Chapter 224 Conquering the Ghost Country
In the end, after the shrine maiden successfully remembered her promise, Shiba Kiyokawa didn't really do anything to her.
The Land of Demons is a theocratic country that has lasted for a thousand years. If the priestess is really killed, it may not be smooth for Akatsuki to take over the country.
Therefore, the threat just now was more of intimidation.
Fortunately, Shiba Kiyokawa's acting skills have always been on point.
For a moment, the miko really thought that the three members of the Akatsuki organization wanted to kill her!
The murderous intent that penetrated her skin made the witch's hair stand on end.
No matter how proficient she is in witchcraft and magic, the shrine maiden is, after all, a leader who has been raised in a secluded place since childhood. Her psychological quality cannot be compared with that of a thug like Shiba Kiyokawa who has lived on the edge of a knife and has fought on the battlefield.
Especially after the threat from the monsters disappeared, the witch's original will to die bravely also dissipated.
A person's courage to commit suicide is often only momentary.
At that moment, she could not fear death for the sake of her inherited destiny, the education she received since childhood, and the purest sense of mission in her heart, but once that moment passed and the crisis was gone, the desire to survive would naturally return.
This is human nature.
Therefore, the witch did not persist for too long and soon agreed.
"Okay... okay, I can accept your conditions. This is also for the sake of the Ghost Country. Now let's go back first. The people who have evacuated to the mountains need to return to the town as soon as possible."
The witch found a perfect reason and excuse for herself.
Shiba Kiyokawa praised.
"Yes, this is all for the sake of the Land of Demons, to protect all the people who believe in you. Your Excellency the Miko is indeed very righteous."
After being praised like this, the witch no longer had the courage to commit suicide.
The Demon Country was conquered by the Akatsuki organization without any bloodshed.
Not long after that, they returned to the palace in the capital.
Because the monsters were subdued, the undead spirits soon stopped resurrecting and returned to silence.
The ninjas of the Akatsuki organization's Sixth Battalion also withdrew and returned the next day.
When I came back, Shiba Kiyokawa was reading the notes passed down by the shrine maidens in the main seat of the palace.
The genuine priestess knelt beside him to boil water for him to make tea and prepare a stove for warming his hands.
This scene happened to be seen by a shrine maiden attendant who had returned with the Sixth Battalion of the Akatsuki organization, and the loyal attendant immediately became furious.
"You bastard! What are you asking the Miko to do?! Damn it, I'm going to kill you!!"
However, before this loyal priestess could rush forward, she was stopped in her tracks by a sharp shout.
"Stop! Stop!"
Shiba Qinghe then raised his head calmly, smiled at the attendant, and said: "Now that the crisis has been resolved, there will be more in-depth cooperation and exchanges between the Demon Country and the Akatsuki Organization in the future. For this reason, Her Highness the Miko specially demonstrated her tea ceremony for me. Is there any problem with this?"
At first glance, it seems like there is nothing wrong.
But when the servant saw Shiba Kiyokawa sitting upright and the shrine maiden kneeling, he still clenched his teeth.
His intuition told him that there must be something wrong!
Unfortunately, the next moment, even the shrine maiden he admired the most spoke up: "From now on, you must not be rude to the guests of Akatsuki. They are the saviors predicted by the first generation of shrine maidens, and they are also the heroes who saved the Demon Country this time."
The attendant had an expression of disbelief on his face. "How is this possible? Wasn't it you, the Miko, who sealed the monster?"
The witch shook her head and emphasized once again: "We were able to overcome this crisis only thanks to the help of Akatsuki." The servant was a little distraught for a moment.
But Shiba Kiyokawa did not stop there.
There is naturally a reason behind this.
"It was you who had been encouraging the miko to send the commission to the more distant Konoha Village, right? Why go so far away instead of near? Can you tell me your reasons?" Shiba Kiyokawa's eyes gradually became sharp at this time.
This is not only a post-mortem settlement, but more importantly: in the process of Akatsuki's subsequent control of the Demon Kingdom, such important officials who are more inclined towards Konoha and absolutely loyal to the miko cannot be retained.
The attendant had not yet realized the seriousness of the problem. He still stiffened his neck and glared at Shiba Kiyokawa.
"Konoha is the number one ninja village in the ninja world, so of course I trust Konoha more! It's just that Her Excellency the Miko was more inclined to ask you for help, so I finally followed Her Excellency the Miko's wishes."
From this answer, we can tell that although this servant has personal preferences, he is still completely loyal to the miko.
It’s a pity that both of these points have stepped on Shiba Kiyokawa’s minefield.
"Then do you know that your bias almost destroyed the prophecy of the first generation of the miko? Your mind has been corrupted by the demon. In fact, you have become his accomplice and even almost killed the miko."
"This is impossible?!"
But before he could continue to explain, a ninja from the Akatsuki organization approached him instantly and quickly pinned him to the ground.
"No! Bastard! Let me go! I have done great things for the Demon Country! I have shed blood for Her Highness the Miko! You can't do this to me!"
However, the ninja who was suppressing him pulled out the rope expressionlessly, tying him up while speaking with disdain.
"Shut up! You've been talking about Konoha all the way here, and you still want to say that there's nothing wrong with you?"
Soon the servant was dragged away.
This has already taken the feelings of the shrine maiden into consideration, otherwise the Akatsuki ninja could have directly taken out the kunai instead of the rope.
But even so, this servant will never have the chance to appear in front of the priestess again.
At that moment, the witch who was making tea lowered her head deeply.
It was not until this moment that she realized how powerless the skills and abilities she once prided herself on were in the face of the full-power Akatsuki organization.
Thinking back, she was able to defeat Konan at the border several months ago only because the Akatsuki organization had no time to target the Demon Country at that time.
The sense of oppression brought to her by this person in front of her was much greater than that of Xiaonan back then!
"Okay, Your Excellency the Miko, the minions of the demons have been eliminated. Now it's time to talk about the deep alliance between the Demon Country and the Akatsuki Organization.
In addition, regarding the practice of immortal arts, I also have many questions to ask the witch."
After reading the notes of the shrine maiden's inheritance, Shiba Kiyokawa can now confirm that the shrine maiden's inheritance is indeed the fairy art.
And it is different from Myobokusan and Ryuchi Cave, it is a magic that is more suitable for humans!
The magic arts of Myobokusan and Ryuchi Cave are either closer to toads or snakes, and in essence they are not human magic arts.
But this world once had immortal arts that were more suitable for the human physique. However, because the threshold for practicing was much more difficult than ninjutsu, it was gradually lost after the establishment of the Ninja Sect.
The shrine maiden heritage of the Demon Kingdom is one of the few that has been preserved intact.
At this time, the witch lowered her head and no longer had the courage or strength to resist.
She didn't even dare to question when her servants became the minions of the monsters.
"From now on, please don't call me Miko-sama all the time. Just call me Miroku."
(End of this chapter)
