Volume 4: The Undead Chapter 233: The Shogunate Army Moves Out! (Part 2)
"I see..." Matsudaira Sadanobu said softly, "Is this the cannibal ghost?"
At this moment, Matsudaira Sadanobu, Inamori, Hanai Sogen, and Kamiyama were standing in a corner of the military camp under the protection of dozens of soldiers.
In this remote corner, there are 7 wooden cages.
Matsudaira Sadanobu was standing several rooms away from the seven wooden cages, looking at them from afar.
To be more precise, he was looking at the seven cannibals trapped in these seven wooden cages.
When the seven cannibals saw the living people including Matsudaira Sadanobu, they stared at them and scratched the wooden cage with their fingers, trying to break free.
It was a pity that the wooden cages that trapped them were very strong. No matter how hard they scratched, they could not cause even the slightest damage to the cages.
"These seven people are the cannibals that were captured when researchers were sent to Butterfly Island to study the cannibals last time."
Inamori on the side introduced Matsudaira Sadanobu.
"One of them was one of the soldiers who was responsible for protecting the researchers at the time, and unfortunately he turned into a cannibal on the island."
Matsudaira Sadanobu nodded slightly in response.
"Inamori, let me see what the cannibals look like when they come back to life."
"yes!"
After receiving the order from Matsudaira Sadanobu, Inamori waved to a soldier holding a bow and arrow next to him.
"Give me the bow and arrow."
Taking the bow and arrow handed to him by the soldier, Inamori took a deep breath and pulled the bow in his hand to a full moon.
Inamori didn't really take aim, he just raised the bow and shot.
The arrow was freed from the restraints of Inamori's fingers and the bowstring, and with great power it cut through the air and shot straight towards the head of a cannibal in one of the wooden cages, hitting the cannibal's head accurately.
Then, in full view of everyone, one strand of red flesh after another emerged from the wound in the ogre's head, pushing the arrow out and quickly repairing the wound.
Even Matsudaira Sadanobu, who was used to all kinds of big scenes, couldn't help but show a look of surprise and horror on his face after seeing the resurrection process of the cannibal with his own eyes - although Matsudaira Sadanobu quickly regained his composure.
"It's really shocking..." Matsudaira Sadanobu's tone was very calm, making it hard to tell what his current mood was. "Han Jing, do you think this 'Ogre Rebellion' was caused by a plague?"
"Impossible..." Ban Jing, who had just seen the cannibal's resurrection process for the first time, still had a bit of shock on his face. "I think - this is beyond the scope of medicine... There can't be a disease in this world that can make a person immortal..."
"But - please rest assured, Master Laozhong." Ban Jing's tone gradually became firm, "I will use all my life's knowledge to find out the reason why cannibal ghosts appear and how to kill them..."
"No need." Before Hanai could finish his words, Matsudaira Sadanobu waved his hand and said, "I have decided... I don't need to do any more research on man-eating ghosts. Let's stop researching man-eating ghosts here."
When Matsudaira Sadanobu said this, Inamori, Kamiyama, and Hanai who were standing beside him all looked confused. For a moment, they didn't understand what Matsudaira Sadanobu meant by what he had just said.
The one who was most confused among them was Banjing.
He was called here from far away and was told that his mission was to study cannibals.
Now that he had finally arrived at this place, Matsudaira Sadanobu told him that he didn't need to study anymore.
Matsudaira Sadanobu naturally knew that what he had just said was too sudden for others, so he put his hands behind his back and explained softly:
"On the way from Edo to here, I have been thinking about whether it is necessary to spend so much energy and money to study the causes of the emergence of man-eating ghosts and how to kill them."
"Studying the causes of the emergence of cannibal ghosts and the methods of killing them is just to prevent this 'cannibal ghost chaos' from spreading across the country."
"Well - if it's just for this purpose, then we don't need to go through so much trouble."
"Currently, only Butterfly Island has cannibal ghosts, and only the islanders on Butterfly Island or people who have lived on Butterfly Island for a period of time can become cannibal ghosts. In this way, the cannibal ghosts can only stay in a corner of Butterfly Island, and no cannibal ghosts or people who may become cannibal ghosts can be allowed to leave Butterfly Island. At the same time, people can also be prevented from living on Butterfly Island for a long time, which can also achieve the same purpose."
"So I decided - instead of spending countless manpower and money to study cannibal ghosts, it would be better to be simple and brutal. All the cannibal ghosts and all the people who can become cannibal ghosts will never have the chance to leave Die Island. Let the 'cannibal ghost rebellion' be confined to Die Island."
"So the research on the cannibals is terminated. Let's try another method to prevent the 'cannibal rebellion' from spreading to other places."
At this point, Matsudaira Sadanobu turned his head and looked at Inamori beside him:
"Inamori, are there still people alive on Butterfly Island now?"
Inamori nodded vigorously. "About a year ago, the remaining islanders on Butterfly Island gathered in a village called Fenghe Village and built a wooden wall outside the village to block the cannibal ghosts."
“There should still be some people alive inside that wooden wall.”
“I see…” Matsudaira Sadanobu muttered,
"Inamori, send out the troops to kill all the living people on Butterfly Island." He spoke in a calm tone, which stunned everyone present again.
"Those who are still alive on Butterfly Island are all movable hidden dangers."
Before everyone had recovered from what Matsudaira Sadanobu had just said, Matsudaira Sadanobu continued to speak to himself:
"Although we have destroyed all the ships and shipbuilding tools on Butterfly Island, we cannot guarantee that they will not be able to leave the island."
A cold look gradually appeared in Matsudaira Sadanobu's eyes.
"If we let these people who are likely to become cannibals leave Butterfly Island, it will be troublesome."
"We simply cannot afford such hidden dangers."
"Master Lao Zhong! Wait a minute!" Shen Shan said urgently, "If the islanders on this island die, they will turn into cannibals!"
"So what?" Matsudaira Sadanobu said without hesitation, "Isn't this exactly what I want? Ogres have no wisdom. As long as all the living people on this island are turned into ogres, they will have no way to leave the island."
"Inamori." Matsudaira Sadanobu looked at Inamori next to him again, "If we want to wipe out all the living people on the island, how many soldiers will it take?"
"200... No, 150 elite soldiers will be enough."
"So - when is the best time to land on the island?"
"At night." Inamori replied without hesitation, "The cannibals will only attack living people within their field of vision, so in the dark night, their vision will be obstructed by the dim light, which will allow our soldiers to better avoid the cannibals on the island and directly attack Fenghe Village where the remaining islanders live!"
Matsudaira Sadanobu turned his head and glanced at the sun that was about to sink into the horizon.
"...I like to act quickly and decisively. I don't like to procrastinate." Matsudaira Sadanobu said softly, "Inamori, send 150 elite soldiers to the island tonight! Kill all the living people on Butterfly Island!"
Inamori hesitated a little: "Kill all the islanders... Then do we have to kill all the prisoners we threw on Butterfly Island as well?"
" Kill them all!" Matsudaira Sadanobu answered without even thinking, "They are just a bunch of people whose death won't matter anyway."
"Master Lao Zhong!" At this moment, Shen Shan said urgently, "Isn't it a bit too hasty to take action tonight?"
"Not at all. Rather , I think our swords were swung too slowly."
"When we sent out our army to exterminate the cannibal ghosts but failed and withdrew from Butterfly Island, we should have killed all the living people on the island. This way, we could have prevented the cannibal ghosts from leaving the island early on."
Matsudaira Sadanobu's tone was very flat, as if he was just casually chatting about some ordinary topics like killing fish and dogs.
"We have only started now, and to be honest it is a bit late."
"But it's never too late to mend the situation."
"Inamori, go down and get ready. Before tomorrow's sun comes out, I want to see that there is no living person left on Butterfly Island."
