Chapter 455
However, she was no ordinary woman, and she quickly regained her composure. Shirou's peculiar Projection Magecraft had captivated her attention, and she looked at Shirou with surprise, asking, "Is this mass-produced? Your Shirou, just who... are you?"
"No, no, I'm just an ordinary person who came to hell to pick up my girlfriend and take her home," Shirou casually replied, glancing towards Mashiro.
At that moment, Mashiro was with the horse-headed Miss Shinigami. Noticing Shirou's gaze, she smiled as well.
"Hmm... It feels like accepting this has resulted in me being forced to eat dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection). Oh well, I do have an urge to make something explode right now," Take said, gripping the Spiral Sword in his hands.
"Well then..." Minamoto no Raikō had been smiling gently at Shirou, slowly turned around, his expression completely changing. He looked at the Demon King with a gloomy expression and asked, "Then it's time to settle accounts... You bastard! What did you intend to do to my lovely family?"
At this moment, Minamoto no Raikō, with his long hair flowing freely, exuded a rich, blood-red aura, resembling a demon with a pair of sharp horns!
The demon crawled up from the ground and saw Minamoto no Raikō walking towards him step by step.
"Damn it!!! I am the Emperor! How dare you hurt me! Have the samurai outside fallen too?" Facing the imposing Minamoto no Raikō, the red-skinned demon king was startled, but after feeling guilty, he put on a fierce look and roared.
"Although I had no intention of rebelling, my family still managed to seize power in the end." Minamoto no Raikō was the reincarnation of the Gozu Tenno. Like Minamoto no Yoshitsune, she was sent to a temple deep in the mountains to learn martial arts from a young age. She was only brought back to the main family in Kamakura when her family needed her.
Although she was human, she was not treated as such as a child and was even called "Ushi Gozen" when she wreaked havoc in the mountains. Although she grew up and became an active general serving the royal family, her strong sense of responsibility led her to spend her life protecting humanity and fighting against demons. However, this also made her feared by people, who regarded her as a being even more terrifying than a demon and kept her at a distance.
However, Minamoto no Raikō was aware of this. From a young age, she knew that she was different from other children. Normal people would feel fear when they saw demons and monsters, but she did not feel that way; instead, she felt excited.
The more powerful a demon is, the more restless its heart becomes. It cannot be satisfied until it is covered in blood from fighting. This characteristic of the Bull Demon has always been in the blood within her body and has never disappeared.
Therefore, Minamoto no Raikō was not the kind of blindly loyal person like Yue Fei from the beginning; she had her own standards for doing things.
"I was born to slay demons and monsters, and you are a demon! Then I will slay you! This has nothing to do with His Emperor, does it?! Besides... you harmed my family!!! Even if it is the Emperor himself, I will slay him!!!" Minamoto no Raikō drew his sword.
Shirou and the Miko Take simultaneously drew their bows, aimed their Spiral Sword at the demon king's head, and then fired a barrage of shots.
892 The Ghostly and Divine Mother Raikou
"Attack! Attack! Concentrate your attacks! Tear this demon to shreds!" Raikou raised his katana high, unleashing a thunderous roar as he blasted it towards the massive red-skinned demon king.
Shirou and the Miko Take, each holding a bow, slowly nocked one modified Spiral Sword after another, infused them with magical power, and launched the Projection Noble Phantasm, which then exploded with a deafening roar.
Boom! Boom! Rumble!!!
"Why!!!" Yū Oni King roared in pain and resentment as he was relentlessly bombarded. Although the Dragon Qi Scale Armor could protect him from melee blade attacks, it could only withstand ranged attacks. Even the strongest armor can shatter under impact.
Shirou has absolutely no connection to Shintoism. Compared to the Noble Phantasm in Japanese mythology and epics, he is more skilled in Greek and Celtic Noble Phantasm, and he received his education as a Western Magecraft.
Since the Demon King wants to take Mashiro away, nothing can stop him anymore; only by killing him can the matter be settled. Shirou has no reason to show any mercy to this wicked demon.
"Go! Go! Don't stop attacking until it's shredded!!!" Raikou was no longer the gentle and virtuous woman she usually was; she was like a horned demon, issuing commands.
As the Ghost King tried to resist, a golden shock descended upon its head.
"Golden! The Axe Falling from the Sky!" Kintoki leaped high into the air once more, the golden axe he held in both hands crackling with lightning, and smashed down towards the Demon King's head. As the bones of both the God of Thunder and the Dragon God, transformed into the axe, it possessed an unreasonable and unstoppable force that ignored all defenses.
"Waaaaah!!!" The Ghost King was slammed to the ground once again.
"Why! Why! I was so close to succeeding! Why did I end up like this! I obtained the dragon energy, and if I cultivated for another thousand years, I could break through to the Ghost King level, unify the entire Hell, and become the Emperor of Ghosts!" Yū Oni King roared.
Shirou drew his bow once more and coldly said to the Demon King, "The times are different now. Even if you go out into the world, you'll just be a mascot!"
"What!!!" The Ghost King's eyes widened.
Times have changed. No one relies on gods or emperors anymore; everyone has to rely on themselves.
Ultimately, what is an emperor? The owner of an empire, the representative of a nation, the sole person to offer sacrifices to Heaven and inherit the rightful rule, the supreme leader of the people, the master of the people, to whom the people kneel—what else could he be but a master?
The stronger the imperial power, the less likely others are to feel any love for a country when it belongs to one person. Patriotism in ancient times is a completely different concept from patriotism in modern times.
In ancient times, loyalty meant "if the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die." In modern times, loyalty is more about fulfilling one's duties, being loyal to love, or being loyal to money. In ancient times, the emperor was the law and could order people to be killed. In modern times, everything is done according to the law, and murderers must be punished.
Ancient rules, while having created miracles and wonders, such as the Great Wall of China (a testament to ancient infrastructure prowess) and the Egyptian pyramids (whose construction methods remain unknown, leading some to believe they were built by extraterrestrials), have led to speculation that they were the work of extraterrestrials.
People praise the great achievements of ancient heroes, but let's not forget that they were built with human lives. Under the Great Wall today, there may be tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of corpses buried.
Indeed, this saved stability for millions, even thousands of years. The Great Wall has defended against countless foreign enemies, deterring nomadic tribes from blindly breaching the wall to plunder and ensuring the safety of the territory.
However, these practices are undoubtedly outdated in modern times. While it may still occasionally occur that require sacrificing the interests of a few to benefit the masses, the idea of sacrificing the lives of a large group to achieve the interests of the majority is no longer acceptable.
If the entire process were to be recreated through video, just watching it would be enough to make people feel uncomfortable.
"Damn it! You heartless bastards!!!" The Ghost King roared loudly as he was bombarded, shaking off the few people who were close to him. Then, his whole body rapidly shrank until it was about twice the size of a human before it stopped.
"It's shrunk! That makes it even easier to cut!" Raikou's eyes gleamed red as he drew his sword and ran quickly toward the Demon King, his eyes fixed on the neck.
"Wait! Wait! Take a closer look at what's on my scales!" the Ghost King called out to the others.
The scales burst forth with a bright light, changing their state. The dragon aura surrounding the entire body began to disperse into each and every scale.
"That is..." Raikou stopped his attack.
"Golden little figures made of light... that's faith, isn't it?" Take said in surprise, looking at the little golden figures sitting on top.
The Demon King grinned smugly and said, "Hahahaha!!! Do you understand now? That's right! This is the true form of dragon energy—it doesn't come from anything, but from people's faith. That idiot Hirohito betrayed these people's faith, but I've picked it up again! They've all acknowledged my position, and I will lead their hopes to become the Lord of Hell, then accumulate power, and one day realize Japan's dream of world domination!!!"
"What...!" Raikou and the others frowned.
Indeed, tiny golden figures appeared on the Ghost King's clothes, each one so lifelike that it seemed to be the most brilliant performance of that person's life, sacred and full of passionate and energetic energy.
These little figures represent the collective faith of a nation, a rare and precious thing that can only be gathered when a country and a nation are united as one. Each little figure represents the will of a person who is willing to die for their country from the bottom of their heart.
In other words, the faith formed by these golden figures can also be called 'national fortune'! Even the most powerful King have their downfalls, which are generally described as a decline in national fortune.
When a nation is blessed with good fortune, it is at its peak. Everything it does is successful, every national policy has a positive effect, and the nation's strength and people's livelihood are thriving. Even if it encounters a major crisis, it will eventually overcome it and reach the top of the world.
No one could have imagined that Japan's fate would be sealed in hell, and that it would be in the hands of a bandit king, a cowardly and thuggish red-skinned devil.
893 The Fate of the Nation on the Ghost King
"This is the greatest national destiny that Japan has accumulated in its two thousand years of history! Do you want to destroy it?! Do you want to become sinners against the Yamato people?!" the Red-skinned Demon King shouted.
"Damn it... How could such an absurd thing happen? Even if Buddha said there are three thousand worlds, and nothing is impossible, this is really going too far." Hikari, carrying his gun, looked at the Ghost King with a complicated expression.
"Hey, even if you're being despicable, there's a limit. Didn't you say they approve of you? You're using people who approve of you as leverage to threaten others." Sakata Kintoki said to the Demon King with displeasure.
"Hahaha! Those who can win, plunder with all their might; those who can't, bow and kneel, trying to survive and wait for a chance to turn the tables. That's my way of survival! The fate of the nation rests in my hands! If you want to kill me, then the whole of Japan will forever decline! There will be no chance of recovery! Get out of here! Get as far away as you can! But when my strength increases, I will come to the mortal realm to find you! I will torture you until you wish you were dead! Ahahaha!!!" The Ghost King said with a smug laugh.
"This guy is so annoying, can't we just seal him away?" Hikari said unhappily, disgusted by the situation.
"No... Although he's an incorrigible bastard, the national destiny he carries is real. If it's sealed away, our country will also be affected," the Miko Take said, shaking her head.
Throughout history, every war has been a gamble, a test of national destiny. Victory brings immense wealth, while defeat results in devastating losses and hardship. Only by possessing national destiny can a nation achieve repeated victories, defeating the many with the few, the strong with the weak, and even becoming invincible. This not only leads to territorial expansion but also generates substantial profits.
An Emperor or leader who can lead a country to prosperity is inevitably surrounded by conspiracies and dangers of poisoning and assassination. But if he always manages to escape danger, these situations are all manifestations of a country's luck.
Moreover, the fortunes of nations fluctuate; when one nation prospers, it inevitably suppresses the neighboring countries.
Back then, Japan relied on its national fortune; a typhoon repelled the invasion of the seemingly invincible Mongolia navy. During the First Sino-Japanese War, when naval power was just beginning to gain importance among Asian countries, Japan, with its weaker forces, defeated the Qing Dynasty and seized its expensively purchased ships. Furthermore, in the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Japan ceded Taiwan, obtained huge indemnities, and instantly became the leading maritime power in Asia.
Then, it seized Korea and the Liaodong Peninsula of China from Tsarist Russian Empire, won the Russo-Japanese War, and became a military power in East Asia.
Then, in the Battle of Qingdao, they defeated the combined German and British forces head-on and occupied Qingdao, China. Although the scale of the war was small, it exposed their ambition to occupy China, conquer Asia, and confront European powers, thus officially becoming a world military power.
After the September 18 Incident, Japan occupied Manchukuo, which is now the head of the Chinese rooster, then the entire Northeast, followed by Beijing, Kaifeng, Nanjing, and finally Shanghai, which is the breast of the rooster and the coastal areas of the rooster's belly.
There's also much of Southeast Asia below the chicken, including Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and numerous islands.
If we take it one step further, we can land in Australia.
If the United States, with its greater national fortune, hadn't developed the atomic bomb before Germany and knocked Germany down with just two strikes, the outcome would have been uncertain.
The Japanese army at that time was truly formidable, one of the most elite and capable in the world. Although they were short in stature, they fought with great discipline, were accurate shooters, fearless, and highly efficient. From before World War I to World War II, Japan's territory expanded from over 200,000 square kilometers to nearly 8 million square kilometers.
The arrival of the new era and the Age of Exploration opened up global trade. Remote small countries were not necessarily inferior to large countries with abundant resources. By keeping up with the trend, they could become developed countries.
Many of the world's powerful nations are maritime powers. The island nation of Great Britain rose to prominence, as did the island nation of Japan. Even the America, a giant island nation, has developed coastal cities despite its vast territory. Some of its states are even described by Americans themselves as desolate, undeveloped rural areas.
As for the most developed city, New York, there's even a saying that there are two Americas in the world: the USA and New York. New York is completely different from any other place in the US. Even Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the US, is still quite different from New York.
Even though the United States has world hegemon for nearly a century, spanning two centuries since its founding, it has relied on both military force and technological advancement to dominate the world with impunity. However, its national fortunes have not been indefinite.
Because of its insufficient population and vast land area, the United States has difficulty forming medium-sized cities, except for large cities with tens of millions of people. People either crowd into the big cities or live in the countryside. Therefore, when the economy has problems, many small cities suffer and even become ghost towns. Detroit, the former Motor City, is now pitifully deserted.
A nation prospers when its fortunes are strong, and declines when its fortunes are weak. This is the kind of thing that the Ghost King of National Fortune possesses.
The Demon King sneered, "So you're still descendants of the Yamato people? Your ancestors are weeping! Can't you feel it? Every time you attack, this armor made of the Yamato people's faith is weeping! You know Japanese history, don't you? For Hirohito, your compatriots gave their all! The men joined the army, fearless of death! The women went to Nanyang to become prostitutes, using their earnings to supplement the country's military expenditures."
"And then! What are you doing! Attacking them?! Killing the souls of these devout, patriotic, and loyal men?" The Ghost King opened his robes, which were made of scales, and pointed to the golden figures hanging on them.
At this moment, a solid and powerful fist appeared in front of the Ghost King. The steel-colored gauntlet smashed directly into the Ghost King's face, sending him flying.
"Waaaaah!" The Ghost King was hit head-on and rolled several times on the ground before stopping.
When he finally recovered, he looked up in disbelief at Shirou, who had knocked him away, and asked, covering his swollen face, "Why... why?"
Aren't these people supposed to be champions of justice? Why are they all even more vicious and cruel than him?
"This is what they call the Iron Fist Divine Judgment, which I learned from a certain teacher." Shirou said, fiddling with the Saint Motor gauntlet on his arm. As an Iron Fist instructor, he had shown him by example that when it came to persuading stubborn guys, fists were indeed the most effective.
894 Shirou's Iron Fist Punishment
"Wait! Do you understand what you're doing? I carry the faith of millions on my shoulders! The very existence of your land depends on me! Why do you dare hit me! If you don't obey, get out!" the Ghost King roared in bewilderment.
"You don't understand at all! The problem isn't solved at all, is it? Since I can't kill you, I guess I can only convince you." Shirou said with a smile, one hand clenched into the other fist.
"Be careful, or I'll destroy the fate of these nations and bring them to utter ruin!" the Ghost King threatened.
"I've already said it! Your thinking is outdated! The idea that the minority must obey the majority no longer works. Although the power of unity is valuable, if they unite to do the wrong things, the consequences are even more terrible. Fascists, Nazis, and other hegemonic powers all thought they could represent the whole world, which is why so many tragedies occurred. A guy like you is incapable of bringing happiness to the people," Shirou said bluntly.
The Demon King roared, his eyes wide, "This is destiny! I control the fate of the nation! Only I can bring prosperity to Japan! Since the fate of the nation has recognized me, then I am the Emperor of Japan, and you, as subjects of Japan, should obey me—this is only natural!!!"
"I am the Emperor, the greatest being in Japan! Under heaven, all land belongs to the Emperor! On the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the Emperor! Don't you understand what this means? Hey! You lot, stop this madman!" The Demon King glared at Raikou and the others behind Shirou and shouted.
In fact, in ancient times, people did not have a consensus on ethnicity or nation. When the Chinese people only knew that there was only one China under heaven, and there were no equally powerful enemies outside, it was impossible for them to be completely united internally.
Because the concepts of nation and ethnicity are not effective. It's like when you're at home, the people next door can be complete strangers. But only when you travel far away can people from neighboring provinces be considered fellow villagers.
Without foreign countries that are equivalent to domestic ones, there would be no clear distinction between countries.
This has been the way of thinking in China since ancient times, and it still influences the mindset of some people today, who subconsciously believe that there are only two countries in the world: one called "foreign countries" and the other called "China".
Even among cultured people, this was the view: the center of the world was China, and all other places were remote, barbaric lands or islands, filled with small countries vying to pay tribute and receive rewards. Even the nomadic tribes, whose military power was once unparalleled, were illiterate barbarians who did not know the rules; they had no culture like China.
However, from a practical perspective, looking back from the perspective of later generations, we will find that these were merely armchair strategists. After all, Confucianism culture alone is not enough to create a peaceful world. In the modern globalized society, East and West are interdependent, and the strength of one side alone is no longer sufficient to function a country effectively.
"Be the first to worry about the world's troubles and the last to enjoy its pleasures!"
'To establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations!'
These great sages, who uttered these words and set moral standards for China, all came from the same era. They are remembered for generations and have had a profound influence on later generations. However, even during their lifetimes, they were unable to truly make the country strong.
In Chinese history, the Song Dynasty can be described as a paradise for scholars, the most brilliant era of culture, and a Renaissance movement in China. Music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and prose all saw figures reach their pinnacle during this time. The Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism laid the core foundation for the brilliant Confucianism culture that spread throughout East Asia. Three of the Four Great Inventions matured and developed during this era, influencing people's daily lives.
However, the Song Dynasty was also a hell for soldiers, because the emperor's family precepts emphasized civil administration and suppressed military power, which restricted the size of the army and prevented soldiers from becoming too powerful, resulting in low combat effectiveness. The greater a soldier's military achievements, the more tragic their fate often was.
The Northern Song Dynasty had a territory of 2.8 million square kilometers. It was considered a brother state to the Liao State and paid tribute annually in exchange for decades of peace. The Southern Song Dynasty had a territory of 2 million square kilometers. It was a vassal state of the Jin Dynasty. Its territory was smaller than that of the Qin Dynasty, the first state to achieve unification. Several of its emperors were captured.
Although the Song Dynasty can be considered a cultural renaissance in China, none of its emperors were good emperors; they lacked backbone and courage, were short-sighted, and brought disaster to the country and its people.
They used their wealth to create a paradise for intellectuals, but this also fostered a dogmatic belief among the people that all other professions are inferior, and that only studying is superior, while diminishing their spirit and drive.
From then on, the civil and military were in opposition in China, and there were very few commanders who were both literate and martial.
Therefore, the Song Dynasty did not have a high international standing at the time. It was a country that never achieved unification by the time it was destroyed because it severely suppressed its military. Both the Liao State and Kim Dynasty had large populations of Han Chinese. The combination of Liao, Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties is more like a complete process of dynastic change in China.
Therefore, to make this statement convincing, one must have a commensurate status and strength to gain people's trust.
"I am your Emperor, you should all listen to me!!!" the Ghost King shouted, but before he could finish speaking, he collapsed to the ground.
Because Shirou punched the Demon King in the face again.
"I don't need someone like you as a leader."
"If you want to teach others, then put more effort into this and become an elite in it! When you ask questions, also express your thoughts, and have specific solutions for specific problems!!! That's what it means to be a leader who guides others!" Shirou threw a punch, once again hitting the red-skinned demon king in the face and slamming him to the ground.
"Ughhhh!!! It's going to crack! It's going to crack!" The red-skinned demon king, being brutally beaten, raised his hands, using the golden figures to shield himself, trying to get Shirou to stop. Attacking these golden figures might ruin Japan's national destiny and have a terrible impact on the country.
"The kind of national fortune that can only be obtained through war, we don't need it!!! Haaaaaah!!!" Shirou punched the red-skinned demon king in the face one punch after another, slamming him to the ground and continuing to pound him downwards, shattering the ground with each blow. The demon king, lying on the ground, groaned in pain as he sank into the ground.
"Aaaaaah!!!" The Demon King rolled on the ground, struggling to crawl away from Shirou. It raised its head and looked at the samurai girl and the others who were frozen there, and roared viciously.
"Hey! You samurai! Your nation's fate is about to be completely ruined here! If Japan becomes a barren and chaotic hell afterward, it will be your fault!"
895 Minamoto no Raikō's Choice
Hearing the Demon King's roar, the samurai girls were filled with conflict, unsure of what to do. As samurai, they had a moral obligation to serve their country. Even though times had changed and the social system was completely different from the Heian period they lived in, the country was still the same country, and the fate of the nation was just as important.
But the evil spirit is undoubtedly a despicable scoundrel who deserves to die, so why should we protect a villain?
At this moment, Minamoto no Raikō stepped out, her head bowed, and took a step toward the Demon King.
"Lord Raikou..." Tsuna asked the woman with a puzzled look.
"...You all wait here," Raikou instructed in a low voice.