I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 40 - 34: Wise Demon Race

"Supervisor Song!"

Gu Zheng smiled and returned the greeting. "What kind of mission is Yan Tou on this time? Doesn’t she already have a team?"

"Ah, ’Supervisor’ is too formal. Just call me Old Song."

Song Qingshan raised a hand and explained, "That Yan Girl picked a Demon Extermination mission this time. She didn’t say where exactly, but she doesn’t have enough people. She needs at least ten to be safe."

"Is that so..." Gu Zheng nodded in understanding. "Then I’ll go find Yan Tou. I wonder if she’s still short on people."

"She definitely is. Most places are suffering from Demon Fiend infestations right now. Almost everyone from the Field Department is out on assignment, and even half of the Internal Affairs Department has been pulled away. It won’t be easy for that Yan Girl to gather ten people."

"As it happens, I’m free, and I know where that Yan Girl is. Let’s go together."

As he spoke, Song Qingshan led Gu Zheng toward the end of the street.

The two of them turned out of the small alley and onto a long, bustling street.

There were quite a few pedestrians on the street, but they were mostly the elderly, children, and women.

There were few able-bodied young men, and even fewer wearing armor.

Clad in his Copper Star Armor, Gu Zheng walked among them. Nearly everyone who saw him offered a kind smile.

An outgoing older woman called out warmly as Gu Zheng passed her pie stall, "Here, Brother! Take these for the road. No charge."

With that, she picked up two pies, wrapped them in oil paper, and pressed them into Gu Zheng’s arms.

"..."

Gu Zheng looked at her sincere smile and anxious eyes. He didn’t refuse, accepting them with a smile of his own. "Thank you, ma’am. I actually haven’t had breakfast yet."

After speaking, he cupped the pies in his hands and started eating as he continued walking.

"Ah, if you like them, come back again next time!" the woman called out even more enthusiastically from behind him.

Gu Zheng didn’t look back, simply raising a hand in acknowledgment.

After he had followed Song Qingshan for some distance, Song Qingshan said in a low voice, "That was Wang. Her entire family, young and old, died at the hands of Demon Fiends. Her son went out on a field assignment over half a month ago and there’s been no word since. Most likely... he’s met a grim fate."

Gu Zheng fell silent.

The pedestrians on this street were all relatives of the Demon Suppression Guard.

After graduating from the Training Camp, an official Demon Suppression Guard Small Banner could bring one family member to live at the Demon Slayer Bureau’s Fengzhou headquarters.

A Commander could bring two, a Hundred Households four, a Thousand Households eight, and so on.

Any of these family members with a bit of strength would help out with small tasks for the Logistics Department or the Internal Affairs Department.

Those who couldn’t find work would set up their own small stalls.

Even if a Demon Suppression Guard died on a field assignment, their family could continue to live at the Demon Slayer Bureau headquarters indefinitely.

This was a basic benefit the Demon Slayer Bureau guaranteed its Demon Suppression Guard.

The Demon Slayer Bureau headquarters occupied a massive area.

It encompassed most of the northern district of Fengzhou State City, surrounded by its own high walls like a city within a city.

Even so, the Demon Slayer Bureau’s Training Camp and most of the Logistics Department’s personnel were located outside the city.

After completing their registration with Gu Zheng, Tao Qi, Gao Da, and Gao Er had left the State City.

...

"Yan Girl, Ping’an is looking for a mission too. Have you found all the people you need?"

Walking briskly, Song Qingshan quickly led Gu Zheng to Yan Hongxue.

"Gu, you’re taking a mission already? That’s great!" Tao Liu exclaimed excitedly upon hearing this. "We’re still short two people. You came at the perfect time."

"Thanks, Mr. Song."

Yan Hongxue thanked Song Qingshan. "We were just worrying about being short-staffed, and you brought Gu right to us."

"Haha, what a coincidence, right?"

Song Qingshan smoothed back his slicked-back hair and laughed heartily. "It’s Ping’an’s first mission. With you leading him, it’s a good chance for him to get familiar with things."

"Indeed."

Gu Zheng cupped his fist toward Yan Hongxue. "I’ll be in your care, Yan Tou."

"..."

Yan Hongxue gave Gu Zheng a calm look, said nothing, and then called out, "Let’s move out. Nine people is enough."

"Alrighty." Tao Liu suppressed a laugh and hurried to follow.

An Xiaoxue and Wu Kun also snickered as they followed behind.

Chen Zhizhen, however, wore a sullen expression.

Seeing this, the three new recruits walked along, looking puzzled and finding the situation odd.

’Hm?’

Song Qingshan stood where he was, confused. ’Did I say something wrong?’

’Why are Yan Hongxue, Tao Liu, and An Xiaoxue acting so strangely?’

Lost in thought, he subconsciously smoothed back his slicked-back hair again.

...

...

"Giddy-up!"

Hoofbeats thundered, kicking up clouds of dust.

With Yan Hongxue in the lead, the group of nine rode tall horses of Half-Demon blood out of Fengzhou State City, heading toward the west of Fengzhou.

"Our destination for this mission is Baishui County in Jing’an Prefecture. According to intelligence, traces of the Lizard Race have appeared in Baishui County. The Lizard Race usually moves in groups and is extremely dangerous. Our mission is to eliminate this Lizard Race clan!"

On horseback, Yan Hongxue’s cloak fluttered in the wind. Her clear voice rang in the ears of Gu Zheng, An Xiaoxue, and the six other members of the group.

An Xiaoxue, Wu Kun, Tao Liu, and Chen Zhizhen had no reaction upon hearing this, as they clearly already knew.

Gu Zheng and the other three newcomers, however, were startled.

"The Lizard Race? The Wise Demon Race?"

The one who spoke was a burly man with thick eyebrows, his voice rough. "This Wise Demon Race... they won’t be easy to deal with."

"What does it matter if they’re wise? A few swings of the blade will kill them all the same," retorted a dark-skinned youth with a long, thin face. He grinned. "How can the wisdom of Demon Fiends compare to ours?"

"Don’t be careless," Tao Liu couldn’t help but interject. "The Wise Demon Race can be incredibly tricky when they resort to schemes."

Gu Zheng remained silent, merely recalling the information on Demon Fiends he had read over the past few days.

According to the Demon Slayer Bureau’s classifications, the slug-like Demon Fiends, Wild Boar Demon Fiends, and dinosaur-like Demon Fiends he had killed before were all categorized as Scattered Demons. They had no intelligence, or very little if any.

Eliminating these Demon Fiends wasn’t very difficult.

However, intelligent Demon Fiends were a different matter entirely.

Their strength was on par with a Demon Suppression Guard who had cultivated the Divine Wondrous, and they were better at fighting in groups and even setting traps.

When dealing with these Demon Fiends, Warriors were of little use. Bringing them along would only slow the team down.

For this very reason, Yan Hongxue hadn’t brought any Warriors this time. Instead, she had sought out Demon Suppression Guard Small Banners, hoping to assemble a team of ten.

However, between the Demon Suppression Guard Small Banners who were already on missions, those who were resting, and those who didn’t want to follow her, she couldn’t gather enough people right away. This was why Song Qingshan had invited Gu Zheng to join.

For Gu Zheng, what he wanted most were Demon Points; mission merits were secondary.

To that end, he had already ruled out three of the four types of field missions: Riding Patrol, Garrison, and Demon Hunter.

Only Demon Extermination perfectly suited his needs!

...

Riding nonstop, the steeds of Half-Demon blood traveled day and night. In less than two days, Gu Zheng and the others arrived with Yan Hongxue in Baishui County, Jing’an Prefecture.

As the team entered the county seat, they saw streets bustling with people and heard the rising and falling cries of vendors. There was no sign of the panic an infestation of Demon Fiends should have caused.

"What’s going on? Was the intelligence wrong?"

Tao Liu blurted out as he scanned the pedestrians, "The streets are so lively. Are there really Demon Fiends here?"

"According to the compiled data, no Domain has appeared in Baishui County," Yan Hongxue explained. "But a Domain did appear in the neighboring county, and it transformed into a passage right before we left!"