"Boom!"
Thick lightning poured down, its power instantly turning a large expanse of seawater into rising steam.
"Left, left, left! Turn the rudder to the left, quickly!"
"I know, old woman, shut up!"
"Watch me!"
On a small boat swaying with the wind and waves, a scene of utter panic was unfolding. The Lady was at the bow, directing the boat's course, while Balladeer cursed and followed her instructions.
As for Childe, he would occasionally leap out of the boat, confronting the lightning descending from the sky.
Leaping into the air, Childe clapped his hands, closed his eyes, and envisioned the phantom Whale he had seen in his dreams.
The Whale in his mind became clearer, and the giant Whale formed from the seawater beneath his feet became more agile.
"Starfall Whale!"
After realizing that even with all his might, he couldn't make the Whale in his mind any clearer, Childe understood that his current strength could only achieve this much.
So he roared, and the giant Whale, which had been swimming in the depths, soared into the sky, flying straight towards the heavens.
"Rumble!"
As soon as the giant Whale emerged from the sea, a lightning bolt thicker than a bucket poured down, hitting the blue Whale squarely.
"Bang!"
Splashes of water mixed with mist cascaded down. The Whale Childe had conjured dissipated in the air, and with it, the thick lightning that had just fallen from the dark clouds.
"Hahaha! What a thrill!"
Falling from the air onto the small boat, Childe immediately felt incredibly refreshed. This was his first battle in several months.
Before, whenever he caused trouble, Morgott would pick him up and give him a beating. Considering that one-sided beatings didn't count as battles, Childe could only force himself to behave.
But now it was good; Morgott didn't even know they had escaped from the Liyue construction site. He must have left Liyue!
As soon as he thought of this, Childe unconsciously hummed a Snezhnayan tune. He had learned it in music class when he was a child, and it was perhaps the only remaining trace of Snezhnaya's compulsory education on him.
"Ajax! Get this water out of here! I told you! Be more discreet!"
However, the Lady's mood was not as pleasant as Childe's. Seeing the accumulated water on the deck, she immediately ordered Childe to clean it up.
They had "borrowed" this boat casually, and they didn't know its quality. The less they damaged it, the better.
After all, Inazuma was still quite a distance away, and she didn't want to fall into the sea halfway there.
In that case, even if she was a Harbinger, she would still end up exhausted and drowned.
"Got it! Got it!" The Snezhnayan tune instantly vanished. Childe nodded carelessly, perfunctorily scooping water out with a gourd dipper from the boat.
"By the way, why didn't we bring more people? This is so tiring." After scooping for just a short while, Childe started to slack off.
When it came to fighting, he had infinite stamina. But for chores, sorry, he was just an ordinary Snezhnayan citizen.
"Tsk—, we already brought too many." Balladeer, who was steering, heard Childe's complaint and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"Where? I think this small boat is already struggling with three people. You can still hide someone?" Childe immediately perked up at the words. He jumped around the boat, trying to find the extra person Balladeer mentioned.
"Quiet down! That person is you!" The Lady saw Childe's antics, waved her sleeve, and pulled him down from the air.
"Me?" Childe on the deck was full of questions.
"Think about it carefully. Snezhnaya only sent me and the Lady to Inazuma. Were you included? Tenth Seat?" Balladeer mocked with an exaggerated tone.
However, Childe wisely ignored Balladeer's tone. Balladeer was always like this; when he got stronger, the first person he'd hit would be him.
"It seems it really is." Childe slapped his head, belatedly realizing.
Snezhnaya's order to him was to return home and await orders. Going to Inazuma was the Lady and Balladeer's business; it had nothing to do with him.
"Inazuma, huh, I've never been there." Lying on the deck, Childe looked at the thick dark clouds above, sighing.
This trip to Inazuma, could he finally have a good fight?
"There's nothing good about it, a place rotten to the core. If it weren't for those guys in Snezhnaya, I wouldn't want to come." Balladeer heard Childe's sigh and couldn't help but comment.
"Is it my imagination? You seem to be talking more?" The Lady raised an eyebrow, looking at Balladeer. Could this guy be from Inazuma?
"It's just your imagination." Balladeer retorted, unwilling to show weakness, but then said nothing more.
In their ears, there was only the roar of thunder, the howl of the waves, and an occasional high note from the Lady.
"Cough, cough, cough! Are we not there yet?" After once again directing Childe and Balladeer through the waves, the Lady rubbed her sore, dry throat and asked the silent Balladeer.
"Without a map, I can only roughly determine the direction based on memory. We will definitely reach Inazuma, but which specific island, I don't know."
Seeing the Lady ask him, Balladeer no longer remained silent. He looked around at the sea conditions; it was vastly different from when he left. He could only roughly distinguish the direction.
"In that case, it doesn't seem to be conducive to our actions." Childe said with some concern after hearing Balladeer's words.
A large part of why they, the Harbingers, knew so much information was their ability to liaise with local Fatui soldiers and receive their cooperation.
But now, from what Balladeer implied, they might have to start with a period of survival on a deserted island?
"Don't worry about that. Everything in Inazuma is already set up. We are just making the process faster." Balladeer had no concerns about Childe's doubts.
He knew the Raiden Shogun's personality. Since the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree had been approved and implemented by her, nothing could stop her.
The longer these two policies were enforced, the more severe the internal division in Inazuma would become, and the greater their opportunity as the Fatui.
The Raiden Shogun's Gnosis was not with the Raiden Shogun but with Yae Miko, the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine. The Fatui's intelligence capabilities had long since uncovered this.
And everything they were doing was merely to lure the Raiden Shogun out of Narukami Island. When the Raiden Shogun went to the front lines to deal with the resistance, that would be the day the Fatui ascended the Grand Narukami Shrine to seize the Gnosis.
As he thought of his flawless plan, a faint smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of Balladeer's mouth.
At that time, he would definitely make the Raiden Shogun, and that tardy fox, pay the price they deserved!
"What is he smiling about?" Childe got up from the deck. The constant swaying of the small boat made it uncomfortable for him to sleep.
"You don't know he has a problem in his head? Why are you asking me?" The Lady never had a good expression for Balladeer.
"Foolish people naturally don't know what a wise one contemplates." Balladeer heard Childe and the Lady's whispered conversation and immediately retorted with a sneer.
"Clever Balladeer, do you know where that tin can went?" Childe was almost immune to Balladeer's taunts. He drooped his eyelids and asked Balladeer about Ember's whereabouts.
"That... he's definitely not in Inazuma!" Balladeer's smile froze for a moment, then he forced out the words.
However, his tone sounded completely guilty.
"That confident?" The Lady gave Balladeer an extra look.
"Given that guy's tendency to run around, wouldn't it be illogical for him to go to Inazuma, which is across the sea, instead of Sumeru, which is closest to Liyue?"
"But he seems to be someone who cannot be reasoned with."
"..."
The air suddenly fell silent. With the Lady saying that, Childe and Balladeer both felt that Ember was probably in Inazuma, no doubt about it.
"So what? The Tsaritsa's orders must be carried out!" Childe was the first to perk up. He waved his hand grandly, declaring with great spirit.
"Well said. It's decided, you'll be the smoke bomb to attract Ember!"
"The Tsaritsa? I'm not interested in her plans."
The three reacted differently, but none of this could stop the small boat from swaying towards Inazuma.
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