I am the Executioner Dragon, but a cute mod

Soda:

"What are you talking about? Fourteen is the age to get married. According to my memory, if she hadn't run away, the wedding banquet would have been held around yesterday..."

Fourteen years old...?

Amelia stared at So, as if she had found a logical flaw, and then said:

"You still say you're not lying to me? You're only fourteen, not even an adult yet. How could you possibly be married? Just admit it already!"

Koso just stared at Amelia with a strange look in his eyes, arms crossed, speaking righteously:

"Is there a problem with having a coming-of-age ceremony at twelve and getting married at fourteen? Stop teasing me. The eldest will wake up in two days. Let's go catch some more monsters before then."

Without waiting for Amelia's reply, So set off to find the monster.

Amelia was completely bewildered. The phrase "coming of age at twelve, marriage at fourteen" kept echoing in her mind. She couldn't understand why this world was so different from the previous one. In the previous world, one had to be eighteen to become an adult.

Amelia thought for a long time and finally came to an answer:

People in this world are probably more precocious.

Chapter 96: Kidnapping

The matter of collecting monsters is also part of her plan. In order to achieve the assimilation of all mankind with Tengen, she must first prevent Tengen from merging with the Stardust, turning her from a white-haired beauty into a half-cursed spirit that is neither human nor ghost.

Then, So releases the cursed spirits he has been collecting for a long time, disrupting the order. Taking advantage of this time, he launches the Death Return, resurrecting the sorcerers who have made contracts with him. He uses their deadly battles to fill the barrier with a huge amount of cursed power to complete the assimilation.

We are still a long way from the ultimate goal. At present, So is in the stage of collecting cursed spirits and signing contracts with those powerful sorcerers.

So what kind of cursed spirits are worth collecting? Suo thought for a moment, and the image of a tidal wave of snakes appeared in his mind... At least it has to be a monster of snake level to be worth collecting.

So, naturally, So set his sights on the Tengu. As social creatures, each Tengu possesses strength comparable to a snake, not to mention the leader of the clan, [Great Tengu]. Although his strength is inferior to Yamata no Orochi, he is still among the top-tier demons, on par with the Nine-Tailed Fox and Shuten-dōji.

With Amelia by his side, Zoro was not afraid of the Great Tengu at all. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he could capture him with a single click. So even though there were only two days left of his vacation, Zoro still took Amelia to a tavern that only nobles could afford. They drank a cup of sake, which cost the commoners half a month's worth of food.

As for what happened next, So didn't know. She only knew that after she and Amelia got drunk, they both passed out. When they opened their eyes again, they were tied up and in an oxcart whose destination was unknown...

"My head hurts so much. What happened? How did I get here?"

Su opened her eyes groggily, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, as if her body had been hollowed out. Before she could recover, a sudden jolt and the pain of her head hitting the wall instantly snapped her back to reality.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! My head...!"

So opened her eyes, trying to find the source of the pain, but the first thing she saw was Amelia, who was bound hand and foot, her eyes closed and still unconscious.

Seeing this, So's mind went blank. She began to search her memories from last night, wondering if she had gotten drunk and played the bondage game with Amelia.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the truth. Looking down at himself, also bound hand and foot, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, so I was kidnapped. I thought I did something irreparable last night. That's great... What the hell! How did I get kidnapped?!"

Suo Gu stood up from the ground and leaned against the wall, finally getting a clear view of the surroundings: the space was about five square meters, with birch floorboards, small windows on all sides, and a bamboo curtain hanging at the back for entry and exit.

Thinking of the constantly bumping space, So immediately realized that she and Amelia were in an oxcart. Listening carefully, in addition to the sound of the wheels rolling and the steady footsteps of the oxen, there was also a sporadic "tap-tap" sound.

So was very familiar with this sound, or rather, her body, Gamo Chihaya, was very familiar with this sound; it was the sound of horses' hooves, the sound of guards riding the oxcart.

By combining all the information, Sora learned the truth about his and Amelia's kidnapping:

After Gamo Chihaya fled, the Gamo clan sent out guards to search for her, since Gamo Chihaya's fiancé was of high status, and if the marriage went through, the Gamo clan would gain a ticket to the upper world.

Now, these guys must have mistaken the person who possessed Gamo Chihaya for her, and took advantage of her drunkenness to capture her and bring her back to their senses.

"What is this? A body double?"

Soko had no intention of marrying in place of Gamo Chihaya; she was only after Gamo Chihaya's body and had no interest in her family.

So So immediately manipulated her magical power, deciding to break free from the ropes. However, no matter how hard So tried, the ropes binding her showed no signs of breaking. So then realized that these were not ordinary ropes, but real magical artifacts.

"Damn it, I feel so dizzy... I can't muster any strength at all."

So was completely out of options. Suffering from a hangover, she couldn't unleash her full power, and being bound by the cursed artifact, she had almost no chance of escaping.

Knowing full well that any struggle would be futile, he simply lay down on the ground, preparing to try again only after he was fully awake, or perhaps it wouldn't be too late to wait for Amelia to wake up.

With this thought in mind, Suo yawned and, utterly exhausted, drifted off to sleep...

The oxcart continued its journey under the protection of the guards, just as So had guessed. These guards were directly under the command of the Gamo clan and were on their orders to find Gamo Chihaya.

Thinking the chances were slim, he unexpectedly discovered Gamo Chihaya, who was drunk and passed out in a tavern, while slacking off and drinking.

"Big brother, pinch me! Am I dreaming? Did we really find Gamo Chihaya?"

At this moment, one of the guards looked dazed, as if he hadn't yet recovered from the joy of finding Gamo Chihaya. The bearded man beside him chuckled upon hearing this.

"Back then, when I asked you to drink, you said drinking would lead to trouble. Now what do you have to say?"

The guard smiled sheepishly and scratched his head:

"Ha, you're right, brother. This wine is excellent. I'll treat you next time."

"That's more like it..."

The bearded man listened to the words, closed his eyes contentedly, and nodded with satisfaction.

After enjoying a moment of peace on horseback, the bearded man suddenly sensed an uneasy atmosphere in the air. He slowly opened his eyes, looked around, and realized that something was wrong.

The chirping of insects in the forest suddenly ceased, and birds took flight in fright. An ominous atmosphere spread along the rugged path. The bearded man, the strongest of the guards, immediately understood what these anomalies meant. He said coldly:

"There's a monster nearby. Prepare for battle."

His words were met only with endless silence. The bearded man grew impatient. He turned back and said:

"I said, there's danger nearby, so stay alert..."

His voice grew softer and softer, and the impatience in his eyes was instantly filled with fear. He saw his companions, who had been riding horses and chatting and laughing, now slumped on their backs, pale-faced, and had been dead for a long time.

"when……?!"

The bearded man cried out in surprise, his mind instantly abandoning his mission to bring Gamo Chihaya back to the Gamo clan. Only one thing remained in his mind: I must survive.

He held the reins, urging the horse to flee in terror. Only when the oxcart receded further and further away until it became a dot and disappeared from sight did he dare to breathe a sigh of relief.

Before he could even feel relieved, a loud crashing sound came from ahead. Turning around, he saw a crow-faced tengu, over two meters tall, descending from the sky, wielding a katana and shouting:

"Where can we escape to?"

The next second, the bearded man felt a sudden lightness in his body, and the world spun wildly before his eyes. He saw his body cut in half, and he also saw his horse cleaved in two, followed by boundless darkness...

Chapter 97: You just mentioned a maid... right?

Meanwhile, on Amelia and So's side, with a loud "thud," the oxcart was overturned by the force of the impact, forcibly waking So, who was sleeping. He grumbled with morning grumpiness:

"Hey! Can't a person get some sleep? If you're going to kidnap me, tie me up properly, don't let it tip over all the time..."

Before she could complain about the guards' professionalism, a loud clattering sound came from the top of the oxcart, wood chips scattered, and a large hand ripped off the roof.

Through the gap in the roof of the car, an extremely large figure appeared, about five meters tall, wearing a dark kasaya, holding a feather fan, and with two swords at its waist. Like other tengu, it had a pair of large black wings, but it had a human face, with a red face, a long nose, and a ferocious look.

After staring at it for two seconds, Suo immediately lost her temper. She stared blankly at the tengu in front of her, which was different from the other tengu, her mind filled with "What's going on?"

It was only at this point that Suo realized she had a serious misconception about Tengu. Before, she had always thought that all Tengu were snake-level monsters, but now she realized that there was also a hierarchy among Tengu.

The tengu we encountered earlier had a crow's face, so let's call it the Crow Tengu. Although it was quite strong, it was the lowest-ranking member of the tengu clan.

The red-faced, long-nosed tengu before us now possesses a size and curse power far exceeding that of the crow tengu. It embodies people's fear of the deep mountains, forests, and powerful figures who, filled with resentment, ultimately transform into vengeful ghosts and natural disasters. It is undoubtedly a mountain god.

This is the legendary great demon, Ōtengu.

Upon seeing the Great Tengu appear before him, Suo panicked.

[I'm doomed. Do I even have a chance against Ōtengu now? With Yamata no Orochi dead, Ōtengu is practically the most powerful yokai of this era...]

However, in some legends, the Great Tengu is equivalent to a mountain god. Perhaps its appearance at this moment is simply to save me, a kidnapped and wayward girl?

Thinking of this, So cautiously looked at the Great Tengu and tried to say, "Are you here to save me?"

However, before that, the Great Tengu's fierce words came:

"You killed my followers and you're just going to walk away like that?!"

Upon hearing this, Suo was completely dumbfounded.

[Follower? What follower? Could it be that the follower the Great Tengu was talking about is the Karasu Tengu? No, wait, when did I ever kill a Karasu Tengu...?]

With this thought in mind, So suddenly remembered the tengu that Amelia had instantly killed, and his heart sank.

Although So was indifferent to death, her grand plan, which was unparalleled in history, had only just begun. If she were to die now, she would be filled with regret until the very end.

[No! I can't die! I must live, live to complete my plan, and then whatever happens after that!]

After this thought came to mind, Suo gradually sorted out her thoughts. She took a deep breath and suddenly bowed towards the direction of the Great Tengu in an extremely difficult posture.

thump.

It was the sound of his head hitting the wooden board. He endured the pain and cried out:

"Lord Tengu, you've misunderstood! I didn't kill her! The murderer is the person next to me. If you want to kill someone, then kill her! I'm willing to do anything to survive!"

Upon hearing So's words, the Great Tengu narrowed its eyes slightly, scrutinizing So and then Amelia, its eyes twitching wildly.

"This woman has no magical power whatsoever, how could she possibly kill my follower? Don't try to fool me!"

As he spoke, the Great Tengu waved his feather fan, and a gust of wind swept in, causing the entire oxcart to burst apart and explode into large pieces of wood chips.

So and Amelia were also blown away by the strong wind, crashing into several tree trunks and snapping them in half. The intense pain caused her to groan involuntarily.

"Ouch! This is outrageous!"

So was not without temper. Knowing that there was no point in continuing to beg for mercy without reconciliation, she was almost sober and her magical power flowed through her body, so she broke the ropes binding her body.

He stood up, flexing his wrists, and gazed at the enormous size of the Great Tengu, his tone calmer than ever before:

"Don't think that just because I keep tolerating you, you can keep bullying me. If I can kill your henchmen, I can kill you too."

The Great Tengu frowned even more deeply, but seeing Suo's calm appearance, he did not immediately make a move. Instead, he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

This wasn't because it was intimidated. As a Great Tengu, it possessed a small amount of divinity, and for someone like this who was still willing to draw his sword in the face of a strong opponent, it was willing to give him a dignified death. So it said:

"No matter the outcome, one of us will see the next spring. Let's give it our all."

As she spoke, the Great Tengu drew his katana. The sunlight reflecting off the blade shone into So's eyes. She swallowed hard, smiled with a look of resignation, and then suddenly pointed behind the Great Tengu:

Wow! A nine-tailed fox!