"Retreat!"
Just as the situation was looking good, and the heads of the demon siblings were about to be cut off, Sound Pillar Uzui Tengen seemed to sense something, immediately let out a roar, grabbed Tanjiro by the collar, and withdrew from the battle.
On the other side, Sound Pillar's three wives received his signal and called Nezuko and the other two to retreat to his side.
And just then, a strange jade pot appeared out of nowhere in the center of the battlefield.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Gyutaro and Daki, ninety years no see. It seems your strength hasn't improved as much as I imagined."
From the pot emerged a humanoid creature whose eyes were replaced by two mouths, and whose body was covered with seven or eight pairs of infant arms. The mark of Upper Rank Five was clearly carved between his eyebrows and on his tongue.
Meanwhile, on a rooftop beside the battlefield, an old man with tumors and two horns on his head, trembling all over and looking terrified, was crouched. The mark carved in his eyes was Upper Rank Four.
"It's not ninety years, it's one hundred and thirteen years."
"Gyokko, Hantengu, why are you here? We don't need your help; we can complete Lord Kibutsuji Muzan's mission and kill that little brat with the earrings!"
When Daki saw the newcomers, she didn't look happy; instead, she showed an anxious expression.
Because she knew that even as an Upper Rank Six, if she couldn't complete Kibutsuji Muzan's mission, her fate would be death.
So, even though the current battle was already at a disadvantage, she didn't want the mission to be ruined.
"Don't worry, the mission has changed. Our target this time is her!"
Gyokko turned and pointed at Nezuko, who was standing beside Tanjiro.
"Capture her alive, and kill everyone else. This is Lord's new command.
Lord is already on his way. He said if we haven't completed the mission before he arrives, and he still has to act personally, then we, the incompetent ones, will have no reason to exist."
Kibutsuji Muzan had just received news that Nezuko had actually broken free from the Sun's restrictions, so he immediately issued the order to capture Nezuko.
Because if he just ate Nezuko, then he too could break free from the Sun's control, get rid of his only weakness, and become the most perfect creature.
"It's too terrifying, I don't want to be killed by Lord Kibutsuji Muzan."
Upper Rank Four Hantengu on the rooftop seemed very timid, feeling as if he was about to wet himself from fear.
And here, Gyutaro and Daki, upon hearing Gyokko's words, also showed fear in their eyes.
"Then let's complete the mission before Lord Kibutsuji Muzan arrives!"
The four Upper Rank demons launched their attacks simultaneously.
"Upper Rank Four and Upper Rank Five, this is really troublesome now."
Sound Pillar looked at the two newly appeared and stronger demons and couldn't help but gasp.
They did have Senzu Beans, which could save their lives and restore their bodies in danger, but that also had a prerequisite: an even match, or at least the strength gap couldn't be too large.
Because even if they couldn't win, as long as they held out until dawn with Senzu Beans, they would win.
But now, the opponent's strength could be said to have more than tripled. Besides him, everyone else might not even have a chance to eat a Senzu Bean to recover before being killed, let alone hold out until dawn.
"Nezuko will deal with Daki, Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma will assist. Zenitsu and Inosuke will deal with Gyutaro. Tanjiro will deal with Upper Rank Five. I will deal with Upper Rank Four.
Remember, don't aim to kill the enemy. Use Senzu Beans to delay and protect yourselves as much as possible. The Sun will rise in two hours."
Facing the aggressively approaching four Upper Rank demons, Sound Pillar reluctantly arranged the formation most likely to survive.
Daki was the weakest, and with Nezuko and his three wives dealing with her, they should barely be able to hold her off. His three wives' main ability was intelligence gathering, not combat, so they would mainly rely on Nezuko.
Everyone was already familiar with Gyutaro's techniques by now, and with Inosuke and Zenitsu working together, there was hope they could survive.
The most difficult was Tanjiro, who had to face Upper Rank Five alone, knowing nothing about him, but there was no other way.
In this battle, Tanjiro had improved the most, surpassing Zenitsu and Inosuke, and approaching the strength of a Pillar. If Tanjiro didn't step up, no one else could stop Upper Rank Five besides him.
And he had to face the most powerful Upper Rank Four. He could only say that he would do his best to see if he could kill the opponent and then go to support the others.
Although he knew such a chance was slim.
Indeed, after the two sides clashed again, most of the situation was as Sound Pillar had expected, but there were also considerable discrepancies.
Nezuko's side was fighting back and forth, barely holding on. Inosuke and Zenitsu were relying entirely on Senzu Beans to endure, being overwhelmingly suppressed.
As for himself, let alone supporting others, self-preservation was an issue now.
He slashed Hantengu twice, and Hantengu actually split into four people—four younger versions of himself with different abilities. He was being severely beaten.
The most miserable was Tanjiro. He hadn't even had a chance to show his strength before Upper Rank Five Gyokko trapped him in Water with his Blood Demon Art. It looked like he would soon suffocate to death from lack of oxygen.
"This won't do. The strength gap is too wide; there's no chance for improvement."
Adam, who had been observing from the clouds, couldn't stand it anymore.
For Tanjiro to improve, he had to fight stronger enemies, but if the enemies were too strong, it wouldn't have a training effect.
He felt that with Tanjiro's current strength, fighting Gyutaro or any one of Upper Rank Four's clones would be best. Fighting Upper Rank Five directly offered no chance for progress.
"Boy, you just watch your companions get killed one by one, then watch your sister get eaten, and finally slowly suffocate to death. That expression will definitely be a work of art.
I've even thought of a name: The Despairing and Incompetent Brother."
Gyokko looked at Tanjiro trapped in his Water prison, chuckled, and then planned to go to Daki's side to capture Nezuko, who was the most important target of this mission.
Tanjiro continuously erupted his Mark and used mixed breathing, but he couldn't cut open the Water prison around him. Seeing Gyokko heading towards his sister, his heart gradually sank into despair.
And just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang in his ear.
"I was wondering why there was so much commotion here. Turns out it's you guys fighting again."
Looking in the direction of the voice, it was none other than the divine doctor Adam, who had treated him before and given him Senzu Beans.
Hope immediately rose in his heart again, but it quickly shattered, because he remembered Adam saying that he couldn't fight, so he naturally couldn't break the Water prison that enveloped him.
"Such a hard Water prison. What to do? I can't fight, so I can't cut it open."
Adam touched the outer wall of the Water prison, first putting on a troubled expression, then as if he had thought of something, he conjured a golden trident out of thin air.
"Luckily, although I can't fight, I have many magical treasures. Like this trident, I found it in the sea. It can control Water flow, so maybe it can save you."
He touched the golden trident to the Water prison, and the Water prison immediately began to vibrate, then all the Water was completely absorbed by the trident.
Adam found this trident in the sea, but not from the sea of this World, but from the Saint Seiya World.
Because this was precisely the divine artifact Trident of Sea God Poseidon, said to possess the magical power to command all seas in the Universe. He had "borrowed" it from Poseidon's underwater temple during his last visit to the Saint Seiya World.