Li Xia and his companions encountered no attacks as they flew toward the Village.
Aside from the crackling flames, they saw neither living demons nor living humans.
Li Xia quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"It looks like the demons that attacked the Village have already withdrawn."
Beside him, Inuyasha twitched his nose and ears a few times, then nodded.
He had detected nothing else out of the ordinary either.
Along the only mountain path leading up to the platform halfway up the mountainside, several unfortunate demons had been pinned dead by thick, long crossbow bolts fired from a distance. Inside the ring of walls made from massive logs, numerous bird demons hung impaled by arrows.
The hundred-odd houses had either collapsed or been swallowed by flames.
Corpses littered the Village.
Some were human, but far more belonged to the Demon Beasts that had attacked the Village, only to be killed by ingenious traps and weapons.
With preparations in place, the villagers' counterattack had evidently been quite effective.
"This is horrible..."
Looking at the blood covering the ground, Kagome felt a deep chill rise in her heart.
Although she had spent about a month in this era on and off and seen plenty of bloody battlefields after small clashes, none of them could compare to the battle that had taken place in this Village.
It was at that moment, faced with this gruesome sight, that she, who had always been a little too preoccupied with romance, finally understood the cruelty of the Demon World in the Sengoku Era. Human lives were worth so little here!
"Those evil bastards really dared to massacre an entire village..."
Shippo followed close behind Inuyasha.
He was still young-and rather timid-and he was a kindhearted demon who had always trained with his father deep in the mountains. He had never witnessed a hellish scene like this, where hundreds of lives were lost in a chaotic battle.
Having already suffered the pain of losing his father, he understood the importance of strength even more deeply, just as Li Xia did.
"Let's go take a look at the Cave on the Back Mountain! Hopefully, the Village's Demon Slayers listened to us and evacuated the noncombatants as soon as they discovered the approaching demons, preserving at least some of their bloodlines!
"Otherwise...
"Ah, this Village has endured for hundreds of years!"
On Inuyasha's shoulder, Grandpa Myoga smelled the scorched air around them and sighed.
By a rough visual estimate, more than two hundred villagers had died here.
Several dozen wore Demon Slayer battle gear, while most of the other victims were young or middle-aged adults.
There were few women or children.
In other words, most of the Village's women and children had likely been evacuated in time.
That was some small comfort, at least.
Following a woodland trail outside the Village, they headed straight for the Cave where Midoriko had created the Shikon Jewel all those years ago.
Along the way, they discovered several more Demon Slayers' bodies, over a dozen corpses of lesser demons, and dozens of trees that had been snapped and toppled.
The scene was a complete mess.
Why did they consider these demons worthless weaklings? First, ordinary Demon Slayers left to guard the Village had killed them. Second, Naraku thought so little of them that he had not even bothered to absorb them.
When they reached the Cave, they found more demon corpses there, just as expected.
At the entrance, little Kirara watched the outside world with exhausted but unwavering vigilance-until she spotted Li Xia's group, particularly the gravely wounded, unconscious Sango and the middle-aged man...
"Mew..."
The little creature cried out excitedly, dropped all her wariness, and rushed toward them!
She remembered everyone's scent, and there was no way she could ever forget the scent of her young mistress, Sango!
Despite her exhaustion, she sprang into motion, eager to snuggle into her young mistress's arms.
Her tiny body traced a graceful arc through the air as she leaped toward Sango's embrace.
Unfortunately, Inuyasha reacted swiftly and caught her.
"She's badly injured and needs quiet rest. She can't take you jumping all over her!"
Little Kirara had long possessed the intelligence to understand speech, so she naturally understood what he meant.
She mewed twice more, then gently jumped onto Aba's back while he was in his long, loaf-shaped form. Moving close to Sango, she stuck out her little tongue and licked the back of her young mistress's hand.
"Who's out there?"
Although the disturbance outside was slight, it still alerted the survivors hiding inside the Cave at such a tense time.
Noticing that Kirara had disappeared from her post at the entrance, they realized something unusual had happened. They hurriedly grabbed their weapons and, dragging their injuries of varying severity along with them, crowded behind the barrier at the Cave's entrance as a precaution.
Once they saw Li Xia and his companions, however, they all breathed sighs of relief.
When they spotted Sango and the Village's other skilled fighter, who had slowly regained consciousness through the power of a Shikon Shard but still had no idea what was happening, they wept with joy.
Of course, they also grieved deeply for the deaths of the Village Chief, Kohaku, and the other skilled fighter.
Had one or two of their strongest fighters been stationed in the Village this time, things would never have been so disastrous.
They also realized that if they had not listened to their honored guests' warning and strengthened their defenses somewhat, then swiftly evacuated the elderly, the weak, the women, and the children when the demons attacked, everyone in the Village would probably have died.
"We cannot thank you enough for this. If you ever need anything from us, just say the word! We will never refuse, and we will do everything in our power!"
In the temporary living quarters inside the Cave, several of the Village's elders spoke earnestly.
The few surviving Demon Slayers also gave their word with resolute gazes.
The women and children around them likewise looked on with gratitude.
They no longer regarded Inuyasha, whose status as a half-demon put him in an awkward position, with the prejudice they had shown at their first meeting.
"It was hardly any trouble! Please rest here and recover. Rebuilding the Village will still take everyone's strength and effort..."
Li Xia replied with a smile.
Both sides were getting along warmly.
"Rebuild the Village? Would it be wise to rebuild it here?"
The elders raised a question that deserved serious consideration.
"If we rebuild the Village in the same place, won't those demons return and attack again?"
"This attack cut the Village's fighting strength in half. Our losses were devastating. Sango and my second son are the only skilled fighters left. Beyond them, we have fewer than ten ordinary Demon Slayers capable of holding their own. We're no match for that horde."
"Most importantly, the mastermind who tricked our strongest fighters into traveling to that castle over a hundred li away hasn't even taken action himself yet..."
If that bastard came in person, how could the Village resist with only a handful of fighters left?
"But if we don't rebuild here, we'll be going against the ancestral command passed down through the generations to guard this Cave!"
It truly was a dilemma!
Li Xia naturally understood their concerns, so he offered a suggestion for them to consider.
"Everyone, it would be best to think this through carefully!
"The one scheming against you is no ordinary foe. He's most likely a powerful greater demon with a meticulous mind! We sensed more than twenty Shikon Shards on him. I shouldn't need to explain what that means, should I?"
"So I have two suggestions...
"First, you could make this Cave, protected by the barrier left by your predecessor, your refuge and turn it into a comfortable living area. You all understand the advantages and disadvantages of that approach, so I won't elaborate!
"Second, most of you could migrate southwest, taking your people away from this land and avoiding the enemy for now! With your skills, you certainly won't have any trouble supporting yourselves. If you truly lack essential supplies, we can help find ways to address that!
"As long as you survive, there will always be a chance to rebuild!
"Once you've gathered enough manpower, it won't be too late to fight your way back!
"At the same time, you could leave one or two capable Demon Slayers active in this area to gather intelligence on the enemy! Know yourself and your enemy, and you need never fear defeat!
"As it happens, our team's goal is to collect the Shikon Shards and keep evil demons from using their power to commit atrocities! That means we're certain to clash with the demon behind this plot against the Village! If skilled Demon Slayers joined us, we could work together sincerely and help one another..."
At that point, Li Xia gave Sango and Kirara an extra, meaningful glance.
None of the Village's elders were fools. They all understood what the young man before them meant.
"One side collects the jewel shards, while the other avenges their loved ones and clansmen?"
There would be no conflict of interest between them.
It was indeed a good suggestion.
"Sango, my second son, what do you two think?"
An elder of the clan asked.
"Second Uncle, I'll leave our people in your care!"
"You want to stay?"
"Yes! I'm going to kill the demon who plotted against us and avenge Father, my other uncle, Kohaku, and everyone else!"
Flames seemed to dance in Sango's eyes.
Of course, there was another reason she left unsaid: their saviors could hardly let her and her Second Uncle take away two Shikon Shards! The shards were currently inside their bodies, helping them recover faster!
"Mew... mew..."
Beside her, Kirara sensed her young mistress's anger and waved her little paws, looking just as furious.
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