Why can't humans do it too?

Chapter Sixty-Four: Ominous Signs

“...Alright, but I remember that fox left with Huozhao in the end. If we see her again, let’s interrogate her.” Sul put down the magatama in his hand and stretched wearily.

Under the massive spiritual energy of heaven and earth, this string of eight-foot-long jade ornaments cannot be said to have remained completely unchanged. At least the edges and corners can now be seen to have a normal jade color, but the interior is still pitch black and dull. Judging from this progress, it will probably take a long time to completely purify it.

The sound of hushed conversations could be heard from the street outside. The diligent humans and yokai had already begun their day early. There was no noise from next door, so it seemed that the diligent flower fairy had gone out again. Ever since Suer settled here, he had always seen Kazami Yuuka disappear for several days at a time and then return covered in wounds.

Every time this warlike female demon licked her wounds, the look in her eyes as she stared at Suer always made his scalp tingle. Fortunately, Suer had crushed her with overwhelming force when they first met, and feeling that she had closed the gap between them, Yuuka Kazami did not intend to challenge Suer again. Otherwise, Suer felt that he would never have a peaceful day.

Lowering the door panel, Suer took a deep breath of the slightly chilly morning air. It was damp, and even the tip of his nose felt as if it were covered in moisture. The rising sun slowly rose from behind the island that was tethered by ropes in the distance, emitting an orange-red light but not much warmth.

What to eat for breakfast?

Suer was thinking about this problem.

"……grown ups?"

A familiar, timid voice called from the side, and without turning around, Suer knew who it was.

"Daigo, didn't I tell you not to call me 'sir'?" Suer turned around and squatted down to speak to the small voice behind him.

She has reddish-brown hair that is different from most humans, and a freckle on the tip of her nose. Her hair, which was initially dirty and never washed, is now clean enough that Suer would at least be willing to reach out and rub it. She is not very old, only about seven or eight years old, and is Suer's neighbor who lives on the same street.

Because of her pleasing name and her quick learning to take care of herself, she became quite close to Suer after a few months, except that she couldn't shake the habit of always respectfully calling him "Master".

“My mother said… to give this to you…”, Daigo seemed embarrassed to the point of awkwardness, but after hesitating for a long time, he still brought the basket he was carrying behind him to the front.

The small basket contained a few scattered fruits. They were small in size, and although the quantity seemed small, it was actually quite good to find such fruits in the wild at this time of year when winter is approaching.

“Okay, I understand.” In fact, Su Er knew what Daigo meant without him even having to take it out. He simply nodded in agreement and went back inside. A short while later, he came out with four more cakes.

"Please tell your mother for me, okay?" Suer said with a smile, taking the fruit out of the basket and putting the cakes back in.

"Thank you, sir!" After thanking Su Er repeatedly, Daigo jogged towards his home.

His gaze swept across the room, suppressing all those who were greedily staring at Daigo's back. After shaking his head, Su Er picked up the fruit and went back into the house.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. His special cake was naturally made to satisfy the appetite in a world where food was scarce. The excessive sugar and calories, along with the delicate texture, made it a food that people in this era could only dream of. It was priceless, and such a treasure could not be compared to mere fruit.

At first, it was just a casual gesture that Daigo gave the unfinished cake to this child with the endearing name to take home. Unexpectedly, the next day, his mother asked him to bring fruit as a way of repaying her. I don't know when it started, but it turned into a situation where Daigo would return the cake whenever he brought fruit.

Although they had never met or spoken, Suer did not dislike Daigo's mother's cleverness. Even though these were just ordinary fruits, it was not an easy task for her mortal body to collect them in the dangerous wilderness.

How should I put it? This can be considered the survival wisdom of ordinary people in this era.

This peaceful and ordinary life continued, but even without a deep understanding of the changes in the current leadership of Izumo, Suer still sensed the impending storm.

"My lord? My lord! Something's happened! Something terrible has happened!"

This is what Su Er heard when Daigo woke him up one afternoon while he was sitting in the doorway, basking in the sun and dozing off. Was it just his imagination? He felt that the child's voice was starting to sound more and more like his own.

Are children really that good at learning?

“…Okay, okay, calm down first, don’t rush.” With twitching eyes, Suer pressed down the little guy who was jumping up and down in front of her, wishing he could roll around on the spot to express his anxiety. Suer continued, “Slow down, what happened? What’s wrong with you acting so flustered?”

Suer's stern tone calmed the little brat down somewhat. After swallowing hard, he pointed towards the center of Izumo City and said, "There, people are going to be beheaded!"

"?"

"It means beheading! My head will be gone!"

Seeing that Su Er still looked confused, Daigo couldn't help but shout again, rubbing his neck repeatedly with his right hand as if the head he was about to kill was his.

"Another one who disobeys the orders of the Great God? God or monster? It's alright, calm down. Instead of introducing this new friend, shall we?"

The gods are one thing, but there are just too many audacious monsters who have just taken human form. Add to that those monsters who, even after taking human form, still act on their desires and impulses at any time. In short, the most common thing in Izumo is that some monsters violate the prohibitions of the entire Izumo Kingdom and are publicly executed. But even so, there are still brave souls who defy the law and commit crimes, which is really not surprising.

Compared to this kind of routine event in Yamato, what Suer cared more about was the 'new friend'—or perhaps his old friend—who had been standing by and watching from the sidelines since the beginning.

A demon who was not yet an adult was the same little brat who had become acquainted with Hizo in the underground city of Yamato. He was now staring at Sull without any stage fright, seemingly surprised to run into someone he knew in such a place.

If he's here, doesn't that mean Huozhao is here too?

Is this a coincidence?

Chapter Sixty-Five: Execution

Suer remembered that this kid's name was... Xin?

Unlike most demons with their majestic horns, it was the crooked and shrunken clusters of horns on Shin's head that made Suer remember him—why was this brat with Daigo?

Unable to resist looking around for the presence of the firelight, Suer did not believe that the kid's appearance next to Daigo, his friendship with him, and his reappearance in front of him was merely a simple coincidence.

Even though the population of cities in this era is far less dense than that of future metropolises, it is definitely not easy for people to coincidentally come to him in this place where humans and monsters are mixed.

"No! Master! Something's really wrong!" Su'er's nonchalance only made Daigo more anxious. After furiously grabbing his hair, his eyes suddenly lit up and he shouted, "There are so many monsters! So many monsters are going to be killed!"

"Many monsters?"

Finally realizing that something was wrong, Suer suddenly thought of a possibility. He became serious and quickly closed the door. He then took Daigo and the kid named Shin to the place where executions were usually carried out.

Regardless of the era or race, watching a spectacle is always the most primal desire in everyone's heart. Usually, whenever a monster that disobeys the orders of the Great God is brought to the execution platform, a large circle of monsters will always surround it. Even the gods are not immune to this. In fact, the most people who come to watch are humans, who almost fill every corner around the execution platform.

The wave becomes even more frenzied when they see the monsters who are usually arrogant and domineering kneeling on the ground.

Before the monsters' heads fall to the ground, they shout and urge them on, irritably smashing everything they can reach with their hands. After the monsters' heads fall to the ground, they burst into deafening laughter, shouting with all their might. Only in this way do they disregard their own identity and race, whether human, monster, or god.

Perhaps the most exciting part is the fight between those who grit their teeth and transform into demons before their execution. At such times, the cheers around them become even louder, only gradually subsiding when the guy is covered in blood after a fierce battle. But today is an exception.

Too quiet.

There were no cheers, no shouts, not even the sound of something being smashed. This strange situation puzzled Suer, who was still a street away. But he soon got the answer.

Just as Daigo said, there were far too many monsters waiting to be slaughtered—slaughter was the first word that popped into Sull's mind; mere execution was not enough to describe the scene.

Because some of the monsters were already enormous, the execution ground was already quite spacious, but now it was more than twice as spacious. If Suer wasn't mistaken, they had even temporarily demolished all the houses around it, and it was now packed with densely packed humans and monsters, while the gods gathered together at the highest point.

Surrounded and looked down upon by them were a series of monsters kneeling or crawling on the ground. They varied in size, height, and weight. Perhaps their only similarity was their mouths, which were covered with a piece of yellow paper, which was also the reason why they could not utter a sound even now.

What silenced the onlookers was precisely this sheer number. They trembled at the mere thought of the scene. There were just too many. When these monsters died and their corpses revealed their true forms, would the blood flowing out be as torrential as a downpour, submerging their feet?

Watching one or two monsters being executed is a grand occasion, but watching so many monsters being executed turns this grand event into torture. Some cowardly individuals even tried to leave before the execution officially began, but when they reached the outer edge of the crowd, they found they couldn't get out—there were fierce-looking, dark-skinned, tall men with single horns guarding the outside, and their malicious gazes made them weak in the knees.

It was only then that they suddenly remembered that unlike usual, today's execution wasn't something they had come to witness because they smelled the scent; instead, some monsters came to inform them. And after informing them, the monsters didn't leave immediately, but watched them head to the execution ground before moving on to the next house… Why hadn't they noticed this before?!

Sweaty.

Also, when did these guys arrive?

To this day, every resident of Izumo has a clear understanding of these powerful monsters: they are the Oni (demon) race.

They are clearly monsters, but they have a unified narrative to distinguish themselves from monsters, calling themselves the Oni (demon) race. Wild, irritable, easily angered, addicted to alcohol, and incredibly strong—these are the impressions that the residents of Izumo have of the Oni race.

Even the most clumsy and short-sighted monster can see that something is about to happen, or has already happened... right in front of them.

"Why are you leaving? Turn around quickly and watch closely... the show is about to begin!"

Suer couldn't help but glance at the other side, where the demon was so excited that he was showing his full set of sharp teeth. It was he who was advising a few humans who had finally managed to squeeze to the edge but were now paralyzed with fear on the ground.

And he was right. Perhaps feeling that there were enough onlookers, a deity dressed in magnificent robes flew directly into the sky and began to proclaim the decree of the Great God of the Nguyen Kingdom. And Sull saw this legendary deity for the first time, who had once faced Susanoo and married Susanoo's daughter.

He was much younger than Suer had imagined, but his hair was still the gray-white color typical of an old man. However, his skin was very firm, and there were almost no wrinkles on his face. He showed no signs of aging. He sat at the highest point, looking down at everything below.

And everything that happened today happened at his behest.

The deity high in the sky continued to read out the crimes of the monsters below who were about to be executed, while these bound creatures, unable to utter a sound, could only rub back and forth on the ground, using this as a way to utter their last words.

'He really dares to do it? This guy,' Suer couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.

Why not? He has already destroyed the Yamato Kingdom, eliminating an external enemy and gaining immense prestige. Moreover, it seems the Oni clan is now on his side, so naturally he should take advantage of the situation to eliminate any destabilizing factors within the country.

Xin Ke spoke as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. Even though the threat of war that the forest elves faced in the last world never disappeared, the internal struggles within their race never ceased.

Chapter Sixty-Six: Remembrance

'That's true, but isn't he afraid of being attacked back if he uses the demons to drive away other monsters? You can't use the tactic of driving away wolves to devour tigers like that, can you?' Suer still couldn't quite understand.

Who knows? We don't know what kind of agreement they reached with the oni clan. When Tamamo-no-Mae died, the oni clan sided with Izumo and helped, didn't they?

'So that means it's already been allocated...' Suer nodded knowingly.

The deity high in the sky continued to read out the charges against the guilty, making one worry whether he would get thirsty or too tired from reading.

From ignoring the divine deity's orders to running rampant in the streets and humiliating humans, these crimes, big and small, piled up like a small mountain, becoming the reason to erase the lives of the demons involved.

What Suer found most ironic and amusing was that most of the reasons in this string were related to humans, such as stealing human food and threatening to beat people with force. Although there were indeed many cannibalistic monsters in Izumo Castle, it was still not allowed to eat humans within the castle's boundaries. This was one of the few laws that were implemented very well. Of course, things like breaking off an arm or leg to eat as a snack were also not allowed.

That being said, aside from the most basic protection of life and physical integrity, there was still much oppression of humans that could not be avoided. In the past, there was never any intention to investigate it. Therefore, although these regulations were engraved at the gate of Izumo Castle, no yokai took them seriously.

until today.

The deity, who had already become somewhat noisy to Suer, finally finished reading out all the charges. There seemed to be no formal speech from the Izumo Kingdom's deity, and the matter quickly moved on to the final step—execution.

Or it could be a massacre.

The scene of blood and flesh flying everywhere needs no further description. Even the gods who carried out the executions were changed time and time again, and the blades were worn down to the point of being unusable. Suer's initial predictions all came true. Rivers of blood, which could completely submerge one's feet, flowed down the base of the houses and onto the road, flowing out of the city or seeping into the soil.

The onlookers, who used to cheer when the blade fell, fell silent. They were completely overwhelmed by fear, some even biting their fingers to keep from screaming in terror. Each cut felt real to them, and they collapsed into the river of blood, their bodies limp. Some even fainted.

Perhaps for them, fainting at this moment is a blessing in disguise.

"Yuuka Kazami would probably like this, right?" Only the space beneath his feet had become a pure land untouched by blood. Gazing at the red rivers that still emitted heat and foamed, mixed with small pieces of twigs, Suer suddenly spoke up.

"No way? Don't people like them enjoy the process of fighting against powerful enemies? Simple carnage is meaningless... Oh no, perhaps after this river of blood seeps in, she'll like the flowers that grow from this fertile land?" Having revealed herself, Xin Ke stroked her chin with interest as she gazed at the horrific scene before her, where the corpses were almost piled up.