it to prevent other demons or the wolf king from escaping."
He wanted to deliberately lure the wolf king there so that Jiang Mu could face it alone.
Jiang Mu didn't bother to ask any more questions and turned to walk towards the pass.
Seeing Jiang Mu leave, Yan Fenghu brandished his longsword and charged straight at the wolf demon "Black Wind".
……
Jiang Mu arrived at the pass and stood guard steadily.
Just as Yan Fenghuo said, there were indeed quite a few fish that had slipped through the net and tried to escape, but they were all low-level demons of the first or second rank.
Jiang Mu accepted all comers without hesitation, and with a few flashes of his blade, he killed them all.
He absorbed the demonic energy while pondering to himself.
Logically speaking, the Fourth Hall is fully capable of independently eliminating a demon's lair of this size, so why drag him along?
Moreover, Yan Fenghuo's attitude was quite contradictory.
He was allowed to participate, yet he was subtly excluded from the core operations.
This behavior is very strange.
Gradually, a guess came to mind.
Jiang Mu's face darkened.
Recalling Yan Fenghuo's accusations against him for "killing a demon to silence him" at the Shen residence, he took a deep breath and murmured:
"This is not good... We need to be careful, lest we be caught off guard and suffer a setback."
Just as I was pondering this, a tall, dark figure suddenly staggered and ran towards me.
It was none other than the wolf demon Black Wind!
At this moment, it was covered in blood, with a huge gash in its abdomen from which blood was flowing freely, and its left leg was also lame.
As luck would have it, they fled in the direction of the pass guarded by Jiang Mu.
A human and a demon collided face to face.
Upon seeing someone ahead, Black Wind immediately stopped in his tracks, but when he saw the other person's face clearly, his expression immediately turned to astonishment:
"It's you!?"
"Hey, you surnamed Jiang, what are you doing here?"
Yan Fenghuo, who was secretly observing from a distance, felt his heart skip a beat and his eyes burst with wild joy.
Real hammer!
They really do know each other!
Yan Fenghu gritted his teeth: "That kid really is the traitor!"