Fantasy Library.

Chapter 368: A mere facade

"king."

In the front hall of the Seven Kingdoms Shrine, Sayamiya Kaoru, who had been sitting quietly waiting, stood up, bowed to Aize who walked in from outside, and greeted him.

Behind him, Touma Ayase was also present. When he saw Ayase, he also bowed to Ayase but did not say anything.

He was merely accompanying Saya Miyako on this trip, and naturally would not steal the spotlight.

Just like Yuri Mariya and Liliana, they followed behind Aize without saying a word, simply accompanying him quietly.

"Is this our second meeting? Or our third?"

Aize casually sat down in front of Saya Miyako and said these words with a smile.

“This is the second time we’ve met formally.” After receiving permission from Aize, Saya Miyako sat down and smiled. “Last time, when Marquis Woban visited, I only contacted the King by phone.”

Before that, it was the first time Aize met Sayamiya Kaoru at the Seven Heroes Shrine after he became a Godslayer.

"It doesn't seem like much time has passed, does it?" Aize picked up the tea that Yuri Mariya had personally brewed for him, and said casually as he sipped it, "You came here this time because of the matter in Nikko City?"

“Wang Ming is very perceptive.” Saya Miyako nodded without hiding anything and said, “The situation in Nikko City is getting worse and worse, and we are helpless to do anything about it.”

"There is no other way but to ask the King for help. We hope that the King can take action against the gods for the sake of the countless innocent people of our country."

Actually, Saya Miyako originally felt that she didn't need to come for help.

Because she knew that the new king before her had an extraordinary interest in killing gods; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked her and others to provide him with information about disobedient gods.

In her view, as long as the king in front of her knew that there was a disobedient god appearing in Nikko City, he would definitely rush over immediately and start a war with him.

To this end, she made comprehensive arrangements, dispatched a considerable number of people, and prepared to do everything in her power to minimize the impact of the impending divine war and prevent the disaster from affecting the cities surrounding Radiant City.

Unexpectedly, several days passed, and the king in front of them remained in the Seven Kingdoms Shrine without stepping out of the shrine grounds.

She couldn't believe that the king was unaware that a disobedient god had descended.

Even Liliana could see that a god of disobedience had appeared in Sunlight City. As the nemesis of the god of disobedience and as a god-slayer, how could this king not have noticed the arrival of the god?

Gods and god-slayers are destined enemies. When they meet, only one can survive. If they appear in the same place, they will be attracted to each other in the dark and eventually meet each other.

Therefore, Saya Miyako does not believe that Aize would be unaware of the arrival of a disobedient god.

The strange thing is that, even though he might already know, this king hasn't taken the slightest action whatsoever...

This made Saya Miyako somewhat uneasy, so she had no choice but to come in person to ask for help.

However, Aize cast a half-smile at Saya Miyako.

"You're helpless? I don't think so," Aize said, swirling his teacup. "The Monkey God in the Western Heaven Palace, wasn't he personally designed and sealed by your great ancestors, who transformed his unyielding steel into a sword to protect the nation?"

"If they have the ability to seal this disobedient god, surely they have the ability to deal with Him?"

These words startled everyone present.

"You...you already know about the Monkey God?"

Saya Miyako appeared very surprised.

"Wow?" Liliana was also very surprised, and finally couldn't help but speak, saying to Saya Miyako, "You actually have such a great person here, who can not only seal away the disobedient god, but also transform him into a god who protects the country?"

This is indeed a surprising thing.

Sealing away disobedient gods is not a strange thing.

Just as Erica thought back in Sardinia, while humans certainly have no way to deal with the Rebellious Gods, if they gather all the necessary conditions and use special divine artifacts or methods to help, it is still possible to seal the Rebellious Gods away.

For example, the witch from Sardinia mentioned in the past possessed the Prometheus Manual, which had the ability to seize the power of gods and weaken them. After painstakingly fulfilling the conditions for activating this divine artifact, the witch successfully seized the power of a disobedient god, weakened him, and then sealed him away, thus averting a crisis.

There are actually many similar examples around the world. Otherwise, if humanity had no way to deal with disobedient gods after so much time has passed, they would probably have been wiped out by them long ago.

Sometimes, monstrous beings capable of killing gods appear; other times, humanity gathers its wisdom to seal away deities and resolve crises. Human history has progressed to this day under such circumstances, without ever being cut short.

And just like this country, there have been instances where great sages, due to historical legacies, have stood behind the scenes to protect the entire nation.

Therefore, being able to seal a god is indeed a commendable achievement, but if that were all, Liliana wouldn't be so surprised.

What truly surprised her was that someone was able to seal away a god while simultaneously using the god to protect the country.

This is not something that can be done casually.

At least in Europe, Liliana had not heard of any similar stories.

But in this far eastern land, in what Europeans considered a remote and impoverished area, such an incredible thing had actually happened, which truly surprised her.

Of course, this is also because Liliana is unaware that there is a group of Netherworld inhabitants behind this country.

Among those beings, Susanoo alone was once a disobedient god. Even now, having shed his heretical form, he is still a genuine deity. Add to that other beings such as enlightened monks, demigods, and elves, and this combined power would be enough to scheme against a disobedient god.

Aize was well aware of this, and seeing Saya Miyako's surprised expression, he said something indifferently.

"Not long ago, I met with that martial arts king from China."

Upon hearing this, Yuri Mariya and Liliana might not have understood what it meant, but Kaoru Sayamiya and Touma Hoshikasu immediately grasped its meaning.

"I see. You learned about this from that person?" Saya Miyako said helplessly. "I had heard that that person had been to Toshogu Shrine a hundred years ago and blew the entire shrine up. I didn't expect that even after a hundred years, that person would still remember this matter."

Clearly, Saya Miyako mistakenly believed that Luo Hao had told Aize all of this.

Saya Miyako even wondered if the unsealing of the Monkey God was the work of that Martial Arts King.
Otherwise, how come the curse of Bi Ma Wen, which has never caused any problems for hundreds of years, has suddenly been broken? "That's not the point."

Aize was naturally unaware that in Saya Miyako's mind, Luo Hao had already taken the blame for him.

He simply looked at Saya Miyako and said with a half-smile.

"What I'm trying to say is, since you had the ability to seal that monkey, now that it has broken free, you should figure out how to deal with it yourselves."

"Aren't those old guys in the Netherworld quite capable?"

"Then let me see it for myself."

Aize had wanted to say this for a long time.

Those old guys in the underworld, aren't they capable of sending a priestess wielding a divine sword to test me?
Why don't you go and cause trouble for yourself?

With your abilities so strong, you even managed to train the disobedient Sun Wukong into a sword that protects the country, turning him into a monkey god who specializes in killing dragons and snakes. Now that He has broken free of his seal, why don't you come out and clean up the mess?
To be honest, Aize was quite looking forward to it. If Susanoo really came to the human world because of this, he would definitely not mind sending him back to his hometown first.

The reason he released Sun Wukong so recklessly wasn't without the intention of causing trouble for these old guys. Otherwise, with his current abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for him to break Sun Wukong's seal without affecting the outside world.

Putting aside other things, both of them were in the Netherworld at the time. When Aize broke the seal, the corridor that was isolated from other parts of the Netherworld was also broken. Aize could have taken Sun Wukong deep into the Netherworld. In that case, his magical power would not have overflowed from outside the Western Heaven Palace and affected Sun City.

But he just wouldn't do that. He wanted to see how those old guys from the underworld would react if someone really caused trouble on this land they cared about.

In addition, having some understanding of the original work, Aize clearly knew that the disobedient Sun Wukong was actually lured to this land by these old guys in order to hide the biggest secret of this land, and thus deliberately turned it into a sword to protect the country and use it to kill dragons and snakes. As a result, he has ended up like this. It can only be said that these old guys brought it on themselves.

The god you summoned for your own schemes, the god you deliberately sealed and used for your own schemes, now that He has broken free, why don't you come out and resolve this yourselves!
If you're so capable of treating foreign heroes like monkeys, then come out and deal with this. See if I can take you down.

That's exactly what Aize was planning.

Saya Miyako seemed to have discerned something from Aize's attitude, and a bitter smile appeared on her face.

“Those old people can’t just leave the underworld, so we can’t ask them for help.”

This is a true statement.

Why do those old folks choose to live in seclusion in this remote world?

Because only in such a place can they continue to exist.

The present world belongs to the living, not to God, much less to those beings who can transcend the boundaries of life and live forever.

If a deity were to descend to the mortal world, it would become a heretical being, gradually dominated by madness, losing its original self, and becoming what is known as a disobedient god.

While enlightened monks may reach higher realms and higher states, as long as they continue to stay in this world, their physical bodies will gradually weaken and eventually decay over time.

As for beings like elves, they are already extraordinary beings, so how could they possibly stay in the mortal world for long?

Only in places like the Netherworld, in the realm of life and immortality where the importance of the spirit far outweighs that of the body, can these beings break free from the shackles of the flesh and become eternal.

Susanoo was able to escape his unruly state by staying in the underworld. If he were to return to the mortal world, he would be like Goku and Veleslana. Even though he is a hero and a righteous god of the light, he would gradually deviate from his original nature and act recklessly on earth.

The same applies to other beings; they either cannot leave the Netherworld or cannot freely appear in the mortal world. Otherwise, it's hard to say whether this country would still be ruled by the ancient powers headed by the Saya family.

Now that Sun Wukong has broken free of his seal, once he is reborn, he will inevitably return to the mortal world, and those old guys will naturally be unable to act rashly.

Therefore, Saya Miyako sought help from Aize.

"I thought they were something special, but it turns out they can only bully honest people." Aize said sarcastically, "No wonder they ran away after I slashed them with my sword last time, and they didn't even dare to take the Ama-no-Murakumo anymore. It turns out they're just all show and no substance. Being able to summon a storm that day was already their limit, right?"

Saya Miyako immediately shut her mouth, not daring to say another word.

The others also dared not breathe loudly, for fear of accidentally saying the wrong thing.

It's disrespectful to criticize either side!

Seeing this, Aize didn't say anything more.

This is ultimately a matter between him and those old guys; Saya Miyako and the others are outsiders.

Not to mention Saya Miyako and others, even those who suffered in Nikko City could be said to have been implicated in the feud between Aize and those old guys.

But... well, they're the ones being protected by those old guys, aren't they?

It can only be said that although they were implicated, there were reasons for it.

What's the current situation in Nikko City?

Aize asked calmly.

"The situation in Nikko City is alright now, except that the citizens have all turned into monkeys. Other than that, there are no other abnormalities." Saya Miyako breathed a sigh of relief and said, "However, the changes in Nikko Mountain seem to be significant. According to the people we sent to investigate, wild plants and animals are now growing there, and the environment is gradually becoming primitive."

"The residents of Nikko City...after they turned into monkeys, they all seemed to be gathering at that mountain."

"Now, Sunlight Mountain is almost unrecognizable from its original appearance; the entire mountain has become a primitive monkey mountain."

Upon hearing this, Aize couldn't help but laugh.

"It's just like Flower Fruit Mountain!"

Sun Wukong is quite an interesting fellow. He only manifested himself, yet he turned the people nearby into his monkey offspring and transformed Sunlight Mountain into Flower Fruit Mountain. Is he trying to recreate his hometown on earth?
"Alright, you guys go back now." Aize waved his hand and said, "I'll handle Sun Wukong's matter."

What can Saya Kaoru do?

All I could do was nod in agreement.

(End of this chapter)