Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 741 – The Bellowing and Disorderly Mountains

The war between the demons and humans arose from their struggle for the continent, but the two sides’ fight to the death was closely related to a certain matter.

Demons ate humans.

This was the Human race’s greatest fear and cause for anger, and also the greatest source of their courage.

In truth, regardless of the era, humans had never been the primary food for demons. At the very beginning, demons ate humans as if to express the traits of a more savage era, and they did so to mystify their battles, strengthen their bodies, flaunt their power, and frighten their enemies. However, with the passage of time, this action gradually became a habit for the demons.

Later on, this terrifying conduct no longer had the effect on the demons that it used to, and the frightening effect it had on humans had mostly transformed into resentment and courage. From every aspect, this conduct brought no benefits to this war between the humans and demons, only negative effects.

The more intelligent of the demon soldiers had long since come to recognize this fact. However, breaking a practice that had become a tradition would inevitably face all sort of opposition. Moreover, to the demons famed for their cruelty, any sort of blood-soaked and terrifying matter was a pleasure most welcomed by them.

After many years of debate, the eternally famous Grand Scholar Tungus researched this practice for twenty years. Ultimately, after analyzing this practice through a theological and social perspective and weighing the merits and drawbacks biologically and mentally, he passed judgment. In his work, the grand scholar explicitly stated that eating humans offered no benefit to the advancement of demons. On the contrary, the human body contained certain material that would contaminate the brain stem of demons, ultimately causing demons that had eaten too many humans to go crazy and inflict harm upon themselves until they died. At the same time, Grand Scholar Tungus also expressed his callous disdain for this practice from a theological perspective, determining that this practice was blasphemy to the Moon God.

In Xuelao City, Grand Scholar Tungus’s research naturally faced no opposition, just like every other subject he had researched. As for that other grand scholar of the generation who had the right to question him, the Pope in the south, there was also no voice of objection.

Perhaps precisely because this silence was too stark a contrast with the fierce quarrels the two had engaged in in the past, it attracted all sorts of private rumor and discussion. Some demon scholars suspected that there was a problem with Grand Scholar Tungus’s argument, while the scholars of the Li Palace secretly proposed an even more outrageous possibility: this work of research on the effect of demons’ human-eating was highly likely to be a joint work between Grand Scholar Tungus and the Pope! At the very least, the Pope must have greatly assisted in it.

If these doubts were true, there was naturally something wrong with this research; perhaps it was even completely fabricated. But just as was mentioned before, the Imperial clan and the nobles of Xuelao City put up no opposition to Grand Scholar Tungus’s judgment, and the Pope within the Li Palace also maintained his silence, so who would dare voice their doubts?

As this work was circulated, the popularity of the practice of human-eating gradually waned. Finally, one thousand years ago, that Demon Lord who dominated the continent finally banned the practice. From that moment on, eating humans was completely banned in the Demon race’s territory, especially in Xuelao City, where such actions basically ceased to occur.

But the strength of tradition was far too powerful, the snowy plains of the demon domain too vast, the gap in intelligence and culture between the various levels of demons too great. Even mighty existences like Grand Scholar Tungus and the Demon Lord could not cause this practice to completely disappear. The lower-level demons in the small tribes would still sneakily eat human meat, even consider doing so an honor. In the past several hundred years, just how many human bodies had vanished from the battlefield? And amongst the several dozen Demon Generals, just how many had not tasted human flesh?

Now, with the passing of that Demon Lord, and the increasing bitterness of the war between the humans and demons, the binding effect of this ban had received a terrible blow.

In this remote region of the snowy plains, cruel sights such as this occurred all over the place, like right now amongst these disorderly mountains.

The demon soldier and his wolf mount were incessantly tearing into the body of the human soldier.

Blood dripped from their mouths and fell on the hard and cold ground.

Finally, someone’s will broke at this sight. With a lament, he threw down his weapon and retreated back down the mountain path. However, before he could get very far, one of the wolf cavalry guarding the southwest direction caught up to him. With a brief cry of misery, he became a pile of mangled flesh and blood.

Every day on the battlefield, the Human race would receive such a bloody lesson.

Only with their companions was there a hope of survival. Escape and betrayal were the same as death.

Fear and anger were born together, so when this soldier ran off in panic, the remaining ten soldiers became extraordinarily angry.

Anger was the greatest source of courage. The soldiers tightly gripped their weapons once more and roared at the wolf cavalry.

The leader of this squad was an old soldier who had succeeded at Purification many years ago. He had abundant experience on the battlefield, so he was much calmer than all of his subordinates.

When the cries of misery and angry bellows were rising up together, he was still observing the surroundings, judging the present situation and thinking of a way to escape.

His gaze rested on the stretcher and he silently gave his apologies. His squad was doomed to be completely wiped out, as he would be forced to use his last two resorts. But even if he succeeded, not a single survivor would remain. At that time, the array master on the stretcher would either freeze to death or starve to death. Regardless, it would be a very wretched end.

Array masters were the most respected and most welcomed of individuals on the battlefield. It was no surprise if they died in battle, but they should not have such a dismal end as this.

Moreover, this array master was very young.

The lowest level of array master had to be at Ethereal Opening, so they were normally rather old.

The array master was very dark-skinned and very thin. Though his face was covered in blood, it was still possible to tell that he was young.

Such a young array master was an extremely rare sight even in the Mount Song Army headquarters, let alone amongst the ranks of the armies engaged in battle.

Such a young array master was assuredly most gifted. As long as he could survive, he was guaranteed a beautiful and boundless future.

The squad leader understood that it was probably for precisely this reason that his superior had, despite the ferocity of the battle, ordered them to evacuate this array master.

Regretfully, the wolf cavalry that they had been battling with had probably also realized this fact, so they had not hesitated to harm their own fighting power and send several wolf cavalry in pursuit.

Seeing the wolf cavalry charging, seeing his subordinates resolved to die, the squad leader threw down his sword and took out a magical artifact from his belt.

This magical artifact exuded a faint Qi that seemed to communicate with a certain object beneath his clothes.

The soldiers also seemed to sense something and turned their heads to him.

He opened his mouth, planning to say something.

The soldiers guessed at what he intended to do. Their faces paled, and one young soldier went red in the eyes, not out of rage, but sorrow.

There was no time to persuade or comfort. The demons and their wolves were already upon them, the stench assailing their nostrils.

The disorderly mountains bellowed in rage.

The human soldiers struck back against the wolf cavalry. No matter how sharp the teeth of these strange wolves, no matter how powerful the spears of the demon soldiers, the humans charged!

As they charged, not a single one of them turned to look back at him.

Blood spurted and limbs flew. In an extremely brief amount of time, the human soldiers were all killed. Of the wolf cavalry, two of them received light injuries.

The corpses of the soldiers lay collapsed in the claws of the wolves or hung from the spears of the soldiers as they were snacked upon. This was an abnormally gory and horrifying scene.

The demon soldiers cackled at the final human.

Unable to comprehend their words, he shattered the magical artifact in his hands.