In Enkanomiya, Sangonomiya Kokomi was treating the wounded soldiers. Although her heart was filled with immense anxiety, a serene smile still graced her face as she soothed the minds and bodies of the injured.
Sangonomiya Kokomi never imagined that Watatsumi Island would fall in an instant. She had clearly formulated a surprise attack plan, yet it had only resulted in sending those soldiers to their deaths.
Fortunately, the people of Watatsumi Island had already been relocated to Enkanomiya. Otherwise, it was unknown how many casualties would have occurred this time.
Actually, there was no major problem with the strategy, but the difference in combat power between the two sides was too obvious. With such a disparity in strength, any strategy would be futile.
If the Shogunate Army led by Kujou Sara could still put up a fight against the troops that entangled her, the Watatsumi Army was truly powerless against those people.
Just at this moment, Gorou found Sangonomiya Kokomi with a grave expression. Knowing he had something to tell her, Sangonomiya Kokomi temporarily put aside her healing work and led Gorou to a more secluded area.
Seeing that there was no one else around, Gorou immediately spoke with anxiety.
"Her Excellency Sangonomiya, the situation is a bit strange."
"According to my count, there were approximately three thousand casualties this time, but just now when I was counting the soldiers, I found there were a few more."
"More than we started with?"
Hearing Gorou's words, Sangonomiya Kokomi froze for a moment.
"Yes, My Lady. I haven't told the rest of the men yet, for fear of causing a panic."
Kokomi nodded after hearing Gorou's approach.
What's most terrifying isn't when six people go out and three return, or even when six go out and only one comes back. The real horror is when six go out and seven return.
To be honest, if her own powers weren't effective against ghosts and spirits, Kokomi would have already been panicking.
Of course, it might not be something supernatural.
"Gorou, have you checked thoroughly? Could someone have slipped into our ranks?"
Hearing Kokomi's question, Gorou shook his head.
"I doubt it, My Lady."
"I haven't done an individual roll call yet, but the soldiers are currently gathered in groups to rest. They all recognize one another, so it's unlikely any strangers have mingled in."
"However, I did notice some soldiers looking... strange. My Lady, please look over there. You'll see what I mean."
With that, Gorou pointed toward the soldiers seated on the ground in the distance.
After such a fierce battle, everyone was wiping sweat from their brows and panting heavily.
And with a single glance, Kokomi noticed the anomaly.
Many of them—their clothes were just too clean!
This was a retreat after a lost battle, yet those soldiers didn't have a single speck of dust or blood on them. It was utterly illogical.
Either they were deserters who had fled the battlefield early, or there was something seriously wrong with them!
Just then, Sangonomiya Kokomi felt it. Those clean-clad soldiers had no heartbeats or flowing blood within them!
What on earth were they?!
"Divine Priestess Sangonomiya, should we temporarily restrain them?"
Just as Kokomi was about to answer, a soldier rushed over from the distance.
"Divine Priestess Sangonomiya, General Gorou! We've found a woman dressed in strange attire."
"She has amnesia too. No matter what we ask, she says she doesn't know."
After hearing this, Kokomi hesitated for a moment before instructing them to bring the strange woman to her.
When Kokomi finally saw the woman, she was once again stunned. She sensed no heartbeat or blood flow from her either.
And her clothing was indeed bizarre—she looked like she didn't belong in this era at all.
Wait a minute... Kokomi suddenly recalled that Watatsumi Island's exploration and research into Enkanomiya had made significant progress. According to the gathered data, the woman's appearance seemed to align perfectly with the records.
Thinking of this, Sangonomiya Kokomi immediately grew suspicious of the woman's identity and asked.
"What is your name?"
"I don't remember."
"Then why did you appear here, and how did you get here?"
"I don't know. I appeared near here as soon as I opened my eyes, and since then, I've been wandering aimlessly."
"I've been trying to figure out who I am all this time, but I've never found the answer."
"But I always feel like there's something I haven't finished, though I truly can't remember what it is."
Seeing her clutching her head with a pained and conflicted expression, Sangonomiya Kokomi couldn't help but use a gentle Hydro Element to soothe her emotions.
"Thank you."
Sangonomiya Kokomi shook her head, now basically having the answer in her mind.
Although her power took effect on the woman, the healing effect was reduced to almost twenty percent of its original strength. This was because the woman wasn't a normal person at all.
Her body was very strange, seemingly a form of pure energy; thus, her power only had a soothing effect on the soul.
Sangonomiya Kokomi looked at the woman before her who was still trying hard to recall her memories, thought of the extra people who had appeared in the ranks earlier, and then thought back to those Shogunate Army soldiers whose combat power was ridiculously strong, sighing softly.
"Gorou, I think I know the identities of the group that attacked Watatsumi Island."
-
"Those people are actually the spirits of the dead from past wars."
Not long after declaring the retreat, Kujou Sara received intelligence from the rear, revealing the identities of the suddenly appearing Watatsumi Army.
No wonder their combat style was so similar. No wonder every soldier who fought them had sworn that they were definitely the Watatsumi Army. Now it seemed the truth was indeed so, except they weren't living people.
Of course, while the true identities of these people had been uncovered, Kujou Sara still had no clue who the mastermind was.
It couldn't be spontaneous action. After all, she had previously seen a fallen Watatsumi Army outpost, and it was clear that the Shogunate Army also had resurrected spirits who had dealt with those Watatsumi Army soldiers.
If no one were directing them, these two forces would have long since started fighting each other. They would never have focused on her to devise a series of tactics, and even seized the Kamuijima Cannon to attack the Shogunate Army.
Moreover, the state of these spirits was clearly very abnormal. No matter how one looked at it, they were being controlled by someone and even knew how to employ various tactics.
During the retreat, Kujou Sara ordered her men to dismantle all the Kamuijima Cannons outside and hide them separately to prevent the enemy from using them again.
Now that Tatarasuna and Yashiori Island had fallen, this was a situation that had never occurred before, even during the most critical times in the past.
Kujou Sara had already sent the news from here to the Raiden Shogun. She did not know if she would face the other party's anger or punishment.
"Sigh..."
Kujou Sara sighed deeply. Her opponents were a group of spirits, spirits who had died in war. This couldn't help but make her start to ponder the meaning of this war.
However, Kujou Sara soon stopped thinking and instead began to consider how to quickly seize back the lost places.
To achieve this, Kujou Sara had to return to Narukami Island once and then find Yae Miko to seek some assistance.
Whether it was talismans or directly dispatching miko to help, she believed that dealing with those Watatsumi Army spirits should be much simpler.
She had to hurry. Now that the enemy was no longer making any moves, a faint sense of unease arose in her heart.
Thinking of this, after Kujou Sara had arranged everything properly, she hurried back to Narukami Island.
Narukami Island was a bit chaotic now. At some unknown point, Inazuma City had been overrun by undead who looked no different from ordinary people, making them difficult to distinguish with the naked eye alone.
These spirits had been both good and evil in life. Those who had caused havoc everywhere in life had now returned to their old ways, their power far greater than before, causing them to become even more lawless.
It was said that even Yae Miko herself had taken action personally, but it was still difficult to contain the gradually descending chaos.
Kujou Sara never expected Inazuma to change so drastically in such a short time. This thought made her start to feel a slight worry about Inazuma's future.
Kujou Sara looked down at the Tenshukaku, sensing that the existence within seemed to have no intention of intervening, before slowly withdrawing her gaze.
Soon, Kujou Sara found Yae Miko and hurriedly stated her request.
"To think the situation at the front line had already reached such a dire state..."
Yae Miko stroked her chin in thought for a moment, then spoke.
"How about this? You take the batch of talismans I recently made, and I will make some more for you over the next two days. I believe they should be of some help to you."
"As for the shrine maidens under my command, it's better for them to stay in Inazuma City."
"Restless spirits have been appearing in Inazuma City from time to time lately. Sometimes I cannot be in two places at once, so I need them to go in my stead."
Hearing Yae Miko's arrangements, Kujou Sara thought for a moment and then nodded. This outcome was actually in line with her expectations.
"Thank you, Lady Guuji."
Yae Miko waved her hand.
"No need to be so polite. You are also helping Ei protect Inazuma; I will naturally take action when necessary."
"Go ahead and do it. Ei sees all of this. If things ever reach a point where they cannot be undone, she will step in to stop it in time."
After hearing Yae Miko's words, Kujou Sara felt much more at ease.
Kujou Sara naturally held no doubt about the other party's words, after all, Yae Miko was the familiar of the one she served.
Yae Miko watched Kujou Sara's departing figure and sighed softly.
Perhaps Kujou Sara thought that since Raiden Ei had not yet left the Tenshukaku, it meant the situation was still within a controllable range, and she did not need to step in.
But Yae Miko knew the true reason was not this, but that Raiden Ei's heart was in turmoil.
The sudden resurrection of someone who had died years ago had an unimaginable impact on Raiden Ei.
Although those Raiden Ei had lost in the past were no ordinary beings, she always held a glimmer of anticipation and hope in her heart.
This hope would likely prevent Raiden Ei from acting until the very end.
Yae Miko looked toward the Tenshukaku. Without anyone knowing when, the sky there had turned dark, and the dense black clouds brought a heavy sense of oppression, while terrifying thunder was continuously brewing between the clouds.
"In the end, you still haven't let go."
Letting go, letting go... If only it were that easy to do. That was Raiden Ei's deepest obsession, and also the reason her understanding of Eternity had deviated.
Yae Miko suddenly smiled self-deprecatingly.
Let alone Raiden Ei, if she herself had completely let go, why wouldn't she have appeared inside the Tenshukaku to meet with the other party by now?
Ultimately, it was because of her cowardice that she had placed the choice in Raiden Ei's hands, letting her bear all the pressure.
"I really am a bad woman!"
Yae Miko had a clear sense of self-awareness, but she didn't find anything wrong with it; in fact, she was quite pleased with the title "bad woman."
Finally, Yae Miko took one last deep look toward Tenshukaku and muttered to herself.
"Ei, don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"You are the God of Inazuma. Whatever decision you make, we will support you."
-
By this time, everything in Liyue Harbor was gradually getting back on track. The funerals for those who had died unexpectedly had all been completed, and the post-disaster reconstruction work was proceeding in an orderly manner.
Hu Tao found Ningguang, preparing to pay back the money she had borrowed from her.
However, to Hu Tao's surprise, Ningguang refused to accept the money.
"Actually, this money was asked for by Chen Feng on your behalf. He knew that Director Hu, you might be too proud to borrow money from him directly."
Hearing this answer, Hu Tao was very surprised. She never expected that Chen Feng, who loved money so much, would be willing to lend her so much.
"In fact, when I collaborated with Chen Feng, he didn't sign his own name on the profit-sharing agreement. Instead, he wrote 'Wangsheng Funeral Parlor'."
"I think Chen Feng has long since considered Wangsheng Funeral Parlor as his own home."
"Therefore, not only is Director Hu not required to pay back the money, but I will also give you the dividends from this period. In the future, I will have the monthly dividends delivered to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."
After hearing Ningguang's words, Hu Tao suddenly understood why Chen Feng was so eager to earn money.
Perhaps at first it was to guarantee his own future life, but as the money reached a certain amount, he wanted to use it to help the development of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Hu Tao never expected that a casual remark of hers would be taken so seriously by Chen Feng, who would then go on to fulfill it meticulously.
Actually, Hu Tao didn't really want Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's business to be too good, and she even hoped the clinic would take some of her business away, because she knew very well what that meant.
"He really is... too foolish."
Hu Tao shook her head a little helplessly.
No wonder she felt that Chen Feng seemed to trust her too much, putting all the money he earned into Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and rarely taking the initiative to check it, which was very strange for someone who loved money.
Since this was Chen Feng's wish, she would open Wangsheng Funeral Parlor branches across the Seven Nations, making it easier for Chen Feng to find her.
Moreover, she needed power; otherwise, she would have no way to snatch Chen Feng back from Persephone's hands. For this reason, the decision to open Wangsheng Funeral Parlor across the Seven Nations was also correct.