774 Differences (1/2)

10 years ago, there were also many wars in Eich, but things were now fundamentally different.

Ever since I started becoming active in the mortal plane, it seemed like there hadn't been a single day where there were no wars here. This wasn't because of anything like how I always made fun of myself for being a jinxer, but rather because this damned world had entered the Holy War period again, meaning that there would be no peaceful place left at all.

Since the entire world was embroiled in war, it would be a joke to want individual peace and stability.

Of course, there were still ”saints” and ”saintesses” who called out for world peace. There were also plenty of ambitious schemers who took advantage of the political situation. When entire tribes, countries, and even species had to battle for the sake of survival, individual futures naturally became impossible to ascertain.

You could sing loudly about peace and give fresh flowers to the invaders. That was your freedom. But, would the invaders greet you with friendly smiles, or… a shiny sword?

History informed us that no matter how much an invader pretended to have great reasons for invading, or how friendly their policies were to other species and other countries' citizens, once the invader truly had control of the situation, then a difference in treatment and all sorts of outright stealing would then occur.

”Ridiculous. Wouldn't it be a waste of their time if they didn't gain something? You really think that invaders would come all the way just for charity work? War is also a type of expensive investment that requires the expenses to be recouped.”

In Eich, this maxim was even more bloody and obvious. Wars here were already about different species fighting over survival space and world domination, only more cruel and direct.

Equality between species? The winning species would obtain plenty of survival space. The ruler and powerful individuals from the winning species could ascend to Godhood and obtain undying bodies. The losing species and their Gods would all be swept into the trash bin of history. So-called equality between species was nothing more than impractical and unrealistic pretty phrase.

If the winning species of this Holy War was the humans, just like how humans won the previous Holy War, then things would still probably remain relatively stable. At the very least, the humans would respect previous historical agreements and contracts with their ”allies”, the elves, beastmen, and dwarves. The allied species might not receive very good treatment, but it wouldn't be that bad, either.

The elves, beastmen, and dwarves were all forced to survive in small corners of the land, so that didn't count as very bad? Actually, the victors of all past Holy Wars would always immediately start slaughtering the former ruling species and all enemy species right after the Holy War ended. So, in comparison, this really wasn't all that bad.

Previously, I was on the human side, or perhaps I should call it the Order Faction. This was because I was a human myself, as well as because I didn't want to see past hatred be repeated anymore.

The former humans of the Tark Republic who were now undead all hated the ogres. The ogres hated the undead back. The elves hated all other species as there were blood grudges between the elves and ogres as well as elves and humans. The dwarves and beastmen were also the elves' mortal enemies. The reason for all of this could be traced entirely back to the damned Holy War mechanism of this world.

Every victory meant that some other species had failed. Grudges and curses would accumulate. Perhaps some would be lost over time, but most of the time, such grudges would transform into deeper and deeper racial hatred.

”My entire family died. My tribe leader died. It's all the humans' fault.”

”Our homeland is the Golden Plains. That's where our species originated from. The wicked humans betrayed our alliance and stole our land away!”

”We were forced to this remote place. It's all the humans' fault.”

”My mom froze to death. It's all the humans' fault.”

”I'm so hungry. It's all the humans' fault.”

As the generations passed, the losers would keep reminiscing about their glorious past, while the losers' descendants would blame all of their misfortune on past accumulated hatreds.

It was scary to even imagine what this hatred might become like in the end. This was probably also why the victor of every Holy War would always start a major slaughter afterwards.

This was a never-ending vicious cycle.

Even if one species won a Holy War, there would always be a next time. The current victory would always produce even more grudges and people seeking revenge. Would the current ruling species be able to win again in the next Holy War? That was quite difficult to say. Even if the current ruling species did win again, what about the Holy War after that one? Or in a third Holy War?

Eich's history was like a mirror. There had never been a dominant ruling species that could rule forever. It was impossible for any species to forever win in the Holy War. This was a cycle of misfortune and hatred.

Would it be possible to end this all just by killing off all other species?

It would be utterly foolish to think so. Even if all other species apart from humans were killed, there would still be differences in human skin color and tribes. Even if all humans of other skin colors and tribes were killed off, there would still be differences between where a person was from and their accent. Even if all such differences were removed and all humans were identical in appearance, as long as there were benefits involved, and something worth fighting over, or maybe even one person drank one more cup of water than another... People would fight over things like where someone was from, even to the death.

This was human nature, or perhaps the instinct of all living creatures to develop themselves. This was a natural end result.

The Creator Goddesses of Order and Chaos had simply given this foundation a little push.

Humans were like this. Other species were like this as well. Everyone wanted to live, but resources were limited. In that case, some excuse would be found to differentiate ”us” from the ”enemies”. After killing off the ”enemies”, there would naturally be more resources for everyone who remained.

I loathed this type of world, which made me feel like I was a primitive and naked animal living in a primeval jungle.