For several days, Arashi was worried, worried that Kokomi would suddenly issue an order to confiscate this 'special Vision'. If she didn't, he could at least occasionally borrow his friend's…
'If that's the case, then what were the dozens of years you lived before that.'
Muramasa's words echoed in his mind, making his dull heart beat with anxiety. What was I? ...Going out to sea to fish every day. What else could I be?
"I told you not to mess with him…" Seeing his 'don't-mess-with-me' expression, the friend who had advised him shook his head. Seeing he was still sulking, he sighed again. "If it really comes down to it, when I can't move anymore, you can just take mine and use it."
"I don't need it," the anxiety in his heart and his companion's words overlapped, making him snap.
"Alright, alright," his friend wasn't angry and patted his shoulder. "Fighting has broken out in other places now. I have to go on patrol—as for you, go check the Specter reserve boxes. Make sure they're ready to use at all times."
Arashi snorted and didn't argue further, turning and heading straight for the rear of the encampment. Barrels, some dark red, some deep purple, were neatly arranged, emitting a faint, ominous glow. Compared to ordinary explosives, these barrels, which sealed Specters, had uncontrollable power, but their advantage was that the elemental energy scattered after they exploded would attract others of their kind like a beacon. Throwing them at the Tenryou Commission's ships with a catapult, these flying elemental creatures would be enough to give the enemy a headache.
"Enemy attack—"
A companion's shout from outside the camp was so sharp it was almost a shriek. Arashi snapped his head up. The silhouette of a huge warship pierced the hazy dawn. The figure standing at the prow of the lead ship was as straight as a pine tree. Though her black wings were not fully spread, the iconic tengu mask and her cold gaze were unmistakably those of the Tenryou Commission's general—Kujou Sara!
Following her were two more menacing Tenryou warships.
"Don't panic! Hold your ground! Catapults, ready—!!" Arashi's friend's voice rang out again, a roar of forced composure. He was the first to draw his bow and, while the enemy ship was still out of effective range, he decisively fired three low, flat signal arrows and one high one towards the rear sky.
Three enemy ships... one Vision holder… Arashi quickly recalled the sporadic signals rising from other directions and realized that all four of the Tenryou Commission's Vision holders seemed to have appeared.
His friend had calmed down after firing the arrows, but before he could take cover, an arrow wreathed in lightning struck him in the back. "Wha—..." The arrowhead that pierced his spine paralyzed his limbs, and he could only manage to cast one last look behind him. The tengu had, for the first time on the battlefield, spread her black wings. In an instant, she had closed the distance to the minimum for shooting. Her sharp eyes were scanning the entire resistance camp like a hawk, searching for the next valuable target.
In a corner of the camp, a catapult, barely adjusted, was fired. A heavy, dark purple Specter barrel was thrown at Kujou Sara at the prow! Arashi's heart almost stopped. A faint glimmer of hope rose in his despair—if only it can hit…
However, the flame of hope was mercilessly extinguished before it could even ignite! Another arrow, burning with intense flames, shot out from a warship behind Sara, as if in prediction! It drew a scorching trajectory in mid-air and accurately intercepted the flying barrel!
BOOM—!
The Specter barrel exploded violently in the air, several zhang away from her, over the sea! The purple-red shockwave spread with a piercing shriek, failing to harm her in the slightest.
The second 'Vision' holder.
Arashi's pupils contracted. For a moment, he didn't know what to do. Why does the Tenryou Commission have other Vision holders? He naturally wouldn't know that Visions could be 'faked'. As long as the glass beads that had not yet been forged into the 'Statue of the Omnipresent God' were sent to the battlefield, any Tenryou Commission member could have a 'Vision'.
But he understood one thing very clearly—the front line had been breached. If those ships were to dock, the Tenryou Commission would gain a foothold on Watatsumi Island. And it wasn't just Kujou Sara and that archer. Behind her were two more! Two more Vision holders! Almost instinctively, with a last shred of hope, he snapped his head towards Sangonomiya Shrine.
The junction of sea and sky was silent. No familiar, colorful bubbles representing a change of command or reinforcements floated up. No new signals rose.
He had no weapon, only explosives without a launcher, and no 'insurance' on his chest.
No, I can't do it. Without that thing…
'If that's the case, then what were the dozens of years you lived before that.'
"...Tch." A short, decisive click of his tongue. He didn't know what he was, but he wanted to find out, so he had to try.
No longer looking at Sara, no longer paying attention to the chaotic battlefield, Arashi just took one last glance at his fallen companion. He couldn't help him, nor could he 'borrow' his 'insurance'. Then, his gaze locked onto the sea that he could navigate with his eyes closed, the sea that had carried him for more than ten years.
With all his remaining strength, he lunged at the nearest Specter barrel. The Pyro element within sensed the violent vibration and became restless, the barrel walls emitting a dull hum. "Quiet down…"
He turned and stumbled, using his last bit of strength to run towards the reef-strewn coast behind the camp!
"Hm?" Kujou Sara instinctively raised her bow and aimed, only to see a nameless grunt fleeing with his head in his hands. A deserter? She wasn't surprised. Such things were normal.
With a splash, Arashi fell into the sea, swallowed by the cold, biting waves. No panic. This was how he had lived for the past ten-odd years. He followed the familiar currents, letting his body be enveloped by the cold water, and sank deep. With his amazing swimming ability and familiarity with the tides, he swam underwater for nearly ten minutes. Then he surfaced, took a breath, and sank again, approaching the lead ship without even the general noticing.
He pushed off a protruding reef with his feet! Holding the dark red wooden barrel, whose walls were already cracking from the violent衝撞 of the elemental creature inside, he slammed into the waterline of the Tenryou Commission's lead warship!
CRACK! BANG—
The violent impact instantly shattered the already-at-its-limit wooden barrel! A blinding orange-red fireball suddenly expanded between the sea and the ship's hull! The hard wooden planks of the hull were torn apart like paper, carbonized, and thrown into the air! The scorching elemental energy, carrying the unique pheromones of the Specters, spread across the sea's surface. The cold seawater immediately found an outlet, pouring into the ship's hold with immense pressure.
"Hull breached! We're taking on water!" The panicked shouts of the Tenryou Commission members came from below deck.
"It's that guy…" Kujou Sara caught a glimpse of Arashi, now unconscious in the sea, who had launched a suicide attack with the Specter barrel. She felt a headache coming on. Are all the soldiers of Watatsumi Island this crazy?
This operation had originally been a feint from other routes, with a direct breakthrough at this position. But this sudden variable had once again disrupted the pace of the attack.
"It's that guy…" Kujou Sara's sharp gaze instantly locked onto the unconscious figure floating in the sea. A mixture of annoyance and emotion welled up inside her. Another one of these self-destructive attacks at any cost!
She had received reports before that the Watatsumi side had a method of sudden self-enhancement, always launching a self-destructive attack at the cost of one person's life just as they were about to make a breakthrough. "Steady the ship! Damage control, plug the breach! The rest of you, back to your battle stations!"
Her voice boomed amidst the tilting ship and the inrushing seawater. But the ship's speed had already dropped sharply, and its bow was even beginning to sink slightly. Kujou Sara's face under her mask was as tight as iron. She could clearly see the two warships behind her having to make an emergency turn to avoid colliding with the out-of-control lead ship. The once-unstoppable three-ship formation was instantly broken, and the precious window for a surprise attack was closing at a visible rate!
What was even worse were the elemental creatures standing between them and Watatsumi Island! "Tch!"
Her meticulously planned lightning strike had been stopped by a nameless grunt. The arrows that the enemy, having recovered, were now firing into the air told her that time, every second of it, was on Watatsumi Island's side. The repeated failures had already made many of the Tenryou Commission soldiers want to retreat. This retreat would be another heavy blow to their morale!
There was no longer any hesitation in Kujou Sara's eyes. The jet-black wings on her back spread with a whoosh. "Relay my order! Abandon the lead ship! All hands, abandon ship! Target—the reef area ahead! Use the wreckage as a springboard, and force a landing!"
The order was given, and even the soldiers behind her gasped. Abandon the lead ship? Force a landing on a reef-strewn shore? There were still restless Specters there—"But General, the reef area…"
"No buts!" she cut him off sharply, her bow already drawn, Electro energy condensing into a blindingly bright ball at the arrowhead, which then turned into streaks of light that shot towards the elemental creatures flying towards her soldiers. "I will clear the way. You just move forward. The Grand Way is Vast, Narukami's Majesty is Eternal—"
Then she flapped her wings and threw her physical body at the almost-crazed Specters, demonstrating 'follow me' with her own body. "Charge—! Clear a path for the General!"
From a warship on the side, a fiery light was the first to respond. A blazing arrow shot towards the shore like a meteor, suppressing the resistance's firing points. "Abandon ship! Land!" The soldiers on the lead ship had no way out. They jumped into the cold sea or clung to the sinking hull, desperately trying to reach the shore filled with sharp reefs.
"Hold the gap in the reefs! Don't let them up! All remaining catapults, aim for the reef area!" The remaining leader of the resistance shouted at the top of his lungs, while at the same time, his hand went to his chest. The same power was igniting in many other places in the formation, as they prepared for a final, desperate resistance.
At this moment, when both sides were betting everything—
"Projection, begin."
Senji Muramasa's cold declaration echoed across the battlefield. His body was suspended high in the sky. Before anyone could figure out the situation, the longsword in his hand had already become a streak of cold light that tore through space, and he slashed down at the churning sea!
BOOM—!!!
A huge, silvery-white arc of a sword instantly vaporized the seabed! The Specters that had been瀰漫 over the reef area also evaporated in this single slash. The remaining sword pressure forcibly pushed the seawater apart, carving out a temporary, terrifying channel that reached the muddy seabed in the center of the reef area! The agitated seawater, as if blocked by an invisible barrier, rose into monstrous waves on both sides of the rift, pushing back the soldiers on both sides.
Immediately after, a gentle Hydro energy spread from the rear of the battlefield like a tide. Kokomi, who had been commanding from Sangonomiya Shrine, had appeared at some point, accurately enveloping every fallen figure on the battlefield—whether it was the resistance fighters paralyzed by lightning arrows, or the Tenryou Commission soldiers injured by the ship's explosion and the reef collision. Or a certain young man who had sounded the horn of counterattack with his life, now on the verge of death.
"The other battlefields took some time. I'm a little late." Muramasa, after a brief moment of being suspended in the air, landed back on the surface of the sea. He did not fall in. Behind him was the 'man-made trench' that Kokomi had deliberately maintained. He looked at Arashi, who was enveloped in a water bubble, his life unknown, and a smile of 'you're-really-a-handful' and 'you've-got-more-guts-than-I-thought' appeared on his face. Then he turned to the distant Tenryou Commission.
"The one protected by a familiar of the Raiden Shogun—Senji Muramasa." The sea had quieted down due to this uninvited guest, and the air had almost frozen. It was not until Kujou Sara broke the stagnant air, her voice laced with the chill of a question, "May I interpret this as you having betrayed the trust that Lady Miko placed in you?"
She did not treat Yae Miko as the main culprit, at least not here. "How could that be?" A relaxed smile was on his face, but his words were clearly cunning. "I came here to convey the will of that... that Lady Guuji. Absurd," she retorted sharply. "The Guuji Yae has been missing for some time. How could she have any contact with you on Watatsumi Island?"
His expression did not change. Instead, he said with a hint of teasing, "That Miko's abilities are quite something. You should know that better than I do, right?"
"Hmph…" Seeing his wording, she knew that tangling with this was meaningless and instead pointed the spearhead at a more direct accusation. "So, interfering in the war, assisting the resistance. How do you explain that?"
"It's not really an explanation, is it?" he shook his head, his tone becoming meaningful. "In any case, although you are the general here, you are not the commander, are you?"
His gaze shifted from her to the two warships in the rear. He was clearly looking for the other 'Kujou', and he knew that fellow was not commanding from the rear. "I am here."
Before Sara could think of a reply, a steady voice rang out, carrying an undeniable authority. The commander of the Shogunate army who should have been at the rear—Kujou Masahito—had appeared at the prow of a warship on the side. He was flanked by Sara's two lieutenants.
"Brother." Sara had clearly understood his intention and also knew what this commander was thinking. She just cursed under her breath, as if blaming him for coming out.
"Since you're here, then it's simple—" Muramasa flicked his wrist, and the broken sword that had cut open the sea instantly dissipated into specks of light. "Could I ask you two sides to temporarily cease hostilities?"
"The reason." Kujou Masahito stood with his arms crossed, neither denying nor confirming. Even though he was within the range of the other's slash, he remained composed. His state made Sara breathe a sigh of relief. At least her brother could still distinguish between one and two and did not place his own will above the command.
"The Fatui are stirring up trouble in Inazuma, stealing resources, assassinating the people of Inazuma—even the Harbingers are involved. This should be a major matter, right?"
The Fatui? Hearing the unexpected name, the accusation was not a 'cheap' one.
"As for the evidence, it's this." Muramasa suddenly threw something from his hand, and it landed in Sara's. It was a hat, or rather, the half of a hat belonging to the Sixth Fatui Harbinger, 'The Balladeer'.
....
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