I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 113 - 97: I Must Have Gu Zheng

Among them was Ke Xiaoxia, the grandnephew of Ke Juzhen.

The Demon Suppression Guards were still Tao Liu, Zhang Ning, and An Xiaoxue.

Zhang Boshong had gone into hiding after returning from Jinshan Temple. His wife had died, and he himself had been trapped there, leaving him feeling utterly disgraced.

"He’s not exactly hiding."

Under the gloomy sky, the troop of over three hundred men rode onward. Zhang Ning spoke up, "I went looking for Zhang later. I found out that after he got back from Jinshan Temple, he only rested at home for two days before taking on a Demon Extermination mission and leaving town. I don’t know where he went, though."

"Zhang Boshong hates Demon Fiends more than any of us," Tao Liu chimed in with a sigh. "He couldn’t wait to get back to killing them. Of course, he probably felt too ashamed to face us again, too."

"But it wasn’t his fault."

An Xiaoxue huffed. "The Double-Faced Hero Demon Fiend’s abilities are bizarre and unpredictable, with immense Enchanting Power. Even Mr. Gu nearly fell for its tricks, let alone Zhang."

"That’s right. You weren’t there, so you don’t know how terrifying the Double-Faced Hero Demon Fiend was. Just one sentence, and I lost all sense of self, trapped in an illusion," Zhang Ning said, a lingering fear in his voice. "If it weren’t for Mr. Gu, I’m afraid I would’ve ended up just like Zhang, having my Essence, Qi, and Spirit drained away."

"Speaking of draining..." Tao Liu’s eyes darted about as he coughed. "The Double-Faced Hero Demon Fiend is both male and female. It can drain men and women alike. Do you think... when you’re, you know, ’with’ one of them, it feels the same for a man as it does for a woman?"

"What kind of feeling? Why don’t you go and find out?" Gu Zheng stared at him, his face expressionless.

"Uh..." Tao Liu froze, raising his hands in surrender. "My mistake," he said awkwardly. "I’ll just slap myself."

SLAP! SLAP!

"Hahaha..."

Zhang Ning and An Xiaoxue burst out laughing.

...

They rode without stopping, passing through one prefecture and county after another.

As the troop reached Wulong Mansion’s territory, they had just entered a dark, narrow path.

HHH... HHH...

ROAR!

Suppressed, guttural roars suddenly echoed from the mountain forests on both sides of the road.

"Everyone, on your guard!"

Gu Zheng barked a low command, activating his Dark Vision to scan the forests on either side.

His mount, however, didn’t stop, continuing its charge.

An Xiaoxue, Zhang Ning, and Tao Liu expertly channeled their Divine Wondrous abilities, readying themselves for a fight.

Aside from a few on their first mission, the three hundred Warriors drew their blades and raised their spears.

RUMBLE...

The troop thundered through the narrow path.

Dust kicked up by their passage billowed high, drifting into the surrounding forests.

Suddenly, an ugly, bloated Demon Fiend the size of a water buffalo charged out from behind a thicket.

SWISH!

Before the Demon Fiend could even get close, Gu Zheng slashed out from a distance. A line of Sword Gang tore through the air, cleaving the ugly creature in two.

Organs and blood splattered across the ground.

"ROAR~"

"HA!"

"HISS~!"

As if its death was a signal, Demon Fiends began to swarm from all sides—left, right, front, and back. Roaring and shrieking, they charged madly at the troop.

SWISH~ SWISH~ SWISH!

Gu Zheng swung his Celestial Frost Blade, its frosty aura trailing behind as he unleashed wave after wave of Sword Gang. Like a plow tilling a field, his attacks cut through the swarm of Demon Fiends covering the road.

"SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH~"

Blood sprayed like flowers as severed limbs were tossed into the air.

No Demon Fiend was left whole wherever the light of his blade passed.

Gu Zheng rode at the very front, carving a bloody path forward.

An Xiaoxue, Zhang Ning, and Tao Liu guarded the flanks. Drawing their weapons, they unleashed blasts of Sword Qi, shredding any Demon Fiends that drew near.

The troop of over three hundred easily broke through the encirclement.

They left behind a field of mangled Demon Fiend limbs. Blood stained the ground red, pooling into small streams that gurgled as they flowed.

Perhaps the Demon Fiends were too low-level, but despite using Spirit Capturing from a distance several times during the charge, Gu Zheng didn’t gain a single Demon Point.

’Are none of these Demon Fiends even mature?’

Gu Zheng didn’t dwell on it and led the troop onward.

"It’s getting dark! Everyone, pick up the pace!"

"Yes!!"

RUMBLE...

With a thunder of hooves, the troop spurred their horses onward.

They finally arrived at the west gate of Lesheng County, a territory within Wulong Mansion, just as night began to fall.

"We are the Demon Suppression Guard from the Demon Slayer Bureau, here on a Demon Extermination mission! Open the gate!"

The top of the city wall was silent.

After a long moment, two Soldiers in Iron Armor peeked their heads over the parapet and shouted down.

"P-please wait!"

"We need to report to the County Magistrate!"

"Where’s your Captain?" Zhang Ning, who had been calling out, demanded. "The City Defense Bureau is in charge of the gates, aren’t they? Get your Captain out here!"

"...Captain Yang is dead."

On the wall, the dark-faced soldier replied with a look of dismay and terror. "Three days ago, Demon Fiends attacked the city. Captain Yang led five hundred men out to meet them, and... they were all killed!"

"That bad?" Tao Liu blurted out.

"Shut up." An Xiaoxue shot him an irritated glare. "Isn’t the real issue the fact that Demon Fiends attacked the city? To lay siege, you’d need at least five or six hundred of them, maybe even over a thousand, right? So there are that many Demon Fiends here... No wonder all the villages and towns we passed on the way were completely empty."

"Tell them to hurry up," Gu Zheng said. "The wind is changing. It’s going to rain."

"Understood."

Zhang Ning acknowledged the order, then shouted up at the wall, "Hurry it up!"

"Y-yes, right away," a voice echoed from the wall.

Then, silence fell once more.

RUMBLE!

A low clap of thunder echoed from the distant horizon as dark, heavy clouds rolled in.

...

「Inside Lesheng County.」

Inside a sprawling, high-walled estate.

BAM!

With a loud thud, the door was thrown open. A pale-faced Zhao Fang rushed into the main hall, shouting breathlessly, "They’re here! They’re here! The men from the Demon Slayer Bureau are here!"

"So they’ve arrived."

In the hall, a middle-aged man sat on a high-backed chair, speaking with an air of indifference as he slowly sipped from a teacup. He was dressed in fine robes, his hair and beard meticulously groomed.

"There are more of them this time! Three hundred men!"

Zhao Fang’s body trembled, sweat pouring down his pale face. His voice was a hoarse whisper. "Three hundred fully armed Iron Armor Warriors, and four Demon Suppression Guards! Among those four, one of them is wearing Moon Armor..."

"Moon Armor? Are you certain?"

Yu Chengjun’s head snapped up. His eyes seemed to glow as he stared straight at Zhao Fang and said in a low, intense voice, "Are you certain it’s a Hundred Households of the Demon Slayer Bureau!?"

"I... I don’t know."

Zhao Fang wiped frantically at the sweat on his face, panting. "My men reported that the armor worn by one of the Demon Suppression Guards is embroidered with a moon pattern..."

"Then it is a Hundred Households of the Demon Slayer Bureau! Haha!"

Yu Chengjun set down his teacup and stood up, laughing with excitement. "Excellent! Excellent! I never thought we’d attract a Hundred Households. This is perfect!"

"A-are you sure this is a good thing?" Terror filled Zhao Fang’s bloodshot eyes, and his voice trembled. "A... a Hundred Households of the Demon Slayer Bureau... According to you, that’s the Super Body... the Super Body realm, isn’t it? A Demon Suppression Guard at that level... their body is impervious to weapons, immune to fire and water! They can shatter a mountaintop with a wave of their hand! A-are you sure you can deal with him?"

"We’ll find out if we can handle him after we try."

Yu Chengjun’s expression was firm, his eyes glinting with a mad light. "If you want to grow stronger and seize greater power, risks are always necessary!"

"B-but..." Zhao Fang trembled, constantly wiping sweat from his face.

"What, are you getting scared?"

Yu Chengjun’s crazed eyes fixed on Zhao Fang. His voice was low and cold. "Is our dear County Magistrate finally feeling scared? Having second thoughts? Regretting your decision?"

"I... I..." Zhao Fang’s face was ashen. He opened his mouth to explain but didn’t know what to say. He could only continue to tremble as sweat dripped from his face and scalp.

That’s right. He was the County Magistrate of Lesheng County.

"Hmph."

Yu Chengjun barked, "Zhao Fang! Magistrate Zhao the Elder! It’s too late for regrets or backing out now!"

"At dawn, we proceed with the plan. That Hundred Households from the Demon Slayer Bureau... he’s as good as mine!"

"B-but..." Zhao Fang stammered, wanting to protest.

"No ’buts’!"

Yu Chengjun cut him off coldly, his voice laced with madness. "If you don’t want to die, then you’ll do exactly as I say!!"